I missed the deadline for the August update, so here it is…in September.
As you can see, it’s all quiet on the western front. I am progressing along on my memorial video for Mr. Kelly. It’s going to be about 15 minutes long. I still have to mix the audio and do a voice-over for it, but it’s getting very close to competition. It will be out late September, early October most likely.
I’m sorry for the lack of updates. I just have priorities getting in the way, and to be honest this whole project with my cat has been emotionally overwhelming at times. Slow steps. I have picked up guitar, too, and that has proven to be a fun challenge.
I do have something new today, though. Metroid Other M saw release at the end of the month, and I received my copy in the mail less than 24hrs ago. It came with a special Art Folio package that I have taken the liberty of reviewing in very high quality! You can check it out right here:
I’m going to be doing some house keeping around the site. Thinking about regrouping some things, I’m not sure. Definitely interested in Discography updates. New stuff on the way.
As some of you already know, late last month I had to put my cat that I’ve had for 19 years to sleep. Since then I haven’t done any work on anything related to the site, for obvious reasons. June and July have been some of the most mentally challenging months of my life. I’m undergoing some harsh changes that I struggle in dealing with every day. He was my angel. I spent all of July gathering old photos and archiving old VHS transfers. I’m not sure when the video project will be finished, but hopefully sometime in August. I’m going to give Mr. Kelly the tribute he deserves. <3
I’ve been trying to turn all this negative energy into something positive. I have learned a lot about guitar this past month. Still in the early stages of playing, but the tips of my fingers are being callused, and I’m strengthening my left hand. I can see this being a fun, expressive hobby in my life. If I ever get good enough to where I’m confident in actually releasing any sort of material, my very first release will be in Mr. Kelly’s memory. It’s important to endure life’s sorrow and joy equally. There’s a lot of death going on in my family right now, and from my past experiences with losing loved ones, death ironically breathes in new life. It creates an awareness of what is important.
I’ve been visiting the Independent Cat Society lately. They are a wonderful group of volunteers who care for abandoned cats. They do whatever they can to ensure they wind up in loving homes. We are adopting a 1-2 cats in August from them to join the newest member of my family:
This is Mrs. Kelly. She is a white Persian kitten, born on June 1st. We got her from a shady breeder, not the ICS, but only because we wanted to get a Persian in memory of Mr. Kelly. She is the cutest little cat you could imagine. One minute she’s running around, biting your hand and jumping up a cat post, the next she’s out like a light. Whenever I get my image gallery up and running, expect to see more of all my cats.
In closing, I know this site doesn’t do heavy traffic, but I just want to thank anyone who has visited or enjoyed my work here on Living Vicariously. Things will hopefully be back up to speed soon. My personal life just went in shambles lately, and I’m completely lost in regards to just about everything. I enjoy doing the reviews of things and making original videos, so that will continue in the near future.
This is not going to be an upbeat, positive update on all things Living Vicariously. As it stands, all projects are on hiatus. I managed to finish my E3 article. That is it for awhile.
I have had a black Persian cat named Mr. Kelly since I was four-years-old. For nearly 20 years, he’s been my buddy. Over the past few years he’s suffered some illnesses, and up until this year things were up and down, but overall not too bad given his old age. As 2010 rolled on, he began to take a turn for the worse. And right now, it’s painful to admit, but things have become extremely grim. We have no choice but to put Mr. Kelly to sleep. I am doing this update on the fly because in only 4 hours, he will be relieved of his life.
I love him dearly. I love him more than I could possibly put into words. I have been blessed with having such a strong, lifelong bond with my little boy. Knowing that his last moments on Earth are ticking away saddens me greatly. He can hardly walk, so putting off the evitable simply didn’t make a whole lot of sense. I have always wondered what this moment would be like. Would I find him one day? Or would we have to put him down? Now I know my answer.
Whenever life tore me down, I could always count on him to brighten my day up. Whenever I went on vacation, I’d miss him, and couldn’t wait to get home to see his face light up, and to have him chase me around the house in pure excitement. He didn’t do that earlier this month, after I got back from Vegas. It put me in a bit of a depression. And on top of problems I’ve been facing in my personal life, things have just gotten…to put it bluntly, bad. I’m still not sure what I will do.
