Fifteen on Friday

Aside from my interests in video games, journalism, and yoga pants, nothing captivates me like the unexplained. Before I became obsessed with the supernatural all I could think of was the prospect of life somewhere else in this big old universe of ours. I had seen a UFO or two in my time, and as I explained in a previous segment one incident in particular cemented my love of aliens till my dying day.

One man I have always looked up to in the field of all things alien is Stanton Friedman. If you've ever watched a documentary on UFO's or caught an episode about them on reality TV you've no doubt seen the man. Even if you don't know his name you know his face. He is one of the most outspoken and well versed researches in the field, with various degrees and accolades that make him just that much more bad ass. Even cooler - he was the original civilian investigator in the Roswell crash. 

Yeah, THAT Roswell crash. 

It's an honor to speak to a man of such distinction and intelligence, and gracious that he could take time out of his busy schedule to answer a fanboy's questions today.

It's  Fifteen on Friday - fifteen questions, one interesting person.

2012 MAMAs

Ok, so after quite a hiatus from blogging I am back. The holiday time is such a busy time for me, so please accept my apology for the lack thereof.

I got up before the crack of dawn so I could watch the live broadcast online of the MAMAs (MNet Asian Music Awards) for those who don't know, it is like the VMA or MTV music awards of Asia. The biggest award event of the year for these artist.

Four and a half hours later, here I am. For anyone who is interested in watching they are replaying the awards now... wish I would have known that... I would have watched the replay and gotten more sleep haha. Here is the link to watch the 2012MAMA performances. Not only will you see some great K-pop performances, but also performances by Adam Lambert and B.o.B.

Indeed I was one to vote this year. I am pleased with the results. Some of which include:
Best Solo Dance Performand: PSY, Gangnam Style
Best Female Group: SISTAR
Beat Male Group: BIG BANG
Best Collaboration Performance: Trouble Maker
MNet PD's Choice: B.A.P (YESSIR!!) As much as I would have liked to see them win more I am happy they received an award)
Best Dance Performance Male Group: SHINee (YAYYYYYY!!!!!!)
Best Dance Performance Female Group: f(X)
International Favorite Artist: PSY
Best Music Video: PSY, Gangnam Style
New Asian Artist: EXO (I really wanted B.A.P to win this one... but I like EXO too)
Style in Music: Gain
Guardian Angel Worldwide Performer: BIG BANG!!!!!
Best Rap Performance: Epik High
Best Male Artist: G-Dragon (of BIG BANG) Get ya Crayon!!!!
Best Line Award: SUPER JUNIOR!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
Best Global Female Group: KARA
Best Global Male Group: SUPER JUNIOR!!!!!!! (OH YEAH!!!!!)

And the grand prizes:
Artist of the Year: BIG BANG (!!!!!!!!!!!! just wish I coulda seen them in concert earlier this month TT.TT)
Album of the Year: SUPER JUNIOR, Sexy, Free & Single (YESSSSSS!!!!!!)
Song of the Year: PSY, Gangnam Style (Op, op, op, oppan Gangnam style!!!!)

I would have loved to see TVXQ win an award and for SHINee to win another... and Block B!!!

As always BIG BANG had a FANTASTIC performance. I have to say one of the best performances for the event.

So much is going on and there is so much that I have missed updating on... I hope to get a recap written ASAP!

The Greatest Movies You've Never Seen

We at Team BZ85 pride ourselves on bringing you the best in entertainment. But we know that, more often than not, today's entertainment is an awful experience reserved only for the worst kind of liberals in Hell. So, once in a while, we like to bring to your attention something truly great!

Now, we don't know why you've never seen these classics. Maybe you grew up in the wrong time period, maybe you're poor and can't afford a television, or maybe you're just the kind of idiot who would rather watch Honey Boo Boo.

We don't judge here. We save that for when you leave. In the mean time, enjoy this installment of The Greatest Movies You've Never Seen.

MMO Ramblings From a Veteran

Let me start this one off by reminding you guys of how I came into this wacky industry we lovingly abbreviate as MMORPGs.

