TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation, 2000, Square-Enix): Issue #069: A Different World

It's about time to get back to this, and it really seems to fit that we're in a different world from the one we started in, both in the game and in real life.

Something Sort Of Plan-like

It's not going to be much, and I'll probably have the one or two things I've got in mind done in the next couple weeks.

Feeling Adrift

So here's another unintentional ten-day stretch with no posts.

Picture Post: Roubaix Lake Revisited

This is a place I did a bit about a couple years ago, too.

Maybe A Little Ambitious

So maybe I was a little ambitious about how much posting I'd get done here this year.

Trouble Sleeping Again

I've been having trouble sleeping again lately, and in this case, I don't think it's got so much to do with my caffeine intake.

MiSTing: Ten Science Thingamajiggers

This is another one of these things that I found in that old archive I mentioned in the one of these I posted back in September. This is also the one I was saying had all the artifacts from it being done on what is, by now, a decidedly ancient word processing program. I'll be leaving them in because this is a fair bit longer than “Make Good Money At Home”. I'll also be posting it all at once, even if it is a bit longer than I'd prefer for that, simply because there are no good places to break it up.

There's a nod to a bit of continuity I'm not entirely sure is my own or something from the actual show. Right at the beginning, there's a line where Pearl threatens to send Observer into the theater again, and I cand't recall if I did that or if Best Brains did it. After all, it's been the better part of twenty years since it was something important enough for me to remember.

I'm sure the things I used as a base for this come from at least one technical article, but it's hard to piece together, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have understood any of it even if it had been possible.

Since this is going to be a longer one, I'm just going to wrap the intro up now and give a brief endcap after the main event.

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Picture Post: Deerfield Lake

This is going to be another short one, mostly because I've only got one picture from there this year.

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #018: Knowing When To Call It Quits

This was going to be one last push to finish the game, and in a way, I guess it is that.

A Quick Update: November 9, 2021

Since I've got a little time this evenining, I may as well do something with it.

Picture Post: Two Rest Areas

This is going to be a somewhat longer post than the previous couple.

Picture Post: Painted Rocks

Here's another quick one of these from when I was out west last month.

A Long Ten Days

I hadn't intended to go ten days between posts here, but I'm hoping I've got a good reason for why I have.

MiSTing: Clearing The Queue

As I was considering this introduction, I came to realize that it was for what is likely to be the last wholly new Mystery Science Theater treatment I write for quite a long time, at the very least. I'm not going to say I'm completely done with this style and/or format forever. It's difficult to say what I'm going to find out there on the Web, after all. There's always the potential for more, of course, and I'm always on the lookout for it.

At the same time, the Internet is a very different place now, relative to what it was when Misties like myself started writing these things. Thanks to the modern accessability to the online world we enjoy, the selection of material is far greater than I could have imagined even fifteen years ago, when I moved into my own apartment. Generally speaking, at least in my way of thinking, that's a good thing, especially when it comes to works of fiction of various sorts. The down side is that there seems to be a substantially lesser amount of material that I'm comfortable working with and able to use, relative to what there was in, for example, 2003.

There's a riff towards the end of this one where the in-universe “me” character comments on having read a lot of fan fiction that has a lot of the same sort of errors seen in the junk mail being presented here. When questioned as to why the spam is being presented instead of the stories, the response is that the assumption is that the folks doing the stories are trying their best and not just trying to get into my bank account. That's a bit of the real-world me slipping in, because I really have seen some bits of fiction that might have been pretty good, had it not been for awkward formatting and/or spelling and grammar peculiarities that could just as easily be the result of English being a second language for the author. On top of that, I've also read some things that were way better than I had expected at first. There's a real chance that reccomendations will come at a later date.

For now, though, I'd best get on with the feature presentation. This is, as I've mentioned, a pair of junk emails I found to work with at the end of last year and have finally gotten something done with. It's going to be a chonker of a post, but there's a good reason for that. While this is going to be longer than I'd ordinarily like, it's not long enough to split up, either. With that in mind, here's the actual thing:

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A Quick Plan

This isn’t much of a plan, but it’s better than nothing.

Picture Post: Pine Squirrel

I'd meant to get these up a little quicker than I have, but I've been a little busy this week.

Picture Post: Moo?

Where's the beef?

Back From Vacation

I kinda needed a few days off from stuff.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation, 2000, Square-Enix): Issue #068: Final Fantasy Tonight

Wow, it's been almost six months since the last entry in this series.

