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I Could Be A Minimalist- The Hobby of Collecting and The Burden of Consumerism.

I have been a prisoner of consumerism for years now like most of us. As someone who went to school for business and sustainability, I am well aware of this problem. I knew a day would come when I would care a little less about consumerism. As days go on, I get closer to that goal. The big reason is because I plan to move. I don’t want more clutter. I don’t want to blow my whole paycheck on comic books and video games. Another reason I am getting closer to being over the addiction of retail therapy is because I have started investing. (Currently, I have $1,600 invested since around January.).

I was okay with consumerism for about 4 years because it was new to me. It started with buying Elemental Hero Yugioh cards to build decks I wanted to as a kid. Than I moved in with my mom and found my N64 games and wanted to start collecting N64 games. Than Jessica took me to her brother’s comic book store and that awoken the trifecta. I was obsessed with card games, video games and comic books. And over a 3-5 year run, I built a collection I was truly happy with. When I pop in my copy of Pokemon Stadium 2, or when I see my Daredevil #2 on my shelf, or when I duel my wife in a card game, I am truly happy with where my collection is. The problem with collecting is that it never ends. Even when you are happy with where you are. Even when you complete your original goals. Even when your priorities change in life. I am still looking forward to new comics each week or the holiday games.

What a sexy book!

And yes. My collection is not insane. Though, I have probably hit that point where if I never added another game I could still probably never play every game in my collection. I thought that would be a wake up call but it wasn’t. That’s mostly because collecting and gaming are two different hobbies. The first one makes you excited you scored a new 3D platformer that you will play for the next 15 hours. The other makes you excited you added 20 O.G. Xbox games for a dollar a piece to your collection. So, who cares that there is no way I’ll ever play every Gamecube game I own? Who cares if I have no interest in the sports games I buy? It’s two different hobbies. Each are equally satisfying in my opinion.

Pokémon Stadium 2 | Nintendo 64 | Games | Nintendo
Love this game!

I had an epiphany last week. A month or so ago I bought a copy of Skyward Sword on Switch for $60 dollars. I have played about 2 hours into it (I’m at the first dungeon.). Why haven’t I played more you ask? Because Pokemon Unite, a free to play MOBA, released in the same time window. So I have put countless hours into a Free to Play game and two hours into the game I have paid for. Something is not adding up. And this trend is pretty consistent right now. I have been playing Final Fantasy 15, a game I own, over Gamepass, a service I pay $10 a month for. My phone apps and my computer apps (Hearthstone, MTG Arena, and Bloon Tower Defense 6) are all free to play at this point. I’m playing a bunch of free games and not the ones I am putting money into. And with the way the Nintendo Switch is set up, I do not even need a T.V. to play on my Switch. Other apps I use like Pokemon Showdown are also free. Not to mention I am bumming streaming service accounts like HBO Max, Disney and Crunchyroll.

So being a gamer does not even have to be expensive in 2021. There’s my massive collection of backlog games, movies and comics that would keep me busy without having to spend another buck. And in the digital era, I don’t even have to own the clutter. Marvel comics can be bought on an app. Shoenen Jump has an app. Gamepass has hundreds of thousands of games on there for 9.99 a month. So why own this junk?

Because I like it. There’s a lot more to go into such as the fact I actually own my stuff. Digital properties are prone to being censored upon rerelease, being pulled from e-stores at any point, and the fact you do not own the assets. I like being in a house that is composed of my favorite things. Things that remind me of my childhood. Things that make me happy in a world that is generally depressing currently. I look forward to playing, reading and watching these things with my future kids and with my wife, Jessica. Jessica and I have game nights, movie nights and card nights all the time. We enjoy them.

However, space and time are two major things that are hard to get back when they are gone. And money I invest into my collection is money I cannot invest in my retirement. Those three factors heavily encourage me to slow down. Now, in a month I have added 6 Gamecube games to the collection, but I used store credit so my wallet did not feel as burdened by it. I am liking the strategy of using store credit to fund my hobby. I will continue to do that until space becomes a real issue.

