Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2

Yoshi fighting off Kamek's evil posse. pic:http://www.creativeworlds.net/series/Yoshis_Island.png

Yoshi's Island 2 is among the last major releases for the then dying Super Nintendo Entertainment System and, not surprisingly, it's one of the greatest games ever released on the SNES. in fact, one could even say that it's one of the best games ever made as I've just played this eighteen-year game and it seems as fun as ever. How can games this old still pack so much fun? I feel the very cells in my body itching to play that again. Even the myelin sheaths in my central nervous system feel strongly compelled to playing this wondrous game.

North America box art for Yoshi's Island

The plot of Yoshi's island is comprised of Yoshis handing out Baby Mario to one another in a relay system. Within their sojour, the Yoshis are bound to face challenges comprising different genre, namely mini-game puzzles, races, guessing games, shooting and more! Yoshi and his similar buddies prove themselves not only keepers of the Yoshis' Island, but also as guardians to Baby Mario, whom Kamek and his bunch of toadies are out to kidnap. They're still holding baby Luigi captive, but they still need to make sure that Mario is still out of teh way. Thus, they are pressed to gather both babies and thus send out for Baby Bowser to conquer the world along with the pitiful humans. That's why he needs Kamek, the evil magikoopa, to power him up with his magic wand so he can become huge enough to take on Yoshi because, in all earnest, he's unable to stand a chance against Yoshi at his current size.

Mario also proves himself to be a super smart human baby who is able to run up walls and even upside down on ceilings once he gets hold of a starman. Strangely is temporarily converted into a huge green-spotted egg in order to be towed along.

Baby Bowser is the actual villain in the game, even though it's Kamek who is Yoshi's usual opponent.

 Yoshi's Island is something of a departure from the conventionalities that most platform games employ in more ways than one. At certain stages the action plays like half side-scrolling and half 3-d, there's even a crosshair that can be fixed in order to shoot eggs in the desired direction. Speaking of such, Yoshi relies on a multitude of moves to make his way across the dangerous crooks on the exotic island. He can ground pound in order to defeat some really tougher foes and drive wooden posts into the ground. He can also shoot eggs high into the air in order to hit straight-flying or overhung enemies. By default the aim runs the whole angle held by Yoshi's eyes, but a few button presses it's possible to lock on a target before firing away. Reminiscent of various Nintendo games is the jumping attack, in which Yoshi, as well as some other Nintendo characters like Kirby, Luigi and Mario, defeats foes simply by jumping and landing on top of them. Yoshi can also make use of his lengthy tongue to grab an enemy and draw it into the ruthless digestive juices of his avid stomach. When Yoshi comes cross certain items, he acquires new destructive abilities: should he swallow an ice melon, he acquires the ability to freeze his enemies up before shattering them to death. It's actually quite satisfying to ice up those pesky piranha plants before having them crumble to their definite death. If you have an ice melon, it would be only fair to have a fire version of this fruit as well and that's where the fire watermelon comes into play. It simply heats up enemies to the point that they die. It's funny to use this on those hugeass crabs in the third world, it feels like you're steaming them to death. What further drives the point home is that you actually get to cross paths with two of those big crabs in the mid-way fortress of the third world, where the background is draped by an eerie reddish texture, which makes it seem like it might be tad hot in there.

When Yoshi gobbles up a standard watermelon, he gains the seed-shooting power. He can shoot a huge amount of seeds within a short time period. This is best when up against a barrage of enemies surging in.

Yoshi's island feels different than its predecessors when it comes to gameplay. As mentioned above, Yoshi has a plethora of new moves, many which only Yoshi can wield well. These changes actually work well as far as adding to variety goes. It also adds to the game's enjoyment, one of Nintendo's all time hallmarks. One thing that many platform games suffer from (and, to some measure, most games overall) is the lackluster variety of enemy designs. People have often seen this often: enemy designs tend to become repetitive and lean on boredom after a while. In some contexts, it's tantamount to torture. Lucky for us that Yoshi's Island has addressed this issue to perfection. The player feasts their eyes on a rich array of enemies that never feel like plentiful enough. Among these are weird mad-looking sunflowers, dashing storks, roly poly ambling pigeons, monkeys, sea monster popping up out of the water, koopa troopas (what video game would be complete without red and green-shelled turtles?) and shyguy in his many forms and appearances. And what a comeback for old Shyguy. This enemy had seemly been left out after Super mArio Bros. 2 was out. He hadn't appeared since. But in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island he's back in Business Again sporting all sorts of apparels, weapons and moves. You can find a dancing shyguy through a tropical thicket, run into a ghostly one or be bombed by a shy guy form high above or stepped on by some shy guy on stilts. Although some players may shy away at the dynamic action presented in this game and the amazing manoeuvres players have at their disposal, this game still manages to be very approachable to beginners. Although Yoshi's Island has a linear story, part of the player's interactions with the in-game environment includes performing an assortment of puzzles along the way. Many of these hold the intention to reward the player with extra lives, hoardable items or something even necessary to achieve the stage's maximum score.

