Friday Fun for the 2 Sarahs
Jan 11I’ve recently become addicted to the UK quiz show, Mastermind. It’s a neat idea – contestants are asked two rounds of questions, but they get to pick the topic of the first round. This results in a lot of sports and nerd themes. There are some corkers involving Ghostbusters, HP Lovecraft, Douglas Adams, and the Sandman comics (all read out by the very proper, but always game host.)
I thought the Sarahs might get a kick out of the one above – bear in mind ladies, I got a perfect 17, no passes on the Ghostbusters. Good luck!
Hong Kong swag – Shaolin Kubricks
Jan 04A friend recently went to Hong Kong to visit family and returned with presents. Mine was this awesome set of knock-off Kubricks (same style, different plastic, with molding seams showing) – a box of four Shaolin monks, complete with arsenal. Swords and spears are cool, but it’s tough to beat the oversized monk beads and bench, for whichever one practices drunken kung-fu.
To Whom It May Concern: Rock Band at the Super Bowl
Jan 02I don’t know how many of you have had a chance to become acquainted with Rock Band yet. It is a revelation compared to Guitar Hero, and I say that as someone who sat down and made a wish list for a Guitar Hero Great White North edition (all Canadian rock, eh?)
Besides being the ultimate rock fantasy short of going to… well… rock fantasy camp, the game takes the rhythm and appreciation for music taught by the earlier guitar games, and adds singing (it’s often been commented that the Karaoke Revolution games, by the same developer, basically train you, through visual feedback, to sing on key – not to mention learn words and phrasing) and best yet, drums. The best part about the drums is that it’s pretty clear, pretty quick, that if you swapped out the drum pads with real drums in a similar configuration, you’d be playing the drums. Not expert, no no no. But you’d be playing.
The guitars don’t teach you chords or fingering, but the drums do teach you to bang the skins.
I consider myself a decent drummer at the medium level, and the game isn’t mine, so I can only assume that with my own copy and time to obsess alone, I could improve – but even at that level, I felt pretty confident that I was at least ahead by a few months worth of drum lessons.
Now, please observe the following. Feel free to bang yo head. Well, it’s Rush. So, feel free to bop in a progressive manner.
Ok. This got me to thinking, as has happened a lot lately, about whether Rock Band is a Guitar Hero killer. And this video got me thinking that there is one way, in two steps, that Rock Band could completely dominate and crush Guitar Hero.
First, produce enough kits to meet a massive demand. The three you sent to my local Futureshop isn’t going to cut it.
Second, take the Rock Band maniac in this video (or similar) and have his play with Rush. Could be part of their tour. Could be part of the Super Bowl Half Time show. Could be part of the Super Bowl Half Time show in order to help promote the Rush tour. It could be late night TV (lord knows they’ll be leaning on music acts while the writers strike continues.)
And slot that fucker in. It will not be great drumming – in fact, bump him down to hard, maybe even medium, so that the drumming is less insane-o video game drumming, and more like real drumming. But five minutes later, you will have sold everyone watching on the fantasy of being in a band.
Hell, make Geddy Lee sing in-game. You know he can hit those notes. I sure can’t.
Double hell, make it a contest. Winner by Xbox world rankings gets to play with Geddy Lee and Rush.
Just don’t do it until I get my kit.
Holiday notes and a spit-take.
Dec 29I’m back from a one-week trip to Calgary (Dallas of the North), Alberta (Texas of the North) to visit family. For Christmas I got… norovirus! Or something. Not food poisoning. And Influenza doesn’t actually cause vomiting and other… expulsions. Plus, it only lasted a day and bit, so I’m betting norovirus. Lemme tell ya, the abs work-out is spectacular.
Otherwise it was a laid back, quiet affair (with a time-delayed Christmas dinner to accommodate my illness – bah. Humbug!) Got Lost season three, got Little Britain Abroad, got Guitar Hero 3, got a whack load of books, including I Killed (a nice companion to The Aristocrats or Seinfeld’s Comedian.
Last of my store credit at Best Buy; hovering over the Checkout button for a camcorder-to-computer kit thing and the Blade Runner 4-disc set. Have never seen Blade Runner so am sorta thinking I need to rectify that before I get shot by some indignant nerd who decides to find my address and hunt me down for my ignorance.
Holy shit! What!? WHAAAAT!?
Matt, if you’re reading this, it means you’re not watching Blade Runner. And I have your address. You gave it to me.
I will use it. Don’t make me use it.
PS You don’t need the five disc set, but pay it forward and get yourself the four disc set. Don’t give in and get the two disc set. You should have a copy of the original version narrated by Harrison Ford. Most will say they hate it. They are idiots. Without the narration it’s brilliant. With it, it’s brilliant and noir.
"Most of these are 'towel'."
Dec 22A Merry Chrismas from me (a Chris. ho ho.) to you and yours.
I got you a mash-up I made with my own two little hands. I call it…
