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| If your life happens to crash, though... I don't know how to help. |
CURRENT MUSIC:
Infected Mushroom - "Herbert the Pervert"
Legend of the Black Shawarma
A seven minute track of nothing but pure energy pumping through it (with an appropriate warm-up phase of forty seconds or so) - I think those are the only words necessary to describe the sound of "Herbert the Pervert."
Infected Mushroom has been mentioned before, and with each of the entries they've been in, I've usually stated how flexible their psychedelic trance music is. This particular track is no exception, as it can back up a heated duel and make it stand out much more than it already did. Of course, while "Herbert the Pervert" (and at least half of Infected Mushroom's discography, really) is suitable for combat scenes in movies, the real part is where you can use the music and apply it to dreams that can be readily achieved in your life.
This track actually has quite a lot of power when used as training music - particularly when you're running. Take it along with you to the gym the next chance you get and see if it steps your game up a bit. If it's able to get me of all people to run around, then I'm sure it'll work for you. (Also, random fact: this will boost your skills if you play as the Terrans. Just thought I'd let you StarCraft and StarCraft II players know.)
Bear McCreary - "Naga Formation"
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs Original Video Game Soundtrack
The title of this particular piece should not be confused with a shortened racial epithet. It should also not be confused with those evil serpent-like beings in Azeroth (and I don't mean those creepy eels, either). Now that that's out of the way...
By now, I'm pretty sure I've made it clear that I'm a Battlestar Galactica fan, and that's partially due to the music. Bear McCreary really knows how to compose awesome things. Anyone who's seen the show or listened to any of his work from Galactica know of this.
So when video game developer Zipper Interactive made SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, they wanted to bring a sound that wasn't your typical militaristic western orchestra. Their first draft pick? Bear. They brought him in because of the musical styles he used in Galactica - which was made all the more better for them when Bear said he was a SOCOM fan. Mutual win.
When you listen to "Naga Formation," there's a sense of aural déjà vu present - especially if you're fresh off of a Galactica marathon. Deep taiko pulses, gamelan melodies reminiscent of the Sharons' leitmotif - I swear, someone could put this in with a scene from the show and to those who didn't know any better, they'd think it was part of the soundtrack.
While the game apparently wasn't so hot (at least from what I've read), the music more than makes up for it, I'd say. If you're a fan of Battlestar Galactica's music, you should probably give SOCOM 4's soundtrack a shot.
Evening, everybody! How goes it on this fine Tuesday? I sure hope things are grand for you all out there, because if they aren't... well, that just sucks, doesn't it?
Where the Frak You Been, You Lovable Idiot?
(Here? There? Everywhere?)
So some of you may be wondering what's been keeping me from posting anything on here lately. If anyone's been keeping track, the last time I did anything "decent" (well, "decent" by my standards, at least) was last Wednesday when I explained to my confused Facebook friends about the Internet blackout protesting SOPA and PIPA. Since then, it's been a rather bleak streak of "crap" entries where I didn't talk about much, including (in order):
- a short entry
- a shorter entry
- one motivational poster
- a hijacked entry (endearingly) typed up by my cousin, and
- Patrick Stewart.
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| Besides, it's not as if the gateway to Narnia was right at my doorstep or anything. |
I have to share them with you, and now is the perfect opportunity to do so. This is mostly because I've temporarily been able to break free of these activities' grasps.
Revolving Dreams
(Or: Why I love the smell of cordite. (Not really.))
Revolver Ocelot has always been and always will be one of my favorite villains of all time. It's not just because of his rampant Chronic Backstabbing Disorder. It's also not just because I love the Metal Gear Solid series to death.
It's (partially) because his gunspinning skills boost his badassery up to eleven.
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| "Ocelots are proud creatures. They prefer to hunt alone." (Picture made by "40swords" and found on deviantArt.) |
I was never good at it, but that didn't stop me from trying anyway.
This should be old news to my more dedicated readers - you've probably known this since before I introduced the "Metal Gear" tag on this blog, and you most definitely know about this if you've seen my New Year's resolutions for 2012 and how I want to try cosplaying as Major Ocelot.
Heck, you've probably seen this video already and were probably amazed like I was that Ocelot's in-game gunspinning skills were doable in real life. That just made me dream even more.
And then I went spelunking in my storage unit one day last week and found this little gem:
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| A Taurus Raging Bull replica. Yeah: it's falling apart that badly. |
*sigh*
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| It's no Single Action Army, but until I can readily afford replica revolvers (or better yet: the real deal), this baby will have to do. |
*keeps gunspinning*
1000 Blank White Cards
(What other randomness has been occupying my time lately?)
So in between spending time gunning through movies and watching movies of people spinning guns, there have been other things keeping me busily entertained. I've played with Legos, worked on Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, hung out with relatives and friends alike, discovered how one could fuse dodgeball and trampolines together, and have just been enjoying life.
Introducing the most insane party game ever to hit the Earth: 1000 Blank White Cards!
