War of the Pandas

Here’s a little something that’s been on my mind ever since I heard about it and I want to regurgitate this so my brain can move on to other things. This past weekend was Blizzcon. A gathering of the nerdiest of the nerds to see what Blizzard Entertainment (i.e. the Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft computer game series) has in store. The most anticipated revelation was what the next World of Warcraft expansion was going to be. One thing you need to know about me is that I used to be a huge WoW nut and still am to a degree. I don’t play it anymore mainly because the storyline or lore has grown stale and that, more so than the attraction of better virtual gear or constant reruns of the same dungeons, is what interests me most about the franchise. However, this fourth expansion into the gaming universe may temporarily reignite my interests. The name of said expansion is called The Mists of Pandaria, which will feature the anthropomorphic pandas called the Pandaren as the new playable race along with the all new monk class that other races will be able to play as well.

                Okay, I know what you’re thinking. A heavily Chinese inspired race of Kung Fu fighting panda bears sounds really familiar. But here’s something you might not know. In 2003, Blizzard released Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne, which was the last installmentof the Warcraft strategy games that preceded the MMORPG. In that game, you eventually run into Chen Stormstout, the first time a Pandaren is introduced in the game. Interestingly enough, DreamWork’s Kung Fu Panda launched production one year after said computer game was out and another four years afterwards until the movie hit theatres. I haven’t found any quotes of Dream Work’s executives saying that the movie was inspired from ol’ Chen, but it is a definite curiosity that the one springs up after the other. Now, I'm not trying to dis against DreamWork's movie. I loved the show and am really looking forward to the third one when it comes out. 

                In conclusion, the only point I am trying to make is that, despite what people may say about the new WoW expansion being a rip off of Kung Fu Panda, it was Blizzard who came up with the earliest published idea in the first place. It would be comparable to Seth McFarlane of Family guy claiming that Matt Groening of The Simpsons stole his idea. All I'm trying to do with this post is to show that the Chicken came before the egg, but that doesn't make the egg any less as appetizing than the chicken. So pass the KFC, pour me some of that egg drop soup, sit back and enjoy both renditions of an endangered species kicking back. 

Games in the Desert

Oy vey. . .what a week. My family and I headed down to St. George last Wednesday to visit my grandparents who own a home there. As it goes, I had this huge plan to ride my bike all the way to Zion National Park and take some awesome pics of the red rock scenery and write this giant sized essay on my travels. Unfortunately, I have this little known problem called chronic laziness disorder that shuts my limbs down and turns my brain to mush at the most inopportune times.  

                Instead of a long ranged, grit and spit bike ride, I sat around at the house using my brother’s new 3DS system playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when he wasn’t using it. It is such an addictive game; you would have no idea unless you’ve played it before. It consumed me when I was ten years old on the Nintendo 64 and it has once again plunged me into the world of Hyrule with all of its crafty dungeons, memorable characters and foot-tapping music. The thing that reinvented the classic game for me was the clearer graphics (completely remade character models that look amazing!) and usage of the 3DS motion targeting system. Everything is pretty much the same with those exceptions but that’s all I needed!

                I did, however, get about five or so miles ridden while I was in the St. George area. The trails are fun, if not a little confusing at points, while the scenery evoked memories of Edger Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars. On Friday, we took a cruise up to Grafton. A little known ghost town just a small ways from Zion N.P. where they filmed a portion of the old Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid movie. The real fun came when we visited the cemetery and I was able to hike up the path a ways and get some pretty nice pictures of the countryside. Those and a few I nabbed while on the road are displayed below.

                Well, that’s about it for my trip. Sorry it wasn’t as exciting and interesting as I aspired for it to be in my last post. One thing I can promise is an account this coming week as I ride my bike to Salt Lake City via Antelope Island and back. My brother, Christopher may decide to come along with me so it might have to wait until Saturday, but it will be happening this week guaranteed. 

O Brigham, Where Art Thou?

Ben Lomond covered in clouds outside my house in Plain City.

Today I took my bike out for a spin to see how it would handle on a quick journey. At first I was only going to ride to Willard Bay which would have been only a little less than seven miles, but when I came up on the turn that led to the bay park area, I just couldn’t call it quits yet and so rode on with my new goal being Brigham City.

With the exception of a saddle sore rear end, the trip was flawless. The hills of the fruit road, which runs at the base of the mountains, was arduous for someone from Plain City where the largest hill is more like a bump. I stopped twice on the way there and on the way back for no more than two or three minutes; just enough time to stretch out and drink some water.

The main stop I made in Brigham City was to see the newly erected LDS (Mormon) temple and took a couple of pictures there. Brigham City isn’t exactly ‘exotic’ for me so I didn’t take too many pictures while I was there. 

Here's my proof that I made it to Brigham.

