When a Gaming Company Jumps the Shark

Computer Games, Social Networking, , , , , , , , ,

Years ago, I used to be a seriously addicted Ultima Online fan. I played it every day. I became a counselor in the game, which meant I officially worked for EA as one of the in-game special operators who helped other people who were having problems in the game. I ran community events that were quite popular. I mean, I lived and breathed the game.

Then EA decided to do something really stupid. The game population was having problems at the time due to a segment of the population that was preying on other players. The forum community was in an uproad, demanding something be done about it. There were all sorts of alternatives EA could have taken, including to continue to ignore the problem. But they decided to take the easiest route, which was to create a completely “safe” environment in the game by completely duplicating the entire world and then making that “new” area safe. Oh, sure, you could stay in the dangerous area, or you could go to the completely safe area and eat candy canes with the rest of the safe population. And that’s what everyone did. And the old lands died out because no one went there.

But something else happened, too. People stopped playing the game because it became too easy. You couldn’t be killed, and suddenly the game seemed like a joke of its previous existence. So people left in droves. And then new games appeared, like Everquest, so that became the new stomping ground. UO died out. Oh, sure, it’s still around, but it’s a shadow of its once great self.

To me, the reason was that the owners of the game listened to the players, and then when it came time for really listening to the feedback, they decided to take the easier path and then stopped listening. The players, pissed, and practically screaming at the developers, kept begging them to listen to what was happening to the game. The developers not only didn’t listen, but they closed down the forums, figuring that as long as they didn’t have to listen to the complaints, then the problems didn’t exist.

So a LOT of people just dumped the game. I did as well. I realized they weren’t paying attention to the players any more, so I went and found another game.

Fast forward some years to Star Wars Galaxies, and wow, it’s like they didn’t learn a thing. What’s even funnier is that some of the same names were there making the same mistakes. When the game started going down hill, instead of listen to the player base, they went ahead and completely changed the game to one they thought players would want to play. Boy, were they wrong. The player base disappeared overnight. Realizing they made a mistake, but refusing to admit it, they made another abrupt change, causing the few remaining players to say “screw you” and leave. The game is less than a shadow of its former self. To this day, they refuse to admit they did anything wrong, but in all areas where they discuss how to screw up a game, Star Wars Galaxies is ALWAYS mentioned as the showcase of an example of what NOT TO DO EVER.

Well, fast forward to today, and we have the most popular game on the planet for MMORPGs: World of Warcraft. Yesterday, they made an announcement to do something that has me shaking my head because it’s like I’m reliving those two previous examples over again.

You see, some weeks ago, WoW decided that it was going to implement this new feature called REALID, which meant that in order to group with your friends, you had to present your real identification and play as yourself, not as a character name. If someone wanted to know who you were, they would know. This pissed people off, but Blizzard, the maker of WOW, said that you don’t have to use REALID if you don’t want to. Then they announced yesterday that in order to use the forums for WOW or their new game coming out called Starcraft 2, you have to use REALID. What they didn’t really mention is that as their parent company Activision is now partnered with Facebook, this is more about giving identification information to Facebook than it is in presenting a new way to socialize in the game. People are pissed. People don’t like having their ID out there when playing a game.

To prove how dangerous this is, one of the trash-talking employees for Blizzard stated it was no big deal and put his own information out there. In no time, all of his private information was out there, and suddenly his phone was ringing off the hook from angry players, and his Facebook account had to be shut down because of the onslaught of attacks. The problems he’s experiencing are still going on. Blizzard’s response wasn’t to realize they made a mistake but to unofficially announce that its employees wouldn’t have to comply with REALID, just the players would.

This has started a nightmare of bad publicity for Blizzard, which is treating it like the old ad business, thinking that as long as people are talking about Blizzard, it must mean good business.

I’m starting to hear A LOT of people talking about dumping WOW because of this. And that’s interesting because up until now I’ve always believed that the only thing that could ever destroy WOW would be WOW itself. I just didn’t think it would happen by allying itself with the scuz bucket that is Facebook.

This should play out to be a very interesting situation. I’ll be watching this closely.

Has Been Viewed (since August 20, 2021): 584

Hasn’t Been A Lot to Say Lately

Television, Writing, ,

I’ve been keeping busy lately, so I haven’t really had a lot of time to make a lot of comments. Wasn’t like anyone was really going out of his or her way to read the blog, so I don’t think there’s too much at a loss as it is.

