Well, Okay, Then...

So, I was going to get started on a project I've been procrastinating on for awhile now, and it looks like I may actually have to cancel it instead.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #045: Holy Shart!

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, and I'm at a point where playing some video games did me some good.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #022: Without Vase...

So, this proved harder than it needed to be.

Looking Back: The Mysterious Cities of Gold (Originally Posted January 2011)

Here's a particularly long Looking Back article I posted to TGWTG in 2011.  Much like the Going Long piece I posted earlier, this one's a bit long for the new Channel Awesome site, it would seem.

Going Long: Retell of Patagonik's El Arca/Noah's Ark (Repost)

This article was originally posted to a site called That Guy With The Glasses in September, 2009.  With the site being shuttered next week, and with access to materials posted there being lost with it, I'm in the slow process of transferring what I consider the best stuff I've done for the site's community blog to their new site, Channel Awesome.  This one, it seems, is too large to be moved, so I'll be posting it here instead, to preserve the work I put into it.  So, below the jump is my one and only Going Long piece: the retelling of Patagonik Films' animated feature El Arca.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #044: Dragons 'N Stuff

I think I already got the Storm Dragon when I got Cyan back. I kind of remember saying that it was easy compared to what I had remembered.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #021: Running Around #1

Thought I'd just run around for a bit while I consider what to do next.

Text Play: Final Fantasy VIII (Squaresoft; Playstation, 1999) : Issue #020.5: Video Interlude #1 (?)

Well, I said I'd do it, so I might as well get it over and done with.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #020: A Point Of Reconsidering

This is the part of the game I was talking about in that early Looking Back article I've mentioned a time or two.

Happy Thanksgiving Again

Wow, it's already the end of November again?

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #019: Airplane!

Apparently, anything Balam can do, Galbadia can do, too, but we won't officially find that out until later.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #018: Party Like It's 1955...

Squallie B. Lame...

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #043: Cyan Dreams In Doma Castle

It was a bear to get this done, but not for the reasons you might think.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #017: Gone Fishin'

God damn it, was nobody trying to figure out the controls for the Garden?

A Rare Passing Thought...

Here's a musing that I'll get an answer to, even though I'm not really being serious right now.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #016: Balam Garden III: The Wrath of NORG

NORG!

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #042: Hidon Cowboy!

It keeps taking me longer than I'd like to get to these things, and I don't know why. I do, however, feel kind of bad about it.

Last Three DeviantART Posts: November 10, 2014

I'm sure there'll be more, of course.  Tonight just seemed like a good one to post something like this.

Behind The Scenes...?

And other special features, too...

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #015: Balam Garden II: The Search For Cid

I think I may be getting my Star Trek movies mixed up here...

Just Getting On With It

I really need to just get back to this writing thing I do.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #041: Jidoor, Wisconsin

Been away from this for longer than I'd hoped again.

A Venting Post: October 23, 2014

It’s been far too long since I’ve done one of these.  Maybe that’s why I feel nervous and pent up right now.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #014: A Horse With No Name

o/~ In the desert/you can't remember you're dumb/'cuz there ain't no one for to give you no shame... .o/~

JMShearer's Movie Shelf: The First Three Movies

Well, with winter approaching, now's as good a time as any to get this started.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #040: o/~ Cyan's Back... o/~

o/~ Alright! .o/~

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #013: The Not-So-Great Escape

God damn, did I ever underestimate how long this part of the game was.

A Test

Here’s something I probably should have thought to try when I first started trying to do this Patreon thing.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #039: o/~ Baba's Back! .o/~

o/~ Oh shit! .o/~

MiSTing: Your Fund Is Save

It's been a while since I've done this style of writing.  If you've been following this blog for long, you've probably seen past attempts, from when I did it more regularly.  I think I may have lost a bit of my touch at it, but practice makes perfect, I guess.

So, below the jump, my first Mystery Science Theater-style writing in at least ten years: a spam called Your Fund Is Save.

