- Too Beautiful to Live with Luke Burbank: I gave this podcast a try on a bit of a whim, after hearing Burbank on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me: The NPR News Quiz. TBTL is hilarious, contemporary, and updates every weekday.
- Giant Bombcast is a whomping 2.5 hour (!!) weekly podcast where four hapless gamers discuss their past week. While this might sound as boring as it could, the show works because the guys have real personality and good, soulful voices.
- The Six Pack: again, a podcast I was turned on to from my undying love of Wait, Wait and one of its frequent panelists, Mo Racca. Mo was featured on The Six Pack which is two (cute) guys talking news, celebrities, life, and being gay dudes. Great fun for a weekly podcast subscription.
- And of course Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me - how can you not love Peter Sagal's hosting us through this dynamic (and often hilarious) exploration of the weeks news through limericks, lightning rounds and bluffs?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Podcasts Worth Listening To
You've got a limited amount of time in your life, so don't waste it with a podcast that doesn't give you everything you are looking for. Check these podcasts out:
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Fallout: New Vegas DLC - Dead Money
Old World Blues certainly gave me a run for my money this past week, but today I was able to sit down and plug away at Fallout: New Vegas' first expansion pack Dead Money. Was it as good as OWB? Check out the review, after the jump!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Bastion Coming to PC!
I'm more excited than I can speak to, because Bastion is coming to the PC via Steam!
Bastion is an action-RPG that I've been excited about since reading about it on GayGamer.net September last year. Then, I was somewhat sad, because it was Xbox only, and now I'm happy again!
Bastion is an action-RPG that I've been excited about since reading about it on GayGamer.net September last year. Then, I was somewhat sad, because it was Xbox only, and now I'm happy again!
Flash Game Friday: Word Bacon
Do you love bacon? I know you do.
Do you love word games? Who doesn't?
Put them together and you've got Word Bacon, a fun little letter-replacement game made by a Redditor named seebs. The objective is simple, you are trying to take one word and make into another by replacing letters. Every replacement must construct a new word, so it's a tricky brain teaser. At normal mode it's okay, but at "Holy Swine of Zeus" you might find yourself clicking the "Hint" button every round.
Definitely a contender for your Friday "productivity" time. Give it a go!
Do you love word games? Who doesn't?
Put them together and you've got Word Bacon, a fun little letter-replacement game made by a Redditor named seebs. The objective is simple, you are trying to take one word and make into another by replacing letters. Every replacement must construct a new word, so it's a tricky brain teaser. At normal mode it's okay, but at "Holy Swine of Zeus" you might find yourself clicking the "Hint" button every round.
Definitely a contender for your Friday "productivity" time. Give it a go!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Old World Blues Follow-Up
Bethesda's first attempts at a roll out of DLC for smash hit Fallout 3 were pretty ill-received. I happened to like The Pitt, which brought up some more complicated moral choices, but that can't be everyone's cup of tea, I suppose.
Old World Blues was, in comparison, an immaculate example of what I had expected from a $9.99 purchase of DLC. It added approximately 10 hours of playtime, new enemies, new versions of old enemies, new weapons, new perks, new traits, and an engaging and hilarious story.
I wrapped up the DLC last night, and have to comment that it stayed true to its foundation of quality deliverables through and through. The story had poignancy and a twist, but not a twist in the way that the writers sat down and said: "we have to think of a twist so that the story maintains relevance. All stories have unexpected twists!" Actually, the "twist" is a natural discovery, and it's the exact kind of fun I wanted from the story add-on, and that I had come to expect from Fallout: New Vegas.
Crashes, of course, were an issue; I can't say I wasn't disappointed by the gripping thrust back into reality by watching my character's weapon half-holstered, frozen in time. It would have made a nice picture had it not been so frustrating.
My recommendation of grabbing this DLC stands, but if I could enhance it - somehow add flavor to it, I would say this: as a male character with the Confirmed Bachelor (gay) perk, I was able to flirt with my brain in a jar.
