Animated Diction

Motivation

2012-01-09T22:08:00.000-08:00

So I'm not gonna' beat around the bush; over the years I have gotten fatter. Don't get me wrong, I've always been a husky guy, but these past few years here in Sacramento have caused me to balloon in size! Now yes, I'm extremely self conscious about this, but no, I'm not going to pretend it's not an issue.

I know over the past few years I have steadily gained weight. It's not because I have a gland issue, it's not because of a million other excuses, but it's the combination of using the excuse that I'm busy in other aspects of life and becoming more and more sedentary. I was looking at photos taken of me this past Christmas break and holy crap I need to get up and work out.

I think that's what's wrong with people and weight. Too often, we pretend that it's not a problem, and we let ourselves fall into the mindset of saying "I'll workout tomorrow." Well, tomorrow keeps happening, and soon enough you gain like 50+ lbs. Looking at my pictures of just three years ago I can definitely tell that I've let myself go.

So why am I wasting breath writing this as a post? Well, in one way it helps motivate me. I finally dragged myself to the gym today after a plethora of excuses and I guess me posting this is a way to keep myself reminded that I need to keep it up to get results. Unlike the typical person who thinks that they can't change, I've done it before; I have successfully lost a lot of weight by merely pushing myself to the gym everyday and I know I can do it again, but I just need to stay motivated.

Yeah, I know we always come up with these resolutions to lose weight at the beginning of the year and by mid February (if we're lucky to even make it that far) we pretty much have given up on upholding them but to that I say this:

Why does it have to be a resolution? Why not just make it a lifestyle? Hell, I may just fail at continually going to the gym after today, but what counts is I went today.

And that's a start.

Two Years Later . . .

2012-01-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

So the last time I wrote anything on this blog, it was 2010 and I was smack dab in the middle of finishing college. I was still unsure as to what I wanted to do in life, but I had an inkling that I wanted to venture into education. Also, the last time I had posted, my lovely car had just been stolen outside of my apartment complex. Ironically, about 3 weeks later, my old Nissan pathfinder was found and I still have her to this this day (although my fiancé' is using her now.) Anyways, a lot has changed since I last posted; most significantly, I have become a high school English teacher. It still really weirds me out to say that out loud. I am 24 years old and as a career, I educate the youth of America.

Hoo boy.

Anyways, I have really been slacking for the past few years in all other aspects of my life aside from my career. While I do agree that it is actually a good thing to be young and have a semi-decent career laid out for me (more on that later), I regret not keeping on the other projects that I’ve always wanted to commit to. I created this blog, Animated Diction, with the idea of launching a hub where I could:

A) Post about my thoughts of life in general

B) Post web comics and artwork that I create

C) Review various video games or forms of media that I enjoy

Seeing as it’s not 2012 and we’re all supposedly going to go out in a ball of fire and brimstone this December (bring it on baby!), I figure it would be good to sit down and breathe life into my dead blog once again. Will I continue with this endeavor? Perhaps. Will anyone actually read this? Who knows? Will I feel accomplished for attempting to do something I’ve always wanted to commit to?

Definitely.

Stay classy baby.

-JC

A Fourth of the Way:

2010-03-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Alright, so as of the writing of this blog, we are about halfway through March and yes, it's been quite sometime since I wrote anything here! That being said, I make my return into blogging with this post about 1/4ths of the way through the year. if I can recall correctly, my last blog post talked about how 2010 is going to be the year of all years and how it was going to be a good one. Now before I dive into that statement I made in more depth here in retrospect, it would probably be proper for me to fill everyone in on a little background information as to what's been going on with me this year so far:

My car got stolen.

Yes, friends, you're reading that right, my baby 1994 Nissan Pathfinder got stolen at the end of February and as the days went by I never thought I'd see it again. Instead, however, of drowning in despair and feeling like it was the end of the world (because believe me that thing has quite a sentimental attachment to me) I decided to be optimistic about things and look at the brighter side of reality. After a week and a half of not getting anything from the police, I went car hunting and by the end of the second week I had a brand new 1996 Nissan Pathfinder (what can I say? I like the brand and model). The point though is that I remained optimistic and decided that maybe getting a new car would be for the better.

A good month had passed since my old faithful car was stolen and I've become accustomed to her new replacement, (whom I properly named Norman) Suddenly out of the blue, I get a phone call from the California highway patrol and guess what?

Yep. They found my old car.

