Quest for Muscle: The Return of the Pump
But we will be magnificent.
Thank you for the holiday wishes @graoumia @NightWolf714 @astro_lizard @JCU and @CODawn! Spooky season has only just begun, and there's more terrifying fun (?) to be had!
@JCU Thank you, my elbow is slowly recovering.
The sea air lent the ragged camp a breeze that the stalkers, both old and seasoned, and young and callow welcomed. It was five o'clock, and the sun was going down on the observatory, besides which Ox sat, facing the sea. He was cleaning and oiling the rifle he had purchased from the Broker. He was once queried on the use of this in a world in which most stalkers used their guns and disposed of them, buying new ones, but he always shrugged and said that it was important to appreciate the gear you had, as you had no idea when you would lose it. As most stalkers around the camp knew, he had the experience to back this up. Said experience intimidated some of the younger guns around, but Ox refused to lord it over them, and he was now being appraised as one of the experts around camp. After reassembling the rifle, he pulled out another menthol cigarette, lit it up, and inhaled deeply.
"Hey." It was Simmi, perhaps taking a break from her endless series of tasks. He'd once asked what exactly it was that she did, but she'd offered little more than a sly smile, saying he'd figure it out eventually. Simmi dropped down beside him and sat in a cross-legged pose. The wind ruffled her short orange hair a little.
"Job well done, I hear."
"Yeah, that old Oliver Twist reject got his shipment, in the end."
"Thanks to you."
"Thanks to me. Ugh, I risked my life for an extra five hundred bucks. Got to be a better way to make a living."
"If we knew it, we wouldn't be here. We all are castaways, vagabonds, wanderers and adventurers, who dream of freedom, purpose, or simply striking it rich." That was unusually poetic, coming from her.
"You mean we're all in it together?" Her eyes were on the sunset, but she nodded a little. "Even the Insurgents, the Commies, and the Military?"
"I've been here a little longer than you. Seen some things. They want the same thing we want."
He snorted. "Which is?" She turned to look into his eyes.
"Salvation."
Hello once more, Bees! The Golden Week continues, and so do my workouts!
Today was a Legs day, and boy did it suck.
Paused Squats: 95 x 5, 100 x 3. Urgh. The march towards 100 x 5 continues, and it's going okay? At least my hammies didn't act up today.
Front Squats: 70 x 3. Also moving up.
Leg Extensions: 60 x 10.
Lying Leg Curls: 35 x 20 (!).
Back Extensions: Top set of 15 reps.
Tomorrow we're having more yummy Japanese buffet food. Om nom nom!
The Steam Sale (SALE) continues, though it's almost at its end. I'm looking for a final purchase to supplement my current favourite, Abiotic Factor.
I got me a new keyboard! My old keyboard's switches were starting to break, little by little, and the switches are soldered, so there's not a thing I can do to manually repair them. So I saved up some cash, went to the computer center, and bought a "Tuf Gaming" keyboard as a replacement. It's not as customizable or high quality as my old keyboard was, but it's definitely as robust, and the tactile feel of those cherry brown switches is the icing on top. I love the way the keyboard presses quietly sink in, whereas the old Logitech announced each press with a wincingly-loud "CLICK". I look forward to using it for all my gaming needs, and I'm sure it's more than suitable.
Have yourselves a fantastic weekend, Bees!
Playing: Having good fun in Abiotic Factor. I scrounged around for a recipe for twenty minutes before realizing I had it in another part of my inventory (soups are listed as separate from other objects, d'oh). Constructed a buzzsaw gun to supplement my scrapshot launcher and am cleaving my way through the soldiers, though not without difficulty.
Am going to take the time to try a short horror named Funeralopolis. Uhh, I don't even know what the premise is, but it looks pretty interesting, at least from the one minute of it I played. Watch this space.
Really jonesing for some more Witchfire, so I might finally set foot in the castle level. We'll see.
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Afraid of Monsters, which is a Half-Life horror mod from 2006-ish.
(I couldn't find an official trailer for this mod; that's how indie it is. This fanmade one suffices).
David Leatheroff is an addict who can't quit his addiction to a mysterious new drug. Eventually, he checks into the hospital in the hopes of going clean, but succumbs to the urge to take one last dose. Doing so, he finds himself in a nightmarish world in which everyone he meets is monstrous, and the chaotic nature of the world reflects his fractured sanity.
While I'm more resistant to scares than most people, I still generally feel a tactile shock, or jump when I get hit with a jump scare. There are a lot of them in this scrappy little HL mod, and I had my fair share of jolts. The frightening nature of the scares and the atmosphere belies its lo-fi graphics. Even the regular mooks you meet that are simply remodeled zombies are incredibly creepy! The way their heads stretch this way and that are a potent scare in and of itself, and there are more to come, if you have the courage to finish the mod. It's obviously not very original, but playing it offers a potent horror experience.
I played this at a very strange point in my life. I was a student in Los Angeles, was heavily depressed, and games were really the only relief I had from my low moods. So while I remember the scares of AoM fondly, it's not something I'm likely to replay again, as I associate it with such pain. Of course, never say never. The creator of this mod would go on to make a spiritual successor in "Cry of Fear", which is more polished, but also possibly even scarier than this game!
Watching: Uhh...
