The Versatile Blogger Award

As you all know, my blog has been around for nearly a year, and I've only done two tags. *dramatic gasp* It's a shame. But luckily, I have been tagged for the Versatile Blogger Award. I can now say that I did three tags for the year I've been in the blogosphere. Such an achievement.

The rules are simple and straight to the point. First, thank the blogger who tagged you. Second, give seven random facts about yourself. Third, tag ten other bloggers of your choice. Easy, right? Yeah, I thought so too. I mean, this post will probably be shorter, but I'll try to make it as entertaining as possible.

So I would like to bestow my thanks upon Blue, who so kindly tagged me. Without you, I wouldn't be standing here today, proud of the fact that I've completed three whole tags in the span of 365 days. To that, I owe you hugely. In fact, you get the credit for any entertainment my audience receives today. *gives everyone a significant look* Got that? Don't thank me; thank the one who tagged me.

All right, let's begin!

#1.

The other day, my sisters and I were biking to go get some ice cream, since it was such a beautiful, hot day. As we're heading to our destination, I got the weirdest, most random idea: I wanted to attempt to take a selfie while riding my bicycle. I don't know why. It was just something I could say I did.

Needless to say, I didn't quite think everything through. We were on a quiet street yes, but what if I had to suddenly brake for a car? That wouldn't have ended well. But when you're in the moment, you don't necessarily think about all these details.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened. I did struggle to put my phone back into my pocket. And the result was better than one might expect. Actually, it's probably one of the best selfies I've taken, despite me intentionally making a strange expression

#2.

Over the past while, I've discovered that I seem to have a lower sweet tolerance than other people. For example, there are some desserts--particularly straight-up chocolate ones--that I find hard to eat. I just don't like eating really sweet desserts. I'd rather have something "milder," if you will, or fruity.

Does this mean I don't like chocolate desserts, or that I can't stand really sweet delicacies? No, that's not the case. It's just not my preference.

#3.

If I counted correctly, at this point in time, I own . . . a lot of soundtracks.

119 of them, to be precise.

I'm, uh, a little surprised by the number. And to think that there's still more I want to get. Yikes . . . I think we can all be in agreement that I'll eventually need a whole room dedicated to my soundtrack collection.

As a side note to this fact, my very first soundtrack I bought was The Dark Knight Rises back in May of 2012 (if I'm not mistaken); my most recent was the extended version of the Infinity War soundtrack just a couple days ago.

#4.

I don't often go to the theater to watch movies, so I believe I can list most, if not all, of the films I did see on the big screen. (The list will not be completely accurate as to the order in which I saw these movies.)

• Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
• Kung Fu Panda
• Up
• Despicable Me 2 (in 3D)
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
• The LEGO Movie
• Beauty and the Beast (2017)
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
• Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Captain America: Civil War
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• The LEGO Batman Movie
• The LEGO Ninjago Movie
• Justice League
• The Death Cure
• Black Panther
• Avengers: Infinity War

I'm pretty sure I got all of them. If I forgot any, they must've not been that great or memorable. I would gladly watch any of these again in the cinema, save for Justice League and maybe Despicable Me 2.

Another side note, because it'd be a very short fact on its own: the first movie that I remember crying while watching was The Grace Card. And now look where I am, crying at the drop of a hat! Not exactly, but you get the idea.

#5.

My first exposure to the Zelda series was Spirit Tracks. My dad works at a car dealership, and he found the game lying around in a trade-in vehicle. He gave it to me, and I hesitantly started playing. I say hesitantly because this was a few years ago, when I was more sensitive about content in games. (Oh boy, does that sound bad?) I'd read the PluggedIn reviews for other Zelda titles, and I was concerned about the spiritual side of things--which was probably very wise of me at the time.

But when I started playing, I was immediately engrossed with the game and fell in love with it. People hate on the Toon Link games, but honestly, I don't know why. Spirit Tracks is not only a great addition to the series, but also one of my favorite DS games. Now I wanna replay it on my 2DS for the good ol' nostalgia.

source

#6.

Back in 2015 or so (it could've been 2014), my sisters and I filmed our own movie. It was a medieval adventure of two sister princesses, one of whom was captured by a dastardly mercenary (me!). The other set off with her royal guard to free her sister, but troubles besieged them at every corner.

Looking back at it now, it was an awful movie. It was only about 14 minutes, and we had the same amount of time dedicated to special features. But the whole experience was a lot of fun--for the most part--and drew us closer together. We wrote, filmed, and edited it, then showed it to our parents as an anniversary gift.

If I ever got the chance to do something like this, I'd jump on board so fast. With my media experience from college, I feel like I'd be a lot more capable of making a decent film. And c'mon, who doesn't want to star in a movie, albeit a homemade one?

#7.

The reason I even started to enjoy writing and pursue it was because Tracey wrote her own novel way back when. I saw her and decided to imitate her. I thought it'd be fun to write my own project instead of just school ones. Even though I mock that project to this day, it put me on the path of an author.

My writing journey has been an interesting one. The LEGO Message Boards invited me to stay on that writer's road, so the loss of it affected me in more ways than one. I've had seasons of staleness, where nothing was written for months. I'm not proud of those periods, and I'm striving to become a consistent writer.

