Yes, Sasquatch is my myspace friend. Now I recognize that it is not the REAL sasquatch. I know that it is some peruvian man who's turned his disfigurement into cash, via sponsorship from a beef jerky company.
But I have to appreciate the focus to stay in character even when giving Amazon reviews.
HELP: Need alignment check for "No Country for old men"
Current mood: inquisitive
Hello fellow geeks,
If you don't know what an alignment check is, stop reading now.
I was explaining to Carrie alignment in D&D and saying that the guy from "No Country for Old Men" was lawful evil, because he follows a code, but is obviously evil.
Carrie then said it didn't make sense because by that definition, anyone could be lawful as long as they followed a code and her argument made sense.
So Carrie and I have been having difficulty finding a movie to see that suits both our interests. I found this trailer on YouTube. Has anyone seen this movie? I thought it might be good for us to see together since I like history.
So I was recently sent out to London to pimp our newest game "Heist". It's a super awesome bank robbery game set in the 60's. But that wasn't what was important. What was important was that I drank Guinness. So here is a series of pictures of me drinking a Guinness each day.
You always remember your first. This was at a bar near Seven Dials.
This one was at Belgo after seeing Spamalot in the West End.
Out in Camden.
Night Cap at the Radisson Grafton
Meeting with Press at a hotel in Heathrow.
My Guinnes with dessert at the Grove Hotel.
Oh sure. I worked. And yes I took in some culture. But priorities are priorities. And Guinness is Guinness.
Please use the below comments card to reply so we can keep track of who may be coming or those who just want to wish me a good St. Patrick's Day, my second holy day of the year (Super Bowl Sunday is the first).
Below is the bulletin I posted, in case you missed it:
St. Patrick's Day Irish Bar Crawl Hello people,
It's time for another religious holiday celebration: St. Patrick's Day!
This year, Carrie and I thought we would get out of our little comfort zone, and ring joy in the jungles of "Seal Beach". We will begin our pilgrimage and missionary work at Clancy's, on Main St. in Seal Beach, around 12:30 or so. Then we will make our way up to the "Irisher-by-the-Sea", careful to avoid any tossed bikers laying out front. Then we will fight our way through the crowds at O'Malley's.
By this time, it will probably be around 3'o'clock. A good time to go see Sid, AKA Rob B, AKA the Grinnin' Fiddler at the Irish Mist. So we will take TAXIS there.
Now after about an hour of enjoying the Mist and Rob B, I thought we would make our way back to my home town of Long Beach, to Buster's Beachhouse and enjoy the sweet sounds of the Whooligans.
At this point, it really depends on just out much missionarying we have done. Last year I think I successfully lasted 6 hours. This year, I'm planning on about 7. By 7pm the Whooligans will be leaving Buster's and moving back to the Irish Mist to close out the night. For those feeling adventurous (or unable to leave the seductive fiddle work of Rob B) they can hear the Whooligans at the Irish Mist.
Others are welcome to stumble about Second street.
I have no idea what my stamina will be as I am getting old. Carrie is easy to move when intoxicated, so she will go as long as someone carries her.
Now, people are welcome to meet up with us at any point. Carrie and I will be leaving our house via taxi around 12:30. Come on by around 12 and we will make sure you get a cab as well. More is always merrier!
If anyone is "on the wagon" this year and wants to volunteer designated driver services, please let me know.
Regardless, remember to be responsible. Take a cab. Don't be DUM.
If you have any questions, let me know!
Sean
Schedule:
12:00 Meet at Sean's 12:30 Begin bar crawl at Clancy's *Points of Interest* Clancy's Irisher-By-The-Sea O'Malley's
3:00 Stop By the Mist for Rob B fiddlin' 4:30-7:00 Buster's Beach House for the Whooligans
7:00 Hardcore Only 9:00 Whooligans at the Irish Mist
As a child I played alot of baseball. I loved baseball. I'm still a fan. But as I sit here watching the world series, the game just doesn't hold the interest it used to. I don't want to tread over some of the excellent analysis by George Carlin (check it out here!) so here is some quick analysis and my ways to make baseball better.
From a game design point of view, baseball is horribly flawed. Games are about creating struggle and conflict. The goal is to score. The other team wants to stop you from scoring and score themselves. In most professional sports there is a constant struggle for posession and the ability to to score. In baseball, each pitch, the only two guys out of 18 playing stare at each other, spit, rub their hands, look at their team mates, do everything they can to avoid getting to that conflict. And every other player and the observer just patiently wait for something, anything to happen!
When the pitcher gets around to throwing the ball there are a very limited amount of options. The one option we are waiting for is a hit! The other options are that the pitcher throws the ball and the batter misses or doesn't even bother to try and that's called a strike. Or the pitcher throws so the batter can't hit it, the batter doesn't try and that's called a ball. So to summarize, either the batter fails to create conflict or the pitcher fails to create conflict. There is even a fourth option, which is that the batter does hit it (Finally!) but not close enough to any of the other players also known as the field. Now what really sucks about this is, even though the batter failed to create the action conflict we all want to see, he nor the pitcher are penalized. This medicority is not only unpunished, it can go on forever, literally! A good game would force some action, at some point! Nope, not baseball.
