4th, etc.

[essentialsaltes]

A&K's 4th bash was an excellent gathering; plenty of charred meat products, sweet products, fermented products and explosive products. But mostly, it was just fun hanging out in the different gaggles of people and conversing.

Saturday, I did a little housework, and then a lot of Rock Band. Mainly because of GTAIV (now beaten it with both endings (still can't seem to get online play to work, but possibly that's because getting from the cable modem to the PS3 is an elaborate system that I believe involves one stretch where the information is sent by squirrels with semaphore flags)) I hadn't played much Rock Band, and I dropped far out of the top 1000. So I clawed my way back until I could claw no further and beads of bloody sweat rolled down my arms. Then I checked my standings: #1008. Ugh!

That evening, A&K & swmartin saw a movie at, like, the Galleria. The Arclight there has one theater that you enter by going through their bar, and they have 21+ showings of movies there. And you can take drinks in. So we tanked up for an enjoyable childfree showing of WALL-E. I think I chugged most of my drink when this trailer came on.

Anyway, I enjoyed WALL-E a great deal. When I felt the director reaching for those heartstrings, it was easy to slap his hand away without too much distraction. Much more satirical in its look at humanity than I expected, but much appreciated.

Back at A&K's, I rocked out with Aaron for a bit, passing him through a few songs so that he now has a whole new set of songs to swear at.

Today, a bit more housework, and then despite two pretty long sessions of Rock Band and Guitar Hero, I fired it up again, just to get myself into the top 1000. I think the practice helped, since I 5-starred Train Kept a Rollin', Flirtin with Disaster, and (just trying it on a whim), I 5-starred Green Grass and High Tides. OMG, that's only the second time I've completed the song: 205 note streak, 319,219 points and a gentleman's A (89%). I didn't get any points for it, since I've actually gotten more points on Hard level. But the other two songs gave me enough to put me at #995. Yay me.

Re-read Brian Lumley's Beneath the Moors, making me question why I read a first time, much less a second.

A few more hours of futzing about, and I'll go collect Becca at the airport. She's been in Pennsylvania for the memorial service for her grandmother, who passed away a few months ago. Evidently they did not enact my plan to load a portion of her ashes into a firework.

Comments

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

[sjo.livejournal.com]

Seeing that trailer in the cinema nearly caused me to gouge my eyes out like Oedipus. Be careful with links like that, man!

[oohbarracuda.livejournal.com]

You know me, I'm an easy cryer. I almost did in Wall-E...I felt the urge rising, but luckily I didn't cry :) Such a great movie/concept! I loved answering my 12-yr-old cousin's question of "Why are they all fat?"

[zorker.livejournal.com]

I applaud your completion of GTAIV. Cort and I have been playing it together, and I have to say I haven't had a single session that hasn't resulted in extensive yelling at the television and occasional controller throwing. While the gameplay structure is the same compelling structure that they've had for many games now, the controls drive me up the wall (esp. on motorcycles), and the camera that tends to aim right at the bumper on certain occasions causes fits of rage. My main point of frustration is probably their choice of save points. It is really annoying to have it save at the point of the mission giver when the mission is across town - failing the mission, I find myself plodding across town again. This sort of dull backtracking is the sort of things we joke about doing at work to gain ourselves total game hours for the reviewers. I'd really like to finish the game, but I'm not sure I'll get there.

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Yes, finding yourself driving just to get back to the start point of a mission really stinks. Fortunately(?) I have developed kamikaze driving skills that help make the trips as rapid as possible. As Niko occasionally says, "I'm sure glad this isn't my car."

On the plus side, I don't think any of the missions are ridiculously near-impossible, like the awful remote control plane thing from San Andreas ("Supply Lines").

On the minus side, San Andreas had a lot more enjoyable variety in the missions. GTAIV, you can pretty much guarantee that every mission will end in a huge body count.

Mission "Wash Your Dishes": 75 ninjas leap out from under your sink and you have to kill them with a scrubby pad and a salad shooter. Actually, that sounds like too much fun to be included in GTAIV.

[zorker.livejournal.com]

Mission "Wash Your Dishes" sounds very much like The Dishwasher.