The Daily Rossman. No gnus is good gnus!

    Well, I don't know how the hell you found this place, but here you are. This page is basically the ass-end of the Rossman web world. I write boring stuff down here about me and things that happen to me. Don't ask me why.
If you read this you're even lamer than me for writing it.

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Note to self 43: 03/22/1999
  Another fun weekend down the drain and a harsh reality this morning. I actually ended up going to Animazement 99 in North Carolina at the last minute and shared a room with 11 other people from the old club... It was tight, and when the power went off early Sunday morning it got a bit stuffy too, but it was fun (well, except for one belly-acher). I had a pretty good time (don't know about the others) even though it wasn't as good as last year's first Animazement. Oh well, at least I got to ask Imagawa some more questions I've built up over the past year about Giant Robo, got to know the Teletubbies a little better (you had to be there ^.^), bought a bunch of cds in the dealers room, got an incredible Shirow Masamune art book (@_@) and played a bunch of puzzle fighting games.... On the bad end, still no SM CDs in the dealers room (well, not out in the open ;), and the cosplay sucked arse!! But the music video contest more than made up for that (I LOVE that "Dance the Night Away" set to KOR)!
  I think I made the return to reality safe and sound except for the sleep deprivation. PCD set in like clockwork but quickly left as I ran to work this morning (almost) late. And I now have a deeper respect for Pocky (which I learned is pronounced "Poh-kee" and not "Pah-kee"). Can't wait till next year's Animazement when they're saying they'll have a great manga star (hopefully a little better than Yu Watase [who's a cutie pie and all, but face facts! She drew FY! FY sucks!])!!! I may have to come out of retirement and cover that con^_^
  The FFVIII soundtracks (along with Xenogears and Xenogears - Creid, Parasyte Eve and Brain Power'd 1&2) Rock!!!!
  Oh yeah, I also found the anime version of the dancing hampster at: http://www.angelfire.com/la/pikachu/pikadance.html
You have been warned.

Note to self 42: 03/15/1999
  Wow! What a weekend! From Saturday thru Sunday I was able to plug in about 23 hours into Xenogears in order to finally beat the b****!! And now for my review on the Playstation game, Xenogears:

The Legend, the Game
XENOGEARS
Well, after a total of 51 hours (and that was by just breezing through it, not powering up my levels the whole way!), another Squaresoft RPG is finished by the Rossman.... and it's about damn time! I started this game a little before Christmas, but lost interest in it early due to its lack of interactivity and gameplay (which only gets worse as the hours click by). But soon, after forcing myself to continue after only 10 hours into it, I really started to get into the whole storyline, which is the main draw of Xenogears anyway.

Xeno is one of the most complex stories I have ever seen! Even though FFVII tried the same thing (no gameplay, totally linear path, some full motion video cut scenes) it came nowhere near as close as Xeno. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing FFVII when I was playing it, but now that I've witnessed the complex chronicles of Fei, Lacan, Elly, Sophia and the rest of the gang it is incredibly hard to take the seventh Fantasy game serious again. There's just no meat to it! And the music in Xenogears actually does the impossible, it outdoes a Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack! But, what can you expect from the guy who put music to Chrono's adventures?

Now to be perfectly honest with you, I'd have much rather prefered that Xenogears had been made into a 52 episode animated TV series (preferable by the same people who did the opening animation and not the rest of the FMV scenes). It would have been awesome! Then I wouldn't mind watching it again and again in half-hour increments.... But right now I just can't see myself sitting down in front of my Playstation anytime soon for hours at a time (between the times I could save) just to watch everything from the beginning again, and catch the many many things that I must have missed.

This story had everything in it! It was kind of like a mix of Total Recall, Raising Cain, Night of the Living Dead and the last two episodes of Eva (now you know why I like it so much :). It really was very impressive how well everything tied together in the end too! They had sooooo many loose strings going into the last disc (the last 9 hours of the game), and about 98% of them were cleverly dealt with and made you think "Oh yeah! That makes sense!" IF ONLY IT WAS A TV SERIES!!!!!! Urgh!

