18 May 12 Diablo 3 – Initial review, D3 vs WoW, and the Arcane Thresher
So it’s been about 4 days since Diablo 3 has come out. While a lot of the press coverage has been given to the terrible midnight launch event, or the speed with which Method EU are conquering Inferno-level difficulty, I myself am simply having a ton of fun at my own pace. This might be one of the more obvious marks that I am now in my late twenties (I turn 27 in about two weeks), but I think it has more to do with the maturation of Blizzard’s social gaming strategy, and the usual application of their genius at gaming, than anything else.
The real WoW killer
A friend asked me today if WoW was better than D3. Of course the answer is subjective, but I think there are definite hallmarks of improvement in D3 that WoW will likely never have. In D3, you can instantly and seamlessly join with friends in a game, regardless of level. Granted, a level 1 character will get slaughtered when he joins with a level 11, but it’s still a fun challenge, and you can level your characters very quickly. When it’s within 5-6 levels, it’s positively insane how quickly you level and how you can get caught up with your peers. The sheer fun that I’ve had connecting with friends, co-workers and even public players has been great. This is something that I haven’t experienced in WoW for a long time, and Battle.net facilitates this in D3 very very well.
And arguably, this is something that WoW tried to do with the Looking for Group and then Looking for Raid concepts. But if anything, it seemed to ostracize the old guard in WoW, who thought that this destroyed the community on servers that they had become used to. Combined with changes to raids and lockouts, it contributed to an overall anti-social atmosphere of WoW; an atmosphere geared towards the autistic players who aren’t interested in connecting with other players. Get in, get your gear, get out.
I know I’m using the term ‘autistic’ incorrectly and pejoratively here. Previously before LFG/LFR, you had to shout for about a hour (or longer
) in Trade to get a competent group together to do anything. There were exceptions–the Wintergrasp and Tol Barad raids are small and simple enough that players could get in and get out, even approaching the reset timer. But the old guard of WoW bemoan today’s lack of server community, and how these tools have essentially annihilated what used to be thriving, competitive groups that bumped and jostled and collaborated and sabotaged one another. Now it’s mitigated my machine process, complete with timers! Sure, there likely were success stories of people who meet their new guilds or buddies or see someone with a clear Reddit meme reference in their name, but I would suspect that’s not the normal bell curve experience for WoW players.
D3 doesn’t fix this, per se, it just caters to the community you already have. Bring in the WoW friends that have done the one-year contract (or those friends who bought the Collector’s Edition anyway, then proceed to mock you because you didn’t have a copy (DAVID!)), or the friends you play SC2 with, or even try to make new friends through the public game system. A great feature is the ‘recent friends’ list, who show people you’ve connected with. I tend to remember good players clearly in my head, and this lets you quickly and easily connect with them again. So you can, if you so choose to, grow your community and connect with others.
Blizzard has essentially evolved their gaming. The “Web 2.0″-esque social networks don’t work unless they create, or leverage, or improve existing social connections. There needs to be more interaction than simply joining a group to create an actual social connection–otherwise it feels closer to a social contract. “If you tank this for me, well then I will DPS this for you. But no further–and no handshakes, if I see a purple I will Need and then jet!” By putting their one-game social system–Battle.net–as one of the centerpieces of the D3 experience and not as just an add-on functionality, it makes the game 10x as fun, and only vaguely recognizable to its predecessors. (Which begs the question: What will WoW 2.0 look like? What will Warcraft 4 look like? Starcraft 3? Consider how much gaming from the early 1990′s has changed in 20 years, and then move that forward another 20 years.)
We’ll see how I feel in a matter of weeks, months, and then maybe years. WoW and D3 are both grind-heavy, and I’m never one for the long, drawn-out grind. But I also feel that other things you need to succeed in the WoW grind–time, good guild or social connections, gold, and addons–are not necessarily as heavy a burden in D3. Just a sense at this point, because it is simply so easy to join other games that are either in progress, or simply start up and level a new character.
