Let me start off by saying I'm an enormous George Romero fan. I think the man's nothing less than a genius. Even without the classic Living Dead trilogy, he still has a tremendous filmography under his belt. Martin is one of my fave horror movies ever. And no, not just because I share the same first name as the titular character.

However, having just watched Diary Of The Dead, I have to wonder if this is indeed the same George Romero I grew up watching. It must be, since it has his brand of dark humour and goresome allegory, but it also stinks to high heaven. There are aspects of greatness, but it ultimately seems messy, amateurish (even for a movie that's supposed to look like a student film), soap opera-esque, and saddest of all, redundant. Did we really need to reboot the Dead franchise with something so ham-fisted and poorly conceived? There's a flashback (complete with heavy-handed narration, just in case you missed the point) every four minutes in this movie. It's horrendous.

But on the other hand, it does have one of the coolest characters ever - Samuel, the deaf amish guy. He was amazing. The whole movie should've been about him. Not these unappealing wankers waving digital cameras around while spouting meaningful and witty phrases about YouTube message boards (???).

The saddest thing is I'm a huge fan of this estranged sub-genre of faux-handheld docu-blockbusters. I adored Cloverfield, and went giddy over Blair Witch Project when that first came out (okay, I still love it). And I'll defend those movies to my death if I have to. Whilst Diary I would gladly kick in crotchular area. Go figure, huh?

Also, Comic Con looks less and less likely for me. Financial problems abound and I'm just in too much of a bind to do anything about it. I'm really struggling to survive in general, and if I make the slightest false move I might end up screwing myself and Safty out of a honeymoon. And that is not. Going. To happen. Because I might end up choking to death on a plushie Jamaican crab if Safty doesn't get to visit Disneyworld.

And please don't even consider donating money via the PayPal link on the YGO Abridged site - or even by purchasing shirts at our store - because none of that money goes to me. It goes to either the website or the people who make the shirts. I don't want you guys spending money on something thinking it'll help me, when it doesn't. Heck, I don't really want anybody spending money on anything related to me whatsoever. Not that it wouldn't be appreciated, I'm just... I'm not worth it. Really.

Thanks for listening, as always.

I remember now why I didn't understand all the hype about Super Smash Bros. Melee. I'm rubbish at it. It's one of those things I'm sure I'll be ridiculed for in the coming days when you all inevitably beat me at it, but eh. It's fun to play regardless.

Having said that, the game has its fair share of flaws. For starters, the Subspace Emissary mode - which I thought looked sweet as hell - turns out to be one of the most intentionally infuriating videogame modes I've ever experienced. And not in a fun way. It's actually kind of a chore. The cut-scenes and boss encounters are tremendous, but those platforming sections are just... well, I don't think the fighting gameplay works in a platforming environment. It's far too punishing for the silliest of reasons. Some of these levels you can't even get through without dying several times purely because you need to play them about seven or eight times to know what you're supposed to be doing.

Lag is a major issue during online play. And I don't know if it's my Wi-Fi or what, but whenever I see someone online it rarely lets me join their game and I usually have to resort to creating my own room. Which entails standing around flailing at a sandbag w/ features for about twenty minutes before anyone considers joining my brawl.

I've never been huge into fighting games, but Brawl's charm and plethora of features, not to mention its killer roster, have lured me in. It's just a shame it seems to have a downfall for every success. Maybe I'll come to enjoy it more over time, but I dunno.

Brawl is finally out in the UK.

I have it. I also have a friend code. It's 1075-2189-7815. Name's YGOAS on there.

What's yours?

So it would seem tomorrow I am meeting up with fellow Yu-Gi-Oh lampooner and all 'round awesome gal, pdutogepi. It's quite an auspicious event, since I can say without any uncertainty that she inspired me to make the Abridged Series in the first place. So hopefully some fun shall be had.

