Looking forward to going back into the past

Another year comes to an end! I just realized that the website will soon reach 2 years old as well as the Youtube channel I made to support it. Naturally I find myself in a strange situation I never intended to be in; and that’s living the idiom of “tail wagging the dog”.

When I began this whole crazy experiment back in January of 2017, I had envisioned that I would update the website with a lot of content followed by support videos on Youtube to help drive traffic over. My previous update in November was a perfect example of what I had originally wanted to do, but the “bug” of views and likes made me skip the middle man and just post directly to Youtube.

I realized that I’ve messed up; and I now need to start focusing on getting the site back on track moving forward with 2019 and beyond. I haven’t figured out the proper way of approaching it yet, but I know for sure I’m going to be adding a lot of stuff not listed on the main channel to the site. It’s a start; and I think I will post “major” videos on Youtube if I feel it needs the exposure, or is talking about something so obscure it’s easier for those who want to spread the word to just see it directly. I need to make BoxInACorner an interesting place to visit, and not supplementary material as it stands now.

This goes onto my next subject; and that is diversifying what the site is all about. I had originally intended to talk about a wide array of interests that I had and go into the more esoteric corners of the internet. For whatever reason I forgot this, and it shows looking back at the all the updates I’ve posted in the previous years. It’s not completely ruled by gaming, but it’s certainly heavy leaning towards. I never did talk about a single interesting technology item I bought, never did talk about a single paranormal experience I had, nor mention anything even remotely personal or “rant” like. Maybe that last one doesn’t need to be there ever; but it’s still confusing (to myself) why those topics never seem to come up when I wanted to post something. That changes with 2019 going forward, and I hope the very few people that actually check out this site, as well as future folks who come here can appreciate the new direction going forward. I’m not abandoning gaming at all, however it’s just not going to be constantly about it as it appears to be now.

Speaking of gaming, I find myself more and more playing games of yesteryear than I do of modern ones. I find myself oddly loading up games that ran on Windows 95 machines and the original PlayStation. I also use my “gaming” PC simply for editing videos and watching documentaries. I find myself “progressively regressing” in that I find interest, comfort, and peace with playing the stuff already out rather than looking forward to things not yet existing. Save for a few ground breaking titles such as CyberPunk 2077 and (in my humble opinion) Stella Maiden on Android - there’s nothing that strikes me as interesting coming out soon. It’s a struggle to find something on a personal level that appeals to me. I think this is what stunted the content I wanted to put out for for the previous 2 years; always hoping to run into the gems and talking about them like Yakuza (series), Planet Master, Dungeon Maker, Fight’nRage and Destiny Child (which is now in English albeit censored to hell and back - play the Korean version!). I’m going to start making an attempt in the future to just play games (no matter how old they are) and sharing my experience with others. I did a video hardly anyone ever watched about Cybernator on the Snes a while back; and that was exactly something I need to load up again alongside older games on other platforms. It’s time to drop the insecurity of “the new” and just embrace what’s good and fun.

Some of you may have watched in abject terror back in May when I did a play through of Yakuza 6 and you saw my face. This was the last time I was “on screen” and showed myself. It was at the very end of my “cut” phase of leaning down since 2012. A lot physically has happened since then; in that I have done every thing possible in my power to reach a personal goal I set out years ago.

I’ve always been a small guy most of my life - about 5’6” and 140lbs. Back in 2012 I had reached a weight of 160lbs while having (which I can only presume) a body fat % of 20. Things needed to change, and I had sworn to myself that not only was I going to drop the excess weight, but I needed to get physically fit in the process. I had made the grievous mistake back in high school that cardio was king, and that running and dieting right would lead me to be healthy looking and overall fit. What it ended up doing was making me “skinny fat” and barely able to lift a 15lbs dumbbell. So let’s just say I have tried to deprogram myself from the stupidity programmed into me from my old Cross Country coach and have really gotten into strength and conditioning training. Finally at the end of 2018 I can stop loosing weight and start putting it back on.

So what does this have to do with anything related to the site? I’ve been dog tired to the point of sitting down at a keyboard makes my teeth sore. It’s also the reason why content on the site has been slower going and something I need to work on balancing with my fitness goals. If I’m too tired to even enjoy updating the website, that’s something that needs to be addressed. I find Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi work to be the most helpful for everyone in any walk of life to follow in terms of productivity. You can read more about it (abstract) here or clicking the picture below. You can also watch this funny video clip because it’s what I’ve been essentially looking like for the last 6 months (until I fixed my form and stopped being a moron). You should also watch this clip for those serious about getting back in shape.

For those not in the know or have no idea whom I’m speaking of, my wife does stream (intermittently) over at Twitch.tv

Here’s a small clip of her recently (not terribly exciting stuff).

In a nutshell Clover has been going through the same existential crisis (link to a YouTuber perspective) I have been going through in terms of gaming and personal health. For her in particular it’s more related to mental than physical. After taking it easy in the last 2 months after finishing up her 100 days of consecutive streaming - Clover has come to the (tentative) conclusion that moving forward she needs to re-evaluate her time in front of the computer. I won’t say more than that cause it will better if she gave the words directly from her mouth. I will say however that 2019 will see a happier, more dynamic Clover when she actually decides to come onto the stream; cause it will be coming from a place of pure interest rather than obligation as it has been.

