Obama Slaps The Frankenfish Who Ate Batman While Talking About Scott Pilgrim, ETC.

Time for another blog? Oh yes, it is time for another blog. Let’s see if I can skip the blathering and cut to the chase on this one.

He's Upgraded His Shark Repellant

Starting off with cool news, apparently, the U.S. Airforce wants their soldiers to be like Batman. Seriously. They’re even looking into various gadgets and so forth. Personally I think it’s a great idea. Even if nobody can be as invulnerable as Bruce Wayne (and even he’s died now, come to think of it,) if these men are trained in the use of a variety of gadgetry, it would certainly increase their versatility, and most likely their effectiveness while making it less likely that they should die in the field. There’s no telling how effective it will be, but it’s worth a shot.

In the field of science (SCIENCE!) there have been a number of advances in lab altered organisms. Genetically Enhanced produce has been around for some time, but GE meats, like the so-called “Frankenfish,” have primarily been avoided until now. But the scientists behind the GE fish are trying really hard to get their fish approved by the FDA. While I think that they should be careful, mindful and thoroughly regulated, I also think that they will be/should be allowed (pending no serious medical side effects of consuming the fish are found.) Maybe I’m a bit too blind and trusting of the march of science, or maybe I’m just not susceptible to paranoia. Either way, that’s my opinion on the matter. The greater the food output we produce, the more likely it is that one day we’ll be able to provide food for the starving places of the world entirely. I know it is hardly as simple as that, but those are my long term goals for supporting such advances.

Food for all, baby!

Moving on, the political scene is, as it has been for some time, dicey. Especially for Obama and the Democrats. Do I believe the crazy Tea Partiers will eventually disappear or be subsumed back into the Elephant? Yeah. Or they’ll split the conservative base sufficiently to render both harmless. But for the short term, they are a threat to the well being of America. Harsh words, but deserving in the face of their hatred, bigotry and racism. I find it likely that many of them will take their places in political power at the expense of both parties, but especially the democrats.

'Armed,' eh? Nothing Like The Democracy Of The Gun, Amiright?

It doesn’t help that the economy is as slow on the recovery as would seem to be possible. Obama recently spoke about the troubling state of the economy, and while I agree with his general assessment, there is no way he’s going to win over anybody with his words. He’s dealing with a nation facing harsh realities and worries, and all he can say, no matter how true it may be, is that “it could have been worse.” That is not the kind of message that will win you votes. Unless the jobless rate begins to drop, and until the effects of a resurgent economy are felt outside of wall street, nothing is going to change the fact that Democrats are losing heading into November.

(From The Tea Party Instruction Manual, pg.4)

Of course, nothing short of miracle working will convince some people that this is the right course for the nation. It was quite shocking the other night to hear my sister and mom arguing about politics. Kimberly is Republican in most ways, I’m fairly sure, but she is also thoroughly fed up with the acid and thickheadedness, and rudely disrespectful nature that people treat the President, Muslims and others with. My mother came down strongly on the side of the down-with-Obama train. What surprised me the most wasn’t that my Mom was saying such things (though that surprised me too,) but rather how she didn’t see how her words were hateful, fearful and disrespectful to our President. I’m not sure Americans know the difference anymore between a disagreement and a war. They’re one and the same to people nowadays. And isn’t it odd that I would pine for an “old days when people respected the president?” It never existed, of course. History has taught us that. But I find it odd to be the one reminiscing about supposed golden ages.

Knowing me as you all do, I’m sure you are wondering if I ever jumped in the conversation myself.

Of course I did. It just took me a while. I was going to let it all slide past me, but then my mother said one of my most hated political misnomers. She likened Obama to Hitler.

Will the Stupidity Never End?

Now I’m the first to admit that I throw the word Nazi around a lot when talking about what I dislike, but it is pretty much all in jest. My mother was strictly serious. I had to say something. So I did. I don’t remember my exact words, but I’m pretty sure that “ridiculous” was used. I told her that the day Obama rounds up an ethnicity and begins systematically slaughtering them, then she’d have a case. Heck, Republican isolationist and anti-world-nations policies have more in common with Hitler than this, and even they are miles apart.

And Even Then, The President Deserves More Respect

She countered by saying that it might be on a smaller scale, but that he was still deciding who lives and dies. I asked what makes her think such a thing. You know what I got? I’m sure you do… Death Panels.