I am hours away from experiencing the worst moment of my life. This is a very personal issue, but I think this is something that needs to be out in the open. Love your pets. Love them as much as you can. Whenever they annoy you or bother you, remember they aren’t here for very long. I would give the world to extend his life; to have him here for one more Christmas. There is nothing in this world that would ever replicate the kind of love I have for him. He is like my child. I have taken care of him my entire life. Everyone who knows me personally knows Mr. Kelly.
I will be working on a tribute for him. I’ll post it on the site whenever I can bring myself to dig up old footage of he and I. This is all very hard to deal with. I can’t go for more than 5 minutes without crying. Cherish your loved ones, your pets, your irreplaceables. We are not forever, and they last even less.
I will love and remember you until the day I die. Should I make it into old age, there will always be a spot on my mantle for your photograph.
May is a good month. I celebrated my 23rd birthday earlier this month. Got some nice gifts and dined at this splendid Japanese place called Fuji. It’s my favorite “special occasion” place to eat. Every time I go, I always get the same thing: the Spicy Maki Combo.
Mmm.
Onto site matters. Earlier in the month I posted my review of the Porcupine Tree concert, at the Riviera. One of the best shows I’ve ever been to, period. Later this year they’re re-issuing the long awaited Recordings (b-side album), and later on in June the Anesthetize Blu-Ray is finally coming out after much delay. Good time to be a PT fan.
Also in May was Vicarious Views #3: Metal Gear Online. It was a hard one to review due to the unfavorable rating I gave it, despite really enjoying the game. When MGO is on, it’s on. When it’s off, it’s “throw down controller, shake head and quit” off. Rating an online game is very tough since it’s not just the content itself that attributes to the rating, it’s the demeanor of the people playing the game with you. Vicarious Views #4 will be coming out in June. Shouldn’t take too long to do that one. I can’t give a hint as to what #5 will be since I actually have no idea! I like to alternate between old and new games. #4 is a Super Nintendo game. #5…well, it’s either gonna be really old or really new I imagine.
The last update for May was a bit of a surprise. Super Mario Galaxy 2, the successor to the 2007 Wii classic, came out to much fanfare. It’s the first time since the original ’80s Nintendo that more than 1 main Mario game came out for the same platform…unless you count Yoshi’s Island or NSMB: Wii, but I don’t. Official launch parties were held at several locations in the US, and I was fortunate enough to live near one! It was a blast. Q101 Chicago being there and playing the game itself prior to midnight was a treat. Check it out under Features if you’re interested! I walked away with some limited edition memorabilia.
That’s about it for May. Well, sort of. There’s this thing I’m working on right now. I know I’ve been neglecting updating the other channels. That changes this June!
Yes! Work is well underway on this new 2-part adventure known as Vicarious Mission! Part 1 will be published early on in June, with Part 2 following soon after that. I’ve been waiting to do this FTV since it’s inception. From the Vault isn’t just rehashing of old material from the “show years” of Living Vicariously. It’s reimagining them. It’s remastering the audio/video, writing new dialog, recording new footage/lines, etc. All of this will be included in FTV: Vicarious Mission. We shot a ton of footage that day. Most of the usable stuff was already included in the original edition, but I have lots of “behind the scenes” footage and an awesome set of bloopers. And who knows, maybe over the Summer a proper sequel could happen? That ball is in the court of those interested in helping me. I’m open for it!
I’m leaving for Las Vegas on Sunday. I made a nice sum of cash when I was 21 and gambled for the first time. Then last year I lost everything but gained most of it back at the airport in a Wheel of Forture slot machine! Hope this is an alternating string of fortune. Otherwise, expect the June update to be full of colorful four-letter words.
Follow me on Twitter @livingvicarious to follow me in Las Vegas! See you there.
Hello everyone! It’s time for the monthly site update.
Recently the 2nd edition of Vicarious Views was released. This video game review went over one of my favorite classic gems, Night Stalker, on the Intellivision. I made several different “video game chronicle” intros for Vicarious Views earlier this year. Each episode won’t have it’s own unique intro, but I have a small, medium, large, extra large already made for future episodes. They’ll just recycle to spice things up a bit. Vicarious Views #3 and #4 are already underway. Both are scheduled for sometime in May. I’d like to get a handful completed since I imagine these will attract more interest in the site than pretty much anything else. Time well tell. #3 is a next-gen game, #4 is an old franchise debut.