Finally let’s close out 2018 with a huge thank you to all of the kind followers over on the YouTube channel as well as the followers / subscribers on Twitch. You guys keep us going, and I can’t stress the important of a simple thank you sent our way once in a while. We promise to finally update the “About us” page in 2019 with full body photos. I need to get SWOLE quick and Clover needs that School Girl Outfit purchased. We’ll see you in 2019!

Riding The Bowsette Train And Dead Malls

Slow going over here at the website since that pesky thing known as real life has been getting in the way of updates. Even though I’m about a week late with the monthly - there really isn’t that much to talk about. None the less upward and onward with the latest!

First and eye-catching enough - the internet seems to have been flooded with “Bowsette” - a fan creation of Bowser being gender swapped due to him wearing the super crown. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m a fan of the lore; so an obligatory picture is in order. Bonus points to the artists (Hori Shin) for making Bowsette strong and ferocious looking as well as (Torishamaru) for the title / thumbnail art.

Artist Credit: Hori Shin (Taputya)

Moving onto what I’ve been playing in the last month - Dragon Quest XI. Talk about an old school JRPG that really stays perhaps too old school for my taste. It’s a decent ride but I’m starting to fade a bit in completing it. Not the enthralling experience Persona 5 was for me personally; but to each their own.

Clover is recovering from her surgery nicely and was even able to start streaming again after a week. If you haven’t done so already and want to see what she’s all about (and sometimes catch me on there in the process) feel free to head on over to twitch.tv/cloverinabox

I’ve been on a little kick lately with “ruin porn” to put it crassly; and I wanted to feature a Youtube Channel I stumbled upon which was very up and coming in the genre. You can view the slowly fading malls of America with Sal over on his channel here. If it’s a rainy afternoon or you’re ready to open your mind to some pretty fascinating (albeit admittedly esoteric stuff) then I highly recommend it. Please give Sal a follow and a kind word on his videos since he puts in a lot of legwork for his content - and even risks endangering himself in the process.

Yakuza, Giant Boobs, And 100 Days of Streaming

It's been a long streak of hot summer days here at the o'l BoxInACorner tree house. Time to get you lovely folks updated with what's been going on with us and some information you may find interesting. Let's get started with my most beloved gaming series that ironically brings in the least amount of attention - Yakuza.

For those very, very few brave souls that followed me on Youtube for my Yakuza play-throughs - let me say from the bottom of my soul; thank you. Yakuza has always been a labor of love due to the sheer lack of popularity it warrants for me and it saddens me to say that I won't be doing a series on the upcoming Yakuza Kiwami 2. As a tremendous fan of this particular genre of game, the play-through I did of Yakuza 6 brought me in an "astounding" 100ish views in its entirety. That was a lot of hours setting up the stream, making sure I don't look like a doughnut on camera and uploading the videos while making sure they processed correctly. I think the populace has spoken and I will gracefully back away from uploading my play-through and focusing more of being a fan and just enjoying the game in private. Yakuza Kiwami 2 will be released world wide at the end of August - specifically the 28th - so if you're remotely curious about the series (and I believe you should be), please check it out. It's available on PS4 only.

Moving onto more private and public information at the same time, Clover will be undergoing additional surgery on her "girls" the 2nd week of September. If you haven't read the first blog on the issue; you can do so for old time's sake clicking here. Recovery time will vary, but the last time she did this she was out for 2 weeks. We're hoping with newly acquired knowledge on how the process goes as well as industrial strength painkillers - she'll be able to make a quicker recovery and be back to streaming.

Speaking of streaming - Clover has reached her 20th day of continuous streaming on Twitch and will try to keep up the schedule until she reaches 100 days. The reasons she's doing this is purely experimental; as the common advice on growing an audience has been consistency rather than quality on Twitch. So someone streaming themselves taking out the trash would be more popular than someone who streams absolutely fantastic content once a month. At least that's what we've been told - and thus our testing of the theory! If you want us to keep on trucking with our content on all platforms; please stop by and say hi and an encouraging word. Without verbal support we don't know if we're even remotely reaching out to anyone. Subbing to Clover on Twitch will always be a huge bonus, but never necessary.

Finally onto stuff outside the realm of games and streams - I've recently picked up a YouTube series that I personally found fascinating. It's on the history (and failures) of theme parks. It's called "Defunctland" and you can watch it by clicking the logo below.

The amount of passion, effort and content of the series reminds me how long I have to go to make any worthwhile interesting on my YouTube channel. I hope to one day break away from the gaming related stuff and do more topical things; but I'm going to need a subject I'm passionate about to talk on - and a co-host to bounce ideas off of. Both hard things to get, but I can always dream!  In any case, I hope you guys find the content interesting as much as I did.

Sporadic Summer Schedule

This is the best term we could come up with, so cut us some slack. The reality is we're enjoying the summer weather and awaiting for some upcoming things to happen before we go back to providing content on a more predictable schedule.

On the YouTube side, Yakuza Kiwami is going to be a lengthy play through. There are also considerations about recording Divinity II co-op. But we'll cross that road when the game launches.

On the twitch side of things, Clover needs to get her sleep and exercise schedule worked out. If this can be fixed (don't hold your breath), then she can stream more often.

Don't be afraid to message us if you like more detailed answers. Other than that, we hope you're enjoying the heat and sun whereever you are.