Origin of stupidity.

Famous religious leader Kirk Cameron releases a book. His video is refuted point by Romanian member of the League of Reason Cristina Rad, aka ZOMGitsCriss.

What’s better than one Leia in a bikini?

Carrie and her stunt double chillin’ on the sail barge.

Ayn Rand was unique.

Her first name rhymes with “pine.” That’s not her real name, of course. She created a philosophy, which is damned close to making your own religion. Meeting her was definitely an adventure.

Whenever Ayn Rand met someone new—an acolyte who’d traveled cross-country to study at her feet, an editor hoping to publish her next novel—she would open the conversation with a line that seems destined to go down as one of history’s all-time classic icebreakers: “Tell me your premises.”

Ayn Rand and the World She Made is the new biography detailed here. I’m sure it’s an interesting read. This article is certainly full of awesome, here’s another excerpt.

Few fellow creatures have had a more intensely odd personal flavor; her temperament could have neutered an ox at 40 paces. She was proud, grouchy, vindictive, insulting, dismissive, and rash. (One former associate called her “the Evel Knievel of leaping to conclusions.”)

Today’s gaming update.

I explored a few more games and demos, including:

1. Bladestorm: Hundred Years War (not as much fun as Dynasty Warriors, but kudos to Koei for trying something different)
2. Facesmasher (eh, boxing, sort of, deleted)
3. Age of Booty (yeah, okay, deleted)
4. Noby Noby Boy (if you delete a game, do you keep its trophies? I think the answer is yes)
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (I had fun until it turned into a platformer, then I was done)
6. Bayonetta: First Climax (it’s really called that… I defeated Jeanne, and that was the end of the demo; I still can’t wait for January 5th when I get this game)
7. Mass Effect (spent a few hours playing this, and made a bad decision with one of the talky quest bits… I think I pissed off Ashley, and how do I get to the sex scene doing that? Not liking this as much as I thought I would, but then I hate the controls cause I’m an RPG/action player at heart).

In other news, Dr. Heimlich posted a fine review of Lego Rock Band here, in which he points out that you can’t see all your RB downloadables through the LRB lens, which I didn’t quite get. But he’s right. Furthermore, when I named my LRB band “Brickhouse,” I was astonished that no one else had picked that name… but of course, as the Good Doctor points out, there is no online play for LRB. I do wonder  if LRB is really worth $60, but I have to admit there are few things cooler than watching your bricky band chase away spirits to the tune of Ghostbusters. Perhaps this new kind of awesome cute interactive Lego content makes it all worthwhile. I shouldn’t bitch before I’ve even finished story mode.

I returned to SoulCalibur IV with my own newly-created character (named Chyler, of course) and tried the Arcade mode again. With her improved stats (no, not her Ivy-like bosoms, and yes, I did find the control for that when you make your own character [it's called Muscularity, which is Japanese for Cup Size]) I got through level 6 and The Apprentice (that guy from Force Unleashed, who is really pissed at me for deleting the demo) totally pwned me. I gave Chyler a pirate hat and baggy pants to get more HP, and tried again. Again, I’m on level 7 and it’s The Apprentice. That’s when my quarter ran out. I still love SoulCalibur IV, even if I will never master all its various parts. BTW, I checked out the DLC for SCIV, and snore, but again, kudos for offering something.

Which brings to mind something I saw discussed in an article the other day… How the heck did we get all the way to SIXTY DOLLARS as the price point for a new console game? It’s insane. I used to figure if I got 1 hour for each dollar spent, I was in good shape, but hell, it takes a Final Fantasy type RPG to get you to 60 hours of content. (I know I sound like your Grandpa when he said, “I used to buy a loaf of bread for a nickel!” but you guys know what I’m talking about.)

Excuse me, Gran Turismo is calling…

Don’t rename things.

When John F. Kennedy was shot, every school in the United States tried to get renamed to “John F. Kennedy Whatever School.” This is not a good idea. Names are important. If you’re opening a new school, then name that one whatever you want. But don’t change the name of something institutional like a school.

As another example, the name of my college has changed. If I tell you I graduated from Florissant Valley Community College, you can’t find any evidence of that school anywhere. After I left, they changed the name to St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. I threw away my FVCC T-shirt in disgust.

When I named my very first World of Warcraft character, I sat at the computer for about thirty minutes trying to come up with something. I ended up with “Caitlinbree,” named for the character Caitlin Bree in Clerks. (Later I made a Dantehicks, Randalgraves, and Olafoleeson). I never liked that name.

I used to call her Bree in the way that you talk to a game while you’re playing it. When I got my first two-handed weapon for her, it was so damned slow that I yelled, “Swing, Bree!” and that’s where that nickname came from. As time wore on, we started to call her (and me, online) Cait which became insanely confusing when I joined a guild that had a Kate and a Katye.

So after all this frustration I’ve been having for years, Blizzard now provides a way to rename your character. Hey! I can rename Caitlinbree. My friends said not to do it, that was her, that was her name. What would I name her? I wondered.