Never mind that the whole Death Panel thing was comically misinterpreted by Palin, the very idea that this wouldn’t cause an uproar (should it be true,) even amongst Democrats, is ridiculous. Why wasn’t the whole nation up in arms over this? Because it wasn’t true. If it was, then I guarantee you that Democrats would have stood firmly against the law as well.

*SIGH* Moving on…

For those of you interested in how standing up for your rights can get you in trouble, read this fascinating article about a man detained by federal employees for not divulging personal information. It’s interesting to anyone who finds the real-world implementation and conflicts over our rights as guaranteed by our nation’s foundational documents to be as fascinating as I do. The article is quite cathartic, surprisingly patriotic (you know, if basic rights mean anything to you,) and an interesting look into the mindset of officials who too well know they have power and too little know that power’s limits.

But that’s enough about politico-wackyness today. Let’s move on to entertainment!

I’ve got a lot of stuff to talk about concerning games I’ve been playing recently.

He's Mad At Me For Not Playing In Months

First of all, my trek through Oblivion has come to a stand-still. Partially this is because I’m ridiculously intimidated by how open the world is, even with a guide, and partially because I’m simply not in the mood for that sort of game right now. Now that I’m back in the work/school grind, finding time to play games is hard.

Which is why I moved on to Metroid: Other M. That game is something of a paradox. On the one hand, it is kind of painful. The story segments aren’t weak, per se, but they are so overwritten, so Sunday-morning drama, that it can be hard to stand at times. Hardest of all is coming to grips with Samus’ characterization, but I’ll leave that discussion for another blog post.

Isn't That A Wrestling Move?

On the other hand the game is full of highly entertaining, freeing and explosive action. I love moving about the world, which is shocking considering that we’re talking about using a D-pad for 3-d world movement. Blasting things is great and the melee options are fast and worthwhile. I’ll see if I can squeeze a review in sometime after I finish it.

But that review might just have to wait, as Samus has been benched for the moment in favor of Halo: Reach. Once we had the game in-house, and once my girlfriend was done with it, I couldn’t keep myself away.

I'm looking forward to playing it some more.

It’s been too long since my last foray into the universe Bungie created. I fell in love with the original Halo several years ago while playing a pirated version on my laptop. I’m glad to say I’ve since replaced it with a new version. I’ve wanted to really immerse myself in Reach, and make it memorable for me, so for that reason in part (and for the fact that the Hard Mode says “the way Halo is meant to be played,” I’m playing through the game on the hard difficulty. Katie thinks I’m crazy, and there are times when I get so frustrated I agree with her, but every time I complete a tough objective it feels terrifically rewarding. So, Hard Mode it is. I’ve not played for too long as of yet, but I’m already loving my experience with it.

That doesn’t mean that other games aren’t calling to me right now, however. You see, there’s this bewitching little game called Minecraft (it’s still in the Alpha phase of development) which has put its insidious hooks in me rather thoroughly. Minecraft’s premise is simple: You find yourself in the countryside of an open world with nothing but your hands. Night will be falling soon, and with it come the monsters. Do what you will.

My Castle Will Be Much Cooler Than This When Done...

Now, you’re looking back up at the section on Oblivion and calling BS on my “being intimidated by open-worlds” stuff. The thing is, while it is true that there are endless things to do in Minecraft, the way you interact with the world is exceedingly simple. First, you run up to the nearest tree and start punching. You’ll eventually destroy it and get logs. Then you can craft the logs into wood, with which you can make rods, doors, walls, etc. You hit dirt to dig, you craft a pick and hit rocks to mine. Just be sure that you’re safe come nightfall, or the monsters get you. There is no juggling of endless side-quests. There’s only you, your tools, and survival. It’s the closest thing to being stranded on an island Robinson-Crusoe style as I’ve eve experienced.

Build a Cathedral? Sure!

I’ve already dug deep into the side of a mountain. I’ve got a mini-moat and a drawbridge (which is fancy-speak for a dirt bridge I build when I want to get out and take down when I hide away inside. I’ve got the beginnings of a grand hall, which will be my palace. Down a hallway is a massive mine-shaft I’ve been constructing for some time now, while a nearby room holds a carefully constructed stairwell that leads to a massive tower I build straight out of the mountainside into the sky.

This is Robinson Crueso meets Legos meets Dawn of the Dead (did I mention the monsters are Zombies?) Seeing as how all of those things tickle my nerdy bone, I’ve found a potent blend of addiction in Minecraft. Here’s hoping that the developer fixes a lot of the wonky bits when the project goes into Beta.

