Gavin McInnes: Tribute to Free Speech & Pamela Geller After Garland Shooting

Around the Web: Two Articles from Voices of Liberty

One of my friends sent me the links to a couple articles on voicesofliberty.com last night, and I really enjoyed them so I thought I would share them here.

The first is "Why Christians Should Immediately Become Libertarians" by Ben Lewis

The Second is "5 Ways Alcohol Prohibition Was No Different Than The Marijuana Ban" by Jonathan Boesche

Katie Couric Pranks James Corden on the Late Late Show

On last night's Late Late Show with James Corden, Katie Couric played a pretty great prank on the host.

A Journey Through 'The Legend of Zelda' Series (Part 4)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

It has been around fifteen years since I last played The Legend of Zelda:  Ocarina of Time so I was excited to trek through this game again.  Many consider this game the gold standard of the Zelda franchise and, while I remember enjoying it when it first came out on the Nintendo 64, my opinion before re-playing was that it was a good game but some people give it too much credit.

Now that I have finished my most recent play-through, I can honestly say that I was wrong and this game does deserve the accolades that it has received over the years.

Read on to find out my thoughts on the game:

Getting the PS4 Itch...

Since it's launch a little over a year ago, there hasn't been any games released for the Playstation 4 that have piqued my interest.  While I do admit there are some good games on the system, my tastes have changed in the past few years so none of them appeal to me anymore.

I do believe that is about to change though!  As I write this, there are a handful of games announced that I am very interested in and will probably result in me buying this system in the near future.

These are the games that I want:

(Some of these may be on the NSFW side)

Ika Musume Attempts to Steal Ayanami Rei's Ramen

This is a picture I took of a couple of my figures several years ago.  The Ika Musume (Squid Girl) figure was the first one I ever bought.  Several years later I have many shelves full of figures from various anime and games!

*UPDATED* Walmart Exclusive Limited Edition Gold Mario Amiibo Releases Tomorrow

Tomorrow marks the release date for the Limited Edition Gold Mario Amiibo available exclusively at Walmart.  The online pre-orders sold out in about 15 minutes and they are expected to fly off the shelves equally as fast!

I have called three Walmarts in my area today to see if any would be getting them in and the results were vastly different.  The first had no clue what I was talking about and said to call back on Monday, the second knew they were supposed to be getting some in but had no clue when, and the third was able to look it up and see that they had four of them in stock somewhere in the back.  They said the person in charge of putting them out on shelves will be off until Monday, but they were going to try to see if they could locate them for me.  I was told to call back in an hour to see if they found them or not so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I will be able to get one!

Around the Web: Time: Nintendo CEO Reveals Plans for Smartphones

Earlier this week, Nintendo announced that they are teaming up with DeNA, a Japanese company that provides mobile portal and e-commerce sites, to work on some games that would be compatible with an array of smartphones and tablets.

This news was met with varying reactions on the internet, some were happy to hear the news and others feel that this could be the decline of Nintendo.

Pixels Official Trailer

Looks like this will be a good movie!

Around the Web: The World is Nintendo's (If Only They'd Take It)

An interesting article on Forbes about Nintendo's standing in the console wars.

Read it here.

Strong Female Characters in Video Games

I remember reading an article about the lack of female characters in video games a year or so ago so I counted all of my 200+ games and found that about half either featured a female lead, co-lead, or character creation that lets you choose your gender.  I posted a comment on the article with my findings and got responses like "those are either stereotypical females or 'men with boobs!'  We need female characters that are REAL!"  So I asked how they would make this character real and not fall into the above categories and never got a response...  This comic reminded me of that conversation.

A Journey Through 'The Legend of Zelda' Series (Part 3)

Part 1
Part 2

Continuing on with my journey through the Zelda games, I have come to what may be my favorite title in the series, 'The Legend of Zelda:  A Link to the Past.'  I have played through this game many times in the past, although it has been maybe five years or so since my last playthrough.  Having spent countless hours with this game already, it was no surprise that I blew through it so quickly - I beat it in a day.

Continue reading for my thoughts about this game.

Fox's 'The Last Man on Earth'

Last night, 'The Last Man on Earth' starring Will Forte premiered on Fox.  After seeing the previews a few times I was intrigued as to how this show would play out.  Would it only have one person in the show?  Would it eventually introduce new characters?  Would it even be any good?  The premiere of the first two episodes answered these questions and I am glad that I watched it as it is absolutely hilarious!