Management by Objectives

Management by Objectives is a process in which a manager and his supporting staff agree upon a set of specific performance goals. they might also develop a plan for reaching them. The objectives must be clear and wholly attainable, and the plan should also be designed with a time frame and evaluation criteria.
MBO is basically used as a tool for strategic planning, employee, motivation and performance enhancement. It is intended to improve communication between employees and management and increase employees' understanding of the company's goals and provide a solid bridge between the pay and performance. A key factor in MBO system is its emphasis on the outcome achieved by the working staff rather than the activities performed in the process.


     In order to implement a successful MBO program, the first step is setting long-range company goals in such areas as sales, competitive positioning etc. Such long-ranging planning provides a framework for charting the company's future staffing levels, marketing approaches, financing needs, product development focus and equipment usage.

     Next up on the agenda should be the use of these long-range plans to choose the company-wide goals for the current year. Then the company goals can be broken down further into goals for different departments, and eventually into goals for individual employees. As the goal-setting process filters down through the organisation, special care should e taken to ensure that every department is involved in the MBO framework.
At a minimum, a successful MBO program requires each employee to produce five to ten specific measurable goals. In addition to a statement of the goal itself, each goal should be supported with a means of measurement and a series of steps toward completion. These goals should be proposed to the employee's manager in writing, discussed, and approved. It is the manager's responsibility to make sure that all employee goals are consistent with the department and company goals. The manager also must compare the employee's performance with his or her goals on a regular basis in order to identify any problems and take corrective action as needed.

     Formulating goals is not an easy task for employees, and most people do not master it immediately. Small business owners may find it helpful to begin the process by asking employees and managers to define their jobs and list their major responsibilities. Then the employees and managers can create a goal or goals based upon each responsibility and decide how to measure their own performance in terms of results.A work plan would include the goal itself, the measurement terms, any major problems anticipated in meeting the goal, a series of work steps toward meeting the goal (with completion dates), and the company goal to which the
personal goal relates.





     Small business owners may also find it helpful to break down employee goal setting into categories. The first category, regular goals, would include objectives related to the activities that make up an employee's major responsibilities. Examples of regular goals might include improving efficiency or the amount and quality of work produced. The second category, problem-solving goals, should define and eliminate any major problems the employee encounters upon performing his or her job. Another category is innovation, which should include goals that apply original ideas to company problems. The final category is development goals, which should include those goals related to personal growth or the development of employees. Dividing goal setting into categories often helps employees think about their jobs in new ways and acts to release them from the tendency to create activity-based goals. This body of approach as a whole can be directly linked to Taylor's Scientific Management and Fayolism, in that taylor's theory unfolded at the operational level, mainly concerned with the employees' output and how they could produce workflows of their own design to help achieve a higher level of efficiency. Fayolism also comes into play here in that it started spotting higher motivations for workers' being bent on work.Namely, a feeling of belonging and accomplishment, although these factors would remain unexposed until the rise of the Human Relationship theory.

Les Fleurs du Mal, by Charles Baudelaire

Les Fleurs de Mal (flowers of evil) is a collection of poems by romanticism poet Charles baudelaire and is the bulk of its poetic output after 1840. A hallmark of modern poetry, it charters new uses of aesthetics in which beauty makes appearances through sublime ways thanks to a poetic language befitting the trivial side of reality. This opus would eventually be the main source of influence to late authors such as Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud.

Compared to the Puritanism of Victorian England, Paris enjoyed a much more lax mindset regarding being proper and sticking to common ethics. Being considered a haven for tolerance where the naughty pieces (including those concerning apologies to the practice of unfaithfulness within wedlock, ménage à trois and lewd all-out orgies) by Jacques Offenbach were allowed to flourish without the slightest constraint, the intial
release of Les Fleurs du Mal had to overcome a measure of criticism as some bits of it contained verses suggestive of pornography:

Elle était donc couchée et se laissait aimer,
Et du haut du divan elle souriait d’aise
À mon amour profond et doux comme la mer,
Qui vers elle montait comme vers sa falaise.