Also, many little things that went way over (or under) many people's heads made me love this story even more (I am only refering to Xeno as a story from now on because there really is no game until the final dungeon [holy CR*P was that not fun!] and the final 6 bosses). For instance, when the avenging women warriors combine their mecha into a very Voltron-eque weapon there is an incredible cut-scene that looks just like the lions uniting! I was just waiting for Keith to appear and say "Dynotherms connected, intracells up, LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE!!!" Also the entire set up of the second disc was taken right out of the final two Shin Seiki Evangelion television episodes! Just a dark room with the characters talking about who they are, were and what was going on in the real world with images flashing upon a giant screen behind them. Very minimulist, and difficult to get used to, but once you do you really begin to enjoy it.

And finally, as to the FMV sequences, well, except for the opening animation of the starship getting destroyed and the computer rendered cutscenes with the gears, it was kind of disappointing. Not too much of it (most of the scenes are acted out in "bit-map theater"). And after battling one of the hardest final dungeons and the hardest bosses I've faced in a long time (six of them in a row!!) the ending left a lot to be desired. I really wanted a lot more animation of the whole gang together and I really really wanted to hear Rico, the Blanca clone, talk. But the ending song rocked! "Two of Pieces" is one of my fave slow songs now ^_^ It's just soooo soothing and a perfect end to everything that had just happened.

So to wrap things up, go play Xenogears, but not for any RPG value or gameplay. Do it for an incredible and unforgettable story!

Oh yeah, I also got to meet the Provost today at a breafast gathering. What a nice woman. Hope she makes the University as good as she told us she was gunna ;)

Note to self 41: 03/11/1999
  This has been an EXTRAORDINARY day. Only got half of my cds and art books that I ordered on line last week, but I got to see the new Star Wars trailer and my Urusei Yatsura DVDs are becomming a reality!!! ^_^ Happy days are here.
  Work's okay for now, but there's a whooooole lot of it. I plan to finish Xenogears this weekend and maybe go to Animazement the next. We shall see. Anyways, just go over to starwars.com and check out the new trailer!

Note to self 40: 02/24/1999
  What a week! Cats was pretty cool (for a bunch of singing and dancing Cats that is), got a bunch of my Sarah Brightman import cds in, got a new computer at work (that keeps screwing up though) and it snowed 4-5 inches this morning (which I didn't even realize until I walked out my door and looked at the parking lot). Needless to say, work wasn't cancelled, but a lot of people didn't show up.
  Well, all things considering, nothing much to bitch about this week so I'll just rant about my club. Maaaaan are they letting it go to pot (right now it's not any fun and there's really only one show I go for). As soon as the MegaPlayboy gets me my KOR tapes I'll have no more reason to go.... Well, that's just about it. They have to shape up soon or it'll just get lamer and lamer..... Right now I just want to go home and play Xenogears and Rival Schools.

Note to self 39: 02/16/1999
  Well, things have been looking up again, but no "Peak of Pleasure" or anything of the sort has been reached. I have been able to complete a butt-load of work for my work's webpages though and the new look is underway. I also had a fun weekend slacking off and got a lot farther in Xenogears than I had been able to for a long time (I decided to give it a second chance). But then V-Day had to rear its ugly head and remind me of the pitiful existence that I choose to inhabit on this malevolent little mudball we call "Earth". I'll try to get drunk tonight after Cats.

Note to self 38: 02/08/1999
  Wow. This past week even beat out last week for craposity. Didn't think it was possible. At least I found out that I'm gunna get a lot back for taxes this year so I went out and bought a LOT of cds that I've wanted for a looooong time. That makes up for a small part of the over-all suckiness.

Note to self 37: 02/01/1999
  This has without a doubt been one of the worst weeks in the Rossman's life.

