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NYY: 0-3…WTF?

Posted in Blog, Yankees on April 8, 2012 by slateman

NYY


I am never in a rush for the baseball season to arrive. While many others pay attention to spring training and the rosters to be, I don’t. I realize that when the season does come, it is a long spring/summer/early autumn until it’s over. That’s not bad, but it’s long. And when your team starts out 0-3…urgh.

So, opening day. Yeah, that one sucked. Mo blew it almost immediately and it just got ugly. 5 infielders? Then, after being down 8-2, Swish’s HR in the 9th was a beautiful thing. Yesterday, Kuroda was not looking good and Arod grounding out as the tying run was no better. I’ve learned not to expect much from him. However great he was/is, both last season (up TWICE with the bases loaded?) and this…I don’t expect him to come through in the clutch. Isn’t this his 10th season with us? He’s never been a true Yankee. We all know that. As for today, ugly. We couldn’t hit, we got swept. However, only 159 games left to go! ‘Tis a long season. At least Boston got swept too.

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Skyrim Music Video: So Awesome!

Posted in Games, Music, Skyrim, Video on April 5, 2012 by slateman

Apparently this could be considered cheesy. I don’t know how, it’s dripping with awesome sauce. So fantastic. Enjoy this Skyrim music video!



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Best Soundtracks Ever!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music, Reviews on April 5, 2012 by slateman

A movie score can really help solidify a film’s power and overall epicness. I’ll collect movie soundtracks from time to time. These aren’t the bands featured in the movie, of course. I thought I’d share some of my favorite soundtracks and why they’re so phenomenal.

Passion


Passion
I can’t say precisely when I heard this album first, likely my freshman year of college. Peter Gabriel is a very talented musician, that’s simple, but stepping out of his normal role to put this out is an amazing achievement. Sweeping soundscapes from another world (to an American, at least), this soundtrack is an emotional journey. However cheesy that might sound, it is true. Though I saw this movie once an age ago, it is so powerful even without the film to guide it. The title track is amazing, a super example of how deep and compelling this style of music can be.

What Is Best In Life?


Conan The Barbarian
As a young boy, this type of movie is what made me love swords and sorcery. Arnold was the man. This defines my youth to an extent and to this day I love this movie and its accompanying soundtrack. It is powerful but has slower, softer parts as well. From the beginning “In the time when the oceans drank Atlantis…” to the peaceful Orphans Of Doom outro, it’s a marvelous journey of sword and steel. Riddle Of Steel/Riders Of Doom is what it’s all about. Horns, chants, booming drums. Fuck Yeah!!! Then, try if you will, try to listen to The Orgy and not hum that tune all day long. It’s not an emotional record like the other two entries on this list are, but it is the most powerful, just as a movie with Arnold and swords should be. \m/

HoFD


House Of Flying Daggers
For a while, I watched all the big movies coming out of China. There was simply nothing like it in the U.S. and the cultural difference shows in both the cinematography and the storytelling. This film is not my favorite of the bunch; it is more a love story after all. However, of all those films, this movie’s soundtrack is by far the best, and just very well be the best movie soundtrack of all time. I can listen to this at any time, whether I’m looking for an upbeat, strong drive or an emotionally powerful experience. The Lovers Theme is repeated in several forms and each is as amazing as the prior, culminating in the Mei And Jin version…it gives me chills it’s that good. Even the English version grew on me. Farewell No. 2 – Oh, so phenomenal. Listening to it as I write this solidifies my opinion…the best soundtrack ever.

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Cubing: Windmill Cube – Algorithms

Posted in Cubing on April 3, 2012 by slateman

Windmill Cube


I tossed up some algorithms over at my Cubelog. Having solved the cube a few times, I’ve found a way to improve upon the original tutorial and may eventually make my own. However, for now, it’s a guide for myself. As it turns out, the cube itself isn’t as difficult as its presentation would suggest. It is actually quite fun.

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Mini-Review: Borknagar – Urd: I Like!

Posted in Best / Worst, Music, Reviews on April 3, 2012 by slateman

Urd!

I first heard Borknagar back when their debut launched along with Sacramentum in ’96. It was a good time for European metal and while I liked it, I never got into the band. Fast Forward to when Vintersorg joined the band and my interest was rekindled. My love for Vintersorg’s solo material waned once Cosmic Genesis was released (though now I like the record) so I had a fleeting curiosity. I LOVED The Genuine Pulse. I liked other material. For some reason, I looked forward to Urd.

