Pokemon Battle Competition Brisbane

Today was the Queensland leg of the AU Pokemon Battle Competitions, so Shaun and I made the trek via public transport (a tiring endeavor, indeed) to the Chermside EB Games so we could catch a glimpse of the action! I originally had big hopes to participate myself, but though my love for Pokemon knows no bounds, I don't think I'm cut out for competitive battling. I have too great a fondness for all of the immeasurably cute yet virtually ineffective Pokemon to stand any chance of making it past the first round. Still, I had fun watching the battles and StreetPassing with the other 3DS owners in attendance. Jamie, the friendly announcer, was even kind enough to do a shout-out about StreetPass Brisbane's first meetup on the 14th!

The competition was fierce at EB Games Chermside

When I first heard that there was going to be an official Pokemon competition nearby, I thought for sure I would want to compete, so I began doing some research on what strategies/Pokemon were the most effective. I won't go into much detail seeing as most of my readers aren't big Pokemon fans (and those who are probably know more than me already, anyway), but needless to say, it's a lot more complicated than one might think! Though we didn't stay too long, I noticed an abundance of Jellicant, Amoonguss, Haxorus, Chandelure, Conkeldurr, Reuniclus, Gigalith, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Whimsicott. That may seem like a lot, but with the amount of people competing, you did start to see a lot of the same strategies (from what I've read of the coverage of other cities' competitions, they've all seen many of the same Pokemon). I'm surprised I didn't see any Excadrill, actually, and would've liked to have seen at least one Stunfisk.

It as fun to watch the battles up on the big screen!

One of the best things about having so many Pokemon fans together in one place was the fact that there were so many 3DS's to StreetPass with! In the hour or so we were there over the course of the day, I got close to 25 StreetPass hits. I also had the chance to promote StreetPass Brisbane, and as I mentioned before, Jamie even made an announcement over the mic for me after I summoned up all my courage to go up and ask him. I met a few people from a forum I frequent and chatted with a guy who organizes Pokemon tournaments in Brisbane who seemed interested, so I hope to see some of them at our meet next weekend.

All in all, it was a very fun event, though it was a shame they held it in such a small store, as there was no space to move around and the room got very hot extremely quick. I hope to attend more events like these in the future, and maybe someday I'll even compete, too!

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Vintage Find: Kitschy Cup

Just a quick update today–I'm currently finding myself swamped with translations I need to finish and my internet has been finicky all day.

I was really depressed when I broke one of my favorite cups while cleaning a while back... It had traveled with me from Japan to America and then all the way here to Australia. That's 5 years of traveling the world together! I remember I got it as an impulse buy for 300 yen (about $3) because it said "coffee milk crazy" on it and gave really bad English instructions on how to make an iced coffee. I've been looking for a replacement cup ever since its untimely demise.

I actually found this cup a couple of weekends ago while Shaun and I were perusing one of our favorite vintage shops. I think we'd even seen it in a previous visit, but hadn't really given it much notice... I have no idea why! I absolutely LOVE this cup. And it was only $1! The design is so kitschy, honestly. I think Shaun's jealous of it, though, so we're going to have to find one equally kitschy for him in the near future. Not gonna argue with that, but I'm telling you, it'll take a lot to contend with this one:

I wish I could've gotten a slightly better shot of the white design. It honestly looks like something you'd see on a Grecain Urn. And the red horse and buggies circling around the top? Ahaha, I love it!

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OK, so finally it seems I have 5 minutes to start blogging again. I only like to post when I actually have some news worth reading these days. Not like anyone actually reads this shit anyway.

Latest game CHRONICLE is done and dusted and up for bidding over at Flash Game License as we speak. I've yet to see any amazing offers come in so who knows when you guys will get to play it. If you're into my horror games then it won't likely be down your alley anyway as it's a retro arcade style game like Asteroids (with fab explosions and lasers).

Sneaky peek:

So far the game has had some so-so reviews. Some people said it was kind of tough from the start, but I planned it to be like that. In it's defence it's a *gamers* game- not necessarily intended for the bored suburban housewives and old grandpa's of the USA. All in all I think it's a damn fine game- one I can actually be proud of for a change. I've (once again) used some of Mihai Sorohan's tunes and also David Orr contributed a song this time around. If you could bottle the talent these guys have you'd be a millionaire.

What else? The Flying Chicken, of all games, has been chosen by a team to be converted onto the smartphone scene. Apparently they've already got it running with Box2d on the Iphone right now, yeehee. Should be fun to see how that turns out.

