Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Work has been hell of busy, but I've been doing a lot...Everything must go!
Games
Orcs Must Die! 2
I dig tower defense games, but they are usually top down, mobile and solo affairs. Orcs Must Die! takes the tower defense concept and puts into the third dimension. Instead of towers you place traps and control a war mage that is part of the battle as well. The controls are a lot like playing WoW and by that I mean I jump unnecessarily every two seconds. The later levels get hard and thankfully there is two player coop to solve for that. It is part of the latest Humble Bundle (which tomorrow). You get the first game too, which I might up playing as well.
Magicka
I jumped on this game when it first came out in 2011. It was awkward to control (but fun), quirky in it's presentation and a good laugh to play coop. The initial group didn't make it far. I'd call them casual gamers and mean it in the nicest way possible. I tried to continue playing it on my own, but the game gets brutally hard pretty quickly. Jump to this month in this year. The most recent Humble Bundle came with Magicka and all it's DLC. I got Skip and my brother to get copies and we've been playing it every night. The challenge for three players is perfect. We struggle through boss fights and laugh our asses off when we blow each other up.
COD: Ghost
This
franchise feels like it is on it's last leg. It is the tenth proper
game in the series that remains a cash cow, so they keep making one a year. The multiplayer is still fun,
but it might as well be a map and gun pack DLC. Save the fact that
the leap frogging developing cycle sees gaps in the feature set every year.
They made a huge deal out of the pick ten system in BLOPs 2. It was going to revolutionize the game. So of course Ghost made their own watered down/less good version this year. I still enjoy playing COD with my buddies, but there is nothing new or special about it anymore. Titanfall can't get here soon enough.
Tilt to Live 2
Tilt to Live was the first mobile (smart phone) game I spent an extraordinary amount of time with. The longest a game would take, if you were really crushing it, was 3 minutes tops. You control an arrow that is trying to avoid and destroy red dots. It plays a lot like Geometry Wars, but replace the dual sticks with tilting your phone. Your next high score is only a game away so keep playing forever! Or as long as you are in the bathroom. Sadly the follow up game doesn't introduce enough new stuff to make me want to play it like the first. That or I had my fill the first time around. If you've never played it, give it a shot. If you played and liked the first, this is more of the same.
Max Payne 3
The matrix and more importantly the public's introduction to bullet time came in 1999. Sadly the movie tie in games that followed were shit. In 2001 Max Payne released with a gritty noir story and game mechanics that captured bullet time in a way that was fun. Not a small feat. The sequel that followed in 2003 only added to that formula. Nine years, a terrible movie and a troubled development cycle later and Max Payne 3 came out. Gone is the noir feel, the semi understandable story and the bullet time. Cover mechanics killed what made the first to games distinct. Now when you jump out from cover and slow down time you will very likely land on the ground and get shot to death. Without interesting game play one would hope the story did some heavy lifting. Nope, the story has got better things to do.
Music
Clipse
After really digging the new Pusha T, I went and bought all three of the Clipse albums. I was late to the party, but now understand were all the admiration comes from. There is some incredible music to be unearthed here. A lot of Neptunes produced tracks that I was already familiar with, but didn't know were Clipse songs. Bravo!
Action Bronson - Blue Chips 2
My first listen to Action's new mixtape was mixed bag of good tracks and some stuff that was really off putting. I stuck with it though and it grew on me in the past month. Party Supplies produces tracks that are just plain fun. The result of which is Action taking that fun vibe and putting together raps that are creative and light in their flow. A great pairing. Starting out thinking I'd remove it from my phone and taking a turn to liking it has been great. It is somewhere in my mixtapes of the year now.
Reading
Storm Front (Dresden Files)
It is a bit daunting to start up long running fiction series. The Dresden Files will be up to fifteen books next year. Thankfully the first book is only 300+ pages, which for me is only 8 hours of audio. In audio Storm Front plays a bit like a radio narrative. The first person hardboiled P.I. story blended with the super natural (magic) world played great in 20-40 minute chunks. I can't wait to start the next one.
Avengers Arena
Another great comic recommendation from Ethan. AA stands on the shoulders of Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale, and Hunger Games to tell a similar story in the Marvel universe. It is a silly premise that is well executed. I wasn't familiar with any of the characters on offer, which I think made it better. The characters get quick, but meaningful introductions and then are set to surviving and killing each other. The writing is on point and it looks great too.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Monday, December 16, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Weekend Review: Oct 19th & 20th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
American Gods
Loved this book. I got a recommendation from Ethan a while back. Then I went looking for a new book last month on the NPR list of Top 100 science fiction/fantasy and saw it again at number ten. #10 seems like a lot of hype and thankfully American Gods lives up to it. The premise, story and prose are all top notch. Fantasy in a modern setting is more of a genre Crystal enjoys, but this hit on all cylinders for me. I really enjoyed guessing at who the Gods were before they were revealed. I listened to this in audio and it was a full cast production. It add even more to the tale. Best book I've read this year.
GTA V
The single player in this game is far and above any other GTA story on offer to date. The up and coming criminal to king pin tale is out. They'd done it enough times and done it well where it would have been passable this time through. What they offered up instead was leaps and bounds beyond what they already did really well. Following three established characters from the start meant working with in the life already live, not meeting new NPCs every hour so you could play errand boy again. It worked really well. It lost it's head of steam about 3-4 hours from the end, but the plot was still paced masterfully.
GTA Online also came two weeks after the single player. It was much less polished. There is a lot not to like. Poor UI design, lots of loading screens and tons of grinding. If you can peel away the bitter rind though, there is a juicy center worth playing. The co-op is good, but really short and not repeatable. The racing is really fun and earning XP and cash to put into nicer car mods is rewarding.
Tabata
In late Spring of this year I heard about a type of high-intensity interval training called tabata. It boils down to eight exercises (e.g. planks, burpees, etc.) performed for 20-25 seconds with 10 second breaks in between. A set of eight is called a tabata and you usually do 4 to 5 tabata in a session. A full session will kick your ass. I've never wanted to quit something physically more than I tabata every week. I introduced it to Crystal in June. We were into it for three weeks till a knee injury at Jumpology put me out of commission. Last month I signed up for a tabata class at work. It was like starting all over again and now I wasn't hand picking the exercises that made it easier. I love and hate it. It is challenging in a way that cycling and running have never been. When I finish it is massive sense of accomplishment.
American Gods
Loved this book. I got a recommendation from Ethan a while back. Then I went looking for a new book last month on the NPR list of Top 100 science fiction/fantasy and saw it again at number ten. #10 seems like a lot of hype and thankfully American Gods lives up to it. The premise, story and prose are all top notch. Fantasy in a modern setting is more of a genre Crystal enjoys, but this hit on all cylinders for me. I really enjoyed guessing at who the Gods were before they were revealed. I listened to this in audio and it was a full cast production. It add even more to the tale. Best book I've read this year.
GTA V
The single player in this game is far and above any other GTA story on offer to date. The up and coming criminal to king pin tale is out. They'd done it enough times and done it well where it would have been passable this time through. What they offered up instead was leaps and bounds beyond what they already did really well. Following three established characters from the start meant working with in the life already live, not meeting new NPCs every hour so you could play errand boy again. It worked really well. It lost it's head of steam about 3-4 hours from the end, but the plot was still paced masterfully.
GTA Online also came two weeks after the single player. It was much less polished. There is a lot not to like. Poor UI design, lots of loading screens and tons of grinding. If you can peel away the bitter rind though, there is a juicy center worth playing. The co-op is good, but really short and not repeatable. The racing is really fun and earning XP and cash to put into nicer car mods is rewarding.