This final point is also entirely more subjective, but I was actually anxious staying up, waiting to play D3, wondering if I would get into a group with my friends. I felt uncomfortable that I hadn’t done any planning to get prepared or ready for this, almost like I would if it was raid night in WoW. But ultimately, the experience was more relaxed and more fun–join a group if you can, spend time with these friends if you can, switch over to this other group if you can. I think my strategy is going to be to have at least one character at every level–10, 20, 30, etc–so that I can join any friend at any level of the game, at any time. You can’t do that in WoW, or in SC2; WoW has severe limitations on connecting with others who are higher level, and in SC2, a diamond player simply doesn’t play against a bronze one. He eats him.
I’m playing both a Barbarian and a Wizard right now, but it’s amazing to note that I enjoy all the classes–except for the Witch Doctor. He throws spiders that I simply cannot differentiate between other, bad spiders and baddies on the screen. It’s a minor point, but it bugs me. The Wizard build I am doing right now (early to mid-20th-level) is what I call the “Arcane Thresher”. You can see that build here. Very excited to play with Taften this weekend and play a monk and a death dealer demon hunter.
Tags: Diablo, world of warcraft
02 May 12 Movie Review: Chronicle
This review was started a few months ago, right after Taften and I went to Chicago. Our Sunday had a few hours until our flight out, so we went and watched Chronicle. Enjoy.
It's American Pie meets Heroes, minus the comedy of American Pie and the entertainment value of Heroes.
Ready for a bile-excreting, abnormal excrescence-laden disgusting movie review? Well, you’ve come to the wrong place, because, surprise surprise, I actually kinda liked Chronicle. It had some major areas of improvement (which I will dutifully enumerate for you), but in general I found that I was watching it with interest and truly enjoying it.
The story goes that, at a party in the middle of nowhere, three male teens come upon a hole in the ground that leads to a blue, glowing crystal that gives them all nosebleeds. After the camera cuts to black, we begin to see the effect of this little fantastical visit: increasingly powerful and precise telekinetic powers, flying, and the ability to create defensive ‘force fields’. The three boys–each of whom comes from a different high school ‘faction’–all begin to bond over their newfound powers, and begin to enjoy each others’ company, despite their growing superhero capabilities.
Enough of this silliness, what was wrong with it?
1. Andrew, the antagonist of the movie, is shown as being an incredibly resilient young man: his mother is dying of cancer, he is abused by his alcoholic (and out-of-work) father, has severe communication problems, is bullied at school, and vomits on his one-night stand at a party. I think the director went to great lengths to show that Andrew was not a villain that was born this way, he was made this way from his environment
But frankly, I don’t buy it. That’s a lot for a single individual to go through, and it almost seemed like too much–I feel like even just a single factor like this could have set him off, and if they had focused on that one thing, it would have hit home a bit more cleanly, rather than showing the 30 different factors that made him the villain. It was too complicated, and not heartfelt enough. It takes a surprisingly small amount of real stress and tension to throw young people into the air, and I think if they had focused or showcased one particular effect (especially bullying, which is good contemporary issue) it would’ve had better dramatic effect.
What's your superpower? Angst?
2. The movie has this weird, erm, rule I suppose, where we only witness the events of the movie live through various recording devices. Camcorders, security cameras, iPods and iPads and iPhones, android phones and whatnot. At first it started out as clever, but the shot of the main characters turning on a camera and then levitating it above themselves, as well as the endless product placement, got to be too much. Eventually it become kind of hilarious, especially when Andrew uses his powers to pull a crowd’s recording devices into a floating ring around him, and we see the action from each of the devices. If they had done it at certain points, it would’ve been more poignant, rather than feeling forced.
3. I like to think that young people these days have different concerns than what was portrayed in the movie. The high school football jock, the generic social studies everyman, and the loner filmographer are all over-used stereotypes from high school-themed movies. The characters start out as semi-real, develop a little bit, then eventually you lose connection with them once they start all fighting and bickering. It becomes way too simplistic.
4. At about the point where I lost connection with the characters is when they began repeating and shouting each other’s names. This reminded me deeply of Star Trek, where Nero yells Spocks name twice. Somehow, I think it was intended to come across as dramatic and that their name is an expression of the character’s essence, but it really is just bothersome. Yes, I get his name is Andrew, and his name should evoke both pity, revulsion, and fear because he’s this carefully crafted teenage villain, but will you please STOP yelling his name?
