3/2 - Richard Pryor Said It Better
Hey, friends! How have you been? I'm just going to put this on the table, face down, and then slide it over to you. It's your choice whether or not to pick it up, but spoiler alert, Special Edition 48 : Requiem for a Mana Mystery is on the other side. For those of you on mobile, you can watch in YouTube here.
Maybe some explanation is in order? Well, over at Final Fantasy Brave Exvius they're throwing a bunch of your favorite Final Fantasy characters into a blender, and pulsing them into an aromatic smoothie. There is an original story that loosely integrates all the characters across the Final Fantasy games and it's kind of fun. There is an element of gambling and collecting involved, so stay away if those are red flags for you. Recently, they held a Mana Mystery event in which you could partake in a series of boss fights from Secret of Mana, collect some SoM items and the three main characters from SoM (which they mistakenly misnamed. Don't hold that against them). It was great to see the trio brought to life in a new way, although it was short-lived. It did inspire me to create the above episode, so there's that.
8/7 - Go, Go Piggy, Go!
Aww, jeez, you guys never cease to amaze me and touch my heart. Two people up and donated in the past month clear out of the blue. I not only need to write them some really amazing thank you letters, but I need to update some content for them. I'll try to put a new episode down by Wednesday of next week. Thank you out there to anyone and everyone who reads, watches, and cares. Thanks, you guys make it worthwhile.
Also, if you're a fan of Futurama and Chrono Trigger, check this out.
5/15 - Happy Ten Year Anniversary!
10 years ago today on May 15th, 2002, after purchasing a domain name and some server space, I posted the first episode of what would become the Secret of Mana Theater that you see today. To commemorate that moment, I give you Special Edition 47 : Ten Years In The Making which I hope you will find captures the spirit, the heart, the soul, and the very essence of everything that Secret of Mana Theater is.
The truth is I never could have imagined what a journey this goofy little animated comic would take me on. I've traveled around the United States for conventions, I've talked to people from foreign countries, and touched the lives, hearts, and funny bones of people from all walks of life. I've created shirts, DVDs, posters, and I've seen my characters make people laugh and cry. All this because I decided to sit down one day and mess around with some video game sprites in Flash. In the span of the last ten years, it has been an amazing series of events. While I lament that the last 5 years has brought only a scant amount of new content, I've come to realize that SoMT is really my life's work. It's a huge part of my life and my history and this comic will always be a labor of love.
Most importantly, I couldn't have this monument without the people who watched it, read it, commented in the forums, or otherwise took part in some way. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, for being a part of SoMT and making it a small part of your lives.
5/3 - Can't Find Believe In My Own Comic
Short update with Episode 306 : Inferior Superior. I posted earlier today about Lizz and the Timo(r)thy and Elliot comics on the Facebook group so please read that and check that out. The most important thing to me is making sure people see the new stuff when I put it out there, so I would be eternally grateful if you guys would be so kind as to retweet and repost the update to share with your friends and other SoMT fans. Thanks all.
5/2 - Either Pronounciation Is Correct
Thanks to Lizz, the current existing batch of Timo(r)thy and Elliot panel comics have been posted to the Facebook group so I highly recommend you check those out and give her some mad love for that. Or nice love, whatever you have to spare. She is going to be taking the helm for those from here on out and together we'll hopefully get that story fully played out and finished. Eventually, when I have time to add to the site a bit, they will be available here as well but I have no idea when that will be done. I'm very excited about where those panel comics are going and where the SoMT story is going. More excited than I have been in a very long time. I have so much love for this project it's overwhelming some times.
4/25 - Stuff Continues To Happen
Firstly, here is Episode 305 : Dirty Tunnel dedicated to Jennifer L. who said "Dragons. When in doubt, go with dragons." So that's a thing I did. Most of the latest news and information happens on the Secret of Mana Theater Facebook page so pop over there if you're interested.
In music news, this is the best Queen inspired comic turned into a video of the song that inspired it. Recursion and all that. I only wish it accompanied the whole song. And if you love Queen, and honestly, why wouldn't you, do yourself a favor and don't watch American Idol tonight. It's just... it's very sad. I refuse to watch the show myself, but it was on in the background while I crafted 305 so I couldn't help but have my spirit broken repeatedly. In personal news, I've been kind of drooling over the Alien Conquest line of Lego sets lately. I really dig the kind of 1950's sci-fi alien invasion vibe they're laying down and it really makes me wish I had $200 burning a hole in my pocket. And some shelf space. It's the same reason I loved Destroy All Humans! too. Either way, it will have to do until officially licensed Futurama sets becomes a reality. By the way world, MAKE THAT A REALITY ALREADY.