I was never much of an RPG player growing up. The first game I can remember playing was at a friends house, on a pre-NES Sega system that I can't for the life of me remember the name of right now. I begged my mother to get me one, but instead she went out and got me the brand spanking new Nintendo Entertainment System.

It wasn't what I asked for, but I forgave her. Quickly. Also, yeah, I'm feeling pretty old right now.

My gaming tastes ran the spectrum from Mario to TMNT to Contra and even one of those point and click detective games that, again, I can't remember right now - possibly because I am so old. However, I never played the RPG staples of the times. I never touched Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, and to be honest I can't think of a single RPG I played during my much younger days. It wasn't until the SNES came along that I dipped into the Final Fantasy's, that awesome Mario RPG, and the like. I didn't dislike RPG's, I just preferred platformers and sports games at the time. I played a mean game of NBA Jam, let me tell you.

It was around this time period that a friend of my mother, who had also sold us our first computer in the form of a past its prime C64, filled my head with info about this game called Ultima Online. I had played the original Ultima's on that Commodore 64 he sold us and I didn't understand at the time just how influential and epic those games truly were. Ultima Online, though, sounded too good to be true. A completely open world with no levels and complete freedom? BOOMSHAKALAKA, indeed! I could be anything I wanted to be! I could be a warrior, a fisherman, or in my most random and useless personal quest ever - I became a grandmaster detective. I could tell you who opened chests and murdered other players, but not much. Still, it was pretty bad ass that you had that option. That was what UO was about - options.

Beginnings

I'm not going to go into my love for Ultima, again, but I just want to hammer home that point that my addiction to this genre started the first time I got to that starting screen while an MIDI version of the song "Stones" played in the background.

I've been as big a supporter and detractor of the industry as anyone since then. I cheered loudly for World of Warcraft when those gates open. I booed till my throat went sore when SOE turned Galaxies into the bastard child of poor decisions and uncaring greed. I've kicked and fought and screamed and laughed at the events that have shaped this business into what it is today, and make no mistake, it is thriving quite well. Just look at the influx of titles every year in the genre and you can see that we're apart of one of the most popular forms of entertainment going right now.

And that brings me to my point, one which makes me both sad and fearful for our beloved genres future as a whole -

As we grow, we can only grow apart.

Hands on with the Wii U

Remember that craziness when the original Wii hit the scene? Owning it, at first anyway, certainly gave you a special status. It was new and funky and fresh and the gimmick made people stab their own mothers just to get their hands on one.

To hell with your "common sense," get me my Nintendo!

I was working at Steve and Barry's when the Wii launched, and I wouldn't have even gotten one if it weren't for my good friends at EB Games. I got a call while I was working and they told me if I wanted one to get to their store immediately because they had one they could sell. I didn't even know I wanted a Wii until one became available, and then it was the only thing I had ever wanted in my life.

Of course there were the naysayers who claimed it was just a gimmick, but I managed to look past both facts and reality and buy a shiny new Wii anyway. I also picked up one or two games, although if my memory serves me correctly there wasn't a whole lot to be proud of at launch.

I enjoyed the Wii for what it was, but the image of what it could never be always lay in the back of my mind. Save for a few games it wasn't a very attractive system, and that motion control gimmick was either under utilized or poorly implemented in most games. I, like so many other Wii owners, waited and waited for our killer app to shut up everyone who called us morons for picking up the flavor of the week.

I'm still waiting.

Hector Camacho dies from injuries

It saddens me to have to wrap up a week where I said goodbye to childhood face Mr. Food with the death of another one of my favorite memories.

Hector "Macho" Camacho was a troubled man outside of the boxing ring. Inside the ring he was a mix of speed, skill, and flair. He was one of my favorite boxers to watch as a child, even though I hated his arrogance and usually just wanted to see someone knock him out.

With a record of 79-6-3, that was something I never got to see with my own eyes.

Camacho was one of the legends of the squared circle. His quick footwork and punching prowess made him a great boxer, but it was his persona that truly made him special. His style and attitude set him apart from his fellow athletes, and the way he carried himself rivaled the most charismatic professional wrestlers. Hell, his Clark Kent inspired hairstyle alone made him a hated man.

