Posts for theenglishman


Post subject: I hate being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
For those of you who follow the National Hockey League, you may notice that the Toronto Maple Leafs are in second-last in the Eastern Conference. This, combined with humiliating losses to LA (last in the West) and San Jose have all but cemented my grief. Buffalo Bills fans should be sympathetic to my plight, as the two teams' plights are similar. We haven't won a Stanley Cup SINCE 1967, and I doubt I'll see the Leafs win one before I die. AND I'M SEVENTEEN. So, you ask, why do I continue to support the Laughing-stocks...er, Leafs? Ah, you just made your point: I am a FAN, not a SUPPORTER. I do not like what head coach Paul Maurice is doing with his lines, or John Ferguson Jr. making ludicriously large contracts for players who either score on their own net or sit around waiting for the other team to take the puck from them. Not since the days of Ebenezer Scrooge himself, Harold Ballard, have we seen a Leaf team this half-baked. But I digress. Even with the pathetic managerial issues, I still cheer for the Leafs, hoping faintly that somehow, SOMETHING's gotta give. With a recent team photo session canceled, I can only hope that the Leafs are rebuilding their head office - now maybe they'll do something about the guys who actually skate.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Nice thread Upthorn. The only reason I made the bargain-bin thread in the first place was because I wanted to get rid of the recommendations of milked-to-death classics and shine light on new material. This is a better idea. (ADMINS: lock the bargain thread) Let me throw in my own recommendation: The Brain that Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge. It's selling well in Canada but not sure about the States. Similar to Oliver Sacks if you've ever read him. It's about the human brain and neuroplasticity - the brain's ability to change and adapt to anything well beyond childhood. There are some truly amazing case files in the story. For example: a woman who lost her sense of balance and later regained it by training a different part of her brain, a man who developed a bondage/pain fetish because he jerked off as a child to pass the time while he was painfully treated for a bone disorder and his pain and pleasure centres of the brain formed a connection, a doctor who discovered that monkeys could regain motor skills in their right arm when the movement nerve was severed and the other hand was put in a disabling cast, a man whose brain cells in the entire left half of the brain died and his son, through training, helped "teach" his right half to multitask and perform everything that the left once did. The list goes on, and I don't want to spoil any more of it. Please, if you find this book, buy it. You'll never look at your brain the same way again.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Awesome work Swordless. The v2 run just might come out before Metal Gear Solid 4 does =P Also, just to add my own opinion on forward backwalking: I think sacrificing six frames per backwalk is more than worth it to make the traveling segments more watchable. That's just me.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
pirate_sephiroth wrote:
No... theenglishman is the revelation...
pirate, I would rather try to forget that. Please.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Best three, in order using Japanese numbering: 1. VI 2. VII 3. X
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
I've uploaded the run to YouTube for anyone who can't seem to find the ROM. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
FLAME WAR!
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
JXQ wins again.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Excellent work, pirate! Backflipping makes any run better ;) And why does Richter look like someone from DBZ when he does the multi-cross attack? What out-of-context attack are they gonna put next in a Castlevania game? (I'm hoping for a variation on a hadouken...) I liked your...um...creative ways of getting the bouncy red ball as fast as possible :) It was also nice to hear Vampire Killer and all the classic tracks, it really added to the entertainment value. Overall, great game selection. I've never seen the original Dracula X run, but this one looks fantastic nonetheless. Voting yes ftw =D Also, might I suggest a few screenshots? Frames 11,615; 27,027; 43,427 (or somewhere around there where he moonwalks around the scythes). They're cool stuff I found while randomly pausing the movie =P
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
They're weird enough.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Alright, everyone: please stop talking about mainstream books. Pretty please?
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
feitclub wrote:
Does it have to be obscure/unknown/overlooked titles?