Exactly one week from today I am going to see Porcupine Tree in concert. They’re playing The Riveria, in Chicago. This will likely be the last time the band tours for at least 2 years, so I’m hoping for a surprise or two in the setlist. So far every date leading up to Chicago are places PT didn’t tour last year. Chicago will be the first double-dipping this tour. We got the live debut of “Remember Me Lover” last time, perhaps there’s something else in store? Can’t wait! I’ll see what I can do about getting a few pictures/clips to go along with my eventual review.
Figure 4 saw an update today – Basic Series #3 Shelton Benjamin! I found him the day he got fired, so it was bittersweet. There’s a bunch of detailed pics so please check it out if you’re interested! And be on the lookout next week for another Figure 4, this one from the Survivor Series set.
Tomorrow is my friend Amber’s birthday party, and it got me thinking…while my site is picture heavy in content, there aren’t really any personal photos up. I have loads of vacation photos and some funny stuff on my cellphone from over the years. So why not make the site a little more personal? Launching in the near future will be a gallery of various photographs I’ve taken over the years.
Updated the “coming soon” sidebar to the right.
From the Vault: Vicarious Mission will be coming this May. It’ll be remastered footage with additional special effects, so no blurry 320×240 stuff I used to work with. I’ve overlooked the raw footage and forgot how much good stuff we shot that day…bloopers included. Looking forward to working on this some more.
Some other stuff is being worked on with May/June target dates, but I don’t like announcing things without delivering. Kinda have a problem with doing that in the past, haha. So until next time, thank you guys for checking out my website!
Seems like it’s about time to do a site update 3 months into the year, no?
A few major updates have gone down recently. Earlier this month saw Disc of the Decade, a rundown of some of my favorite albums from 2000-2009. Figure 4 debuted, which is an action figure review series. And today was the debut of Vicarious Views – a brand new channel dedicated to video game reviews. The first episode is Silent Hill. The second is already in the works. It’s a lot of fun to do these videos, but also a lot of work, so they do take some time. The second review is going to be really old school. The third one is going to be a modern game on a modern platform. I just want to mix it up.
I’m producing/filming a video for some people on Friday. Depending how it turns out I might host it up on LV or make a director’s cut or something. Should be good.
I’m experimenting with the box on the sidebar. I figured it would be nice to post an updated list on what’s going on in regards to the site. It might change, it might go away entirely, it might just revert into something else. Who knows! I’m going to look into some sort of advertising soon to pay for hosting the site in the future.
Another update is coming this weekend. It’s a special calendar review that is just an excuse to experiment with green screen, haha. It’s already finished and uploaded so look forward to that.
That’s about it. As always, thanks for checking out my website!
Lots of good stuff from the big red guy upstairs this year. Thank you, Santa!
There’s one more site update before we get to 2010. I’ve been working on a few articles over the past week. One is delayed until early on in January, two are scheduled for late January, but there’s one that was able to slip by right before the end of 2009.
Games of the Decade!
I’ve compiled a list of 10 definitive video games across all platforms over the course of 2000-2009 (ten years). It wasn’t easy, as there was a late addition I had to add and reorganize at the last minute. The only rule is that I decided to list only one game per franchise to keep clutter down. It’s just a personal list and not a “be all end all” kind of deal. Check it out under the Features section.
Also scheduled for January/February is a brand new channel called Vicarious Views. I plan on VV being a main feature of this website that will hopefully attract more viewers. Vicarious Views will cover video games of the past and present, and will be done in a high quality video presentation. There won’t be any gimmicks or anything, just straight forward reviews that will hopefully do the game some justice…or some injustice if it sucks.
The first two games planned? Here are the hints: one is quiet, one creeps outside your window at night. Here’s another clue: it’s not me.
Lots of video game things coming up, obviously. I hope to do some more personal opinion articles in 2010, but I haven’t decided how to go about that just yet. I got some cool stuff planned to diversify Living Vicariously.
Have a safe and happy new year! Let’s hope this decade sees some vast positive changes.
