Oh Wait, I Still Have a Blog.

Wow... so it's been an entire month without even so much as a peep out of this tiny little corner of that prismatic thing we call an internet. Anyway, there's been quite a few things happening around the world in my "absence", not the least of which being the holiday season and the start of a new year. It's been quite an adventurous month, as I've been ferried around through three or four states on roughly twenty different occasions, and that leaves fairly little time to do other things, as I'm sure you all know.

Anyway, as has already been stated around the world, quite many times, 2010 is over. That's right, another decade descends into the annals of history and a new one rises before us, waiting to be explored. People around the world have made resolutions for what they will be doing with their lives in this fantastic new year, and I for one, am no different. What is/are my resolutions? Well, simply put, to stop being so damned lazy.

I've been putting off quite a few things, and for quite a long time now. I aim to put a stop to all of it. First and foremost, I will be setting off with a full head of steam, editing the novel I wrote in November to a more polished, much more readable state. After that, well, it's one big mystery, but somewhere along the line, I know that I will probably set off on writing another novel and editing that. But that's another, erm... story. Secondly, I will be finding myself a stable job and saving money. This seems relatively straightforward, but with my lack of social skills, one can only hope this venture ends well. Thirdly, I am resolving to re-enroll in college. While this year off has been nice, I need to hunker down and set myself right.

After all of that, I honestly don't know. I have so many things that I want to do, and if I don't sit myself down and outline a plan, then nothing will get done, I'm sure of it. Regardless, that's the future. I'd like to also talk a bit about the past. 2010 was a year of a great many things - not the least of which being the year in which I wrote my first "full-length" novel. Just thinking back to what we're now calling last year calls forth such a dizzying amount of information and memories that I don't think I'd be able to recall it all to the extent that I would like.

One very prominent memory of last year comes to mind, and very clearly. Before I divulge that, however, I have to add in some back story first. You see, about three years ago, my family became split into about three groups, each living in separate states and all of that. My mother and father, dragging me along, moved to Connecticut. Shortly after that, my mother split from my father, me tagging along with her, and moved to New Jersey. And, remaining in Florida were my two brothers. Since then, one of my brothers has found his way up here, and is now living with us here in New Jersey.

Last year was special for me because it was the first time in two years that I'd seen all of my immediate family in one place, and for once, none of them were fighting each other. Let's just say it was a rather moving experience, and one that I dearly wish would repeat itself, even though common sense and logic are already telling me that it probably won't happen.

But that's enough about me. What about you guys? What have you been up to in this past month, and what are your resolutions for the year ahead?

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy NaNo!

So yesterday was Thanksgiving for those who happen to be in America and enjoy gorging themselves entirely on the delicacy of turkey, gravy and tons and tons of potatoes. Yesterday also marked the day where verification on NaNoWriMo began, where around the world, millions of words are being counted, and thousands and thousands of writers are finally crossing the finish line on the month of craziness and amazing awesomeness. I'm actually waiting until I actually finish the novel before heading off to verify, if only for my own obstinate personality. But, that isn't to say that I won't verify if it's 11:58 and I'm still not done.

Regardless, today is the recovery day, where we all get back up and out of the house to do some Black Friday shopping in early preparation for the rest of the holiday seasons. And if not, well, today's sit back and try to enjoy the day. So, whatever you have planned for today, I hope you had a happy yesterday. I sure did.

Review: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Hey, guys.

So it's come to my attention that I totally spaced and forgot to post something the past two update days. I feel like... well, I don't know what I feel like, but I'll get back to you on that. Meanwhile, I wanted to talk about something besides NaNo today, for once. I know, I know, such a shock and a travesty, and all sorts of other things, right?

Anyway, I've been playing a lot of games recently. Mostly just Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, though. That seems like a good enough topic to begin on, eh?

If you pay any attention at all to the world of video games and the like, you've probably heard mention of the AC franchise before. When the original was released it was a breath of fresh air, a new concept, and most importantly, FUN. The story was amazing, the action was absolutely awesome, and the fact that you could climb walls at your leisure was simply friggen' stunning. Flash forward a few years and now we have three console games, two hand-held games, a Facebook app, and one or two cellphone adaptations. Brotherhood happens to be the former of the three.