Newsgroups

They're still around, I guess

JMShearer's Adventure Blog: Lake Alvin Swimming Beach On September 29, 2014

This is kind of a spur of the moment kind of thing, so it might not be my best work ever.

Duck Opener Report 2014

There's not much to write about this year, but I may as well all the same.

Forgetful Me

I was going to bring my notebook to the laundromat tonight, but forgot.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #012: o/~ Winhill, Winhill/No one should... o/~

o/~ ...buy a house in this small town... o/~

In Here Someplace...

I was looking for something in my apartment after work today, and it reminded me of a story from one of the books I had to read for grade school reading class.

Rough Patches

It seems like I've been having a lot of those lately...

OK, So I'll Advertise My Patreon Again

Depending on where you follow me, you may have heard this before, but it does bear repeating.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #038: Mildly Disappointing

If I did this right, the guy giving clues at the Magic Tower didn't give me 100,000 gold worth of clues.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #036: Phoenix Cave Challenge

This is one of those things that's worth the challenge.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #037: Magic Tower, Done Right

Once I got the Phoenix Magicite, this wasn't so bad.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #011: How Final Fantasy VIII Should Have Ended

With all due apologies to the fine folks over at HISHE, of course.

Post Number 700: Holy Shit, It’s A Dinosaur!

I may as well do some of this now, even though the fourth anniversary of this blog isn’t officially until November 6.

Getting Back To This

For as long as I've been at this blogging thing, it would be foolish of me to stop now.

Placeholder: August 27, 2014

Much as I dislike doing these things, right now, it's better than the nothing at all I've been posting lately.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #010: Teenage Mutant Screw-up Soldiers

Cowa-bungle, dudes!

Still Using the Old Laptop

It’s still useful for some things, I guess.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #035: Not-So-Magical Experiences, Part Three

Well, fuck.

Then Again...

I've done some thinking and I've reconsidered the end of my previous post.

Hot and Humid

At least in my apartment anyway.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #009: Mandatory Side-Quest

Does General Caraway understand what's going on here?

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #034: Not-So-Magical Experiences, Part Two

This is proving rather difficult, it seems.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #008: COBRA!

Our heroes aren't exactly GI Joes, but they're not exactly Cobra members, either.

Come By Day, Go By Night

I've probably done something like this before, but it's still a tiny bit relevant, I think.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #033: Not-So-Magical Experiences, Part One

For as much as I claim to like this game, you'd think I'd be putting more time into it than I have been lately.

DeviantART Post: Atomic Tomato

Check this out!

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #007: Last Train to Dollet

Why did I not know the song I'm referencing in the title was by the Monkees?

[Title Goes Here]

I don’t know if it’s my current economic position or what, but it seems like I’ve been having a hell of a time keeping at this whole blogging thing, and really, quite a few other things that are important to me.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, Square, 1994): Issue #032: Moogle HQ

And to think I couldn’t come up with a decent Harry and the Hendersons joke for the issue title here…

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #006: Timber Television

o/~ Anywhere they've got TV/Vinzer Deling's there... o/~

For Want of a C-Note

I think I've got a plan, sort of.

A Mid-Summer's Blogging Schedule

OK, it's nothing as Shakespearian as it sounds, but I suspect that even the Bard probably kept notes from time to time.

A Bit Of Forecasting

And what is that forecasting?

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #031: Shadows of Ideas

OK, so Ebbot's Rock wasn't quite the correct place after all.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #005: The Idiot Hand

Rinoa is no Gavrilo Princip, I'll clue you that much right now.

Another Independence Day Come And Gone

It's about the usual for me.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #030: All The Rage

So, we've got Gau back, anyway.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #004: o/~ Night Train To Dumbass Team-mates o/~

o/~ Some are good and others dumb o/~

Another Off Night: 6/26/14

Man, I hope I don't look as bad as I feel right now.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #029: Belly Of The Beast

OK, kind of a change in plans, here, friends and neighbors.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #028: Setzer, Daryl, and Daryl

So I went for a Newhart reference. It almost kind of fits.