As for me, I’ve been keeping busy with work. The job has settled down a bit. It doesn’t look like things are as bad as they used to appear, so there’s a bit of stability there. It’s not the greatest job in the world, but it’s not the worst either. The people are decent to work with, and the environment is quite stable. So, who am I to complain?

As for other things, I’m continuing my process of getting ready to write the next book. The research is pretty much finished, and now all I have to do is start putting forth the actual writing itself. I’m waiting until the feeling comes to me, and then I’ll probably disappear completely to finish this one. It’s going to be a pretty long novel, so it’s going to take me some dedicated time.

As for this blog, I’ve noticed that there’s a LOT of spam that comes to me in the messages. I’ve been rejecting most of the messages because it’s pretty obvious that people are just trying to generate traffic to their own sites, and they’ll do practically anything to get their names listed on the sites of others. Not really interested in that kind of stuff. Hopefully, the ones who read this blog are reading it because they’re interested in seeing what’s going on with me, or at least in reading my thoughts. I’m not a real fan of the whole spam thing.

Been playing a lot of World of Warcraft lately, for those who are interested in that sort of thing. I have a bunch of 60+ characters, and my deathknight is now 72, heading towards 73. It’s amazing how much work it is to level a character in the 65+ range. I’ve never made a character reach 80 (the level cap), so it’s interesting trying to get closer to that level.

Started watching the first season of True Blood last night. I’m finding it an interesting drama, especially when the writing and acting is considered. It has a real quirky style to it, and the main character is very intriguing, especially as she is played by Paquin (think that’s her name). I’m starting to notice some of the side characters who are equally famous from little appearances they have had on other shows, like Deadwood and Heroes. Some really strong character actors on this show, so it does not surprise me that it is capable of handling its down south setting really well.

I started physical therapy a few weeks ago for my shoulder, and that’s going well. I’ve been needing to take care of this problem for awhile now, and let’s just say that I’m glad I’m finally taking care of it. I’m supposed to go today, but I haven’t been feeling well today, so I called in to cancel for today but will go again on Thursday.

Not much else to share. I’m still around, but not much is going on.

Has Been Viewed (since August 20, 2021): 585

If the System is Broke, No One in Power Wants to Fix It

Politics, , ,

There’s an interesting political drama going on in South Carolina right now. I guess I should elaborate because there’s always some kind of political drama going on in South Carolina. But this time, it’s about a man running for office. His name is Alvin Greene, and he did what no one expected he would do. He upset a party politician of long standing in the Democrat primary for Senate this year. He was someone with no credentials, no money and no name recognition at all. Yet, he managed to get 60 percent of the vote from the Democrats and put state legislator Vic Rawls out to pasture in the election.

Well, now we’re starting to see all sorts of skeletons in his closet, including the fact that he’s up for some kind of felony for showing porn to some girl at college and trying to entice her to his room. Now, let’s be honest, what college guy HASN’T done that, but that’s really a different issue now, isn’t it? It seems there are all sorts of weird shenanigans going on in his past, including that he may or may not have been thrown out of the military. He refuses to comment, wanting to focus only on the issues. But for all I know, there may be absolutely nothing wrong there. He may just not want to talk about his past military service. I mean, that is his right, if he chooses to make it so.

But the Democrats are raging mad right now, demanding he quit the race, even though the “people” chose him. They’re aghast that this potential felony machine is on their ticket. Well, let’s put aside the fact that so many politicians seem to have felonies on their records these days and don’t seem to think it causes a problem to their political careers. What’s the real issue here? It appears that the Democrats just don’t like the fact that someone ran an end run past them, and they weren’t the ones in charge. The7’re claiming the Republicans must have been behind his campaign, claiming that he couldn’t have afforded the $10,440 filing fee to join the race, that some dark, sinister force must have fronted the money to hurt the Democratic Party.

What this issue is really pointing at is something much bigger. For too long now, the common person has felt out of the loop of politics, but has been subjected to it by people who feel they should be making all of the decisions. There’s a special club of politics that has a hefty membership approval process, and most of us don’t fit the mold. Alvin Greene certainly doesn’t. The two parties in this country have done a very good job of making sure only the well-connected get in, much like a union boss makes sure only his cronies are the ones surrounding him at any one time.

Alvin Greene refuses to leave the race and only wants to talk about the issues. The Democrats want him out of the race so they can focus their attention on people they already like and know. He’s an outsider, and they don’t like that.

But what this is really pointing at is something no politician wants to face or discuss, and that’s the possibility that the people are rejecting the party machines that are already established and deciding to go with outsiders. I mean, let’s face it. South Carolina has been a cesspool of politics and scandals lately, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the people of that state decided to just buck the system and choose anybody but the usual suspects. What is interesting is that the political machine in place doesn’t handle this sort of thing well, and we’re seeing a backlash as every political entity in the Democratic Party is moving forces into place to circumvent ANYONE from challenging their authority and power.

South Carolina could be a very interesting place to mark the beginning of something very significant, or it will serve as the place where a last stand for the people was made before it was stamped out forever.

Has Been Viewed (since August 20, 2021): 636

There’s Just Not Enough BP in My Daily Diet

Politics, , , , ,

It seems you can’t go two feet these days without another BP story innundating us with its importance over our daily lives. And it just keeps getting worse.  Turns out a lot more oil may have been flowing than we first imagined.  And of course, the lawyers are starting to sniff the waters to see if they can make a gazillion dollars out of suing everyone and their brother. And then in the New York Times, there was an interesting story about how Great Britain is throwing a hissy fit because the United States is getting all angry at BP, and somehow that means we’re saying bad things about the Britains.

Okay, I’m sorry I have to do this, but some things need to be put into perspective, and who else to do this but a world famous blogger like me who has a site where everyone reads it on a constant basis. Okay, no one reads my blog, but just to make my stuffed animals happy, I have a few comments to make.

1. BP is screwd. Sorry, but you were the guys who owned the rig that caused all the problems, and is STILL causing all of the problems. You haven’t fixed it. You didn’t prepare for it. And I’m sorry, but everyone is just a bit angry at you right now because you’ve KILLED THE ENTIRE GULF WITH YOUR STUPID OIL DISASTER. Oh sorry, it’s not a disaster because a “disaster” is limited on one small geographical location, being of limited impact. You’ve caused a CATASTROPHE! Sorry that we’re now hurting your feelings, but you have done your part to bring about the destruction of all human civilization. You don’t get a free pass on that kind of shit.

2. The lawyers. Wish they weren’t going to do what they’re going to do, but like the cartoon characters say: They’re not evil; they’re just drawn that way. Or like the scorpion says to the turtle before he stings him and they both drown: “It’s in my nature.” Lawyers will jump on the nearest ambulance and sue in their best interest. Sorry, but it’s what happens.

3. Great Britain. Really? You think this is about YOU? No, it’s not. It’s about a stupid company that happens to be headquartered in your country. Sorry if you think that angry Americans are now being unfair to you, but you know, sometimes it really isn’t about you. Americans are angry at BP because it doesn’t serve any purpose to be angry at the oil. Someone is responsible, and guess what? That culprit IS BP. So, if you think Americans are angry at you, get over it, or go fuck yourselves. Whatever you need to do. Because honestly, Americans aren’t angry at people from Great Britain UNTIL they start making it about themselves. The article shows all attempts at trying to deflect blame away from BP with this “well, shit happens, so stop being angry”. If that’s the stance you take, then Americans are going to start pointing fingers at Britains, and THEN you’ll know America is angry. Ask a bunch of Republican Guard soldiers in Iraq what it’s like when Americans are mad and lash out at the nearest thing available, even if there’s no apparent reason for doing so (like thinking Iraqis were responsible for 911). Give Americans a good reason to be angry, and those cruise missiles you see making parking lots out of your residential districts will explain why it’s not a good idea to pick a fight when one isn’t really being offered in the first place. Just saying, so shut the fuck up and stop acting all victim like when no one was pointing fingers at you in the first place.

As for BP, however, good luck on deflecting any angry Americans. Seems your only chance right now is a bunch of stupid, overly sensitive Britains standing in between you and those angry Americans.

The whole BP catastrophe is one of those things that is going to be very interesting in how it plays out. I find it amazing that anyone would even think that BP is going to come out of this without being the recipient of legal carpet bombing before this is all over. I even read how BP is trying to hold the US government to the law (that they are only responsible for about 75 million dollars of damage). Good luck on making that stick. If BP manages to escape through a legal maneuver, I expect to see serious amounts of wrath of hegemony upon them in all sorts of manners. If they play any stupid legalistic trick, just watch what happens when the ambulance chasers catch up with them; not a single politician in all of America will come to their defense, which will lead to the biggest sinkhole short of the Gulf of Mexico.