Really, where else can you experience that?
 |
| Giant Roboscorpion! |
I wrapped up the DLC last night, and have to comment that it stayed true to its foundation of quality deliverables through and through. The story had poignancy and a twist, but not a twist in the way that the writers sat down and said: "we have to think of a twist so that the story maintains relevance. All stories have unexpected twists!" Actually, the "twist" is a natural discovery, and it's the exact kind of fun I wanted from the story add-on, and that I had come to expect from Fallout: New Vegas.
Crashes, of course, were an issue; I can't say I wasn't disappointed by the gripping thrust back into reality by watching my character's weapon half-holstered, frozen in time. It would have made a nice picture had it not been so frustrating.
My recommendation of grabbing this DLC stands, but if I could enhance it - somehow add flavor to it, I would say this: as a male character with the Confirmed Bachelor (gay) perk, I was able to flirt with my brain in a jar.
Really, where else can you experience that?
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Books: Southern Vampire Mysteries
Sarah (whose blog has some to-die-for food pictures, NSFD- not safe for diet) got me interested in True Blood, an HBO series based off of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. The series was addictive, and before long I'd watched a great deal of every episode available for human consumption. For my birthday, I'd asked to give the foundation books a go, and I've been eating them just as quickly!
The books center on the first-person narrative of Sookie Stackhose, a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana's only successful bar, Merlotte's. Sookie is a twenty-something everywoman, except that she has a "disability" - as she calls it - of telepathy. When Bill Compton, a vampire walks into Merlotte's, Sookie cannot read his thoughts and finds his silence blissful.
The books (and subsequent HBO series) do the in medias res thing I like so much. Vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are (mostly) doing their best to fit in with the mortal population, baring the ability to walk in daylight, lest they burn into flames (as they should, Ms. Meyer
). Vampires may be old hat to big cities like New Orleans, but Bon Temps is a whole different story. This is a helpful literary tool because it allows the reader to gain some backstory on vampires through some of the residents' naivety.
As a reading experience, Dead Until Dark was much closer One for the Money and Evanovich's other Stephanie Plum books, that is to say: funny, witty, with a side of mystery whodunnit thrown in for good measure. Harris doesn't shove anything down the reader's throat, nor is the revelation a sudden change in direction. The ending of Living Dead in Dallas did seem a little rushed, but that's my only compliant - and it's minor. These books are edible and DELICIOUS.
True Blood on the other hand, is a different monster entirely. The show follows the basic plot points from Harris' text, but spreading a couple hundred pages over 13 full episodes does require some fleshing out. If you are a fan of the show, you'll likely enjoy the book, but they are not the same. Whereas the HBO series is dark, sexual, and violent, Harris' books are more fun, and about the relationships (especially between Sookie and her vampire suitor, Bill - and a much-sexier-than-I-had-given-him-credit-for-because-I-didn't-find-the-actor-attractive, Eric).
It's been a perfect summer read, and if you have any interest at all, I'd say you need to sink your teeth into this series. It's to die for: Sookie Stackhouse 8-copy Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)
The books center on the first-person narrative of Sookie Stackhose, a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana's only successful bar, Merlotte's. Sookie is a twenty-something everywoman, except that she has a "disability" - as she calls it - of telepathy. When Bill Compton, a vampire walks into Merlotte's, Sookie cannot read his thoughts and finds his silence blissful.
The books (and subsequent HBO series) do the in medias res thing I like so much. Vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are (mostly) doing their best to fit in with the mortal population, baring the ability to walk in daylight, lest they burn into flames (as they should, Ms. Meyer
). Vampires may be old hat to big cities like New Orleans, but Bon Temps is a whole different story. This is a helpful literary tool because it allows the reader to gain some backstory on vampires through some of the residents' naivety.As a reading experience, Dead Until Dark was much closer One for the Money and Evanovich's other Stephanie Plum books, that is to say: funny, witty, with a side of mystery whodunnit thrown in for good measure. Harris doesn't shove anything down the reader's throat, nor is the revelation a sudden change in direction. The ending of Living Dead in Dallas did seem a little rushed, but that's my only compliant - and it's minor. These books are edible and DELICIOUS.