Listening to: Aphex Twin - #1 (Off of Selected Ambient Works Vol II). The first time I heard this song was in AoM. It captures that strange, disjointed, and at times creepy feel that nightmares have. The sound effects see to that. And yet, it's quite relaxing and peaceful as well...
@JCU Thank you, my elbow is slowly recovering.
The sea air lent the ragged camp a breeze that the stalkers, both old and seasoned, and young and callow welcomed. It was five o'clock, and the sun was going down on the observatory, besides which Ox sat, facing the sea. He was cleaning and oiling the rifle he had purchased from the Broker. He was once queried on the use of this in a world in which most stalkers used their guns and disposed of them, buying new ones, but he always shrugged and said that it was important to appreciate the gear you had, as you had no idea when you would lose it. As most stalkers around the camp knew, he had the experience to back this up. Said experience intimidated some of the younger guns around, but Ox refused to lord it over them, and he was now being appraised as one of the experts around camp. After reassembling the rifle, he pulled out another menthol cigarette, lit it up, and inhaled deeply.
"Hey." It was Simmi, perhaps taking a break from her endless series of tasks. He'd once asked what exactly it was that she did, but she'd offered little more than a sly smile, saying he'd figure it out eventually. Simmi dropped down beside him and sat in a cross-legged pose. The wind ruffled her short orange hair a little.
"Job well done, I hear."
"Yeah, that old Oliver Twist reject got his shipment, in the end."
"Thanks to you."
"Thanks to me. Ugh, I risked my life for an extra five hundred bucks. Got to be a better way to make a living."
"If we knew it, we wouldn't be here. We all are castaways, vagabonds, wanderers and adventurers, who dream of freedom, purpose, or simply striking it rich." That was unusually poetic, coming from her.
"You mean we're all in it together?" Her eyes were on the sunset, but she nodded a little. "Even the Insurgents, the Commies, and the Military?"
"I've been here a little longer than you. Seen some things. They want the same thing we want."
He snorted. "Which is?" She turned to look into his eyes.
"Salvation."
Hello once more, Bees! The Golden Week continues, and so do my workouts!
Today was a Legs day, and boy did it suck.
Paused Squats: 95 x 5, 100 x 3. Urgh. The march towards 100 x 5 continues, and it's going okay? At least my hammies didn't act up today.
Front Squats: 70 x 3. Also moving up.
Leg Extensions: 60 x 10.
Lying Leg Curls: 35 x 20 (!).
Back Extensions: Top set of 15 reps.
Tomorrow we're having more yummy Japanese buffet food. Om nom nom!
The Steam Sale (SALE) continues, though it's almost at its end. I'm looking for a final purchase to supplement my current favourite, Abiotic Factor.
I got me a new keyboard! My old keyboard's switches were starting to break, little by little, and the switches are soldered, so there's not a thing I can do to manually repair them. So I saved up some cash, went to the computer center, and bought a "Tuf Gaming" keyboard as a replacement. It's not as customizable or high quality as my old keyboard was, but it's definitely as robust, and the tactile feel of those cherry brown switches is the icing on top. I love the way the keyboard presses quietly sink in, whereas the old Logitech announced each press with a wincingly-loud "CLICK". I look forward to using it for all my gaming needs, and I'm sure it's more than suitable.
Have yourselves a fantastic weekend, Bees!
Playing: Having good fun in Abiotic Factor. I scrounged around for a recipe for twenty minutes before realizing I had it in another part of my inventory (soups are listed as separate from other objects, d'oh). Constructed a buzzsaw gun to supplement my scrapshot launcher and am cleaving my way through the soldiers, though not without difficulty.
Am going to take the time to try a short horror named Funeralopolis. Uhh, I don't even know what the premise is, but it looks pretty interesting, at least from the one minute of it I played. Watch this space.
Really jonesing for some more Witchfire, so I might finally set foot in the castle level. We'll see.
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Afraid of Monsters, which is a Half-Life horror mod from 2006-ish.
David Leatheroff is an addict who can't quit his addiction to a mysterious new drug. Eventually, he checks into the hospital in the hopes of going clean, but succumbs to the urge to take one last dose. Doing so, he finds himself in a nightmarish world in which everyone he meets is monstrous, and the chaotic nature of the world reflects his fractured sanity.
While I'm more resistant to scares than most people, I still generally feel a tactile shock, or jump when I get hit with a jump scare. There are a lot of them in this scrappy little HL mod, and I had my fair share of jolts. The frightening nature of the scares and the atmosphere belies its lo-fi graphics. Even the regular mooks you meet that are simply remodeled zombies are incredibly creepy! The way their heads stretch this way and that are a potent scare in and of itself, and there are more to come, if you have the courage to finish the mod. It's obviously not very original, but playing it offers a potent horror experience.
I played this at a very strange point in my life. I was a student in Los Angeles, was heavily depressed, and games were really the only relief I had from my low moods. So while I remember the scares of AoM fondly, it's not something I'm likely to replay again, as I associate it with such pain. Of course, never say never. The creator of this mod would go on to make a spiritual successor in "Cry of Fear", which is more polished, but also possibly even scarier than this game!
Watching: Uhh...
Listening to: Aphex Twin - #1 (Off of Selected Ambient Works Vol II). The first time I heard this song was in AoM. It captures that strange, disjointed, and at times creepy feel that nightmares have. The sound effects see to that. And yet, it's quite relaxing and peaceful as well...