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iPhone 4…what the hype?

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It seems that time of the year again when Apple has announced its new hyped products and updates. Well, this year it was all about the new iPhone, specifically iPhone 4. Well, as an iPhone owner, I would like to make a few comments on the announcement.

First, I have to say that the blunder during the announcement made it almost all worth it. Steve Jobs was going to compare the old iPhone’s web browsing capabilities against the new iPhone 4. Well, the old iPhone came up great, showing The New York Times’s site. The new iPhone 4? Well, not so good. Didn’t show anything at all. Jobs blamed it on the network, but honestly, the old iPhone worked on the same network at the EXACT SAME TIME, so obviously the new iPhone had to be the culprit. No amount of talking around it is really going to get you out of it when BOTH WERE ON THE SCREEN AT THE SAME TIME RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER. Anyway, with that said, I’m sure they’ll fix it, and with that behind me, I still think it’s pretty cool.

The new iPhone has video HD capabilities for filming. Looks and sounds great. The demonstration during the presentation received a lot of oohs and ahs from the audience.

Now, here’s what is bugging me about the new phone.

1. Video conferencing only works between separate iPhones. Not a great thing.

2. Video conferencing only works over wifi. Not great when most people are making phone calls over the 3G/4G network.

3. Upgrading. Jobs announced that AT&T will let you upgrade (with a new two year contract) if your contract expires before December. So, does everyone else that owns an iPhone have to wait until forever until they can use the MUCH GREATER iPhone? There was no announcement of the base price, but they really should be thinking of their current subscriber base, not just a hope of future customers.

4. No announcement of a carrier other than AT&T. Okay, we’re really tired of AT&T. You’d think Apple would realize that by now. Even during the demonstration, one audience member yelled out a solution for the New York Times problem Jobs was having on stage: “Switch to Verizon!” or something similar to that.

Anyway, that’s about all I have to say. Interesting announcements, but after the hype, it was still mostly just hype. Not as wonderful as everyone is making it try to sound. I’m almost exhausted with CNN’s continuous coverage of any time someone from Apple sneezes. Enough with it already.

Has Been Viewed (since August 20, 2021): 2,735

Revisiting the Year 1991…and the process of historical writing

Writing, , , , , , , ,

For those that don’t know, I am currently writing a novel that takes place in 1991. This is the first time I’ve ever written an historical novel, covering a specific time. It also includes important people who were living and interacting during this particular time, so unlike fictional worlds I have built before, this is a world that already exists, and because of that I have to get it right.

This has caused me to start doing extensive research about this time, and what I’m finding is how fascinating it is to go back only a few years and see what life was like during that time. When you’re writing a novel that takes place in Ancient Greece (The Ameriad), the near future (Rumors of War) or the far-off future (Destiny), you pretty much get to create your own world. Granted, those worlds have a bit of connection to specific events and experiences, but for the most part, you really do get to develop whatever you want for those time periods because no one around today really has a clue what those worlds were like, or will be like. It’s a best guess situation for everyone.

But 1991 was only a few decades ago. I lived through it, and a lot of other people lived through it as well. So, this is a period of time that has critics who can honestly sit back and say, “um, no, that’s not what it was like.” This means I’m having to do extensive research that I don’t think I’ve ever had to do before.

And its enriching. Because it’s not just about the place that existed 20 years ago. It’s also about a set of experiences and nuances that seem almost like an alternative reality, because I’m creating a world that already exists, and not only do I have to get it right, but I have to also give a perspective that makes the reader want to explore it with me and my characters.

But I’m finding fascinating little things that I’d completely forgotten about. Sure, I knew about the first Gulf War. Believe me. I know about it. But at the same time, I kind of forgot that this is when a bunch of cops beat up Rodney King. It was also the time that the greatest boxer of his time Mike Tyson was accused of raping a woman before being tried for the crime. It was also, and this one just shocks the crap out of me, when an obscure announcement was made by Tim Berners-Lee about this little thing called a “World Wide Web”. The realization of that alone just hit me out of nowhere because during this time, there was no real Internet yet. It was coming along really fast, but we weren’t there yet, and this guy made this announcement, and people blew him off because it had no specific substance in their lives to make them think it was ever going to be of interest to them. Now, there are people who are living their lives never having NOT known about the Internet and the World Wide Web. To them, it’s always been around. But in 1991, it was just a casual mention of something that might be coming soon.