So, at the end of the day, I could become a minimalist, but I probably wont until I absolutely have to. I will cut back on spending, definitely. But I still enjoy adding to my collections and chipping away at the goals. However, I am probably done spending hundreds of dollars on collectibles. For now. My money situation and life situation just make it to where it does not make sense. So I am not a prisoner to consumerism anymore. I am just enjoying life and trying to be smarter in all decision making moments. Surely, I will fail at times, but I am always improving.

New Comic Book Day Haul #2

Hey guys were back with our next round of comic book pick ups!

Spider-Man Life Story Annual #1
King Spawn #1
Darkhawk #1

I picked up four comics this week. Darkhawk #1, Spiderman Life Story Annual 1, King Spawn and Thor 16 (Not Pictured). Admittedly, kind of an underwhelming and exciting week. I’m only on issue 12 of Thor so I have a long way to go on it. I’m not a huge Spawn fan but the King Spawn being a number one intrigues me. Darkhawk was a favorite of mine when I was younger, so to see him back is awesome. I only have 2 issues of Spiderman Life Story. So while I love the idea, I’m a little ways away from reading it.

So that’s my Haul! Let me know what new comics yall are reading! Thanks for reading and have a great night everyone.

New Comics I am Looking Forward To!

A new month, new comics! Tomorrow is Tuesday and with that, new comics are on sell. Here’s some of the comics coming out this week I’ll be looking into!

X-Men#2

I have most of the Hickman run from the previous X-Men series. I’ve already picked up issue #1. Issue #2 looks good but I need to read issue 1 to see where I stand. (Very cool cover here though.)

Immortal Hulk #49

I collected this run more than I read this run. I bought into it in the late teens and early 20s as far as the issue count goes. I finally dropped it after issue 25 following rumors it would end at 25. However, apparently the run is officially ending at issue 50. As Al Ewing will be moving over to the Venom run while Donny Cates will be starting a new Hulk run. With that in mind, I will try to pick up the last two issues.

Geiger #5

Geiger #1 was a great read. Once I get Geiger #5 I plan to binge read the series! Geiger is like Fallout meets super heroes. The main character is exposed to nuclear radiation and gains super powers.

Crush and Lobo #3

This was a run I did not even know existed a few weeks ago. Crush was introduced in the previous run of Teen Titans. She is revealed to be Lobo’s daughter. I am big fan of the Teen Titans. While it seemed like the writers did not know what to do with Crush, as her lesbian identity felt forced and ultimately went nowhere, she always came across as interesting. I’m eager to see how they are handling her character now that her daddy issues get to be on full display.

Miles Morales #1 Marvel Tales

Miles Morales has been a star in recent years. He was the main Spider-Man in the hit animated movie Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse. Miles also played a minor role in Insomniac’s best selling PS4 game Spiderman before landing another lead role in the PS4/PS5 spin off Spider-Man: Miles Morales. To my understanding, this issue will reprint Ultimate Fallout #4 (His first appearance) and a handful of other stories!

So, that’s my list of books I am interested in picking up! Let me know what books you guys are looking forward to! Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!

We Got Married!

Hey, everybody. Jessica and I are officially married. We have been for a week now. Here on the blog I havent had any luck in getting Jessica to make appearances. I’m still working on that. However, on the YouTube channel, we have done several Co-OP Let’s Plays such as A Hat in Time, Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee, and Heave Ho. Weve also done plenty of pass and plays such as Katmari, Kirby 64, and Pokemon Stadium. We have also done series where it’s just her playing but we co commentate such Pikmin and Legend of Zelda Link to the Past.

In other words, she has been very supportive of my YouTube endeavors. Our LPs together are not only some of our more viewed videos but they are also by far my favorite videos to do. Our Super Mario 64 Race Against the Clock and Heave Ho stand out to me as some of the best times I’ve had with her. I think our LPs are very metaphoric of our relationship. Without her, it’s just not as fun and something always feels like it’s missing.

She has been an absolutely amazing addition to my life. She has loved me unconditionally, she has an open mind towards all my hobbies. Shes a big Pokemon (video game) Naruto (anime) and Spider-Gwen (comic book) fan. All franchises and forms of media she didnt really care about before we got together. Shes super nice and tolerates all my weirdness. So all those pluses in my book.

