The Savage Scaper Journal

I really need to start posting here again instead of having my online social life consumed by Facebook. Anyway, interesting things that have happened since I posted last.

I saw Arkona in concert and they were AWESOME! I knew they would be, but was glad to be vindicated. I even got their overpriced T-Shirt. Wish they were the headline act, but maybe one day. Until then, I will be happy. As for the other bands, they were ok. Pokadot Cadaver is not very good live, but they're crazy so it made up for it. Still don't care about the generic metal band that was on first. Still can't remember their name even, something with "Flame" in it. And Korpiklaani (the headliner) was enjoyable, though I still do not like them as much as Arkona. Also as Dan said after the concert, all their music just sounds the same after awhile.

Arkona is actually coming back to the same concert place in March as part of PaganFest America Part II tour. But they're one of the first opening acts so they probably won't have as much stage time as they did with the Korpiklaani tour. I'm not really familiar the other bands besides Alestorm, so don't know if I will try for this concert or not yet. Have to check out the other bands a bit more.

Xmas was nothing special and New Yrs Eve was much fun. As gifts for my friends I made personalized dice bowls. I'll be uploading them to my deviantArt at some point when I'm not being lazy.

Work has been...work. Things just haven't been the same since my awesome boss left. Work is also killing my desire to be creative. I get home and want to not look at photoshop or illustrator any more. Need to figure out a way to get myself motivated to do stuff for the sake of doing stuff again.

My long running Werewolf game is soon coming to an end and I can't say I'm looking forward to it. There are several things that I have been unhappy about it and they have put a major damper on my desire to play tabletops any longer. There is a change game will end on a good note, but I sort of doubt it right now. If I do continue on to another game, I would like it to be with some new players (preferably ones that want the same things out of a game as I do). /sigh

That's about all I have for now. Maybe I will try to post more later.

Purchased my ticket to see Arkona in December! Whoo! The one band I would buy an overpriced t-shirt from and that I never imagined would actually come to the US and to a venue I can easily get too. Granted, they're opening for Korpiklaani, but still, I'm going to see Arkona live! Yeah, I sort of like Korpiklaani too, just not enough to go see them in concert. Arkona is why I am going and that's why I got the tickets. Yay Arkona!



There is also another opening band I am psyched to see, Polkadot Cadaver. They sing weird, messed up songs and weird songs amuse me (see below). The third opening band is some generic metal band. I think they sound like Soil, but nowhere as good. I have no care to listen to them, but at least it won't be as bad as one of the opening bands that was at the Blind Guardian concert last year. Bleh.



Anyway, can't wait for the concert! Wheeeeeee!

It's been forever since I've updated here. So here's a run down of the important bits:

* Still in pain from the accident in October. I'm starting to wonder if I will ever get better.

* Got fully hired at RI Textile. Only making $10 an hour, but it's not like I'm in the position to argue for more when I still cannot work a full 40 hour week yet thanks to my back.

* Went to Pax East and got hooked on the World of Warcraft TCG cuz they had coupons to get starter decks for $5. Since then I have over 1,000 cards and one really awesome Worgen Druid deck that Dan refuses to ever play against again. I <3 that deck, it pwns.

* Discovered that there is a gaming store a few blocks from where I work. Went to it a couple of times with Dan and it's a great place. Not really the kind of place you'd go if you want a wide selection of stuff to buy, but it's a great place to hang out and chat with other geeky ppls.

* Tried the whole Larping thing again and the whole thing went better this time around. While I mostly stayed in the tavern the whole time, I had fun. Also think it did me some good as it is the long drives and uncomfortable office chairs that are infuriating my back the most. Walking around and only having hard benches to sit on was actually beneficial. Although my knees hated me, but I'm so used to knee pain I can ignore it, unlike severe back spasms and such.

* Found out my awesome boss is going to be leaving in a couple of weeks. I'm not really sure on the details, but it makes me sad. I hope things remain ok after she leaves. I know it's going to all odd since I got most of my work from her. She's like the 4 person to leave in a month's time, which is just weird since they've all been leaving for different reasons. My boss leaving is just so unexpected....

Anyway, that's all I got for now really.

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Went to the Blind Guardian concert yesterday with Dan. It was decent (but then everything pales in comparison to a Gogol Bordello concert). When it was over with I had more complaints then awesome things to say.