True Blood on the other hand, is a different monster entirely. The show follows the basic plot points from Harris' text, but spreading a couple hundred pages over 13 full episodes does require some fleshing out. If you are a fan of the show, you'll likely enjoy the book, but they are not the same. Whereas the HBO series is dark, sexual, and violent, Harris' books are more fun, and about the relationships (especially between Sookie and her vampire suitor, Bill - and a much-sexier-than-I-had-given-him-credit-for-because-I-didn't-find-the-actor-attractive, Eric).
It's been a perfect summer read, and if you have any interest at all, I'd say you need to sink your teeth into this series. It's to die for: Sookie Stackhouse 8-copy Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)
Monday, August 1, 2011
iPad Apps: iCatcher
Then consider picking up iCatcher! This app is the only one I've found that successfully syncs video and audio podcasts. It's very easy to search and download tons of podcasts, and you can set up automic syncing and updates! For only a couple bucks, it was well worth the investment.
Fallout: New Vegas DLC - Old World Blues
Old World Blues is the most recently released DLC package for Fallout: New Vegas, and it's also the only pack I've had any experience with. After about five hours of play yesterday, I feel like I've got a good enough grasp to give it a review, even if I haven't played the whole thing (this sort of behavior makes me reek of professionalism, right?).
Firstly, there is about a half hour of dialogue at the beginning of the DLC. Yes, a half hour. Do you know how long I wanted it to be?
Firstly, there is about a half hour of dialogue at the beginning of the DLC. Yes, a half hour. Do you know how long I wanted it to be?
In-Game Economics 101
EDIT: Oh sure, Washington Post, put up your article at the exact same time I post this, referencing very similar things... You're on my list, buddy.
Disclaimer! Some of this discussion comes from the presentation "Understanding Virtual Worlds" that Michelle Kandalaft (a Ph.D. Psychology student and awesome gamer-gal) and I put together at the University of Texas at Arlington. I am not an expert in Economics, though my mother drew a Supply-Demand graph on a napkin at Denny's when I asked why things cost money at the age of 4. So, credit where credit is due to Dr. Kandalaft and my mother.
Also, the Amazon.com ad for The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers [7th Edition] was purposeful. If you haven't read it, you really ought to.
With Blizzard's announcement that Diablo 3 will feature a system for users to sell in-game items for real-world currency, gaming blogs and twitters have erupted with interest over the decision. While to many this seems a formalizing of a long-standing system (gold-farming), the nature of in-game trade for real-life currency is not unheard of in Virtual Worlds.
TL;DR (because really, this is TL): Economics is complicated.
More (and, lamentably, graphs) after the jump...
Disclaimer! Some of this discussion comes from the presentation "Understanding Virtual Worlds" that Michelle Kandalaft (a Ph.D. Psychology student and awesome gamer-gal) and I put together at the University of Texas at Arlington. I am not an expert in Economics, though my mother drew a Supply-Demand graph on a napkin at Denny's when I asked why things cost money at the age of 4. So, credit where credit is due to Dr. Kandalaft and my mother.
Also, the Amazon.com ad for The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers [7th Edition] was purposeful. If you haven't read it, you really ought to.
With Blizzard's announcement that Diablo 3 will feature a system for users to sell in-game items for real-world currency, gaming blogs and twitters have erupted with interest over the decision. While to many this seems a formalizing of a long-standing system (gold-farming), the nature of in-game trade for real-life currency is not unheard of in Virtual Worlds.
TL;DR (because really, this is TL): Economics is complicated.
More (and, lamentably, graphs) after the jump...
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