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stuffromymind · 4 months

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On Video Games & "Big Name Talent": Bad Investment.

Is it because game designers are also celebrity obsessed and wasting development $$$ to work with a 'famous' person overrules common sense business decisions and creates blindness to the subsequent dip in the immersion quality of the final game that putting in famous actors will DEF create?

I've been reading up on Cyberpunk 2077 a bit of late. I'd heard a DLC was out. All the reviewers say it's good now but basically their view is always tempered by how atrocious it was on launch day. The most broken game in history pretty much. Stoopid early adopter feckers got burned.

Again.

But having studiously avoided it, I'm thinking I may get it as a 'reward' to myself - If I can complete 10 games if I have of many, many dozens that reside on consoles and my PC.......sometime.......? Blade Runner is one of my fave flicks and this is basically aping that.

It does have Keanu Reeves in it, though. Not just the voice but him. Why da fuq do game companies keep doing this?

In a movie, actors are part of an ensemble of other human beings in front of a camera and the actor can become a character, if they're good, so any given actor doesn't stand out as 'playing a role'. In a video game it's just an immersion breaker:

"Oh, there's Keanu again."

Like Death Stranding with Norman Reedus. "Hey, I'm the brooding Walking Dead Guy."

I defy anyone to tell me these 'big names' a-d-d anything to the world you're attempting to inhabit by reminding you that an actor is strolling around in it.

Who wouldn't enjoy playing Call Of Duty now and thinking: "Hey it's that twisted pervert, Spacey! Now I REALLY feel like I'm in this game world."

I'd suggest even dropping having 'big stars' doing voice acting. Unless the celeb does such a good job that you don't know it's them. (Which begs the question: Why spend the $$$ to get them?)

Why put all the $$$ into getting this big name 'talent' when they always pull you out of the game world?

I still remember meeting the king in Elder Scrolls 4 and thinking:

"Huh. It's Captain Picard/Patrick Stewart talking to me."

Annnnnnd:

The world I was entering was "Just a game".

Thanks.

It's an utter waste of $$$ that could be spent on the game.

I wonder how much CD Projekt Red paid Neo and if that cash, and the expense of mo-capping him, coulda made the game less of a shit show if better spent?

Why not put this truly squandered cash into more dev time or, (this one is crazy), paying people actually working on the game a better wage?

End of this treatise on yet another pitfall of getting sucked into celebrity worship - this time by game developers.

Anyhow, the price on it hasn't really dropped too often since launch but it's $40 on GOG, (no DRM so you kind of actually OWN it if you download the installer files), right now and the apparently "excellent" DLC add on is on sale for $33. You can get both for $70.39 (CDN).

#cyberpunk 2077 #keanu reeves #video games #video game developer excess #video game budgets #CDPR #cd projekt red

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stuffromymind · 4 months

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"One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other.....

... one of these things, doesn't belong."

Ummm... A Nazi tank?!

Reminds me of the proud "father" I saw at the WW museum in Brussels having his 4 or 5 year old in front of a Nazi flag to get a pic.

Dad was VERY proud and smiling, kid didn't know what was going on.

#BreedingShouldBeRegulated

#warped #Nazi toys for kids #anything for a dollar

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stuffromymind · 5 months

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Too Many Years Behind Me. Fingers Crossed ...

...there's not as many more, or even a quarter of that amount, ahead of me.

Seriously.

Existing isn't living and and I've not lived for a few decades now.

#depression #loss #abuse #poem #poetry

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stuffromymind · 5 months

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Joy. (A Poem)

#poem #poetry #snow #flame thrower

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stuffromymind · 8 months

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Trump Loathes Reality & Wants You To Trust Him

Seriously. How can any Cult 45 member take ANYTHING he claims seriously?!

Compare Conald Chump to Muhammad Ali in his prime.

(I should point out that Conald is 1 inch taller than his last physical when he was POUTUS. He's a growing boy!)

#Trump #weight #215 lbs #6' 3"#Donald trump #trump indictment #Fat #delusional #liar #muhammad ali

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stuffromymind · 8 months

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Trump's Mugshot & A Nazi Mugshot

I was watching this video and as soon as I saw Hermann Goering glaring at me, I was immediately reminded of Conald Trump's mugshot.

Maybe not too surprising considering Wife #1 testified under oath that Agolf Twitler kept a book of Hitler's collected speeches on his nightstand.

Once I put the pix side by side, it was obvious.

