One more delay, then back with the nonsense...
The next part of my Skyrim saga will probably be up sometime tomorrow. I recorded a ton of footage today, and that's part of the problem: It's a ton of walking. When I play this sort of game normally, I stop off at every slay & haul away pit-stop between me and the actual destination I have (often forgetting why I was headed there). This plays havoc with the missions, I think, as I'm pretty sure I spot things that would be "active" had I been told about the area I was murdering my way through (for example, a row of empty cells probably would have someone in there for me to rescue if I'd gone to town X and talked with citizen Y about their missing relative). Anyway, I'm having to go through and fast forward through all those long strolls in the countryside, the countless wolf attacks, and a 7000-step climb to a monastery. Trust me, there's only so many offhand gags one can make about trees and snow without sounding like the rock climbing episode of MST3K. And thanks to some sharp-eyed viewers, it turns out my noble steed, Magicka Sparkle, survived the dragon attack like Sherlock Holmes at Reichenbach Falls. Unfortunately, I think my play style might not be horse-friendly, so I may have to find a nice, safe place for her to spend most of the game unless I want to have a sentimental attachment to a certain 1,000 gold piece horse hide in my inventory.
The CW seems to be cranking out the orders for pilot TV programs. One's from JJ Abrams, so that's good. Another is an attempt to cash in on what's probably going to be a successful movie series (The Hunger Games), and... a time travel musical. First off, why this hasn't been done for a "Children in Need" special with the cast of Doctor Who escapes me, but secondly, unless this is a comedy and/or a show like Glee that has music built-in... Let's just say there's a reason why nobody's reviving Cop Rock.
So while we're on the subject of musicals: From a time when Andrew Lloyd Webber wasn't mostly a punchline about musical theater, he put together Phantom of the Opera. You gotta love a show that stars a guy who was well known in the UK for a "dumb guy" role in a sitcom and barely remembered in the U.S. for a role in a live-action Disney film where he wore a bird-themed superhero costume. If you can still remember Webber's goth-opera in a positive light, you might like this one-man medley of Phantom tunes. It might take a while to get used to how well he does the part of Christine. So if you're still with this paragraph, I can use this subject as an excuse to link to my favorite version of "The Music of the Night" ever recorded (the visuals aren't of the actual singers). For those who worry I'm going all theater-geek on you, here's a cleansing dose of (warning: one s-bomb) Rowan Atkinson's "The Good Loser" which should counter most pro-Webber thoughts. :)
A side note about the Atkinson sketch: It sounds like the Kylie Minogue line was dubbed in, and a search brought up alternate dialogue that read: "...latest re-arrangement of 'Puccini's Greatest Hits.'" I could also swear that there was a version floating around where it was something about a re-arrangement of Vivaldi and a ton of curtains... or is that another sign I need to have my brain de-fragged?
I have to get back to editing video and working on ps238 volume 10 (yep, it's actually being drawn!) as well as making sure my family gets more of this addictive banana bread I started baking because I felt guilty about wasting bananas. If you, too, fall victim to this recipe, I modify it according to some commenters' suggestions and add a fourth banana, a teaspoon of vanilla, and an additional egg, then I pop it in three smaller (three by eight, I think) bread pans and bake 'em for about 45-55 minutes (test with a toothpick). What? Me do a cooking series on YouTube? I think the world has enough weird stuff without too much from me, like:
- I think this is the first Google Plus page I've ever linked to, but it's worth it to see a load of pictures from Stern Pinball, a Chicago-based company that still makes the most awesome arcade game on Earth.
- Some guy makes a huge 90's megamix using a backbeat and one of those wind-powered keyboard things, which I guess is kind of like a lung-run accordion.
- The latest UK comedy to be imported for potential Americanization is Only Fools and Horses.
- I have to say I can't find any logical flaws with this proposal on how Hollywood could actually stop a lot of movie piracy. "Kill" may be a little optimistic, but I'd sign up for the service in a heartbeat.
- Blockoomz is a remove-the-blocks game where most blocks explode and you have to preserve the lives of any stars present.
- If you're running for President and want to use a really rockin' pop song, make sure it's okay with whoever owns it, as they might not exactly like their ditty associated with you.
- Drink your Potion of Dragon Control (if you have a verrrry generous DM) from an appropriate dragon-head mug.
- A pair of Bat-links that you might enjoy: One, a collection of minimalist-art quote posters from the franchise's rogues gallery. And two, Jim Gordon is Magnum P.I. (with glasses)!
- So you like Half-Life 2 and want to send a message to Valve that a third installment would really be appreciated? There's going to be a mass HL2 play session in the hopes that such activity on Steam will show up on Valve's radar... along with the usual pleas, bribes, death threats, etc.
- Just to close the book on something fans may have been following, the lawsuit over a few characters in Spawn comics has finally been settled between Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane. So rest easy, folks.
- Sticking with superheroes, it's only a teaser for the commercial that'll run in full this Sunday, but 17 seconds of The Avengers is still a pretty good 17 seconds.
- For something equally epic in style, here's The Beauty of Minecraft, a video featuring yet more impressive constructs than I could ever dream of.
- Strange things happen when you slow down a Dolly Parton song.
- I want to say that an old issue of Mad or Cracked a cartoon where buildings were made out of similar stuff to what this artist is making stools out of.
- If ever a cat video warranted a title of wait for it... wait for it..., it's this one.
- Scientists and engineers are about to annoy C'thulu, so you might want to stock up on antipsychotics.
- This video demonstrates either a future X-Wing toy that will let you re-enact the attack on the Death Star or it shows the last thing you'll see when the robot uprising starts.
- It does what it says on the tin: The Impossible Quiz Book, Chapter 1. It's meant to be frustrating and largely unfair, so don't go in with high blood pressure. If you enjoy it, there's chapter 2 and chapter 3 to play (links in-game).
- As if that wasn't frustrating enough, how about Dino Panic? Not only is it a "run to the right or you die" game where your caveman is being chased by a T-Rex, you also have to control your pal the Pterodactyl with your mouse, since him catching floating gems is how you earn points. Enjoy!