Ultimately, while I was pleased with the movie, there were some nits. I’d give it a C.
25 Apr 12 Way behind…
Have I really not blogged since January? I feel as though I owe people an update as to why I haven’t written anything. Here it goes, in pictures.
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- My face, upon realizing I haven’t blogged since January.
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- A quick trip to Chicago with Taften (delicious Giordano’s pizza pictured).
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- Getting a new vehicle, my 2012 Honda Fit named D’Artagnan.
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- Goofing off at work with co-workers.
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- Hanging out with my sister, Catie, the wanna-be Pink Power Ranger.
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- Loving new experiences–my first Mai Tai in Florida!
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- Spending as much time as I can with my boyfriend, Taften.
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- A visit to Florida to visit Tina and Tim Schmidt, and their adorable kids.
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- Cooking dinner for Taften. I’ve made him dinner for nearly 3 months straight.
Lots of content forthcoming. I’ve got some (admittedly, older) movie reviews forthcoming. Some of them will be…spiteful.
- The Twilight Series
- Melancholia
- Immortals
- Chronicle
- The Hunger Games
27 Jan 12 Spiegel im Spiegel
Looking at the images of a bygone world, and a forgotten populace, the slow music and its echoed notes really hit me deeply. Nice music to enjoy underneath a blanket tonight.
19 Jan 12 Two Jasperjohns – It, Part 3. Also, “cottlegrobbling”.
Even without the 13-hour day at work today, this would be hilarious. Jim Noonan is quickly becoming my internet bear crush (he’s a redhead, like my boyfriend), and his little “sexy walk speech” in the middle of this video is very endearing. But easily, the funniest part of this video are the crass ladies at the end!
I’d recommend seeing the entire ‘Two Jasperjohns’ series if you’re not getting it–every episode is a treasure. A snarky, hairy, homosexual treasure. See them here:Two Jasperjohns
09 Jan 12 Movie Review: Limitless
Your boredom will be limitless.
Typically, Taften and I will sit and kill time by playing video games, and in between us we’ll have a monitor playing some movie on Netflix. Usually, this is done with the unwritten rule that we take turns and that I’ll pick a movie, then he’ll pick a movie. I’ll find something from PBS or National Geographic, and he’ll say something like:
It’s attractive that you’re so intellectual but this is not cool at all, sorry.
And then there will be times where Taften will turn on something and I will complain in a much less verbose, more whiny version about how terrible of a movie it is, how it doesn’t tell us anything, how it’s only vaguely entertaining. Sometimes, in my best form, I’ll be able to MST3K it and get some good jabs in at the film–which, to his credit, Taften usually laughs at.
Limitless is one of those movies where it’s certainly entertaining–where is the story going next? it follows a basic thriller method–but what’s the message of the story? I see some elements of the “ship of Theseus” debate, put forth as a vaguely existential drama. But the movie focuses more on the material gains of being motivated and how your progress can be almost, well, limitless if you simply put your mind to it. Why, anything (even complex mathematics and stock exchanges) are just a few scene changes away from your present studio apartment over a Chinese express diner! The movie producers who skimmed off the multi-million dollar budget of this movie aren’t even laughing, this is just too formulaic.
The movie starts in media res. As Bradley Cooper is standing at the top of this building, about to commit suicide and giving his voiceover, I can’t help but think in my head:
Cooper: How did I get here?
Billo: I bet you’re about to tell me!
Starting a movie out with the main character about to commit suicide doesn’t really give me any interesting reason to watch the next 2 hours–he might as well have jumped, for all I cared.
With a face like this, you know he's going to only write self-help novels.
Cooper goes through the motions of encountering the wonder drug NZT, cleaning his apartment, doing some writing, and generally upsetting his overall bland existence. I think that the movie could have maybe expanded on how much happier he was with simply having washed hair and a clean apartment–why go through the remaining 2 hours of motions of how much more he can achieve? It’d at least be realistic, and the domestic drama of him trying to unravel the life he annihilated would have been more interesting to me had he not had the, well, limitless resources that this wonder drug gave him. As it was it became the story of the nouveau riche attempting to disassociate himself from his old life–Russian money, lack of self control, drinking and drug habits–while not getting noticed by the other blue bloods.
