My Game Boy Advance Game Collection (or, my miserable start in the world of handheld gaming)

Happy Monday! Or Sunday evening, for those of you located in other parts of the world (enjoy your freedom while it lasts, eh?). Without further ado or fanfare, I present to you my most coveted collection in my gaming library: 

Ok, ok, you've got to know I'm kidding, but seriously: this is my complete GBA library. Sad, huh? It's especially surprising considering what a fiend I am when it comes to the Nintendo DS/3DS (ok not so much 3DS at the moment, but I do like my Nintendo handhelds these days). So, how is it that I've pretty much completely skipped a game console with a library that is, on the whole, completely in-tune with my gaming tastes?

Well, I'm not going to go the whole nine yards and detail my complete gaming history (that'll take more than one post, I believe), but I can delve into a bit of my past when it comes to handhelds in particular.

As far as I can remember, my first glimpse into the world of handheld gaming was thanks to my grandparents, who had a Game Boy (Maybe 2? Perhaps each of them had one so they could play at the same time). I remember visiting them in Florida during spring break, watching them play Super Mario Land and Tetris 2, and being awed at their skill (My grandfather was particularly good at Tetris 2, while my grandmother could clear Super Mario Land).

I got my own Game Boy at some point and have lots of fond memories playing alongside them, trying my hardest to get as far as they did (to this day I still haven't beaten Super Mario Land). For whatever reason, though, I never really got so into the Game Boy games that I would play them even when I wasn't visiting them in Florida. If my memory serves me right, I'd usually play for a few days after returning home, only to set them down soon after in my frustration of not being able to advance, moving on to other things until the next trip reminded me of how much fun I had.

So was my relationship with handheld gaming until a few years later, when a Game Boy Advance advantageously presented itself to me. Actually, the method by which I acquired it wasn't quite that mystical–a well-meaning relative had gifted my grandfather with a clear purple Game Boy Advance for Christmas one year, but unfortunately he found the colors too difficult to see, so the console was passed down to me.

Honestly, I don't really remember what I did with the thing. I bought a number of games for it, and then traded almost all of them in (There were a few dark years where I traded games in to fund buying more games, but I almost always regretted doing so. Kids, take note: always seriously reconsider before trading in your games). My most regretted GBA trade-in was Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (oh, it hurts to remember! I still have the instruction booklet, even), but I also sold Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories more recently because I just couldn't get into the battle system. The only other game I'm sure I had that is no longer with me was Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, which I eventually passed on to a friend's younger sister along with the console in my junior or senior year of high school.

I still can't believe I got rid of this game! What was I thinking

So, even though I'm sure a got a bit of enjoyment out of the console, all-in-all, the whole thing was pretty short-lived. I guess at the time I was too focused on the Playstation 2 to care much about anything else. Good thing I still had the sense to not to toss 2 of my Game Boy Advance games, even though I didn't have the means to play them at the time. Well, one of them I couldn't get rid of no matter how hard I tried–which do you think it was?

Klonoa: Empire of Dreams's Japanese box art is adorable

US box art? Not so hot... Why 3 Klonoas? 

Luckily, I didn't get rid of my GBA pride and joy: Klonoa: Empire of Dreams. I'm a pretty big Klonoa fan, and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil is one of my favorite PS2 games. With Klonoa: Empire of Dreams being a rather rare title that was released the same year as the system, I consider myself pretty lucky to have snagged a used cartridge at my local game shop. Unfortunately, I've never really played too much of it, but from what I have played, it's been great. The art style is adorable, the music is catchy (Even though some of the music and sounds seem to be taken straight from Klonoa 2), and the gameplay is fun and not too difficult. This title is one that I'm definitely going to be playing more of in the next few weeks–I picked it up for the first time in years last night and restarted my game, and am determined to finish it.

I'm really digging the long Japanese GBA boxes... 

Have you guessed which game I want to get rid of, yet? If you were thinking Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, then you were right! Why would I want to get rid of such a super game, you ask? Well, if you look closely at the picture, it's actually the Japanese version of the game. In my excitement at seeing it for sale used in Japan during my first trip there many years ago, I decided to purchase it, even though I had next to no Japanese language skills at the time. Needless to say, I never really played it because I couldn't understand it, and though I tried to sell it online multiple times, no one really wanted it since it was such an easy game to get in English. I could definitely pick up the game now and play through it no problem... The question is whether or not I really want to. Right now it's not very high on my list.

Just look at this!! How could you not be compelled to buy a game like this

Mr. Driller A: Mysterious Pacteria and Golden Sun are my most recent GBA game acquisitions. Mr. Driller A I bought in 2009, the last time I was in Japan, at a used game shop in Osaka for a very fine price, and it came complete with booklet and box! Mr. Driller is yet another series I'm very interested in, but Mr. Driller A was actually the first game I ever bought. It's great to pick up and do a few rounds, and, just like Klonoa, it has great music, adorable graphics, and fun gameplay. I consider it and Klonoa to be the stars of my GBA library.