3/28 - The Onomatopoeia For Dust Blowing?
FOOOOFFFFF!
Hi everybody. I just thought I would drop off Episode 304 : Nobody Loves Jema because that is what I did today. I also learned that Adobe Flash in CS 5.5 now has an autosave feature. If you ever read the rantings I've left on here a long time ago, this has long been been the bane of my existence. I have lost entire episodes before and had to redo them from scratch because Flash crashed on me. Granted, it is partially my fault for not saving as often as I should have, but even when I do remember it doesn't always work out so well. I get this creative tunnel vision and I might still end up losing an hour. Fortunately, I might never have that problem again. Thanks Adobe. <3.
I can't promise I'll have too many more episodes made in the future, even though I have plenty of scripts for them. Baldur's Gate is making a come back and the first time it consumed me like a red dragon might consume a miniature giant space hamster.
12/21 - SO VERY EXCITED!
HOLY HOLY HOLY MONKEYS, PEOPLE! Check this out! Watch the trailer! The in-game graphics revamped... which I have mixed feelings about, but it looks amazing! Does anyone have this yet!? How is it? Almost makes me want an iPhone! I mean, not really, I hate Apple's phones, Droid all the way, but wow! I hesitated for a second! Nothing has made me do that!
Quick note on the comic, With work, the holidays, World of Warcraft, being sick, and my editor MIA, I've had to put the comic on the back burner, but we'll be back in business by early to mid January. Thanks for your patience and have a great holiday people!
12/7 - Hairy Pawter. See What I Did There?
Not going to spend too much time talking today. As you may already know, Cataclysm is out today and it's my day off from work. I also have holiday shopping and various other errands to run today, including shipping out some DVDs! So without further delay, here is Episode 303 : Pot Head submitted for your amusement.
12/2 - "That Witch Killed Me On Purpose"
Holy monkeys! Hard to believe it's December already. Seems like I just picked this site up a month ago, but it was actually back in mid-July! Where does the time go...
On that note, sorry, friends. Between work, life, school, and WoW this week, I haven't been able to finish this week's episode. Instead of trying to cram it in at the last minute and rushing it, I'd rather take my time, finish it this weekend, and have it for you next week. Just wanted to give you a heads up.
I finally got a chance to play the new version of Clue with a few family members over Thanksgiving. The new additions and rules certainly make things more interesting. I wouldn't say that one is necessarily better than the other, but I will say this. The changes certainly give the game a higher replay value since there are some different ways to lose which makes things a bit more tense. Overall, I'd say if you were a fan of the old game, pick up the new one. If you don't like it, you can still play the game the old way.
11/24 - Flight Requirements? A CD Key...
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
The nice thing about losing all my weapons, money, and ... well clothes in World of Warcraft, is that it's given me a chance to really appreciate all the changes this patch has brought. Being naked leaves me pretty much free of obligation (... and pants...) to explore and enjoy all the new scenery. I hope someone is doing a point by point comparison with graphics. That would be quite a neat project to see. It's too bad WoW players aren't OCD enough to do something like that. Haa haa! By Friday, I'm sure.
I know it seems like a silly point to complain about, but the number one thing I don't like about the new changes? The structures. Ok, the wide spread destruction? Bam, happens during the course of the cinematic. Lands are torn asunder, zones are flooded, blah blah blah. But all of a sudden there are new cities popping up? That didn't happen during the cinematic! That giant goblin faced rocket launcher f--kin thingamajig didn't just spring up between Monday night and Tuesday night when I logged on again! I don't see how Deathwing sprung from the depths and... what? Built Bilgewater Harbor? He's all, "PAIN. AGONY. REVENGE. SOME INTERESTING ARCHITECTURE TO PEPPER THE LANDSCAPE."
Yes, I know exactly what I sound like. No need to point it out to me.
11/22 - Naked Dailys Really Suck
Started downloading that patch to 4.0.0 for World of Warcraft last Tuesday around noon. It didn't finish downloading until Thursday night! Then of course, it had to apply and patch that 4.7 gigs of data... so WoW wasn't ready to go until Friday morning. Of course, I had to work a full shift open to close that day. Then I was occupied with real life stuff that evening followed by work and more real life stuff on Saturday, so it wasnt until Sunday I finally got a chance to sit down with WoW... and remember that my account was hacked back in May and all my characters were as naked as the day they were rolled! (Anyone on Alleria want to donate some gold or mats to me?)
Now, as I sit here and upload Episode 302 : So Flaming It Hurts, which is a stellar episode by the way, I'm really proud of it, the cataclysm is happening. Don't know what I'm talking about? I read this article slash interview last night which kind of gives you an idea what's going on.
