New Minecraft Ideas

So I play Minecraft quite a bit (Not as much as Skyrim, but hey, I don't play anything as much as that- not even Civilization V!), and since getting the beta version of the game a couple years ago, I've come up with some ideas for new items/features in the game that I think would be cool additions. These are the ideas I've come up with (with some help from friends, my brother, and a bit from the interwebs). I know that some of these (a lot of these actually) are already implemented in mods, but it would be nice for them to be in-game so we don't have to install as many mods, as well as to see the Mojang team's take on them. Let me know what you think!

• New blocks (Marble, Concrete, Red Rock {Like rock from Arizona or Utah}, Quicksand, etc.)
• New ores/metals (Silver, Bronze, Copper, Tin, Aluminium, Ruby, Sapphire, Steel, Tungsten, etc.)
• Half slabs and stairs for ALL blocks!
• Fences for all wood types
• Connect minecarts together like a train
• Magical spells
• Tinted/colored glass blocks and panes
• More food types (mutton, corn, tomatoes, oranges, etc.)
• More tree/wood types (Willow, Palm, Redwood, Pine, Kapok, Baobab, Mangrove, Acacia, etc.)
• Rope bridges!
• More weapon types (spears, waraxes, hammers, crossbows, daggers, maces, halberd/poleax, etc.)
• Shields
• Quivers for arrows
• New mobs (goblins, orcs, ent-like creatures, friendly dwarves, etc.)
• The Aether
• More dragons (maybe able to tame/ride them?)
• The ability to place redstone vertically and upside down
• Not needing a block of air above redstone circuits
• More enchantments (Frost, Poison, Lightning, & Wither Aspects)
• Double ender chests
• Obsidian tools and weapons
• Underwater foliage/items (kelp, coral, etc.)
• Grappling hooks
• Bigger boats (for 2+ people)...canoes maybe?
• Quarter blocks
• More pillar blocks
• A new source of fuel that's more efficient than coal, but less than lava
• New biomes (savannah, plateau, marsh/wetland, etc.)
• Villager soldiers/guards
• Backpacks
• New lighting items (lamps, chandeliers, etc.)
• Snorkels (improves breathing underwater)
• Underwater dungeons/shipwrecks

My Latest Obsessions- June 2013

I know it's been a while, but it's taken this long to find new things to be obsessed with! Enjoy!

Games

~Minecraft/Pixelmon~

I've had Minecraft for about 2 years now, and I love it, but I have been playing Skyrim a lot over the past year (I still play it, just not as much). I've recently returned to playing this awesome game due to inspiration from the Yogscast on YouTube and some mods, namely Pixelmon, which lets you play with Pokemon in Minecraft! Right now I'm working on my own fictitious region with towns, gyms, etc. I may post pictures later if I remember to.

~Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate~

I finally bought a 3DS about a month ago, and the first game I got for it was this one. I had been wanting to play a game in this series for a while now, but since I didn't have a Wii, I couldn't... until now. This game is great- the gameplay is unique, there is a ton of weapons to choose from, & the soundtrack is amazing! The only complaint I have is that in the 3DS version, moving around while swimming is awkward, and it's really frustrating when the camera locks somehow when I'm looking at the sky, and not a monster that's trying to rip my guts out. I'm only about 10 hours into the game, and am about halfway through the level 2 quests, so there's lots of game left to play!

~The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons~

This, along with Link's Awakening is one of my favorite handheld Zelda games. I remember playing this a lot as a preteen, and I was pleasantly surprised when Nintendo put the Oracle games on the Virtual Console, which I downloaded on my new 3DS. It's been fun replaying it, and it's interesting to see how far the graphics in Zelda games have come. Definitely worth a try!

TV

~Game of Thrones Season 2~

It took me a while to start watching this show because I wanted to read the books first, but I was (and still am) in the middle of reading The Sword of Truth series, and I don't really like leaving a series midway through. That, and seeing how long the books are, lead me to bite the bullet and start watching the show first. I will just have to compare the show to the book in a new way. I like it so far (I'm 2 or 3 episodes in on season 2), and I'm trying to catch up. George R.R. Martin certainly knows how to create infuriating characters and plot twists (a.k.a. killing off favorite characters). He's famous for frustrating/pissing off fans as well as taking his sweet time writing the books, but hey, as long as the quality is great, that doesn't really matter to me.

~The Big Bang Theory Season 5~

I love this show despite the fact that a lot of people dislike it for various reasons. I have the first 4 seasons on DVD, and I've been trying to find season 5, but it seems that every time I go to a store that would carry it, they're either out of stock, or I'm just looking in the wrong place. I've seen a few episodes through Comcast, but I want a physical copy! I'll get it one of these days.

Food

~Häagen-Dazs green tea ice cream~

This stuff is SO good! The first time I had green tea ice cream was at a Japanese steak house on one of my family birthday dinners when I was younger. The funny thing is that I don't like drinking green tea at all (I prefer red and white teas)! I like the fact that the green tea taste is still strong, but is still pretty sweet, and is really creamy, which is nice. I also like their strawberry ice cream as well.

~Fruit stand strawberries~

Speaking of strawberries... it's the time of year when local strawberry vendors open their roadside stands. I couldn't be happier! I like strawberries, but the ones you get at the grocery store are... well, they're pretty gross. Stand strawberries are soooo much better! They're fresh, picked at the right time, sweeter, and cheaper. The one closest to my house also sells blueberries and zucchini. I was able to get 3 cartons of strawberries, a carton of blueberries, and a small bag of zucchini for only $10! So good!