Last but not least, I'm currently working on the sequel to an immensely popular Flash zombie

game. They needed an artist, and as I was already a fan of the first game I jumped at the opportunity. So far I've been working on mostly costume design for character customizations. We're all going to have our faces in the game as characters so you'll have fun dressing me up all sexy boy before sending me out to my certain death. Next I'll be will be working on the nasty intestine-munching zombie image stuff that those of you who are fans of The Insanity will go nuts for. Honestly, this game is gonna rock, I'm getting pumped to see the fans reaction when it's released so I'm working hard on it.

Anyway, I'd love to post some of the stuff I've completed already, and I'll see if I can get permission to disclose some more details next blog time.

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1st Australian MOS Burger in Sunnybank

MOS Burger in Sunnybank, QLD

MOS Burger certainly isn't lacking in great design!

 The minute I heard a MOS Burger had recently opened in the nearby town of Sunnybank, I knew Shaun and I would have to make a trip there as soon as possible. MOS Burger is none other than the single most popular hamburger chain in Japan after McDonald's, with its own unique twist on the traditional burger and lots of famous items on their menu you can't get anywhere else. They're most famous for their teriyaki chicken burger, which I honestly hadn't tried before this Saturday. Other notable items on their menu include a selection of rice-bun burgers, where the usual bread bun is replaced by two onigiri-like rice patties. According to the Japanese MOS Burger website, they have over 200 stores outside of Japan (all located in Asia), but the one in Sunnybank is the first in Australia. For those of you not from the area, Sunnybank is well-known as being a mecca for Asian things, so in many ways it makes sense that they chose to open a shop there rather than in the Brisbane CBD.

Though there were numerous other delicious eateries I frequented while I was living in Japan, I have many fond memories of the MOS burger near my host family's house in Nishinomiya. Since they were open late (later than the local McDonald's, I might add), I would often hang out there with friends after having a couple drinks at a nearby bar, or, since my house was only 5 minutes away, meet up with girl friends for a late-night chat over an order of fries. One of my first memories with my now husband was at a MOS Burger, even! I had the special, Osaka-only takoyaki (breaded octopus) burger and took many pictures similar to the ones I'm sharing with you now.

Enjoying my yakiniku rice burger. The rice buns are pretty tasty!

 So, out of nostalgia's sake, my husband and I made the 45 minute trek out to Sunnybank on Saturday. What was supposed to be a 45 minute journey actually ended up taking close to 3 hours, due to some train closures and my inaccurate directions, but we made it there all the same.

Since the shop only opened at the end of March, the line has the tendency to get rather long. Had we arrived at lunchtime, I assume it would've been a longer wait, but since we got so lost and only arrived sometime after 2, that wasn't too much of a problem. We still had to queue up, but we probably only waited about 15-20 minutes, though the ladies at the counter taking orders did seem rather slow. I was psyched to get a curry croquette burger, but is was nowhere to be found on the menu. I'm sure they probably opted to go for a limited selection of the usual Japanese menu to start, and unfortunately for me the croquette burgers didn't make the cut. We were also disappointed to find that melon soda was nowhere to be found, and had been replaced with more popular Aussie alternatives. I ended up going for the rice yakiniku burger set with a Sprite, and Shaun ordered the teriyaki chicken burger set and a matcha latte. The total was a little over $20, and my set was about $8.50, if I recall correctly.

Fries that came with our burger sets. Love the logo on the bags and the serving baskets.

 

All in all, the experience was very much like one that you would having going to MOS Burger in Japan, with a few minor cultural differences. I thought it was cute that they also reused some of the original Japanese banners, though the painted wall designs were different from any I'd ever seen in a Japanese MOS Burger. The writing on the walls actually clued me in to the answer to one of my often-pondered questions: What exactly does "MOS Burger" mean, anyway? Well, folks, apparently the MOS stand for Mountain, Ocean, and Sun. There you have it!

Adorable paper placemats warn you not to take your burger out of the bun to avoid spilling the special sauce everywhere

 I'd definitely recommend anyone that has the chance to go pay the Sunnybank MOS Burger a visit, even if you've never been to one in Japan before. Nay, especially if you haven't been to one in Japan before! MOS Burger should be experienced at least once by anyone that likes a good burger. It's a little more expensive than your usual fast food fare, but all their food is made with fresh, local ingredients, and is quite a bit tastier, too. They even have a few soups and salads on the menu, though I have yet to try them. I really hope they are well-received and consider expanding to the rest of Australia in the near future!

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Shakira

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