Free & Legal Marvel Comics

If  you are a Google Chrome user, you might have heard of the Google Chrome Web Store. I recently browsed a few apps in the web store and found some interesting stuff. One such thing is the Marvel Comics app. If you believe in digital comics then you have to give this app a try. You can check out a few free Marvel comic books there and enjoy the future of comics.

Check out the web store.

Ninja Taro Gameboy Capsule Review

I played Ninja Taro for the original Gameboy a couple of years ago using a FAQ. Unfortunately, the FAQ was not quite finished so I ended up not knowing what to do next. It's not that the game is super arbitrary, however, since I was so dependent on the FAQ, I wasn't paying much attention to the clues and details given by the NPCs.

Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you about the game. Ninja Taro is a Zelda clone. A damn good one at that. Basically, you are a ninja and you need to do something or other for your master. Hah, it was so long ago that I forgot the stupid story of the game and I'm too lazy to look it up on Wikipedia. Anyway, you are a ninja, so you get a sword, ninja stars, and some other cool weapon upgrades. As with Zelda mechanic, you cannot access some of the places yet without getting the necessary equipment. For example, you need a sickle if you want to cross gaps or you need an ax in order to chop down some trees. That kind of thing.

This game is great! I have to say that I like this one better than even any Zelda for the Gameboy original or Gameboy Color. The medieval Japanese backdrop is appropriate and a breath of fresh air. The monsters are balls hard. The puzzles are all logical even without a FAQ. The game's graphics are not too shabby either. The art is cutesy and whimsical, but it is appropriate to the theme of the game and does not subtract from my enjoyment of the gameplay.  

If you have a Gameboy emulator (a Dingoo a320) or if you own a real Gameboy, track this game down and play it.

Writer's Block & Writing About Writing

This will be a short post just to have an update.

When I experience writer's block, I never ever fight it or force myself to write. I read incessantly a lot of articles on how to combat writer's block, but I never really apply them. Well, I have writer's block right now. Not because I can't write anything, what I mean is that I can't write on topic in this blog today. So I will just write about writing.

I never considered myself to be a good writer even though I worked for print. Without my trusty grammar checker, Grammatica, I will be lost in grammar hell. Thank goodness for spell checkers, too. My inspiration in writing comes from a short article in Byte magazine authored by Jerry Pournelle. His article entitled, "How To Get My Job" was published more than a decade ago, but it is still 100% relevant today. Pournelle is a great writer and knows what he is talking about when it comes to writing. He has authored a number of best-selling sci-fi books that are not only well-written, but also well imagined.

If you are a writer (or if you want to be), check out the link below to the article.

Chaos Manor - How To Get My Job

I will not run this post through Grammatica, so please nitpick on my grammar on the comments section.

I don't write for Google

I never write for machines to be able to spider this website. I never ever optimize this site for any keywords or what bullshit SEO term you can think of. This hobby site is just that - a hobby site. Now, I usually get 99% of my traffic from Google, but after the almighty search engine dictatorship changed their algorithm a few days ago, my traffic dipped tremendously.

Why? This site might have been flagged as a "content farm" or whatever the hell it's called. How the hell can this blog with barely any content for the last couple of years be a content farm? Now, I don't earn any money from this blog, not one cent. I recently, and by recently I mean yesterday, tried to place one ad from an advertising company to get a few dollars. Needless to say, I got approved by the company, but the kicker is, with my traffic so low now, I will probably get kicked out of the program in a couple of days.

Thanks a lot, Google. Do no evil, indeed.

Disney Sports Soccer - Gameboy Advance (GBA)

Again, I'm playing games that is not on my 2011 retro gaming list. Not that anybody cares, oh well. I'm playing Disney Sports Soccer for the GBA emulated on my Dingoo a320 of course.

The game is soccer and is designed mainly for people who are not really that familiar with the in-depth rules of soccer. The game just takes a 5 on 5 approach to the game. Your players are lead by Donald, Ben, Goofy, Mickey, and Minnie. The game has a lot to offer in terms of graphics, gameplay, and unlockables. Basically, you can unlock a lot of power ups that will add to your defensive or offensive capabilities by beating stages in the game. This makes the game highly replayable and great for a bite sized game of soccer.

If you have a real Gameboy Advance, you can play head-to-head with a friend. Since I only have it on EMU, I can only play against the somewhat formidable AI. I play as the Sea Ducks because I like Donald Duck to be my star player.

This is a great soccer game by far, better than the realistic soccer games on any system. If you are just a casual soccer game fan, this is a must have for you, even on emulation.

My Top Five Best Podcast List for 2011

Here again is my semi-annual, semi-regular top podcast list. This list is highly subjected and is based on my own enjoyment of the shows. The podcasts I will list may not be the best of its kind but they are my favorites nonetheless. Some of these podcasts you might have heard of, but maybe there are some that you might not know yet or might want to try.

Here goes:

1. No Agenda
My favorite podcast this year is definitely, No Agenda, with Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak. This podcast is a media assassination extravanganza where the two hosts will open your eyes to all the BS of the mainstream media. This is the most worthwhile podcast if you want to learn about the world around you and how media manipulates information for their own benefit. This must be the most anti-establishment duo I have ever heard before and I love them for it. Oh, by the way, I'm still a douchebag (inside joke from the show), hope this helps get me a little karma.

2. Coverville
If you are hungry for great music, you must listen to Coverville. Brian Ibbott is a great host and an even better curator of covers from all around the world. At Coverville, you will hear great covers of famous or not so famous songs. All in all, great music and an auditory treat.

3. Chillcast
Another great music podcast from Mevio. Incidentally, Adam Curry of No Agenda is the founder and president of Mevio - or was before he quit his job and started hitting people in the mouth full-time. Chillcast is a great podcast to unwind to after a day's work or just for chillin' in general. Anjibee, the hostess, is just soothing to the ears, and she really knows what she's talking about when it comes to music.

4. Hypothetical Help
Sott Johnson is fast becoming a podcast master with his Frog Pants Studio network. Hypothetical help is just one of his great offerings. The premise of the podcast is basically a fake advice show. The host, Scott and Turpster dishes out some sage wisdom for anyone brave enough to send an audio question to them. Turpster is the funniest podcasting dude on the net, he should get more podcast work, really. If you have a problem or anything you want help with, ask Hypothetical help and you will get the best advice - or just laugh at how Turpster rips your humanity apart.

5. Geeknights
Rym and Scott, the alpha geeks of the Interwebs are still at it twice a week to give geek entertainment of the highest level. If you are into comic books, manga, anime, linux, programming, and any geekery you can think of, then you have to check this show out. Rym and Scott can be insightful and in depth at times, but more importantly, they are always hilarious during heated debates.

That's it, my top five favorite podcast list for 2011. Hope you get something out of this post. If not, oh well.

Pocket Soccer - Gameboy Color

I know that this game is not on my list of  2011 retrogaming line up, but still I need to write about this awesome game.

Pocket Soccer for the Gameboy color is a great fantasy soccer game. There are a lot of features that can be found on other franchise soccer games. You can trade players in league play, you can play quick start, or just play automatically in the play offs. The players in the game are not real football stars, as far as I know, so correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm enjoying this title so much that I feel rather sad that I was not able to buy the cart ('coz I think it was released only in Europe). However, because of emulation, I can enjoy this great soccer game. I'm about a couple of hours into the game and I found out that some players have powers like super speed. I have yet to discover another power up or player skill, but even without the manual I'm still enjoying the game so much.

Even if you are not a soccer fan, you will enjoy this title immensely. I have to thank the developer of this game, Mike Follin.