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GentleOx
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NightWolf714
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
I hope you are enjoying Golden Week
@NightWolf714 Thanks, it's certainly busier because of all the tourists, but otherwise, business is all the same.
"You know, you could make a change around here." Ox looked up at Simmi, cigarette smoldering in his hand. He passed the cigarette to her and she took a grateful drag. That said, she only smoked outside of the Observatory, and had absolutely chewed Ox out that one time that he had lit up inside. "What do you mean?" He asked, tapping the cigarette. Ashes gently fell onto the hard concrete ground. Simmi leaned against the wall next to him and affectionately bumped him with her shoulder. "You have experience, now, no? You nearly died--" "That makes multiple times now," Ox remarked. Simmi continued, some annoyance in her voice.
"You've nearly died, numerous times, and lived to tell the tale. You have experience with the different factions, monsters, and anomalies that populate this place. And all the while, we have newbies flooding in, without a dime to their names, like meat to the grinder." She paused. "You do the math." "I thought that most newbies were directed to you as a matter of course, as a means to have all their questions answered." Simmi smiled. "And I'll keep doing it. But they need practical instruction. They need to know some of the finer points of survival." Ox dropped his cigarette and stubbed it out with his boot. "Such as?"
"What to trade. How to operate firearms. How to accomplish jobs. What creatures there are out there and how to deal with them. Make sense? I'm not trying to pull you away from stalker duty. I just want to see if you could teach a class or two." "Hmm. Never thought I'd become a teacher." "Well, think of what you've learned from this line of work. Others can surely benefit from it." The sun was bright in the sky, which was peppered with light clouds. It was a beautiful backdrop that drew a sharp contrast with the strife and violence that punctuated life in the zone. Ox turned to Simmi, his decision made.
"I'll do it."
Hello again Bees!
I made it to the gym for another Push day. It didn't go so well, but eh, that's all part of the process.
Bench Press: 132.5 x 5. Ugh, could not hit six reps today. I'll try for 135 anyway next week.
Incline Press: 100 x 6.
Shoulder Press: 65 x 6.
EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 42.5 x 8. Some gains!
Tomorrow is a holiday, and I may or may not workout.
Mid Autumn Festival madness is here! I don't know if we're going to binge on mooncakes as we have in the past, but it's certainly a time for good business all over Hong Kong: exactly what the city needs.
I'm absolutely loving this new keyboard of mine. While it's not as high quality as my last one, it's really satisfying to feel the way the keys depress. Typing is actually enjoyable, now! For the price at which I got it (65 USD-ish), it was quite the steal! I read somewhere that a quality keyboard can go for 150 USD (holy cow!) or even upwards, but seeing as that's not within my budget, I had to find something more affordable. And I did, and it worked out.
Zung Chau Jit Fai Lok! (That's Cantonese for Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.)
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on The Thing, John Carpenter's seminal 1982 horror classic.
A group of scientists and support staff in Antarctica are perturbed by an unlikely attack from a neighboring station, and the arrival of a peculiar dog. Said dog is actually a shapeshifting alien with the ability to violently mimic human forms. With no way to tell who's alien and who's human, the personnel find themselves at odds with each other as paranoia sets in, and the body count rises.
I first learned of this movie watching HBO as a kid and seeing a particularly gory sequence (memorably involving the dog kennel, and the unfortunate dogs who find themselves in a cage with The Thing). Another one of those foundational horror films for me. I will never shut up about how great this film is. You have sharp writing, gore, a closed-off location, aliens, and spectacular kills.
Despite the absence of women (a little eye-rollingly rectified in the unfortunate recent sequel), this film upends so many of the genre tropes that you could swear they were mischievous Things themselves, fluid and unrecognizable. The cast are, refreshingly, not at all stupid, and make decisions that make sense consistently. Of course, Kurt Russell's "Mac" is a stolid standout, but everyone holds their own. Unfortunately, The Thing is much older, craftier, and simply unknowable, and preys on them is such ways as to make its motives ambiguous.
I find it amazing to learn that this film was maligned upon its initial release; presumably that is due to the near simultaneous release of ET. In any even, The Thing has been reevaluated as a bonafide horror classic, if not one of the best movies of all time. If you're into scary flicks and haven't seen it yet, watch it! It holds up amazingly well, and even has some political relevance to today's events.
Playing: Mostly Abiotic Factor. Simply a masterful game, and I love the way it progresses in difficulty and ingenuity. I'm getting my butt kicked here and there, but I'm learning, and slowly building inventions that can help me survive. Longer.
Also playing an indie zombie looter called SurrounDead, but so far, it's even more difficult than Abiotic Factor (to say the least...). Not sure if it's hit or miss yet.
Crow Country's playthrough has ground to a halt. Eh, I may give it another spin?
I played through another short horror called The Pit Stop. It's basically about a gas station clerk taking the late shift in a gas station in the woods. In between filling up customers' tanks, he hears talk of murders happening recently...
I did not think much of this one, and that's no surprise; I don't like indie games that couch their unexciting scares in monotonous tasks. Here, the scare comes out of nowhere, and then the credits roll. I would call it anticlimactic, except there was no tension or expectation leading up to it whatsoever. Despite the relatively more advanced graphics, this one was a dud. I give it 1$'s worth of Diesel Fuel out of 5$.
Watching: I'm watching my way through V/H/S Halloween, the latest installment of the anthology found-footage horror series. It's safe to say I like it so far. I'll post a full review when I've finished watching every segment.
Listening to: Meet Me in Orbit - We Are Grown. Another find from more of my youtube bargain bin diving. A buoyant melody with melancholy bubbling under the surface. How are there so many of these promising synth artists with such a nascent genre? And where can I find more??
"You know, you could make a change around here." Ox looked up at Simmi, cigarette smoldering in his hand. He passed the cigarette to her and she took a grateful drag. That said, she only smoked outside of the Observatory, and had absolutely chewed Ox out that one time that he had lit up inside. "What do you mean?" He asked, tapping the cigarette. Ashes gently fell onto the hard concrete ground. Simmi leaned against the wall next to him and affectionately bumped him with her shoulder. "You have experience, now, no? You nearly died--" "That makes multiple times now," Ox remarked. Simmi continued, some annoyance in her voice.
"You've nearly died, numerous times, and lived to tell the tale. You have experience with the different factions, monsters, and anomalies that populate this place. And all the while, we have newbies flooding in, without a dime to their names, like meat to the grinder." She paused. "You do the math." "I thought that most newbies were directed to you as a matter of course, as a means to have all their questions answered." Simmi smiled. "And I'll keep doing it. But they need practical instruction. They need to know some of the finer points of survival." Ox dropped his cigarette and stubbed it out with his boot. "Such as?"
"What to trade. How to operate firearms. How to accomplish jobs. What creatures there are out there and how to deal with them. Make sense? I'm not trying to pull you away from stalker duty. I just want to see if you could teach a class or two." "Hmm. Never thought I'd become a teacher." "Well, think of what you've learned from this line of work. Others can surely benefit from it." The sun was bright in the sky, which was peppered with light clouds. It was a beautiful backdrop that drew a sharp contrast with the strife and violence that punctuated life in the zone. Ox turned to Simmi, his decision made.
"I'll do it."
Hello again Bees!
I made it to the gym for another Push day. It didn't go so well, but eh, that's all part of the process.
Bench Press: 132.5 x 5. Ugh, could not hit six reps today. I'll try for 135 anyway next week.
Incline Press: 100 x 6.
Shoulder Press: 65 x 6.
EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 42.5 x 8. Some gains!
Tomorrow is a holiday, and I may or may not workout.
Mid Autumn Festival madness is here! I don't know if we're going to binge on mooncakes as we have in the past, but it's certainly a time for good business all over Hong Kong: exactly what the city needs.
I'm absolutely loving this new keyboard of mine. While it's not as high quality as my last one, it's really satisfying to feel the way the keys depress. Typing is actually enjoyable, now! For the price at which I got it (65 USD-ish), it was quite the steal! I read somewhere that a quality keyboard can go for 150 USD (holy cow!) or even upwards, but seeing as that's not within my budget, I had to find something more affordable. And I did, and it worked out.
Zung Chau Jit Fai Lok! (That's Cantonese for Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.)
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on The Thing, John Carpenter's seminal 1982 horror classic.
A group of scientists and support staff in Antarctica are perturbed by an unlikely attack from a neighboring station, and the arrival of a peculiar dog. Said dog is actually a shapeshifting alien with the ability to violently mimic human forms. With no way to tell who's alien and who's human, the personnel find themselves at odds with each other as paranoia sets in, and the body count rises.
I first learned of this movie watching HBO as a kid and seeing a particularly gory sequence (memorably involving the dog kennel, and the unfortunate dogs who find themselves in a cage with The Thing). Another one of those foundational horror films for me. I will never shut up about how great this film is. You have sharp writing, gore, a closed-off location, aliens, and spectacular kills.
Despite the absence of women (a little eye-rollingly rectified in the unfortunate recent sequel), this film upends so many of the genre tropes that you could swear they were mischievous Things themselves, fluid and unrecognizable. The cast are, refreshingly, not at all stupid, and make decisions that make sense consistently. Of course, Kurt Russell's "Mac" is a stolid standout, but everyone holds their own. Unfortunately, The Thing is much older, craftier, and simply unknowable, and preys on them is such ways as to make its motives ambiguous.
I find it amazing to learn that this film was maligned upon its initial release; presumably that is due to the near simultaneous release of ET. In any even, The Thing has been reevaluated as a bonafide horror classic, if not one of the best movies of all time. If you're into scary flicks and haven't seen it yet, watch it! It holds up amazingly well, and even has some political relevance to today's events.
Playing: Mostly Abiotic Factor. Simply a masterful game, and I love the way it progresses in difficulty and ingenuity. I'm getting my butt kicked here and there, but I'm learning, and slowly building inventions that can help me survive. Longer.
Also playing an indie zombie looter called SurrounDead, but so far, it's even more difficult than Abiotic Factor (to say the least...). Not sure if it's hit or miss yet.
Crow Country's playthrough has ground to a halt. Eh, I may give it another spin?
I played through another short horror called The Pit Stop. It's basically about a gas station clerk taking the late shift in a gas station in the woods. In between filling up customers' tanks, he hears talk of murders happening recently...