Finally, there's Golden Sun. This one I actually bought just this year online for very cheap, and I'm happy to finally have a copy. I borrowed it a long time ago from a friend and found it to be quite fun, so it's always been at the back of my mind as something I wanted to play eventually. When the DS sequel was released, it renewed my interest in the series... But I still haven't played it. Oh, I'll probably never complete all the games on my "must play" list!

So there you have it, the story of my GBA game library. Are there any GBA "must-haves" that you'd recommend? One I'd like to get my hands on is Rhythm Heaven, since my husband and I enjoyed the DS version. My library will grow, slowly but surely!

Oh, and for those of you who must know: I did in fact own copies of both Pokemon Blue and Gold (I remember playing a lot of Blue but never really got far in Gold). Sadly, they were misplaced or lost. Who knows where they are now...

Y salió en verso sin esfuerzo...

* Contundentes, vencen y convencen.
* Suárez, Darwin y Ochoa...si, ¡Ochoa!
* Mosaico en el TSM
* Siguen...Los Jaguares.

Había hecho un resumen así como los que acostumbro, pero al darle "publicar" el bendito internet de megachafa falló y al darle "refrescar" todo lo escrito que había puesto, desapareció por arte de magia. Gracias Megacable por tan "excelente" servicio....culeros. Vamos a ver que puedo recordar.

Ante un esplendoroso TSM al que poco le faltó para llenarse, Santos Laguna da cuenta de los potros de peltre del Atlante por marcador de 3-0 con una excelente actuación en conjunto del cuadro lagunero.

Suárez quien se a convertido en una agradable sorpresa para todos, abrió el marcador, luego vendría Darwin y por último Ochoa para cerrar una tarde que fué redonda para los laguneros que asistieron y fueron partícipes del mosaico que se realizó en el Corona en medio de un ambiente de fiesta.

MAS INFORMACION.

La afición responde en las tribunas del CORONA.

¡Y como no habría fiesta! Si el equipo responde en la cancha con una actuación comprometida, con todos corriendo de forma inteligente ( que no es lo mismo que correr como locos detrás del balón) robando pelotas en medio campo, con un Ludueña que se vé como chamaco corriendo y disputándo balones sin dejar de lado su talento para filtrarlos tal y como sucedió en el primer gol que en la distancia, vió el acertado movimiento cruzado de Suárez y filtró al hueco para que éste sólo sacara al portero y abriera el marcador ante el júbilo de la gente que ahora sí se prende por ver en la cancha a unos Guerreros que se la parten.

Un Ludueña que corre, que se compromete y que parece haber
encontrado su segundo aire, ojalá nos dure así todo el torneo.

Sin duda, este inicio de torneo ha sido prometedor, la gente, ya se encontraba hambrienta de probar futbol, y lo hizo saber al reconocer el esfuerzo de sus guerreros dentro de la cancha.

La formación también daba pié para pensar en un partido movido al frente, mandando de inicio a Ludueña, Suárez, Darwin y Peralta, Santos le hacía saber a Herrera que iba a ir al frente, y que el cero no iba a durar mucho estando o no sus potros en la cancha.

Darwin Quintero sería el encargado de meter el segundo, al estar presente para sólo empujar el balon despues de una gran jugada de Peralta que le sirvió en bandeja de plata la pelota. Antes, Guti Estrada había robado ese balón cediéndolo a Oribe, y recibir castigo del rival que ante la imposibilidad de hacer algo mejor en la cancha, optaba por golpear al chaparro consentido de la afición, poniéndole el puño en el rostro, y no siendo objeto ni siquiera, de una tarjeta.

Se está haciendo una bonita costumbre ver estos festejos
con un tridente de miedo al frente aderezado por la calidad
en los pases del Hachita.

Con el 2-0 en contra, Atlante hizo sus cambios intentando combatir en algo a la aplanadora guerrera, y estuvo cerca, sin embargo, Kikín Fonseca se encargó de reiterar su calidad de petardo al quedar solo contra Oswaldo y patear un balón que le fué a tirar el lonche y la coca al niño de la fila 40 o como diría el perro mamonamente, "la mandó con saludos al satélite moreleeeees".

Antes de eso, Oswaldo se había lucido en plan grande al sacarle al Hobbit Bermúdez un disparo de tiro libre al angulo que el protegonista del Señor de los anillos ( prestas) ya daba por gol. 

Pero faltaba la cereza en el pastel, el ambiente de por´si ya era de fiesta, y en una jugada genial, Carlos Ochoa hace un golazo para poner los cartones ( bueno fuera de cheve ) definitivos en el marcador por 3-0, después tendría otra oportunidad, pero al igual que el Kikín, nos regaló un ubicatex al hacer una chambonada en algo que ya era gol cantado.

Hasta Ochoa metía un golazo, para el 3-0, lamentablemente
minutos después volvimos a la realidad.

Con esto Santos se afianza como primer lugar general, con una ofensiva de miedo y con una defensa que se está viendo sobria y segura atrás, ojo, no se les ha presionado lo suficiente, pero esperamos y confiamos que Baloy y compañía sientan el mismo compromiso que tienen sus demás compañeros por ahora sí y de una vez por todas ir en busca de ese tan anhelado cuarto campeonato.

