Anyone still there? Considering resurrecting the blog a little. I’ll probably talk more about my job in a library, in terms of the technology, the books I read, etc. But also about TV stuff, the games I’m playing (not many since a few back problems). But mostly wanted to freak out anyone who still had this on their RSS!
Mwahaha.
Ok, so blogging took a backseat to my new job – well, same job, new hours. But, also new responsibilities.
Will be blogging again, but as a guest poster over at Spinks’ blog (unless I suddenly get the bug again). Am off to Comic Con on a trip from the UK that starts today, so if I get any interesting tales, keep an eye out for them over there.
Or – this one might get a bit more personal, about my tech, and books and stuff. Or I might find a more suitable name for one ;p And post more cute pictures of 3-legged cats we all adore.
Sometimes it’s just easier being a guest.
Ok, so this was really Spinks’ triumph, I was tired – I just used it straight after she did, and then explained what it meant to the group:
Will do another word of the week sometime, busy week ahead of me so I may be a bit scarce.
…they just wipe at 1% (with thanks to Spinks for the ending, I was too lazy to think of one).
Or, can you just drop raiding and not worry about it? I know at least one person who’s happily made the transition that way. I’m vacillating about it.
There’s things I don’t like about the current raiding I do, solely in LotRO, in the Dol Guldur cluster. I’m not overly keen on the radiance gating, I’d rather it was trait-based, or .. hrrm many other proposed systems. I prefer a closed-ish raiding group, but our kin has opted to go for rotations, and a much more broad brush approach.
There’s things I do like about raids in general, and the current one is included in that. I like the social side, the larger group size and chance to group with people I may not group with every night of the week. I like the more interesting fights a raid can bring in (though to be fair, lots of the 3-man instances have some fairly interesting fights in them which probably allow me to display my ‘leet skillz’ more obviously than in the current raid.
But, I have to admit I’m finding myself a little ambivalent about raiding in general. Some of it is being in the doldrums about LotRO, but it’s a far more complex reaction than that and I’m not even sure I would be able to explain all its facets. I’m still signing up, but perhaps being a bit more honest about nights I’d rather sit on the sofa watching crappy TV.
And yet, when I think of myself as a player, I think of me raiding. So I guess I’m not quite done with it yet.
I haven’t posted much about our adventures in World of Warcraft. I’m still a little freaked out to be playing it again, and though I really do love my Shaman, it was a bumpy start – and I’m still not really playing it on anything more than a casual level – hanging out with Spinks and some of her friends from her main server, and also my other sister and some people we picked up along the way (we’re on Steamwheedle Cartel, Alliance, btw).
We’re using the Dungeon Finder interface quite a lot, which means many PuGs. In general, they’ve been pretty good, and it’s definitely been a good way to get xp and decent gear and see the instances in the game. We’re now in the Outland ones, ones I’ve not seen before, so that’s fairly challenging/interesting!
Today I decided we need a game associated with being in a PuG, and devised one that can work across games – so feel free to spread the word and play along. The basic concept is ‘Word a Week’, where each week I nominate a word you need to slip into chat in your PuG, and then send in a screenshot for it. This week, I decided on ‘disenfranchised’ in celebration of this week’s UK election! I even used it in a group today, though not a PuG – but next sunday I hope to have a screenie of me saying it in a genuine PuG!
Wonder if anyone else will join in, but if not, this will be my Sunday posts for a while 🙂
So, I was lucky enough to go to a preview of Hot Tub Time Machine on monday night, but this it the first moment I’ve had to jot down a few thoughts about it. It’s not a full or proper review, because I don’t have time to look up directors, actors, etc. Just my overall thoughts.
Now, first I should say it’s not exactly my usual fare, filmwise – I’m not the hugest fan of the slapsticky run of American comedies we’ve had in recent years. But what the hell, it mentions time travel, so it had to have some redeeming features, right? The plot’s fairly basic – three middle-aged friends and one 20-yr old, end up in a hotel hot-tub trying to recapture a moment from the 80s and end up back in time, having to re-live moments of the three men’s lives so as not to destroy the space-time continuum.
Going back to the 80s is always fun. Even if the characters are a bit basic and stereotypical, and like I said before, some of the humour a little obvious for me. But, at its heart it still has a decent tale of friendship, loyalty and regaining the magical fearlessness of youth. And Chevy Chase as the mystical hot tub repair man (of course the time ‘machine’ gets broken and traps them in the past until it can be fixed).
I enjoyed my time in the cinema, but I’m not sure I’d normally have given it the time of day. It’s definitely pulp-y, watch-once and forget type cinema to me.
But I can’t really talk about it without mentioning the kind of British equivalent, another odd little comedy I watched recently (this time on DVD) called FAQ About Time Travel. Starring Chris O’Dowd from The IT Crowd, it’s a very British comedy take on the whole time travel question. You can tell this immediately as our trio of friends are awkward, geeky and understand the complex questions about how time travel might work.
It takes place in a pub, time travelling is not in a glam hot tub, but in a pub toilet. And instead of being whimsical, it actually has the main characters debating how time travel should work, in terms of changing the future. Where Hot Tub Time Machine is brash and in-your-face, FAQ About Time Travel is understated and witty – and although it’s not one I’d watch time and time again, if I had to buy one, it’d be the latter.
Anyone else seen either and have any comments? Or – what’s your favourite time travel film?
I’m not sure what my favourite is, perhaps Memento if that counts, but I’m thinking it probably doesn’t (asked my husband and he says it totally doesn’t!). I’ve heard Primer is good, but haven’t got my hands on it yet. But my favourite probably does have to go to one of Back to the Future, 12 Monkeys or Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure – which kind of proves that time travel and comedy can mix extremely well!
For my job I’m currently running two Readers Groups, an adult one and a children’s one. I thought I might as well jot down my thoughts on the books I get to read because of this (as opposed to the ones I read for pleasure, which I might comment on as well – especially as many are linked to other things in my life).
And the latest book I read was For One More Day by Mitch Albom (he famously wrote The Five People You Meet in Heaven, for the record). Now, just reading the back of the book I knew it would be a little heart-wrenching for me, as my father died around 8 months ago – and this is very much a book about how it would be if you got one more day with someone who’d died.
But, it’s also so much more than that, and drew me in by the sheer quality of the writing. Chick, our narrator for the majority of the book, is on the verge of suicide. His mother, who raised him for most of his life, died three years earlier, he invested in a dud scheme and his family have fallen apart to the extent his daughter doesn’t invite him to her wedding.
The book is Chick’s life, interspersed with letters his mother sent him, examples of how she stood up for him and how he didn’t stand up for her. And it’s the tale of a young boy/man who only ever wanted approval, respect and love from his father – a man who seemed only to want him occasionally.
It’s a really short book, like Albom’s others, and I read it voraciously. It’s hard to relate just how well written it is, and how quickly you get drawn into this tale, which does unravel to a satisfying conclusion. To say more would really be giving away the entire novel. And it’s not sci-fi or a comic, it’s totally not my usual – but having read it because I had to – I’m now a convert and would definitely recommend it if you happen to pick it up, or see it looking lonely in a library somewhere.
I logged onto LotRO tonight, determined to make a triumphant return to the game – to join in with a kin activity and to just knuckle under and remember why I enjoy the game.
It didn’t go according to plan.
I grumped at people, ended up in a smallish but nice group of people, but faced with a really hard fight to be sole healer for. We did fine, until that last fight. Then died. And died again. And it doesn’t really matter whose fault it was because it made me feel like it was my fault. Bad healing situations always do, if you’re a responsible and proud healer. I know it’s not always JUST the healing, but I want to protect the people in my group. That’s why I heal.
So, I ended up feeling frustrated.