I did not think much of this one, and that's no surprise; I don't like indie games that couch their unexciting scares in monotonous tasks. Here, the scare comes out of nowhere, and then the credits roll. I would call it anticlimactic, except there was no tension or expectation leading up to it whatsoever. Despite the relatively more advanced graphics, this one was a dud. I give it 1$'s worth of Diesel Fuel out of 5$.
Watching: I'm watching my way through V/H/S Halloween, the latest installment of the anthology found-footage horror series. It's safe to say I like it so far. I'll post a full review when I've finished watching every segment.
Listening to: Meet Me in Orbit - We Are Grown. Another find from more of my youtube bargain bin diving. A buoyant melody with melancholy bubbling under the surface. How are there so many of these promising synth artists with such a nascent genre? And where can I find more??
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GentleOx
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Aaaaaaaah, my fave horror movie ever. Maybe indeed because for once there is no blatant stupid decision that makes you scream at your screen. The music is Morricone's, so of course it is perfect. Special effects aged, but as 95% is more on the amosphere, no biggie. And that ending... Just continued to floor me. Nihilistic, and ambiguous, but still understated.
And my fave scene, of course : the cardiogenic shock. It is responsible for a few chuckles I've had before the docs had to, well, do the same to me (minus the hand losing, luckily).
As a girl, I don't mind at all the all-guys setting, as it makes perfect narrative sense in this timeline, BTW. But that's me.
And my fave scene, of course : the cardiogenic shock. It is responsible for a few chuckles I've had before the docs had to, well, do the same to me (minus the hand losing, luckily).
As a girl, I don't mind at all the all-guys setting, as it makes perfect narrative sense in this timeline, BTW. But that's me.
@PetiteSheWolf Yeah it's an absolute classic! I included the point about the cast being men because for some reason, it's attracted discussion from some quarters.
They were a sordid, sorry bunch. Four bedraggled newcomers dressed in assorted garb, with even more assorted weaponry, all seated on the large open square outside of the Observatory. Simmi had charmed (and, when appropriate, made threats to) the various stalkers who'd set up camp outside, convincing them to remove their makeshift tents, sleeping bags, and other assorted junk for the time being. Ox stood before them, feeling more naked than when he'd escaped the Scavenger camp. Even many of the camp's veterans were watching, for the sheer novelty of this. Simmi was among them. When he met her gaze, she winked at him.
"Umm, hi. It's nice to meet you all." You could actually hear crickets chirping. One of the gang scratched a spot on their arm.
"Simmi told me that I could offer you all some help." Another of them raised their hand. Ox, bemused, pointed at them. "Yes?"
"So... can you tell us something cool about being here." Something... cool? Ox could feel his blood boil, and he tried to stay calm.
He folded his arms. "Nothing is cool about this place. Get this into your heads. Carcosa is dangerous. People and creatures out of your worst nightmares, some you didn't even think could exist, are out to kill you. And take it from me, even nearly being killed is a horrifying experience. You've got one shot at this. If you screw up, it's gone. So let me tell you some things that might improve your chances, small as they are." He eyed them closely. "And they are, right now, pretty damn small. I don't know you, and I could spend this time hunting for artifacts or paying off my debt, but instead, I want to see you succeed. Listen up."
That got their attention.
Greetings, once more, Bees! It is I, the Ox, bringing you another fresh, piping-hot workout.
Another cheesy, fluffy Back day. Maybe one day I'll return to deadlifting, when I'm more interested in banging my head against the wall, maybe.
T-Bar Rows: 100 x 6. Not bad, not bad. A new PR for me.
Meadows Rows: 50 x 5. I had high hopes for these today, but no PRs.
Narrow Grip Cable Rows: 75 x 5. Another PR! But it was messy as hell.
Incline Rows: 32 x 6. Another PR, as well!
Neutral Grip Chinups: Top set of 13 reps.
Inverted Bodyweight Rows: Top set of ten reps.
Today is... get ready for it - The Day After Mid-Autumn Festival. This counts as an actual holiday, interestingly. Our next holiday is the 29th, which is Chung Yeung. Mom and I will go down to the cemetery to pay our respects at Grandfather grave once more.
Tomorrow, I'm probably going to take a break. I want to get some boba tea, in particular.
Hope your week is going well, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Rockstar's Manhunt, a PS2/PC stealth-horror game.
James Earl Cash is a criminal whose heinous crimes have merited him the death sentence by lethal injection. Instead of death, however, he wakes to find a mysterious voice (the Director, voiced by Brian Cox) giving him directions, and a promise: if he does as the director says, he will be free. Unfortunately, this means being hunted by gangs of murderous thugs, from weekend warriors to insane reprobates. Cash must fight his way out, one kill at a time, all the while being filmed for the sick pleasure of the Director.
"You've had an unexpected reprieve. Do exactly as I say and I promise - this will be over before the night is out."
There's a lot of controversy surrounding this one, and a real life murder case in the UK was attributed to this game's influence (to say nothing of the even more lurid and violent sequel). I can understand the criticism, as its realistic violence leaves nothing to the imagination, and the kills are some of the most disgusting in videogame history - with more than a few degrees of control by the player. Rockstar's experiment in gritty urban horror occupies a dubious place in gaming history, and playing it today, it still has the power to disturb and shock.