El torneo aún es joven , pero nos dá muchas esperanzas ver jugar así a nuestros guerreros, el Corona, poco a poco se viste de fiesta, y mientras la gente siga viendo ese compromiso en la cancha, tengan por seguro que en las tribunas, la pasión de aquel viejo e incómodo Corona, volverá a renacer, porque la pasión se transmite de la cancha a la tribuna, de nada sirve cantar y saltar como loquitos sin en la cancha vemos unos señores vestidos de divas.

Ambos son necesarios para crear ese ambiente que le pesaba al rival, esperemos que ahora, sea el inicio de esa simbiosis perfecta ( hay weeeey, que palabrita me aventé) entre equipo y afición.

Señores, el Santos juega hoy de nuevo, ahora en la Concachampions, entonces, probablemente haga una actualización de este texto, en horas posteriores al juego.

Por lo tanto, los Guerreros no jugarán esta jornada doble hasta el viernes según parece ante el Jaguares en la selva, esperando que confirmen su pase en Honduras ( donde fieles a su estilo hocicón, ya andan diciendo que los de Torreón, serán pan comido y un equipo "facilito", ojalá les hagan tragar sus palabras, aunque ni así entenderán ). 

¡¡Sale!!

PD. Les debo la imagen de la J2 del torneo virtual,
ahorita de rato la pongo.

PD. 2, ¿Quieren ver golazos?
¡EL RESUMEN!

My Matchday - 290 Broadfield Stadium

Crawley Town 3v2 AFC Wimbledon
League Cup Preliminary Round
Friday 29th July 2011

Five years after almost going out of business, Crawley Town kick off the 2011-12 season as a Football League club after winning the Conference title by a tatty field last season, 15 points ahead of fellow promotion winners AFC Wimbledon.
The two clubs renew rivalries straightaway in the preliminary round of the League Cup, the tie taking place due to relegated Birmingham City giving a bye in the competition because of their pending involvement in the Europa Cup, which also means I can quickly tick off Broadfield Stadium before the season gets into full swing.

The former market town of Crawley developed from the 13th century due to its location on the main road from London to Brighton. It served as a popular relocation for families moving out of over populated London, being designated as a new town in 1946.
Gatwick, the UK’s second busiest airport is located 3 miles north of the town, last year over 31.3 million passengers passed through Gatwick, making it the 9th largest in Europe for passenger traffic and the 12th busiest in terms of international users.
Apart from football my only previous knowledge of Crawley was being the location where The Cure, one of my favourite bands of all time were formed in 1976 by my long lost cousin Robert Smith, with Michael Dempsey and Lol Tolhurst when attending St Wilfrid's RC School.
Crawley FC played in the West Sussex League after their formation in 1896 before moving to the Mid-Sussex League in 1901. They went on to the Sussex County League then the Metropolitan League in the 1950s, a decade when the Town suffix was added to their name.
In 1962 the Red Devils turned semi-professional, joining the Southern League First Division the following year. In 1969 the club had a brief stint in the Southern Premier League before eventually winning promotion again in 1983-84, where they played for 20 years until winning the title and promotion to the Conference.
Over the last few years the club have battled with financial problems, flirting with administration in the late 1990s, then in March 2006 the players and staff wages were halved with the entire squad put up for sale, going into administration in June of that year with debts totalling £1.4m, due to the financial plight of club benefactors the Majeed brothers.
The struggle continued with the Red Devils hours from liquidation in August 2006, but the club survived, confirmed clear of debt in May 2007. Another setback came in February 2010 as they faced a winding up order in the High Court due to money being owed to HMRC, however the case was later dismissed by the High Court as the club proved the debt had been paid.

Last season saw a complete financial turnaround, totally transformed from a club living on the bones of its arse to being tagged the Man City of the Conference. Mysterious and anonymous financial clout saw big money signings and under the guidance of experienced manager Steve Evans the ambitious “Project Promotion” was achieved just as the supermarkets took stock of chocolate eggs and stuffed toy rabbits.
A memorable season will also be remembered for their giant killing exploits in the FA Cup, after knocking out League clubs Swindon Town, Derby County and Torquay United, they were a width of a post away from taking Manchester United back to Broadfield in the 5th round after a brave display in front of a near 75,000 crowd at Old Trafford.


Crawley Town moved a couple of miles across town to Broadfield Stadium, after 48 years at their previous home Town Mead which was sold to developers in 1997. Broadfield is the club’s sixth ground having previously played at Malthouse Farm, Victory Hall & Rectory Field, Yetmans Field and Ifield Recreation Ground.
The council owned stadium has a capacity of 4,996, dominated by the main West Stand which has a single tier capacity of 1,150 red seats. The stand looks more attractive by the triangular designed red tubing which supports the three floodlights on the roof. Spectator access is gained via staircases at the front and there’s also Perspex windshields at each side.
The North and South terraces’ are both fully covered with the roofs curving around in the corners to meet the main stand. At the far side the open East Terrace has a basic centrally positioned electric scoreboard and three floodlight pylons.
The record attendance is 4,522 against Weymouth in the club’s 2003-04 title winning season, witnessing a 2-1 victory against the eventual runners-up.