I just couldn’t drum up the joy again.
I’m signed up to raid on sunday, so I’ll see if that helps – though since the raid isn’t that much fun and a number of my closer friends aren’t along for that run, it’ll be different. But I place no grand expectations. I will log on hoping it’s fun though (as long as I remember to respec a little).
Is it me? I’ve never really played an MMO for more than 2 years before. I pretty much give up on them all when I reach the 2 year mark, it’s obviously approximately my attention span. So it could well be me. As well as life factors that won’t go away immediately, ‘things change, people change, interest rates fluctuate’ (yes, you get points for recognising the quotation!).
Maybe it’s the character and class, after all, I’ve done much of the content with my Captain, done way too much grinding in almost every area of the game. And yes, I’m disillusioned with all aspects of the end game. Every instance is fun for a certain number of times, or with friends.
I’m thinking of moving to an alt, and playing it slowly. Playing LotRO less. I can’t even say I’m excited about the prospect of Rohan. I think of it and think clustered instances, a zillion runs to get a zillion tokens for a weapon lottery I am bound to lose.
Yes, I’m definitely in the doldrums. And I can’t see a definite way out of them, but I will try and few. Not quite ready to drop the game I love just yet.
I’m aliiiiiive.
Or – the plagues of London haven’t kept me down too long! (I’ve been down to London a lot recently to see family. I come home each time with a cold. Or an allergy, or something that means my body does not enjoy London trips as much as I do!)
LotRO is still quiet for me. I’m slowly trying to get myself back into it, because I love my guild folk there and miss them dearly. But I’m definitely having a lull the game. Regardless, I’m raiding on sunday night, so I will definitely be on well beforehand to remind myself how to play a Capt reasonably. No-one will expect more from me! I’m kind of glad to hear WB bought Turbine outright, but we’ll see how it plays out with Codemasters and also with whatever secretive IP Turbine say they’re working with (I’m fairly sure it’s Potter, but then that might be taking Steefel’s word about it being a massive IP a little too at face value.)
I’m still playing WoW with Spinks, which is more surprising to me than anyone else. After numerous stop-and-start returns to the game, it seems the Refer-a-Friend scheme helped me get past level 40. Ok, so I was too involved in LotRO to play all the way to 60 with triple xp, you have to do that within 90 days and I played a month, left a month, returned a month, etc. But now we’re settled in, using the dungeon finder and scarily close to 60. I’m playing a Shaman, the one class I despised in my earlier trips to WoW-lands. I’m also genuinely loving it, so much so that I plan not to play a Worgen main, so I can stick with the Shaman. Maybe as a dwarf so I can play with other new-starters! The dungeon finder has helped me cut through the quests I’ve done too many times, the R-A-F scheme would have done the same, but I have better gear and more cash this way.
I’m not playing games much though, despite how this all sounds. I still haven’t finished Dragon Age for my second playthrough and refuse to play the expansion till I have, as I prefer my second char. After listening to a few podcasts yesterday, I really want to play Mass Effect. But, I’m also working more at the moment, enjoying my job and having to bring home work for the first time in years. So – not as much time to game, and that’s definitely made the biggest impact. But enjoying work is a good thing, so not going to knock that. Of course, I’m also having to apply for the extra-hours-part of the job, and may well not get it, so very soon I could be restored to my slacker-dom!
And in the meantime, all the shows I love are on-air and on-form. And taking up a lot of my reduced leisure time, because frankly, I’d rather be up-to-date with Lost than do a few skirmishes or a raid – sorry MMOs, you only have my soul until the one-eyed-god needs it back.
Which means, on the whole, that this blog is going to become more mixed. I may talk about books (my day job is in a library, I now run two reading groups, which means reading homework!), comics, my upcoming trip to Comic Con 2010, games, MMOs, and TV. And you’re all welcome along for the ride. The cats will, of course, still take pride of place. With pics!
Nerf the Cat 