Hello again, Bees!
Some days you ain't got it. I headed to the gym after church for a hopefully fruitful Push workout, but it didn't go as I'd hoped.
Bench Press: 130 x 5. Just barely made it, but the final rep was a terrible struggle.
Dips: 60 x 4. To say nothing of these! Couldn't hit the five reps that I was hoping for, like last time.
Dual Hammer Curls: 14 x 10. About the only exercise that went correctly today.
So, a short and disastrous workout. I'm tired, but okay. I'll continue with 130 on the bench, so I can smooth out the reps and get it more easily next time.
Have a Happy Father's Day, Bees!
Playing: A new Steam FPS about mobsters, taking place in a pulpy comic book recreation of the '40s? (Don't) Fuggetaboutit! That's the only gangster cliche I have patience for, which is clearly lost on the gleefully hard-boiled Fallen Aces. I will admit that its presentation and voicework are sublime, and the large levels that allow for secrets and different approaches intriguing. Unfortunately, the Early Access build is only five levels, but I'm sure they're all tops, so to speak.
Uninstalled Hades 2 (Nooooo) as I want to give Cult of the Lamb another go. Still haven't played any of that huge backlog of games on my hard drive.
Watching: Finished the second season of Blood of Zeus. Felt like it would never end, so here's a review.
The death of the mighty king of the gods, Zeus, has rocked the Grecian pantheon. Amidst the machinations of the furtive Hades, who seeks to bind the defeated Seraphim to his will, Zeus' bastard son, the hero Heron, seeks to prove himself worthy of his godly kin. (I can't believe I wrote all that without rolling my eyes).
I was very excited for this second season, after the first was such a strong showing, and an entertaining, action-filled exploration of Greek mythology. Arriving right after the pandemic started, I waited for a second season to arrive. And waited... and waited... and waited... until I finally got wind of it, watched it, and was disappointed. I didn't realize it at first, but my expectations clashed with the intentions of the showrunners, meaning that there was no way I would be satisfied.
Anyway.
There are two central flaws to this season: a - very little actually transpires in terms of moving the plot forwards, and b - there's so much exposition that the script trips over itself, and the more meaningful things that are said are lost in the retelling of myths and lore. There's nothing actually wrong with the characters, the script, and with the action. When firing on all cylinders (a set piece with a bronze titan is especially exciting), the show is formidable and regal. But it's obvious that this season is set-up for a third one, and that so many of the episodes are spent moving pieces into place, rather than having anything notable happen. And because of this - despite all the stentorian declarations and awesome artwork - this season disappoints. Here's hoping that the third (presuming the show is renewed), is better.
Thanks to all its flaws, I give Blood of Zeus S2 two pomegranate seeds out of five.
HotD drops tomorrow! Woohoo. Will also watch some of The Primevals for late night cinema.
Listening to: Listened to Tubeway Army's debut album of the same name, so here's another rare album review from me.
Gary Numan's first taste of success was with the raw, yet compelling and accessible album he made as part of the band "Tubeway Army". Their eponymous debut is almost completely made up of conventional guitar-based rock (and let's face it - it's not actually punk) that could almost be related to New Wave, as it dropped in '78, just before the movement really took off.
That said, this is where the futuristic nightmares of androids and aliens that plagued Numan really came to the fore, and neatly combine with the group's not quite pop, but still driving and catchy rock 'n roll. Check out the melodic nihilism of "Every Day I Die", "Listen to the Sirens", and "My Shadow in Vain" (the later two are the real stars of this album). In this early outing, there's only trace uses of the synthesizers that Numan would become known for. The quirky, jerky rhythms and nasally vocals fit well with the themes of isolation, paranoia and melancholy.
All said, this is an album that reveals the potential of Numan's synth-pop soundcraft, while still being more grounded in rock 'n roll. Though Numan would change his sound significantly in later years - the succeeding album, Replicas, is a fully-formed Numan outing - Tubeway Army is still very listenable and essential for Numan fans like myself.
I give it four well-deserved sci-fi guitar riffs out of five.
And here's a song from the album.
Tubeway Army - Listen to the Sirens.
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I was a tad scared when seeing the title of the video and prepared to skip (animal mistreatment, even if the videos or testimonies are to "alert" it exists, makes me sick to my core), then realised you were not the sort to publish true animal abuse videos and this must be a joke 