A Journey Through 'The Legend of Zelda' Series (Part 2)

For the first time in my life, I was able to complete Zelda II:  The Adventure of Link!  It has been many, many years since I had last played it and had in fact lost my copy.  I was able to find another copy for a decent price at a local game shop so I snatched it up in order to try my hand at finally beating it.

Unfortunately, when I got home and tested it, I found out the battery was dead so it would no longer hold a save.  After a quick internet search I found a repair guide and kit from Retro Video Game Repair.  It was a relatively quick and easy fix.  The only hard part was breaking the old battery free from it's mounts since it was soldered in.  After I broke it free, I was able to install the new battery with some electrical tape to keep it in place and it works like new!

Below you can find my thoughts about this game.

(For part one that features the original LoZ, click here)

Greg Gutfeld Leaves Red Eye

Friday night marked an end of an era.  Greg Gutfeld, the creator of Fox News' Red Eye hosted the show for the last time, officially.  He is leaving to work on a new weekend show that will also air on Fox.  Red Eye will continue on with various hosts rotating in and out until a permanent host is announced.

Around the Web: 3 Charts That Show the FCC is Full of Malarkey on Net Neutrality and Title II

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted in favor of reclassifying the Internet from an "information service" to being a "telecommunication service" and thus subject to same sort of Title II regulations that have governed voice telephony for decades.

Reason.com has a great article up that cuts through all the talking points and presents some interesting facts.

You can read the article here.

A Journey Through 'The Legend of Zelda' Series (Part 1)

I have recently started playing though all of the console 'Legend of Zelda' games and thought that I would share my opinions about each of them as I complete them.  Of the eight released for home consoles, I have played six of them in the past, only missing out on Majora's Mask and Skyward Sword.

I have never been much of a handheld gamer (until recently with my Vita and 3DS), so I have not decided whether or not I will go back and play the many I've missed out on Gameboy, GBA, etc... through the years, but it is a possibility.

I will be playing each game on the original console it was released on to get a more authentic experience.  While all of them could be played on my Wii U via Virtual Console, or on my 3DS, there is just something about playing them with the original system with the original controller.

As I write this, I have completed 'The Legend of Zelda' on NES last week and have begun 'Zelda II:  The Adventure of Link'

Here is my review of the first one:

Powered UP!

Lara Croft, Master Chief, and Assassin Connor set out to steal Mario's treasured power-ups. Mario shows them the true meaning of power.

Super Mario Timeline

In this video by Scorpigator Films we see a possibility of all the Super Mario games having continuity.  What do you think?

'Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions' Review

I recently purchased the Limited Edition of 'Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions' released by Sentai Filmworks and I must say it is one of the best LE's that I have ever bought.  Not only does it contain all 12 episodes, the OVA, and some shorts on both Blu Ray and DVD, it also includes the following:

14 Postcards
7 Art Boards
1 Holographic Card
1 Linticular Card
3 Stickers
152 page Art Book
Keychain
Rikka's Eyepatch
Wallet Chain

You can get all of this for $77.99 on Rightstuf.com.  The box that contains all these goodies is gorgeous to look at as well.

But what about the series itself?  Read on to find out my opinion on this series.

Twin Tail Day!

In honor of Twin Tail Day (ツインテールの日) in Japan, which takes place on February 2nd, here are some pictures of cute girls sporting this hairstyle.  

Which Link is the Strongest?

With all the Legend of Zelda games over the years, which iteration of Link do you think is the strongest of them all?  Game Theory finds the answer in this video.

Japanese Netizens Respond to ISIS's Threat of Killing Two Japanese Hostages

Japanese Twitter users have started mocking ISIS by uploading photoshopped pictures under the hashtag "ISIS Crap Collage Grand Prix" (#ISISクソコラグランプリ)

Take a look at some of the tweets below:

Momoiro Clover Z vs KISS

Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z recently released the video for their new song "Yume no Ukiyo ni Saitemina," which was made in collaboration with American rockers KISS.  The video features animation by Sushio, who was the character designer and chief animation director on Kill la Kill.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2 LE Goes On Sale Tonight at 8pm CST

The release of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 had several issues resulting in a lot of fans being highly upset.  There were only 1,000 copies available, they went on sale at midnight PST, and there were issues with Amazon not allowing people outside of the US to order one.  Fortunately, I was one of the lucky people who were able to get a copy.