So Much Catch-Up Work To Do

Man, I've got a lot of catch-up work to do here.

A Test

I think I've just about got this Patreon business figured out, but there's one thing I need to test out before I make an official announcement to that effect.

On Losing Weight: June, 2014

It's been a long, difficult process, and I still have quite a ways to go, unfortunately.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #003: Celebration Time

o/~ Let's all celebrate and have a good time! .o/~

Computer Equipment

Having a laptop in addition to a desktop PC comes in handy sometimes.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #027: Doubling The Party

This is where things start to get interesting.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #026: Traveling the Serpent

This time, we go from one end of the former Serpent Trench to the other, and just a little bit beyond.

Passing Thoughts On: The UCSB Mass Murder

Yeah, here's another thing I'm a little late on. But I said I'd do a piece about it in the second issue of the Final Fantasy 8 Text Play, so I might as well get on with it.

Piling Up Again

I've been letting my rough drafts get away from me again...

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #002: Fools Rush In

We're only just starting this game, and already, I'm starting to seriously dislike some of these characters again.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #025: Brave New World

It's a brave new world, though it's not quite what Aldous Huxley wrote about. Let's have a look around, shall we?

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy VIII (SquareSoft, 1999; Playstation): Issue #001: Ninety Minutes To Start...

I remembered all the tutorials at the beginning of the game, but I'll be god damned if I'd remembered how tedious they were.

Text Play: Final Fantasy 8 (PlayStation; Square, 1999): Video Intro

I've been meaning to get to this for awhile, so it's time to get with it, I suppose.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #024: The End Of The World, Part Two

The only reason this part was harder than it had to be was because I made some stupid mistakes and poor choices.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #023: The End Of The World, Part One

I honestly don't remember this part of the game being quite so hard...

A Slight Change Of Plans

I might have to change the plan I had for my Text Plays.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #022: Where Were We, Again?

Thamasa, just after Kefka killed off more Espers, wasn't it?

Observation Time #1: Introduction

Some New Art On DeviantArt

OK, so I've finally gotten around to posting some new art to DeviantArt.

Late Night Ramblings: 4/26/14, 2:30 AM

This is another one of those nights.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #021: Caves And Crazy Generals

OK, I'm finally back at this.

Projects In The Works

Chances are, this is as much for my own benefit as anyone's.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #020: A Familiar Place

I've made reference to the town we'll wind up in before.

Old Scrap Paper

I guess it's about time I got around to using a little more of it.

First Patreon Goal

Maybe having a goal or two will help me get somewhere with this.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #019: Dinner With The Klingons

I think this part of the game may have been inspired by Star Trek VI.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #018: Back to the Empire

Plotwise, we're pretty much headed right back to a place we just left.

New Job Jitters

This is kind of my firs day on a new job, so to speak.

We Are Go For Patreon

I do feel a bit awkward about this, but here goes anyway.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #017: Dance Magic Dance

Yes, it's a reference to one of David Bowies's songs in the movie Labyrinth. Kinda hard to believe I've only seen that movie once.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #016: Returners Tour of the Empire, 20th Anniversary Edition, Part Three

This is going to be one of those ones that's more cutscene than actual playing, but it's something that's unavoidable sometimes.

Considering Patreon

This is kind of an unusual position for me to be in.

A Half-Assed Plan For Spring

So far, it seems this year has gone for me the way a lot of people say last year went for them.

The Old Laptop

I guess I knew this had to happen eventually.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #015: Returners Tour of the Empire, 20th Anniversary Edition, Part Two

This part can be a little tricky, but it's where we get somewhere in the area of half the Espers we can summon in this part of the game.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #014: Returners Tour of the Empire, 20th Anniversary Edition, Part One

The Southern Continent isn't as big a place as I had remembered.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #013: Mercury Theater On The Air

This time, we're off to the opera, for one of the most moving scenes in Final Fantasy History.

JMShearer Assembles: A GrillZone 14-inch Charcoal Kettle Grill

I'm not sure if this'll be much of a series, but they always start with one, right?