She supported me while I was in college struggling to find work. Even though this meant working 40+ hours, long shifts, two jobs or missing out on things she wanted to do with her money. Those memories are ones I’ll never forget. Now that I work it’s hard not to want to spoil her.

Anyway, she hasn’t been very active on the blog but maybe we can change that.

Either way, one week is in the bag. Heres to a million more.

I love you, kiddo. Heres to the future.

Let’s Talk: BatmanVSuperman!

Oh boy. It’s that time. Sorry this is so late.

BvS
(I do not own any rights to the images used throughout this article. All rights belong to the original creators)

Lets do a little background info as to why I am even doing this review and why I am a little annoyed. For starters, when characters got leaked(Wonder Woman and such). Everyone got so pumped. In the final days leading up to BvS the same people started saying the plot was convoluted and the cast was crowded and so on and so on. In fact, that seems to be the main reason it’s getting crapped on. So the way I see things is that big reviewers hyped it up when they knew they  were going to crap all over it. Though I tend to stay away from big time reviewers and form my own opinion (and you should too!)

Spoilers: Yes. Enough to warrant this message anyway.

Quick note: I am not a huge Superman fan nor do I pretend to be so I will mostly be reviewing this as a movie and not a strict faithful retelling of the comics.

Let’s get down to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good:

The action! It’s the same Zack Synder here who directed The Watchmen and 300 among other movies as well. Anyway my point is the action is good. My favorite fight scene was the final Batman vs Superman fight. Watching Batman beat Superman to a pulp was wonderful (i prefer Batman over Superman honestly).

BvS 2

Ben Affleck. I loved the Dark Knight with Christian Bale and I so scared when they announced a new Batman. But boy, Ben was everything I wanted from a Batman. The old, edgy, push the chips to the center of the table Batman was wonderful. He stole the show in my opinion.

ben-affleck-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice

Visuals. The visuals were beautiful. I think notably the final action scene against Doomsday looked really pretty(If that’s the right word for it). The movie is probably underrated as far as color goes. There’s a series of scenes where they are showing the good Superman has done and the color is ominous and heavenly. When the citizens are on the roof and there’s a massive flood and the woman is holding out her hand. The camera then pans to show Superman in the sky. Yes, it is very metaphoric but also a gorgeous scene on it’s own.

BvS 3

The Bad

The Betrayal of Superman- To me, this is the part where the script/plot is the weakest. The propose makes sense. The goal is to turn Superman from a god to a devil. Simple enough. I see what they were going for. But I was not overly convinced by them. The shootout in the desert and the bombing of the court just seemed forced.

Lex Luthor

BvS 4

I wanted this to be awesome and it started out awesome. I should start with a disclaimer. I do not honestly know that much about Lex. I should say as far as backstory and motivation goes in the comic. This is just another point where the script missed the mark. So, Lex was trying to ruin Superman’s image. He wanted to show people Superman was not for the people. How do you do this? I’ll borrow a quote from my good friend the Joker. “It’s simple, uh we kill the Batman”. This sounds epic in theory. Have Superman bring the bat’s head to Lex. Batman being the metaphor for man. The introduction to a new villain and a similar name brought this to a halt. Anyway he seemed to be caught in this weird mix between the insanity of the Joker and the ambition of Kingpin . That might just be me?

 

The Ugly

Villains- If you avoided spoilers on the villains up to this point, stop reading now. If you’re interested, keep reading. Okay so Superman has to fight Batman, Lex, and Doomsday. This is the part where the plot gets crowded in my opinion. They should’ve just cut out Doomsday. I mean he’s famous for being the guy to “Kill Superman”. It was waaaaay too early to bring in Doomsday. The Batman vs Superman angle was amazing and the first two hours is fantastic. However, the addition of Doomsday I think is where the plot went too far. I know what you’re thinking, we needed Doomsday to bring the Justice League together. Here’s one alternative. They had been hinting at The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman. Aquaman should’ve come out and beat them both to pieces and tell them to grow up. The camera kept hinting at the the pool where they throw the spear. Have Aquaman grab the spear, hit Superman, and than beat Batman to a pulp. Boom. No need to add Doomsday, or anything like that. or B. Have Lex build his combat suit and make Superman and Batman fight him. I do not know the best course, but they should’ve cut Doomsday. He is way to high profile of a villain to be a second tier baddie.

