~CranberryNoodles

>>> Journal

Date: July 25th

kjfdkhg Seriously dA. ONE MORE flippin' character, and I could have fit "scheduled" instead of "planned" and my title would instantly be 100x awesomer. Yeah, you know who you are. Thanks.

Umm...anyways. SO THIS IS MY NEW CSS GUYSTH. Do you like it? Gray is just my FAVORITE color. 8DDD -feels like abusing caps today-
Oh, but what's worse is that my Javascript is screwed up and I can't open any pop-up windows, that includes the preview of this journal. So. If this format looks entirely retarded, not my fault. xD

769 deviations, 238 journals. You guys have a lot of explaining to do. What, going and..and SUBMITTING stuff while I was gone. The nerve. >:c

Kidding. Just don't be surprised if I'm not caught up until next January. |D

So this is probably gonna be a huge, rambly journal. Not because I feel rambly (wait, yes I do), but because I have a lot to say. I'm not really sure where to start. .___.;

Well, obviously, I'm back from vacation. God, don't take me away from my house again. Ever. I adore my cats, my room, my high-speed internet...I feel like I'm forgetting something...oh yeah, maybe even my parents. xD

One month later, I've been through Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, even a small section of Idaho (all 30 minutes we were in it). I don't feel like reminiscing much (holy crap, I spelled that right on the first try?), but I saw a lot of stuff too, Mt. Rushmore, Old Faithful, all the things you'd expect if you were crazy enough to pack everything into your RV and haul it out west. One time I even went from 37 degrees F at the top of Mt. Evans in the rockies, to 97 degrees at Dinosaur National Monument, all in the span of 24 hours. Oh, and speaking of rockies, I went to a Colorado Rockies game, and naturally, they won. Seeing as I graced them with my amazing presence. :D jk, jk

I think the most noteworthy thing was that, about halfway through the trip, my grandparents' motorhome decided it wanted to break down. Which is, um, I dunno how to put it, a bit of a problem really. It was already in bad shape, we had been driving it all day and you could tell just by listening it was exhausted. I was surprised we made it to the campground in one piece. There was seriously something up, the speedometer was all over the place and it kept randomly jerking forward (the RV, not the speedometer). And then, come the next morning, the thing wouldn't start at all. They had to get the thing towed (lucky it was still under the warranty). So, about a week before it was actually planned, I transferred all my stuff to my aunt and uncle's motorhome, making the total population 8. 8 people, in a 31 foot motorhome. That's like...4 feet per person. xD But I managed.

The real problem, though, was that that very night, my parents were flying in, and they were SUPPOSED to be staying in my grandparent's motorhome with me. Instead, they had to find a hotel each night, as well as my grandparents. Though they didn't always want to spend $100 on a room, so they slept in their car once. D: I felt so bad. But, after that, things were pretty much alright. My grandparents drove back to Salt Lake City and moved into their non-operational RV while it was getting worked on. My parents flew back (kinda) on schedule. And the 8 of us: that's me, my aunt, my uncle, my two cousins (7 and 9), my aunt's sister, and her two kids (13 and 16). I'm not even gonna go over sleeping arrangements, but like I said, I managed. :b My aunt yelled at me for being sarcastic, and at all the teenagers for ganging up on her kids (who are brats most of the time). But we got over it.

I have so many inside jokes now planted in my head it's not even funny xD;

So yeah. That was my little trip. Old Faithful is overrated. Case closed.

Umm...MY BIRTHDAY IS THREE WEEKS FROM YESTERDAY OH MA GEE. My golden birthday, 14 on the 14th. I'm pretty psyched. 8D Oh, and some other fairly important news: My computer is dying. My trusty old '03 Toshiba Satellite, a gracious hand-me-down from my grandpa, has started randomly crashing. With absolutely no warning. As you might imagine, it gets annoying. And that's just the beginning, it also takes 4 times to reboot when it does crash, and it makes noises like a rhino in heat. It's so LOUD. And slow. And dysfunctional. So, needless to say, connecting the two chunks of information in this paragraph, I've managed to get my parents to go computer shopping with me. Lucky for me, going into high school, my stepdad has decided I should have my own computer. It may not be a laptop, since a desktop gives you more bang for your buck, but hey, I'll take what I can get. And what I can get is VISTAAAAA oh my goodness I can hardly wait. c: I know I'll end up paying for some of it, and they were already planning on splitting the cost with my grandparents, but oh well.

