Archive for: February, 2007

Less QQ, More Mew Mew

Feb 28 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Gaming

“It’s a simple matter of mana conservation,” Christopher announced, more to his computer than anything. “It takes less mana to rez you than it does to heal your dumb ass!”

The Great Druid Nerf of Aught Seven, as I have come to think of it, is either underway or about to happen. Since Christopher switched his main to a Druid– and it was his first 70– I hear a lot about Druids, Druid skills, Druid complaints and every other thing. It’s true, non-moonkin forms were completely awesome– tank, heal, caster, melee. You name it, they could do it.

And so the Warriors got angry. They decided, evidently, that they should be the primary tank class and called for a mass Druid nerf to stop long-haired elf types from turning into bears to hold massive aggro while they cast battle shout over and over again, ineffectively slicing at the enemy while some Mage 30 yards away actually brought the thing down.

So Christopher has been ranting. Turns out they’re only probably putting the real nerf on the bear form, which means Druids will still be able to accomplish everything they were previously able to accomplish, especially in group situations, and Warriors will still cry because it’s not stats. It’s really not. Your armor, your rage, your chance to hit and crit rating don’t mean anything if you don’t know how to play. If you can’t get three sunder armors on the baddie in the first 5-8 seconds of a battle, you’re out regardless. That’s just plain bad tanking. Eight seconds is about the longest it takes your average Mage to get a big dps shot like Fireball off. If you don’t already have aggro, that monster is going to immediately turn and rush the clothie, and then you’re screwed anyway. You can’t hold aggro and your caster is down. Unless you’ve got an ass kicking Paladin hanging around, you’re probably dead anyway.

There are great warriors out there. I’ve played with them. But there are very few situations where I would agree to play on a team where the Druid was main heal instead of main tank. And if the Druid community is whining about Bear Form Nerfage– less qq, y’all. More mew mew. You’ve got plenty of skills in that cat form. I’ve seen cats slice crits that one-shot orange baddies. Druids will still be your best bet for all around team players.

Really, put your energy into something that would really make a difference: nerfing Warlocks!

8 responses so far

Dr. Invisible Who? Claude!

Feb 27 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Fandom

I haven’t cried over television since December 2002, when Mal Reynolds told Simon Tam that they were still flyin’. Cue credit music, waterworks and lousy American Idol commercial.

But last night’s Heroes! Oh Claude! Oh, Invisible Dr. Who, who is so attractive when he’s clean and groomed and not walking around like a surly hobo. I thought I loved him when he spent three episodes punching Peter. That was fantastic. But now? With the flashbacks? Dude is a double agent and I am in love. I don’t really like the name Claude, but still, there is love.

There is also a An Utter Waste of Time forum, where we are asking the big questions– what’s the Deveaux Building connection. What does Mr. Nakamura know about Hiro? And who do we write to thank them for giving us another Mohinder-free episode?

2 responses so far

I’m Still a Little Hungover

Feb 26 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Never Off the Record

Went to a fabulous party on Saturday for the express purpose of trying many different martinis. It was fun. Really, so much fun. I feel like I kept having fun until about 7:30 Sunday morning, when things got drastically not fun.

It started out with Batonga cheering for dentistry:

Batonga: We love tartar! Yes! We do!

And J of J & C, ala Doppleganger Flutter, supervising the mixing. here with another woman who has the same name as his wife:

CC: John’s new nickname is ‘Yummy.’
J: No. King Supreme!

And it didn’t take long before things got a bit out of control:

J: People just get pisseed off they weren’t invited. Fuck ‘em!
C: [Batonga], what are you doing?
Batonga: I made this up!
Lisa: What’s in it?
Batoga: Vodka.
CC: And red food coloring.
Beth: That’s good!
Lisa: Taste it! I like it!
CC: [Batonga]‘s not sure he can make another.
Lisa: I think you should make some more.
CC: Hey [Batonga]! You need to make two red drinks.

And a little bit surly:

Sarah: Can I have a sip of your cocktail?
Christopher: No. You should get your own.
Sarah: I hate you.