That's where my blog name comes in. That's what I want to be: a steadfast pen God uses to give the world imaginative stories that they can enjoy and learn from. So every time I see my blog's title, I can say to myself, "That is who I am." It is constantly reminding to keep believing that God has amazing plans for this mortal quill.

This is the part I'm not too good at, because now I have to tag ten other people. My problem is that, because I don't participate much in the blogosphere, I don't know who has all done this tag already. So I'm tagging those of you who don't know what you should post next, you who haven't done it yet, and you who feel like doing it again because you've got more random facts to share.

What're your thoughts on this third tag of mine? Were the facts interesting? Was I entertaining? Don't forget, if you have questions for the anniversary vlog, ask them in the comments! I said I was accepting questions the whole month, but the cutoff date might get bumped up, so ask while you can.

Old-Timey Tunes /// Music Monday #23

All right, folks, we've got a special song just for you today!

"Floral Fury" from Cuphead

Composed by Kristofer Maddigan

Just like Undertale's popularity may have totally missed you when it released in 2015, the immense success that is Cuphead could've been lost as well. It came out in September of last year (apparently, September is the month for popular indie games to be released), and it was met with critical praise. The premise is simple enough: brothers Cuphead and Mugman lost a bet in the Devil's Casino, but not wishing to have their souls taken, they beg for mercy. The baddie himself has them go collect soul contracts from other debtors who've fled, if the siblings wish to keep their own souls. And thus, the rest of the game is a run and gun series of boss fights that are designed to be quite challenging. (When I played with my friend at his place, it took us at least half an hour just to defeat one boss.)

Part of the game's appeal comes from its animation style. It hearkens back to the Disney cartoons of the 1930s. This is where the music comes in, because it'd probably sound a bit bizarre if the game looked old-timey, but the music was modern.

source

Thus, the composer also went for the style of the old cartoons. And I gotta say, from what little I've heard, the soundtrack is super catchy! It's fun to listen to something that's completely different from what I normally listen to. The track I'm showcasing today is actually one of the most popular songs from the game. I can see why. It's a perfect representation of the game's animation and sound design, while throwing some really cool and/or unexpected elements. For example, twice in this song it sounds like a monkey is cleaning a window, but rubbing really hard so that it squeaks. (Why a monkey? Because that's what my sisters thought of, whereas I thought of a window being cleaned.)

My favorite part of the song has got to be the melody that first plays at 0:44 and is repeated later on. I just watched a video of the recording of this song, and that part is played mainly by three guys on saxophones. Before I saw the video, I thought for some reason there was a tuba in there. I was also surprised that they didn't have a full-blown orchestra, but rather several musicians. I mean, it was made by an indie company, so I don't know why I expected to see a whole orchestra. Songs like this really give the brass players a run for their money.

Well, I should end my ramble here. But before I do, here's what I think made Cagney Carnation's fight and song so popular:

source; "WHAT'RE THOSE?!"

So what did you think of this classic-sounding tune? Is the music style something you listen to on a regular basis, or stay far away from, or somewhere in-between? Have you played Cuphead? If not, would you?

Monthly HapPENings: April + An Announcement!

It's already time to write up another one of these? Since when? 2018, I think we'd all appreciate it if you decided to slow down a bit.

So what did I all do this month? I celebrated Chloe's, my mom's, and one of my grandma's birthdays. I hung out a friend's place over the weekend, which I hadn't done in quite some time. It was a lot of fun to play computer games together and just hang out. I also worked a five-day stretch of 6:00 wake-up times (along with one 4:00), all whilst editing and uploading two parts of my vlogs for you guys. (I know, what lengths will I not go for my followers?)

Other than that, not really anything spectacular that--oh! I almost completely forgot. I voice-chatted with my two New Zealand friends, and we were reading a couple of my stories out loud together. Trust me, it's quite fun, especially when their accents are so amazing. We finished up Of Beauties and Beasts and started Darkened Slumber. Many laughs were had in reading the latter.

Bookish HapPENings

source

This was a much faster reader than the one before, Relentless. It was also a much more enjoyable one! I suppose that's why it only took me about a week or so to finish. While the Keys to the Kingdom series isn't perfect from a writer's standpoint, it is still very good. I love its quirks and all the bizarre settings and characters. I also appreciate Nix's humor, so that's a plus.

But you'd think that I would've read more than one book, right? Wrong. I've been slowly making my way through Dreamtreaders, which isn't as good as I'd hoped. But more on that next month, I suppose.

HapPENings on the Screen

I'm currently rewatching S1 of The Flash with Chloe and Kaitlyn, in preparation for S4. It's a bit cheesy at some parts, and has definitely improved overall since its beginning days. But I can still see how and why I fell in love with it so much. Gotta start somewhere, am I right?

Well, I'm (very) slowly making my way through S4, and it's getting . . . somewhat better. The actresses for Elsa and Anna aren't trying as hard to match their animated renditions, but their performances aren't perfect. So far, the best thing about this season is Hook, but it's been that way ever since he showed up in S2.

