fell asleep with stains

Video Games as Art
I just returned from UC Berkeley, where I was sitting in on the class Video Games as Art (ENGL 98). It's a DeCal class taught by three (four?) students about, as you can guess from the name, video games as an artistic medium.

I'd decided to sit in after being invited by Eugenia. She said she thought I'd really enjoy the class, and as she explained to me some of the topics that covered, I had to agree. The time conflicted a little with Ohlone College's Game Development Club, where I've been learning to model characters in Autodesk Maya, but VIDEO GAME CLASS, HELLO, so at 4:30 PM, I packed up my things and went to Berkeley.

THE CLASS WAS AMAZIIINNNGGGGG. I wish I'd taken notes because the content was so interesting and I have so much to say about it. Here's what I remember:

( Boycotting games based on the beliefs of the creator(s), art history, innovation in game mechanics, sandbox vs. linearity, and more! )

Bahamut Lagoon
I think I post about Chapter Twenty-Two more often than I post about any other chapter of Bahamut Lagoon. It's my favorite and least favorite because it's the most difficult. I don't think I've ever beaten it on my first try. =sob= When you lose a campaign in Bahamut Lagoon, you're transported back to your ship, but you get to keep all your EXP and items (which you can use to pump up your dragons), so theoretically, it should be a lot easier the second time around. Well, it was an improvement because instead of getting slaughtered before making it halfway across the map, I whittled the enemy down to four parties and then stupidly had Byuu's party cross through the middle of said four parties, who all targeted Byuu, of course. I'd lost two parties by that time, but a campaign in Bahamut Lagoon isn't lost until Byuu dies.

AND I WAS DOING SO WELL. If I'd had him move north instead of east, I'd probably have won. But as it is, I saved at the beginning of the third attempt, too depressed to continue. :[

The Phoenix Requiem
...is a webcomic by the Sarah Ellerton (Inverloch). It is a sort-of fantasy that takes place in a world based on Victorian England, and stars Anya Katsukova, a nurse who is training to become a doctor. One day, a man is founded wounded in the woods. Anya treats him in time to save his life, but almost immediately after his arrival, a swift illness claims the lives of several townspeople. The Phoenix Requiem follows Anya as she unravels the mysteries surrounding the illness, the spirits of the old myths, and her new patient and discovers how they are linked to one another.

^ I'd say that's a pretty good pitch coming from someone who doesn't know what's going on. ;D ;D How are they linked? I have no idea, but I'm having a ball watching Anya&co. try to figure it out. I'm going through this comic as fast as I went through Inverloch; I'm already halfway through the second volume. Ellerton really has a knack for storytelling, and both the art and story are much improved in The Phoenix Requiem. It's very well-planned, the characters are charming, and the plot is intriguing. I am in love with both Jonas and Petria asdfdgdlkgjlkj.

Whoops, I forgot to do this after watching the episode. Time to backtrack!

( GOD I'M SO DEPRESSED )

The ones anyone besides me might care about are bolded.