That’s what makes this kind of research really fascinating because once I’m finally done with all of this, I have to then create a series of characters who live in that world and don’t have the knowledge of what we know now. To do this, I have to constantly avoid being the all-knowing narrator or the bad writer who puts little quips into his characters’ mouths where they start projecting their beliefs of a future that has already come along in today’s world because most people don’t have the ability to predict things on a global level to realize that their entire paradigms are about to be shifted right under their noses.

Such realizations are making the writing of this novel, 72 Hours in August, so much fun to plan. In the very near future, I will be writing it, and let’s just say that I’m looking forward to it.

Has Been Viewed (since August 20, 2021): 2,469

The Hurt Locker…an interesting peek into the abyss and shopping for cereal

Movies, Television, , , ,

I finally got a chance to watch Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker over the weekend. It was interesting to see a movie that covers the military in a way that doesn’t seem like it’s a miltary advertisement (I’m looking at you Transformers 2) or a condemnation (I’m looking at pretty much every Iraqi movie that’s been made so far).

The story is pretty simple. It’s about an EOD specialist whose main job is to defuse bombs. His team works as back-up to him, and the movie follows the events he and his team experience during a rotation in Iraq.

What really stuck out to me was the “team” emphasis the movie explores. This is one of those nuances that happen within the Army involving specialized groups, specifically those with a set mission that rarely can be handled by a regular unit. The main character is a former Ranger, and his team consists of a former mission intelligence sergeant and a specialist-ranked noobie who is pretty much learning his place in the greater scheme of things. I think it covered the specialized nature of the team very well, and it was interesting to see it carried out on film where there was little attempt to glorify it or diminish it with some stupidity (like Platoon, which while it was a decent film ended up focusing on dysfunction rather than function).

One thing that really hit me hard with this movie is a very soft scene after a return to the U.S. when the character is asked by his wife Kate (or whatever her name was…she was played by Evangeline Lilly, the woman who plays Kate in LOST, and she was honestly the only actor in the entire movie I recognized) to find a box of cereal in a supermarket where they’re shopping. This man who is so perfect in a world where it may end at a moment’s notice with people all around him who might be trying to kill him, stands in front of the entire aisle of boxes of cereal and can’t move because he’s overwhelmed by the choices in front of him. This is the sort of person who spends his every moment deciding between green and blue wires (the Hollywood equivalent of a bomb defusion choice, which THANK YOU was not an issue ONCE in this very well done movie), and he was unable to choose a simple box of cereal. That one moment brought the reality of this fictionalized world home for me, and I’ve never seen it done so well.

In the end, I think the movie is deserving of the awards is received. Granted, I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was up against a lot of dismal films that year, which is becoming more of a norm than an exception. Even though that was the year of Avatar, a very visual film, at least the Academy recognized that that was ALL it had going for it.

The acting was done well, and the writing was what should be expected from a Hollywood film of this magnitude. Strangely enough, I had trouble finding any acknowledgement of the writing from the closing credits, although it might have flown by me and I didn’t realize it. I was looking for it, however, and was somewhat annoyed that everyone else and his brother was acknowledged, but the writing didn’t seem to be all that important to the makers of the credits.

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The Laptop finally died….

Uncategorized, ,

I’ve had an HP laptop for many years now. It’s been a great machine, and for some reason it always managed to stay current with the latest machines. This evening, I was starting it up, thinking of bringing it somewhere to write, and the screen just fizzled out. It’s still giving off a light, but the actual computer image is no longer there. Everything’s running fine, so basically the screen just no longer works. And I don’t feel like fixing it.

I’ve been thinking of getting something to replace it for awhile. I can’t really afford anything right now, but unfortunately the laptop is officially dead to me. Really not sure what to do next.

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May Wrap-Up

Politics, Stickman, Television, Writing, , , , , , , , , ,

Just thought I would take some time to do a little bit of a wrap-up of things going on, including the news.