I was about to say that's it, then I realized I have to advertise. Sorry. xD

[link]

Wonderful, literate warrior cats rpg with friendly staff (that's me, ~Fernblossom, and plenty others) and most importantly, important open ranks. Please check it out. :D

_{....m'kay, NOW that's it}

>>> Cranberry's
Rants + Reviews

July '08

Review: Okami

(First of all, seeing as this is my first review, I oughta tell you how I roll. -shot- I don’t do that sort of “Gameplay: 9/10” stuff, I just ramble as I see fit and when I feel it’s necessary, I stop xD)

Okay, wow, Okami. Seriously, where do I even start?

Chances are you’ve heard of the PS2 bestseller, recently adapted for Wii, unless you’ve had your head under a rock for the past 3 months on dA or something. Anyways, here’s the gist of the plot, before I burst into singing its praises.

You assume the role of the Japanese sun goddess, Amaterasu, in the form of a wolf, and are given the task of revitalizing the world. The lovely region of Nippon has fallen under a curse thanks to the 8-headed serpent Orochi, blah blah blah, okay you know what, I’m gonna skip the details. :b You’re also basically reliving the tale of the white wolf Shiranui, who banished Orochi 100 years ago (but he’s been brought back to life, go figure).

Sounds like a generic plot, and it is, but within this central plot is a cast of bright and often deranged (alright, quirky might be a better word) characters, as well as several interweaving side plots - such as the task of collecting all 13 Celestial Brush techniques in order to progress, and to please your wise-cracking sprite companion, Issun.

The graphics, though not SUPAR AWESUM 3-D WOW, are gorgeous in their own right, having that almost painterly flair to them. The hills are rolling, the streams are rushing, and the leaves are rustling all with thick black outlines and crisp, smooth colors. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see a cherry tree blooming in a Japanese art style than in some super 3-D one. And I don’t think Ammy (short for Amaterasu) would look better any other way.

But it’s not the plot, the characters, or even the graphics that make this game what it is. I think it’s just the coolness factor. I mean, I put a solid 20 hours of gameplay on my rental, and I never got sick of sprinting around as this lithe, speedy white wolf, watching the flowers literally bloom at her feet wherever she ran. And that’s just the beginning - try climbing up waterspouts, grappling to a floating flower with a vine, or melting ice with a rope of flames, all by painting the required symbols on your screen with the Wiimote. But by far, the most breathtaking scene in this game (and you get to see it more than once) is drawing a simple circle on a withered Guardian Sapling, watching the braches spring to life with blossoms, and then watching nature take its hold on the surrounding area, dispelling the curse and renewing plants and animals. It’s not really a surprise though…have you ever played any other game as a god?

Maybe I can sum this review up in three words: buy this game. 8D For only 40 bucks, it’s practically a bargain. Correction, it IS a bargain. I can almost promise you you’ll fall in love with the rich, colorful artwork, the astonishing gameplay, and heck, just bringing the world back to life. Is it really that hard? Get down to that store. I’M WATCHING YOU! D<

>>> Friends and Clubs

Super-awesome cool people (my best dA friends from like the beginning of time):



Other amazing people (YOU'RE STILL COOL c: )



Real Life Friends <3:



Art Idols?:

I love these peoples' art <3 I get little spasms of joy when I see art from them in my inbox!

*Fax-Grimmin

Clubs:



>>> Art Status, To Do List, and all that crap

::Links::

Gallery
[link]

Tegaki
[link]

Playlist
[link]

Anarchy (warriors roleplay, staff there)
[link]

::Art Status::

Art Trades
Open

Collabs
Open

Requests
Closed

(please note me if you'd like to do a trade, collab, or ask for a request. I only do some requests though)

::To-do List::

Need to do:

~New ID!
~Birthday present for ~lola162
~Kiriban for *Phoenix--Fox

Should do (soon anyways):

~Updated refs for Saree (fursona) and Cranberry

Upcoming stuff?:

~Hoenn Pokemon Project
~Request for *komodomatta

...mudkipz? c: