Lots of Monkeys

In the realm of music games, I enjoy Guitar Hero quite a bit. There’s something about putting the guitar strap over your head, getting into character, and banging out Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out.” I’ll be honest with you, I sing along.

I don’t posit that I could play these songs on a real guitar. It would be ignoble of me to make you suffer the strums and picks of my outrageous, albeit ambitious practice sessions. I’m going to need lessons. Lots of lessons.

But I can play Guitar Hero. And what Guitar Hero does well, is make me feel like I’m performing. If I had to pick one word, it would be, “guitaraoke.” Much like it’s vocal cousin, most of the music is taken care of for you. You don’t have to worry about backup singers or a band. The game takes care of that. Instead of words on a screen, you have simplified frets. About the only difference is that you’re playing lead guitar instead of singing lead vocals.

Also like its vocal cousin, when in a group setting, it’s not so much the technical aspects of delivery, it’s the spirit. Get a bunch of people together to play Guitar Hero, you will see people who are having a good time.

Even solo, I don’t play the game to “beat” it. I usually play the game to listen to the music, and realize how complex the piece is, even dumbed down to a mere five frets and up and down strumming.

Well, unless it’s a Ramones song. Then you realize they had to make the song more complex.

I’m at home cleaning the condo today, but I’m guessing it would be perfect to go down to the tidal basin and look at the Cherry Blossoms. That is, if I could manage to get past all of the boxes that I’ve just started to rearrange.

Blizzard, just give us StarCraft 2 instead of delaying your vaporware StarCraft: Ghost endlessly.

WarCraft Adventures, anyone?

I never realized just how many basic kitchen items I don’t have. I’ve been cooking a bit more lately, mainly to save some money and try to eat a little healthier. So far the big successes have been oven roasting chicken thighs, and using the crockpot to cook chicken adobo.

Now I’m starting to venture into the land of actual meals, instead of individual dishes with rice. I’m in the midst of preparing dinner at a friend’s house when I realize I do not own a steamer, nor a pair of tongs.

Both items, which, in retrospect, would have come in handy (and saved myself some “interesting” moments) more than a few times when cooking dinner.

I really enjoyed Phantasy Star Online (PSO). I was there when it launched on the DreamCast. I was there for the DreamCast launch as well, but that’s a different story. There was just “something” about PSO that grabbed me. I’m not sure if it was the lineage of the earlier games, the sci fi rpg trappings, or the Diablo II elements. Knowing me, it was a combination of all three.

I got hooked when I started playing the online component of the game. Initially, I was dialing in using the DreamCast’s integrated modem. When I first started playing, it was fine. Then I wanted a bit more. Continue reading →