My father and I watched a lot of boxing when I was growing up. HBO and Showtime both had some great boxing in the 90's, and we hardly ever missed a bout. "Macho" Camacho is as memorable to me as Roy Jones, Oscar Dela Hoya, Shannon Briggs, and Lennox Lewis, and the rest of the best that were frequently featured on those channels. I more often than not booed him relentlessly, as at the time I didn't quite understand just how important it was to stand out in a crowd. He may not have been the biggest fighter on television, but he made a impression on you every single time he stepped through those ropes.

Don't Ask Me, I'm Just a Ghoul

 

On Thanksgiving we made the choice to go out into the insanity of "early Black Friday" shopping. Toys R Us was open at 8:00 pm and we figured what the hell, let's go. Mainly it was to get some Wii U games at a discount, which was a success, but I also wanted to see if some toys I'd been eying up had gone on sale as well.

Nothing special on the My Little Pony or Pokemon sectors, but I had one more toy in mind before we left. I've been interested in the Monster High dolls ever since they hit the shelves in 2010. I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy one till now. Early on I thought they were a neat idea, dolls based on monsters. Give the girls of today a different twist on dolls. I've never been a big horror genre buff, like my other half is, so I wouldn't have probably cared when I was a kid,but I had friends who would have begged their moms for them.

I found that one of the characters I've been wanting to get was indeed on sale. The icy girl from the north, Abby Bominable was in a bundle fashion pack for half off. So I finally gave in and bought her.

These dolls are amazing!

Black Friday: The Human Zoo or Zombie Apocalypse

It's Black Friday folks... and you know what that means.

It's that miraculous day where store parking lots turn into human zoos and aisles become events in motion... Where you can park and walk along, gazing at the many variations of human in their natural consumerist habitat, coveting that which they treasure most; dolls, cell phones, microwaves, mp3 players, toaster ovens, spoons...

It's a fascinating creature, this modern day homo sapien. A being that is willing to bring torment onto others in an attempt to get first pick on a current stock of multi colored fisher price toys and nerf guns. An animal that will overturn a masterfully aligned stack of cans, to block the path of 12 others on their stampede toward a bin of 70% Off DVDs.

So head out into this night, not to cash in on deals... but to watch your fellow human act in ways that have somehow been found acceptable in today's civilized culture. Its the perfect event and there will be swarms of them out there, I assure you... even in places very near where you live.

To watch this theatrical show in motion, is a site to behold and I urge you to stay up late to watch the human revert to its brutal basic instincts.

Its kind of like that moment when you realize how sad it is to watch the playful monkeys get angry and start flinging shit at one another. You will soon find the intrigue diminish as you watch the acts of the blessed Black Friday event devolve from hilarious tenting on pavement and the use of urine bags, into wild howling and the ever present aisle 5 fight of two middle aged women going fisticuffs for a baby doll that micturates itself when frightened.

This is our society people... Enjoy the proudest night of the year for mankind.

Merry Day of Consumerism to you all, you wonderful but sad creatures of materialism.

Come to think about it, tonight is also the perfect chance to get a glimpse of what a Zombie Apocalypse could very well feel like. I'd say without the biting... but, this depends on your town.

Happy Turkey Day from BZ85

We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving today.

How all Thanksgivings will look in 9595

Not that we're going to get all sentimental on you, but try to be thankful for all that you have. If you're like us it's probably not a lot, but it's important to appreciate what you do have.

We're personally thankful for good food, good friends, what's left of family, being employed, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
 
Oh, and God - thank you for Ziggy comics, little baby ducks, and `Sweatin' to the Oldies' volumes one, two, and four.

Also kittens, Nuketown, and a Nintendo system that I can be proud to say I own. It was truly a monumental year.