Yes. That's what going to differentiate this thread from other similar ones.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Happy late Hannukah.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Post subject: The TASvideos Bargain Bin Book Club
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
I've been wanting to do this for a while, so I decided to suck up my pride and make this topic. This thread is, if you haven't already guessed, a book thread, meant to reccommend those hidden treasures that would otherwise not get recognition. These can include very obscure works, books locally published or underrated gems by classic authors. They should (but don't have to) be in English. Reccomendations should include a review about a paragraph or two long that details what you liked/disliked about the book and why you think others in the community would like it. So I'll kickstart the thread with a book I just recently finished The Book of the Film of the Story of My Life by Auckland-based comedic writer William Brandt. It's a "coming-of-age a bit late" story smartly tucked in around an intriguing romantic subplot with more than a touch of obscurity. The protagonist, Frederick Case, is a New Zealand screenplay reader living in London, depressed because his wife Sophie had just left him for the chunk Matt Chalmers, with whom she'd performed the first ever BJ in a major film. Frederick is invited by one of his cohorts to a birthday cruise to a South Pacific island, and Sophie and Matt are also invited. Seizing his chance, Frederick hires a local hooker to seduce Matt away from Sophie so he can have her back. Oh yeah, and Sophie's pregnant with what Frederick thinks is his own child. The story is complex and makes absolutely no sense, but you'll be laughing too hard to notice. I recommend this to any intellectual nerds like me who normally can't stand romcoms. It's a good mix of two very different genres that's well-written, intriguing and hilarious. I now pass the microphone onto you.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Very entertaining and a nice change of pace. Voting yes, but I'd love to see an All-Stars + World run that goes through the entire Mario collection and breaks them equally. A seven-hour glitchfest! XD
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
BisqBot fails again XD. There were a few parts which looked unoptimized, but it was mildly entertaining nonetheless. Voting meh.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
I actually like Charles Marinet's voicework for Mario, I just found it grating that it was so poorly synthesized :'( Poor sound work notwithstanding, a great run. Nice to see the enemy-throwing ability making a comeback from Super Mario USA (one of the few things I actually liked about that game). The game itself is well-suited to a speedrun, starting off slowly and building tension - and insanity - from there. It seemed very well-optimized; there were a few areas that looked like they could be improved but I'll blame it on bad controls. I have two questions: - Is it possible to stand on Thwomps and Thwimps as if they were platforms (like other enemies) and jump up from there? - What's with the lag? Is it possible to reduce it? Anyway, looks like find-the-key platformers CAN make good TAS's, so I might pursue finishing my LarryBoy run one of these days. Anyway, great run, I was a bit bored on rare occasions but I'm glad that I stayed through to the end. Voting yes. It also looks like BisqBot finally got it right with the screenshots this time ;)
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
I've heard of this game before but never played it or seen it in action. It looks like the bastard child of The Legend of Zelda and Dragon Warrior - with hilariously funny dialogue and the nuclear obliteration of the fourth wall. Regardless I enjoyed watching this run. Looked optimal (I'm guessing the controls aren't that tight?), good pacing for casual watching and was entertaining, even with that annoying text-scroll sound. This was a nice choice of game to TAS (haven't seen Sami's run). Voting yes for an entertaining run. Selecting items to the music around frame 31000 was awesome. You did a great job on this run.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Thanks everyone for your votes. At the risk of sounding clichéd, this does mean a lot to me. Thanks guys =P
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
All I can say is: wow. The insanity on display here is impeccable. This is everything a Megaman run should be. Oh, and I voted yes.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
What's this? A WIP?!?! Yep, I'm back...
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Bad news: I just got a Trojan virus and I discovered a few new glitches (such as keeping momentum during double-jumps and repeatedly jumping underneath platforms to bypass obstacles) which means that you won't be seeing this run again for a VERY long time; basically I have to redo a good 20 minutes of the run. Sorry.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
Here's your requested avatar:
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
stickyman05 wrote:
dirk456 wrote:
I hope they will add Twilight Princess Ganondorf. This time he can have his glowy sword and magic powers, instead of juiced up Captain Falcon moves.
Awwwa, but i liked his manly grunting...
' I agree. Now he sounds like an old man on a puffer.
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (441)
Joined: 3/21/2006
Posts: 940
Location: Toronto, Canada
My last WIP before taking a four-day trip to Halifax. Enjoy XD
My current project: Something mysterious (oooooh!) My username is all lower-case letters. Please get it right :(