She was then lying down and let herself be loved
And on the couch she smiled with delight
at my deep love, gentle as the sea
to which she went down to as a cliff

The author was adamant that his ‘livre atroce’ was impure and that the individual poems poured out their full significance only if the reader went over them within the ‘cadre sigulier’ in which he had set them. The 100 poem collection was doled out into 5 chapters:


    Spleen et Idéal (Spleen and Ideal)
    Tableaux parisiens (Parisian Scenes)
    Le Vin (Wine)
    Fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil)
    Révolte (Revolt)
    La Mort (Death)

‘Tableaux parisiens’, was inserted into the revised structure used for the 126 poems of the 1861 edition. Les Fleurs du mal records, in poetry in which lyricism and irony are fused, the quest of divided modern man for an ‘ideal’—variously sought in art, eroticism, travel, drugs, and political, social, and metaphysical revolt—that forever eludes him, plunging him back into the agony of isolation and despair that Baudelaire called ‘spleen’. Oscillating from one extreme to another, the quest is open-ended, ever to be renewed, and takes the seeker beyond the realms of life and death ‘au fond de l'Inconnu pour trouver du nouveau’



I BÉNÉDICTION

   Lorsque, par un décret des puissances suprêmes,
    Le Poète apparaît en ce monde ennuyé,
    Sa mère épouvantée et pleine de blasphèmes
    Crispe ses poings vers Dieu qui la prend en pitié:

When by a degree of supreme forces
the poet appears bored in his world
his mother terrified and ridden with blasphemies
She clenches her fists towards a pitying God.
 
   — « Ah ! que n'ai-je mis bas tout un nœud devipères,
    Plutôt que de nourrir cette dérision !
    Maudite soit la nuit aux plaisirs éphémères
    Où mon ventre a conçu mon expiation !
  
Ah, when I was down in a viper pit
Rather than nourish this mockery
Cursed be the night of ephemeral pleasures
Wherein my stomach has devised my atonement.

Puisque tu m'as choisie entre toutes les femmes
Pour être le dégoût de mon triste mari,
Et que je ne puis pas rejeter dans les flammes,
Comme un billet d'amour, ce monstre rabougri,


Because you chose me among all women

For being the disgust of my sad husband
And that I can't throw myself into flames
Like a love letter, this scrubby monster



Je ferai rejaillir ta haine qui m'accable
Sur l'instrument maudit de tes méchancetés,
Et je tordrai si bien cet arbre misérable,
Qu'il ne pourra pousser ses boutons empestés!»

I will come out of your hate that overwhelms me
With the cursed instrument of your wickedness
And so I choke this wretched tree
that was unable to sprout its plagued buds! 

External sources:

http://baudelaire.litteratura.com/les_fleurs_du_mal.php#.UVjllTelviw

http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Les_Fleurs_du_mal

Street Fighter Alpha 2

Akuma takes on Rolento,the Italy boss from FF2.

Away out in the roiling fervour that only Capcom can deliver is a neat fighting game robed in eye-catching special moves, awesome-looking stages, symphonic songs, among other assets. You have 18 characters at your disposal, plus you can play as Evil Ryu; the latter is only an evil version of Ryu and it's said that he took up his evil persona after a taste of the murderous intent which swallowed Akuma. Most people are pretty acquainted with this series.

The song of the player select screen will dwell in your mind for years to come.

The basic premise is that everyone has a reason to fight,avenge someone, become stronger or seek out real challengers who are worth fighting. This is basically the whole plot in a nutshell and you won't get anything different from this. But what makes this series amazing isn't the plot( it's overly simplistic in a way that give the players too much inspiration). The gameplay is this game's real asset. The average player would feel like they're wielding some real power when playing as Ken, Ryu or Akuma. But an experienced player should feel comfortable with any of the 18 characters as all of them have convenient strong points along with their own strategies to win.

The raging demon has made another victim.

It's easy to understand why players who can't break out of their regular standards feel more confident when playing as hadouken-shoryuken characters: it pays to be in control of someone with an anti-air strike and a projectile-like attack that flies over all the length of the screen. In addition, their basic moves are uncomplicated and can come in handy if used wisely. They're also the main characters in the game, at least they're the ones with the most background history.