Tabata
In late Spring of this year I heard about a type of high-intensity interval training called tabata. It boils down to eight exercises (e.g. planks, burpees, etc.) performed for 20-25 seconds with 10 second breaks in between. A set of eight is called a tabata and you usually do 4 to 5 tabata in a session. A full session will kick your ass. I've never wanted to quit something physically more than I tabata every week. I introduced it to Crystal in June. We were into it for three weeks till a knee injury at Jumpology put me out of commission. Last month I signed up for a tabata class at work. It was like starting all over again and now I wasn't hand picking the exercises that made it easier. I love and hate it. It is challenging in a way that cycling and running have never been. When I finish it is massive sense of accomplishment.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Weekend Review: Aug 24th & 25th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Theft of Swords (redux)
I wrote briefly about this series (The Riyria Revelations) back in 2012. I finished book one and was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm pretty green when it comes to fantasy novels. I spent high school reading classics for class and John Grisham for me. A bit of Redwall in 6th grade, but when I actually picked them up I started with ASoIaF and then Name of the Wind. Heavy ass hitters in the genre. So my expectations were fairly high. Seen through that lens ToS feels more like a dungeon master turning his pen and paper game into a novel. I gave up on reading book two on my kindle, but recent saw the series on sale at Audible and picked it up. This time I approached it by taking it for what it is, not what I wanted it to be, which was Rothfuss or Martin's next work. I enjoyed it. The characters are too black and white and the plot leaves nothing to the imagination, but it is great motivation for my own pen and paper planning (Dungeon World).
Spark Master Tape
Spark Master Tape is an enigma. He's dropped two fantastic mixtapes (Syrup Splash & Swoup Serengeti) in the past year and no knows who he is. He rhymes over really grimy beats with vocals that are chopped and screwed into anonymity. I've been listening to both tapes for going on three weeks now and Swoup is right up there with Run the Jewels for mixtape of the year. Give it a listen.
Plants vs Zombies 2
When I wrapped up the original PvZ I was a bit surprised at how abruptly it ended. It felt like it was just becoming a challenge and I expected and wanted it to go on for 2-3 more hours. That was three years ago and for three years I've operated under the assumption that I wanted more plants and zombies. In that time though I've played some stellar tower defense games (e.g. Kingdom Rush) and got slightly burnt out on the genre. So when PvZ 2 dropped last week and was almost entirely the same game play wrapped in new aesthetics I was disappointed. I don't want to start from the beginning of the difficulty curve and build my way up again. I have a skill set that makes these early levels tedious and joyless. No thanks.
Theft of Swords (redux)
I wrote briefly about this series (The Riyria Revelations) back in 2012. I finished book one and was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm pretty green when it comes to fantasy novels. I spent high school reading classics for class and John Grisham for me. A bit of Redwall in 6th grade, but when I actually picked them up I started with ASoIaF and then Name of the Wind. Heavy ass hitters in the genre. So my expectations were fairly high. Seen through that lens ToS feels more like a dungeon master turning his pen and paper game into a novel. I gave up on reading book two on my kindle, but recent saw the series on sale at Audible and picked it up. This time I approached it by taking it for what it is, not what I wanted it to be, which was Rothfuss or Martin's next work. I enjoyed it. The characters are too black and white and the plot leaves nothing to the imagination, but it is great motivation for my own pen and paper planning (Dungeon World).
Spark Master Tape
Spark Master Tape is an enigma. He's dropped two fantastic mixtapes (Syrup Splash & Swoup Serengeti) in the past year and no knows who he is. He rhymes over really grimy beats with vocals that are chopped and screwed into anonymity. I've been listening to both tapes for going on three weeks now and Swoup is right up there with Run the Jewels for mixtape of the year. Give it a listen.
Plants vs Zombies 2
When I wrapped up the original PvZ I was a bit surprised at how abruptly it ended. It felt like it was just becoming a challenge and I expected and wanted it to go on for 2-3 more hours. That was three years ago and for three years I've operated under the assumption that I wanted more plants and zombies. In that time though I've played some stellar tower defense games (e.g. Kingdom Rush) and got slightly burnt out on the genre. So when PvZ 2 dropped last week and was almost entirely the same game play wrapped in new aesthetics I was disappointed. I don't want to start from the beginning of the difficulty curve and build my way up again. I have a skill set that makes these early levels tedious and joyless. No thanks.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Weekend Review: August 17th & 18th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Wool
I've been in a bit of fantasy/sci-fi rut since the last ASoIaF book if I'm being honest. Nothing has seemed to scratch that itch. So I turned to non-fiction for a bit and have now tried to read the Wool series twice.The first book was originally a stand alone short story. It's about a sheriff in an underground silo following a apocalyptic event that drives everyone underground. It is well written, concise and enjoyable. The rest of the books each follow a different character, but are kicked off from the events in book one. At book three I lost my head of steam and started to get bored. Crystal couldn't make it through book two. One and done is my advice. It is short and cheap.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers is not like any game I've ever played. It is cooperative play, but played by one person. You control two brothers on a quest to save their father. You do so by controlling the older brother on the left thumbstick and trigger and the younger on the right. The world they explore is beautiful, it is an impressive display of art direction and level design. You are rewarded for exploring and the mechanics of controlling two characters progresses the story as you get better at doing so. I played a large portion of the game my 4 year old which turned out to be a mistake. While it is a story of two kid brothers, there are occasional adult themes that left him with questions I didn't have great answers for. That was my mistake though. The game was amazing. It is rare that you get something completely new in the world of video games. It was short, but for $15 it was worth every penny. Brothers will stick with me for a good while and makes me hopeful for what the future of video games might hold.
Sleeping Dogs
I picked up four new games during the Steam summer sale in July. Torchlight 2 got some play, but none stuck like Sleeping Dogs. I'd heard good things about it in the weeks after it came out, but was not looking for an open world game at the time. I was wrong to have waited. Sleeping Dogs doesn't add much to the GTA model of open world cops and robbers, but it does drip with style. The game takes place in Hong Kong and has tons to see and explore. The main story sees you taking on the role of an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the triads. It is serviceable and occasionally over the top, but held up by good driving and fighting mechanics.
Wool
I've been in a bit of fantasy/sci-fi rut since the last ASoIaF book if I'm being honest. Nothing has seemed to scratch that itch. So I turned to non-fiction for a bit and have now tried to read the Wool series twice.The first book was originally a stand alone short story. It's about a sheriff in an underground silo following a apocalyptic event that drives everyone underground. It is well written, concise and enjoyable. The rest of the books each follow a different character, but are kicked off from the events in book one. At book three I lost my head of steam and started to get bored. Crystal couldn't make it through book two. One and done is my advice. It is short and cheap.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers is not like any game I've ever played. It is cooperative play, but played by one person. You control two brothers on a quest to save their father. You do so by controlling the older brother on the left thumbstick and trigger and the younger on the right. The world they explore is beautiful, it is an impressive display of art direction and level design. You are rewarded for exploring and the mechanics of controlling two characters progresses the story as you get better at doing so. I played a large portion of the game my 4 year old which turned out to be a mistake. While it is a story of two kid brothers, there are occasional adult themes that left him with questions I didn't have great answers for. That was my mistake though. The game was amazing. It is rare that you get something completely new in the world of video games. It was short, but for $15 it was worth every penny. Brothers will stick with me for a good while and makes me hopeful for what the future of video games might hold.
