Blog

I had the pleasure of interviewing Hinako Takanaga at this year's YaoiCon and have posted part one of the three part interview on my site. I will post parts two and three over the next week or two. Stop by, say hi to Sensei and I hope you enjoy!

Hey guys. I just wanted to pop by to say to my regular readers (and to anyone else who may casually read these blogs) that I won't be doing an April blog. I've got wayyyyy too much going on academically as the end of the semester is rapidly approaching. I will, however, have a surprise for you guys in mid-May. Should be a good month of blogging and a side project I'm going to be working on.

I'll catch you guys later, and feel free to contact me. All my contact information is in the forum member page!

May's blog will be two-fold. A blog on bentos and a blog on said project which I've been talking about ad nauseum with MikoDragonfly! If that doesn't give you a hint, it's writing-related!

So to all of you who are students, push 'til the end! And to all of you in the real world... I'm sorry.

I’ll preface this blog with a story: As a motivated university student with a twenty-five year old brother who barely got through high school, one of the only ways he and I can bond is through video games. When I was five, and he was ten, I got my first console from him. It was a twofer, actually. I received both a chunky, gray gameboy (the original) and his old SNES. He had just gotten a Playstation, if I remember correctly. It was through him that I learned about Mario and Link and Contra. As we grew up, I remember learning about the finer points of stealth action games such as Metal Gear Solid, even though I was far too young for it. And ah, the joys of watching prostitution in Grand Theft Auto before I had even hit puberty still haunt me. When he hit eighteen years old, he stopped playing games. I continued buying consoles and games as I do today. For him, it was just a “boys will be boys” phase, and for me, it’s one of the most important things in my life.

However, when I see him, I still bond by letting him play games I think he might like. He’ll occasionally beat a game, about five a year. He’s playing Final Fantasy XIII right now, and before that, he beat Prototype. He plays WoW, but I don’t count that as serious gaming. Nevertheless, one of the things we both enjoy together is a casual game: Guitar Hero.

It was a few days ago when my brother and I were playing Guitar Hero 5 together that an interesting thing happened. I play on expert. I’m not sure if this has to do with the fact that I’m a classically-trained guitar player and brass-instrument musician, and I’m naturally inclined to do better, or if it’s the fact that my fingers are nimble from my years of video gaming. Either way, I play expert, and he usually plays on medium.

I was taking an ice cream break and sat down as I watched him attempt a song (I don’t remember what it was) on hard. He got frustrated and messed up. This sight of getting frustrated at a video game got me, as a gamer, thoroughly amused. Naturally, because of the type of relationship my brother and I have, I said, “FAILBOAT! LOLOLOL! What a casual.”

Because of how frustrated he was, he got up, slammed down the guitar, and screamed, “WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?! If I wanted your opinion, I would’ve asked for it!” and started to walk away. Normally, a comment like this would have caused him to smile and strike back. Instead, he was seriously pissed off.

As he was walking away, I said, “YOU MADDDD!” and then yelled, “RAAAAGEQUIT” as he walked out the door.

Yes, I’m a troll. But this point has a story. I mean… this story has a point. You cannot get to a place where something as casual as video gaming gets you so angry. So, here are my tips on how to avoid ragequitting:

1. Remember that this is a video game you’re playing. It doesn’t matter if you play 50 hours a week on your level 80 tankadin, if you play Team Fortress 2 early into the morning, or if your idea of gaming is Peggle. The one thing all gamers, from hardcore to casual and everything in-between, have in common is that they’re playing an interactive fictional story which has little-to-no impact on their everyday lives. The game isn’t real.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Yeah, I, myself, spend between 10-25 hours a week playing video games, but do I think I’m the ultimate gamer, a gift of the Gods? No. Why? Because I know that in the end, all I’m doing is sitting in front of a screen playing a game. You can tease people in good fun, but don’t take it too seriously. If you take yourself seriously, it’s the beginning of the end.
3. Get a life. I’m not trolling here either. Yeah, I spent a lot of time a week gaming, but I also go out at least 2-3 days a week, manage to get all my homework done, and I read and write just as much as I game. And if I get inspiration to write, if I’m reading a really good book, or if I have a lot of homework, I sometimes won’t game at all. Last semester, I went a month without picking up a controller. It happens, and if it doesn’t happen, then it’s probably a sign of addiction. You need to be able to put down the controller and step outside.
4. Try renting games. I’m not a fan of renting anymore, but there was a point in my life when I’d rent a game so that I knew I could only play it a certain amount. I rented Grand Theft Auto 3 when it first came out and returned it after two days. I didn’t pick it up again and buy it until a few months later when a break rolled again. It might be a strategy that works for you.
5. Just don’t get addicted. It’s the people who get addicted to video games that have superiority complexes and get really upset. If you think you’re addicted, test it out. Can you go a few weeks without playing something? If you can’t, have a friend hold onto your console until you get your life on track. Chances are, if you’re addicted, your real life could probably be in better shape.

In conclusion, don’t be like my brother. Have fun with life, and don’t let something that’s supposed to be fun get you down.

Note: It’s a little late, but it happens. I had a lot going on in my personal and academic lives in March. Comments, questions, suggestions for articles go here! As always, I’ll respond back!

There has been a TON of news since I last posted so I'm just going to list it with links to my site where you can find all the information. Here we go!

First, it was announced earlier today that June will be publishing Ayano Yamane's Viewfinder Series! *dies* Here's the press release.

Second, if you didn't already hear, Ayano Yamane is the official guest for YaoiCon this year! Yay!!! *dies again*

Christopher Handley was finally sentenced and his attorney emailed me with his feelings regarding the trial AND mentions yaoi specifically! READ THIS!!!

Media Blasters (Kitty Media) has laid off some of its employees and it appears one of their upcoming titles will now be delayed.

Some news on Breath Volume 5.

Is Aurora (Deux Press) quietly shutting down?

The new Hetalia movie finally gets a title.

A place to find tons of yaoi webcomics for free!

I picked a winner for my website banner contest (top of site) and here are the runners up who will be featured later.

Here are the three winners of my Starfighter fan art contest.

Last but not least, here is the winning AMV for my Valentine's Day themed AMV contest:

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