Crawley Town is now pushed into the same envelope as previous ground visits to Norwich City(19- 9-81) and Crystal Palace (29-11-97) as journeys from hell when circumstances beyond my control has meant I’ve missed the kick-off and a good chunk of the match.

This trip was split into the two parts. The first leg of the journey was with the breadknife and kids, as we were staying with family in Lincolnshire for the weekend, then Mariners fan, Squad#88 and fellow radio star from The Completists - Graham Precious picked me up in Grantham at 3.30pm.

The drive south takes around three hours, allowing plenty of time to negotiate the nightmare on tarmac; the M25, however Graham got caught up in heavy traffic in Lincoln so didn’t turn up until 415pm, but there was still sufficient time left to get to the match and maybe have a pre-match pint.

The journey was going swimmingly until we came to a sudden halt in the middle of the M25, roadwork’s stretching 10 miles on the north side of the Dartford Toll Crossing meant it took a good one and a half hours to do the last 13 mile before crossing the Thames.

When we finally got to the toll, the digital display clock at the cash point read 7:38 in bright red digits. It was as if the clock was taunting me, telling me we still had a good 40 miles left with only seven minutes until kick-off.

Full marks to Graham though, his bully-boy tactical driving meant he made up good time, reaching the stadium just as I heard a loud cheer and the match MC announcing that the scorer of AFC Wimbledon’s goal is Luke Moore.
We discovered we had just missed the first goal of the game, but after we finally settled on the South Terrace, I overheard a Crawley fan saying he wasn’t impressed with his team’s performance and also stating what a poor game it had been, maybe the players were waiting for our arrival because the match I watched was a cracking game with both teams hungry for a place in the First Round of the League Cup.
Crawley equalised on 38 minutes when a left wing cross found Akdan in the box unmarked with time to rifle in a right foot shot into the far corner, only for Dons new summer signing Jack Midson to restore the advantage straight from the restart.
It was nice to see a goal from Torres, but this was Sergio not Fernando, who again drew the home side level, seizing on a loose ball before placing his shot with precision past keeper Brown.
Both teams went all out for a winner and it was last seasons top scorer in the Conference, Matt Tubbs who grabbed it with a superb piece of skill, showing great control to bring the ball down on his chest and volley the ball home to book a date with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on the 9th August.
Broadfield Stadium will be a welcome addition to the Football League and I can see both clubs doing well this coming season and I wouldn't be surprised if Crawley Town manage to repeat the feat of Stevenage last term, by winning promotion in their first season in League Two.
After the game we went to the club shop for a programme and after a bit of a wait, we were informed they had sold out, but they’ll most likely do a reprint. I also tried to get a pin badge but they had none of these either, reason being they had to send them back due to a spelling mistake.( Crowley Town or Red Evils perhaps?…Eddy)
The return journey went smoothly, back at my weekend headquarters at Ann and Malcolm’s for 1215am. Malc has built his very own pub at the top of his garden which is named(by yours truly) ‘The Man Cave’ I had a quick pint of Guinness before finally going to bed (which was inside the man made pub) pleased I’d quickly ticked off the newcomers to the 92 and I also having another match to look forward to at Gainsborough Trinity later in the day.

Matchday stats CTFC 3(Akpan 38,Torres 53, Tubbs 64) AFCW 2(L Moore 26, Midson 46)

Admission £16 Programme:sold out

att.3,204

Ground no.290 Broadfield Stadium - Matchday Web album(18 pictures)

Y Pudieron haber sido más...

*Santos sin despeinarse
*Oribe, Chato y Darwin los autores.
* Empieza el camino a la Concachampions.

Ante una regular entrada, los guerreros del Santos Laguna pasaron encima del equipo Olimpia de Honduras por marcador de 3-1 en lo que viene a ser el inicio de la eliminatoria para la Copa Concachampions.
No metieron a fondo el acelerador 8 o al menos así nos lo hicieron ver, hasta el minuto 28, a Santos se le complicaban los leones, que hasta eso se pararon bien atrás y no dejaban suelto algún balón, la marca era ajustada y poco pudieron hacer los Guerreros...sin embargo, era cuestión de que cayera el primero, para que se abriera el portón hondureño y dejara pasar literalmente -como en su casa- a los santistas.
Oribe al 29, que sigue demostrando que trae ganas y gol, Chato al 61 ya en la segunda mitad en un penal clarísimo por parte del defensor del Olimpia que todavía tuvo el descaro de reclamar luego de hacer mano dentro del área.
Por último, Quintero cerraría la cuenta, apenas minutos después del penal, y parecía que la fiesta continuaría sin embargo se dejaron en la cancha varias opciones de gol por parte de Suárez en la primera mitad y una falla espantosa de Carlos Ochoa en la segunda para el 4-0 en algo que esperemos NO SE REPITA porque sinceramente es de esas que era "más difícil fallarla que meterla".
Mientras, los del Olimpia acercaron el marcador ante un centro que debió haber sido despejado por la defensa guerrera, sin embargo, un traspié entre Baloy y Hoyos permitió que el Hondureño acortara distancias y les diera esperanza para el juego de vuelta allá en tierra catracha, dónde tendrán que vencer al Santos  por marcador de 2-0 ( el gol de visitante cuenta). Santos por su parte, puede hasta darse el lujo de perder 1-0, o empatar.