During my first spin, I liked it. The Earthling was a particularly catchy tune, the melodic instrumental that followed a great tune. It was during my second playthrough that it really caught me. The last few tracks were catchy and and memorable. The Winter Eclipse is classic, fast, aggressive, double bass with raspy vocals. Again, this is what made me love European metal music. The middle section is classic Vintersorg, it’s almost unbelievable. While the album has less black metal vocals, I enjoy the mix of Vintersorg’s folk-sounding approach and the traditional Borknagar sound. This album may not be for everyone, as the band has really progressed in its long career. I find it a great album and would recommend it!

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Mini-Review: Naglfar – Téras: Ehh…

Posted in Best / Worst, Music, Reviews on April 3, 2012 by slateman

Téras

I first listened to Naglfar in the mid-90s when I heard Enslave The Astral Fortress and later Vittra. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest of albums and the drum beats were rather predictable, but it was pretty friggin’ awesome in 1995. After some changes, I was incredibly satisfied with both Pariah and Harvest. But that was 5 years ago. Téras has been a long time coming and now that it’s here…I’m disappointed.

Téras is a heavy, fast metal record with Wrath’s trademark vocals and on paper, it’s everything I love about music. However, it just doesn’t catch me. The production leaves me a little bothered, with the drums drowning out the guitars on several key points. The songs are not nearly as memorable as the last few records and barring a pair of tracks towards the end, nothing grabs me. I compare this to Kalmah’s For The Revolution. This was the first Kalmah record to not be as good as its predecessor. Ultimately, it’s the weakest in their catalog but it’s still worth a listen, particularly Coward. Unlike that album, I liken Téras to recent albums of Iron Maiden, etc. The album is good enough, but why listen to it when you have better music from the same band?

After the epic awesomeness of the last few albums, I’m disappointed this doesn’t live up. That’s always unfair for bands, particularly after a long hiatus. Sadly, the best thing about this album is that they’re still using the Naglfar logo and never changed that.

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New Cubes Get!

Posted in Algorithms, Blog, Cubing on March 28, 2012 by slateman

New Cubes Get!

I ordered these cubes on Saturday and they arrived on Tuesday. Now THAT is service! I’m super thrilled as these are three interesting new additions to the collection. Now, I must say that I’m having a tough time with the Megaminx and am completely bewildered by the Windmill Cube. The Void Cube just has that one parity issue, but it’s rather fun. The others…I’m so confused. I don’t care though! I’ve got new cubes!

The Megaminx is solved largely like a standard 3×3, but wrapping my mind around that concept isn’t working too well. I’m just…so confused. The Windmill Cube (YJ Wheel Puzzle) is just too strange for me to grasp. I’m having such an hard time understanding how the entire thing works.

Void Cube Parity Algorithms
Swap UF with UR
R F’ L2 F2 U’ D R’ F B’ D’ F2 D F’
U2 R2 D R’ L B’ R2 F2 U D’ R’ F’ B U

Swap UF with UB
U F’ L’ B U’ R’ L2 D L’ D’ B R L2 U
F L R’ B U2 D’ F U L’ U’ L R’ D’ F’ R’

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Newest Prometheus Trailer: How Can I *NOT* Be Excited?!?!

Posted in Aliens, Blog, Movies, Video on March 25, 2012 by slateman

I LOVE Alien & Aliens. The second is my favorite movie of all-time, I think. We’ve all heard that Ridley Scott was making Prometheus, a prequel to Alien. Wait…What? It’s NOT a prequel? But, but…but it’s got the space jockey and that ship is the same and…

OK, so it’s not officially a prequel but it’s a prequel and we all know it. I think he said it so we wouldn’t all expect face huggers and xenomorphs. Because, let’s say it were a prequel and there were no face huggers and xenomorphs, it would be a disappointment, right?

I’ve learned my lesson. I try to have low expectations for anything that could be utter friggin’ awesomeness. This is a perfect example. Prequel or not, this could be über-amazing and for that reason alone I should have NO EXPECTATIONS. However, it’s time you watch something. It’s time you watch this, in its HD glory. It’s time to speculate, “WTF is going on?!” Yes. You are excited. You can’t help it. This could be utter friggin’ awesomeness. So, release your inhibitions and accept it. Now, wait until June 8th to find out if it does in fact disappoint you on a legendary scale. Because it just might. Or…….?