Eventually, the movie jumped the shark when Cooper’s girlfriend takes the drug and essentially becomes Superwoman. Climbing over wooden rails, dropping ten feet and not losing her momentum, then using a child’s skates as a vicious weapon to cut the cheek of her pursuer. Afterwards, in a fit of pique, she claims she will never take the drug again and that he should stop taking it as well–reasonable advice that we expect that all of us plebes would give Cooper at that time. But I doubt that’s the case. Cooper’s self-loathing hasn’t gotten to the point of needing therapy (that’s debatable, but he at least seemed somewhat functional prior to taking the drug), but he is the everyman here. Wouldn’t it be great to become Superman, to rise above every challenge life throws at us? Wouldn’t it be awesome to be, well, limitless?
The correct answer here is No. Limits define us, limits are meant to be edged and pushed, not removed entirely. With drugs like NZT (or a cape, or a wand, or a radioactive spider bite) we remove that one last shred of humanity that defines us. The only thing that he needs to be able to uncover the Theory of Everything is to simply take more of the drug, to become less and less human and therefore less and less interesting. It was only a matter of time until Cooper thought his way out of every problem, even the mere problems of addiction to the drug and the negative side effects. Why, he hasn’t become merely a superhero, he’s become god. And stories about gods are best kept to mythologies and pulpits, thank you.
The movie might as well be called “The Apotheosis of Bradley Cooper”. The adversity that Cooper faces here (lapping at NZT-infused blood, threats to his life from Russians, the always-intimidating Robert De Niro) are at best a mini-golf course. It’s more disgraceful than actual problems, more things that white blue-bloods would be terrified of experiencing, or better yet, having it socially known that they are experiencing. What about real adversity? What is Bradley Cooper was black, or transgendered, or was blind or deaf, or maybe foreign? What if he was female and hit the glass ceiling with de Niro? I don’t think there’s any drug, legitimate or otherwise, that could help him there. The real message of this movie is “If you get the money (through whatever means, even a dangerous brain-modifying drug) then you’ll get the power. Money makes you, well, limitless.
The Onion AV club put forth a review of Limitless as essentially being a 2-hour commercial for Adderol. I can’t help but agree, and I would add that Adderol would have been needed on my part to maintain my lagging interest in the movie.
Grade: C-
Tags: bradley cooper, cooper, de niro, limitless, movie, movie review, robert de niro
27 Dec 11 Big Dipper – April Showers
Sorry for the extended absence. Lots of things have been happening–promotion at work, our company being acquired, and the holidays. A big post on the New Year’s cards for this year is forthcoming. In the meantime, enjoy this ridiculousness from Chicago-based cub rapper Big Dipper. Hilarious, sexy, and clearly talented.
21 Nov 11 My Thanksgiving Menu
Foolishly, I offered to host Thanksgiving this year, and then remembered that I only have cursory cooking skills (not anywhere on par with my old roommate, Cody). But the family breathed a sigh of relief, and it’s at least easy to get to my house (as compared to my parents’ place).
Here’s the menu:
Turkey, purchased at Trader Joe’s, and pre-brined. I will probably brine it again
Bread-and-celery stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Gravy, made from the turkey drippings and scraps
Yam Casserole with pecans
Green Bean Casserole (the classic on the side of the fried onion cans)
Bread (cheating here, and buying it from Cub)
Pork tenderloin (they cut into nice, tasty medallions)
Pumpkin & mincemeat pie (made by Mom)
We’ll see how this goes. I’m cooking for 10 individuals, and this is going to be an adventure. Photos forthcoming!
Tags: recipes, thanksgiving, turkey
27 Oct 11 Morgog: The story so far…
Morgog Undefeated, the theme from last year. Looted steel armor, bloody wounds and pitch-black eyes.
For the past 4 years, on Halloween, I have gone about as Morgog the Lich. “What’s that?” you say? Permit me to explain.
Halloween is a celebration of mystery, of death, of fear and darkness. It’s also one of my favorite holidays (could you tell), second only to New Year’s. Rather than dress as something sexy or funny or ridiculous, I’ve decided to dress as the one thing I fear the most–death.