Luckily it was actually in good condition when they found it. Ironically enough, they had found it abandoned about 5 minutes away from my apartment complex (where it originally got stolen from) and when I went to the tow-yard to pick it up, aside from the interior being rummaged through and all sorts of my papers and junk thrown about, the car runs exactly like I remember it.

The point of this blog entry?

You make reality what you want it to be. I'm still determined to have the most amazing year ever and even with the slight setback of having to buy a new car and losing a good chunk of money from getting my car stolen and then retrieved, I'm optimistic and in good spirits.

Like Tupac Shakur once said:
"You gotta' keep your head up"

-John

Maybe I'm a Lion:

2010-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

End of Year Thoughts

2009-12-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

So 2009 is pretty much coming to a close with just about a week left in the year, so I thought I would post my thoughts looking back. I think that 2009 for me personally was something that I had to learn from. Tons of attributes in my life have changed for better or worse and that's just a part of growing up and progressing through the future. I'll admit that this year wasn't so much one of my better ones, but I still appreciate all of the insight I have gained into life this year. The year, however, is ending with a bang for me as thing's are looking up, which leaves more than optimistic for 2010. Speaking of 2010, next year marks 5 years since I've graduated high school! Kinda' crazy to see that my class has hit the half way mark towards the 10-year reunion.

Although many things have happened throughout this year, I can't help but feel like next year will be so much better. I'll be graduating (hopefully) with a Bachelor's degree in English and starting my teaching credential training in August (again, hopefully). Aside from that, I'm EXTREMELY excited that I'll be opening up a whole lot of time for my social life. I've been thinking that since moving down here to Sacramento, I've limited myself in terms of socialization because of things like full time school and working two jobs, but next year I really want to make an effort to socialize a little bit more and get in touch with some friends that I've kinda' distanced myself a bit from. Although 2009 has brought an end to many things, especially one so-called "friendship" of mine, 2010 is looking promising for new opportunities and memories.

So here's to the end of 2009, everyone have a great holiday season, and let's make 2010 even better.

-John

Samurai Burst- Hayato

2009-12-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

Quick Character Design:

New Super Mario Bros Wii Review:

2009-11-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

So lately I've been adventuring with lovable ole' Italian plumber Mario to once again save princess Peach. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a pretty fun game so I think I'll review it with this blog post.

WHAT I LIKED:
-Nintendo really put in a lot of classic elements! For example, yoshi's are once again ridable and are found throughout the game. The Koopalings make a welcomed return as well!

-The ability to play multiplayer TOGETHER through the game! This was by far the coolest aspect of NSMBW and is pretty much what pushed me to buy it. Grab a controller as you and 3 other buddies blast through classic Mario gameplay.

-Challenging and fun levels. Once again Mario gets a good game chock full of twists and turns that will make even veteran Mario players work for the gold.

WHAT I DISLIKED:

-First player ALWAYS has to be Mario. So you can't play single player mode as anyone but Mario, good for traditionalists, but I really prefer playing as Luigi, so yeah that bothered me. I mean I love Mario, but why tease us with the other characters if you can only use him by yourself.

-You can't keep Yoshi's you find. So basically, if you finish a level and make it to the flagpole with a Yoshi, Mario automatically disembarks off of Yoshi and they wave goodbye to each other. Wtf? SMW let you keep them! LAME. Furthermore, each Yoshi has the exact same skills. I really miss how different color Yoshis had different skills. I mean come on! Blue flying Yoshi was sweet.

-The power-ups are cool, but I wish they would've kept a few more old ones like the Mario cape. The closest thing we get in NSMBW is the properller suit which works, but doesn't give you much distance and at times can be non responsive unless you're really shaking the wiimote. They've implemented the ability to use extra power-ups you've collected outside on the world map a la Super Mario Bros 3, but you can't use them in the middle of the level if you need them which was also kinda' disappointing.

-This one is debatable, but I didn't like how the two toads were players 3 and 4. I mean I really think that Nintendo could've used . . . oh I dunno' . . . Wario and Waluigi? I mean they used Wario in Super Mario 64 DS, so why not here? Oh well, the two toads work I guess.