1. My job. Well, I haven’t lost it yet, but it’s never really going well. I like the people I work with, and I tend to deliver whatever is desired from me, but it’s one of those jobs where you just get the feeling every day that it just isn’t working out, and no matter what you do, it probably never will. It’s unfortunate, but I really need to find something stable that doesn’t make me feel like it’s going to end tomorrow on a whim that I can do nothing to avoid.

2. My writing. Nothing seems to be happening. I send stuff out, and if I ever get a response, it’s a generic, no thanks. It’s really frustrating, and I really don’t know what to do about it. It’s like I’m forever on the outside looking in to a great place where everyone is writing lots of fun stuff. People who come out of the place engage me in conversation, but I’m never allowed inside, almost as if there’s a conspiracy to keep me outside but no one on the inside knows anything about it.

3. Stickman. I’d produce more of Stickman, but it’s really hard to try to bring humor to the rest of the world when you get the impression the rest of the world doesn’t care, doesn’t really want it, and you’re just wasting your time. Or at least it feels that way.

4. My life in general. It feels like I’m constantly in limbo land, and I can’t find a way out of it. I don’t feel I’m where I need to be, but I don’t know where I need to be either. There’s really no one significant in my life, so I don’t have that to look upon as a solution to anything, or even as a journey towards any place. If I had to use one word to describe the feeling, it’s “blah”. Really blah, if I needed two words.

General topics:

5. The Guild Season 3. If you have never seen this series, and you happen to be a computer gamer, especially one who plays MMOs, this series is for you. It’s put out by Felicia Day, and it’s manufactured by a bunch of Internet happy people (meaning, without a lot of commercial backing), and it’s funny. It misses every now and then, but it does deliver. I recommend it.

6. Survivors (the British import series). Another interesting show. I recommend it. It’s another one of those shows that doesn’t appear to have been backed by a very large commercial enterprise. Either that, or it was backed by a commercial enterprise that seriously sucks because its production values are very amateurish. But it’s quality of show is very high. The writing is good, the acting is surprisingly not bad, and the premise is quite original and fresh. It is also very daring in its material, which has shocked me a few times because it really feels like some show that had been made in the 1970s, but with a sense of 2010 in mind. As a matter of fact, I just checked, and it WAS produced in the 1970s, so that explains that. But another one I recommend.

7. Sandra Bullock and her husband. Every now and then something in the news causes me to want to make a comment. Well, recently, Jesse James went on Nightline and said that he cheated on Sandra Bullock because he was abused as a child. Today, the father announced that Jesse was lying, that he never abused him. Well, my thought on this, having no knowledge of said events, is that abusers rarely ever admit they abused anyone. And in many cases, the spouse will also claim there was no abuse because no one wants to believe that something happened under their noses. But having said that, it’s a stupid reason to use as an excuse as for why you cheated on your wife. Any excuse is a stupid excuse because cheating is just that…cheating. I’d never have gotten married to anyone if I ever imagined once that I would be cheating on my future wife. And once I was married, cheating is NEVER an option. Why so many people can feel that there is justification for whatever reason is beyond me. I even heard one person say his wife cheated on him so now he has a blank check to do the same. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. Maybe it’s why I’m rarely in a relationship. They never make a lot of sense to me.

8. LOST. It was great. Great ending. Great show.

9. The iPad. Um, is it a netbook? A laptop? An oversized iPod? I’m not sure. But it isn’t enough of a substantial product to get me to want to buy one yet. I need something like it that I can really use to write a novel on and feel comfortable with it. It’s almost there. Why wouldn’t I buy one? In order to use its 3G network, I have to pay AT&T more money. I already pay them to use it with my iPhone. If they can’t lump those two together, they’re ripping me off. Not buying it for that. I don’t hang out at wi fi spots enough to use it otherwise. No word processor that I could find on it when I was looking at it at the Apple Store. Or maybe there was one. I don’t know. The guy who worked there was so impressed with himself that he worked there that he spent the entire time trying to score with some hot chick that was looking at an iPhone that I couldn’t get anyone to help me except for the one guy who “thought” he might be able to guess. Not a hard sell for me.

10. BPs oil disaster. Clean it up. Well, cap it off and then clean it up. I don’t want to hear about how you’re thinking you can do it. Just do it. As for Obama’s involvement, I don’t care. Get BP to fix it or call in the Marines. Or Flipper. I don’t care. Fix it. Or get Red Adair to fix it.