Batman-V-Superman-Trailer-Doomsday-Heat-Vision

MARTHA- Yeah, this scene got made fun of and rightfully so. I know Bruce missed his mommy and we get constant flashback of her grave so it’s not out of place or anything like that, but it’s two titans dueling it out to the death and a single name makes them buddy buddy. Now if you enjoy this scene and this resolution, than great! But it was just kinda cheesy to me.

Final Review: 7.5/10

doomsday-will-be-a-major-villain-in-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-410458.jpg

It’s not terrible and probably not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. The movie is visually breath taking and has a nice mix of developing plot and juicy action. Bruce is well developed and Lex is off to an okay start. I assume he will play a bigger role in future films. Also, if they cut the Doomsday part and just replace it with something other than Doomsday, this movie would probably be an 8 or 9.

So what is your guys opinions? Was it good, bad, or just straight up ugly?

Life Update: BatmanVsSuperman, moving

The drought is almost over.

My moving situation is basically solved and figured out as long nothing changes between now and the first week of April. I am so excited as this change of scenery is what the doctor ordered! I plan to finally have office space(If youll allow me to call it that) I plan to renew my subscriptions and buy some mangas. It’s going to be a fresh spark that I think will add energy back to the blog and create some momentum for the youtube channel.

That wont be until roughly April 5th. In the meantime I have a “Let’s Talk” session lined up for BatmanVsSuperman, as well as trying to read a manga Ive owned for like 4 months. God willing, I will start Random Wednesday next Wednesday, But I make no promises as it seems my time flies by here currently.

Thanks for reading this and sticking by. The ambiguous uncertainty has really taken a toll on me but I can see a light. Here’s to a bright future!

Lets Talk: Deadpool Movie!

It’s here. If you’re like me, you’ve been waiting for the Merc With A Mouth to hit the big screen. Today’s the day!

I saw it yesterday, which is why I did not blog any yesterday!

Spoilers- None.

deadpool-gallery-03-gallery-image

This is not your grandpa’s superhero movie. It’s edgy, violent, and hilarious.

In my years of hunting, I never came across too many Deadpool comics, but I knew the basics.

I’ll say for the cinema comic world, he is unique. He almost reminds me of a cross with the humor of The Comedian with the aggression of Rorschach. Aside, from the development of Wade, the story actually seems short. Which in one hand is a bummer, but also left me really wanting more. I think rather you like Deadpool or find him vulgar, he is nice change of pace from the goodie goodies Disney/Marvel keeps throwing at us. He is a good tide you over until the X-men movie comes out.

So, for those of you who have seen it, did it meet your expectations?

For those of you who have not, do you plan on watching it?

Leave your thought down below!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Check back tomorrow for more daily post!

Whats To Come

To all Potential Readers,

This is my very first post so this will be a run down of what content I will be putting out!

I am going to be blogging on mostly what anime I am watching, what comic books I am reading, what video games I am playing. Every now and again I will post about movies music or sports too!

Here is a list of what anime’s I am watching and how far I am into them: Naruto(415), One Piece(170), Attack on Titan(Episode 27),Parasyte-The Maxim(24) Assassination Classroom(17), Death Parade(12) Is it Wrong to Try and Pick up Girls In A Dungeon(10),

Ones i plan to start watching: Akame Ga Kill, Punch Line, Kill La Kill, Fairy Tale, Reborn, etc.

Games I currently Playing: Madden 15, Fallout New Vegas, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, Majora Mask 3DS, Borderlands Pre-Sequel, Fable, Wind Waker(wiiU)

Comics in 2015 I am reading: Aquaman and the Others(1-7) Lobo(1-5), Secret Wars(0-1), Convergence(0-5) Suicide Squad(3,5). I am mostly a 60’s-80’s kinda guy.

Also, I will be doing weekly Top Fives!

If this sounds like stuff you want to talk about and hear my opinions on be sure to check out often!