Malik
(11/10/08)
I quit...or so I'd like to say. I'm talking about watching the
Seahawks. However, the more I try to get out, the more I stay in the
game. Yesterday was a perfect example of why I am in a love-hate
relationship this season with the Seahawks.
The game was close...very close. Two points was all that separated
the Seahawks from the Dolphins. Two points that shouldn't have been
a problem. For one thing, Koren Robinson bumbled a perfect pass, in
the end zone, that caused Seattle to have to go for a field
goal...losing four points in the process. Then there was the two
point conversion near the end of the game. The pass was great, it
was caught, and the game should have been tied with only a few
minutes remaining. However, it was overturned on a penalty.
With a big play being overturned, considering it's this season, who
could have done the penalty? This is not a hard question for any
Seahawks fan. I mean who overturned a 50 yard rush a few weeks ago?
Who, the following week, overturned a thirty+ yard run? Who can pull
out all the stupid moves on a major play? None other than my
candidate for MPoSP (most piece of shit player) for the season;
Wahle. This guy seems to have a special ability, like Spidey Sense,
to know when he must pull out a penalty (usually holding, but now we
know false start is not against his ways) to screw over his team.
Wahle is, without a doubt, the Jeremy Stevens of this seasons team.
If the Seahawks want to salvage this season...well, they should
stop. I mean a good draft pick is all Seattle should be aiming for
now. It's not impossible to turn things around, but it's pretty
unlikely. The defense quits by the fourth quarter (like we saw
yesterday), the offensive line is offensively bad, and there's not
much that can be turned around. Most of all, if Hasselbeck returns
next week (like is being expected), he will be out during the first
drive. Why? Because he is weak right now and without an O-line to
defend him, he will take a hit that is going to end his season (if
not be the final nail in his back's coffin).
Unless Holmgren can find something for his O-line to do correctly,
it will be time to call this season 2-14 and just let time finish
this doomed prophecy of failure. My advice for the offense? Start
with getting Wahle out of there...and fast.
Malik |
Malik
(11/11/08)
First off, it took
almost a week, but I did get through Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull. It really took a lot of effort to finish this
movie. Just like the Seahawks, I don't think the movie could have
been easily salvaged, but I think the change of one person could
have given it a chance at mediocrity. The Seahawks have Wahle and
Indy has George Lucas. I really think Lucas has something in mind
for the world...and that something is the systematic destruction of
so many things that I held so dearly as a child.
First he took Star
Wars...then he took Star Wars again. Then he took Star Wars a third
time. Then, not happy with taking one of the most precious parts of
my childhood, he took the only thing left that had his name on it
(luckily, ET never was my type of movie, or else he would have had
another success with walky-talky guns); Indy.
Crystal Skull was,
without a doubt, the most pathetic thing I've ever seen with
Harrison Ford involved. This goes beyond even his movie with Ann
Heche. This was the worst of the worst and it never even showed an
effort to redeem itself. Between the stupid sound effects, the
overly cartoon nature, and how the movie didn't even borrow on
mythology anymore. It was all that something that I think the
Cartoon Network would have been embarrassed to show (like surviving
a nuclear bomb in a refrigerator).
I won't spoil the
movie, but I will say there were two main times I wanted to quit
watching. The first being the refrigerator scene in the first twenty
minutes (which did force me to stop for a few nights). The second
was the ending (the reveal of what the crystal skull was)...luckily,
my DVD player told me only thirty minutes remained and I knew one
third of that would be credits.
Anyway, on the
bright side, I'm done and Colour and the Shape is out this week
(today) for Rock Band 2. At least I have something to look forward
to now.
Malik |
Malik
(11/12/08)
I played through
all of the new DLC (The Colour and the Shape by Foo Fighters) on
Rock Band 2 last night. For one thing, I had loved this album since
it first was released, so my opinions are biased in favor of the
album. Saying that, I enjoyed the entire thing on expert guitar.
There is a little variety to the challenge level, but you'll be
disappointed if you only like metal range hard songs. I was able, on
first play, to get gold stars on a couple songs and five on most of
the others. The only exceptions are...
Since I played
through the album in it's correct order, I had no warm up song
before I played Monkey Wrench (unless you can call something as tame
as Doll as a warm up). So, Monkey Wrench scored a quick four stars
as my arms struggled to keep up with the break neck speed of the
song. However, it's definitely not something that will be failed by
a competent expert level player. If you can do Breed by Nirvana, you
can do Monkey Wrench.