I started playing a little less than three years ago. And in that time I have spent months at a time away from the game, probably a year and a half cumulatively. Basically I cut my teeth on the first expansion, and after playing for a year, the second expansion. I never really spent a lot of time in the "old World," the part of the game receiving all these updates. That old world was around for FOUR YEARS before I came along so I never spent much time there like the veterans did. Some of them were pretty upset and I was too a little bit when the cataclysm changes were announced. I had my heart set on going back and exploring all those old zones just to see what they were like before they went away. I never did though, so I guess I can't complain too much about the content I didn't see. I had over a year to do some site seeing. Still, I wish there was a way to go back once in a while, see things the way they used to be. Oh, well. No looking back. Here's to the future!
By the way, want to know what I love more than the screaming baby next door? ... NOTHING. IT'S THE BEST THING EVER. Keep screaming, babeh... I'm reloading.
11/16 - It's Worse Than Grinding
So here I am, 9 hours later, downloading World of Warcraft patch 3.3.x to 4.0.0 at 57% of 4.7GB with an estimated 6 to 10 hours left to go. Why is my download moving slower than Nintendo into the HD market? I'm not sure. I have my firewall configured properly. I have no other tasks running (and even if I did, I'm not throttling my download), and I know I have a good connection speed. I can only assume, since it's not patch day, there aren't very many peers out there sharing the file. So much for getting back into the swing of things on my day off this week.
11/16 - AWWWWOOOOOO!
As soon as I upload Episode 301 : Empirical Spies, I'm settling in to start up World of Warcraft again. I'm sure I have about an hour of patches waiting for me... but I'm very excited for the new expansion!
Anyone else excited to be a werewolf?
11/14 - Lest We Forget, Kuribo's Shoe
Ok, I must admit I was wrong on that one. I expected a cease and desist order, the video yanked from YouTube, a cry of foul play by rom hack enthusiasts, and Nintendo to wave its giant reproductive organ in our faces about how blah blah blah is wrong, and we're right because we're f--king Nintendo in another episode of ruthless anti-goodwill sentimentality that must either be endured or forgotten. I mean, they shut down Pokèmon fan sites for posting screenshots of Pokèmon Black & White. Screenshots! What gives here, Nintendo? Are you inconsistent or just not omnipotent? I suppose I could hack Pokèmon Black and White until I'm... (wait for it)... black and blue so long as I don't post screenshots of the original?
Ultimately, I'm not really complaining. While this rom hack is kind of fun, it ultimately lacks that which made SMB3 overwhelmingly amazing in my eyes; getting a little tail.
11/12 - Shh...
This is all I have to say about that.
Move along, people, nothing to see here.
11/10 - I'll Miss The Old World, Honestly
Can someone explain to me why exactly the Digital Download of Cataclysm is the same price as the copy one would buy online or in a store? I mean, the production cost is the same right? Except there is no box, no manual, no printing... Wouldn't that count for something?
Although, I suppose that the box and manual still had to be designed. Come on, though! What about $35.99?
11/8 - Oh, Frabjous Day!
At long last, a monumental occasion is upon us! I have reached another meaningless milestone in the life of this comic! Three. Hundred. Episodes. If each episode were one minute long, that would be five hours of stuff to watch! And most episodes are longer than that! It wasn't easy, but I planned and plotted out the story so that that 300 would happen right at the pinnacle of narrative intrigue! So without further delay, here is the exciting Episode 300 : It All Comes Down To This! I hope you enjoy it! It is hands down one of my favorites. :)
11/2 - I Am A Bit Upset
It's no secret that in December of 2009 I was admitted to the ER.
As of today, November 2nd, the table tennis game of peyment for services rendered that is being played resulting from that visit is as of yet, still unresolved. On one side of the table, you have the hospital, and their billing department. On the other, you have the insurance company and the claims department. I am but the ball in the middle being bandied about back and forth. Both sides of the table have sent numerous letters to me, all of which have been handled by me with due diligence. I have responded to surprise bills from the hospital by calling their billing department and assured that they would take care of the issue. I have responded to information requests from my insurance carrier, assuming each time this was the last piece of information they needed to finish processing my claim.
As I approach the one year anniverasry of my hospital visit, with my final bill to be resolved in the next 10 to 15 business days (miracles withstanding), I can't help but be utterly astonished by the realization that I have been battling with these two organizations for over 11 months.
Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with this picture? How do we fix this system? And after some of the horror stories I have heard from other people, this is not entirely unique to me. It almost makes me want to avoid seeking medical treatment.