I want to focus less on the sheer violence of the player's avatar and his foes, and more of the atmosphere and nightmarish implications of this scenario. You are being hunted. Regardless of whether or not it's deserved, or whether or not it's personal, as felon Cash, your chances of survival are slim, and the husks and skeletons of a decaying city surround you, as if to mock the very possibility of hope. Survival is taken one breath at a time, and realism of the situation hits home - even if the game's scenario is more the stuff of urban legends than reality (I'm genuinely surprised that such a fiction has never been enacted in real-life). As such, this is a terrifying addition to my Halloween canon that nonetheless borrows from slasher and thriller tropes.
Playing: Surprise surprise, no Abiotic Factor last night. I read an interesting account on Reddit about a player who'd painstakingly built up his home base and laboratory, only to have it all dashed when some rando online completely ruined their laboratory. Poor devil. Good thing I play offline anyway, as the dangers of a public lobby show.
I played Surroundead last night (I wasn't awake for very long). I'm still making my mind up on whether it's good or not. Right now, my early game is focused on a lot of melee combat (which one would consider ill-advised when the zombies come).
Still haven't played Witchfire, though that might change tonight.
Keyboard still feels excellent.
Watching: Still watching my way through VHS Halloween. It's fun so far!
Listening to: The Midnight - Friction. Once again, synthwave stars The Midnight deliver. Catchy, sweaty, and with a healthy dose of urban grit, this track is just great.
"But in the Underground, there are no names
Just a kick-drum heartbeat, pounding insane
On stranger's lips and in our veins
We grind out the freedom with our chains"
They were a sordid, sorry bunch. Four bedraggled newcomers dressed in assorted garb, with even more assorted weaponry, all seated on the large open square outside of the Observatory. Simmi had charmed (and, when appropriate, made threats to) the various stalkers who'd set up camp outside, convincing them to remove their makeshift tents, sleeping bags, and other assorted junk for the time being. Ox stood before them, feeling more naked than when he'd escaped the Scavenger camp. Even many of the camp's veterans were watching, for the sheer novelty of this. Simmi was among them. When he met her gaze, she winked at him.
"Umm, hi. It's nice to meet you all." You could actually hear crickets chirping. One of the gang scratched a spot on their arm.
"Simmi told me that I could offer you all some help." Another of them raised their hand. Ox, bemused, pointed at them. "Yes?"
"So... can you tell us something cool about being here." Something... cool? Ox could feel his blood boil, and he tried to stay calm.
He folded his arms. "Nothing is cool about this place. Get this into your heads. Carcosa is dangerous. People and creatures out of your worst nightmares, some you didn't even think could exist, are out to kill you. And take it from me, even nearly being killed is a horrifying experience. You've got one shot at this. If you screw up, it's gone. So let me tell you some things that might improve your chances, small as they are." He eyed them closely. "And they are, right now, pretty damn small. I don't know you, and I could spend this time hunting for artifacts or paying off my debt, but instead, I want to see you succeed. Listen up."
That got their attention.
Greetings, once more, Bees! It is I, the Ox, bringing you another fresh, piping-hot workout.
Another cheesy, fluffy Back day. Maybe one day I'll return to deadlifting, when I'm more interested in banging my head against the wall, maybe.
T-Bar Rows: 100 x 6. Not bad, not bad. A new PR for me.
Meadows Rows: 50 x 5. I had high hopes for these today, but no PRs.
Narrow Grip Cable Rows: 75 x 5. Another PR! But it was messy as hell.
Incline Rows: 32 x 6. Another PR, as well!
Neutral Grip Chinups: Top set of 13 reps.
Inverted Bodyweight Rows: Top set of ten reps.
Today is... get ready for it - The Day After Mid-Autumn Festival. This counts as an actual holiday, interestingly. Our next holiday is the 29th, which is Chung Yeung. Mom and I will go down to the cemetery to pay our respects at Grandfather grave once more.
Tomorrow, I'm probably going to take a break. I want to get some boba tea, in particular.
Hope your week is going well, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Rockstar's Manhunt, a PS2/PC stealth-horror game.
James Earl Cash is a criminal whose heinous crimes have merited him the death sentence by lethal injection. Instead of death, however, he wakes to find a mysterious voice (the Director, voiced by Brian Cox) giving him directions, and a promise: if he does as the director says, he will be free. Unfortunately, this means being hunted by gangs of murderous thugs, from weekend warriors to insane reprobates. Cash must fight his way out, one kill at a time, all the while being filmed for the sick pleasure of the Director.
"You've had an unexpected reprieve. Do exactly as I say and I promise - this will be over before the night is out."
There's a lot of controversy surrounding this one, and a real life murder case in the UK was attributed to this game's influence (to say nothing of the even more lurid and violent sequel). I can understand the criticism, as its realistic violence leaves nothing to the imagination, and the kills are some of the most disgusting in videogame history - with more than a few degrees of control by the player. Rockstar's experiment in gritty urban horror occupies a dubious place in gaming history, and playing it today, it still has the power to disturb and shock.
I want to focus less on the sheer violence of the player's avatar and his foes, and more of the atmosphere and nightmarish implications of this scenario. You are being hunted. Regardless of whether or not it's deserved, or whether or not it's personal, as felon Cash, your chances of survival are slim, and the husks and skeletons of a decaying city surround you, as if to mock the very possibility of hope. Survival is taken one breath at a time, and realism of the situation hits home - even if the game's scenario is more the stuff of urban legends than reality (I'm genuinely surprised that such a fiction has never been enacted in real-life). As such, this is a terrifying addition to my Halloween canon that nonetheless borrows from slasher and thriller tropes.