-This one is a double edged sword: Pushing the "A" button on the wiimote during multiplayer will put you in a bubble where you float through the stage safely while the other players finish the level (unless you get touched by them which pops you out of the bubble) This is a cool feature when you have players playing together that are of different skill (my girlfriend uses it when she can't get passed something but I can) but there have been a plethora of times where I've accidentally pressed it as well and put myself in a bubble at the same time. Y'see in this game if everyone goes into their bubble, it's the equivalent of forfeiting the stage and the game sends you back onto the world map. The problem with this is that the "A" button is dangerously close to the D-pad, so when I've tried running really fast or had to move my thumb quickly on the D-pad, I've accidentally "bubbled" myself into forfeiting the stage.

-The speed seems sluggish in the game. It almost feels like past platformer Mario games had Mario walk and run MUCH faster. In this game, it just seems like he's so damn slow. I had to get used to timing his jumps because I felt sluggish controlling him (or any other character).

LAST THOUGHT:
Besides these things I still think that it's a good game and if you like Mario games, don't pass it up; go out and buy it. My girlfriend and I do have a lot of fun playing together, and I'm assuming it's even crazier with 4 players.

Pacman Fever:

2009-11-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure everyone has heard about or seen the amazing fight Manny Pacquiao had with Miguel Cotto on Saturday night . . . but how many of you know that Manny is quite the performer? (actually many of you should know this) So enjoy this video, but let it be known, Mr. Mayweather, the Pacman is coming for you!!!

College is Winding Down:

2009-11-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

Interestingly enough, I am almost done with college here in Sacramento; that is, I'm almost done with my progression with getting my Bachelor's degree. It's kinda' weird that time seems to fly by so quickly. What I find interesting is that it seems almost like yesterday that I was still in high school back at South Tahoe High. I have about a month left of the Fall semester and I get to register for my final semester of classes on November 24th. Kinda' crazy to think that I'll be getting my degree pretty soon. Also coming up, I get to apply to the teaching credential program. I'm excited about that, but also really annoyed at the fact that more than likely, I'm going to have to quit all jobs I have as the program itself is extremely intensive. What I really want to do is go to art school and learn how to become a cartoonist, but I also appreciate being able to take my time and refine the way I draw and create various forms of art. Looking at my friends and classmates that are now spread everywhere in the world, it's kinda' crazy to see how all of us has kinda' gone forward with our life choices. I mean a handful of the kids I went to elementary school with are now parents! To end this post, here's a list of things that I really want to get a jump on to end the year and start the new one:

Go to the gym more actively
Really start a Webcomic Series
Make more art submissions to my Deviantart Account
Do some more work on the video game I've been working with on and off
Post more regularly here
Actually finish the intro to this:

Whattup Dawg:

2009-11-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

So as everyone probably already knows, I own a male pug named Mocchi. I'm beginning to become a real fan of the many different types of dog breeds out thewre, so I decided to share some of my favorite dog breeds. Of course, #1 on my list is a pug:

1) Pug:

Pugs are great companions because they are very affectionate and loyal. There's a common perception that pugs aren't very smart, which I can attest is completely untrue! Pugs are actually a really clever breed that has a TREMENDOUS ammount of energy. The neat thing about this breed is that they're great apartment dogs, needing little exercise. The only bad things is that they are big shedders and are prone to gaining a lot of weight if you don't walk them properly atleast ONCE a day. I really enjoy owning my pug.

2) Boston Terrier:

The Boston Terrier will be the next breed of dog I'll be getting when I can afford the time and space. Known as "The Gentleman" of the dog breeds, the B.T is also a really smart dog. They are really good with the elderly and are popular in the US. I really like this breed because they aren't as stocky as the pug, but they have similar characteristics. Plus, they get along with most other breeds, but I suppose that any breed can get along with proper training.

3) Corgi:

The Corgi (Pembroke Welsh) is a breed that I kinda' began to grow fond of. They have extremely stubby limbs, which is pretty damn cute (but could also theoretically provide problems). This breed in particular is an extremely smart breed that ranks amongst the top 20 breeds. I like this breed because of their unique look and partially because one is featured primarily on Cowboy Bebop.

Various Runner-ups:

(French Bulldog, Siberian Husky, Bulldog)

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T00:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone have a safe and Happy Halloween; my furry crew surely will.

Computer Troubles the Sequel:

2009-10-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

My computer is GAY. Once again, it caught something and I had to completely system restore it. I've been working at it since about 3am and it's about 5 am right now, but I think I've finally got it back to working order. It seems like my computer is just so happy to get infected with all sorts of crap. FUN STUFF! My computer is like a dirty whore. Annnnyyywaayyyys, hopefully this was the last time I'll have to mess with it for awhile. Kinda' makes me hate PC's a little, but I'm still not convinced that Macs are any better.