Sleeping Dogs
I picked up four new games during the Steam summer sale in July. Torchlight 2 got some play, but none stuck like Sleeping Dogs. I'd heard good things about it in the weeks after it came out, but was not looking for an open world game at the time. I was wrong to have waited. Sleeping Dogs doesn't add much to the GTA model of open world cops and robbers, but it does drip with style. The game takes place in Hong Kong and has tons to see and explore. The main story sees you taking on the role of an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the triads. It is serviceable and occasionally over the top, but held up by good driving and fighting mechanics.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Weekend Review: May 4th & 5th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Assassination Vacation
On a weekend where my body was riddle with sickness, it was nice to catch a few moments to myself and listen to a new book. Sarah Vowell's work is not new to me, I read Unfamiliar Fishes last summer and The Partly Cloudy Patriot ages ago. I've been meaning to catch up on the rest for a while, so when my new Audible credit dinged it was an easy pick. Though probably not the most efficient use of my subscription. It is short, but full of the humor, interesting facts and true tales that I love about her writing. It covers the three assassinated presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley) and admittedly I knew nothing of them, save Lincoln of course.Fun Gruesome fact: Robert Lincoln (the oldest son) was present at all three assassinations.
Star Command
FTL was fantastic little indie game that came out last Fall. It was a roguelike in space, with pixel graphics that was fun to replay over and over again. All that and I put in for maybe four hours of it. It was a PC game that should have been a mobile game. Every time I sat down to play there were a handle full of more substantial games waiting to be played. Star Command beat them to the punch. Making their own pixel game in space. It is not a roguelike, it actually has a story, but the game play mechanics feel very similar. How much replay value there is I have yet to see, but all it takes is 10-15 free minutes on the couch to have a go at it.
Guacamelee!
Another indie game and another piece of gaming vocabulary for you dear reader: metroidvania. Guacamelee is just that with 2D vector art that pops off the screen. A labyrinth to explore and conquer with a hero brought back from the grave by a magical luchador mask. It has a certain charm that my four year old son and I love. You learn new combinations from a giant chicken and get new powers from an elderly man disguised as a goat. Plus the controls are tight and the difficulty is hard, but not bone crushing. Worth a play if you have a PS3 sitting around collecting dust.
Assassination Vacation
On a weekend where my body was riddle with sickness, it was nice to catch a few moments to myself and listen to a new book. Sarah Vowell's work is not new to me, I read Unfamiliar Fishes last summer and The Partly Cloudy Patriot ages ago. I've been meaning to catch up on the rest for a while, so when my new Audible credit dinged it was an easy pick. Though probably not the most efficient use of my subscription. It is short, but full of the humor, interesting facts and true tales that I love about her writing. It covers the three assassinated presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley) and admittedly I knew nothing of them, save Lincoln of course.
Star Command
FTL was fantastic little indie game that came out last Fall. It was a roguelike in space, with pixel graphics that was fun to replay over and over again. All that and I put in for maybe four hours of it. It was a PC game that should have been a mobile game. Every time I sat down to play there were a handle full of more substantial games waiting to be played. Star Command beat them to the punch. Making their own pixel game in space. It is not a roguelike, it actually has a story, but the game play mechanics feel very similar. How much replay value there is I have yet to see, but all it takes is 10-15 free minutes on the couch to have a go at it.
Guacamelee!
Another indie game and another piece of gaming vocabulary for you dear reader: metroidvania. Guacamelee is just that with 2D vector art that pops off the screen. A labyrinth to explore and conquer with a hero brought back from the grave by a magical luchador mask. It has a certain charm that my four year old son and I love. You learn new combinations from a giant chicken and get new powers from an elderly man disguised as a goat. Plus the controls are tight and the difficulty is hard, but not bone crushing. Worth a play if you have a PS3 sitting around collecting dust.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Weekend Review: Apr 6th & 7th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
BioShock Infinite
I never played System Shock, maybe I'd be going deeper into the origin of the Shocks if I had, but the first BioShock game holds a special place in my heart. It is nearly a perfect game. Great storytelling, both directly and through it's rich world, interesting game play and stellar art design. It had flaws, but they were easy to look past. So Infinite had a tall, as tall as can be, order looming over it. Be better than it's best in class big brother.
Thankfully it did, it took the depth and lived in world of BioShock and made it feel open. You are still mostly on a rail, literally in fact, but the open skies and floating world of Columbia create the illusion of an open environment you could go anywhere in. Some of the story is still delivered in recordings, but the major change is an ever present companion in Elizabeth. She has is not an escort quest, she pushes the story along and you can live through her well acted emotion (though thankfully your character has a voice too). The whole game is a masterpiece, high praise, but not hyperbole, it is seriously that good.
Ridiculous Fishing
The same day I picked up Super Stickman Golf 2 I also picked up Ridiculous Fishing. SSG2 has been a household (my brother, my 4 yr old and me) and trip (Pittsburgh last week) favorite, but Ridiculous Fishing is pretty good too. Part bullet hell, shooting gallery and all around weird, it is glued together with a minimalistic art style that just works. Like Super Hexagon you can start and end a round in under a minute usually, unlike Hexagon a less than world beating performance is still a net gain. Earning you cash toward gear upgrades that should make the next run just a little easier.
G.I. JOE: Cobra Civil War
If a future-me showed up in 2012 to let past-me know that I'd be burning through G.I. Joe comics at a ravenous pace and enjoying every moment. Past-me would first ask for the Super Bowl winner, but then he would walk away from future-me in disbelief. I am absolutely loving this run of Joe comics. Throw out the childhood memories and franchise recognition and it is just fantastic military and espionage writing. In this arc IDW used three different books (Snake Eyes, G.I. Joe and Cobra) to tell one huge story of multiple character arcs and overlapping story lines that ended in a new Cobra Commander being picked. The numbering was mildly confusing, but the whole thing was great.
BioShock Infinite
I never played System Shock, maybe I'd be going deeper into the origin of the Shocks if I had, but the first BioShock game holds a special place in my heart. It is nearly a perfect game. Great storytelling, both directly and through it's rich world, interesting game play and stellar art design. It had flaws, but they were easy to look past. So Infinite had a tall, as tall as can be, order looming over it. Be better than it's best in class big brother.
Thankfully it did, it took the depth and lived in world of BioShock and made it feel open. You are still mostly on a rail, literally in fact, but the open skies and floating world of Columbia create the illusion of an open environment you could go anywhere in. Some of the story is still delivered in recordings, but the major change is an ever present companion in Elizabeth. She has is not an escort quest, she pushes the story along and you can live through her well acted emotion (though thankfully your character has a voice too). The whole game is a masterpiece, high praise, but not hyperbole, it is seriously that good.
Ridiculous Fishing
The same day I picked up Super Stickman Golf 2 I also picked up Ridiculous Fishing. SSG2 has been a household (my brother, my 4 yr old and me) and trip (Pittsburgh last week) favorite, but Ridiculous Fishing is pretty good too. Part bullet hell, shooting gallery and all around weird, it is glued together with a minimalistic art style that just works. Like Super Hexagon you can start and end a round in under a minute usually, unlike Hexagon a less than world beating performance is still a net gain. Earning you cash toward gear upgrades that should make the next run just a little easier.