And you know me– even drunk I’m with the spaceship evangelism:

Sarah: I’ve been trying to convince Sara Beth to watch Firefly.
C: Yes, with Kevin Costner.
J: Oh, Jesus, no!

And we achieved funny crazy:

John: Where’s the parrot? Nobody brought their pets.

I did try one new drink, called an Abracadabra Martini. Even though I’m not down with calling anything that’s not made of gin and vermouth a martini, it was still a very tasty drink. It was vodka, champagne, and pineapple juice. Very tart and sweet and fizzy.

And then we all went home, or at least Batonga and his sister left and then Christopher and I left and maybe everybody else was still having fun. Then I woke up Sunday, prayed for death and slowly but surely drank two full liters of gatorade while watching stupid movies and playing World of Warcraft and vowing never again. I’ve never really vowed that before. We’ll see if it sticks.

3 responses so far

Storytelling, Fried Chicken, Lost at Sea

Feb 23 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Lexpionage

It’s been a week of classics in learning new words– first Greek, the Elizabethan English, then Latin words learned while trying to figure out how the passage of time is calculated. And I work them all together by pointing you toward Mr. Neal Stephenson, as I often do. Did he ever discuss Isaac Newton’s particular idea about the construction of time as opposed to Gottfried Liebniz’s particular ideas about the construction of time. Newton thought it was a dimension, hence measurable. Liebniz tended to go with the more philosophical view that time was a construction of intellect therefore, immeasuable, but well-suited to measuring. It seems to be that we’ve internalized much more the Newton view of things than the Liebniz view of things– yet another historical middle-finger to the good Herr Doktor.

Diegesis – The story, as presented by a narrator. Yet it differs from traditional narrative, as most adults or long-time readers know as mimesis. Diegesis is telling, not showing. Mimesis is showing, not telling. Mimesis allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, while diegesis provides them all. It’s the root of the old adage, “Show, don’t tell!” The wiki on the subject provides an interesting section on extradiegetic music in film. Which coincidentally answered a question I’ve been wondering the answer to since 1995: is there a film which does not use a musical soundtrack of any kind. The answer seems to be Belle du Jour.

Lustrum – Straight Latin for a period of five years. While looking up all things related to time and its measurement yesterday and there was a sidebar on all the different words we used to indicate passages of differing amount of time. Hour, minute, day, week are all words that we use. We say “fortnight” when we’re trying to sound overeducated or very funny, as in “He puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly, smartass!” Nobody ever uses “score” anymore, but we all know what one is, as well as era, century, millennium, and to a poetic extent, and eon. But there was lustrum in the middle of things, seeming so useful and so neglected. I can’t think of many situations where I’d have use of it, but it’s a shame to ignore it.

Dead Reckoning – The process of determining your current position based on a previous position, first by getting a fix, then determining mathematically where you are via velocity, time, heading, and any wind or current. Essentially, it’s non-celestial navigation. There is some argument over whether or not the “dead” portion is somehow a contraction of “deduced,” but the OED doesn’t list anything other than the term itself, dating back about 400 years. By navigation with the stars, you are “live”—able to make good calculations and move purposefully. Without stars, you are “dead”—forced to rely on data that may or may not guide you correctly.

4 responses so far

The Jolly Roger on the Day After

Feb 22 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Never Off the Record

Filed under How Stupid Do You Think We Are, they’ve changed the international symbol for deadly radiation. Go look at it. I’ll wait.

I would never have known, had Honu-Girl not thought so much of safety and welfare that she sent me a link and an explanation and waited politely until I stopped laughing so hard I couldn’t type. She hit me up on Google Chat, sent me the link, and then was kind enough to clarify the symbols, as she is an actual scientist. Her explanation goes, “When smelling Radiation, please run away from the Pirates.”

3 responses so far

You Can Change an Idea. Changing Beliefs is Trickier.

Feb 20 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Confession

Every couple weeks, usually while driving somewhere, I ask Christopher, “Do you want to start going to church?” He says, invariably, “Yes. But where?” And then I offer several suggestions and we, also invariably, get where we’re going and start talking about other things.

Despite the fact that we both grew up southern and I grew up very religious, we’ve never really attended church as a couple. When we first moved to Birmingham, we spent a year or so at his parents’s church, playing in the orchestra, but left for various reasons—most of them involving money and shuttle rides and the local weatherman.

This last time we talked about things, Christopher mentioned that he didn’t want to go to a church where people didn’t think. Which sounds horrible, but you know what he means, right? He wants to go to a church where it’s possible to learn new things about Christianity, and Christians, and the self as part of the world, not just listen to some blowhard tell you you’re evil every week, then demand half your money. Further, not attend some place where they just spout new-age nonsense souped up with some Jesus and tell you what you want to hear. “Something,” he waffled, “like the Catholics, because they do some scholarship.”

“We can go to Catholic church,” I said. I was a Catholic until age 12 or 16 or something. I’m confused about it, since I think that the Nicene Creed and the Sinner’s Prayer are essentially the same thing. So when did I stop? I think the answer is that you never do—you just fall behind on sacraments.

But Christopher is reluctant, because his understanding of Catholicism is undergirded by movies, which make church services seem very complex and forbidding to the outside person. There’s standing and sitting and kneeling and everyone has to talk at the same time. I told him that they usually have helpful books called misallettes that can be used to follow along for everything but the homily. He claims he doesn’t want to be seen reading along.

We tried Baptist church and that wasn’t so much for us. We’ve attended Presbyterian church, and that was fine, but we tend to snicker during the politically correct sections and that’s frowned upon. I advanced the idea of going to a Full Gospel or Charismatic church, where I am usually pretty comfortable, but I don’t think he’s ready to confront being slain in the spirit.

So how do you find a church? Other than just start going and maybe take some notes and talk it over. Where does everybody else go to church? And how did you find it? What were some of the criteria you used? And is it possible to find a happy middle ground for a lazy Baptist and a lapsed Catholic into glossolalia and waving her arms around when the spirit moves her?

18 responses so far

You’re Going to Break My Heart, Aren’t You?

Feb 19 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Recovering English Major

From Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore:

“What do you do, Sime?” Tommy asked.

“I am on a quest for the perfect big-haired blonde. She must be a beautician and she must be named Arlene, Karlene, or Darlene. She must have a bust measurement exactly half her IQ and she must have seen Elvis sometime since his death. Have you seen her?”

“No, that’s a pretty tall order.”

Simon stepped up, nose to nose with Tommy. “Don’t hold back, I’m offering a cash reward and a videotape of her trying to drown me in body lotion.”

This book is hilarious. And I feel like I shouldn’t say it, but it’s effervescent. Weird things like the above just keep percolating through the narrative, so that you’re never quite sure when you’re going to be blindsided by hilarity. I’m not even to page 100 yet, and I’m pretty sure I need to read everything this guy ever wrote. Especially since the Christopher Moore website has this to say about his latest novel:

If you’re looking for San Francisco scenery, hot vampire sex (similar to hot monkey sex, but hotter), giant shaven cats, the Cheddar Princess of Fond du Lac, and the Fighting Beatniks of Allen Ginsberg High School, look no further.

Vampires, sex, cats, cheese, and beatniks. It’s like he wrote it just for me!

One response so far

Skillzy Has a Blood Elf that Looks Like Tawny Kitaen

Feb 15 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Never Off the Record

First, think of the most romantic Valentine’s day you ever experience. Were there flowers? Chocolates? Fine clothing, wine? Gazing deeply into your beloved’s eyes, making promises and whispering sweet nothings? My Valentine’s day was sort of like that, except I spent it at Hooters welcoming HD back from his trip to Asia and listening to my good friends being very funny and very silly. Flowers and chocolate? Forget it. Wings and beer!

We started by recapping our previous attempts at trivia for HD, and in Skillzy‘s absence. He wanted a reason for our spectacular loss and rather than tell him that it was his fault because he was gallivanting around Bangkok rather than here in Birmingham trying to flirt his way into first place, we told the truth.