What you should know about Poison

A certain character has come to my attention that I had otherwise never heard of, and her name is Poison. Apparently there's a lot of buzz about whether she may have originally been a he. So, in light of the recent announcements regarding the new characters in Street Fighter X Tekken at last week's Comic Con, I decided to do some research on this surprisingly controversial character.

So here's the deal with Poison, as far as I know: She first appeared in Final Fight but has also been featured in Street Fighter III, along with a number of other Capcom games, and seems to be pretty popular, probably at least partially due to the controversy surrounding her. Even so, it has been a number of years since she's made an appearance, so the news that she will be in Street Fighter X Tekken, along with her cohorts Roxy and Hugo (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not sure whether or not Roxy and Hugo are playable), is generating a lot of excitement.

Poison as she appears in 'Street Fighter X Tekken'

Apparently, back when Poison was created for Final Fight's release in Japan, she was strictly a female character, but due to fears that Americans wouldn't take to well to the big, burly men of Final Fight beating up a chick, they decided it would be a better idea to make her transgendered. To make things even more confusing, though, it seems like Capcom themselves treat her gender differently in Japan and America. Check out this quote from Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono: "Let's set the record straight: in North America, Poison is officially a post-op transsexual. But in Japan, she simply tucks her business away to look female."

Basically, I think it's safe to say that she's the Birdo of the Capcom universe.

Regardless of how we choose to define Poison, she certainly is an interesting addition to Street Fighter X Tekken, and I have to say I am really excited for the game's impending release. I think we should all take the advice of this lovely comic, brought to my attention by GayGamer.net, and just accept Poison for what she is, rather than get hung up about how we should label her. And without further ado, here is the main reason I wrote up this whole post in the first place (click on the image for a larger view):

100FgC 5th Birthday.

It’s 5 years to the day that The 100 Football Grounds Club was launched.

On the 25th July 2006 I posted my list of grounds, as well and my mate Ian Patrick’s details and linked this site to a couple of websites. Within an hour Rev Nick Percival from Barnsley, Jack Warner from Perth, Australia(who I haven’t heard from since) and Blyth Spartans supporter Alastair Gibbs-Barton left a blog comment with their own ground statistics, so the 100FgC was officially born with five founder members. The membership has steadily grown over the last five years to the point where the squad is near full capacity, with only 3 squad numbers left before it finally closes.

During this time I’ve covered matches at 191 grounds featuring 251 different clubs. I originally intended to just post pictures of my ground visits, but then decided to write a small piece to accompany the pictures, but I got a bit carried away and began to enjoy writing, My Matchday articles covering club and ground histories, match report, travelling and of course, the most important part of a match day; pubs and bevvy.

Thanks to all the members who have joined and made this little club of ours a success and it’s been a great thrill to meet up with some of the squad and make new friendships over the last few years. I get the impression that some seasoned groundhoppers belittle this organisation, but so what, it is what it is, and I’ve achieved exactly what I set out to do in 2006, which was bring together a set of football fans from different clubs from all over the world, all with the same passion and common interest. So here’s hoping the 100FgC continues on and in 5 years time I’ll be celebrating a groundhopping decade. Cheers!

¿ Que mejor inicio podríamos haber pedido ?

* Lo que bien inicia,
ESPEREMOS QUE BIEN ACABE.
*Oribe, en plan grande.
* Buen desempeño colectivo
* Una victoria que da confianza
*  Atlante YOU´RE NEXT!

Y como dijo Tony Stark:  ITS GOOD TO BE BACK!

Despues de un ayuno, llega el hambre y con el hambre la fiesta del fútbol que por fin regresó a las canchas del  futbol mexicano para deleite de todos aquellos que gustamos de este deporte. La ciudad: Pachuca, y Santos saltaba a la cancha en medio de un signo de interrogación inmenso en la mente de todos los que veíamos detenidamente la transmisión.

Oswaldo Sanchez en la portería, mientras que en la defensa: Estrada, Baloy, Morales y haciendo su debut en futbol mexicano Santiago Hoyos, en medio campo: Cárdenas, Salinas, Chato, y un renovado Hachita Ludueña que parece que ahora sí le puso machín al entrenamiento viéndose con kilos menos e incluso siendo notado por los mismos cronistas.

MAS INFORMACIÓN

Santos Laguna Apertura 2011

Adelante, la incógnita Suárez y Oribe Peralta, una dupla nueva en la que Diego Cocca otorgaba toda la confianza del mundo...y vaya que le redituaría al menos en este primer juego.