Next week, my best man is coming over to visit. I doubt he'd appreciate coming all the way from Scotland only to find me glued to my computer doing voicework and editing footage from a Japanese cartoon, so I doubt I'll be able to work on Abridged for the duration of his stay. Excuses, excuses, right?

Once he's gone, however, I should have free reign to take it to the hoomph and get Episode 30 made ASAP.

You've just been Vicroll'd.

God, I used to love Vic & Bob. And you guys know how averse I am to comedy in general. I just think their early stuff was the perfect blend of comedy and surrealism. Things started to go downhill during Shooting Stars, but I'll always have a special place in my heart for Big Night Out and Smell Of Reeves & Mortimer.

And I always preferred Bob. Always.

( Cut for some of my fave Vic & Bob skits )

I'm going to have to politely ask people to stop applying for the task of supplying art for my little pet project, as mentioned a few entries ago. Not that I don't appreciate the immense support, but I'm literally getting dozens and dozens of very, very talented artists throwing pictures and animations at me. And I suppose until I say "Okay, that's enough!" I'm going to keep getting submissions until the video's released.

So yeah, I now have more than enough potential candidates to choose between, and I'm going to have to ask you all to give my inbox a wee chance to rest. I'm really happy that I got a chance to look at all your work - I only wish I could draw half as good as you guys. I honestly believe you're all far more creative than I could ever hope to be. You each have remarkable imagination and skill.

First run-through of Henry V is tomorrow. Maybe doing that will allow me to muster up some genuine enthusiasm for the play.

Also, today I bought our wedding rings. *smile*

Hectic week ahead of me. A lot on my plate, including rehearsals for both Henry V and Angels In America, so if I'm unresponsive or slow to post I apologise.

Also, I highly doubt I'll have the new episode finished for the end of the month. Which is a shame, because it means longer to wait for you guys. At this rate, I'd expect to see it in two weeks at the earliest. Really very sorry.

But not as sorry as the people who're making Disaster Movie should be. Could there be a more suicide-inducing trailer? I'm inclined to say no.

Candidate for worst videogame ending ever? I think so. Spoilers for anyone who hasn't played Limbo Of The Lost. Not that any of you were planning to, of course.

Oddly enough, it looks not unlike the new episode of Eden: The Zhang Chronicles. If that ever surfaces.

And now for a request. Are there any aspiring artists out there who feel up to drawing me a couple of images of Yami and Kaiba? They'd have to be full body pics, and I'd want four or five frames worth of facial animation for dialogue purposes. I know I could probably just search for appropriate footage, but I want both characters to look somewhat consistent with one another. And with the way the animation style often changes from episode to episode in YGO, I'm not sure I'd get what I'm looking for. Funnily enough, this isn't even for a Yu-Gi-Oh video, just a small pet project I'm working on.

If anyone's interested, feel free to contact me via email (littlekuriboh@gmail.com) to discuss details. I'm willing to pay for the work if that's an issue at all.

Dear lord, how can they make a movie where Anna Faris walks around in skimpy clothing for ninety percent of the running time, yet it doesn't appeal to me? Hell, I put up with the atrocious "comedy" material in the Scary Movie series purely because of her adorability factor. Yet somehow this really puts me off. It might be because of the bogus message it's giving out to young women. Or maybe my crush on Miss Faris is waning. Ironic, considering how she's just now becoming a star in her own right.

Any idea what I should sing at my wedding reception? My first notion was "F**k Her Gently" by Tenacious D, just for shock value. Though considering a large proportion of the audience will probably be 50+, I'm not sure if I wouldn't wind up killing them all of heart attacks (therefore I am Kira!). Perhaps something Flight of the Conchords related?

Also, my paid LJ account runs out very soon. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.

*edit*

Eep! Um, thankyou pikaporeon for paying for an extra 12 months of paid accountness. I really didn't mean to sound like I was asking anybody to pay for it... But thankyou very much all the same. :)

You're all very awesome, you know that?

Reply to this post to be told by me that you are awesome. Because you are.

Especially you. *points*