Now, I know that some of you have been awaiting my reviews of certain movies and books. Sorry, the time for full reviews on these has past; I simply didn’t have the time. Nevertheless, I’m going to give you some quick blurbs about them, just in case you were wondering.

Scott Pilgrim is one of the three best films this year.

Cera isn't so bad. Don't let your opinion of him keep you from this film!

Inception and Toy Story 3 are the only other contenders for the top spot. It’s too hard to choose a favorite of the three, they’re all so vastly different, but there is no question that they are all worth seeing. This blog over at Game Informer talks about how the movie is the best videogame related film ever made, and this review by Dan Wells is fantastic. As such, I don’t really feel that my perspective adds much to the conversation. Instead I’m, just pointing you their way, and giving a very emphatic two thumbs up to the film. Don’t let Michael Cera scare you away from this, even if you’re already tired of his persona. While I may not be able to place this film over Inception or Toy Story 3, this will probably be the first film of them I get on Blu-Ray, and it’s probably the first one I’ll re-watch. Read into that what you will. 🙂

Fun

I just recently saw Resident Evil: Afterlife with Katie, and while it’s nowhere near as good as many of the years films so far, there’s something fun about going to see a gratuitous action film just to see a gratuitous action film. If you’re down for crazy action scenes, Zombie violence and explosions, this movie is totally worth a matinee. I just wish they’d cut down on the endless slow-mo bits. Man, that’s getting old. The last film I saw with tolerable slow-mo was Watchmen, and that didn’t need as much as it had either.

The Percy Jackson series of books is a fun pre-teen adventure that is totally worth a read, and good material for a kid. But all those comparisons to Harry Potter? The ones that call it the next big thing? They’re severely exaggerated. Percy Jackson doesn’t have the interesting world, deep characters and plain and simple quality-writing of J.K. Rowling’s series. None of it is bad, and at times it nears greatness (especially in the last book where the writing quality shows clear signs of improvement) but it never really approaches that threshold that Harry Potter so skillfully leaped over. This would make a good pre-Harry Potter or pre-Chronicles of Narnia series, but little more. Good, not great. Worth a read in any case.

Now that we have the semi-reviews out of the way, on to the news!

Studio Ghibli closing? Oh no. Oh heck no! This is potentially terrible news. I think I might actually shed a tear if it were to happen.

One of the best animation studios in the world.

The idea of the best animation studio in Japan closing its doors is terrible. It’s not unlike the idea of Pixar going out of business. It’s too terrible to contemplate. I think I’m a little more disgusted with the world right now because of this.

Thankfully, the world won’t feel my wrath because it’s buying back my love through a few releases of special bits of Towers of Midnight, the latest in the Wheel of Time series. I’ve read the Prologue and Chapter eight, both release ahead of the whole book, and let me tell you, I love what I’m reading. Everything from the improved Mat Cauthon voice (much better than TGS) to the fantastic revelations and plot movements in such a short time, everything is pointing towards ToM being one of the best books in the series.

Of course, the imminent arrival of ToM is making the likelihood of me ever getting back to The Scourge of God dimmer and dimmer. I may just give up and give it back to Doctor Robinson already. *sigh*

And finally, on the Dungeons and Dragons front, I’m still planning further adventures for the intrepid heroes. Hopefully Steve will show up this time and I won’t have to leave him in his new form (I turned him into a sheep to explain his absence. That’s what you get for tampering with magical items, my friend.) I’m really hoping they go investigate a formerly abandoned keep, but there is always the chance they’ll try to deliver a package to the Mayor’s mansion for the Crime Lord. I’m not ready for that kind of adventure, and I’m trying to find a way to make sure they have a chance of beating the system and not come to blows with the Mayor’s men (and getting blocked from re-entering the town) and yet still feel like a challenge. I’m thinking about using modified house rules like these I found the other day , but I’m not sure how well they’ll work. I may just fall back on the idea that the Mayor is paranoid or something, and his house is riddled with traps instead of guards. We’ll see.

Sneaky Rogue is Sneaky

Okay, that’s it for this blog post. So much for abbreviation, eh? As a preview, next time I want to talk about 3D Printing and my take on Metroid: Other M’s controversial portrayal of Samus. Till then!

Edward L. Cheever II