May 2005 - San Jose FanimeCon - Ramen & Rice
Nov 2005 - Santa Clara Jrock Connection - Xenophobia, NeX.Letalis, Nikita w/ Metallic Beast, CHAOS+SYSTEM, Karma Shenjing
April 2006 - Fremont Manga Art Expo - akai SKY
May 2006 - San Jose Fanimecon - akai SKY, Kamijo, Goofy Style, Miami, Swinging Popsicle, POPLAR
June 2006 - San Francisco Slim's - Lemon Drop Kick, Blue Eyes, Secret Secret, the pillows
July 2006 - San Francisco Slim's - The Black List Club, Hyde
July 2006 - Fremont Juice Zone - Breakpoint, The Subtle Way
August 2006 - Tokyo, Japan - Asia Engineer
September 2006 - Fremont MSJ Belltower Quad - Breakpoint
November 2006 - Santa Clara Jrock Connection - {mid:night}, Serafilia, Karma Shenjing
November 2006 - Santa Clara Jrock Connection - lo:lita, ArtbeaT, MARS, Karma Shenjing
February 2007 - Fremont East Bay Blend - Forsaken, Boys on Bicycles, Destroy All Operating Systems, A Skylit Drive, The Subtle Way
May 2007 - Los Angeles Jrock Revolution - Merry, girugämesh, D'espairsRay, MUCC
June 2007 - Fremont East Bay Blend - Destroy All Operating Systems, Fight Me. Juliet, Mikoto, The Subtle Way
December 2007 - Fremont Phoenix Poetry Slam - Cryptic Fall, King Six, Et Cetera
April 2008 - Fremont MSJ Amphitheater - Flaccid Acid
April 2008 - Fremont Phoenix Spring Slam - Scratch Paper, Cryptic Fall, Flaccid Acid, King Six, Etcetera
May 2008 - San Jose FanimeCon - Ramen & Rice, Antic Cafe
December 2008 - Fremont MSJ Charity Concert - Social Stereo, The Ritards, Joe Jr.
December 2008 - Fremont MSJ Belltower Quad - Social Stereo, [unnamed]
January 2008 - Fremont MSJ Charity Fashion Show - Social Stereo
January 2008 - Fremont MSJ Battle of the Bands - Scratch Paper, Flux, Social Stereo, Etcetera
March 2009 - Fremont Camaraderie 3 - A System of Winks and Nods, Dance Floor Cougars, Kc Dela Cruz, and more
April 2009 - Fremont Not for Sale - Social Stereo, Scratch Paper, and more
July 2009 - San Francisco Davies Symphony Hall - Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra: Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY
July 2009 - San Francisco Regency Center Ballroom - VAMPS
April 2010 - Berkeley Cal Dance Marathon - Cal Band, The UC Berkeley Men's Octet, The Golden Overtones
April 2010 - Berkeley Memorial Glade - Cold War Kids
May 2010 - San Jose FanimeCon - LM.C
May 2012 - San Francisco Nob Hill Masonic Center - Charlene Kaye and the Brilliant Eyes, StarKid Company
July 2012 - Berkeley - Deep Chatham
March 2013 - San Francisco Brick and Mortar Music Hall - Misty Boyce, Jay Stolar, Charlene Kaye, Alexz Johnson
September 2013 - Berkeley Amoeba - Bastille
July 2014 - San Diego Comic-Con - All Time Low
October 2015 - Berkeley Greek Theatre - The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Florence + the Machine
November 2015 - San Francisco Slim's - DIR EN GREY
May 2016 - Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre - The Twilight Sad, The Cure
August 2018 - Seattle KeyArena - Hayley Kiyoko, A R I Z O N A, Panic! At The Disco
July 2019 - Stern Grove - Madeline Kenney, Mitski
October 2019 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - Blood Orange, GoldLink, Tyler, the Creator
November 2019 - Camp Flog Gnaw - slowthai, Yuna, The Internet, Tyler, the Creator
November 2019 - Camp Flog Gnaw - DAISY, Willow Smith, FKA twigs, BROCKHAMPTON, Earl Sweatshirt, Drake
November 2021 - Fox Theater - illuminati hotties, Dehd, Julien Baker
March 2022 - Fox Theater - CHAI, Mitski
May 2022 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - Lorde
October 2022 - Oakland Arena - Surfbort, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance
October 2022 - Cornerstone Berkeley - Imperial Triumphant, Sylvaine, Zeal & Ardor
October 2022 - Levi's Stadium - Elton John
November 2022 - August Hall - Miyavi
February 2023 - Hollywood Paladium - The Last Rockstars
April 2023 - Sakura-Con - Queen Bee
March 2024 - Islington Assembly Hall - DIR EN GREY
March 2024 - Islington Assembly Hall - DIR EN GREY
September 2024 - Frost Amphitheatre - Wyatt Flores, Mitski
October 2024 - Yoyogi National Gymnasium - PIERROT, DIR EN GREY
October 2024 - Yoyogi National Gymnasium - DIR EN GREY, PIERROT
October 2024 - Ikebukuro EDGE - MERRY
October 2024 - Bimbo's 365 Club - Julien Baker
December 2024 - The UC Theatre - Zeal & Ardor
February 2025 - Open San Jose - Moquette, Broncos at Distance, Cherry Lane, Absurd Youth, Static Party, Worm Sex, Kilroy Rogers, Gusset
April 2025 - The Belasco - DIR EN GREY
April 2025 - The Belasco - DIR EN GREY
April 2025 - House of Blues Anaheim - DIR EN GREY