G.I. JOE: Cobra Civil War
If a future-me showed up in 2012 to let past-me know that I'd be burning through G.I. Joe comics at a ravenous pace and enjoying every moment. Past-me would first ask for the Super Bowl winner, but then he would walk away from future-me in disbelief. I am absolutely loving this run of Joe comics. Throw out the childhood memories and franchise recognition and it is just fantastic military and espionage writing. In this arc IDW used three different books (Snake Eyes, G.I. Joe and Cobra) to tell one huge story of multiple character arcs and overlapping story lines that ended in a new Cobra Commander being picked. The numbering was mildly confusing, but the whole thing was great.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Weekend Review: Mar 23rd & 24th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Skyfall
It is rare that we get to catch movies these days (I repeat this a lot). 2012 is a laundry list of movies we missed on top of the stuff I have not seen from 2011. I decided to tackle Bond first, because I love Bond. After swooning over Casino Royale and taking a swift gut punch from Quantum of Solace, I was ready for another great one. Skyfall is that by a mile. The story moves, but not without giving itself room to breathe. Javier Bardem is an ultra creepy villain, though I already knew that. All around it is a fantastic movie and also a great addition to the Bond series.
Super Stickman Golf 2
I never got down with the first game from Noodlecake Studios. Nothing against them, but "stickman" games are usually throw away flash novelties and just the word golf makes my eyes do back flips. Luckily a drought of iOS games had me looking last week for something new. SSG2 just so happened to come out and get great reviews. It is a golf game, but it is a golf game with a complete disregard for reality. Upside-down swinging from a rotating platform with a magnetized ball kind of disregard. It is great, a perfect fit for the iPad and a lazy afternoon of March Madness watching. There is asynchronous multiplayer too, but I have yet to try it. Get at me!
G.I. Joe: COBRA
My childhood was filled with G.I. Joe toys, shows and pajamas. Outside of the rare return from the past though, I don't have much time for dem Joes these days. Nor would I think to read a comic series about them. The COBRA series is barely Joe story though. After five trade paperbacks I can't remember one red or blue laser. It is set in the world of G.I. Joe, but the story is fully self serious. It focuses on Joes going undercover to infiltrate Cobra and the messed up twist and turns that they face along the way. It is superb writing laid on top of great art, definitely worth a read.
Skyfall
It is rare that we get to catch movies these days (I repeat this a lot). 2012 is a laundry list of movies we missed on top of the stuff I have not seen from 2011. I decided to tackle Bond first, because I love Bond. After swooning over Casino Royale and taking a swift gut punch from Quantum of Solace, I was ready for another great one. Skyfall is that by a mile. The story moves, but not without giving itself room to breathe. Javier Bardem is an ultra creepy villain, though I already knew that. All around it is a fantastic movie and also a great addition to the Bond series.
Super Stickman Golf 2
I never got down with the first game from Noodlecake Studios. Nothing against them, but "stickman" games are usually throw away flash novelties and just the word golf makes my eyes do back flips. Luckily a drought of iOS games had me looking last week for something new. SSG2 just so happened to come out and get great reviews. It is a golf game, but it is a golf game with a complete disregard for reality. Upside-down swinging from a rotating platform with a magnetized ball kind of disregard. It is great, a perfect fit for the iPad and a lazy afternoon of March Madness watching. There is asynchronous multiplayer too, but I have yet to try it. Get at me!
G.I. Joe: COBRA
My childhood was filled with G.I. Joe toys, shows and pajamas. Outside of the rare return from the past though, I don't have much time for dem Joes these days. Nor would I think to read a comic series about them. The COBRA series is barely Joe story though. After five trade paperbacks I can't remember one red or blue laser. It is set in the world of G.I. Joe, but the story is fully self serious. It focuses on Joes going undercover to infiltrate Cobra and the messed up twist and turns that they face along the way. It is superb writing laid on top of great art, definitely worth a read.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Weekend Review: Mar 16th & 17th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Tomb Raider
In 1996 my second computer or maybe third whirled up the original Tomb Raider on it's bite sized hard drive. It was the same time frame as the Nintendo 64, so polygonal platforming was still in it's larval state. I have great memories of that game. The new game (reboot), released in February 2013, doesn't evoke memories of that past though. You don't raid any tombs per se, but that is because Crystal Dynamics is too busy doing their best Uncharted impression. Which, as it turns out I wanted way more Uncharted, so good job guys. It's an action movie in video game form, with better combat than the series it apes. Quality stuff, my game of the year currently, if you count Far Cry 3 as a 2012 game.
The Passage
On my new audio book odyssey I kicked off The Passage a few weeks ago and wrapped it up late last week. Fantastic wordsmithing from Cronin the whole way through. Making even the mundane bits feel like a part of a living world. I slept on this book for a long time, chalking it up as a vampire story. It is that, but one that it masterfully written and with not much in the way of tired tropes. It instead focuses on interesting characters, their relationships and the trials they face in a changed world. All that and the audio bit is great too.
Advanced 10k Training Team
Last year I trained for the Monument 10k on my own. Just running the YMCA training team schedule as best I could out of my house. Then I hurt my knee (dumb basketball) and was off my legs for a month. By the time I got back on them it was like I hadn't actually trained at all. I finished at 52 minutes and then went on to do the Carytown 10k with minimal training and a 51 minute finish. This year I decided to fully dedicate myself to the event. I was all set to join the YMCA group, when I heard about the advanced training team. Put on by the Richmond Road Runners at $65 a pop for members, it is worth every penny so far.
The team is broken up into goal times starting at sub-55 and down with two coaches to a team. I'm in the 49-47 minute bracket and really enjoy the company when pushing my running limits. Wednesday nights we have track training at Sports Backers Stadium. Intervals of 200m all the way up to 3200m this week. We sprint around the track at break neck speeds (7:10-7:00 pace) and it is great. Saturday mornings we run out of a church on Monument. Different loops each week for 6-7 miles. We start with a warm up mile or two, then run 3-5 miles of tempo (race pace) and cool down with what distance we have left. It is tough stuff.
Tomb Raider
In 1996 my second computer or maybe third whirled up the original Tomb Raider on it's bite sized hard drive. It was the same time frame as the Nintendo 64, so polygonal platforming was still in it's larval state. I have great memories of that game. The new game (reboot), released in February 2013, doesn't evoke memories of that past though. You don't raid any tombs per se, but that is because Crystal Dynamics is too busy doing their best Uncharted impression. Which, as it turns out I wanted way more Uncharted, so good job guys. It's an action movie in video game form, with better combat than the series it apes. Quality stuff, my game of the year currently, if you count Far Cry 3 as a 2012 game.
The Passage
On my new audio book odyssey I kicked off The Passage a few weeks ago and wrapped it up late last week. Fantastic wordsmithing from Cronin the whole way through. Making even the mundane bits feel like a part of a living world. I slept on this book for a long time, chalking it up as a vampire story. It is that, but one that it masterfully written and with not much in the way of tired tropes. It instead focuses on interesting characters, their relationships and the trials they face in a changed world. All that and the audio bit is great too.
Advanced 10k Training Team
Last year I trained for the Monument 10k on my own. Just running the YMCA training team schedule as best I could out of my house. Then I hurt my knee (dumb basketball) and was off my legs for a month. By the time I got back on them it was like I hadn't actually trained at all. I finished at 52 minutes and then went on to do the Carytown 10k with minimal training and a 51 minute finish. This year I decided to fully dedicate myself to the event. I was all set to join the YMCA group, when I heard about the advanced training team. Put on by the Richmond Road Runners at $65 a pop for members, it is worth every penny so far.