Del lado contrario un Pachuca con muchos refuerzos aún sin cuajar para fortalecer a un equipo que logró solo soportar 11 minutos,  pues en una genialidad de Suárez, se quita de enmedio al viejo, marrullero y mamón conocido como Rogelio Chávez ( si, ese que mentó insultos racistas contra Darwin Quintero ) de una forma fácil  (siendo sinceros, por algo lo mandaron a la chingada al nazi de Cruz Azul) y centra de forma esplendorosa para la llegada de Oribe que sólo cabecea en el área para poner los cartones 0-1 a favor de los de la Comarca y de paso estrenarse en el goleo individual.

El tridente ofensivo guerrero, Oribe trae la suerte, Hachita quiere responder
al mal torneo y Suárez tiene hambre de hacer las cosas bien.

El gol, vino a darle confianza a los guerreros, que se mostraban deseosos de ir al frente, me gustó mucho el fuelle de Suárez así como su accionar en la pradera, ahora, también debemos ser consientes de que Pachuca, poco o nada ofreció ( bueno, sí sabemos que ofreció) y sinceramente fué un rival débil, pero hasta a ésos hay que pasarles por encima tal y como Santos lo hizo en la Bella airosa.

al 37, en una falta cometida en 3/4 de cancha, Ludueña se aviva y filtra pase para Cárdenas que se mete hasta el fondo se quita al defensor y manda medio gol al centro del area chica para un Peralta que solo la empujaba a las redes haciendo caer el 0-2 en la frente del Tuzo que se veía mal y lo poco que lograba al frente era despejado de buena manera por la defensa lagunera, que ni se despeinaba en los embates de los topos.

Estrada se hace presente con un bello gol de contrarremate.

Pero no conforme con un marcador cómodo, Santos seguia atacando, Tiro libre cobrado por Hachita, que escupe el portero al centro para la llegada del consentido de la afición Iván Estrada y en un bello contrarremate mande al fondo el balón para hacerse presente en el festín que los guerreros se estaban dando ante un estadio que se quedaba helado y frío ante lo mostrado por su equipo ¡en apenas 45 minutos!.

0-3, una total losa de concreto más pesada que la que cargaba el pípila en su espalda es la que tenían los de Hidalgo encima. y lo "mejor" que podía pasar era que ya terminara una primera parte de terror donde nunca lograron encontrar los espacios ni hilvanar jugadas de peligro que realmente preocuparan a los de la Comarca mientras que éstos sin pisar el acelerador a fondo, ya les habían clavado 3 y no se veían nada conformes aún.

La segunda mitad llegó y con ella los cambios de Cocca en su sistema, sacando a Ludueña y Suárez ( dos de los que mejor se estaban viendo) entrando en su lugar Toledo y Quintero quien tendría en sus botines varias jugadas de gol pero que desgraciadamente ( o atinadamente para los Tuzos) fueron contenidas por su portero.

Oribe señala a Darwin, al haberle cedido el pase para la jugada de gol.

Pronto, la entrada de Darwin daría de qué hablar, al 26, da una muestra de madurez canchera y cede a la llegada de Oribe Peralta que enfrenta solo al portero lo saca y manda tiro cruzado y con eso, poner el último clavo en el Ataud en el orgullo del equipo de Jesús Martínez para un contundente 0-4 escandaloso pero merecido debido a la nula actividad del rival para contener el ataque guerrero.
Aún con ese marcador, Santos tuvo otras jugadas una de Chema que desgraciadamente el portero contuvo estando solo en un mano a mano, otra de Quintero luciéndose y quitándose rivales pero que sin embargo el portero logró achicar y tapar algo que ya se cantaba como gol.

Fué más lo que dejó de hacer Santos, que lo que hizo Pachuca y al 80, el árbitro se inventó un empujon dentro del área para marcar un penal que siendo sinceros, debió haberse marcado en el primer tiempo cuando lo era pero que en ese momento no vió.

Así, Baloy comete su primer penal y recibe su primer amonestación. Leobardo lopez se encargaría de cobrarlo en el angulo contrario del que se tiró Oswaldo para poner definitivamente los cartones con un 1-4 que inspira confianza, que genera alegría en la gente de la Comarca y sobre todo, nos da una agradable sensación de que podemos esperar algo más de este equipo que tuvo un desastrozo medio año 2011 y que le debe a la afición por lo menos un muy buen torneo.

El inicio es mucho mas que alentador, sin echar campanas al vuelo, se recibe ahora a un Atlante que perdió en su presentación ante las Chivas y que al parecer, vienen mermados al lesionarse el Hobbit Bermúdez en una baja considerable si tomamos en cuenta que pasan muchos balones por sus pies en cada ataque.

Santos si sigue mostrando esas ganas de hacer bien las cosas, si la suerte le sigue sonriendo a Peralta esperemos un buen juego en el TSM que abre sus puertas al Apertura 2011 en el inicio de una aventura que todos esperamos sea excelente , digo,¿ ya nos toca algo bueno no creen?

Pero antes del duelo ante los Potros, Santos recibe y abre el torneo de la Concachafa ante el Olimpia el miércoles a las 9 pm. en una nueva oportunidad que se presenta para ahora si, y de una vez por todas dar ese salto a la internacionalización que tanto desea la directiva, pero que por decisiones equivocadas se han tirado a la basura estando a solo unos pasos. Asi pues, el miercoles y el sabado hay futbol en nuestro estadio y es un buen tiempo ( que aún son vacaciones ) para llenar el estadio y demostrar que por apoyo no falta.