First off, I hate The Palladium. They over crowd the small place and there is a major lack of seating available. Because of this, it is extremely hard to find a spot where you can actually see the stage. I did find I good spot eventually, but all that standing has left me feeling like crap today.

The two opening bands were mediocre. I liked the first one (Seven Kingdoms), but they weren't amazing enough to spend $15 on their 11 track CD. The other band (Holy Grail) I didn't like at all. Considering that the last time Blind Guardian came around they were with Leaves Eyes (who are awesome), the opening acts were a bit of a disappointment.

As for Blind Guardian, there was some disappointment as well. Not in their performance, because they were pretty damn good, but their choice of songs. For a tour to promote their latest CD, they hardly played anything off of it; only 3 songs, all but one being ones that I feel neutral about. I know they have a ton of songs and some that their bigger fans apparently must hear or else they may die, but no matter what band you are or how long you've been around, if you are touring because you released a new CD, you should actually sing a good portion of that album at your concerts.

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My last complaint is a general one that seems to be an epidemic and that is the price of merchandise being sold. I don't know how $25 can be considered reasonable for a tour shirt. Yeah, there may be people who will still pay that, but I bet if you dropped the price to $15 (or even just to $20) you'd sell a shit ton more shirts and thus make more money. And don't get me started on $15 for CDs from bands most of the ppl there probably never heard of. The merch booth people at the Blind Guardian concert looked so bored because no one was really buying anything. I actually heard one of them commenting on the lack of sales. Yeah, that's cuz the stuff is too expensive. Besides, in a couple of months you could buy that same tour shirt off eBay for $10 or less.

Overall, I'd give the concert 3 1/2 stars. It was worth seeing, but I wasn't very impressed or happy with the setlist.

Which Horrible Affliction are you?
A Rum and Monkey disease.

Other songs by the same band can be found here: http://pigwithfaceofboy.blogspot.c…

Since the new season of True Blood started, I've ended up with the intro song stuck in my head again. It will likely remain there until season 3 is over with. Why is it so catchy?



Oh btw, WEREWOLVES! There's werewolves now! wheeee! Though so far they've been portrayed as bad and stupid. This makes me less happy, I hope it changes. Why aren't there more intelligent and "good" werewolves in fiction. :(

1. Put your ipod or any other mp3 player you've got on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the button for the next song to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!


1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Lost My Way" by Finger Eleven

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Fast To Madness" by Blind Guardian

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Po Syroi Zemle (On The Natural Ground)" by Arkona

4. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Set It Off" by Audioslave

5. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Chotee" by Bif Naked

6. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Wicked Game" by HIM

7. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Things I'll Never Say" by Avril Lavgine

8. WHAT IS 2+2?
"My December" by Linkin Park

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Looking Back On Today" by The Ataris

10. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Men In Black" by Will Smith

11. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Change The World" by P.O.D.

12. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Raise Your Hands" by Bon Jovi

13. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Drinkin' Me Dead" by Sasquatch and the Sick-A-Billys

14. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Animal Girl" by Liz Phair

15. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Rock Your Own World" by Rhona Mitra

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Leaialo" by System of a Down

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Purple Stain" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

19. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Drain The Blood" by The Distillers

20. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Another Holy War" by Blind Guardian

21. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Echo" by Trapt

22. WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Deciever" by Disturbed

23. WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Building A Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan

24. WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Riot" by Three Days Grace

25. WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Don't You, Forget About Me" by Simple Minds

26. WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
"Sweet Child of Mine" (cover) by Sheryl Crow

27. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Haunted" by Evanescense

28. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND CHANGE ONE THING?
"Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" by Nickleback

29. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Change The World" by Cold

30. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

"The Doomsday Key" was yet another awesome Sigma Force novel by James Rollins. I really enjoyed it, as I do all of Rollins's stories. He just has that talent for taking stuff that actually exists and weaving it into a story that is both fanciful and plausible at the same time. As far as I'm concerned, Rollins is the best action thriller writer currently out there and more people should read his stuff.

Oh, and this book has made me decide that Painter Crowe is like a Native American Chuck Norris. He appears where he is most needed, kicks the bad guys' asses, and then dissapears just as quickly. I'm glad he's been getting more involved with the overall plot of the series. After being the main character in the first book, he had ended up stuck behind a desk in the following ones. But he has been making a comeback and he was all over the place kicking ass in this one. And the next Sigma force novel sounds like he will be kicking even more ass! Wheeeee!