11. North Korea. Not sure what to say there. Our foreign policy was written in shortly after the First World War. We haven’t changed it since. Not sure why we’re under the impression that things are going to get better if we keep doing the same things that haven’t worked before. Didn’t Einstein have something to say about that and insanity?

That’s all for now. Some days, it just doesn’t feel worth it to continue, but then I remember that there’s still another episode of LOST to air before doing something stupid. Oh wait, the show ended. The networks better come up with something soon, or I’m cashing my ticket out of here.

Has Been Viewed (since August 20, 2021): 756

I Want a Hollywood Romance…or an East Berlin one at least

Movies, , ,

Every now and then I put a movie into my Netflix queue that leaves me wondering months later, what was I thinking? That happened last night when I finally got around to watching a movie that was in my queue called Wings of Desire. To be honest, I don’t know how that movie got into my queue because it certainly doesn’t match any criteria I attribute to movies I tend to add. Going down my checklist, there were no hot Asian women in leather jumpsuits who do Kung Fu, Arnold wasn’t seen once carrying a huge bazooka and chomping on a cigar, not a single Starfleet communicator chirped once during the movie, and even more important, not a single French clown cried at all during the two hours and seven minutes this movie aired (although it was one of those movies where it could have happened at any moment).

The movie was a several hour poetic metaphor on the meaninglessness of life. The two main characters were male angels who seemed to spend the entire movie walking around 1987 East Berlin listening to the mindless rantings of humans who lived in a state of black and white despair. During their wanderings, they seemed to latch onto a huge library that resembled the one from The Breakfast Club, where they went person to person and listened to their inner thoughts. One of their focuses was an old man who supposedly was writing the great American novel in East Berlin, so I guess it was the great German novel. The old man kept talking about how he was the only one who could write down the story, and that without him all of humanity was doomed. And I thought I took myself seriously as a writer!

There are two other main characters that the angels attach themselves to. One of them is a beautiful woman who happens to be a trapeze artist for a circus that is going out of business. This is where I kept waiting for the inevitable crying French clown, but he never showed up. The other character was Peter Falk (of Columbo fame) who was playing none other than Peter Falk who happened to be in East Berlin filming a movie that seemed to be about a couple of guys who have a fist fight in a beat up building that has no roof. I was reminded of the great operatic, Tempest like story that was mentioned by Danny Devito in Throw Mama From the Train, which he describes as “a man with a hat kills another man with a hat.” But I digress. Without getting too far into a plot I still don’t understand (my understanding is that you need a Ph.d in this particular movie to actually understand more than 5 percent of it), let’s just say that Peter Falk plays himself and just so happens to be a fallen angel himself who guides one of the angels after he decides to become human.

And the reason the angel decides to become human is because he falls in love with the trapeze artist. And that’s what I wanted to talk about with this post. You see, when he finally becomes human and can experience love, he goes into this punk rock music hall she goes to every night and sits at the bar while the “concert” is going on. I won’t describe the music, other than it was the most bizarre music rendition of punk I’ve ever seen, and all I can say is that I believe the director had to be a fan, or the lead singer was his son, or something like that, because I spent more time trying to figure out how the lead guitarist was actually producing the sounds that were coming from his musical device. Anyway, the beautiful trapeze artist leaves the music area and goes into the bar where the angel is sitting, plops down on the seat next to him, and then begins to explain for the next twenty minutes why she is empty inside and needs to find the solution to pi or something like that. To be honest, I had trouble following what she was saying because it had to be the longest data dump I’ve ever experienced from one individual. The angel said nothing, and when it was done, he kissed her, and somehow they managed to live their entire lives metaphorically forever together.

And this got me thinking, how come East Berlin women don’t sit down next to me in bars, pour their heart out to me for about twenty minutes without me having to say anything, and then we live happily ever after? Is it because I don’t know Peter Falk? Do you have to be an angel to make this happen? Or am I missing something here. How come when a woman like that sits down next to me, and I say, “hi, I’m Duane” it’s usually followed up with: “Oh, I have a boyfriend.”?

Movies like this keep making me think that somehow I just haven’t got it all figured out, and that bothers me. Is something this epic only possible if you happen to live in some Communist country that is about to transition to democracy and future unification? Where are all the unemployed trapeze artists that I seem to be seeking?

Anyway, interesting movie. I’d recommend it if there had been a crying French clown involved. Not surprisingly, there are too few movies being made these days with crying French clowns. And that’s just sad.

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