Still Another Late Night

I really shouldn't be pulling all-nighters like this at my age, but I've had a hell of a time sleeping lately.

MiSTing: Make Good Money At Home

Earlier this week, I made a post about coming across an archive that had a fairly substantial number of my old Mystery Science Theater fan fiction and how it brought back a lot of good old memories. I also said I'd at least consider going through a few of them and maybe repost a few. Since one of the ones I happened to have handy is a relatively short one that I've already had a chance to read, I'm gonna get it up and ready to go.

As the title suggests, this is a junk email I got to what was my AOL email address, I believe, since I still had one of those in the early 2000s. This was a relatively early piece in my career doing MST3k stuff, as I was still using the Sci Fi Channel era cast of the show, although only Mike, Pearl and Observer actually show up here. This was kind of an experimental thing, because I do believe I was considering switching to using my own character for this sort of thing, which is what we've been seeing in the DigiDefenders episodes I've been putting up.

An interesting side note here is that I do believe I actually wrote this on the very first Internet-enabled PC my family ever had. By then, I had sort of “inherited” the unit because my folks had upgraded to a newer for the time machine running Windows 98, rather than the one I was using, which still had Win95 on it. Part of that meant using a productivity suite called MS Works, which is definitely old school by today's standards. As a result, there are artifacts caused by a difference in the way single and double quote marks were encoded in plain text files. Since this is a relatively short one, I'll try to take care of as much of that as I can. There's another, longer one I may put up as well that has the same issue, but I may not be as enthusiastic about correcting it, mostly due to length.

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A Memory Of Joy And Hope

It's a nice thing to have come across, and now is as close to a perfect time as it could be for such a thing.

Falling Behind

I'm starting to think I might not make my goal of 100 posts this year.

A Few Doodles

Been awhile since I've put any art here.

A Bit Exhausted

I haven't been doing any of this the last couple weeks.

Things I Miss: County Line Gaming

Not necessarily because the gaming group is gone or anything, but because I haven't been paying the kind of attention I used to.

In Need Of Shorter Projects

I've got a few longer writing projects going on, which is better than nothing, I guess.

Old Scrap Paper

OK, maybe not a terribly interesting topic to write about, but it's something.

Final Fantasy This Morning: July 30, 2021: Another Return Of Old Bad Habits

There's a lot of good, old memories, here, too. I just wish they didn't come with the baggage.

My Favorite Local Sit-Down Place

In this case, it's not my computer.

Not Making It Happen

For all the good intentions I've had lately, I just haven't been able to make much happen lately.

In The Queue: July, 2021

I'm going to try to remember the first part of that title for when I want to talk about what I've got planned for the blog here.

Maybe Not The Ending I Was Hoping For...

It wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened, though.

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #017 o/~ Step By Step... .o/~

.o/~ One By One... .o/~

MiSTing: DigiDefenters Episode 4, Part 3

Here we are, the third and final part of this one. It's mostly host segments, but that's kind of how it fell. I may have mentioned a time or two in the course of these that I tend to put the host segments in at what seem like natural breaks in the story. I bring that up again here because that's also kind of how I decided where to put the breaks between parts here, too. Kind of made for a lot of host segments in this one, but I think that may be for the best. Most of the previous part was fight scene, and a lot of this one is as well.

It also has a bit of a weak ending, but I can't say my part is all that great, either. Between these and the “standard” fiction I've written, I know firsthand how hard it can be to make good endings for these things. All in all, though, it's a good character episode for the Eli character.

With that in mind, let's finish this off, shall we?

* * * * * * * * * *

A Coincidence

A messed up coincidence.

Barely Remembered: Picture Pages with Bill Cosby

Not sure what got me to thinking abour this, but here I am and there you are, I guess...

Revising The Standard “Press Time”

Things have changed in my offline schedule, so this has to change a bit, too.

Hot And Dry

Not so long ago, I had a draft about it being a wet summer, but now I'm glad I didn't get around to using it.

Still Trying, At Least

This hasn't been my best month, contentwise.

MiSTing: DigiDefenders: Episode 4, Part 2

When I sat down to do the bookends for this part, I came to realize that it's kind of a good thing that this episode was technically long enough to split into three parts. That's in no small part to there being a lot of fight scene in this part, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who would have needed a break afterward.

Funny thing here is that this is the middle part of the story at hand, and also the middle one in length. The first part was the longest, and the last one will be short, relatively speaking.