Sports

~Baseball~

While baseball officially started in April, I'm just getting around to talking about it in this post. I LOVE baseball- it's by far my favorite sport. I even enjoy watching it when my favorite team isn't playing (which is the Oakland Athletics, of course)- whether it's another MLB team, minor league team, or even the little league world series. I also play fantasy baseball, and though I'm not all that great at it, I definitely enjoy playing, even if I don't win. LET'S GO OAKLAND!

My Latest Obsessions- Nov. 2012

Lately I've been trying to write more content for this blog and not just post links or videos of things I think are cool. I hope to be adding more content in the future, and this (hopefully) series is a start. I got the idea for this from Kristina Horner (italktosnakes on YouTube) with her "Things I'm Into" videos that she posts every month. Mine will be set up a lot like hers, but since we're two completely different people (duh!), the content will be quite varied. So, here we go!

Literature *This will include books as well as comics (web-based or otherwise)

~The Sword of Truth series~

As you can probably guess from my "What I'm Reading" posts, I have been reading this series by Terry Goodkind for a while now- and I love it! Yes, the books are ridiculously long, but I think that it's a good thing. Why would you want something that is fun, engaging, and high quality to be really short? The depth that Goodkind goes into is great, and he tackles more complex and sometimes adult issues, and does it in a careful, respectful way. The only complaint I would make about the series is that Goodkind has the annoying habit of reminding the reader of past content... a lot. If I read the previous books, I already know this content you're "reminding" me of, and don't need to hear it again. An occasional reminder is good, especially if you're pretty far in a series and you're referring to an event in a much earlier book. It just seems like it was put there solely for the purpose of growing the word/page count. Honestly, other than that, I really like this series of books, and I would highly recommend them to any avid reader- especially if you love fantasy!

~Questionable Content~

Holy moley, I have spent so much time on this web comic lately, it's not even funny! This comic has been around for a while (they have over 2000 comics- and counting!) and I just found out about it last week. The characters are awesome (Pintsize is my favorite, of course *pictured above*) and the story is engaging. All in all it's a delightful way to use my free time :)

~Dumbing of Age~

This is another recent web comic find from tumblr that I've been getting into as of late. Set on a college campus, and has a wide variety of characters, with an art style that doesn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. By that I mean that I can tell what the heck the author is trying to portray in each frame, it's cleaned up, and the text is large enough and clear enough for me to read. Tackles some intense topics sometimes, and I think that the creator pulls it off- most of the time. Sometimes when religion comes into play it gets taken a bit too far, but it doesn't take away from the comic much- the fact that I still read it proves that. You should at least give it a try! While I don't like this one as much as Questionable Content or the other web comics I read (blog post on those to come), I still really like it.

Games *Video or otherwise

~Dungeons and Dragons~

Back in college, my friends got me into D&D, which I had wanted to play for a while. Now that I've graduated, I haven't really found anyone to play with yet, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying this awesome hobby! For the past couple months I've been working on creating a campaign that is based in the world of a book I was working on a while back. I wasn't having much success with writing the book, but I loved the world I created (and which I'm still working on), so I decided to make it into a D&D campaign! It's been working out pretty good so far. The main things that I've been focusing on lately have been the plot (main quests as well as side quests) and fleshing out the map. Lots of fun!

~The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim~

If you've read my blog at all- even in the past couple days, you could probably guess how much I freaking love this game. I've been getting back into playing it again after a short hiatus due to mods conflicting with the Hearthfire DLC (which I still have yet to play on my PC copy!). Now that I believe I've fixed the problem and started over with new characters, I think I'll be playing this more often. This will especially be true when the newly announced Dragonborn DLC hits the shelves (I posted the trailer for it on my blog today). I am SUPER excited for this DLC, as it looks to be bigger than Dawnguard was (and I loved Dawnguard!).

~Minecraft/Tekkit~

I think I will always play this game- it only gets boring if your imagination runs out of ideas! Plus, the Technic Pack mod collection adds a TON of new content and possibilities of play. While my ideas aren't the greatest (and certainly aren't very original), it is still very fun to build things and beat up creepers and endermen.

Music

~Lake Street Dive~

I recently heard about this group from a friend of Facebook who had posted a video of one of their performances. I liked it so much that I bought both of their albums and one of their EPs. The lead singer's voice is freaking gorgeous, and the musicianship is top notch. I absolutely LOVE their cover of "Rich Girl" by Hall and Oates! Go listen to their cover of I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 and you'll fall in love with them like I did!

~John Williams~

John Williams is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest name in film composing these days, and there's a reason why he's at the top. I've known about his music for a long time, but I just recently got back into listening to his soundtracks on my iPod. His ability to create wonderful and memorable melody lines is uncanny. I had the opportunity my freshman year of college to see him conduct the San Diego Symphony live. It was so awesome- one of my favorite concert experiences of all time! It would be hard for me to pick a favorite of his, but I guess if I had to, his Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Amistad, and Harry Potter soundtracks would be my top 5 picks. Also, John Williams Is The Man!

Skyrim Inspired Minecraft

11 Incredible Skyrim-Inspired Minecraft Builds

Also, Minecraft for the Xbox360 is getting an update soon- with creative mode! Yay update 1.8.2!!