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Think Happy Thoughts, Think Happy Thoughts...


On 01/28/2017 at 05:27 PM by Blake Turner

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 If you're American, you probably know by now that your Country is maybe not doing so well. If you're a woman, you now have no control over your body. If you're a scientist, you have no control over your tongue. And if you're a Muslim... well, you're no longer American.

 Trump has barely been in office for a week and he's already done lasting damage, and not just to your stupid country. His bullshit is now effecting me! He severed the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, essentially meaning we don't have free trade with America anymore, which essentially means everything is more expensive for me now. Oh, he keeps pissing off China. You know that really powerful nation that is virtually right next to mine? Yeah, our Country may be rethinking Allegiances soon, and I'm guessing others will be following shortly.

 But enough politics. I'm here to escape that bullshit! Let's talk entertainment baby!

 Resident Evil 7

 I was very sceptical going into Resident Evil 7, as a lot of things I had heard had primed me to essentially espect something along the lines of Outlast or Alien: Isolation. Those games are fine and all, but in Resident Evil I expect certain other things. Like insane monsters, awesomely tense gunfights, and some solid exploration.

 The first hour of the game is a bit similar to Outlast, and it's surprisingly effective. It's tense, gory, and reminds me of a mix between Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre in terms of tone and bloodlust. After that though? It's Resident Evil through and through. More specifically, it's Resident Evil 1. It has a mansion that slowly opens up and is really quite engaging to explore. It has ridiculous puzzles that make zero sense in context. And it has you trying to conserve ammo whilst also making sure whatever the fuck you just saw move stays dead.

 What really sells it though is the family. They're all so engagingly twisted, and they're an absolute delight to engage with. Sometimes they're truly frightening, and sometimes they're so darkly hilarious that you can't help but laugh. Jack in particular is the highlight though. He is a weird mix of deranged hillbilly tropes and dad jokes. It's great stuff.

 All in all, it's definitely the best in the series since 4, and in my top 5 for the series. I love it, and encourage anyone who can to pick it up and give it a go.

The Green Room

 The Green Room is a fucking intense movie. It's about a punk-rock group who desperately need a gig, and end up getting one at an Alt-Right venue. They see something they shouldn't, and end up trying to escape the building while people outside try to make them disappear.

 Now, upfront, this is a nasty little film. Some of the gore is pretty intense and it is definitely not for the feint of heart. However, if you're down for that and enjoy wonderfully intense thrillers and/or Patrick Stewart and Anton Yelchin, you need to see this one, even if there's a particularly nasty scene involving a boxcutter.

Why Don't You Play in Hell?

 Do you like Kill Bill but think it should have been weirder? This is the film for you. Essentially, it's a Japanese film about a Japanese Film crew who get hired to film the grisly fight between two conflicting Triad groups. And it is fucking hilarious. Essentially, the last half an hour of this film is an extended comedic gore-a-thon, with camera-men and directors stopping the bloodshed to stage awesome shots and what-not.

 It's chaotic and cartoonish, and a hell of a lot of fun. It's also extremely weird and bloody. And weird. Check it out!

The Farseer Trilogy

 It's been a long time since I read a book. I needed to get back into reading, and Robin Hobb's novels are kind of just what I needed. I'm just going to quote my Goodreads review:

"It is important to know going in that despite being about an Apprentice Assassin, this is not an action packed book. Indeed, even the types of Assassinations found in this world aren't the kind that feature slit throats or sword fights. No, these are usually far more passive forms, such as poisoning. Much of the time the Assassin's job isn't even to kill someone, but to persuade them, or cause them to become ostracised.
 
 I say this not to discredit the book, but to let potential readers know that this is not an action book. This is an expertly crafted study of character and world. The main character of Fitz may not initially seem interesting or unique, but through his interactions and relationships with the cast of wonderful characters he shines.
 
 He is not a badass. He is not here to kick ass or chew bubble gum, despite being expertly trained in the former. He is a character that gets shat on repeatedly because he is a bastard and must know his place. While this can at times make it feel excruciating to read, it also makes the smaller victories that much sweeter, and makes his character and world much more interesting.
 
 Robin Hobb's greatest skills lie in subtlety and restraint. The little things that show how characters secretly feel about each other. The way magic is drip-fed to us. The way an explosive and satisfying payoff always seems just out of reach, but still ever teases you onward.
 
 One of the best I've read in the genre, and well worth a read."
 
Neil Cicierega - Mouth Moods
 
If you're somewhat of a music nerd, and are somewhat knowledgable of pop music of the past couple of decades, you need to check this album out. It's hilarious, surprising, and a surprisingly fun and engaging listen. Check it out, especially if you need some cheering up.

 

Comments

Matt Snee Staff Writer

01/28/2017 at 05:40 PM

Hey good to hear from u.  Resident evil in vr made me want to puke.... but in a good way!

asrealasitgets

01/28/2017 at 06:16 PM

DT was inevitable. If not now then maybe within 10 years. I read way too much news and have followed poltics for too long and part of my anxiety comes from anticipation of this exact thing happening, and it is happening very rapidly. Its funny because I live in an area in northern Los Angeles, near the mountains that sometimes catches fire, like horrible wild fire that threatens to crawl down the mountain and destroy the city below it. For years I've thought about moving, but I've convinced myself that I live far enough from the mountain that if it ever came down, my home would be spared. This year, was the worst fire I ever saw. The enormity of it and the speed was tremendous and I felt small as I staired into the hell fire. Anyway, after several days of burning, winds calmed down, and the fire didnt come down this year, but I felt very uncomfortable about the whole thing, mainly because this horrible thing was caused by global warming and there are so many deniers of science and fact and intellectuals---that is what gave me despair. Ignoring all the signs that sit underneath the surface is why certain people have a hard time understanding the election outcome, but I understood it. Of course it was inevitable. The fire was eventually contained, but it scorched a lot of the earth and came close to killing us all. 

I saw a mod of RE1 remake made in 1st person view and it is totally rad! If that is what RE7 is, then I can't wait to play that. I would love a Racoon City 1st person or Code Veronica too. 

Ranger1

01/28/2017 at 08:33 PM

Oh, Blake, we are so fucked over here. I've been humming REM's "It's the End of the WOrld As We Know it (And I Feel FIne)" for the past several months. But hey, National Park Service rangers have gone rogue, so that's something. Actually, as a resident of the State of Maine, we've had Paul LePage for our governor for the past six years, so we kinda already know just how fucked we really are.

ThatKidOverThere

01/29/2017 at 07:07 PM

Holy crap that Neil Cicierega is awesome! I've only know him from the Potter Puppet Pals and "Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" from way back when. I had no idea he was still around doing awesome stuff.

Nicoleb1989

01/29/2017 at 08:37 PM

I pretty much have been a severlly depressed state because of how things are going. Trump is being such a fucktard. I can only hope and wish he only gets elected 1 time and thats it. I hope we are rid of him by next election. I havent gotten to play RE7 but I really dont expect to till later in the year since I wont be buying the game soon. Glad your enjoying it though!

KnightDriver

01/30/2017 at 12:31 AM

I'm wondering how all the games from overseas are going to fair here in the U.S. after all this. - prices gonna go up on JRPGs and Japanese systems? Of course, this is the least of my worries. 

jgusw

01/30/2017 at 06:33 PM

Oh God.  It's not that bad.  Even on this site, people are exaggering over what Trump can do.  Like him or not, there are laws even the President can not break.  People are just overreacting because Obama got away with doing things without the approval of Congress and they are afraid that Trump will do the same.  Contrary to popular left-wing belief, women have not lost any rights, muslims are allowed in the US, and scientists can say whatever they want even if they can prove it or not.  It's so funny watching lefties lose their shit over NOTHING.  It's really getting embarrassing. Laughing