Sale!

PD. resultados de la jornada 1 del torneo de futbol virtual 

Santa Grandeza.

PD. 2 y para aquel que no haya visto los goles, lo cual dudo

bastante, el resumen en video.

Lauren va juca in "The Walking Dead"

Multumim TV Guide pt stire, Lauren Cohan va aparea in sezonul 2 al serialului "The Walking Dead".

Mai multe informatii:

• Rol: Maggie Greene
• Data lansarii (sezonului 2): Octombrie 2011 

Lauren va juca in "The Walking Dead"

Multumim TV Guide pt stire, Lauren Cohan va aparea in sezonul 2 al serialului "The Walking Dead".

Mai multe informatii:

• Rol: Maggie Greene
• Data lansarii (sezonului 2): Octombrie 2011 

New FanMade

New FanMade

Japan Envy: Space Invaders Tote Bag

I won't lie: with all the awesome things available in Japan, I think it's going to be pretty easy to make this Japan Envy series a weekly thing! I won't limit myself to a specific day or anything, but rest assured, you'll be seeing a lot more of these in the future.

Today while browsing Twitter I stumbled upon Taito's very own Twitter page and promptly proceeded to follow them (If you're not following me yet, head on over and do so!). Scrolling through their recent tweets lead me to an announcement about their new Space Invaders tote bag.

I have to say, I love this simple yet chic design. I'm a big fan of tote bags, known as "eco bags" in Japan, and the added inside pocket in this design that is alluded to on the bag's website sounds like a nice addition to me. And priced at only ¥500 (more or less $5), it's a steal! Too bad you can only get your hands on one of these puppies by visiting one of many Taito Station arcades in Japan. Curses!

I might just have to convince my host mom to purchase one on my behalf...

Y ahí vieneeeeeee....

La invitación para que todo aquel aficionado futbolero que se siente entrenador, para formar parte del Torneo virtual Santa Grandeza Apertura 2011.

Un lugar donde no ganamos nada, pero nos divertimos como chamucos y chamacos, quitando, poniendo a los jugadores que queremos y/o que creemos nos darán los puntos necesarios para hacernos sentir como Diego Cocca al frente del equipo que queremos.

Los esperamos nuevamente, como cada torneo para formar nuestros equipos y competir entre toda la gente que gusta de este espacio y del futbol.

El número para ser integrados al GRUPO SANTA GRANDEZA, es:

675801115

Y pueden dar de alta a su equipo en esta liga:

http://gruporeforma.elnorte.com/Futbolvirtual/default.htm

Pasos a seguir: registra tu equipo, llena los datos que se te piden, luego escoge tus jugadores al ser creado completamente tu equipo, da click en GRUPOS, ahí, te solicitará el número del grupo ( arriba escrito) lo copias y lo pegas y listo, ya formas parte del Torneo Virtual Santa Grandeza.

Los esperamos como cada inicio...a demostrar y sacar el técnico que todos llevamos dentro.

Sale!

What kind of game am I playing? Or, things that creep me out about Atelier Rorona

I had a lovely, in-depth post all ready to go about my impressions of Atelier Rorona so far, but since it was such a meaty piece I decided to hold onto it and develop it into a full-fledged review for www.videogamewriters.com. I'll probably chop it down and do a shorter version for this blog later in the week, after I've played a bit more of the game (I'm about 1/3 of the way through at the moment).

Nevertheless, I have quite a few things I could say about Atelier Rorona, so I don't really see the harm in making two posts about it! I thought I'd share with you all some of the weird stuff I've come across in the game so far. Before you read on, keep in mind that I am seriously enjoying this game, so while the following quibbles may bug/slightly disgust me, it certainly isn't detracting from me having more than a little fun synthesizing item upon item and meeting all the request deadlines.

First thing's first, here's a quick rundown of the game: Atelier Rorona follows Rorona, an apprentice alchemist under a woman named Astrid at a workshop in the kingdom of Arland. The king of Arland has decreed that unless Astrid can complete 12 assignments given to her over the course of 3 years, the workshop will be shut down. Astrid, being more interested in napping than doing anything the king asks of her, passes the task on to Rorona. Right now I'm just over a year in, and the combination of expertly-voiced story sequences, adorable artwork, catchy music, countless items to synthesize and requests to fulfill is definitely keeping me busy.

Creepy observation #1: It's more than a little obvious that this game caters towards a certain type of male-dominated Japanese nerd culture, and I was well aware of this when I started playing the game. What I didn't know is how much creepy innuendo was going to be a part of the game's humor! A lot of the story features older women more or less hitting on Rorona, and while I know that's a cultural thing to a degree (nothing wrong with a 20-something woman calling a 14-year-old girl cute, I guess), sometimes it gets a bit out of hand. Alright, ok, I know what I was getting myself into, so I won't say much more about this (to each his/her own), but how about: 

Creepy observation #2: Some of the female characters are more than a little well-endowed for their age. I usually file these observations in the back drawer, except for when those in charge of the character models deem it appropriate to animate one of said character's bobbing breasts even when she is standing still. Good thing for me I don't really like said character very much and as such will probably not make her a member of my party very often, but seeing her undulating chest in every single battle is as much a turn-off for me as any.