Playing: Surprise surprise, no Abiotic Factor last night. I read an interesting account on Reddit about a player who'd painstakingly built up his home base and laboratory, only to have it all dashed when some rando online completely ruined their laboratory. Poor devil. Good thing I play offline anyway, as the dangers of a public lobby show.
I played Surroundead last night (I wasn't awake for very long). I'm still making my mind up on whether it's good or not. Right now, my early game is focused on a lot of melee combat (which one would consider ill-advised when the zombies come).
Still haven't played Witchfire, though that might change tonight.
Keyboard still feels excellent.
Watching: Still watching my way through VHS Halloween. It's fun so far!
Listening to: The Midnight - Friction. Once again, synthwave stars The Midnight deliver. Catchy, sweaty, and with a healthy dose of urban grit, this track is just great.
"But in the Underground, there are no names
Just a kick-drum heartbeat, pounding insane
On stranger's lips and in our veins
We grind out the freedom with our chains"
NightWolf714
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
Congrats on the PRs! I hope you were able to get that boba tea you wanted. 
Kind thanks to @TopNotch @graoumia @Bracelet @JCU @aku-chan @CODawn and @colin!
@colin I love retro-inspired music! It's a big life inspiration for me.
@Bracelet Hey, it's the right month for it, so I figured, why not get a jump on all the spookiness to share?
@aku-chan I would focus on the stop-motion, which is awkward and ungainly and... inhuman? May be why it holds up so well. And it feels so disgustingly tangible!
"First, we lay out the groundwork of who's who here." Simmi had managed to put together an easel with pieces of paper and a fat marker. She deserved an extra peck on the cheek for that. "And your first lesson - know your colours." "In the zone, you'll come across soldiers wearing different colours of camo. Pay attention, as these colours reveal their allegiances and whether they're friend or foe." He waited for comments, and hearing none, began.
He started with writing FREELANCERS = GREEN. "That's us. I don't know why you're here - maybe you're in debt, you're a mercenary, or any adventurer, it doesn't matter. If you came here by boat or don't belong to one of the other factions, you're with us. So when I'm done lecturing, give us people around the camp a hey, or lend them a hand in the field, would you? We have one rule among each other." He paused. "Don't be a jerk. That punky chick with the orange hair is who you go to for jobs, when you're starting out." Simmi smirked at this.
He wrote INSURRECTIONIST = ORANGE on the board. "The Insurrectionists are an upstart faction that worship Dillard Kempt. They function as bandits to us Freelancers, and are usually hostile on sight. Also armed with weapons of various make, like bolt action rifles and old submachine guns. They function out of Goldwood Forest, so be on your toes if you see them coming."
Then he wrote REVOLUTIONARIES = RED. "The local chapter of the commies wear red and black. I've never had them attack me or any other Freelancer, but that doesn't by default make them friends. They're jovial, willing to lend a hand, and if you cross them, exceedingly dangerous. I've taken a few jobs from them and never been stabbed in the back... but they've got their own agenda."
He wrote the letters NFTA = BLUE on the board. "Now I don't know where you all come from. You may be from a territory that the NFTA administers benignly." He cleared his throat. "Here, the NFTA is markedly less than benign - that is to say they're hostile to anybody who isn't one of theirs. Watch out for them! They're usually professionally trained and function cohesively in units. They're more well armed and armored by default."
He was narrowing down the list, writing SCAVS = BLACK. "These guys are bad news. Trust me, I have the scars to show. They're a loose band of mercs and treasure hunters who are out for profit, plundering the zone. Spoken plainly: they'll shoot on sight. While they don't work together often (or do it well), they're not to be trifled with. Don't engage them if you don't have an advantage.
Finally, he wrote CULT (?) = PURPLE. "Be wary of these folks! As best as I can find out, they operate up north near the Stone Maze, and only come out as solo stalkers. While I've never had them outright attack me, who knows what their goals are? Their gear is odd, with all sorts of strange mystical devices, and the kind of stuff you'd normally have any trouble procuring. Engage them at your own risk."
"Any questions?" His students were still listening intently, fortunately. One of them, a slight young woman in light expedition clothing, was actually taking notes.
"Next, we'll focus on important locations, and where you can get jobs."
Bees, I've got another update! Mega update this time, as I've been writing it over the course of the last few days.
After being absent from the gym for several days, it's good to get back in there and pound out some reps. Today was the last heavy Chest day before I go in a different direction.
Paused Bench: 127.5 x 6, 130 x 5. Eh, it's okay, but still a bit below-par for me.
Paused Incline Bench: 100 x 6, I think.
Paused Overhead Press: 65 x 5.
Triceps Pushdown: 10 x 8. Not going heavy with these today.
EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 45 x 8. This is a new PR! I had no idea I could actually curl this much.
I am going to depart from my current linear increase of weight, and try an actual program again. I've in the past used Candito's program to good effect, but I want to try something a bit different, so I'm going to go with Bromley's Bull Mastiff program. As I bought a copy of his book a few years ago, I actually possess the original template (which is later in the book). Excited to give my body a break from all the heavy poundages, and try progressing in another direction, of course.