The team is broken up into goal times starting at sub-55 and down with two coaches to a team. I'm in the 49-47 minute bracket and really enjoy the company when pushing my running limits. Wednesday nights we have track training at Sports Backers Stadium. Intervals of 200m all the way up to 3200m this week. We sprint around the track at break neck speeds (7:10-7:00 pace) and it is great. Saturday mornings we run out of a church on Monument. Different loops each week for 6-7 miles. We start with a warm up mile or two, then run 3-5 miles of tempo (race pace) and cool down with what distance we have left. It is tough stuff.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Weekend Review: Feb 9th & 10th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Mistborn : The Final Empire
In late 2007 and early 2008 I discovered Audible and rediscovered audio books in the process. I churned through a massive collection and then stopped. This week I went back to the audio book with a recommendation from Ethan. I dropped my podcast habit cold turkey and dedicated that listening time to Mistborn. The Final Empire is more or less Dark Sun, but with cooler magic system. Setting does not make a book though. The story told is one of intrigue and character arcs that really drew me in. So much so that I started the second book the day after I wrapped up the first.
NIKE Men's Element Half Zip
Getting nice gear for my bike has always been secondary to my other hobbies. I still make do with a cheap windbreaker I bought 7 years ago when Winter riding comes round. Picking up a long sleeve Road Holland this Summer taught me the value of good gear this Fall though. Now that I am dedicated to running this year more than ever before it was time to gear up there too. My first and best purchase was the long sleeve shirt above. With a short sleeve base layer and it I have braved low 20 temps and windy evenings. It is super light weight, minimal seems and keeps me toasty. I forget it is there, which is exactly what I want from my athletic gear.
Nardwuar
I visit a number of different resources while hunting down new raps (e.g. stereogum and rapgenius). The Reddit /r/ hiphopheads is the most recent as of the Fall. Last week I saw a number of links to interviews by Nardwuar there. He a loud, awkward, but self confident interviewer dressed like an eccentric golfer, interviews some of the biggest names in hip hop and brings along gifts (usually vinyl) that speaks to their origin and musical influence. It makes for some really candid moments, something usually not seen in music interviews. His rap interviews have been collected in thisGoogle Drive doc, but the link above is enough to get started with.
Mistborn : The Final Empire
In late 2007 and early 2008 I discovered Audible and rediscovered audio books in the process. I churned through a massive collection and then stopped. This week I went back to the audio book with a recommendation from Ethan. I dropped my podcast habit cold turkey and dedicated that listening time to Mistborn. The Final Empire is more or less Dark Sun, but with cooler magic system. Setting does not make a book though. The story told is one of intrigue and character arcs that really drew me in. So much so that I started the second book the day after I wrapped up the first.
NIKE Men's Element Half Zip
Getting nice gear for my bike has always been secondary to my other hobbies. I still make do with a cheap windbreaker I bought 7 years ago when Winter riding comes round. Picking up a long sleeve Road Holland this Summer taught me the value of good gear this Fall though. Now that I am dedicated to running this year more than ever before it was time to gear up there too. My first and best purchase was the long sleeve shirt above. With a short sleeve base layer and it I have braved low 20 temps and windy evenings. It is super light weight, minimal seems and keeps me toasty. I forget it is there, which is exactly what I want from my athletic gear.
Nardwuar
I visit a number of different resources while hunting down new raps (e.g. stereogum and rapgenius). The Reddit /r/ hiphopheads is the most recent as of the Fall. Last week I saw a number of links to interviews by Nardwuar there. He a loud, awkward, but self confident interviewer dressed like an eccentric golfer, interviews some of the biggest names in hip hop and brings along gifts (usually vinyl) that speaks to their origin and musical influence. It makes for some really candid moments, something usually not seen in music interviews. His rap interviews have been collected in this
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Annual Report 2012: Summary
In previous years I wrote up the Wreck Awards to summarize my year in review. This year I stepped it up and did a four part annual report inspired by Feltron.com instead. Nothing as serious as ordering a copy for your coffee table, that seems a bit much for my data at least, but I burnt more calories than prior years (literally).
Capturing the data was a pain, because I didn't decide to work on this project until my second son was born in late September. I had two weeks off work where he mostly just slept. We watched a epic load of New Girl and I worked on the bones of each of these visualizations. The data had to come from places that I already had a source. For exercise it was DailyMile and reading was from GoodReads. Gaming was a mix of Steam and Xbox, not something I logged, but just a service they provided. Twitter was the biggest pain of the four. They had yet to release there get all your data initiative. So I manually scraped and cleaned the data myself. With my own two hands, the way my forefathers did it.
The visualizations were done in QlikView. A program I use at work for data analysis and dashboard development. Most of the stuff I build on the company dime is much more structured and detail oriented. I took on this project because one, it would be fun and it was and two, because I could stretch my design legs. There are certainly flaws in the execution and violations of best practices in service of making things look pretty, but I am mostly happy with how it turned out.
Capturing the data was a pain, because I didn't decide to work on this project until my second son was born in late September. I had two weeks off work where he mostly just slept. We watched a epic load of New Girl and I worked on the bones of each of these visualizations. The data had to come from places that I already had a source. For exercise it was DailyMile and reading was from GoodReads. Gaming was a mix of Steam and Xbox, not something I logged, but just a service they provided. Twitter was the biggest pain of the four. They had yet to release there get all your data initiative. So I manually scraped and cleaned the data myself. With my own two hands, the way my forefathers did it.
The visualizations were done in QlikView. A program I use at work for data analysis and dashboard development. Most of the stuff I build on the company dime is much more structured and detail oriented. I took on this project because one, it would be fun and it was and two, because I could stretch my design legs. There are certainly flaws in the execution and violations of best practices in service of making things look pretty, but I am mostly happy with how it turned out.
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Friday, January 4, 2013
Annual Report 2012: Reading
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Reading this year entailed way less actual books than 2011 did, but a massive rise in comics (trade paperbacks). Overall I was up from 42 total in 2011 to 53 in 2012, but down on pages read from 10,881 to 10,763. In this category and in games, pure numbers do not a happy boy make though. Quality beats out quantity every time, but thankfully I had both this year.
Books
With an extremely light reading list (5), this section is an easy, if not regretful, one to write. The A Song of Ice and Fire books were great reading and paired nicely with the TV show
and my on going table top game. Ender's Game was a nice surprise in that it lived up to it's Sci-Fi classic billing. Hunger Games fell short for me. The novel concept of kids fighting to the death to reinforce government control was already laid bare for me in Battle Royale
. So with that off the table it had a hard time living solely on it's teen romance narrative. Crown Conspiracy was a D&D campaign in book form. Weak sauce!Comics
Comics went deep this year. I read so many good books that are worth sharing and worth your time. A lot of that can be attributed to my iPad and new found love of digital comics. The other half of this glut of comics can be laid at the feet of my return to the big two. Way back in 2007 when I picked up the comic torch again I didn't do it for capes and cowls. I did it for the indie stuff, the non-super stuff. Now it is 2012 and I am regularly reading Thor, Hawkeye and Batman.
Most Disappointing Comic: B.P.R.D.
After tons of Hellboy/Mignola work enjoyed and under my belt I assumed I'd love B.P.R.D. I was wrong. The plots are mildly confusing and the characters are not as compelling as Hellboy. I wanted to love it, but I didn't.
Most Surprising Comic: Hawkeye
Not being a super hero guy, usually, this book was surprising in two parts. One that it was a super hero book and two that it was Hawkeye. A character I have very little history with save a great movie and an arcade game I loved. Fraction's Hawkeye is the time when he isn't saving the world with the Avengers though. He is just Clint Barton, battling a Russian mobster that owns his apartment building or saving a stray dog. The writing is fantastic, the stories are mostly one shots and the character is great. I love the simple and subtle art too and the page layouts feel like nothing I have seen in comics before.