Akuma slyly uses his teleporting skills to skim past Zangief's onrush.

The stages of this game also deserve some befitting mention as regards their graphical quality and level of detail. I particularly like Charlie's stage, with the air craft in the background in teh act of lifting itself in the air, amidst a furtive measure of darkness from what appears to be a natural section of some urban environment, with the rooftops and everything, without intruding from the background. It makes up for some neat view without providing distractions.

Words of Wisdom from one of the greatest entities ever to tread this Earth.

Move List:


        ZANGIEF

Running Body Press: 360+K (outside sweep)
Double Backwards Suplex: 360+K (close)
Spinning Pile Driver: 360+P (close)
Glowing Backhand: F,D,DF+P
Spinning Lariat: All P or All K

Super Flying Fist: QCF,QCF+K
Super Atomic Blaster: 360,360+P (close)


        SAKURA

Fireball: QCF+P
Medium Fireball: QCF+P,P
Large Fireball: QCF+P,P,P
Uppercut: F,D,DF+P
Hurricane Kick: QCB+K

Super Vacuum Fireball: QCF,QCF+P
Super Vacuum Hurricane Kick: QCB,QCB+K
Super Rising Uppercut Wave: F,D,DF,F,D,DF+P


        ROLENTO

Baton Spin: QCF+P
Backward Spin: QCB+P, then tap P to attack
Forward Spin: All P, then tap P to attack
Knife Throw: F,D,DF+K, then tap K to throw knife
Wall Attack: QCB+K, then tap K or P to attack

Super Fire Raid: QCB,QCB+P
Super Hanging Attack: QCF,QCF+K


        DHALSIM

Teleport: F,D,DF+All P or All K or B,D,DB+All P or All K
Yoga Flame: HCB+P
Yoga Air Flame: HCB+K
Ground Slide: D+K
Yoga Fire: QCF+P
Head Drill: D+FP in air
Feet Drill: D+K in air

Super Yoga Blast: QCF,QCF+P
Super Yoga Throw: QCF,QCF+K


        GEN

Mantis Fighting Style: All P
Mantis Fury: Tap P repeatedly
Mantis Kick Uppercut: F,D,DF+K, then K repeatedly
Crane Fighting Style: All K
Crane Dive: D 2 sec. U+K
Crane Roll: B 2 sec. F+P
Crane Wall Dive: D 2 sec. U+K, tap D,U when flying off wall

Super Mantis Charge: QCF,QCF+P
Super Crane Throw: F,D,DF,F,D,DF+K


        ADON

Jaguar Kick: D,DF+K
Front Kick: DF+K
Jaguar Tooth: HCB+K
Jaguar Knee: F,D,DF+K

Super Jaguar Kick: QCF,QCF+K
Super Jaguar Breed Assault: QCF,QCF+P


        AKUMA

By far the most powerful character in this and any game.

With a wealth of smart moves, he can easily overpower any 

opponent in this game. And it wouldn't even call for 

a skilled player to do so; anyone with only a nodding

acquaintance with the SF Alpha II characters would quickly

grasp the feel of what it's like to play as Akuma and promptly

trounce whatever opposition his playing partner might mount. 

Diving Kick: D+FK in air
Overhead Chop: F+SP
Spin Kick: F+FK
Fireball: QCF+P
Red Fireball: F,DF,D+P
Air Fireball: QCF+P in air
Hurricane Kick: QCB+K
Dragon Punch: F,D,DF+P
Forward Roll: QCB+P
Air Roll: D,DF,F,UF+P or K
Teleport: F,D,DF+All P or All K or B,D,DB+All P or All K

Super Rising Dragon Wave: QCF,QCF+P
Super Vacuum Fireball: HCB,HCB+P
Super Aerial Vacuum Fireball: QCF,QCF+P in air


        BIRDIE

Body Slam: DF,D,DB,B,UB+K
Head-Butt Charge: B 2 sec. F+P
Turn-Around Head-Butt: Hold any 2 P or K then release
Chain Grab: DF,D,DB,B,UB+P

Super Leaping Chain Grab: QCF,QCF+P or K
Super Mega Head-Butt Rush: B 2 sec. F,B,F+P


        M. BISON

Demon Flight: D 2 sec. U+P
Slide: DF+RK
Scissors Kick: B 2 sec. F+K
Psycho Aura: B 2 sec. F+P
Demon Stomp: D 2 sec. U+K
Teleport: F,D,DF+All P or All K or B,D,DB+All P or All K