The character in question, Lionela, is a traveling performer.

I guess I'm not the only one who noticed how her breasts seem to have minds of their own (cute cats, though)

Creepy observation #3: I've saved you the best for last. Last night when I was playing, I was happily introduced to my new workshop assistant, who was created for Rorona by Astrid using alchemy. Ever-curious and eager to learn, Rorona does some research into the recipe that was used to create Hom, the homunculus assistant. Ingredients include horse droppings... And in the case that horse droppings aren't available, the use of human semen is said to also be possible. Let me reiterate that for you. The recipe that was used to create Rorona's assistant calls for horse droppings and human semen. Just what sort of game is this?!?

Depending on how you answer Astrid when she asks you whether you'd like a little brother or a little sister, you can have either a female or male version of Hom, the horse-poo-infused assistant. I answered "sister," but after seeing the two designs, I wish I had ended up with the male one!

 Even though I'm enjoying poking fun at the game, I'm honestly having even more fun playing it. It's just the right recipe of pretty visuals, lighthearted story, and engrossing gameplay for me, and these weird, uh, quirks make it all the more the odd yet engrossing experience. I have a feeling this isn't going to be the end of my creepy observations, though... I've still got 2 years of game time to go!

Tutorial: How to make a Japanese iTunes Account to Download 'Pokemon Ie Tap?'

UPDATE: It looks like Pokemon Ie Tap has been removed from the iTunes store! It's too bad, but you can still use this guide to create a Japanese iTunes account and download other free apps.

Today marks the release of Pokemon Ie Tap? ポケモン言えTAP?, a free smartphone app where you tap the screen to the beat of the Japanese Black & White anime's Pokerap (known as "Pokemon Ieru kana?" in Japanese). 

I went through all the trouble to write up this tutorial for VGW, only to find that my iPhone is too old to get the update that allows you to play Pokemon Ie Tap?! Rather than trashing this thing, which took me a good hour to write last night, I'm going to post it for your free-Japanese-app-downloading pleasure. Someone please download Pokemon Ie Tap? so I can live vicariously through you! Well, without further ado: 

How to Create a Japanese iTunes Account and Download Free Apps

1.     To start, open the iTunes store on your computer. Once it’s loaded, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the flag displaying your current regional settings on the right.

2.     A list of countries will appear, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Japanese flag at the bottom left to access the Japanese store.

3.     You will now be in the Japanese iTunes store. Before creating an account, you need to select the FREE app you want. In this case, that’s ポケモン言えTAP？so copy and paste that into the search bar at the top right.  

4.     Pokemon Ie Tap? should appear in the search results. Click on the “free” button to be prompted to make a Japanese iTunes account. 

5.     Click on “Create new account.” Then select “continue.” 

6.     At the top of the page it will say: “If your billing address is not in Japan, click here.” Disregard this, as you will not be entering your credit card details and do not need to provide an address.

7.     Agree to the terms and select “continue.” 

8.     Fill out your personal details and select “continue.” If you already have an iTunes account for your current region of residence, you will need to use a different email address when creating a Japanese account.

9.     For “Credit Card,” select “none.” If the “none” option doesn’t appear, that means you’ve made a mistake somewhere along the way­–you probably didn’t select Pokemon Ie Tap? in the iTunes app store. Remember, you need to have started from a free app in order for the “none” selection to appear. 

10. You’ll have to enter an address, so use your Google-fu to look up a legitimate Japanese zip code (example: 100-8994). The rest of the address can be made up, as you won’t be using it. For your phone number, you must also come up with a legitimate-looking number. One possible area code is 03 and then the following number should look like this: xxxx-xxxx. 

Note: For Phonetic First and Phonetic Last, you can just reenter your name. This is for Japanese kanji where there can be more than one potential reading for the same characters

11. Click “continue,” and if you have entered the address correctly, you will be met with a screen telling you to verify your Apple ID by checking the email address you provided at the beginning. 

12. You should have received an email from Apple. The subject will be in Japanese but will begin with the words “Apple ID.” Open the email, and click the link highlighted in the image below to verify your account. 

13. You will be directed to a page where you need to sign in using your email address and password. Click in the blue button after you have done so.

14. A green check mark with text will appear. Click the blue button to return to the iTunes store. If iTunes doesn’t open automatically, go ahead and access the store in iTunes yourself, and sign in by clicking “Sign In” at the top right corner. 

      Congratulations, you now have a Japanese iTunes account! Now you’ll need to find Pokemon Ie Tap? again to download it. Paste this: ポケモン言えTAP？ into the search bar one more time to find the app again. Once it comes up, all you need to do is click on it to be prompted to enter your password and start the download! Don’t stop with Pokemon–try all different types of searches to unearth some fun and quirky free Japanese apps! Enjoy!

I hope this was useful to someone, at least! Let me know what you thought in the comments, and thanks for reading.