Psyched beyond comprehension – even if that is a very bad thing indeed.

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Lydia, I’ve Moved On

Posted in Blog, Games, Skyrim with tags on March 25, 2012 by slateman

Crag-Jumper!


The pain of your loss was great. But I’ve fared well since losing you in Cragswallow Slope. In the months that followed, I’ve slain many a dragon, multiple pyromancers, and actually did a few missions! My trusty follower Anneke Crag-Jumper has been faithful and as useful in battle as you, Lydia. I know you would be happy that I’ve moved on. While I shan’t forget you, it is for the best. Your body is no longer laying face down in the brush. And I’ve moved on. Goodbye, Lydia.

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What The PSVita Needs

Posted in Blog, Lists, Ys with tags on March 25, 2012 by slateman

I’ve got my sexy PSVita and have been enjoying it for quick, short games. My busy schedule lately hasn’t allowed for much dedicated time, but it is serving its purpose. That’s what I love about handhelds and the Vita has a lot of positives. The web browser, its multitasking capabilities allows me to pause and run other programs and I love that I can read messages from friends on either my PS3 or my Vita. However, it’s clear Sony launched this thing without it running at its full ability. There are some very basic things that will be added; I’m just not too patient about it. The fact is, these things should be there already. The hardware is fantastic. Like it’s PS3 brother, who launched without a very good store integration, no in-game XMB, etc. I’m excited about what is certainly to come. Let’s see…

1) PS1 Classics Compatibility
I don’t really know what happened here. I’m guessing it’s the software emulation. I figured that wouldn’t be a real big deal seeing as how it’s such old hardware and this *is* Sony. However, I have a few games on my PS3 hard drive that I’d love to play on-the-go. Symphony Of The Night is one of my favorite games ever. I’m hoping for full support before long.

Want More

2) PSP Compatibility
I know backwards compatibility is never an easy thing and I’m happy the Vita plays a ton of PSP games. There are a bunch not on the list though, and I’m really looking forward to playing Ys Chronicles on my Vita. How they’re going to roll out these updates, I’m unsure. Hopefully with each firmware update we’ll get more games added to the list and to the store.

Waiting...

3) Better Compatibility
Yeah, I realize…Three of the same category. However, this is what I’m looking for my Vita to do. When connecting to my PS3 to download videos I downloaded from the PSN, most don’t work. Wait…why? They are brand-new videos from the PSN! Nope. My videos? Nope. No WMV? I hate the codec, but playing videos on my gorgeous PSVita screen should be a breeze. Why it’s not is beyond me. Well, I can play videos I’ve downloaded. I just have to go through remote play. No…that’s not how it should be.

3) Better PSVita / PS3 Integration
Fighting piracy is no doubt one of Sony’s biggest goals and so I imagine the reason for this interface is just that. However, the Content Manager is a weak interface that is not smooth whatsoever. Copying files is not easy, the manager opens up the video and music programs individually (so why have the content manager?) and it’s all so very cumbersome. While waiting for wireless Vita/PS3 compatibility probably won’t happen (but should), I can’t stand the interface. Having to catalog everything on my PC so to use the same mediocre program is really annoying.

4) The Interface
Now, I quite like that we’ve moved away from the XMB. I loved that interface. I have a Sony Bravia, a PS3 and a PSP. It served its purpose but now with all touch-screen interfaces, I’m glad to be beyond that. While the new PSVita interface functions well, it’s awfully ugly. Will Sony ever change this a la the 360’s dashboard updates? I certainly hope so. There’s plenty that can be done to improve this. I can’t group games together, icons like the party icon look bad even for Nintendo Wii visuals and it’s not customizable at all. We know that Sony is fighting the smart phone market as well as the handheld. Getting the best of both worlds is not going to be easy but I’d love to have more abilities when it comes to tweaking the visuals.

Ug...Ly

5) More Apps
Again, this is a handheld gaming device, but it’s got Facebook and it should add more like YouTube support, etc. Walking that line between a smart phone and a handheld means it cannot be inundated with crap. However, I hope they support this like they do with the PS3 and add something. Specifically, I’d love to be able to detect media servers and to stream audio/video to the Vita. In fact, this is one of my biggest gripes/desires for the system.

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