Honorable Mention: Thor: God of Thunder
Best Comic: Saga
Vaughan's Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina series are some of my favorites in comics. So why I was caught off guard by how great Saga was is a bit of a mystery. Once I was on board though it quickly rose to the top of my weekly pick/read list. It is equal parts Sci-Fi, fantasy, Romeo and Juliet and romantic comedy. The characters are flawed, but endearing and when paired with the world they inhabit make for fantastic reading.
Honorable Mention: Hawkeye and Conan the Barbarian
Best Return to a Series: Invincible
I created this category solely for the purpose of giving some love to series I have raved about in the past and came back to in 20 doz. In the shadow of the Walking Deads success Invincible seems to fly under the radar a bit. I'd argue that it is as good or better and that Kirkman's work on it this year has been consistently amazing. I started with the Ultimate Collections volumes years ago and then got into the habit of not buying mixed format books. It left me waiting for more Invincible for too long. This year I caught up in trades and then in floppy when those ran out. It is a great monthly read that seems to be getting better with every issue.
Honorable Mention: Fear Agent
Monday, December 31, 2012
Weekend Review: Dec 29th & 30th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Super Hexagon
Long form gaming on the iPad rarely sticks with me (See: me not playing Walking Dead since I wrote about). If I do log long hours on a mobile game it is usually one that I can chip away at in bite sized chunks (See: Kingdom Rush). Super Hexagon has no progression or through line, but what it has in spades is bite sized game play. My longest round ever was 29 seconds. It is simplicity defined. Minimal graphics, dope sound track and twitch play that you can get better at or totally regress back to square one on. I can fire off 4-5 rounds in under a minute usually. Which is exactly what I want from my mobile gaming.
The Signal and the Noise
Ethan gifted this book to me for Christmas, that was already on my "to read" list for 2013. Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise is about the mountain of data we face everyday and the ability to glean accurate predictions from it, while not getting it all wrong. It covers the origin of FiveThirtyEight, the housing bubble, baseball and much more. I'm not finished with it yet, but so far it has read like a guide of the pitfalls I need to avoid at my job (data analysis) in the coming year.
Spin Drift (NSFW)
Another gift from Ethan. This time in the form of a heads up on a web comic he had not read, but thought I might enjoy. He was right in that I read Spin Drift from start to it's latest release in one sitting. Drawn in by the art at first and then hooked hard by the story. It reminds me a lot of Saga in it's star crossed fantasy lovers. Right down to the he with horns and she with wings bit, but this is a different tale altogether. Well worth a read and something I will keep coming back to in 2013.
Super Hexagon
Long form gaming on the iPad rarely sticks with me (See: me not playing Walking Dead since I wrote about). If I do log long hours on a mobile game it is usually one that I can chip away at in bite sized chunks (See: Kingdom Rush). Super Hexagon has no progression or through line, but what it has in spades is bite sized game play. My longest round ever was 29 seconds. It is simplicity defined. Minimal graphics, dope sound track and twitch play that you can get better at or totally regress back to square one on. I can fire off 4-5 rounds in under a minute usually. Which is exactly what I want from my mobile gaming.
The Signal and the Noise
Ethan gifted this book to me for Christmas, that was already on my "to read" list for 2013. Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise is about the mountain of data we face everyday and the ability to glean accurate predictions from it, while not getting it all wrong. It covers the origin of FiveThirtyEight, the housing bubble, baseball and much more. I'm not finished with it yet, but so far it has read like a guide of the pitfalls I need to avoid at my job (data analysis) in the coming year.
Spin Drift (NSFW)
Another gift from Ethan. This time in the form of a heads up on a web comic he had not read, but thought I might enjoy. He was right in that I read Spin Drift from start to it's latest release in one sitting. Drawn in by the art at first and then hooked hard by the story. It reminds me a lot of Saga in it's star crossed fantasy lovers. Right down to the he with horns and she with wings bit, but this is a different tale altogether. Well worth a read and something I will keep coming back to in 2013.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Weekend Review: Nov 3rd & 4th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
The Book of Basketball
Last seasons NBA playoffs and stunted regular season were fantastic. So many teams, players and rivalries that were worth watching. Setting up this season as must watch TV for me. Perfectly timed with the arrival of our second son too. I am great at half watching a basketball game while calming down a newborn. At the center of this new found interest is Bill Simmons. I read all his stuff at Grantland, listen to his podcast every week and his basketball fandom is rubbing off on me. So I dropped the second Theft of Swords book cold turkey (spoiler: it was not better than the first) and picked up Simmon's The Book of Basketball. I have barely cracked the surface, but so far it is great reading.
Punch Quest
The next revolution in iOS (read: mobile) gaming seems to happen every week. At a dollar or two a slice it is easy to see if the fuss is worth fussing about. As a part of that revolution my three year old son goes snooping into my game folder on the iPad periodically. If he sees something new he will snatch it and move it to his own folder. Punch Quest was a game I picked up mid week and spent very little time with. Saturday afternoon I found him playing it on the couch and sat down to see how he liked it. It is an endless runner in the vein of Jetpack Joyride (a favorite in our house), but with greater depth of game play. Different combinations of punches allow for more survivability and ultimately more interesting mechanics. We ended up trading it back and forth for an hour before it was nap time. Oh and it is free and good, so give it a try.
Gelati Celesti
Soccer season ended with trophies and farewells on Saturday morning. Our son was offered a treat in celebration of said season and what I expected the answer to be was "Sweet Frog". What that answer says to me is "I want to eat candy delivered on a bed of sub-par frozen yogurt". I was surprised and a little proud when instead he said "Gelati Celesti". In my opinion the best ice cream in Richmond hands down. Our family has been going there since they opened in 1984. I was the same age as my son then. The years that followed were filled with banana splits for honor rolls and the location of the first date with my now wife. Saturday night I had a scope of the pumpkin ginger snap and chocolate decadence in a waffle cone they make at the shop. It was still just as great as when I was a kid.
The Book of Basketball
Last seasons NBA playoffs and stunted regular season were fantastic. So many teams, players and rivalries that were worth watching. Setting up this season as must watch TV for me. Perfectly timed with the arrival of our second son too. I am great at half watching a basketball game while calming down a newborn. At the center of this new found interest is Bill Simmons. I read all his stuff at Grantland, listen to his podcast every week and his basketball fandom is rubbing off on me. So I dropped the second Theft of Swords book cold turkey (spoiler: it was not better than the first) and picked up Simmon's The Book of Basketball. I have barely cracked the surface, but so far it is great reading.
Punch Quest
The next revolution in iOS (read: mobile) gaming seems to happen every week. At a dollar or two a slice it is easy to see if the fuss is worth fussing about. As a part of that revolution my three year old son goes snooping into my game folder on the iPad periodically. If he sees something new he will snatch it and move it to his own folder. Punch Quest was a game I picked up mid week and spent very little time with. Saturday afternoon I found him playing it on the couch and sat down to see how he liked it. It is an endless runner in the vein of Jetpack Joyride (a favorite in our house), but with greater depth of game play. Different combinations of punches allow for more survivability and ultimately more interesting mechanics. We ended up trading it back and forth for an hour before it was nap time. Oh and it is free and good, so give it a try.
