For anyone who’s a fan of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, check out the subtle difference in the season 2 intro. Hint: it’s towards the end.
“Remember when I told you that ‘Mars Attacks!’ was a Cohen Brothers movie?”
Things that have never been said #1
Quote: “Remember when I told you that ‘Mars Attacks!’ was a Cohen Brothers movie?”
Backstory: My brother apparently told me that “Mars Attacks!” was directed by the Cohen Brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski). He later explained that he was confusing them with the Farrelly Brothers (Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin). Which is interesting because they had nothing to do with the film either. It was directed by Tim Burton.
Why it’s never been said: I believe that this quote has never been said because nobody would ever think that “Mars Attacks!” was a Cohen Brothers film and therefore would never say it to anyone and thusly would never have a chance to reminisce about it.
My favorite brunch item! This was home-made by my wife.
This was a nice day last summer just relaxing. I thought it was a nice photo from an iPhone (with some post processing from “tiltshift generator”).
This is a burger I got at Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg the other day. It was as good as it looks!
Ween on Rockband! Apparently, The Authority is a “song authoring house” that turns their favorite songs into playable tracks in Rockband. They apparently released Ween’s “Gabrielle” back in October and this week they released “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night” from Quebec. As a Ween fan, this is very exciting news. I had placed a bunch of votes for various Ween songs when I first heard about the Rockband Network (where you can create and share songs with the Rockband community). Check out the video preview and you can download the songs here. It looks like they’re currently only for Xbox. I’ll have to wait for a PS3 version before checking them out.
Pat Sajak is The Best at Predicting Wheel Outcomes Before The Wheel Stops Spinning
I was wondering the other day if anyone is better than Pat Sajak at predicting where the Wheel will stop? What are his stats like? Quickest prediction? His accuracy percentage? I have never seen him be wrong (although I don’t watch the show so that may be why). Is there anyone better than him at giving a sympathetic sigh way before Bankrupt is even in the camera’s view?
This video is me driving in a game called Trackmania. I will probably post about this game from time to time because it’s awesome.
Trackmania is the only video game I play and it is so fun, satisfying and invigorating that I want to share it with anyone who feels like they have time to play one game. Because this is the one you should be playing. It’s a fantastic racing game and the object is to go as fast as you can. I say fantastic because the tracks and (to a slightly lesser degree) physics are from a fantasy. There are awesome crashes, but no damage to your car and you can’t physically interact with other cars (meaning that you drive right through them rather than smash them).
What makes this game great is the learning process and the ranking system. When I first started playing, I drove beginner’s tracks and was happy when I finished them. That’s the first plateau. The next plateau is when you actually try to get good times and beat some of the other veterans around you so you can get ladder points (every time you beat a higher ranked driver, you get points. The higher the rank of the person you beat, the more points for you and your rank goes up). Anyway, the natural learning progression is one of the enjoyable aspects of the game. There is no official progression or announcement when you reach the next plateau, you simply feel it.
Playing online, for me, is the primary purpose of the game. There is a subtle sense of community because you see the same people (especially if you play on the same servers all the time). You know that they are as obsessed as you. There is chat, which is pretty simple and allows you to learn from those who are better than you. It’s also easy to ignore if you choose to. And of course, in a race, you need other drivers to compete against (if you’re up to the plateau of actually trying to win). While I write this hearty recommendation (and sort-of review) of the game itself, let me also include a nod to the server that I play on. The server(s) you choose to drive on are important to the overall experience and my favorite is “Let’s Rock!”. Here you will find not only the best tracks, but also a friendly group of drivers who you can learn a lot from.
You can also keep track of your progress by checking your ladder rank. This allows you to see where you stand compared to other drivers in your state, country or in the world. You can see my current rank below:
There are over 8 million drivers and this game has been around for over 5 years so it’s got a booming community already and is here to stay. Also, the game is completely free so you really can’t go wrong.
Congrats to Bert “Make sure to be home” Blyleven on his HOF induction.