With the release of HDN Re;Birth 2, Iffy now has their own online store and have announced that their will be more copies available, even though they have not said how many.  There also seems to be measures in place that will prevent multiple orders from the same people.

Good luck to everyone who will be trying to snag a copy.  I will update you to let you know whether or not I was able to get one.

***Update:  I got a copy!!!

Nintendo Direct January 14, 2015

Nintendo shared several new announcements today, as well as premiered new trailers for upcoming games on their Direct this morning.  For those of you who where unable to watch it or don't feel like watching the full 46 minutes, here are the highlights.

Around the Web: Feminist Slams Into Men Street to Prove They Are Entitled

From The Libertarian Republic:  Irony: Feminist Slams Into Men on Street to Prove They Are Entitled

So back in the day, feminists complained about men opening doors, offering their seat, and other 'chauvinistic' acts and now they are complaining that men aren't getting out of their way....

ReasonTV: Digital Platforms Breathe New Life Into Comics Industry

The above video from ReasonTV shows that in today's comic world, artists no longer need to solely rely on a a large publisher to get their work out there.  With the rise of digital platforms and crowd funding sites like Kickstarter, they can now bypass all the hurdles involved with going through the traditional method of getting readers.

Around the Web: IGN (Opinion) Xbox One and Playstation 4 Are Effectively Online-only Consoles

In this IGN article, Dan Stapleton talks about the absolute need for an internet connection to be able to enjoy the Playstation 4 and Xbox One despite Sony previously claiming the opposite and Microsoft backing off its online only stance.

You can read the article here:  Opinion: Xbox One and Playstation 4 Are Effectively Online-only Consoles

With someone like me, who has limited internet options where they live, having a console that uses so much data is unappealing.  The only options I have for internet are satellite or a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP).

Watch: AMV (Anime Music Video) Where Is My Mind/Evangelion

Song:  "Where Is My Mind" (Pixies cover) by Yoav ft. Emily Browning
Anime:  Evangelion

Art: Five Pieces From Pixiv

 Artist:  ま太郎

Pixiv is an online community where both professional and amateur artists can share their work.  Most of the artists are Japanese, so there is a huge amount of anime/manga styled pieces.  Here are a few works of art that I really liked:

Listen: Famikoto Plays Nintendo Medley

Japanese group 'Famikoto' plays a medley of Nintendo songs on traditional instruments.  Songs include:

#0:00 Fire Emblem
#4:26 Disk System
#4:39 Legend of Zelda
#6:56 Super Mario Bros.

The Cutest Thing You Will See Today

The Genesis Gap: Part 1

It seems that nowadays, whenever atheists and Christians debate, it is solely about their views of creation.  Atheists love to say that evolution is a fact beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that by being true, it somehow disproves the existence of God.  Many of the most vocal Christians claim that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that science is flat out wrong.

This is another one of those topics where people pretend that there are only two options, with each side refusing to even listen to the other.  This is also one of those topics that I have a complete different view than the majority.

It is my belief that the earth of today is not the 'original' earth, but a restored earth.  That may sound strange to most people and seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but bear with me.  It is my hope that by reading this post, you will at least gain a basic understanding of what is known as "the Genesis Gap" or "Gap Theory."

By believing in the Genesis Gap, I am not calling into question the salvation of any Christian with a different view of creation.  I believe that this is not an issue about salvation, but simply about gaining a better understanding as to how the earth was made and God's redemption plan for all of creation, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Folly of 'Open-Mindedness'

The phrase 'open-minded' is one that, I believe, has lost it's original meaning.  In the past, one who was open-minded challenged their own preconceived notions and looked at the world objectively.  Today, it has become more of a phrase used to shut up someone with opposing views.

Anytime someone dares to speak out against something nontraditional, they are usually insulted as being closed-minded bigots who need to open their minds!  But, isn't it closed minded to insult someone with a different point of view than you have?  Is this 'open-minded' individual any better than the so-called 'closed-minded' one?

It is my opinion that the new 'open-minded' crowd are in fact as closed minded as those they rally against.

I think the new definitions should be: