This is from a few weeks ago. Same story: house to myself, Chinese food, some games and some metal! The usual applies here, so we’ll leave this as a brief intro.
| Bone Fire: MMXIV-II |
New Bone Fire MP3: MMXIV-II
Posted in Blog, Downloads, MP3s, Music on August 31, 2014 by slatemanNew Cubes: Order #1 – Rex Cube & Face-Turning Octahedron
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing on July 11, 2014 by slateman
Two new additions to the ever-growing and rather-large Cube Collection. Today we have the Flower Rex Cube by LanLan and the same brand’s Face-Turning Octahedron. The weirdest thing about these two is how they share the same core. Due to this, their solution isn’t far removed from one another. That’s a good and a bad thing. Good for ease, bad for diversity. This is particularly true because I don’t find them overly fun to solve. It’s more of a chore (so far. I haven’t solved the Octahedron yet) and not as much of a challenge as it is a task. However, I don’t care…they were both cheap (~$12 each) and they’re great additions! Now, order #2 is coming and I’m psyched about this one! It’s Calvin’s 2x4x6 – an ultimate shape-shifter! This should be cool! More soon!
Oh, solutions might help – if and when I forget how to solve these guys!
Mushihimesama Futari Black Label
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, DoDon Pachi on June 27, 2014 by slateman
I haven’t written much, but now that summer is here, perhaps that might change. After re-launching BeeStorm, I’ve been on a Cave kick and I finally opted to grab Mushihimesama Futari: Black Label. I never quite understood the passion for this title. So many people seem to love it and while I liked it, I never felt the same devotion. However, after getting back into it, it’s so much fun! Now with Black Label, we have three totally separate games (1.5/Arrange/BL) and each plays so differently (particularly when you account for Regular/Maniac/Ultra & God modes). I’ve always loved the art of the game and the music has grown on me, even if it has nothing as magical as Like A Night Of Falling Stars. In any event, I’ve also been playing DDP:DFK BL and version 1.5 which is pretty friggin’ awesome.
EFM8: I Am Your Father
Posted in Blog, Movies on April 23, 2014 by slatemanSo psyched to present this. I’ve waited a long time to make this movie. :D This is a short, three-minute film devoted to the film series of my youth. Enjoy the usual stupidity!!!
[jwplayer mediaid=”1551″]
New Bone Fire MP3: MMXIV-I
Posted in Blog, Downloads, MP3s, Music on April 17, 2014 by slatemanThe first recording of 2014. It’s heavy. It’s stupid. It’s the usual…Fuck Yeah!!!
| Bone Fire: MMXIV-I |
New Albums: Spring 2014!
Posted in Lists, Music on April 11, 2014 by slateman
There are finally some good releases coming up. I figured we could take a peek at the whats and whens! Some I don’t know if I care about (Marty Friedman?) and some can’t possibly be good (Opeth!) but whatever. I’m certainly excited about new records from Lantlôs, RodGab and of course GODFLESH! Here’s what the next few months look like. Some exciting releases are coming just in time for summer! I’m psyched!
Insomnium – Shadows Of The Dying Sun (April 25th)
Rodrigo Y Gabriela – 9 Dead Alive (April 28th)
Lantlôs – Melting Sun (May 2nd)
Agalloch – The Serpent & The Sphere (May 13th)
Down – Down IV – Part Two (May 13th)
Marty Friedman – Inferno (May 23rd)
Burzum – The Ways Of Yore (June 2nd)
Anathema – Distant Satellites (June 6th)
Arch Enemy – War Eternal (June 9th)
Opeth – Pale Communion (June 17th)
Overkill – White Devil Armory (July)
Godflesh – A World Lit Only By Fire (?)
Crazy 3x3x2 Get + Algs
Posted in Algorithms, Blog, Cubing on March 22, 2014 by slateman
I think I like this puzzle. The standard 3x3x2 is just a quick solve, not one I dedicate much time or effort to. However this is a different take on things and perhaps I’ll extend my collection into the bigger crazy cubes. I’d like a basic Crazy 3x3x3. In any event, for now, I wanted to write up some notes. Here is my solve method and my latch piece is red/green/yellow. That’ll lock the center circle in place.
- Solve inner cross
- Solve inner corners (on Right) (R2/U2/R2/U2)
- Find ‘latch’ corner – keep on bottom (left)
- Solve bottom outer edges (keep latch out of the way)
- Solve bottom corners (use a dummy piece)
- Adjacent corner swap (latch on back-left)(headlights in front)
- Turn 180 degrees and move headlights to the right side)
- Reverse (2L/U’/2L/U/2L – rotate clockwise – 2L/U/2L/U’/2L)
- Last-layer edge swaps (keep latch out of the way)
Siamese Mirror Blocks Algorithms
Posted in Algorithms, Blog, Cubing on March 8, 2014 by slateman
I got this one a few months back and was entirely stumped. It’s only the second cube to leave me without a solution completely. (The other is WitEden’s Camouflage 3x3x4 – and I think I broke that one!) Anyways, thanks to MartyWolfman’s marvelous tutorial; I can now solve it! I love cubing but I’m not the most brilliant at coming up with my own algorithms and solutions. For this one, he used a lot of beginner’s method algorithms: something I’d forgotten entirely! For purposes of going back to this puzzle, here are some algorithms and methods of solving. I might need this entry someday!
Inserting Middle Layer
Right + Back
R / U / R / U / R / U’ / R’ / U’ / R’
Right + Front
R’ / U’ / R’ / U’ / R’ / U / R / U / R
Last-Layer Situations
- If Dot (Algorithm 2x)
- If L (Place L in F & R)
- If Bar (Place on L & R)
Turn top 2 layers to the R face = Y
Y’ / R / Y / R / U / R’ / U’ / Y’ / R’ / Y
Then fix BR bottom corner
R’ / U2 / R (to orient)
R’ / U’ / R
Then re-fix middle layer
Orient Last Layer
One top piece last layer facing you on left
R / U / R’ / U / R / U2 / R’
Put proper piece on BR
R / U2 / R’ / U’ / R / U’ / R’
Final Layer Edge-Piece 3-Cycle (correct piece in back)
R / U’ / R / U / R / U / R / U’ / R’ / U’/ R2
New Cubes On The Way!
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing on March 7, 2014 by slatemanEven though I haven’t been updating much; I have been adding to my cubing collection. The biggest & best is the 4x4x6 cuboid. I feared this would be too similar to my 3x4x5 but it’s better in almost every regard. It’s a lot more fun to solve and since it shape-shifts on all faces; it’s a more interesting puzzle. In addition it’s much more durable than that 3x4x5. Anyways, that’s the old…I’ve got a pair of new cubes on the way. The first is a crazy 3x3x2. I’m curious; I think this should be a unique puzzle. The other is a silly and cheap addition to the collection. This will be a 3x3x1 mirror cube. This one is just filler; it will look good on the shelf though!
Since I haven’t updated in a bit, I’ll toss this new stuff on the cube collection page.
Dragon’s Crown: Old School & Fun!
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Reviews with tags Dragon's Crown on March 2, 2014 by slateman
I’ve waited for this game to come down in price and it finally has. While full retail was a bit too steep for me, $17 was perfect and I caved and got the PS3 game this past week. Now, I still fully expect this to be free on PS+ some time in the next year; so I’m hoping that’s the Vita version. However, after a few hours of play, $17 is nothing when compared to the fun that this game is!
In recent years, I’ve enjoyed some new/retro beat-em-ups. However, most don’t have a great balance of old (the action game) and new (well…anything else). The newest Double Dragon is pretty bad and Final Fight Double Impact is really only great because of Magic Sword. Dragon’s Crown on the other hand, is an impeccably-animated romp in a wonderful setting. Swords & magic & loot…what more do you need? Oh…a dragon, clearly. See the title.
In any event, I hope to get some good hours in on this in the coming weeks and while it won’t be a platinum trophy title, I’m going to enjoy the heck out of it while it lasts!