I’ve been a little lax in mentioning I stopped playing City of Heroes/Villains for technical reasons a while back and have sine renewed my subsrciption to World of Warcraft pending the imminent arrival of Burning Crusade. The last nudge was supplied by the great list of friendly people Matt and Tyler found on the server who allow for raiding while remaining a small, tight-knit guild.

Malfeus is a 60 level Paladin, specced thusly. My official job more ot less boils down to Combat Medic, as Druids and Priests are designed to heal while Paladins do it well as a back-up while being tough bastards as the same time. It’s a fun job, although thankless at times, that has the advantage of being far less catastrophic if I screw it up.

It’s nice to see that the end-game content is actually enjoyable, I left thinking it would be monotonous grinding. Admittedly, there’s going to be trips through the Molten Core and into Onyxia’s lair that won’t yield any loot, at least I’m having fun.

I’ve lost track of all my bLog versions so I’m putting these back up:

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As the discussion simmers over Splinter Cell, I am reminded of an age-old rant I’m going to unleash: Busy-Work missions. There was a game for the PlayStation (One) call “Colony Wars” that was potentially one of the coolest space “fighter simulation” games ever published. The fighter combat was quick, sleek and the controls just rich enough that it didn’t feel like a graphical update of “Asteroids.” I was looking forward to it after the tutorial ended.

Then I was so horribly disappointed.

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Reviews are creeping in for Splinter Cell: Double Agent and if what they’re saying is true (as isn’t often the case) I will definitely take a pass. Not that the game is necessarily bad, just way not my style. I take issue with it, though, again if what I’m reading is true.

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Possibly my favourite movie growing up was Top Gun. It, along with some lesser aircraft movies, led to my soft spot for aerial combat and the Knights of the Sky. Without a doubt, my favourite combat aircraft of all time is the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, probably the last plane made strictly to engage other aircraft. Whatever has come along since will always be compared to the Tomcat whenever I look at it, and won’t hold up no matter how nice the technology, lines or style. Possibly only the ill-fated Avro CF-105 Arrow could have topped it in my sentimental heart, but it never had the chance.

As of last month, the venerable F-14 has been retired from the US Navy’s service, having been replaced by the boring, functional F-18E/F Super Hornet. So long, babe, I’ll miss you.

My brain keeps going back to the myriad of conversations I’ve had trying to justify U2, Green Day, Tom Cruise and Michael Turner being “Artists.” Hearing “they never change” or “well, everyone likes them” as reasons against irks the hell out me. People seem to be that determined to be different, then crank up their Good Charlotte and Linkin Park albums without a trace of irony…

The last excuse I heard was that you cease to be an artist once you make money off your medium. If ever I heard the ultimate justification from a broke, failing “aritiste” jealous of of someone’s success, that was it. I feel that if your heart is in it, you’re making art, and there is no good or bad art (much as I might lose it and call it schlock). There’s nothing wrong with everyone liking your work and you making a few bucks for it, even getting set for your life and your childen’s. Once it’s not yours, then your just chasing a career.

It’s a point that I frequently have to make when I start bashing something I don’t like that it’s my opinion. If Linkin Park is keeping you from killing yourself you love it so much… fuck it: down the road, not across, or make sure you jump where the trains enter the tunnel, not after they stop.