Sarah: We were much more concerned with Skillzy’s possible sex life [than with getting the answers right].
Batonga: That was a much bigger topic of conversation.
Dave: Be careful what you say there.
Batonga: What, “possible”?
Dave: “Bigger.”

And by that time, Skillzy had wandered back and took the opportunity to change the subject.

Dave: There’s no trivia tonight.
Skillzy: What? We have to enjoy each other’s company?

And so that’s what we did. We told stories and hear all about traveling, and submarines, and the guys talked about sports and I didn’t pay attention to it. We noted that Hooter’s was awfully busy for it being Valentine’s day. And congratulated ourselves for being so very romantic.

Hopefully trivia will be back next week. Really– the number of quotes I can weave a narrative around really dwindles when it’s off.

6 responses so far

An Object Lesson in Increasing Dwell Time

Feb 13 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Fandom

Other than being just plain stupid hot*, you know what the best thing about these pictures of Alan Rickman is?

What's he hiding in those pockets?

You get that look it means he's about to take you right across the desk, you saucy minx!

Teh Man obviously knows the 3-click rule.**

* Doc keeps promising boobs and not delivering, so I’ll step up for Stupid Hot.
** According to the conversations about these pictures, it’s unlikely that the writing on the whiteboard has anything at all to do with Alan Rickman. More like he was at The Times newspaper office being interviewed and then the photographer pulled him into an unused office and used found atmosphere and composition to create subliminal messages– he’s standing under the word “SEXY.”

9 responses so far

Viva La Downtime!

Feb 12 2007 Published by Sarah, etc. under Speechifying

Is anybody else becoming a victim of stealth joylessness? When you expect to have one conversation, about hobbies, relaxation, and fun and instead get into a kvetching session about personal productivity? I find myself barraged frequently with tales of being less-productive-than-thou—people competing to see who can assume the most guilt about doing the least amount of work on a weekend. Terrible time mismanagement seems to stem from things like watching TV, reading, and playing outdoors. Sometimes I try to highlight to ludicrousness of these ideas with irony. I’ll say, “This weekend I got my Mage to level 66!” I am then summarily dismissed with a combination of eye rolls, snorts and sometimes an, “oh you’re kidding me.”

I’m not kidding. I really did spend the majority of my weekend sitting at a computer pressing the 2 key so I could set pixilated monsters on fire. And I felt good about it. I packed a lot into my weekend, including contract work, a visit to my in-laws, and the usual truck of laundry, and still managed to make having fun at a video game my priority. Are you snorting and rolling your eyes? What better way should I spend my free time? Achieving nonsense goals so that I can rack up accomplishments to report in Monday like a good little do-bee?

I don’t think I’m wrong here. It’s the weekend. You should do what you want. If you want to spend your weekend doing “productive” things, which seems to be doublespeak for “boring and/or unfun hard work” then more power to you. If you wake up on Saturday morning and decide you want to spend the day watching movies, do that. Spend your whole damn day watching movies. Enjoy yourself! It’s the weekend!

What is this collective MotherBossSnotty-overachiving-peer everyone is reporting to? Are we not adults? And the great thing about being an adult is? That you have plenty of money and can more or less do what you want when you want. Does it help to devote a few weekend hours to laundry and housekeeping? Sure. Should you confess immediately on Monday if you spent four hours reading a novel for pleasure? Absolutely not. You’re a grown up—take some responsibility. Be accountable for your own choices, which are completely valid, because you say they are. Hell, I use my powers as a grown-up to stay up late and get up early so I can game more!

Who’s with me in this stand against the hive mind? Who will gleefully devote hours and hours of a day without work to activities that pleasure and edify, rather than achieve for mere achievement’s sake? Take a stand! Refuse to be a joyless automaton whose entire existence is founded in garnering results. Rise up and embrace leisure! You have nothing to lose but your dreary and morose sense of tedium and ennui!

7 responses so far

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