Beyond that, there's really not much I can say about this part, so I may as well just get on with it.

* * * * * * * * * *

MiSTing: DigiDefenders Episode 4, Part One

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, and there are a few hopefully good reasons for that. One is that I've been busy with real world stuff and haven't had much time for it. For the moment, that's been resolved to a point where I can work on it for a bit. From here, it's just a matter of setting up the auto-posts.

Another is that there was the better part of a month where I was down on this episode in particular because I thought it wasn't a very good one. I still think that's kind of right, but having worked on some of my really old work, I've started to feel a little better about it. I even managed to get a post about that up in late May.

Of note in this episode are the brief cameo by the “mom” character, who I'm pretty sure only shows up in this one; and the “intro video”, which was meant as kind of a take on the opening to Quantum Leap, which was still in reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel at the time.

There are also a good number of dated references in there to watch for, in all three parts of this. First one in a while that's been that long. May as well get on with it, since that's the case.

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Maybe Getting Somewhere

I guess I'm adjusting to some of what's been going on better than I thought.

A Slow Month

I just haven't been up to writing much lately.

Uninspired

We’re more than a week into the month already, and this is only my first post.

ART: Sunny Day for May

Just posted these to my DeviantArt page, may as well share them here.

Another Long Night

This didn't work out so well when I tried it at the end of March, but I can't figure any way of fixing the issue beyond trying again.

A Passing Thought On Fan Fiction

This is a bit of an observation I've had in my head for quite a while now, and I'm finally getting around to doing something with it.

Final Fantasy This Evening: May 20, 2021

Since I'm coming up on the end of at least one of the games I'm doing here, I may as well say something about where I think I might go next on that front.

TEXT PLAY SIDE GAME: Final Fantasy II (Famicom 1988/PS 2003 [Origins]): Issue #031: Cyclone?

This one took longer than it should have, for a few reasons.

No Motivation To Write

Per usual, it's not for lack of ideas.

Well Then...

Not sure why I was expecting something other than what I got out of a recent experience...

The Old Continuity

It's something I probably shouldn't be too concerned about, since I'm talking about my old MST3K fan series.

Music To Write To: Ghostbusters II Soundtrack

While my preference is for the original in terms of both the movie and the soundtrack, Ghostbusters II is the one I had handy in my YouTube playlist.

MiSTing: Greetings From Canada

This is really just a quick one-off sort of thing, meant mostly as kind of a break from the full-on video game stuff I've been doing.  There won't be much of a description or an endcap for this because I've already said most of what I need to about this one in the post that came out at my normal "press time" today.

Beyond that, the main subject matter here is a take on the classic bank scam sort of thing, only using the crypto thing that's all the rage right now.  I've also worked a little Animal Crossing and Radio Dead Air into the host segments because I've been spending my time on that instead, and getting more out of it, I think.

With that said, here's the main event.

===================================================================

Another Quick Update: May 1, 2021

I know this is coming right on the heels of the last one, but I need to make a few more posts this month if I want to keep up with my goal of 100 posts this year.

Quick Update for April 30, 2021

That last week sure went by quick!

Getting On With Some Of It

I'm at least getting started with some of the stuff I mentioned in my last post.

A Long Month

I keep letting this thing sit for longer than I mean to between posts.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation, 2000, Square-Enix): Issue #067: The Four Shrines

Back at this, finally. Hadn't meant to let it sit as long as I have.

Final Fantasy This Morning: April 7, 2021: Grinding Away

On two of four games, anyway.

April Stuff

Happy Bunny Day, everybody!

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #016: Taking My Time

I'll be doing this in stages, I think.

TEXT PLAY SIDE GAME: Final Fantasy II (Famicom 1988/PS 2003 [Origins]): Issue #030: Mysidia Tower, Part Two

Or: Just Getting On With It

Pulling An All-Nighter

I would really rather not, but I seem to have put myself into a situation where I kind have to regardless of want to or not.

MiSTing: Digimon: DigiDefenders Episode 3, Part 2

Here we are again, for the second half of Episode 3 of the DigiDefenders MiSTing series. We're leading off with the host segment I was mentioning last time. The whole point of this segment and the riffs leading up to it was that I was trying to show at least a tiny bit of self awareness of where I could have gone with this and that I was making something like an effort to avoid it. By the time I wrote this, I'd seen a couple instances, at least, of fan writers, usually male, building out their fantasies regarding their favorite characters and/or franchises, only to have it all come crumbling down on them in an unfortunate way. I was hoping to avoid being one of them, and I'd like to think I've had a fair amount of success on that front. I'm not sure if I actually did or not, but this is one of those things where self assessment is difficult at best. It's something I don't remember ever feeling compelled to address quite this way in the years between first writing the “episode” and these endcaps.

