I\u2019ve been doing other writing projects these past few months, so I haven\u2019t posted anything here. My goal is to do some writing at least once a week, which I would like to be on this blog, but time is finite. You\u2019ll have a chance to check out my labors in the next few weeks. I don\u2019t want to announce anything prematurely (Me? No! I never do that). I figured I should do an update dump for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s start at current events, and move backwards. I plan was to do another album review this evening, but that plan changed when my view points on the album warped a bit. Relient K released Collapsible Lung<\/i> last year, and I just picked it up. I downloaded it to my iPod and proceeded to listen to it in my car. This is about the time I contemplated throwing my iPod out the car window. I struggled through the first listen of the album. Collapsible Lung<\/i> is very much a pop (pop rock) album. If I did my research, I would have found out they set out to make a pop album. I love Relient K. I own most of their albums, and thoroughly enjoy each one I own. However, I generally dislike pop music. I turn off my brain to enjoy today’s pop hits, and only if I have no other options. Coming to the realization that this album was pop caused my blood to boil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I powered through the first listen. Then a second play through happened. Oh, I still hated it. After a few more listens (I don\u2019t know why I persisted, but I did) my reality started to tweak. At first, I devolved into my \u201cturn off brain\u201d listening state. The music has some catchy hooks. Hell, I even started singing some of the choruses! A few more listens, and the lyrics started to pop out. Relient K\u2019s strongest talent is their lyrics. This album isn\u2019t any different. For a pop album, the lyrics are fantastic. Combining it with the pop music hooks, and you have a solid pop album. Still, Collapsible Lung<\/i> is not my thing, and it is my least favorite album by the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the video game front, I’ve been playing Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor<\/em>. This has been scratching my stabby stabby itch, and sneaky sneaky itch. Sneaking up and assassinating people is smoother than Assassin’s Creed<\/em> and the combat has a rhythm like the Batman: Arkham<\/em> games. I love it. One of my favorite features is the nemesis system. Within 5 minutes of starting a game, I was killed by a captain. This captain climbed the ranks because he killed me… three more times. I wanted revenge. He was level 13 at this point, but he pissed me off. I finally figured out I could assassinate him, and he went crying to his grave. It’s a good time. I should mention you reviving is part of the game, so the captains think it’s weird that you keep coming back, but they feel an obligation to try and send you to a more permanent grave. Some bastards somehow survive a fight with you, and attack you at inopportune times, like when you are in a middle of a mission. I still like that, because it makes the missions more interesting. I’m almost done with the main story, but I’ll be running around killing captains and war chiefs for awhile; they keep promoting minions for some reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I finished Mass Effect 3<\/em> before starting Shadows of Mordor<\/em>. It took me a long time, but it was a blast. I really liked the first two games, but I waited a long time to play 3<\/em> for some reason. It was worth it to have the Citadel<\/em> DLC and the patched ending. I enjoyed the ending. It was a little odd having basically three choices presented before you at the end of the game, and that was it. Overall, I like it and recommend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve also been playing Mario Kart 8<\/em> for the WiiU. I loves me some Mario Kart<\/em> and this one is the best one yet. Nintendo just released some DLC for it, and it’s well worth the price. I think 12 bucks for two DLCs, and the first DLC has eight new tracks and three new characters. It’s cool. Mario Kart<\/em> is a ton of fun to play with friends… I yell a lot. Mario Kart 8<\/em> is a must have for any WiiU owner, and if you don’t have one, it might just be worth it to buy a system just for this game. There’s other games, like New Super Mario Bros. WiiU<\/em> too. Oh, and Super Smash Bros.<\/em> but I’m not a fan of the fighting game genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve been trying to watch one movie a week. I have some recommendations. Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em> is fantastic. It’s a Wes Anderson film, which I didn’t understand what that means until I watched this movie. It’s the best movie I’ve seen that came out this year. The acting, story, and writing just comes together perfectly. I also recommend Source Code<\/em> starring Jake Gyllenhaal. I think Jake Gyllenhaal is a great actor, so I had to see this movie. I was not disappointed. The story surprised me. The trailers don’t really spoil very much. Chronicle<\/em> also surprised me. I wasn’t expecting much from a “point of view” film, but it worked really well in this movie. I was surprised by the ending too. It’s good business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s all I got. I apologize if this post seems rushed. It is just an update dump, and I didn’t go into too much detail. I’m going to work on more writing stuff in the next few weeks, so forgive me if I don’t update. Once I get my project done, I’ll post an update on this blog. Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve been doing other writing projects these past few months, so I haven\u2019t posted anything here. 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