Morgog, master of hidden knowledge. Arcane scrolls, potion bottles, and a freshly-rotted look.
A lich is a wizard or sorcerer who has removed their soul from their body for the purposes of becoming immortal. A good example of this in recent literature would be Voldemort from Harry Potter, though in truth there have been stories about mystics and mages who have removed their soul for as nearly long as there has been literature.
Typically, the act of removing one’s soul entails some horrific act (murdering children, betraying your family, etc) and then the creation of a phylactery, or container for the soul. Typically well-guarded and hidden, the phylactery becomes the source of the lich’s power, but also its one and only weakness. Brave adventurers who discover and then destroy the phylactery destroy the lich as well. More on Morgog’s phylactery here shortly.
Morgog is inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s Morgoth, the chief antagonist of his Middle-Earth eschatology. To quote The Silmarillion:
Last of all is set the name of Melkor, He who arises in Might. But that name he has forfeited; and the Noldor, who among the Elves suffered most from his malice, will not utter it, and they name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World. From splendour he fell through arrogance to contempt for all things save himself, a spirit wasteful and pitiless. Understanding he turned to subtlety in perverting to his own will all that he would use, until he became a liar without shame. He began with the desire of Light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended through fire and wrath into a great burning, down into Darkness. And darkness he used most in his evil works upon Arda, and filled it with fear for all living things.
Lord of War. Curving black claws, a leather harness, and enfolded robes were the hallmarks here.
In The Silmarillion, Morgoth is analogous to the Christian Lucifer. He was originally gifted with all the knowledge, understanding, and beauty that all of his peers were. But through overweening pride, arrogance and misunderstanding he fell to be the lowest of things, cruel and neglectful of his responsibility. He became enamored or darkness, hatred, betrayal, and fire. But Morgoth himself is, essentially, by his own nature redeemed:
He spoke to Melkor saying that although he is mightiest amongst the Ainur, he could not create or play a theme, which does not first come from Eru, nor can the Music be altered.
In a sense, Morgoth’s own nature is his transgression. And his nature, bestowed by god (here named Eru), has its own source in that from which all good comes as well. It all boils down to that “you can’t have light without darkness”, that very black-and-white system that Tolkien loved. But in saying that even god has a plan for evil, and that evil only brings greater glory to god, Tolkien transcends the simple binary system most see him as promulgating.
Back to Morgog. For 4 years now, I’ve been an evil undead wizard with a hidden phylactery. Every year I have a new theme for Morgog, and every year, I present a clue to where the phylactery is hidden. The first year’s clue was the existence of the phylactery itself (not making this easy). The second year, the clue was that this could be found everywhere, and nowhere. And finally, last year’s clue was that “The Indians invented this first.” Without further ado, this year’s clue is:
It once was before all, but then was made noble.
Best of luck, crafty adventurers. Incidentally, this year’s theme for Morgog is torture–expect barbed wire, electrical tape, seeping wounds and chains!
14 Oct 11 The Snobby Blogger: These are the best blogs ever.
I think everyone knows that I am an avid reader, but I think I’m going to start doing consistent updates in regards to the blogs I have been following for, well, the better part of a year. Each of these blogs stands out for their excellent, broad content and wonderful authors. I present to you, the top 10 blogs I follow on any given day.
MMO Champion
Technically not a blog, this is more of a community site, but something that I check every day. Focused on World of Warcraft, they compile community news, datamine the latest Public Test Realm (the WoW test server), and serve up class, trade, and game secrets. Run by near-Blizzard employee Bouboiuille (interviewed by WoW Insider in 2009), the site is one of my favorites for the sneak previews it gives in upcoming Warcraft content and Blizzard games (all of which I am a big fan).
The Big Picture
Who doesn’t read Big Picture? ….really, who doesn’t?
Pharyngula
One of my all-time favorites, Pharyngula is written by PZ Myers, a professor at my alma mater (UMM). Often incendiary, often ridiculous, but always reasonable and logical, Myers is well-known in the atheist circles as a good friend of Richard Dawkins and often at the forefront of the ‘radical atheist agenda’. His writing style is both clear-cut and wonderfully funny. Plus, he doesn’t forget his roots in biology–every Friday he posts a cephalopod picture, always reminding you that while there is a lot of silliness in the world, there is always something awe-inspiring (…by squid).
