Four Years for years,

This entry comes on the heels of love, loss, and life. Maybe we dig our own hell, or find our own heaven. But it is such a slow process that like the tectonics of the vast landmass we cling to, we sub-duct to melt and burst forth or we upthrust to great heights to get eroded by the acid rain born from our own greatness without ever realizing it.

In the end, we are but hydrogen dust in the solar wind dude.

Dust... Wind.... DUDE.

So to take a much needed break (and because really who wants or cares to read in depth on someones life? that's what Facebook is for) I'm going to post some useless reviews:

• "Gotham" - Overacting, terrible writing, decent cinematography, and more characters than you can shake a bat-stick at. Granted it is only on 2 episodes, and there has never really been a successful live action series set in the Batmanoverse (the dark one). I had such high hopes for this series. Though I don't feel that it let me down. Rather it was just crappy enough not to make me too sad if it gets cancelled, and not too crappy to where I wish pain and fire upon those who cursed my eyes with it. I give them kudos for "Joking" with one of the bigger reveals. I will say that Jada Pinkett Smith stole the show with this new character "Fish Mooney"... I will also say that at first it was a "WHAT THE LIVING CLUSTER F*&# ARE THEY DOING?!?!" moment, but her acting chops really bring a Machiavellian flavor of camp and danger to the series. Donal Logue as Bullock was an odd choice, but he seems to be pulling off the rough cop with the heart of gold, buried in a chest of bullshit. I liked him better in Terriers... And lastly Benjamin McKenzie and David Mazouz (yea, I've never heard of them either) make a passable Gordon/Wayne combo. We'll see if the series has enough clout to get better for a second season, or go the way of Birds of Prey.
• Star Citizen (Alpha) - If you haven't donated to Chris Roberts' (the Wing Commander guy) new MMO space flight/combat/FPS/sims... errr... sim then you are one of those unfortunate souls who had a miserable and productive childhood. The game is still in early, early, early development. But it is also crowd funded. And with every "stretch goal", they have surpassed $51 Million dollars (insert Dr. Evil finger), they promise new content. And subsequently a full game gets pushed further and further back. Currently the game promises Newtonian spaceflight. Which means you have the option to fly like you are really in space, instead of in a WWII fighter plane (Star Wars). Upside: you can keep your momentum going forward, spin around and shoot someone trailing you. Downside: Astronauts make this shit look too easy! You are more than likely to go hurtling out of control and spiral into a large chunk of space rock. To make matters worse even if you do manage to kill another ship, they explode into a cloud of shrapnel moving at speed, which you are more than likely flying right into. And their smoldering wreckage WILL ruin your day. That's just the in-space part of the game. Right now you also get a spiffy hanger to walk around in. And the game promises an open world, space carriers, functioning economy, large scale ground combat (ala Planetside 2, CCP's project Legion). Oculus Rift support, and a development schedule that now looks to be measurable in geologic time scales. However, if you long for the days of being able to hop into a F-27 Arrow and rocket out into the void, then I would suggest dropping a few $$$ to get early access and at least help the dev cycle along. But if you can't/don't want to wait...
• EVE Online - Maybe you wasted most of your life back in 2005 for nothing. Or hated the fact that it took FOREVER for a new update. Or that the dev's ruined the game. Or you tried it out and after 2 years never understood exactly what it was you were "supposed" to do. The learning curve of every other MMO (and game for that matter) in existence can be summed up as a gradual slope. The more you play, the more you "grind" the better you will get. One day you will be on top and then grow tired of it and move on to something else. Eve is a lonely overgrown forest path, that leads to the foot of a cliff, that you are more than likely to fall off. If you make it to the top of this cliff, you will probably jump back off (or hang yourself from it). If you continue on at the summit, then it is nothing but a craggy, razor sharp precipice infested with rattle snakes, and lions, and zombies, and land mines, and crucified players, and thieves, and bandits, and goons. Lets say you somehow make it through the meat grinder of your first two years in the game, then you are faced with a vast artillery range strewn with bodies being bulldozed into nice little piles to be blown up again. There is no "on top" or "winning". If you manage to scam enough players to giving you their stuff, or stay in a station and play the market, or become a big shot Coalition leader, you will still either get taken out by your most trusted allies. Or you will get banned for no reason, or left all alone in a depleted belt while the wolves slowly circle while riding sharks w/ freaking laser beams on their head. So why play in the first place? The "Meta Game" that Eve offers is one of the best you will ever find. And CCP has finally started pulling their heads out of each others @$$'s. They are providing constant updates, expanding the community base, and the new CSM's (player voted government) is actually doing stuff... If only Congress could learn from a fake elected body. Sure Dust514 was a massive steaming pile of shit. But Project Legion (see Planetside 2) promises to not suck donkey choad. And Oculus Rift support for Valkyrie (see Wing Commander) gives some hope that the massive Tranquility server will not become a barren wasteland where the foul dictator Mittens rules over the few players left.
• Nerf Wars - Why throw such a random thing in here? Because what is more satisfying than shooting a friend or co-worker with a foam rubber dart? Sure the print on the side of the "blaster" say do not modify for risk of injury. But who actually takes the time to read those? Considering you can get a great blaster for about a quarter of the price for a par airsoft or paintball gun, and they leave far less of a mess, and don't sting nearly as bad, and you can use them in doors and around electronics, there is really no reason not to pick one up. Sure you'll look funny in the kids section at Target, but a decent CS-18 (looks like a pulse rifle from Aliens) will only set you back about $30. Even a simple pistol model runs right around $10. Pop it open (the simple double action ones) and stack about 3 to 4 pennies behind the spring. You'll be surprised by the extra umph you can get. DISCLAIMER: if you modify your blaster, you may cause injury or even blah blah blah... Basically, use common sense. Also, don't be "that guy" who totes around a painted fake revolver and gets taken out by someone with real firepower. If your place of business is cool with it, set up an actual war. There are also some great groups online that usually have pretty consistent meet ups.

Well, that's about it. Hopefully you found the above ramblings entertaining and informative. If you have a suggestion about something I should write about, please let me know. Abide.