Super Psycho Crusher: B 2 sec. F,B,F+P
Super Knee Press: B 2 sec. F,B,F+K


        CHARLIE

Sonic Boom: B 2 sec. F+P
Jumping Back-Kick: F+FK or B+FK
Charging Slide-Kick: F+RK or B+RK
Flash Kick: D 2 sec. U+K

Super Somersault Justice: DB 2 sec. DF,DB,U+K
Super Sonic Blade: B 2 sec. F,B,F+P
Super Crossfire Blitz: B 2 sec. F,B,F+K


        CHUN-LI

Fireball: QCF+P
Heel Kick: D+FK in air
Knee Flip: DF+RK
Split Kick: HCB+K
Lightning Kick: Tap K repeatedly
Vertical Spin Kick: D 2 sec. U+K

Super Vert Kick: DB 2 sec. DF,DB,U+K
Super Thousand-Burst Kick: B 2 sec. F,B,F+K
Super Power Storm: QCF,QCF+P


        DAN

Gale Kick: QCB+K
Fireball: QCF+P
Dragon Punch: F,D,DF+P

Super Fury Kick: QCB,QCB+K
Super Vacuum Fireball: QCF,QCF+P
Super Rising Dragon Wave: QCF,QCF+K


        GUY

Dashing Elbow: QCB+P
Overhead Slam: F+SP
Elbow Drop: D+SP in air
Bushido Running Slide Kick: QCF,FK,FK
Bushido Running Stop: QCF,SK,SK
Bushido Short Jump Kick: QCF,RK,RK
Bushido Leap: QCF+P,P
Rising Spin Kick: QCB+K

Super Bushido Rage: QCF,QCF+K
Super Bushido Jump: QCF,QCF+P


        KEN

Dragon Punch: F,D,DF+P
Overhead Axe Kick: F+FK
Ground Roll: QCB+P
Fireball: QCF+P
Hurricane Kick: QCB+K

Super Rising Dragon Wave: QCF,QCF+P
Super Vertical Dragon Wave: QCF,QCF+K


        ROSE

Cape Charge: QCF+K
Slide Kick: DF+FK
Soul Spark: DB,D,DF,F+P
Soul Reflect (Absorb): QCB+JP
Soul Reflect (Horizontal): QCB+SP
Soul Reflect (Diagonal Up): QCB+FP
Soul Catch: F,D,DF+P

Super Aura Soul Catch: QCF,QCF+P
Super Aura Soul Spark: QCB,QCB+P
Super Soul Illusion: QCF,QCF+K


        RYU

Fireball: QCF+P
Overhead Punch: F+SP
Spin Kick: F+FK
Hurricane Kick: QCB+K
Dragon Punch: F,D,DF+P

Super Vacuum Fireball: QCF,QCF+P
Super Vacuum Hurricane Kick: QCB,QCB+K


        SAGAT

Tiger Crush: F,D,DF+K
Low Tiger Shot: QCF+K
High Tiger Shot: QCF+P
Tiger Claw: F,D,DF+P

Super Tiger Cannon: QCF,QCF+P
Super Tiger Genocide: QCF,QCF+K
Super Tiger Raid: QCB,QCB+K


        SODOM

Carpet Bomb: D,DF,F,UF+K
Slide Kick: D+RK
Jitte Slice: QCF+P
Power Bomb: D,DF,F,UF+P

Super Mega Jitte Slice: QCF,QCF+P
Super Mega Power Bomb: 360,360+P

Alien Prey- 1978 film

An unusual turn of events converged to my watching this motion picture. I remember how I was supposed to sit still while the wife was swabbing the floor so it wouldn't be smeared by my footprints. I had intended to go and read about TCP/IP packets and the transmission means tehreof. But eventually I settled on remaining at this notebook computer and decided, on a whim, to watch Alien Prey. The movie had been sitting there for an indefinite amount of time. But then the moment to watch that had at length arrived. Why did the undertaking call for such a measure of mettle? Simply enough over the years I have heard that Alien Prey was an appalling movie, one of teh worst mistakes that Britain ever made, and it should not be watched at all costs. I hadn't watched the movie so I couldn't understand why the movie was such a trainwreck. But the sources from which the slight came were reliable enough, so it hadn't occurred to me to doubt the authenticity of the rating.