I'm (also slowly) making my way through S5 of Ninjago with Chloe and Kaitlyn. I'm reminded as to why I like the character of Ronin so much. He's one of those guys who's smooth, suave, and full of himself. You know, the ones you can't help but like. But then his loyalty goes to whoever has the most money, so while he eventually helps the Ninja in this season, he turns on them in the next (at first) because they're declared criminals with bounties on their heads. It makes him very unpredictable, and thus, very interesting.

source

I rewatched this with my friend when I was at his place. Man! What a great movie. It has everything from epic action to great casting to delightful music. It even made me almost tear up again. I don't think I'll ever understand why this movie was disliked so much by the critics. I know a lot of people who were fans of the original didn't care for this new take, but that's not the point. Why compare a TV show that's been running for the past several years to a movie that even nods a few times in the show's direction? I mean, I was like that at first too. But none of the LEGO films have disappointed me, and this is no exception.

source

So Tracey and I watched this movie on Monday in the theater. And OH. MAH. WORD. The Avengers blew me away when I first saw that. Age of Ultron ramped it up to a whole new level. But Infinity War left me shell-shocked. I want to so badly talk about this movie, but you know how it is . . .

#ThanosDemandsYourSilence

So I will refrain from discussing this movie in-depth. For now, at least. But it was phenomenal, and it took so many unexpected turns. I don't want to go another year without the fourth Avengers film. You can count on me watching that in theaters as well!

Gaming HapPENings

source

You know, the more I play Twilight Princess HD, the less I enjoy it. Call me spoiled by Breath of the Wild, if you will, or jaded by all the praise given to TP instead of Skyward Sword. But I don't see what all the fuss is about. I'm not sure I'd drop $60 for this title again.

Snowpeak Ruins was my most recent point of contention. When I heard that it was a house instead of a normal temple, I was like, "Hey, that's a really neat idea!" I was actually looking forward to it! But I was disappointed. First off, the Yetis are a bit ridiculous, and their dialogue being scattered with the word "uh" didn't help matters. What then got to me was the repetitive, annoying nature of the music. It made me want to leave as fast as I possibly could! Combined with one section that aggravated me with the combination of ice, pits, and enemies; a noticeably forced linearity in the temple; and other elements that escape my memory at the moment, it turned out to be a less than enjoyable experience.

Afterwards, I did the Temple of Time, which I won't get into just to spare you more ranting. Suffice it to say that it was better than Snowpeak, but it still wasn't amazing. What disappoints me more is that I went straight from one temple to the next. Why is that disappointing? Because, for all of Hyrule's vast space in this game, there's nothing extra to do. Scarcely any towns to visit, enemies to fight, side quests to perform . . . it's a large land of "bleh." Which doesn't help the game in the slightest.

source

My friend in New Zealand and I have been playing Worms W.M.D. a lot lately. It's a fun, strategic fighting game between . . . well, worms, obviously. Seeing as I've only played Worms Open Warfare (just realized you could shorten that to WOW), this game is a huge step up! The graphics and landscapes are pleasing to the eye. They added buildings you can hide, vehicles to use in the fight, and a crafting feature for making cool new weapons.

Because it's my friend's first foray into this series, I've obviously been a lot better at the matches thus far. (Although he actually won his first match on Wednesday.) We voice chat while we play, which makes the whole experience ten times better. Trust me, it would be kinda boring if we couldn't talk to one another in the battle. We'll laugh, joke around, banter, playfully insult the other . . . if you want a clean fighting game that can result in hilarity, especially whilst playing against your friends, this is a good option.

source

I recently bought Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for myself, and it's my first real FE experience. I did play a bit of Fire Emblem Heroes, but I never got into it or fully understood the combat system. This game, on the other hand, is really, really good so far! The plot intrigues me, the characters are very likable or hateable (depending on the person in question) with great voice actors, and I almost cried within the first minute of actually starting the game. So yeah, I think this one's a winner. I'll probably post a full review or something once I'm done.

Writerly HapPENings

So, uh . . . didn't really do any writing in April. But! I've started this month differently. After reading with my Kiwi friends, it inspired to me get back into writing. That's what I aim to do. I know you can't always wait for the write feelings, but that doesn't mean they don't help. (I'm not sorry for the pun.) You can expect a longer section here next month!

An Announcement

In case you didn't know, next month is my first blogoversary! So I intend to celebrate it with you guys . . .

By doing another vlog! Like Christine did for her recent blogoversary, I'm gonna do a vlog Q&A. Because, you know, steal only from the best! Or something like that. I'll provide links to the #KnowJoe posts so that you don't ask me the same question twice. Throughout the rest of this month, in any comment, you can give me questions to answer about anything! Be as creative or crazy as you want. Just make sure you specify that they are for the blogoversary so that I don't miss them somehow. Which I don't think will happen, but you never know.

#KnowJoe Q&A, Part 1

#KnowJoe Q&A, Part 2

What did you do last month? Have you seen Infinity War yet? (I highly recommend seeing it in theaters.) Did you read more books or write more than me? Are there any questions that instantly come to your mind for the vlog? I look forward to reading all your deep, burning queries!