Note to self 36: 01/19/1999
  Well, a full week behind me and nothing but fun ahead... well, almost nothing but fun.
  This past weekend I drove up to North Carolina to visit my Grandmother and Uncle and I towed the parents along too (couldn't very well leave them home alone now could I 'uv?). Nana's doing fine and PineHurst is gorgeous! If only I knew how to play golf.
  This coming weekend Jen and I are gunna go ice skating for the first time in years and I can hardly wait:) She's been rollerblading for a long time though so she'll probably skate circles around me and have the ice cave in like all those Bugs Bunny cartoons. I'll bring extra longjohns just in case.
  It appears that Angus is actually going to leave the office in the near future so it's a gimme that things are going to go downhill fast around here very soon. That's going to SUCK! *Sigh* Well, life does go on.... and hopefully Just Kidding will help ease the pain@_@.

Note to self 35: 01/11/1999
  What a lonely weekend. Just hung around the apartment and watched some old classics that I haven't seen in a while (namely Goodfellas, Casino, A Night at the Opera and Brain Donors), played some Zelda (still haven't beaten it dammit) and went to the gym. Nothing more than that other than waiting for Just Kidding to break away from her inhumane schedule and return my call. (She's self-imposed 10Xs busier than I ever was when I was taking classes. Hopefully I can teach her how to slack like a pro and enjoy all the free time that it brings sometime soon. It's all for her own good).
  The Atlanta Falcons did me proud this weekend, but I just can't seem to get into any football team that isn't in the NCAA. College teams are much more fun to root for.
  Well, back to being lonely. Oh yeah! I just LOVE that "Hit me baby one more time" video (especially that hot chick in the school girl outfit @_@)! The perverted Rossman signing off.

Note to self 34: 01/05/1999
  Happy New Year everybody! I don't know about you, but I had an INCREDIBLE Christmas break. First and foremost my longtime (and sexy) friend, Jen, has agreed that we should start dating @_@  I am in pure bliss! She's smart, beautiful, funny, and a great cook. Nothing more need be said.
  Now for some less exciting news but still cool news in its own right. I bought myself a brand new '99 Ford Explorer (red and black :) over the break! It's sweeeeeeeeeet! It has everything inside of it too: cd player, moon roof, cd player, a radio, a cd player, etc. etc. I'm just glad I don't have to wear headphones in the car again in order to hear my MeatLoaf (BOoH I and II are nothing but perfect driving songs!). She's my Big Red now. Oh yeah, and Xenogears blows donkey (No friggin' gameplay and the plot is lackluster to say the least).

  Apart from all the goodness that happened in the last week of '98, '99 didn't start off too well itself. First of all, the computers at work have been farged up for the past few days, so this is the first time I've actually been able to do jack since I got back. Secondly, yesterday morning at around 3:30am the power went out in my apartment complex. This would have been okay by itself, but when it is 12 degrees outside and one's walls are pretty much paper thin it sucks! Especially when the power doesn't come back on till around 10. By the time I woke up at 6:50 (thanks to my wrist watch :p), the temperature in the room was 43 degrees. Trust me, that's very cold. And taking a shower in a freezing pitch black bathroom was definitely a new experience for me. No shave that morning.
  Actually, the experience really wasn't all that bad except for the fact that I found out later on that my ice-cream had melted and then was re-frozen in the freezer.... -_- And it was cookie-dough too. Oh well, at least Jen and I are going out ^_^

Note to self 33: 12/21/1998
  Well, Clinton's getting kicked out, Operation "Perversion Diversion 98" is going on in Iraq, My boss is leaving the office for another job across campus and Christmas is just a few days away.... it's been a week to remember.
  All my shopping's done, I mailed Just Kidding her card, gunna meet the Wolfman and Chi-Chi sometime this week to exchange gifts and I'll start playing Xenogears on Wednesday night (if I'm lucky). Busy busy busy. At least AnimeVillage finally remailed me my package (which they really never mailed in the first-place). *Sigh* Morons.
  I got my Final Fantasy arranged albums last week too. All of them ROCK! Pray is one of my all time favorite CDs now! And I just love Celes' "Aria" opera track on 87-94. I've been listening to all of them while playing my gold Zelda (@_@) this past week. Pure heaven.
  I also crammed all of Nadesico in again over the past five days (you catch so many references to Inez and all the other characters with mysterious backgrounds so early on the second time through!). I love this show so much! I'm just gunna have to hold my breath when ADV releases it and all the lemming-like otaku start praising it for all the wrong reasons (i.e. Ruri). I can already sense that this will almost destroy my love for the show (like the over abundance of worship that followed EVA [it'll be a while before I can sit through that show again due to millions of non-thinkers making webpage upon page of nothing but crappola like "I luv Rei^_^" and "Kaworu is my big gay idol" and so on and so forth]) *Double Sigh* What a world. At least I'll always have Master of Mosquiton and Boku no Marie.

Note to self 32: 12/14/1998
  Okay, now if you actually found yourself getting anxious and nervous because I didn't do an entry last week, let me assure you that if you're a lifeless, no talented hack who has to live vicariously through others... hey, it's only natural. But if you still did and you're not, then let me assure you that you are. Trust me.
  Urgh! Work is piling up like there's no tomorrow, there almost isn't a tomorrow due to Christmas break, AnimeVillage is trying to screw me out of a present I bought for a friend, I found that I truly hate the being known as "the BLOB" more than I thought possible and I had to get a B-day card for Just Kidding. Let me tell you something, Christmas time sucks when you work in the real world. It really does. Not much other than that. Seeya in a bit and don't forget to try and stand under as much mistletoe as possible! It's the best part of the season.

Note to self 31: 11/30/1998
  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Now that was a Thanksgiving weekend! My family ate the bird on Thursday with a few friends over to make up for my brother's poor misdirection (he chose to go to Utah for some Godonlyknows reason). But we also had a second feast on Sunday with a few more friends over for when he actually got back into town. I got two meals out of it so I won't complain too much.
  I also got to see the new Pixar movie A Bug's Life on Thursday night too. It rocked! Just don't forget to sit through the ending credits!

  Now for the time you've all been waiting for.... Yep, my 5th year high school reunion. Before I get started, I feel I must tell you that I did have fun at it, but it wasn't anything I had thought it would be (is anything ever?). Contrary to what the reunion rep told me (i.e. half our class was coming), only 55 class of 93ers showed. Sure some brought their fiances or girl/boyfriends, but only 55 kids from our class of 650+ came.... Fairly disappointing. I only really knew about 15 of them well. Well, we talked for a while at the hotel, but the dj was a d*ck and kept the music at deafening levels (nobody could hear what anybody was saying! I was two feet away from Sacha and she couldn't hear my screaming over the Snoop Doggy Dog blasting from the monster speakers). So then our group of 10 or so headed over to Chi-Chi's favorite watering hole so that we could actually communicate. It was fun to see what everybody was up to (I just wonder what ever became of SnotLick).
  Also, I got engaged just in time for the reunion too... well, just FOR the reunion actually. This really cute chickie who was friends with one of my old high school friends came with us and was my fiance for the night so that we could rub something in the faces of the kids we hated five years ago:p   I guess that "cute" is really an understatement, she was "hot!" We joked around all night and we really had a blast, but she had such an incredibly low self image of herself that it was depressing-_- Let me tell you something, the Rossman has a tendency to fall "in crush" with funny cutie pies at the drop of a hat, but knowing that this sweetie would never think of herself as "good for anybody" hurt even more than getting slapped in the face by a chickie that you like.... Uhhhhh, not that I would know anything about that. Oh yeah, the wedding's in June:)

  Oh yeah, Georgia lost to Tech too...... Pisser.

Note to self 30: 11/23/1998
  What more needs to be said? The Rossman is getting the word out (what word, I have no idea). I'm the "Guest Pick" on the Anime Web Turnpike for this week^_^ I'm happy.
  Not much really happened this past week. I got my Yoshitaka Amano art books from AnimeNation (the best money I ever spent!), I played some more Wild Arms on PSX, and I went to the UGA vs Ole Miss romping on Saturday. After the game I even got to run out on the field and stand in the giant "G" :) Then we did the 50 yard dash. It was an experience I won't soon forget.
  This Tuesday I plan to finally get my GOLD copy of Zelda: the Ocarina of Time. That should probably take up most of my time this Thanksgiving, the rest of the time will be for the UGA vs GT game and my 5th year High School reunion this upcoming Saturday. A busy busy week.

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