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Three hundred thirty sixth entry - Tomb Raider: Anniversary
2007-06-27 19:53:15
Time - 6:13, Noise - Lostprophets - "A Million Miles"
So... I got TR:A about a week ago... and I beat it yesterday. It's not that it's a short game, necessarily. I just played it obsessively. That in itself is a bit strange, because it honestly wasn't as enjoyable as the original Tomb Raider had been. Generally speaking, they did the original justice - but there were some parts that they completely ruined. Some entire levels, in fact. But overall, it was good. I'm glad I bought it. I was going to go into the intricacies of what was changed and how it compares, but I think I'll hold off on that.
After beating Anniversary, I started playing Tomb Raider: Legend today. I had tried playing it before, but the altered controls really bugged me, and I couldn't get past the fact that Lara wasn't really Lara anymore. Eventually, though, after playing TR:A, I got used to them and was able to go back to Legend. Lara feels stiffer in that game - but that's expected, since it came before Anniversary. It's not nearly as frustrating as TR:A was - so far - but it's also less interesting. I suspect they'll start throwing diabolical traps at me in the second half of the game, but until then, I'm good.
/me is a Tomb Raider junkie
After I'm finished with this game, I'll probably go back and check both of them for secrets. If I can't get them all, no big deal. After that, I plan to go back to FFXII and finish that. I kind of stopped when I decided how stupid that game was - but I always finish a game I start, no matter how questionable. After all of that, I can finally go and play Dark Cloud 2 again. Hopefully within all of that I'll get around to speed running Fatal Frame II a few times, just to keep in practice.
That's a lot of gaming.
I'm out. Sorry for not posting anything of relevance. : /
See you, folks.
- Jen -
Three hundred thirty fifth entry - es muy delicioso!
2007-06-16 22:46:39
Time - 9:15, Noise - Olivia Lufkin - "Space Halo"
My mother and I are extremely random, and this makes us dangerous when in a grocery store - or in most other places, come to think of it. And this time, we had our eyes on the wonton wrappers. It's Happy Fun Cooking Time with Jen!
Earthy Wontons
- wonton wrappers
- container of fresh parsley
- bundle of baby spinach
- package of mushrooms
- ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
- garlic salt
- water (for sealing wontons - alternatively, use an egg wash)
- oil (for frying - we used canola oil)
First, finely chop up both the parsley and baby spinach. If you don't like stems, be sure to remove them as you go along. Set the greens aside for now.
Sauté the mushrooms in a frying pan, taking care not to overcook them, because there's more heat to add to them yet. Stir gently to prevent burning. After the mushrooms are mostly cooked, add in the parsley and the baby spinach and allow them to wilt. Add salt to the mixture to your own taste. While you're waiting, cube up some mozzarella into small chunks - no more than half inch pieces.
When the greens are finished wilting, pour off the excess oil from the pan and put the mixture into a bowl. Allow to cool slightly, as you'll be working with it with your hands.
Pull out the wonton wrappers and begin adding no more than teaspoon-sized portions into the center of the skins. Leave room for two or so mozzarella cubes. Adjust with your fingers to keep the mound away from the edges.
Seal the wonton by putting water (or egg wash) along two of the edges and folding the two dry edges over them, corner to corner. Make sure to push any excess air out of the wonton as you seal it.
Bring oil in a frying pan up to temperature, and then put in two or three wontons in at a time for roughly a minute, or until golden brown. (This will also melt the cheese inside and finish cooking/wilting anything else.) Set aside on a napkin to catch any excess oil, salting if desired.
Enjoy!
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You can tell I'm not a cook from reading that, but it gets the point across. They weren't that hard to make anyway. My mom and I just picked out whatever stuff looked good in the store and decided to put it in wontons. We're probably making chocolate banana wontons next. :D
See you, folks. <3
- Jen -
Three hundred thirty fourth entry - gragh
2007-06-13 14:51:21
Time - 1:37, Noise - Silent Hill 2 OST - "Promise (reprise)"
I've noticed as of late that I've broken a habit I didn't even realize I had. The way I used to download AMVs went as follows:
1. If I knew the creator, I got it.
2. If I knew the anime, I got it.
3. If I knew the song, I got it.
Now, I'm seeing that I don't bother with videos that I know the creator of, but don't fit the other two criteria. Don't get me wrong. I always downloaded videos from people I didn't know if they still fit the other two criteria. Overused anime, overused music, and "bad" program never made a difference to me. They still don't, and likely never will. Just the three points above mattered.
This causes a dual problem, really. For one, I'm missing some very good videos now because less and less of them use sources I know. (This dates back to the journal entry in which I lamented the fact that I seem to be behind the times on anime.) However, it also means that I'm not as rabid about downloading as I used to be. That may not seem like a big deal when it's only a video a day... but keep in mind that my total is 5000+. It adds up.
Anyway, I'm not complaining about the change... rather, I'm taking note of it. As I said, it's a habit I didn't even realize I had broken.
And now... I must go. It's Star Wars time, loves. <3
- Jen -
Three hundred thirty third entry - 333! Halfway to demonhood! :3
2007-06-10 00:21:59
Time - 10:46, Noise - Andy Hunter - "Go"
Today's Rant: Guides
You ever notice how most guides you read seem to be written for a person who already knows what they're doing? It makes me wonder where the point is in writing a guide if only people "in the know" will understand it.
Let me give you an example in terms closer to my own line of thought. Some of you may remember me describing my adventures with speed running the game Fatal Frame II. Imagine for a moment that you're playing this game for the very first time, and I'm guiding you along. You get to a hostile ghost and start fighting it. I mention that the fight would be easier if you would just blast it.
What is the first thing that comes to mind? "What is 'blast'," right? Well, you don't have that knowledge. If I'm being considerate of that, I would answer your question, saying that it's a combat ability that you don't have yet. It allows you to do more damage to your enemies and blasts the ghost backwards, hence its proper name, 'Blast.'
If this were a written guide, and I had simply said, "use Blast," you would have that same question - but no answer.
The point of this whole thing is that you need to prepare for everything when you write a guide. Try to think of every possible question you might get if you were talking in person to someone who knew nothing of what your guide is for. A clueless (but interested) newbie, to put it simply. Use the simplest terms, and spell it out in such an obvious way that it can't be mistaken.
And don't call that kind of treatment "spoon feeding" or "holding your hand." It isn't. If I were asking for either one of those, I would be harassing the guide creator actively for answers. Trying to figure out something on one's own is self-reliance. Think of it this way: if someone writes out something I need to know in binary code, is it fair to ask me to learn that code just to decipher the sentence? Of course not. So when I'm trying to figure out something that may as well be gibberish to me, is it too much to ask that it be in simpler terms? I don't think so.
Anyway, there's a reason I'm ranting about this, but I'd rather not go into it. Instead, I'll just keep trying to understand the thing that's making no sense to me and exit this entry quietly.
See you, folks.
- Jen
PS: I'm not complaining about the AV Tech guide, just to be clear on that. -
Three hundred thirty second entry - o_O
2007-06-07 00:29:15
Time - 11:27, Noise - Lostprophets - "Make a Move"
ZOMG pointless entry! Made ya look! O_O
- Jen
PS: I win.
JOURNAL: dj_ultima_the_great (Jen )
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