However, time came when I had to actually watch the whole thing, all the way through. Know what? The movie got me thinking a lot. Thoughts of some philosophical fancy dominated my mind for quite some time, and the way it lingered yielded some agreeable insights, not unlike the feeling linked to nostalgia. Although this could easily be ascribed to a lot of factors inherent to my own experiences, there are a few that warrant special attention:

• The setting is in a backwoods town in England. I was used to movies based around country life to be set in some backwater town in Florida, Delaware, Georgia or even Australia (as of the time of this writing I used these examples with the following movies in mind: The Alien Dead Redneck Zombies, Squirm and Canetoads.)
• The lesbian couple seems genuine and the established relationship proves to have a life of its own: Jessica (the most attractive of the duo) is very dependent on her partner and seems at times even unable to care for herself should she be left alone. The other is the dominant partner in the relationship and her dominance might have been forged by her more masculine deportment. She takes a more active part in running the house and attending to most of the chores. She might even have been in charge of teh shopping but I guess that was hardly the case because as stated before, that is a town concealed deep in the woods. 
• The antagonist is an alien vampire man who happens to impinge upon the lesbian couple's peaceful world. He's a murderous being out to slay all who stay in his way to world conquering. Most of the film he's displayed under teh guise of a simple man who is good at sporting a blank expression while he's not excited. But when his biological needs dictate, he can turn feral and slaughter even the most powerless creatures that happen to be within his angle of vision. He feeds on those he kills, humans and beasts alike. None are spared. Yet, despite being an alien and therefore having scarce knowledge about humans, it's clear that he can sense that he's the odd one out and due to this a bother to the two homosexual females. He acts meekly and pretends to be lost in order to receive some relief from them. But what makes the bulk of the movie is that it remains unclear whether the alien has feelings for the more attractive partner of the couple or he's just biding his time. But the latter seems unlikely as he doesn't look like he's plotting something serious after all. He does relay information to the command ship now and then. But it's impossible to draw this conclusion from reading his face and then we realise there's nothing to see there. It's dead. 
• Joe ,the other partner, is constantly jealous of anyone who can take her woman. This is shown from some tidbits throughout the movie, including the way she looks askew at the alien male and how Jessica's previous boyfriend was disposed of. Actually this happens before the movie starts. We gather that it was Joe who carried out the hit based on Jessica's conclusion.

Okay, onward to the plot. It all starts with Jessica waking up from a bright light that floods her room. She runs over to her partner (they sleep in separate quarters) to procure some comfort. The next day we are introduced to movie's antagonist, an alien form outer space who quickly picks off an unsuspecting young couple nearby. He assumes the identity of the male moiety of the unit and makes his way further into the thicket. He happens upon two cops who wander through and kill them as well. Soon, the lesbians find him at their property. He seems to be disoriented and pretends to be limping so they can help. Weird that, despite his limping they offer him water. A crutch might have been more appropriate, but still.... They take him inside despite Joe's protests. Even this early in the film she already shows a jealous streak in her. Jessica seems more comfortable with  teh alien's company. Maybe their life hadn't been so peaceful after all.

The alien displays some kinky behaviour during the movie's course. He's rather obsessed with Jessica's parrot: Wally. Whenever he's given teh chance of being left alone he makes a go at it. The plot comes to a staggering halt at this point. A lot of things happen and none of them contribute to the movie. Of notice is Joe's chagrin at the chickens' sudden demise and how she wrongly blames a furtive fox for the killing. The three of them set out on a hunt, she aims for the fox, takes a 10-yard shot and misses it. She protests loudly, even cussing the foreign allien that he's of no help. She just wants to get her revenge at all costs. The alien (let's just call him Anders from now on) decides to redeem himself for having behaved like a vague lump of flesh and kills the fox and takes it home, much to Joe's delight.

Another quirk of this movie is that they are so happy for the successful hunt they decide to stage a party. Now I believe that having a party should have a good reason behind it. Killing a simple fox because some silly moo thought it was accountable for killing teh chickens is not among them. What if was another fox? The party is complete with cake, dancing and champagne. They didn't invite anybody it's only the three of them to partake of the soiree.

Which causes one to wonder what if there was no intruding alien thrusted upon the perfect world comprised of Jessica and Joe? It hints at them either being outright recluses or living secluded from everywhere else. It's unclear what their status quo is as the movie evolves only around these 3 characters confined to that one house which is the dwelling of the humans. Nowhere else they go for the remainder of the film.