It picks up where you left off after the events of AC2, understandably, and immediately you're thrust into the world of Desmond Miles and Ezio Auditore de Firenze, his ancestor. If you haven't played and/or heard about Assassin's Creed, then you may want to shut your eyes, place your hands over your ears and yell "la la la, I can't hear you," at the top of your lungs, unless you're privy to spoilers and important plot points.

So basically, if you haven't a clue as to why Desmond is able to see, hear, act and think as his ancestor did, it's all due to a fun little device called the Animus. The Animus allows the user to essentially use their DNA to relive the memories of those that came before him or her. Now Desmond's ancestors happen to belong to an ancient order of assassins who fight against the Templar order, trying to keep them from assuming control of mystical and mysterious devices known as 'Pieces of Eden', and therefore taking control of the world at large.

Long story short, Desmond is taken in by the Templars, due to his illustrious ancestry, to track down these Pieces of Eden in their modern day holdings. He is soon rescued by an undercover agent of the assassins and spirited away to learn more about who he is and what he can do, and in the process, find the missing Pieces for the assassins. Anyway, at the start of Brotherhood, Ezio has defeated the big bad and had one such object in his possession, after which he was alerted of a doomsday prophecy and all of that fun stuff.

So Ezio is now in possession of the particular PoE the assassins of the modern world are looking for and it's only a matter of finding where he put it, right? Wrong. Something big happens, protagonist loses all of his armor, weapons, and some of his abilities (sad face, Metroid, sad face.) and we the player are forced to do it all again.

But, in order to stave away further spoilers, I'll leave it at that.

If I were to review Brotherhood properly, I'd say something like, "A good game, true to its predecessors, very stylish and polished. Story is up to par, and indeed, a fairly unexpected plot twist occurs at the end, causing a cliffhanger and a hook for the next installment (because there's almost a 100% chance of it happening - the series is much too successful for Ubisoft to call it quits here. Being milked like the cash cow it just so happens to be...)."

My judgment on AC: Brotherhood? Buy it, at the least for its replayability, but more than that, because it stands up to those that came before it and adds to the experience without bogging it all down.

Next update should be something more novel-ish. Or maybe turkeyish. I don't know, but I swear!

T-Minus Eight Hours, and Counting

I've mentioned before that time seems to slow considerably when you're anticipating something, and it couldn't be more true now. With just about eight hours until the grand event, and Halloween festivities providing a buffer between now and then, I don't see things moving much more quickly, either. But, that's all well and good, though. You see, these last few hours are providing me some valuable insight time to make sure that my story will play out as I've planned (maybe not, depending on what little plot bunnies discover themselves during my frenzied writing over the next month). Characters are solidifying themselves and others are discovering their wants and needs. Motives swim in and out as they see fit. In other words, my mind is abuzz with the symphony of the not-too-distant plot, looking forward to it's release into the world.

Around the world, NaNo is starting, and the only thing to do now is wait for it to reach the east coast. Midnight tonight will be filled with the sounds of keys being struck with a pace yet unseen this year. Happy NaNo, everyone, and good luck.

NaNoWriMo Countdown: 7 Days.

Well, it's only a week until the great noveling race begins and we're all bustling about in our attempts to get novel ideas out of our heads so that new ones may take root and flourish in our minds for next year. But, before that, we have the wonderfully awesome holiday of Halloween to consider. Tons of candy, little monsters showing up at your doorstep, and an excuse to watch the cheesiest of B-rated horror movies. What reason is there not to enjoy Halloween?

Why speak of the holiday though? Why not speak of the grand contest occurring afterward? Well, there are answers to these questions. These being, because I can, and I could be respectively.

For instance, there's much inspiration to be had in Halloween for any writers, young or old. I vividly remember in elementary school how our teachers would always challenge us to create scary stories to share in a darkened classroom, the bottom portion of our faces illuminated by those silly flashlights. Those were my favorite times. We weren't expected to write anything serious or school-related. We were only requested to have fun and write something we were proud of. Needless to say, it's likely that very few of these stories have stood the test of time, but all the same, there's the hope that the feeling remains. How does this tie in with NaNo? Easily. While the official reason why NaNo is held in November is to take advantage of rather poor weather, I'd like to think that it also wishes us to feed from the creative font of Halloween.