Remember to eat up your Taco Pie! I added food coloring because it's a holiday. But it turned black, because I added all the food coloring I had. Then I ate this butter straight out of the tub, because it tastes good. There's a reason behind everything.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

BZ85 Mourns the loss of Mr. Food

I am a child of the eighties. I grew up long before cable and dish television were as common as black presidents, and back then we had four stations on our little TV. Your line up usually consisted of cartoons in the morning, talk shows in the middle, and the news at night time.

Also Wheel of Fortune. Lots of Wheel of Fortune. Pat Sajack and I are BFF's.

I watched the news all the time, not just because I've been interested in it since I was a wee lad, but because my parents watched it every day. I knew all of the cast, what with your Mike Shane's and Jim Reeves and Jim Burns. And then, most importantly of all, was Mr. Food.

You remember Mr. Food, don't you? He was a kindly looking man with a goofy look and a warm personality that couldn't help but make you like him. My father listened to Mr. Food quite exclusively and tried many a dish from his playbook. They were usually hit and miss, but I could tell my father had a fondness and respect for Mr. Food.

Art Ginsburg, known the world over as the delightful Mr. Food, passed away this week. He was eighty one years old, and he left behind a legacy of good food and good feelings. I was very sad to hear of his passing, as he was one of the faces I remember most from my childhood.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I'll be spending part of that day with my father in that hellhole my devil whore sister in law put him in. I'm conflicted on whether I should bring up Mr. Food's passing to him, because I don't know how he'll react. I think he'll say he heard and leave it at that, but I think there is another little part of him that will chip away. That part has been chipping away for years since his brother Stanley passed away, and I've tip toed around bad news since my mother died.

We'll chow down on that turkey and dressing tomorrow and pay our respects to Art Ginsburg. There will never be another Mr. Food, no matter how many cooking shows and artificial chefs they throw at us. He was, undoubtedly, the most sincere of them all. And the food?

As he would say - "Ooh, it's so good."

What Do First-Person Shooters and Multi-Camera Sitcoms Have In Common?

Oh it’s something, man. Don’t say it’s nothing because it’s something.

Both of these are relatively old genres in their respective mediums. Both of these are accessible and popular genres in their respective mediums. But there's more to it.

There’s a commonly held belief, a belief that I can only cite through hearsay but common nonetheless, that both first person shooters and multi-camera sitcoms have become stale and formulaic. I’m of course speaking about cynics on the internet, which tend to be a loud minority, but they’re loud enough to be heard nonetheless.  

Some might not see “formulaic” as a bad thing. Does it really hinder one’s enjoyment of an installment of one of these things? Not necessarily.

For example, the formula for multi-camera sitcoms tends to revolve around a conflict arising causing the main character(s) to have to find a creative solution or scheme their way around it. Fake laughs sometimes ensue. But the genre tends to recycle situations and jokes. Is this bad? Not necessarily, unless you partake so regularly that you get tired of the same ol’ same ol’.

Just spend some time on Tvtropes.com and you’ll see.

As for FPSs, the complaints tend to stem from the idea that for the most part, the average FPS doesn’t let you do anything but run around, point your crosshairs and shoot lots of enemies. Also that the stories are cookie cutter and shallow, merely existing to take your crosshairs from point A to point B.

I mentioned earlier that they are accessible and popular genres. It’s very true. Some might say, the cynic on the internet of course,  they appeal to the lowest common denominator, and that’s what makes them popular. The idea that you don’t have to think, either you point your gun and shoot or you laugh when you hear the laughs out of your TV box. 

That’s a very simplistic, condescending view IMO, but I’ve heard it often either way. 

PRAS Update: Stop the Presses!

Winning look for episode 4 and the designer Anthony Ryan

Another week has passed and our designers have faced another challenge. This was the very first fan interactive challenge for Project Runway. Fans across the world we're asked to submit inspirational photos for the designers to use. In turn the designers were given one day to complete their looks, inspired from the images they chose. The winner of this challenge would also get their design photographed for an article in USA Today, as well as an interview to go along with it.

Once again my favorite to win has ended up on top. Anthony Ryan's graphic dress impressed the judges, though they did warn him that they've seen this dress from him before.

We say farewell to our favorite oddball Andrae

Sadly we say good bye to Andrae this week. The judges just can't seem to get his ideas and were tired of listing to his explanations. I liked the idea behind his look this time. Interchangeable panels in cloths is an awesome idea, maybe it just needed a little more time to execute better. 

Either way the judges some times start to make me wonder if I have bad taste... Maybe I'm just open to things they're not.

Looks I liked:

Anthony Ryan's dress
Andrae's mix and match panel top and skirt
Casanova's pants and top
Laura Kathleen's hand dyed dress
Uli's dress, but I wish it wasn't such a washed out color

Check out all of the looks on Rate the Runway.

Why Fast Food BUGS Me

Har har, see what I did there?

So it's no secret that BZ85 is my love, but it doesn't exactly pay the bills...yet. My indentured servitude to a certain gaming site takes up a lot of my time, so it's hard to give BZ85 the attention it truly deserves. We have a collection of interesting people here with interesting things to talk about, and sometimes they actually post it on the website for all to read. It could be, nay should be, a cultural icon.

"See you on Black Friday, you fucking animals!"

And someday it shall, but for now we all have other jobs to pay those pesky bills that Uncle Bam tells me I have to pay, unless I want to spend a weekend with the pain monster.

My own personal hell is retail management, a plight I'm sure many of you can relate to. I won't say where I work, as the last time I talked about my job I got fired from it. Something about death threats to a company official or something, to be honest I was so drunk on my own power I can hardly recall the exact reasoning.

Well, like a lot of retail workers, I like to save me some cash whenever I can, especially with the holidays coming up. So on my break the other day I decided to go to McDonald's to get some cheap food that would satisfy that craving for torture. Little did I know, this trip would change my life forever.

Well, at least until I'm broke as shit and can't afford anything else.

Hearts of the Art

Animation is one of my passions, even if I'm not currently doing anything with my degree in it. Needless to say it's all around us in commercials, TV shows, movies and web videos. It touches young and old in all corners of the world. But how often do you really think about who's making Hank Hill say "I sell propane and propane accessories."?

That's what I'm here for. To help toss out a few names of the people who have made the genre of animation what it is today. There's a long list of animation greats out there. I'll be bringing to light some names you may already know and several you may not. Heck some of them I only know about because of my beginning animation class back in the day. One thing will be for sure the men and women I choose to cover will have something in common.

They are at the heart of their art.

BZ85 Attends Black Ops 2 Midnight Launch

Just a quick update and you can all go to bed or start playing some zombie mode.

I attended the midnight launch for BlOPs2 at my local gaming store and had a pretty good time. Caught up with some old friends, took in some nostalgic memories, and had a free Dr. Pepper, warm though it might have been.

Unsurprisingly, here are the first guys to get their hands on BO2.

The line was long, but not as long as I had assumed it would be for Call of Duty. The store had a great system in play and had people in and out with their game quickly, clocking the final person out at around 12:20. That's efficiency right there.

I have the Hardened edition in my hands right now and the great dilemma hits me - play some now or save it for after work tomorrow. Yes, as much as I'd like to make BZ85 my only priority, I still have to sling shoes to keep it all going. FML.

I watched a group of people playing the new zombie mode in the game and it has me eager to play. I also picked up the Vita version of Black Ops called Declassified, so maybe I'll lay in bed and play it instead.

I have a feeling there will be a half day taken tomorrow at work.

Stay tuned to BZ85 for my thoughts on the game and how it stacks up to my beloved original Black Ops.

Louie Benson - Making Us Proud

Louie Benson and I go way back.

Happier times, before that whole Disney announcement...

Before he was showing indie wrestlers the right way to do yoga and working out with legends like DDP, Jake Roberts, and underrated WCW star Glacier, I was saving his ass from jocks at GameStop. I witnessed his lame attempts at striking up conversations with cute girls at the mall. I was even his boss once before when I hired him as seasonal help, although he did more sittin' than workin'. We've eaten lunch together, talked wrestling, debated video games, and more than once I've tried my best to shut him the hell up for just a few moments.

It never seems to work.

Louie has always been a loud mouth who is pushing his way into the entertainment world any way he can, short of porn....so far. He's done television, he's done indie wrestling, and his audition tape for "The Biggest Loser" is legendary. In short - Louie Benson is a megastar in the making.

Black Ops 2 TONIGHT - Or - Halo Sucks and I Stand By It

I'm back with a vengeance, bitches. MMOSite may try to keep the man down but today I'm going to talk about something that gets my blood boiling more than the constant disappointment that is the multi massive online role playing game genre.

Halo.

That name carries a lot of weight with it. What once started as a pretty nice FPS on the original XBox has turned into some kind of giant monster stomping through the city in a quest to destroy all others in its path. Well sir, there is only room for one giant monster in this virtual world, and he's sitting pretty on our logo.

Animals are always the first to know...

Halo was a fine FPS, I'll give it to you. It was simple to me, but a lot of games were simple back then. It seemed like a nice little sci fi shooter that, in a baffling twist, became the hottest thing since Sliced Bread on n64. My feelings on Halo have run the spectrum of general annoyance to full on hatred.

I don't think I'll ever dislike the game more than I did during Halo 3's launch. I was working for GameStop at the time and was still relatively new. Sitting there day in and day out while hordes of slack jawed yokels and "hardcore gamers" waddled in talking about the game nearly drove me to suicide. 

PRAS Update: Check Out that Tag

Episode 3 winning look by Emilio

Episode 3 of All Stars took the designers to the streets for a little art appreciation. They met three of New York's best graffiti artists and were given a few tricks of the trade to help with their next challenge. They were given 6 yards of white fabric, various cans of spray paint and two hours to come up with a design idea that could be seen as wearable art.

Emilio took the top score this week with his Harlem, at the beginning of the rap revolution, inspired jacket and skirt. I'm not too big on the skirt myself but I love the jacket, even if the judges thought the belt was bit small.


Suede was the designer leaving us this week. I loved the movement his dress had, but over all it was too costume like and kooky for the judges. I will admit when it was standing still it didn't have much going for it. I hate Suede's need to talk in 3rd person but as a whole I'm sad to see him go.

Looks I liked:
Emilio's jacket
Anthony Ryan's blue and back dress
Casanova's halter dress


Check out all of the designs on Rate the Runway

Writer's Bloc

 Why did I spell "block" that way in the title? Well it wasn't for any clever reason I can tell you that much. It just sounded better than "Writer's Block"

I've been meaning to write an entry that didn't involve TV so I could make the point that just because I'm going by "Tv's Phil", that I don't only focus on TV.(Yes, I'm aware I've only posted twice thus far. Just let me use that sentence anyway!) But I've been drawing blanks. Given, between working full time, sleep, and trying to put together a couple other personal projects, I don't really plan topics out, but these things use to come much easier to me. It probably doesn't help that I'm specifically choosing to avoid politics or spirituality.

But let me get to the subject at hand, writer's block.

Over the past 4 years or so, I've regularly attempted starting personal projects that involve some form of writing. Whether it be a regular blog, a self-published comic, short stories, a movie script, or a YouTube series. I've started all of these things at some point or another and haven't followed through. The desire is still there, but there always seemed to be some sort of mental road block.

I've got quite a few small notebooks full of ideas, sentence fragments, story beginnings, concepts and plans just sitting around. If I don't like how cluttered the notebook has become, I'll get a new one and do the same thing.
But not one finished project. I think I may have finished one short story a long time ago.
I jump around and change ideas before really getting started. I'll have a concept and after I start, I'll suddenly think "You know, this short story would probably work better as a _________."


The thing is, I enjoy coming up with ideas and concepts. I even enjoy collaborating on things. I can NOT come up with endings. And when it's just me, alone with pen and paper, I have zero confidence in what's in my head or in my ability to write. I don't feel my grammar is good enough or that I have no "voice" as they say.  I'll write a few lines of something and just stop. If I come back another time and look at what I've written, I just get in my head and think "Eh, this can't go anywhere." or "I can't get enough story out of this." It really is quite frustrating. Especially when you're self-aware.
I admit to not reading a whole lot. I mean, I read comics, but as far as text only, that's a rarity. But I do enjoy writing. It's a weird combination that probably cancels each other out.