Gelati Celesti
Soccer season ended with trophies and farewells on Saturday morning. Our son was offered a treat in celebration of said season and what I expected the answer to be was "Sweet Frog". What that answer says to me is "I want to eat candy delivered on a bed of sub-par frozen yogurt". I was surprised and a little proud when instead he said "Gelati Celesti". In my opinion the best ice cream in Richmond hands down. Our family has been going there since they opened in 1984. I was the same age as my son then. The years that followed were filled with banana splits for honor rolls and the location of the first date with my now wife. Saturday night I had a scope of the pumpkin ginger snap and chocolate decadence in a waffle cone they make at the shop. It was still just as great as when I was a kid.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Weekend Review: Oct 6th & 7th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Skullkickers
Back in 2010 I mentioned Skullkickers as a comic I was looking forward to reading. I hunted down the first issue and ultimately ended up with a signed copy care of my friend Chris (TheChort) and the NYCC. I picked up the first arc in single issues and then ended up losing the thread. Now that Ward is here I have been burning through comics I meant to read at a rapid pace. I hunted down the rest of this series and gobbled them up. The art is great and I love the modern comedic dialog smashed up with fantasy tropes. Grade A stuff!
Hundreds
I never played Canabalt on the iPad, which is where I think it blew up. I played it on the webz via flash, where I tend to discount games a few points already. They are a little too throw away and if I am sitting down at a computer I might as well play a whole game. Once in a while a flash game steals away more than a few hours from me. Hundreds is one of those games. It is from the developers of Canabalt and soon to be a mobile game. The art is reminiscent of it's predecessor, simple yet elegant, but the game play is worlds apart. I'm looking forward to Hundreds on the iPad, where I plan to waste away many a hour.
DMZ
I left off at trade numero 7 of DMZ back in late 2009. It was no fault of story, arc or anything else, I had caught up on the trades and then last track once the next one came out. After finishing the Northlanders earlier this month, I realized it was time to return to DMZ. Wood's writing really gets me and I love the premise (America's 2nd civil war). It keeps delivering. I am now half way through volume 11 and a little bummed that the series will end in one more trade.
Theft of Swords
I gave up on this book twice. I came back to it again when comics started to eat my brain and we ran out of DVR shows (it is tough having a second baby!). A tweet from Penny Arcade's Gabe helped. Once I powered through 20% (Pages? What are those?) it actually took. It will be a mixed review when I finish it, but I hope it finishes way stronger than it starts.
Skullkickers
Back in 2010 I mentioned Skullkickers as a comic I was looking forward to reading. I hunted down the first issue and ultimately ended up with a signed copy care of my friend Chris (TheChort) and the NYCC. I picked up the first arc in single issues and then ended up losing the thread. Now that Ward is here I have been burning through comics I meant to read at a rapid pace. I hunted down the rest of this series and gobbled them up. The art is great and I love the modern comedic dialog smashed up with fantasy tropes. Grade A stuff!
Hundreds
I never played Canabalt on the iPad, which is where I think it blew up. I played it on the webz via flash, where I tend to discount games a few points already. They are a little too throw away and if I am sitting down at a computer I might as well play a whole game. Once in a while a flash game steals away more than a few hours from me. Hundreds is one of those games. It is from the developers of Canabalt and soon to be a mobile game. The art is reminiscent of it's predecessor, simple yet elegant, but the game play is worlds apart. I'm looking forward to Hundreds on the iPad, where I plan to waste away many a hour.
DMZ
I left off at trade numero 7 of DMZ back in late 2009. It was no fault of story, arc or anything else, I had caught up on the trades and then last track once the next one came out. After finishing the Northlanders earlier this month, I realized it was time to return to DMZ. Wood's writing really gets me and I love the premise (America's 2nd civil war). It keeps delivering. I am now half way through volume 11 and a little bummed that the series will end in one more trade.
Theft of Swords
I gave up on this book twice. I came back to it again when comics started to eat my brain and we ran out of DVR shows (it is tough having a second baby!). A tweet from Penny Arcade's Gabe helped. Once I powered through 20% (Pages? What are those?) it actually took. It will be a mixed review when I finish it, but I hope it finishes way stronger than it starts.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Weekend Review: September 1st & 2nd
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
The Campaign
Friday nigtht was date night. I made steaks and asparagus on the grill and we went to a movie. The Campaign trailers looked funny enough and it got two friendly recommendations. Good enough for us. We both like Galifianakis and Ferrell well enough and the film was face achingly funny for the first half. The shine came off, as it does with most comedies, in the back half though. It threw a few funny jabs out here and there near the end and managed to be recommendation worthy overall. It may sound harsh, but it remained funny longer than most movies do and that is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Revival
I read the first two issues of this book Saturday based on a recommendation (Ethan) and really liked it. A select group of residents in a small town find they have the ability to return to life after death. Only a little bit crazier every time. The art is wicked good, the story feels legit creepy and the characters are already fully established. Totally worth a read.
The Once and Future King
I started this back in high school and made it through 2 of the 4 books the compilation contains. While struggling to find a new fantasy book post ASoIF
I went back to the realm of King Arthur. I'm not incredibly far into it yet, but the old memories flooding back. I love White's writing style, humor and occasional word I have to look up. Really glad I returned to finish this some 15 years later.Crossroads
I don't think 52L will make it over to southside anytime soon, so this one is not going to step on any toes. Post Sunday ride our skeleton crew pulled into Crossroads for coffee and scones. I have been to the South of the James truck a few times and really enjoyed it, but never to the actual coffee shop. It was nice enough outside and we were sweaty enough that we sat out on the patio. The iced coffees hit the spot after an ultra humid ride and my scone was super tasty. I'll be going back for sure.
Angry Birds
Heck of late to the party on this one, but my three year old recently became obsessed. Which means I end up playing it a fair amount too. I first played it back when it original blew up on the iPhone and was bored with it pretty quickly. Too much of the success seems to be based on luck and inconsistent physics. That said my son loves it and could care less about the pass/fail portion of it. Win or lose he is off to another level. If I had to say a few nice things about it, I'd go with:
- I hate the free to play model and Angry Birds stands as the shinning example of not free to play (mostly).
- Playing Angry Birds has introduced my son to familiarity with the iPad. Which has let me introduce him to more educational games. He spends as much time with dem birds as he does with Letter School and a matching game that escapes me.
Cycling buddy, Hip Hop aficionado and friend o' mine, Mike got his bee-log up and running again. Give it a visit!
Monday, November 8, 2010
The Shattering
It is no secret that the big baddie of Cataclysm is Deathwing. Most everyone knows that the lands of Azeroth will be getting a face lift care of the Betrayer. What the average WoW player doesn't know is who he is and where he has been. The last mention he got in a game was in 1995, during the second war, covered by Warcraft II and the expansion. Thankfully for us lore nerds we know through the books, about his origin, what parts he played in the past and when he was last seen.
So The Shattering would to pick back up after Day of the Dragon, right? Deathwing escaping, tail between his legs, to live and fight another day. Nope. Apparently he has been healing and planning his return in Deepholm. A fact I had not picked up on yet, save the paragraph in the wiki. My expectation was that The Shattering would be the build up before his return and it was. Just without mentioning Deathwing at all. Isn't this supposed to be about him?
The elements are upset, but we never find out why. Thrall leaves the Horde in the hands of Garrosh Hellscream without any logical reason. The same Garrosh who was suspected of skinning night elves, actually killed Cairne Bloodhoof and is still running the horde. Moira Bronzebeard, a character no one has seen since vanilla, is back to rule the Dwarfs in her father's absence. The same Moira who the horde has been killing since BRD opened it's doors. I guess that wasn't canon.