So each player gets several chances to succeed, with the balls and the strikes. If the batter fails, what happens? He gets to sit down. Yep, he sits on the bench, chats with his friends. Relaxes. Even red rover has harsher penalties. If the pitcher fails, the batter gets to "walk". I'm not making this up. That's what it's called. As the name implies he gets to stroll down to a base and just hang out. What happens to the pitcher? Nothing. He gets another batter. And they all get to stand and stare and spit all over again.
Now I could go on and on, but I won't. Why bore you with why baseball is a poorly designed game? I want to point out one other thing is really dumb. The only way to score is to make it all the way around the bases and "reach home". Now the most exciting thing in baseball is the home run. This is when one player hits the ball out of the park. This is the best thing a batter can do and what happens when he does this? He jogs around the bases. This isn't exciting! This isn't fun! I see guys jog at the gym! People don't jump up and scream for him.
So with that here is my list of how to make baseball better for the 21st Century kids that expect more conflict and action.
1. Put a timer on the pitcher. It takes a 85mph pitch 0.48 seconds to reach home plate. So the catcher catches the ball, he has 15 seconds to get it to the pitcher and for the pitcher to throw it back. Boy would that speed up the game. If he doesn't get it there in 15 seconds, the player gets to "RUN" to first base for free.
2. Pitcher can pitch whether a batter is there or not. If the pitcher has the ball, he has 15 seconds to get it in to the catcher. If a batter strikes out, the next guy better be sprinting up there and get in the box.
3. No more foul balls. Fouls are strikes. Hey batters, get used to it. Either hit it in play or don't swing. Another ball will be by in about 15 seconds.
4. Home runs are automatic scores. Don't waste time running around the bases. Just get another batter up at the plate and keep the action going.
That's a start. Speed up the game. Push the conflict.
Since the late 90's I've been a fan of Christina Aguilera. While others were idolizing Brit-Brit (who is now officially a loser) and N*SYNC (WHAT?!? ONE OF THEM IS A GAY ASTRONAUT!?!) I saw through those facades and recognized the immense talent of Ms. Aguilera. The fantasy has changed over the years as Christina as reinvented herself. Currently the fantasy goes something like this:
I'm sitting in a smoky night club. My seat is dead center of a thrust stage with incandescent footlights lighting up a low brass railing. My table holds a single martini, a napkin, and four toothpicks which formerly held vodka and vermuth soaked olives. A sultry deep male voice belows, "Hailing from Staten Island, we are pleased to present ... Miss Christina Aguilera..."
From the velvet curtain she slinks. The opening horns from her latest hit single, "Ain't no other man" warm my ears
Recently released on DVD is a little movie called Brick. And I highly recommend it. Brick stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Third Rock from the Sun) with notable performances by Emilie de Ravin (Lost) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft. Yes, the dude that played Shaft mother f-!)
Okay, this movie isn't about star power. It's about an idea flawlessly executed. Brick is a hard-boiled detective tale set in the seedy and stratified world of high school. Yes, high school. I'm sure you are waiting for the punchline. But as the tale unravels itself, setting this movie is brilliant because it's so obviously the right choice. Think about it. A murder mystery, where you can't trust anyone, everyone is looking for an angle to one-up the others, where being cool under pressure is what ultimately gets the girl, where every action seems like life or death: That's high school.
It would be easy to just do a satire of the hard-boiled detective set in high school. But that is not this film. It actually takes the idea and embraces it fully. This is completely supported by the excellent writing. The archtypes are all there: the vulnerable damsel in distress, the anti-hero detective, the nerdy informant, the overly agitated muscle, etc. The dialogue is flawless. The language itself takes on its own slang, reminiscent of the 40's films, but updated for our time.
Cinematography and music do a nice job of establishing the mood. There are several humorous touches that are firmly place tongue in cheek. Overall, I loved everything about this movie. Normally I like to give people an idea of what to expect from a film, by comparing it to others around it. This movie is hard to place, as most good independent films are. It is nothing like the following movies, but for some reason I hold it it the same light: Reservoir Dogs, Donnie Darko, and Blue Velvet. I think its mostly because all of these movies have excellent dialogue and are slower but with excellent pacing. I couldn't recommend this movie more.
Sean
P.S. I found out about this movie from a friend because it is directed by an old friend from High School. I say that just because I'd hate for anyone to find out later and think I inflated my esteem for this film based on that. If you need an independent source, check out reviews at rottentomatoes.com
Pirates of the Carribean 2 Review
Current mood: blah
I'll keep this simple.
That is the AWESOMEST 2.5 hour trailer I have ever seen! I'm definitely going to see Pirates of the Carribean Three.
I'm serious too. It's just a 2.5 hour trailer setting you up for the third movie. It's not bad. In fact if it does act as a trailer, it is probably better than Pirates 3.
pirate
inquisitive
contemplative
annoyed
indifferent
blah