They say a good thing to do when starting out a writing project is to just start writing and don't stop regardless of quality. You can always fix it later. Of course I've tried this. But if I don't have a destination or an ending, I'm just going to lock up and make no progress. And that's what
I have. Lots of beginnings and no where to go.

Another admittance is that I never really set time out to just write. Or if I tell myself I'm going to write, I'll let myself get distracted by something.

Back during the Myspace days and early days of Facebook, I had NO problem writing things, but they were always blog posts or "notes" as they're called on Facebook. Basically, the format of just me talking about life or issues. I never seem to have a problem with that. Ask me to write a fictional story based on an idea or concept I came up with myself, and I get nowhere.


Anyway, I know this isn't an interesting post in the least bit. Heck, I wouldn't have read this far, but think of it as a kind of therapy session for me. Let me get this out and who knows, maybe finishing this or being open about the topic will help kick my brain into gear.

Got any writing tips of your own? Let me know. I'm always open for that, though I'm pretty sure the real answer to my problem is "Just write you idiot! Stop thinking about it so much!"

Killing them NCSoftly

I decided to take some time off from the new WWE 13 game to relax and read a bit. I hadn't caught up on the news in a couple of days and for someone like me that is rare. Last I checked Megastorm Sandy was wreaking havoc on the East coast, Democrats and Republicans were still going at each others throats "for the good of the nation," and the Kardashians hadn't been burnt at a stake for Halloween.

Good for them.

Randomly surfing the web I came across an article that, as an MMO fanatic, made my stomach turn a bit. I was reminded that City of Heroes, the very first super hero persistent world and one of the longest running big time MMO's, was very much near its final days. I believe we're around one month away from City of X closing its doors and leaving many superheroes with nowhere else to go, save for two other similar yet radically different titles.

How depressing.

PRAS Update: Saturday Night Fever

Episode 2 Winning Look by Uli

Episode two of Project Runway All Stars took us back in time to the 70's. The designers were asked to create an updated disco look inspired by shoes from Nine West. 

Uli came out on top this week with her white sequined and fringed dress. It was one of the more interesting looks, but not my favorite. I mostly just like the movement it had to it. Once again I liked Casanova's dress more. Do I sense a trend forming?

The designer leaving us this week was Wendy. I liked her concept of leather bell bottoms and chain accents, but the over all look was a bit cheep and a little red light district. She did leave on the warm note of shedding her "Bitch" character that she was remembered for from season one of Project Runway.

Looks I liked:
Casanova's pink dress
Kayne's gold striped pants and sequined top (the judges didn't like it but I did)
Althea's pink dress


Check out all of the looks on Rate the Runway.

The Secret World - The Revolution MMORPG Fans are Ignoring

With all of the promotion that Guild Wars 2 has gotten since its release, it would be easy to overlook some of the other titles available. After all, the prospect of a top quality MMO with no monthly fee is hard to pass up. In fact, Guild Wars 2 is a must have title and a bit of an odd duck in a bloated market. It's not quite a free to play title, not a pay to play title, but some kind of strange hybrid the likes of which we haven't seen since the "Macho Warrior" Ric Hogan.

Thankfully, Guild Wars 2 stands the test of time a little better than he does. Despite what some may think by reading my previous article about GW2, not to mention the chaos it left in the community, I appreciate the game for what it is and think it is a must purchase for any MMO lover. It is a quality title that can stand up against the best pay to play titles, and the one time purchase fee means that you'll have an MMORPG to play even if you can't afford a monthly fee.
 
I decided to play Guild Wars 2 years ago when it was first announced, and in the months leading up to its release I had decided to give up MMO's altogether and make it my last buy. I was tired of all the launches, the trial months, excitement turning to boredom, and spending money on something I knew I wasn't going to stick with.

Maybe I've become bitter after spending half of my life in this genre, or maybe I had just grown tired of similar games with a fresh new skin.