All that and not one mention of Deathwing. The whole story felt like filler. There were to many plots and not one of them carried any weight. There was not villain to root against or heroes to save the day, it all felt like tire spinning. Sure there are new leaders for the Taurens and Dwarfs, but none of it felt book worthy. Call it 50% my misplaced expectations and 50% Blizzard pulling punches. It was 100% disappointing.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Circular Bookshelf
Would make a nice addition to our sun room as long as it didn't rub the ceiling.[Via: David Garcia Studio]
Monday, January 4, 2010
Wreck Awards 2009
I did this thing last year and the year before that, it is an official annualized tradition now. So without further ado the Wreck Awards 2009...Game of the Year: Batman: Arkham Asylum
In a year of a ton of great games the world's greatest detective won my video game heart. The game looked fantastic and had a mash up of game mechanics that all felt fully fleshed out (stealth, action, platforming, etc). The story touched on a lot of well treaded Batman villains and some lesser known ones too. Overall it was the full single player package that no other game offered in 2009.
Runner Up: Uncharted 2
Game I should have played: Dragon Age: Origins
While technically I actually did play this game it was on the tail end of some other long games and right before new releases. I think in total I played it for two or three hours when it is nearly a fifty hour journey. I know it is a good game, I just didn't have the time to play through it. It will most likely get the summer treatment like Mass Effect did this summer.
Runner Up: Left 4 Dead 2
Movie of the Year: District 9
The story behind the production of this film was the first thing to get me interested in it long before it's release. Going in knowing little to nothing about the actual film and then loving the story, universe and special effects is what really hooked me. Our world with one or two sci-fi tweaks is a simple enough concept that is not done that often and rarely well. The special effects look like they are apart of the world and seeing it a second time on blu-ray this past weekend really solidified my appreciation for the work they did.
Runner Up: The Hangover
Movie I should have seen: Inglourious Basterds
I love me some Tarantino, save a few of his less than stellar works (see: Death Proof) and some how we didn't get around to seeing Inglourious Basterds. Call it first year baby syndrome, but we went to the movies a lot less in the second half of 2009. Oddly enough I went to pick up the film the other night at the local Blockbuster (I know, I feel dirty, sorry Netflix), but they didn't have it on Blu-Ray. So we watched Julie & Julia instead, a good film, but not Inglourious Basterds.
Runner Up: The Hurt Locker
TV show of the Year: True Blood
It feels rare that a show ever eclipses it's first season these days, but the second season of True Blood did just that. The story got better and the characters, new and old, were better developed. It was the show that Crystal and I looked forward to the most and the one we were most sad to see end for the season. The finale episode didn't feel as epic as the whole, but I don't think they could have done anything that would truly satisfied given the great build up.
Runners Up: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Comic/Book of the Year: Scalped
I read a ton of books and comics this year, which made this category on of the hardest to pick. Scalped was the work that stood above the rest though. Call it my affection for comics that don't follow the life and times of super heroes. I love comics that follow regular folks into fucked up situations. Scalped does just that on the back drop of a reservation plagued by drugs, violence and corruption. I wouldn't recommended it to the faint of heart, but it is a solid read for anyone who can stomach the depressing, but occasionally uplifting tale it weaves.
Runner Up: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King
Recipe of the Year: Chicken with Lime Butter
Huh, I don't have much experience with writing about food. Most of my commentary about something I like involves primal grunts of "Mmm". I can tell you all about something I make that I don't like pretty easily though. Not the case with Chicken in a lime butter sauce. I made it probably five to six times in the second half of the year, with a side of orzo, that was a killer combination. No complaints from Crystal and I loved eating it, so it's a winner.
Runner Up: Roast Beef
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
2009 Resolutions in Review
Back in early ought nine I wrote up a list of resolutions for the new year. A precarious task for sure with a new baby on the way, but as they were written so shall they be reviewed...- Ride at least twice a month
Fail, I think I made it to mid April when Kaden was born.
- Ride more miles in the current month than I did the previous
Fail, Save the month of September.
- Ride and camp more
Pass, our goodbye to Russ ride covered this one.
- Try a new recipe a month
Pass, I can't document it, but I cooked like a mad man in 2009.
- Improve my writing
Pass, between my online D&D game and blogging I like to think I got better this year.
- Take more photos
Pass, see the pictures.
- Improve my video editing (and post more videos)
Pass, see the videos.
- Lose weight (see riding goals)
Fail, I think I am up 5 to 10 pounds over last year, see cooking and cycling.
- Take at least one grappling or BJJ class
Fail, no excuses.
- Read more comics
Pass, I read a ton.
- Build an arcade
Fail, I meant to do this honest, it will make the list for 2010 for sure.
- Finish a 40k army
Fail, after discovering D&D this year I really have no need for this anymore.
- Organize my workshop
Fail, it is currently a hot mess.
- Back up my data
Pass, I got an external hard drive and software that backs up everything weekly.
- Become a good Dad
Pass, while this is subjective for sure, I think by not cooking meth in our kitchen and reading to him every night I'm doing a pretty good job at this Dad thing.
Hmm, 8 out of 15 isn't bad, but it isn't good either. I'll be putting together my 2010 list this coming week in another post, hopefully I can complete even more.
Monday, July 28, 2008
48 Hour Hell Brothers
Step Brothers
Friday night we rolled into the theater to see another Will Ferrell master piece. Granted I am using that term very loosely when talking about a film where there is male nudity in the first thirty minutes, but it is a hilarious none the less. The story is unnecessary for the most part, as it is there to string together sketches that are side splitting funny. Reilly and Ferrell pick up where they left off with Talladega Nights and carry the ridiculousness even further. Don't take your kids, but go see this movie. Boats and Hoes!
48 Hour Film Project
If it were not for Mehtul's participation in the 48 hour film project Crystal and I would have never heard of it. Saturday we went down to Carry St with the intention of seeing Mike's film were pleasantly surprised by everything else that was shown too. It is incredible how much work got done on some of the films with in the allotted time frame. Upon leaving Crystal and I went to Ginger for lunch and my head was spinning with ideas for 48 hour films. Maybe next year I can leech on to Mike, Chuck and Phillip's production or even do my own?
Hellboy Library Ed Vol 1
I am four years behind on my plan to start reading Hellboy, but after seeing the second film this summer I decided to act. Thankfully the library editions from Dark Horse make it easy to get caught up. Volume one collects the first and second Hellboy arcs from 1994 and 1995. The art and writing in this book make me appreciate the films on another level. Mignola crafts a world that is dark and chaotic, with heavy use of shadows in his art and writing that seems to come from ancient text. Volume two comes out this fall and you can bet your ass it will be sitting on my bookshelf soon after.
Friday night we rolled into the theater to see another Will Ferrell master piece. Granted I am using that term very loosely when talking about a film where there is male nudity in the first thirty minutes, but it is a hilarious none the less. The story is unnecessary for the most part, as it is there to string together sketches that are side splitting funny. Reilly and Ferrell pick up where they left off with Talladega Nights and carry the ridiculousness even further. Don't take your kids, but go see this movie. Boats and Hoes!48 Hour Film Project
If it were not for Mehtul's participation in the 48 hour film project Crystal and I would have never heard of it. Saturday we went down to Carry St with the intention of seeing Mike's film were pleasantly surprised by everything else that was shown too. It is incredible how much work got done on some of the films with in the allotted time frame. Upon leaving Crystal and I went to Ginger for lunch and my head was spinning with ideas for 48 hour films. Maybe next year I can leech on to Mike, Chuck and Phillip's production or even do my own?Hellboy Library Ed Vol 1
I am four years behind on my plan to start reading Hellboy, but after seeing the second film this summer I decided to act. Thankfully the library editions from Dark Horse make it easy to get caught up. Volume one collects the first and second Hellboy arcs from 1994 and 1995. The art and writing in this book make me appreciate the films on another level. Mignola crafts a world that is dark and chaotic, with heavy use of shadows in his art and writing that seems to come from ancient text. Volume two comes out this fall and you can bet your ass it will be sitting on my bookshelf soon after.
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