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #012: City of Crime

I suppose I could have gone for an Arthur C. Clarke reference and called this one Rendezvous With Ramuh, but I kind of forgot the name of the Esper we got to actually talk to in the second town we go to.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #011: Once Upon A Time In The West

Turns out the Dire Straits reference wasn't wasted, after all, and I'm starting to remember why I like this game almost as much as I do Final Fantasy 4.

A Post For Its Own Sake

It's been awhile since I've done any freeform writing.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #010: Short On Crew

This part of the game's always a pain in the ass because we're a little short on manpower for it.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #009: Three Concurrent Paths: Terra's Branch

This one I knew was short, but it can be a little tricky all the same.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #008: Three Concurrent Paths: Locke's Branch

From deep-sea diving to escaping from a town. This should be fun.

DeviantART Print Shop

This is one of those crazy little ideas I have from time to time.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #007 : Three Concurrent Paths: Sabin's Branch, Part Three: Gau of Baron Falls

Or in this case, Barren Falls, with “barren” meaning empty.

Hell of a Time for a Headache...

There's so much I'd hoped to get done today, too.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #006: Three Concurrent Paths: Sabin's Branch, Part Two: Ghosts On A Train

Off we go into the Haunted Forest for a ride on the Phantom Train, Samuel L. Jackson style.

At Least It's Not So Windy This Time

So, another cold, snowy Monday.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #005: Three Concurrent Paths: Sabin's Branch, Part One: The Three Ass-Kickers

At first, I was going to go for a Little House On The Prairie joke in the title, but somehow something more Three Stooges seemed better.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #004: Three Concurrent Paths: the Introduction

We're going to get quite a few new characters here in the next few issues, and I know it's going to get a bit confusing.

Another Confused Beginning to Vlogging

I keep doing these, but I never seem to get anywhere with them.

A Little More Added To Deviant Art...

Because I just like messing around with that stuff every now and then.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #003: Kung-Fu Man

Well, yes, I did make this UltraFunk reference at the end of my Final Fantasy Text Play, but it was either this one or a Coke reference, and this seemed the better choice.

Low On Ideas Again

Not completely out, but not much to work with, either.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #002: King Pepe Le Pew

Well, OK, King Edgar of Figaro isn't nearly as bad as the Looney Tunes Character I'm comparing him to, but he is as close as any Final Fantasy character I can remember has come.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #001: Vap-O-Rub

By Vicks.

TEXT PLAY: Final Fantasy 6 (SNES; Square 1994): Issue #000: Junior Year Of High School

Well, I may as well get started with this, since I think I've kinda-sorta got my tech issues sorted out.

Used Game Prices

It's amazing how much used video games can cost.

News From The Text Play Front

It's good news for anyone out there who might be a fan of the Text Play feature I've been doing here the last couple years.

The Passing Of Internet Personalities

This is one of those things that it might be smart of me to leave alone, but at the same time, I have a sense that doing the smart thing right now would not be, well, a smart thing.

There Are Days

And Friday was one of them.

I Haz A Sad

Not the kind you might think, of course, which is a good thing.  Better yet, a little free-form writing will more than likely help me get through.

Answering Machines

Even if you don't like them, we live in an era where it's smart to leave a message if your call gets picked up by one.

An Attempt At Regaining Some Semblance Of Regularity

This year has been off to a far less than awesome start, and my lack of anything that resembles much of a personal schedule is at least part of the problem.

Some Good Cold Weather Food [PICS]

Hey, everybody!

TEXT PLAY: Lufia and the Fortress of Doom (Taito, SNES 1993): Issue #40: Well, Crap...

I guess I shouldn't really be surprised that my plan wound up going to shit on me here.

o/~ It's Cold Outside... o/~

o/~ There's no kind of atmosphere... o/~

TEXT PLAY: Lufia and the Fortress of Doom (Taito, SNES 1993): Issue #39: Well...

So maybe this wasn't as hard as I was making it out to be.

VLOG: Final Thoughts On 2013

Basically, not the best year ever, but not the worst year ever, either.