Two psychopaths who love fascism.

youtube

#donald trump #mugshot #nazi #hermann goering #psychopath #criminal #fascism #Youtube

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stuffromymind · 9 months

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I Tend To Like It When I Forget It's Mine

I was just adding a verse to my 200 page "Words" collection

and stumbled upon this.

I have no recollection of writing it.

Zero.

So it kinda isn't "mine". But when that happens, and I think:

"That's damn good..." (subjective and something I never do when I evaluate what I know as my creations), I wonder if maybe it is?

I dig this. lmao

#poetry #approval from amnesia #immobile #original verse #poem

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stuffromymind · 10 months

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Rainy Day Observations & The Culmination of a Life Long Search

Heading home from the print shop and I pull up to the first of 7 controlled intersections between me and the driveway where I will disembark.

It's also the fecking 1st of seven consecutive intersections where I got a savagely fresh red, fuhking light.

I made the Baby Jesus weep with my thoughts. That made me smile a bit.

But as I pull up to maximum-delay number-one, a couple walks across the road in front of me. A man and a woman. The man: Rotund with a George Michael-esque, studiously manicured, 5 O'Clock shadow beard. He is wearing a pull over sweatshirt, no hood, along with a back pack, khaki coloured shorts that end just below the knee and blindingly white sneakers.

With him is a blonde woman. She: Curly blonde hair tied back in a pony tail to the top of her head which, despite the rain, bounces with every step. She too is wearing a pull over but with a hood, (clearly not being used for its intended purpose unless she planned to use it to collect rain water for use later), tucked into denim shorts that end above the knee and similar, uncannily, white shoes.

She too has a backpack but is holding it in her free hand. Both are smoking cigarettes.

In the rain.

She has a tattoo on her left calf, outer side. It goes from ankle to the knee joint. It tapers in the back towards the centre line of her leg and the Achilles Heel. Must've hurt a fuhkton. It is an image of the bust of the mass murdering, axe wielding Jason Vorheese from the Friday The 13th films, wearing his goalie mask...

On the inside of the same calf and of the same length, is another tattoo which also curves in the same way as the other tat, meeting at the bottom as if to make a mirror image. I can't make it out.

After a fecking long sit, I get a green and turn left en route to the next fresh, goddamned red. I'm able to look to my left and see the inside of her calf. The image is of the rotting, corpse-like face of Jason without his mask.

I'm so glad my rearview mirror mounted dash cam was running.

Dragging on a smoke in the rain, not bright enough to put her hood up in the rain, and she has a quite obvious and intense love of a certain mass murdering psycho. What a catch!

A dream girl!

I will use this video to track her down. I will steal her away from the Uncle Kracker look alike.

She will be mine. No. Doubt.

I'm lucky there is no legal restriction on the degree of sardonic intent one can imbue their writings with.

#tattoo #Dream Woman #jason voorhees #Friday The 13th #cigarette #smoking in the rain #bright white sneakers #Babe #Uncle Kracker #Baby Jesus

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stuffromymind · 10 months

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A Poem About Perseverance (Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down).

#poem #poetry #original #don't give in #ignore the bastards

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stuffromymind · 10 months

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America Has Been Bent...

...for a hella long time!

The smoking lobby used to advertise cigarettes to pregnant mothers to fight morning sickness, knowing full well from their private tests how lethal their product was, but it looks like the GOP's fave donors, the Koch family, had their own way of taking out pesky humans. WT serious F?

#America #US Capitalism #old advertisement #Babies wrapped in plastic #DuPont #Koch industries #Koch Brothers

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stuffromymind · 11 months

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Holy Moly! Poor Return On Investment.

Likes don’t actually mean anything but they are a measure of how many are seeing your work.

Many, many hours typing = 100 likes....

Worth it?

#likes #talking into the void #interactions

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stuffromymind · 11 months

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Canada’s Top 20 Bands (Excludes Solo Acts)

I stumbled on this list but it pissed me off so much, I was gonna share it with some friends but the email got outta hand soooo...

This list is hurting, definitely in the wrong order, but it's TOTALLY invalidated by #20 and #8.

20: Simple Plan: F-. The plan is quite simple: "Let's SUCK!". Pedo Pop. They sang love songs to 10 to 14 year old girls at their gigs. I met Bob Rock, who produced one of their albums, at a bar once during a set break. I went up to his table, said hi and asked: “Can I buy you a drink Bob?”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

“Okay, I just thought you might be hard up for cash since you took a gig working on Simple Plan’s last album......”

The whole table burst out laughing, Paul Hyde, (his partner and lead singer in The Payollas/Rock&Hyde), burst out laughing, slapped me on the back and said: “OH HE GOT YOU BOB! Good one mate!”

Bob smiled at me and said: “Fuck you, man.”

He gave me a wave later that night as he walked out to his black Escalade, smiled and said, “Have a good night.”

He knew I was right.

I’d need money for lung transplants for an orphanage full of kids who grew up next to a trash incinerator before I’d help to unleash more Simple Plan on the world. Seriously.

19: Saga: C. The fashion says it all. Bar band who wrote mostly ok songs. I don’t remember any. They weren’t bad... just..... “eh?”

Nice Eddie VH, “No Bozos”, shirt for stoner dude, Mr. Zebra Pants. I think the guy beside him mighta been dealing with a chubby. The dude playing pocket pool, who came directly from his shift at the car wash? That’s rock.

I’m making this up as I write.....I’m going to bet that the guy in the white suit is the keyboard player. I’d bet on it. I’ve always been able to walk into any venue and spot the keyboard player immediately.

No lie. This just occurred to me.

In fact, I’m gonna go on a hunt and see if I’m right. brb............

HAHAHHAH!! I knew it! I don’t know how I always know, but I DO!

18: New Pornographers: ?. Respected by their peers. Not my kinda thang.I couldn’t even I.D. one of their songs if you played it to me. Def other bands that should bump them from this list.

17: Sum 41: B. Was better than a lotta pop punk, (damning with faint praise), but $$ and substances made them flail. Their first album and promo clips were catchy as Hell. Got pretty metal AF towards the end though, dammit. They were good enough to record with Iggy Pop so you can't say shit, really.

16: Metric: D+. Considering the bands that are missing here? Geddafuckatta here! Never failed to leave me vigoursly unimpressed.

15: April Wine: B-. Had some undeniably good songs. Worked a gig they played in the 90s. Mercer on drums may have been a reincarnated Viking. Hella nice guy. Good dudes. Unlike Trooper who were unrepentant, 'rawk star' pricks.

14: Triumph: B+. Def had some memorable melodies. Killer musicians. Not my cuppa tea ultimately. Rik Emmet could rip. Watched him play a solo album show in a university cafeteria, from 10 feet away, 5 years after their famous US Festival gig in front of 300,000. Crowd was smaller. A bit.

13: Cowboy Junkies: C. Nice. If you like whispering and don't belch too often or have a cat that likes to purr, (you'll miss hearing the songs if you do). If you like dynamics or being conscious? Best in small doses.

They tried to rock up their sound. Kinda like getting nuns to dress in lingerie and work the pole in church: Didn't take.

I did have a crush on Margot though. Quirky is cool...

12: Loverboy: 1st Album: A. After that D+. "Hey! Ballads make money! Cheese is tasty! Let's crank out soft fromage!” Large mistake. Almost as large as Mike’s bandana.

11: Barenaked Ladies: B. Yeah, talented. Yeah, apparently put on a good live show in the early days. Yeah their Bruce Cockburn cover that got them started is quite exswellent. But tried too hard to be "wacky!" and I could never stand Page. Just.....no.

Just one of those people that utterly rubs one the wrong way through no intent of their own.

10: Voivod: A-. A minus only cuz I just don't digg'em. Trailblazers, original, inimitable: Yup. Just not for me. Jason Newstead played with them for a while, (the nicest Metallicat), so that's says sumpin'.

9: BTO: A. I can play a snippet of 4 of their songs that I guarantee anyone with ears and a few ounces of skullmeat between those ears will recognize at least one of them. Not many bands can say that. Plus, one of their biggest songs was a joke song by Randy Bachman making fun of his brother's stutter, (which is honestly kind of a dick move but it works).

8: Nickelback: F- - - Times Infinity. Are you fukking kidding me?! Whoever* made this list eats a bowl of dirt with cheese for breakfast, a plate of shit with cheese for lunch, and a block of mouldy cheese garnished with melted cheese and seal vomit for supper. He has no taste.

Canada and Oilberta should apologize for this stain. If the logic is, “Popularity = Greatness”, then the author of the original list should be in the local dog park on his knees with a fork 'cuz 3 trillion flies say shit is good eating.

I mean, what kind of DICK kicks out a member of the band you all started in highschool and then sues him for his royalties? A dick like Chad, that’s who.

I saw them open for Big Wreck in a bar in 98 when all we knew is the ‘Guy who looks like Jesus is a hack and the band is 4th rate Nirvana.” That was our appraisal.

When they broke world wide and Big Wreck didn’t? I gave up on the music industry and any chance there’s a Sky Friend. Chad Croaker even made Ian Thornely’s songs sound generic as producer. That is some Hellspawned, evil “talent” right there.

7. Skinny Puppy: A. Never been a rabid fan but is one of those bands you might not be aware of, but that bands you love totally love them! Kinda like there's no Nirvana without Pixies sorta thing: No Ministry without S.P.

6: Blue Rodeo: C at outset. Don't much know 'bout last 30 years of output, honestly. They wrote a classic song called “Try". Every band would like to write one song that hits like that. #6 Though? Nahhhhh.

5. The Guess Who: C. I'm sorry. I just can’t stand their "hits". Burton, in the 60s before they made it big - was a rawk star twat to 2 members of my family and everyone else in the joint. I met him 3 decades later, introduced by a radio DJ who liked my band.

He was SO deep in his gambling addiction, plugging Twonies into a slot machine like it was the Titanic and he was trying to stop it sinking, that he didn't even look up. Just said, "Hey how's it going?", while staring at the screen and pulling coins from his plastic bowl like an automaton.

At least this lead to B.T.O. which should be WAYY higher than The Guess Who.

4. Arcade Fire: C-. Yeah, No. I've tried. If you needed a group you can sum up in the phrase, "Up their own arses”? This is your band.

3. Tragically Hip: A+. If you don't own Fully Completely, (recorded at Abbey Road)? You're a dick. Were they WAY overrated as a live band? Hell yeah! Except for Gord pushing his imaginary lawn mower around the stage, doing laundry and being generally odd -as I recall from the 1994 Another Roadside Attraction tour with Danny Lanois, Midnight Oil and The Pursuit Of Happiness- the band was Nyquil for the eyes. They rocked your ears but visually, they’d have been the ideal live band for Ray Charles or Helen Keller.

2. The Band: A. Another of those bands that if you erased them from existence, another 40 bands would vanish instantly. Don't own any of their music but you can't deny talent and influence.

1. Rush: A+. Well, duh. I will say that Ged's vocal style kept me away for the most part till their last 3 albums when his tone and timbre changed/dropped from the registers he resided in and he started projecting less from his schnoz.

They're each cool, down to earth blokes and most exswellent Hoser ambassadors. Would have liked to have met Neil.... wish I'd mailed the letter I wrote after I read his Ghostrider book. They don't deserve to be on the same list as Simple Plan and Nickelhack, speaking of which:

* "A Chicago native, Jeff Mezydlo has professionally written about sports, entertainment and pop culture for nearly 30 years....If he could do it again, he'd attend Degrassi Junior High"

That explains it! A meathead, jock himbo! Nickelhack's core fanbase.

Fuhk me running!

This list should have included:

Big Wreck, (Never put out a bad album in 2 1/2 decades). Ian Thornley has pipes for days and can flay the skin from your skull with his guitar playing.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE672AEDCFAD9B04B

Headstones, (You won't find many rock/punk bands with more pointed, well written lyrics delivered with more piss 'n venom). Hugh followed me when I was on Twitter. Like minded, nice guy’d who prefer people at a distance I guess. I especially enjoyed seeing him on the last tour deal with an iZombie staring at his device, front row:

“Okay! You got your picture? Put your goddamn phone away!”

iZombie just smiles at his screen while pointing his device/appendage at Hugh’s face. Hugh simply SWATS the phone away, sending it slamming to the floor. Show continued. Aces.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NAU6h-pv4UbxUpNSAn5yKUeTrGH_vpZ

Red Rider/"Tom Cochrane & Red Rider", As Far As Siam....Neruda. Come on....

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA0256E754745F02C

and...

Danko -Fecking- Jones. Hello? Degrassi boy puts some of the stains he chose on this list and not Danko? Twat. Stood 4 feet away at a small club in a backwards part of the country many moons ago. I was spitting the words back as loud as the PA. caught Mr. J’s eye and a smirk a few times. Ripping live band. They’re Big in Europe.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL23C355E32E0D8BA9

Any and all of these just mentioned instead of #20 and #8, and a few others should be on any “Best Canadian Bands list. Seriously.

The author, like I said: Himbo, jock, Fuh. Kup.

If you wanna see the original commentary of the sports writer and teen drama fan?

https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_best_canadian_rock_bands_of_all_time/s1__37691537#slide_1

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