Blake Turner Staff Writer

01/31/2017 at 10:12 PM

I'm sorry, do you not like pay any attention to anything? Dude, there's a fucking lockout on all immigration from quite a few muslim-majority countries - with absolutely zero warning. That is not nothing.

jgusw

01/31/2017 at 10:25 PM

There are over 50 countries run by muslims and many more that have muslims.  The 90 day ban is on only 7 countries that are linked to terrorist attacks.  If Trump wanted to rid the US of muslims, he's doing a piss poor job.  The list of countries for the ban came from Obama's administration.  Obama hisself has made at least 5 similar bans on other countries during his term in office and many more Presidents have had bans on countries for security reasons.  The same as Trump.  I find it odd that the media and lefties are upset.  This is nothing new for the US.  This is more about Trump hate than it is about a ban on muslims that's not even a ban on muslims.  The news media is just promoting more hate for Trump than reporting the truth. Laughing

bullet656

02/01/2017 at 09:06 PM

What are the 5 similar bans you are referring to?  The only one cited by Trump was from 2011 when there was a specific possible threat from Iraq, and it only applied to Iraq and wan't a even a complete ban, and also led to stronger vetting processess that are still currently in place right now (so not really similar at all to to what just happened).

jgusw

02/01/2017 at 10:49 PM

Trump's ban is also for stronger vetting.  How come Obama does it and it's fine but if Trump does it it's bad?  How are they different?  Just because Trump has more countries?  I have no problem with bans.  Banning people from other countries for security reasons is not a bad thing and Trump's ban is not a ban on muslims.  To say it's a ban on muslims is bullshit.  Nowhere on the ban does it even say muslims.  It's hard to ban muslims when the ban doesn't mention muslims. 

bullet656

02/02/2017 at 06:32 AM

Like I said, Obama's wasn't a ban (and was one instance, not five like you mentioned), just a slow down in the vetting process. (Which again,resulted in a vetting process that can take over 1.5 years and is still in place - so to act like we are not vetting properly seems kind of a reach).   And it was because of a specific threat.  And it didn't take all the agencies by surprise, so it didn't result in nearly as much confusion.  So I don't see how you think they are similar.

 I just find these types of arguments his apologists make to defend him annoying.  While I strongly disagree, I understand why someone might support what Trump has done.  Just don't try to justify it by making false equivalencies.  

jgusw

02/02/2017 at 08:26 PM

Since you don't know me, I'll make this clear to you...  I'm not a Trump fan.  I did vote for Trump because I didn't want Hillary to be President.  Everyone under the sun is attacking Trump on everything.  The man can't take a shit without lefties going apeshit and offended.  You don't think that's a problem?  Or at least strange?  The man had the news media and hollywood celebrities against him and he still won.  And, after winning they still attack him for NOTHING.  The more they attack him, the more level headed people have to defend him.  There are people that don't like Trump that can't help but defend him because of all the lies from news media outlets.  Just check it out.  The people lie about everything.  They can't be fair and just report the truth without the bullshit.

Now, my original comments were for Blake, in that context.  He made a light joke at the beginning of this blog.  I made a comment to show I disagreed.  It was about the muslim ban that doesn't exist, yet people are protesting at airports. Laughing You charmed in with your 2 cents and now we're starting to comment back & forward.  Since Blake has yet to comment again on the subject, I can assume he has moved on.  If you want to continue with this, pm directly or are you just shitting around and wasting my time?  I don't think we should continue this here.  I'm a married man with 6 kids and a demanding job.  If you're not sincere, don't waste my damn time.  I don't see the point in explaining my position any further if you honestly don't care.  

This is a gaming site.  I don't come here to talk politics, but if a comment is made that I don't agree with, I voice my opinion.  I don't do it to get people upset.  I do it to remind people that not all of us think of the world the same way and we all have our reasons.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

02/03/2017 at 06:52 PM

I came back and saw you two were arguing and decided to just let it unfold.

