Closing Up Shop

Just thought I'd mention that I'm pretty much abandoning this blog for an indefinite amount of time (though I guess that was already clear.) Maybe I'll post again sometime this summer but I have no idea. I guess I don't feel the need to post here when I can just post on "Da Morgue" anyhow until we meet again.

Winter Break 2 Electric Boogaloo

Might as well make a quick update as I try to post here at least once a month. So let's see, I've been done with classes since last Wednesday and thus far have mostly filled that gap with working, watching movies and bugging Paul about editing our anticipated group video project. Luckily everything is basically edited (though one sequence still needs some tooling) and now that I got Paul some more ram he can work on everything without it constantly stalling. It without a doubt will be up this week, I can't wait to start work on the next one.

So as I previously stated I've been busier than usual at Petco. I spent my last two saturdays playing Santa and posing for pictures with pets, which although amusing was a bit exhausting. I didn't expect to actually have kids ask me what they want for Christmas but I think I handled it fine, I live to perform.

As usual I've been watching lots of movies with my time off from school. I went on a kick where I watched the Sinbad trilogy in three days. For those who don't know, they're a series of fantasy films produced by Columbia Pictures featuring the excellent stop-motion effects of the legendary Ray Harryhausen, also famous for his work on Clash of the Titans, the original Mighty Joe Young and Jason and the Argonauts (my favorite film on the subject of Greek mythology.) Aside from the first one, they basically sucked but the effects and art direction were a real visual treat and inspiring in a way.

Christmas is coming up but I'm more interested in upcoming films and projects. I start classes again in early January with a lot of "hands on" courses coming my way. It's been great getting the opportunity to make video projects for school again, good times.

Shocktober 09'

I just wanted to do a new post here because I'm tired of seeing that "Tough Times" post title on the sidebar over at DaMorgue. It just bums me out being reminded of that tough time before my dad passed away and although it's still "tough times" more or less, I've been doing okay. Things have returned to normality, at least much as there going to and I'm feeling fine. I'm back to my studies and really enjoying my Video Foundations class, I should probably have my first video for the class made by the end of next week, so that's exciting.

I was talking to Sean and Colin not that long ago and I think I've decided to join the Netflix club and open an account soon. I've been enjoying a lot of good horror movies lately and I'd like to see that continue through a little of November. Getting in the mood for Halloween came a little late this year but I'm definitely feeling it now. Watching the World Series is probably the only non-horror activity I've been doing lately, go Phillies by the way.

Tomorrow, or should I say today is Halloween but I'll probably just take it slow. Watch a few movies, carve a pumpkin, eat some candy, etc... Well that's it for now and I'll see ya when I see ya, happy haunting.

Tough Times

Tough times have hit the family again as my dad is once again in the hospital. It's all so confusing and stressful right now but from what I understand he got a staff infection and has very serious blood clotting and his kidneys aren't properly functioning (This is all related to his surgery back in April.) There's far more too it but I have trouble understanding it myself, I'm not even sure if everything I just said made any sense. He's been in the critical care ward of Evergreen hospital since monday and no one has any idea how it could turn out. It hasn't gotten any worse since he was taken in but if he can't get healthy enough for another surgery enough, through antibiotics, he won't make it. All I and my family can do now is to hope for the best.

Zeptember (Like Led Zeppelin)

Howdy everyone, here's what I suppose has become my monthly update. So I just started classes recently and everything looks to be promising. I finally have a hands on video production class which looks like fun. Though it's weird cause a bunch of people who introduced themselves were all like 'Yeah I used to do commercials for some company." Hmm, "Then why are you in this class?" I ask. It doesn't make sense it's like a beginner class. I guess people just like to exaggerate I was just like "I make stupid Youtube" videos and then the teacher said "Have I had you before?" and I replied "No but apparently I look like a lot of people" that got a good laugh, I'm awesome. Unfortunately my other two classes are online because that's the only form their offered in and they're required for my degree. Sometimes I wonder if technology is ruining some of the social aspects of education.


I got my work schedule perfectly balanced with my classes so although I'm busy I got it all in check. My free time has mostly been made up of watching all the various TV shows I've purchased recently. This includes; season 1 and 2 of Flight of the Conchords, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 4 and Dexter: Season 2 which now my whole family is obsessed with or "all about" if you will. My dad and I are pretty wrapped up in it right now. Combine that with all the new fall shows on NBC and HBO (I'll elaborate shortly) and it's been crazy keeping up with everything.


So like I said my dad recently purchased HBO for the sole purpose of Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was awesome seeing a brand new episode on it's premiere showing but aside from that HBO is not worth it at all. The other show to premiere was Bored to Death with Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galfianakis (okay but not particularly interesting) and then they just replay Entourage and a bunch of crappy movies over and over again.

I'm getting pumped for some of the upcoming movie and music releases and well... I guess that's everything I feel like reporting as of this moment. See you all in the funny pages, Otteni out.

August Rush

It's been like a million years since I last poster here, so here's one of my typical update posts. (In time I'll also review my latest sega genesis purchases as well). So I've been working at PETCO for a little over a month now and that's been going quite smoothly. It can be pretty demanding with all the duties like; cashiering, restocking, taking care of all the animals, bagging crickets, cleaning and assembling cages, tuesday and thursday night freight and all the other small jobs, but at least I can say there's never a dull moment. I'm learning a lot anyways but I mostly prefer just working the front register and occasionally "closing" animals, you know like feeding them as the store closes. I'm not really too interested in talking about right now but you get the idea, seems like a pretty good first job and hopefully it'll give me plenty of diverse work experience, hurray!