Then yesterday I’m in one of the big cities and some guy makes a random broadcast on the general channel wanting help with a quest. I say sure, I have that one too. We get a third and we’re off. Half an hour later, we’ve finished the encounter and everybody is happy with loot. Then the third guy says, “Have you been playing for a while?” So I say yes, four years. Turns out he’s been out of the game for over two years, but returned to the same server, and he remembered Caitlinbree.

It’s time for me to take my own advice. You don’t rename a character you’ve been playing for four years. Caitlinbree she shall remain, now and forever. Don’t sue me, Kevin Smith.

I bet I’ve played more Lego Rock Band than you have.

Here are my beginner’s tips:

1. Watch the opening video. Of course. It’s awesome!
2. Play We Will Rock You on free play to check your calibration first. Mine was just fine. Maybe it loads from your RB2 prefs, I dunno. And you really want to play We Will Rock You first, don’t you? You get to see brick Brian and brick Freddie rockin’ out.
3. They keep talking about a Manager for the band, but you can’t hire one in the office. Go get some stars, you lazy plastic thing, you.
4. There is an amazing assortment of easy levels to play the game including… get this.. AUTOMATIC KICK PEDAL for the drummer! Everybody is a star, baby.
5. Generally speaking (salute), it’s a lot like RB2. But with Legos, of course. All your downloaded songs are available for free play or playlists.
6. You may be jaded like me and think there’s nothing else cool about Rock Band, but Lego Rock Band will PROVE YOU WRONG!

Name your characters carefully.

There’s a lovely site about non-combat pets from World of Warcraft called Warcraft Pets created by a player who goes by the name Breanni. It’s a comprehensive list and how-to guide, and you can even make your own pet lists there and print them.

As a lovely thank-you to that player, there is now a dealer of pets and pet supplies in the game with the name Breanni. Well done Blizzard, recognizing the valuable contributions that players can make.

Now, one of the lessons to be learned here is to name your characters carefully. If that player’s character was named “Legollas” or “Pwnshorde” I don’t think Blizzard would have named an NPC after it. So don’t give your characters names like “Caitlinbree.”

SoulCalibur IV and me.

Here’s what I learned about SoulCalibur IV today.

• I finally figured out how the skill points work! It’s based on your equipment.
• The Brady Guide for this game is nearly illegible. Art Director FAIL.
• Ivy and Kilik are still my old faves and standbys.
• New faves include Shura (twin katanas), Setsuka (umbrella iaijutsu), and Seong Mi-Na (polearm; in her story mode, when she fights Kilik, he says, “You stole that move from me!”)
• Seong is the only female character I like that has human sized breasts (there are a few). “Tell me your premises,” says Ayn Rand. I’m saying sometimes a cigar is a cigar.
• I’ve made customized versions of four of those characters (all except Shura cause she’s a bonus character).
• Buying new weapons and maximizing your skills is fun and really helps in the single player modes.
• Ivy is the daughter of Cervantes. (Egad! There is story!)
• I’ve unlocked every character except The Apprentice, because you have to beat Arcade mode with Vader to get him.
• Ashtaroth is the bitch I can’t get past at level 5 of arcade mode (there are 8 levels). I hate him so.
• Voldo is still really fucked up in game IV. He’s not hard, he’s just fucked up. Weirds me out.
• I tried the Tower of Souls, but I can’t get past level 11 (there are 60). I suck at this game, when it comes right down to it.
• I don’t know where my Soul Gauge is or what it does. I do know that when the other guy blinks red you can press all four buttons and kill him with style. Which I think is related to having an empty Soul Gauge.
• I still don’t know what it means when you get a new Style Level for a character. That guide sucks.
• I made a custom character from scratch! Pretty damned cool, and you get to name her too. I could be imagining things, but it looks like you get boosted stats doing it this way.
• SoulCalibur is still fun for pore ol button mashers like me.

Taking the high ground.

I’ve said before that I think Apple’s “Mac vs. PC” ads don’t sell Macs. If you own a Mac, they make you laugh. If you don’t, they’re still pretty funny. If you own a PC and you’re angered or embarrassed, you weren’t going to switch to Mac anyway, I suppose.

However, I have to say that Apple certainly seems to be leading the discussion. Their competitors can’t come up with anything genuinely funny themselves, so all they do is respond to Mac. Like the laptop shoppers who decided that Macs were too expensive and bought a PC. Like Verizon, whose new catch phrase is, “There’s a map for that.” Which apes Apple’s iPhone commercials.

There’s a lot to be said for having a position in marketing that is so good and well known that all your competitors can come back with is, “Oh yeah?”

I have to say something about Windows 7 here: Those new ads that say the consumers are designing the software? That explains a lot.

Peyton Manning… best ever.

I’ve seen more than one article lately that says that Peyton Manning will be the best quarterback ever when he retires. Maybe before he retires. He’s on the verge of breaking lots of long-standing quarterback records.

I know it’s absolutely fascinating to watch him work. The system the Colts use has not changed even with a head coaching change. His offensive coordinator admits that he just sends in suggestions and then Peyton calls all the plays.

Peyton is a master of audibles and deception, and his accuracy is phenomenal. He does everything so very well that he makes it look easy. He makes superstars of his receivers (not the other way around).

I’ve spent hours watching some of the greats like Staubach, Marino, Montana, Aikman, and Warner, and I believe that Manning is in a class by himself.