 Anyway the party mood is ideal for the lesbians to enjoy each other's company. The alien remains indifferent, in the background. They try to get the bashful entity to groove to it, but the dullness of teh air about him won't just clear up. They then decide to have fun in a way that could get everyone involved. Rather than what dark desires might compel at times like this, they don't engage inany kind of randy stuff.Quite the contrary. They elect to play hide n seek. So there you have it: 3 grown-ups playing hid and seek. Weird as it might seem, the female duo actually find it pretty funny, despite making the side already used to it. The game is a novelty to Anders, but still his excitment muscle is not stirred. He finds them quite easily by sniffing them out.

At this point I thought he was going to kill somebody. I'm not sure why, but the build-up to the mood and the sombre music just kinda gave that away. But something doesn't feel feel right and Joe goes over to investigate things. What she finds out is quite disturbing. She finds the remains of the dead fox and finds out that all that's left of it is its hide and the flesh, tendons, tissues were gone altogether. She starts piecing things together right away and comes to the unavoidable conclusion that their alien suitor is behind the recent doings. It's not long before she grabs a huge drop point knife to fend off Anders. Jessica finds her first, but she's undaunted by her flustered partner holding that huge knife.

She claims to know that Anders is twisted and held accountable for the latest casualties. Jessica just shrugs that off and goes to look for him.

When they do find him, Joe lashes out at him and tells him to go away as soon as morning breaks. He concedes and really leaves. All is back to normal, or so it seems. Anders eyes up some swans and tries to lunge at them. Since he's only a feral alien with no idea what water is, he starts drowning in two feet of water. He screams for help. The very lesbians who sent him packing moments earlier answer his plea and rescue. Joe tells him to dry off and leave again right after. Jessica dissents and has an emotional breakdown at Joe, including telling her she had ferreted out how it was Joe who had killed Simons, her deceased suitor and that she can no longer stand her jealously towards anybody who feels the slightest attraction to her. The two wrangle, and Jessica winds up unconscious after Joe bashes her head a few times against a marble plynth.

The whole point of the party segment was for Joe to find out that Anders wasn't to be trusted, at all. Moments later, she saves him from "drowning" in a nearby mudhole marsh. Everything that transpired was supposed to make her wary of Anders, but she seems to have let that slip for some mysterious reason. Odd...

Anders takes her to bed as though she was Charlotte The Harlot. As she wakes up, she tells him that she wants to leave with him and that her partner had been abusing to her all along. They partake in a sex scene that ends with Anders getting a bit to excited to the point that he rips her neck off. The last gesture of the codependent lass who had aspirations to leave a trouble-free life with someone who really cared for her. Even in death she is beautiful,olne has to admit, although Joe is distressed by the sight of both a startled Anders and her dead lover. She makes a run to the woods, but she trips over a shovel that was used to dig a grave outside. She falls in and Anders closes in. It's not clear what happened thereafter, although it's implied that she is munched as well. The movie ends with Anders sending information to the command ship about humans being an easy prey to the aliens' ambitions.

However much people want to lambaste this movie for all of its unconventional elements and how it departs from standard Hollywood pictures, this actually worked very well to me. The movie is 1hour 17 minutes long, a welcome length for a movie this simple. The few characters are complex and it's not your average love story because since the beginning it's hinted that the relationship is pelted by strains stemmed from the characters' inner fears, whether they be Joe's intolerance to romantic rivalries and Jessica's resenting her for this. The setting was also agreeable to my personal standards as it was unpretencious, but befitting the purported atmosphere of horror and perosnal bewilderment nevertheless. This is what keeps me entertained the whole time and that's the main reason people watch films anyway.

Akumajou Special -Boku Dracula Kun

Or simply put, Kid Dracula. I remember the local rent store had a cartridge box for this game that read Castlevania Junior and it had a rendition of the title character point his indicator finger at an assailing bat, shooting a small fire ball at the flying mammal, in a setting that didn't befit the true cheerful tone of the game. Actually, it was much darker, much like a real Castlevania game,one of those with which everyone is well acquainted with Simon Belmont battling his way through Dracula's Castle to put an end to the dark lord's plans of putting to action some scheme that would allow all evil to sweep over the Earth and plunge it into ages of darkness and despair. But the main setting of this particular game is something else entirely. The game's old age might put some of the younger folk off, but those who appreciate neat games centered around a young vampire child dealing with the trouble of taming a horde of envious creatures might find happiness in the undertaking.