I'm currently registering for what I hope is my last year at BCC, now officially Bellevue College according to the latest packet I got, so let's hope I can get enough credits for my associates. After that I still plan to transfer somewhere else for an additional two years or so to finish off my next degree. I've got a few ideas for different schools and talked to BCC counselors but I'll wait till I'm sure of something before I divulge any info, it seems very possible that I can finish my education in state.

Been pretty bored with a lot of the music and current movies I've been checking out lately, though I have high hopes for District 9. Seems like there might be some good stuff coming out next month with a new Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying, a new workplace comedy from Mike Judge Extract and that quirky looking new Matt Damon/Steven Soderbergh film The Informant!, so hopefully they'll be something good out of those. I'm still waiting for an album I can really embrace this year but who knows what's coming and when. Jet has a new album coming out next week but I'm keeping my expectations low due to the lameness of the lead off single. Lately I've mostly been listening to some older 70s bands again like The Raspberries, not to mention I've been revisiting the music of the Fab Four once again for you know what, awesome.

Still hope to get in a few more shorts and video productions before the end of summer. AJ and I are going to be working on a faux horror movie trailer he's been wanting to do for a while. I've been pretty much putting it off but we brainstormed a few weeks back and I think it could be very funny. We might film some stuff this Saturday if anyone's interested.

That's all I got for now folks, so just keep on keepin' on, Ottteni out.

John's Video Game Vault

Not a lot of "post worthy" things going on in my life lately, so here's something completely different. Recently Sean and I picked up some old video games at "Amazing Heroes" in Totem Lake. Always a fun place to visit, I myself picked up three genesis games for the fair price of 16 bucks. So I figured it might be fun to share my latest vintage gaming experience. Hey who knows? Maybe if I head back to that shop sometime soon this could be an occasional recurring feature, much in the same vain as Sean's "The Stack". I don't know what I'll call mine, maybe just the uninspired "Video Game Vault" any how let's make it happen.


VR Troopers (1995)
The Scoop: Based on the Power Rangers wannabe TV show, VR Troopers is your typical fighting game. You play as any of the three Troopers as you go from monster to monster in order to escape Grimlord's virtual world.

Why?: I picked up this cheap little piece of crap just for a laugh. Of course I didn't actually know it was gonna be a piece of crap but I figured it would be kind of funny to own a copy of a game based off of a campy 90s TV show.

Pros: Uhh... The graphics aren't bad and there are some pretty amusing visuals. There's this one guy who debriefs your missions who looks like a retarded Larry Wilmore (pictured at the top), that's kind of funny.

Cons: Let's see, how about it's difficulty? I played on easy and couldn't even get pass the first monster. I mean if you fall down at the edge of the screen you're basically dead. Time after time I'd fall down and than continually get kicked and kicked until death, without a good opportunity to get back up. I mean this is easy mode and this guy couldn't be more aggressive. Aside from the annoying difficulty, there's the repetitive gameplay and lack of playable characters. Thank god there's a "Kids" mode for losers like me or I would of never played this for longer than five minutes.


Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (1994)
The Scoop: An action packed sidescroller where you can take on the role of either a weapon clad Alan Grant or a viscous Velociraptor. I'm not entirely sure what the game is about but basically this is a whole lot a shooting and killing dinosaurs and pissed off guys shooting at you.

Why?: I had vague memories of playing this many years ago and enjoying it. Plus, I figured I'd probably have more fun being that I'm definitely better at video games than I once was... I beat it as Grant in like 40 minutes a few days ago.

Pros: Colorful graphics and unique gameplay. Playing as Grant is a blast with all the various weapons and features (such as missions involving riding a speeding boat or a live gallimimus) and though the raptor isn't half as entertaining, it's kind of a nice bonus.

Cons: Playing as the raptor isn't half as satisfying as blowing guys away with a rocket launcher or flame thrower. The raptor's limited attack range as well makes combat far more difficult (it basically just bites and kicks, no tail.) Though I imagine it just takes more practice to get that character down, so it's not too bad.


Superman (1992)
The Scoop: Some super-villain is wreaking havoc on Metropolis... Braniac maybe? There's certainly a lot of robots and it's all up to the man of steel to save the day.

Why?: Of course I knew that Superman was infamous for having bad games but I'd never heard of this one. Staring at the colorful comic book artwork on the cartridge I just had to have it. This one really was more of a curiosity than anything else and hey, it turns out it's somewhat of a collector's item.

Pros: The graphics are umm... Fine I guess.

Cons: Oh my god this game is so hard! You'd expect Superman could take down anyone but I'm yet to even beat the first level. I could try a little harder but frankly I just don't care. You have limited powers (No flying here), it's repetitive, I have no idea what's going and if you die once you have to start from the beginning. They're just trying to piss me off aren't they?

In conclusion, not some of the best purchases but still kind of a fun stroll down 16 bit memory lane. Hopefully I'll be more careful next time, I have my eyes on the Batman movie game and maybe even some Power Rangers? We'll just have to wait and find out.