 My two cents on the matter: I don't think the man deserves defending. Even if people are lying in their attacks against him, the man himself is a pathological liar on a grander scale than Molyneux. Just check his twitter for the kinds of insane bullshit he spouts, not to mention the amount of times he has contradicted himself.

 I think the larger problem here isn't necessarily Trump, but the Election process in general. Sure, a lot of people hate Trump, but I think a larger part of the issue comes from the fact that he lost the majority vote by a landslide. In essence, the vote was taken from the people, so they are understandably pissed. An even larger part of the problem is in the two party system. You essentially had the choice between two thoroughly corrupt and amoral villains with no real other options. The only thing I can really hope for in the Trump presidency is that America learns from this.

jgusw

02/03/2017 at 08:10 PM

In the US, our 1st Amendment Right is the Freedom of Speech.  Trump can say whatever he wants, whether I agree with him or not, it's his right and I will defend it.  Hell, I'll defend the KKK if it's on freedom of speech.  If we don't have a free exchange of ideas, then we won't move forward as people.  It is that freedom we have in western society that got us ahead.  If I work to silence another because I don't like what they have to say, I promise you, it won't be long before others work together to silence me because they don't like what I have to say.  

As for the election, it worked out the way it was suppose to.  Many US citizens have forgotten or never learned, that the US is not your normal democracy.  The US is a Republic.  Our nation is not run on majority rule or "mob rule".  That's why our Electoral College is placed to balance the election.  If politicians only focused on California and New York, they'd win every election and the rest of the US would be ignored.  Those areas have the most people and those people would have the say on what this country does and doesn't do.  That's not fair to everyone else.  They have a voice and the Electoral College is that voice.  Too many US citizens don't understand how our government works.  I blame our public school system, which is for shit and gets worse every year.  Our nation's lack of knowledge of our laws and the government's role is why these cry-babies are rioting in the streets like a bunch of losers.  Instead of regrouping and trying to understand why Trump won, they choose to double down on their continued bullshit, only to alienate themselves more from reality.  Someone told them the US was a democracy, they believed it, and now they're paying for their lack of knowledge.  What's even worse, the lie has been going on so long that so many people now believe it.  We have been giving too much power to our politicians.  These politicians have been chipping away at our laws that were set up to protect us from them.

As for liars, I guess you're not a fan of our previous President either.  He lied about quit a bit and the country became worse during his time in office.  The reason we have Trump as President is because Obama sucks.  The only good thing that came out of Obama is that it forced me to learn a lot about our government and the history of the country.  The people that voted for Clinton did not want to believe she was corrupt and the Democrats should of never put her forward or continued to support her, but PC politics is what they used and hoped would get her the presidency.  

You hope America will learn.... Sadly, I'm not seeing it.  But I have learned a lot.  The "liberals" are still losing their freaking minds.  If they don't like what someone says, that person is a racist, sexist, homophobic, nazi, etc.  They talk about loving everybody and all I see them do is hate other people for speaking their ideas.  They have become what they say they despise.  Nothing more sadder then that.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

02/01/2017 at 12:22 AM

I'm honestly pretty scared about how my home state is reacting. Basically the Cali state government is trying to resist Trump and getting threats of federal funding because of it. The problem with that is we're such a big surplus state, so we can divert what goes to the federal government to more than make up for this. The problem is that would really, really piss Trump off and I'm terrified how he'd retaliate. I'm not saying it's going to happen or even that it's likely, but it's possible which is something I really would rather not have in my own country.

bullet656

02/01/2017 at 09:25 PM

If it makes you feel any better at all, we've had much bigger protests over Trump than we have had celebrations over his presidency so far.  Hell, I live in the south and even though I know (and am related to) alot of Trump voters, it seems like a lot of his voters don't really support a lot of what he is doing or what he stands for. They just voted for him because they support traditional republican values (which of course he has not at all displayed over the course of his life, but that's another story...)

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