(Incidentally, PZ Myers is apparently famous enough to warrant his own enchantingly nasty article on Conservapedia! That only makes him more of a hero in my book.)
Guffaw
Ran by two friends of mine and their brigade of hipster-esque funny-men and women, Guffaw lists both funny blog entries, comedy events, and just general zany fun. Guffaw covered the Minnesota Beard-Off this past year, which I had the fortune of winning in the Freestyle Category.
The Skeptical Juror
Sister Catie got me hooked on reading the CNN Justice section, but their excellent coverage of the Casey Anthony case quickly degenerated into essentially celebrity news. And now, I don’t want to read about celebrity hackers or missing white girls or Amanda Knox. They focus on the biggest cases without actually delving into any of the details–evidence, courtroom experiences, outcomes and details.
Skeptical Juror solves all of this. He dives deeply–very deeply–into case details and essentially acts as a how he expects a juror would on that case. He’s clearly an expert on legal matters, and some of his analysis has even been published into books. I love his work and his focus on the real element of the legal process–justice.
This Is My Next
Focused on technology and tech buzz, the latest gadgets and widgets, and interesting news and articles. This has been billed as their temporary home, but I am hoping that this site either becomes permanent or is strongly integrated into the author’s next project.
Catalog Living
As someone who did not grow up with the tomfoolery of Better Homes & Gardens and Good Housekeeping strewn about the house (our coffee table had Tolkien, Salinger, Lewis, Brontë, etc…), I find these pictures hilarious. Especially as someone whose house is essentially the opposite of a catalog and who relies more on “This rearrangement will look fun!”.
Three Pound Brain
I revere R. Scott Bakker as an author, and for his incredibly complex and beautiful trilogy of trilogies (The Prince of Nothing, The Aspect-Emperor, and The Trilogy That Shall Not Be Named). They have, in very short order, become a favorite of mine for their level of detail, treatment of philosophy, epistemology and religion, and for their kickass sorcerers and wizards, who sing to cast their incredibly powerful spells.
Bakker also has a very wry sense of humor, as evidenced by my favorite post of his this year: Questions to Fuck Up Your English Professor.
We Got Served
Being a lover of food and vaguely incapable of cooking good food for one person, We Got Served is typically where I go when I want to learn about something new to experience, food-wise, in the Twin Cities. And they cover everything–cost, drinks to eat with the meal, appetizers, and everything from fancy to street vendors. It’s a bad, bad idea to look at this blog when you are hungry and/or between grocery cycles (when you only have rations like EasyMac or leftovers in your fridge).
Some of my favorite recent articles have also introduced me to new dishes and experiences at places I know and love, like 128 Cafe or Bad Waitress or Black Forest Inn. I thought I had tried essentially everything on the Bad Waitress menu, but a chorizo sausage, bacon, and cheddar cheese burrito never made its way to my table…yuummmmm!
Mac Wilson at the Current
Call me biased, but Mac and I went to college together at UMM, and now I find myself listening to his show every weekend and following his music recommendations online. I used to be fairly active and continually publish my iPod playlist every month, but since having transitioned to Google Music and long having lost my good connection to tons of music at Best Buy, I’ve fallen off the path. So now I follow Mac and his excellent recommendations! His latest articles cover a bunch of my new favorites–Hot Chip, Girls, and Middle Class Rut.
Recruiting Geek’s Blog
It’s always good to keep up-to-date on your company’s leadership, especially when they write and make it public online. Doug Berg (and I think other elements at Jobs2Web) handle this excellent online blog focused on the geeky aspects of recruiting–namely, data, analytics, metrics and measurement. More often than not I listen to these competitors and analysts who talk about recruiting online but never bring up the numbers–namely, the data! I like how our company focuses on the unambiguous, scientific, measurable results that good online recruiting can bring.
As I’ve
Tags: big picture, blogs, catalog living, jobs2web, pharyngula, skeptical juror, the Current, world of warcraft