In other news, my birthday, the big DEUCE DEUCE passed and it was alright. The potential employer I've been interviewing with decides to choose my birthday of all days to tell me that he can't hire me right now because an error in judgment of how many spots he had open on his part. Aside from that B.S, however, everything else went pretty well; the Mrs. surprised me with some decorations in the apartment and I did get a plethora of Happy Birthday wishes on Facebook. Had sushi with my good buddy followed by an hour of reminiscing over old times. Good stuff. I suppose I should end this post with an obligatory picture. Here ya' go:

A Sort of School Shooting & Another Year Older:

2009-10-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

So today there was apparently a "sort of" shooting at the college I go to. What I mean by "sort of" shooting is that it wasn't really anything crazy like a Columbine kind-of-thing; in fact from what I've garnered from the NEWS and NOT from the college itself, is that some guy living at the dorms attacked another dorm guy with a baseball bat and when police came to stop him, he apparently tried jumping at them with a knife so he got shot by the police. Yeaaaahhh. Unfortunately, I'm hearing that the other guy who was the victim of the baseball bat attack ended up dying a little later at the hospital. Extremely unfortunate and sad, and my condolences go out to the families.

Now here's my big problem with this entire situation (aside from the obvious death that took place): I heard about this entire ordeal through word-of-mouth and not the emergency texting system that my school made all of us students sign up for at the beginning of the year. So granted the entire ordeal that took place on campus could have been waaaaayyyy worse, and luckily there weren't massive casualities, WHAT THE HELL WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF IT WERE A BIGGER EMERGENCY?! If a crazed gunman came to my campus and started going off on people, I'm pretty sure I'd want to be notified ASAP and NOT THROUGH WORD-OF-MOUTH IN CLASS!!! Good to see that our tuition money is helping keeping us students safe. On a much lighter note, in about a minute, (which will be midnight Oct 22nd) I'm a year closer to death! High five?

5-Hour CRACK

2009-10-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

So today is another long day on campus chock full of essays, lectures, and everything college related. It's currently raining outside and it looks like it will possibly be doing so throughout the day. I have two major essays due at different parts of the day (which I'm working on as I procrastinate by typing this entry) and a plethora of testing coming up in the next few days. Naturally, I'm feeling like I want to crawl into bed and sleep my ass off. Being the rambunctious young scamp that I am, I ventured into one of the many campus general stores and proceeded to purchase a little bottle of "5-Hour Energy" which cost $3.99 and looked like this:This shit is crack in a bottle. This stuff even has a warning on the label that says "do not take more than 2 bottles in a 24 hour time-span". Holy Jesus. No joke. I am completely and utterly awake, have a million and one thoughts and ideas streaming through my mind and I have a feeling both my pupils are probably dilated. Behind me a fellow student is playing a series of Bob Marley inspired reggae music (whose slow easy going rhythm is ironically contrasting my current existence of high fast paced wired-ness) while the entire common room I am currently in seems to slowly, slowly trickle alive as more and more students begin to arrive.

What's the moral or even point of this post?

5-hour Energy is crack, yet it has done it's job and I'm about to type up my essays. :D

3 Days and 2 Teeth Later

2009-10-18T09:22:00.001-07:00

So last Thursday I had gotten 2 of my wisdom teeth taken out, both which were giving me such great pain over the past few months. The procedure went relatively well and most people are generally surprised that I have no swelling on my face. The reason behind it I suppose, is primarily because both teeth were already erupted, so the dentist only had to pull it straight out. I've experienced minor pain, so they gave me huge bottles of Vicodin and Ibuprofen. Fun stuff.

In other news, I've finally "restored" my computer to a decent working order by performing a system restore. Damn thing apparently had a really bad virus on it and NOTHING I was doing could remove it. So, naturally, I erased the damn thing clean which did manage to get rid of the virus, but now I'm still spending time reinstalling all my little programs. I did manage to save my PORN STASH! >:D (just kidding . . . . sorta' . . .)

And some final news, I'm pretty sure I got the job at Gamestop that I have been interviewed for as of late. The pay probably won't be anything amazing, but hey anything, ANYTHING is better than working for a certain home-decor place that has a extremely random way of distributing hours around. I'm pretty sure I'd fit in at Gamestop a whole lot better anyways.