Ironically,
I also got four stars on Enough Space. I say ironically, probably in
the wrong way, because I can play this song on real guitar...while
singing. I can hit the song perfectly on a real guitar, but the
slides just don't translate as kindly to hammer ons and pull offs on
the RB system. Saying that, I could get five stars with some
practice...but it's definitely much easier on a real instrument.
I also took some
more time to finish a few other gigs on BWT which made me happy. In
particular, I was able to beat one of my long standing foes; Smokin'
by Boston. When it came up on the eight song random set, I was
surprised what some determination could do for me. As well as where
my skills have progressed to via playing so much since I last
tackled this song. I still cannot get better than a low three star
rating, but I'll take that over a fail any day.
Lastly, I just
want to say that I hate bad weather. Why? Because of some heavy rain
in the Seattle area, we have flood watches and a few flood warnings
in effect. We get this every year in the winter. It's like clock
work. What isn't like clock work is the warning that took over
during Fringe last night in this region...and the stuttered message
not only left me with about five minutes of dialogue missing (for an
obvious message), but it also left me knowing that no one cared.
Yes, if you live
by one of these rivers, you would care, but not about the message.
The message was so broken and stuttered in it's delivery that, even
if you tried to listen (and I did) you'd still have trouble
listening with any attention. If a public warning is going to be
delivered (even for an obvious thing like rivers approaching flood
levels in a time and area where it's expected), it should at least
be delivered cleanly enough to convey the message. To do otherwise,
like done last night, is a disservice to those who would need this
(obvious) information.
At least most of
what was cut off from the Fringe dialogue was just the horribly
tacked on romantic subplot...which felt contrite and forced.
Malik |
Malik
(11/13/08)
I skipped a post
yesterday since I've been feeling worn down. I would have only had
one thing to talk about; my prediction for RB DLC for the week.
However, I think I've given up, for now, on making these guesses.
Harmonix has gone somewhat random on their selections. The only
things I can say for sure is that some categories in the RB2 set
list are lacking.
For example,
Southern Rock is limited to about a half dozen songs (as opposed to
punk). Also, the 1960's are in need of some more DLC attention...but
that falls into the problem of master tracks not being around for a
lot of these potentially awesome RB tracks. Then again, I'd be happy
with another cover or two if it meant more CCR coming to Rock Band.
In fact, there's
some other places missing in more unique of ways. For example, if
you select the metal genre (and go off of what's really metal...I
love Avenged Sevenfold, but Almost Easy is not metal), you will see
a big missing element; metal that is not loaded with devil faces for
the difficulty. While there is some lesser challenges found in metal
(Lacuna Coil and Crooked-X), it's primarily dominated by some of the
most challenging songs for at least one instrument (usually guitar).
Black Sabbath covers are the only consistent lower tier metal.
Another thing
that's missing is some challenging punk. While many people would
just poo-poo the idea of difficult punk, there is some out there.
For example, Maxwell Murder from Rancid would definitely be up there
for bass and maybe even vocals depending on how they handle the
vocals (fast and with some strange pitches).
So if Harmonix is
going to skip on certain genres and eras, they should at least focus
some on the variety within established genres. That, and maybe they
should get some ska represented (although Where Did You Go? is a
good start).
Anyway, for next
week,
the DLC announcement is f#@$ing sweet!!! It's about time we got
Dead Kennedys on Rock Band, and we get it in a three pack! I just
wonder how Police Truck will be handled. Hopefully it will not be as
badly censored as the GH: Encore version was. Even if it's just some
words being blanked out (like Sabotage), I'll be happy assuming no
poor changing of verses. Also, California Uber Alles is
good...but...HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA!!!
There's also a
single from Crooked-X (could go either way on that one), a Mission
of Burma three pack (honestly don't know this band...), and a three
pack of Century Media Girls of Metal. The last three pack may be
good or bad, but it might expand on what I said only a few lines up
about metal with lower tiers being needed (like the Lacuna Coil song
already on RB2).
Crooked-X is 80MP
($1), while the packs are the standard three pack price of $5.50 for
the pack or $2 per track. After getting Colour and the Shape,
Harmonix blew me away again with Dead Kennedys. Man...I love those
Harmonix people!
Malik |
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