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| Just a few of my many "1000 Blank White Cards" cards! Let me show you them! |
Introduced to me a couple years ago by a friend from high school, 1000 Blank White Cards was created rather recently (and by that I mean the '70s-'80s). Requiring the most rudimentary tools (lots of writing utensils, lots of paper/index cards, and a LOT of imagination), this game is affordable to just about everyone. The game is highly idiosyncratic in nature, and it can be explained by the two most common rules used by most players:
- Players help make a deck by creating their own cards with whatever rule(s) they can think of on them.
They can create as many or as little as they want, but generally it's agreed that the players should at least meet a quota. Once all cards have been made, the cards (along with a couple of blanks and some cards from past games, if any) are shuffled together, and game time begins. - Each player takes turns playing a card.
Some rules have the players be dealt all the cards evenly and each player selects someone to play a card on. Some have the players be dealt a small hand and make them draw a card in addition to selecting a player and dealing a card to them. Other rules just have a central deck that each player draws on for quicker gameplay. Regardless of the play format, things just get interesting. Any blank cards played at this time are treated as wildcards where the player can make up a rule on the spot.
Now that you know how it works, you're probably questioning what exactly can go on a card. Well, that's the beauty of it - pretty much anything is fair game here. While there are various "rules" as to what can be done with the rule(s) written on a card, a substantial amount of the 1000BWK-playing community agree that the best cards usually have the following:
- a title (the name of the card)
- some kind of description (the "rule(s)" of the card):
- a command to make someone do something (e.g.: "Do ten push-ups and name an element off the periodic table after each push-up is done.")
- points (purely decorative, but some people like counting them anyway)
- a combination of 1 and 2
- some kind of accompanying picture (art effort/quality will vary)
As to what these rules on the cards can be? Like I said: anything goes. You could be given a card that grants you the freedom to slap another player in the face. You could make a card that has no rule on it. Your friend might write one that tells the recipient that they're a loser and they lose twenty points. You could make a card that forces someone to speak like Arnold Schwarzenegger for the next six turns and also forces them to utter one of his many famous movie quotes whenever they earn any points. You could draw a picture of three pies (and just three pies) and leave it to infinite interpretation if you so wished (I'm supposed to eat a pie? I win three free pies? I have to call someone a "pie?" I get three "pie" points?). You could even make cards that modify other cards - in an example I saw on an online version of 1000BWK, the card arbitrarily affixed the words "OF DOOM" to the end of all subsequent cards' names; any card that made sense with this addition had their effects tripled. It reinforces creativity and makes almost any scenario pretty funny.
As for the points: most people adhere to a (-)1000 limit, but it's up to the players making their cards. Some people have actually made the points count for something. Some award points of fictitious value (I've seen cards like "a Brazillian points" (see the pun?), "40 points and a heart attack," and even "one free train ride to Auschwitz" (ironically favorited by a Jew). Some cards take your points away; others quadruple them... whatever you want. (Personally, I like the (-)1000 limit - makes it easier to act with, though some of my cards do other things - like halve point totals or what not.)
But since most people treat the rules as purely cosmetic parts of the game, that leaves the rest of us with a simple quandary: who wins a game of 1000 Blank White Cards? Well, if you are indeed trying to play for points, then it's obvious that whoever has the most wins (unless there's a card out that modifies how you win with points).
However, the way most people agree on "winning" is the epilogue of the game, when all the cards have been played and everyone's had their gut-busting fill. It's recommended that the group go over all the cards used in the game and then vote to see which ones they keep in "the deck" - or, the pack of cards they'll reuse over and over. The "winner" from this format is usually the person who had a majority of their cards favorited as compared to the other players.
I introduced 1000 Blank White Cards to a group of work friends last week, and although it was met with skepticism, it turned out to be a huge hit. Afterwards I began to slowly come up with ideas for cards and have been making my own deck to use for example games and the "cards previously used" part of the new game deck. As seen with the introductory picture some paragraphs up, I've fashioned quite a lot, and since I said I'd show you what's been keeping me from posting great entries, here's a sample few cards I made and their explanations.
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| CATS! Yay! +200 points (or -1000 if you prefer dogs) |
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| For The Motherland! You are now Comrade of glorious Soviet Union! Da! Now for next five turns, speak with Russian accent and insult those filthy capitalist DOGS! +200 points for every turned Comrade |
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| Really a Toaster All Along (SECRET) "A switch goes off... just like that." For the remainder of the game, you are a humanoid Cylon agent. Find a way to "kill off" the humans in your group without getting airlocked! +500 points per killed human |
Anyway, people like making references to pop culture, and when you play a game of 1000 Blank White Cards, you will eventually come across a card that does. Since I'm a Galactica fan, I figured I'd kill
Ahehehehe... you can count on me to be making more cards and introducing this game to even more people. It's fun, it's great - and when done right, can make save a terrible night and make it a great one.
Who knows? I might show you more silly cards I've made. Heck - I just might make a page for 1000 Blank White Cards!
Well, I'll be seeing ya' 'round. I'm just going to relax and enjoy the rest of my night. So, until the 'morrow, everyone! I hope you enjoyed today's entry, and I most certainly hope that it makes up for the lackluster days that preceded it!
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