An Example of a Successful Cultural Movie

2009-10-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm a bit late on the bandwagon here, but I recently just finished watching Slumdog Millionaire and I have to say that I am pretty damn impressed. The story was rather unique and I was intrigued 100% of the time during the movie, which in my honest opinion, is rather hard for me since I seem to become distracted so easily. I like the Romeo & juliet theme going on throughout the film and how it is translated in full effect through the Indian culture and heritage. What blew me away the most is that this is one of those rare films where we get a small glimpse into the heart of a culture. It's definitely something that I find Hollywood struggles with quite a bit, but in S.M, the director captures, or at least it seems like that way to me, the essence of culture in India. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is looking to watch something original and out of the box. Definitely a good rainy day movie, as is the case tonight. As a side note, looks like this movie is a translation of a book . . . . SEE?! EVERYTHING comes from literature. Jesus Christ.

It's Cool to Grow Old

2009-10-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

I've recently taken a step back and looked at the person I've become . . . . and I have to say that it's quite a trip to see how just a mere five years ago I was a young teenage kid barely making my way through high school. The real trip is that I can see how age has progressed from when i was in high school to now. Freakin' crazy! What's interesting to me is that I actually don't mind the onset of age. I actually welcome my later years unlike so many people do. It might sound crazy to other people that I don't mind growing old, but really, it's quite simple. I want to grow into my grandfather, pure and simple. He still lives young at heart but has the experience of a man who has lived through many things. I can't think of anything cooler than to be surrounded by my grandchildren, telling them of my exploits and stories about when I was younger. I mean 50 years from now, this picture of Athena and I that matches this one of my grandparents.

Rocket Science:

2009-10-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

So this pretty much sums up why I chose to become an English major.
You know, it's funny how implicit literature and English in general is in like . . . EVERYTHING. Everything from the movies we watch, to the books we read, even the video games that we play all borrow some sort of element from literature or writing from the past. So the next time I hear someone tell me, "Oh man, I hated English in high school", I think it's safe to say I'm going to give them a swift kick in the shin and tell them to take a closer look at the episodes of Grey's Anatomy they're busy watching and tell me that there's no rising and falling action, and that there's no symbollism at all in any of the character's actions. I mean we all know that the Lion King is a Disney-fied adaptation of Hamlet right? RIGHT?!

Laugh a Little

2009-10-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Alright, aside from all the bullshit that takes place in life, sometimes it helps to step back and enjoy life's funny little wonders. One of these days I'm going to get me this little guy:

Procrastinating with a Boston Terrier

2009-10-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to be writing a 4 page paper for my Advanced Composition class, but alas, instead I provide you with a picture of this awesomely cute Boston Terrier puppy! It is my second favorite breed of dog following Pugs! Needless to say, when the opportunity arises and I have more house space and more funds, this will be the next member of my little family! Here is an actual picture of my two boys, Cheeto (cat) & Mocchi (pug):

Computer Troubles

2009-10-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

Alright, so if I ever get through this ordeal, i swear I am going to invest in a nice external hard drive and back up EVERYTHING regularly. As I type this, I am on my girlfriend's computer trying every method possible to recover my files off of my computer that for whatever reason decided to crash on me this morning. No forewarning or anything, the damn thing just flashed the legendary blue-screen-of-death as I was on Facebook earlier today. What irks me is that i actually have been working on tons of projects, writing, art, etc. that you guessed it, I did not back up. What this means is that of I can't find a way to get into my piece of crap computer, then everything I have worked on throughout summer is GONE! It's safe to say that I sympathize with the person pictured above.

The Roofies Webcomic #1:

2009-10-02T23:22:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I'm not a big fan of roosters. (Click for a full view)

Job Economy Blues

2009-10-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

So apparently, having three associates degrees and a certificate in applied anthropology ISN'T enough qualification to get a job down in Sacramento. I find it humorous that People who don't even try somehow manage to snag well paying jobs, whereas I on the other hand land really cruddy low paying jobs! I suppose things will work themselves out in the long run . . . I mean me going to CSUS and getting a Bachelor's degree should amount to something . . . . right? I hope so, because I have been grossly disenfranchised by Sacramento; I could go on and on about how I've been looking for a job, but I guess everyone has. The next time I see someone complain about petty things like not being able to have their Supercalifragilistic mocchiato from Starbucks hot enough, I will promptly and abruptly kick them in the shin. Anyways, some food for thought:

"Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last." - Hamilton Holt