Of course, there are a few somewhat related things that came up later in the continuity I was going for, but I think I delt with those in a reasonably acceptable manner. I think I already shared the one of these I did where it was just my character and the “other Renamon” character that was more or less his companion. There's more to that coming, but the way I've been getting these out, there's a very real chance of that being a good ways out still. We'll get to them in due time, though.

As always, there's more I want to say about this thing, but I'll save that for the bottom endcap. Until then, let's get on with the main event.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Long Week

Maybe not in the ways one might think, but still on the long side.

MiSTing: Digimon: DigiDefenders Episode 3, Part 1

Well, here we are again, with another repost. I'd meant to get to this sooner than I did, but real life's been busier than one might expect, considering some of what's going on. Between health issues and working a fair bit of overtime at my day job since the first of the year, this wound up getting delayed a couple months I'm feeling a bit better now, and I've got a little more free time at the moment, so I may as well get on with this.

As for the episode itself, this is one I'd do a little differently if I were doing or redoing it today. The thing I'd at least change, if not get rid of completely is the “no swearing” bit towards the beginning. As I look at it now, it was kinda hypocritical of me to have done it just that way, because my own character may have toed that line a bit closely in the previous episodes, definitely does so in this one, and there's even an outright drug reference as we aproach the end of this part. So yeah, that's not exactly my proudest bit of writing there, but for now, anyway, I'm going to leave it as is for the sake of “historical accuracy”.

Another sketchy bit I'll at least point out now is the number of times where the Renamon character gets a little handsy with mine. For the moment, I'll admit that it's a little creepy in its own ways, and even then, I knew it, but there was, and still is, a good reason for all that to be the way it was, and I'd probably leave it the way it is. I'll get more into the why of it in the endcap for this one and in part two, simply because this part has gone on long enough and there's one last thing that needs to be said before we get to it.

That last note is that this is going to be another two-parter rather than three or four parts because at least one part would have been needlessly short otherwise. That said, her we go!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And Then I Forgot...

I had a chance to work on some of the stuff I mentioned in my previous post the other day, but I kinda muffed it.

A While Longer

An update on a few things because it's already been a while on some of them.

Final Fantasy This Morning: March 5, 2021: Switch!

It's been awhile since I've done any Final Fantasy, but there's a somewhat passable reason for that.

A Long Week

Haven't really been quite up to posting this week, mostly because I've not been feeling well.

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #015: Maybe Taking Awhile

This may take awhile, for a few reasons.

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #014: Back To It

It's been long enough, so I suppose I'd better just get on with some of this stuff.

Coffee Time: TV Odds and Ends

A new Coffee Time video I got put up last night.

Ice Ice Baby

Not Vanilla Ice, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Some Packaging Designs: Hy-Vee Instant French Vanilla Pudding

I'm finally getting to some going through of things in my apartment, so I may as well do something with it.

Final Fantasy This Morning: February 10, 2021: Things I May Already Have Said

I might have mentioned some of this already, so I'm hoping this will be something of an update.

Cold Snap

First of the year, and it's awful.

Music To Write To: Star Trek: Generations Soundtrack

I can't remember if it was here or on some other social media that I mentioned maybe doing a few bits about the albums I used to write to back when I was in college, but I guess I'm finally getting to it.

Not Much Action

I guess I'm getting more of this done than I think, but it sure doesn't feel like it.

Still Bad At Art

Just making this quick little post because it's been too long since my last one.

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #013: Penultimate Dungeon

Now that the Giant of Babil is out of the way, there's only one dungeon left in the main story.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation, 2000, Square-Enix): Issue #066: Trying To Get On With It Again

This one's gong to be a short single-session entry.

Already An Update: January 13, 2021

I had hoped to have more than just one Text Play up by now, but we're barely two weeks into the new year, and it's already been a year unto itself.

TEXT PLAY QUICKIE: Final Fantasy 4: Chronicles Version (2001; PS1): Issue #012: Learning Something

I guess we always have room to learn things, even about things we think we know well.

Things Are Different Now: The 2021 Edition

Boy, that last year was something else, wasn't it?