I played this when I was about 8. This means it was sometime back in 1992/1993. And a bonzer lot the I found the game, it wasn't exactly what cracked out to be, but in the long run I was nonetheless pleased with the experience and proceeded to play the game many times over. All around the central room of my callow mind were alleys,all carpeted with the guise of a wide, yet agreeable to charter world, all leading to my always playing the game with the sort of delight as the first time I had the chance. The novelty value thsi game holds to me hasn't ever faded, even to this day.

Kid Dracula on top of his castle, eyes turned to the mysteries concealed by the guile of night.

Kid Dracula remains watches intently the dormant moon, suspecting it might wake soon and start acting up.

From that day over the next months I played that game with a peerless allure that was only matched 2 or 3 times later on. Whenever I played Akumajou Special- Boku Dracula Kun (or Castlevania Junior as I knew it back then) I was treating myself to moments that were endlessly enthralling. Many other memories came and went, but the thrill provided by this particular game lingered on in my mind with such a puissance that it was sad when I stop playing that. Years went by, 1995,1996,1997. A wealthy assortment of new games caught us by storm and it was unavoidable giving in to the fun they packed. But none of them triggered the same feel as Kid Dracula had. It wasn't until 2008, through nestopia, that I managed to at last play it again. My adult then vying for other objects also worthy my time and attention, I still found time to play that game again and again rejoiced it all the same, as when I was 8. It was as though I was that age agian. Inded, the emotion remains and its same effect arises whenever I play it. Reaching out between the slats of the snare that a current grown-up life puts you through, I make to play this again whenever the opportunity makes itself present.

But what's the deal with Kid Dracula? ALthough this game means a lot to my history as a Nintendo PLayer, it's only just a game with amazing graphics and, cool sprites, fine songs and thoroughly entertaining. It's colourful as hell and the song fits nicely with everything else. The enemies are all cute versions from Castlevania games so expect to find the age-old evil armours (only this time they look less evil), Frankenstein monsters, mummies, wraiths, zombies, young witches with that guileless look on their face when they fly over, dropping some sort of projectile that deals damage 1. The game in total has 9 stages and it can completed well under 1 hour, although I hardly beat the game this quickly as appreciating it is also part of the reason why I come back to it. 

Screenshots:

Boku Dracula Kun sets forth, joyful and free, on a million-mile journey to reclaim his throne as rightful heir to the kingdom of mosnters, by the fiercest, least trodden way he can find, never mind some engineered spikes designed to descend on anyone unfortunate enough to not cross fast enough the path beaneath them.

Eddi's service

What would I make of this poem? It's easy to follow and neatly written. It's taken from Rudyard Kipling's Rewards and Fairies. In the poem, a priest named Eddi holds a late service at midinight. As human church goers would rather observe Christmas than venturing out into the wicked weather, a bullock and a donkeyy found their way to the church and Eddi took upon himself to preach too them.

EDDI, priest of St. Wilfrid
In his chapel at Manhood End,
Ordered a midnight service
For such as cared to attend.

But the Saxons were keeping Christmas,
And the night was stormy as well.
Nobody came to service,
Though Eddi rang the bell.

'Wicked weather for walking,'
Said Eddi of Manhood End.
'But I must go on with the service
For such as care to attend.

The altar-lamps were lighted, –
An old marsh-donkey came,
Bold as a guest invited,
And stared at the guttering flame.

The storm beat on at the windows,
The water splashed on the floor,
And a wet, yoke-weary bullock
Pushed in through the open door.

'How do I know what is greatest,
How do I know what is least?
That is My Father's business,'
Said Eddi, Wilfrid's priest.

'But – three are gathered together –
Listen to me and attend.
I bring good news, my brethren!'
Said Eddi of Manhood End.

And he told the Ox of a Manger
And a Stall in Bethlehem,
And he spoke to the Ass of a Rider,
That rode to Jerusalem.

They steamed and dripped in the chancel,
They listened and never stirred,
While, just as though they were Bishops,
Eddi preached them The Word,

Till the gale blew off on the marshes
And the windows showed the day,
And the Ox and the Ass together
Wheeled and clattered away.

And when the Saxons mocked him,
Said Eddi of Manhood End,
'I dare not shut His chapel
On such as care to attend.'

So Eddi the Wilfred's priest has carry on his service to the two pious attendants. The mass turned out to be so enthralling that they kept going til dawn broke!