On the return journey however, I had to snag a few of the road and scenery that I passed. I really need to get a more professional camera, I've been using my iphone’s camera for all these pics and want to upgrade to something with better focusing capabilities. If anyone knows about photography, I could really use a recommendation on an amateur camera.

This pic is my favorite. It was taken a small
ways from the I-15 overpass.  

My family’s taking a trip to St. George in southern Utah this   coming Wednesday to visit my grandparents, so I’ll try figuring out a good route somewhere around there with some awesome scenery of the Martianesque landscape!  So if not tomorrow or the next day, expect an account from me again by Thursday at the least.

This was the path I took from Plain City to
Brigham City. 

Country road.

The Will of the Wheel

The bike is here! I rode it ten miles to a Halloween party today out in Hooper and it rode like a dream the whole way. On the return journey my brain seemed to be racing against my body, as visions of far distant places and beautiful vistas rose before my mind's eye. If you want to know what utter freedom feels like, ride a bike. It's faster than running, there is no gas or oil that you need to constantly be badgered by and you don't need to worry about insurance or getting your inspections taken care of.  If you have a basic knowledge of bike mechanics, which I am currently working towards right now, you could be completely self-sufficient with only your own strength and wits to rely on.  

The Trek 7.3 Disc

As you might be able to tell, I'm pretty excited about this! I've already begun planning out small trips into Ogden and to Salt Lake City. Hopefully, before the first snowfall, I'll do an overnighter to Evanston, Wyoming. I do have one conundrum I'm trying to work out though. Come next spring, I was going to try my hand out traveling the States, however, I recently received news that the Japanese government is giving out ten thousand round trip tickets to Japan and back for free, the only catch is you have to blog about your trip and basically send a resume as to your blogging past and what your planned itinerary is in Japan and they will be taking applications this April. So if I want to go to Japan, I need to step up on this blogging game and get more people following my blog. 

Here's a pic of the book I've got and how thick it is.
Not some flimsy manual to say the least.

The Stateside venture can wait. Japan could quite possibly be a one time chance for me. Who else would be able to say they've rode a bike from Hokkaido to Kyushu? Which, actually, would probably be round about the distance from Ogden to Los Angeles. I've already decided that, as soon as I figure out a way to make some money, I'm going to buy me a Japanese Roseta Stone program and try to become conversant before April. (Giving my application in Japanese would definitely turn some heads I think.) 

If anyone has any tips or advice they'd like to give, I'm all ears; unless you try telling me not to do it, in which case you'll just be wasting breathe. Anyone who would be interested in following me, please click that little button. With your guys' support the misadventures of Wolfmutt will become much less mundane and more . . . intrepid.

The Purchase and the Journey.

The 2012 7.3 FX Disc. . .Oh yeah. In the next week or two I'll be receiving this beautiful creation of mechanical imagination that I will use to traverse a continent. Granted, I spent more money on it than I'd like to admit, but the possibilities that this little bike opens up to me are beyond the cost and is greater in worth. 

Now many of you may ask, why a bike? Why not just drive a car to where you want to go? It would be much faster and much easier to get around. My answers are simple. First off: money, money, money. Gas is just too much nowadays for a poverty-stricken individual, such as myself, to get anywhere on such a budget. Not to mention probable maintenance issues that could jack the price up exponentially. While on a bike, the only fuel you need to worry about is for your own body and the maintenance is much smaller, cheaper and easier to accomplish by yourself

Secondly, I want to be a writer and blogging while traveling is a great way to, not only get good practice but also to record and learn from my experiences and utilize them in my stories.

To be honest, the first two reasons are the only ones people would understand. Reason number three is a little more different of a perspective that not as many will probably share. I’m not one who likes to rush things. I like to take my time and enjoy the sights and places I visit. When I went to Vancouver last spring, I walked all over that city which gave me a much more intimate look at the city than if I were only to have driven through it. Biking, though I’ll have a set schedule on my travels, will allow me to have more time taking in the views and there are places I can go on a bike that I couldn’t in a vehicle.

My last reason is for the sheer freedom and adventure of it! I want to be able to look back on my life and say that I didn’t live the routine that everyone else lived. Not saying that the routine- school, work and family (of course, not necessarily in that order) - is a bad thing, it’s just not my thing. Eventually I’ll get to it, but I really need to satisfy this nomadic itch first. To ride hard for hours on end, sleep under a starry sky each night, and learn of the cultures around the world first hand.

Oh, and just to clarify what my next trip is going to be; I will be traveling the width of these United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic which will be starting off next May. I expect to be visiting most of the major cities from east to west and will be gone about six months by my current reckoning. But don’t think I’ll be doing a half-baked job on my preparations or anything. As soon as I get my bike, I’ll be taking “short” trips to nearby states until I learn from enough mistakes on what to bring and what not to bring that I’ll be ready for the long haul in May. I’ll be sure to keep the updates coming.  

Alright, I guess that’s enough yap out of me tonight. Happy trails then, until my next post.