(I still love my keyboard, it is awesome and good value for the money and the typing feels so good)
Tomorrow mom and I are having our weekly dinner at a tea buffet called "Playt" that's a favourite of ours - their cuisine runs the gamut, but the quality doesn't; it's always tasty! Om nom nom.
Have a great weekend, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Clive Barker's Undying, a 2001 horror FPS.
WWI veteran Patrick Galloway, an amateur sorcerer, is called to the estate of his friend Jeremiah Covenant. Jeremiah insists that he is haunted by the spirits of his malevolent siblings, who, as children, performed a ritual that allowed them to cheat death. This ritual twisted their souls and bodies and made them undead monsters, and in over his head, Covenant has summoned Galloway to investigate. As a seasoned adventurer, Galloway will use any means he knows of (and some he discovers) to put an end to this deadly curse.
Sure, I've seen the first Hellraiser. But that's about as familiar as I am with Clive Barker's works. Even when I was a kid, and I heard about this game, I was a touch skeptical. "It's got a writer attached to it, but so what?" I thought.
And then I played the game, and was blown away. This was an ambitious, fully-satisfying, and above all, creepy horror game with strong FPS gameplay. The shooting was fundamentally good, of course, but it was the vast environments and the memorable, horrifying family that sold the deal. The puzzles were subtle and revealed layers to the gameplay that I'm still unpacking, and the level design is vast and multilayered. Where 1997's ROTH (which I may feature later on) stumbles, Undying positively soars.
Are you an FPS gamer? Undying is available on GOG for a steal.
Blame Canada: Getting in touch with my Canadian roots and watching episodes of Kenny vs Spenny. If you were like me and had never heard of this thoroughly puerile show, it was a series of competitions between two friends (!) to outdo each other in the most immature and pointless ways possible. The episode I'm on is particularly apropos of my favourite exercise - it's a battle between the two to see who benches more. Hilarity ensues!
Playing: So I'm pretty much losing interest in Surroundead. So far it's been an early game mess of looting, melee combat, and endless wandering. I get that the creator wanted to be more authentic in terms of loot and items, but that means the game is mired in the inconsequential.
Got stuck in Abiotic Factor again and had to consult several (confusing) walkthroughs. I'm not playing the game to its fullest, as there are so many recipes and decorations I haven't used. If I ever successfully finish the game with my rushed playthrough (failing to do so is a real possibility!), I'll start another one in which I play as a completionist. Even rushing through this dense game is difficult, however.
Watching: I finished watching VHS Halloween, so here's a big huge review.
So the theme for VHS Halloween is... well, you can probably guess. All the shorts have a spin on Halloween revelry gone terribly wrong.
Diet Phantasma: The framing short for this installment documents the testing of a new soda (just in time for Halloween) by a beleaguered scientist and his team. However, the tests don't go smoothly; while commenting that the soda is tasty, test subjects, without fail, violently expire...
Eh, it was okay. The gore is great, but the short is kind of repetitive (which may be the point, to show just how myopic, amoral, and short-sighted the team developing the soda is). Better for its comedy content than for being memorable. I give it three Phantasma sodas out of five.
Coochie Coochie Coo: Before heading to university, two mischievous friends promise to each other they'll paint the town red with their last Halloween together. Raising hell throughout the neighborhood, they come across, and become trapped in, a mysterious house with a horrific secret...
I liked this one! The horror starts when the annoying duo is trapped within the house, with familiar, but horrific vibes of monsters and mayhem running amok; I felt like there was a dash of inspiration from the Resident Evil series, which we can never have enough of. Uncomplicated, scary fun. I give it four and a half ominous pictures on the shelf out of five.
Ut Supra Sic Infra: Enric is the sole survivor of a Halloween night party gone violent. Shaken and traumatized, and unusually reluctant to relate exactly what happened, he tells the Policia of how they entered a mysterious mansion, poke around for a bit, and end up inexplicably murdered. The Policia takes him to the site to re-enact the events, little realizing what is about to transpire...
A dyed in the wool supernatural offering that's not particularly noteworthy except for it being set outside of the States. The horror felt perfunctory and while there were some creepy moments, it didn't really register for me. I give it two and a half unplugged phones out of five.
Fun size: Four adult friends are out on Halloween night trick or treating, vowing that they won't let derision over their age put a damper on their fun. Their sojourn is derailed when they encounter a strange bowl of candies they've never heard of. Soon, they find themselves in a surreal place with an equally surreal tormentor, and learn exactly what goes into those strange candies...
This one was good, fantastic fun, and features quite the nauseating premise. Again, it's a simple and uncomplicated premise of trying to escape from a dangerous place - kind of like a barf-inducing SCP. It scores big kudos for creativity, even if the protagonists are as deservedly-unfortunate as usual. I give it four and a half pieces of peculiar candy out of five.
Kidprint: Halloween this year in a small town has been curtailed, in light of a series of child disappearances. The proprietor of an electronics store, who films "Kidprints" to help prevent disappearances, nonetheless vows to take his kids out to have a good time but inadvertently stumbles upon a grisly discovery...
This one is the grimmest and darkest of the bunch, with little of the tongue-in-cheek black comedy of the others. It's predictably creepy, without being exceptional, and the killer is somewhat unmemorable. I give it three and a half video tapes out of five.
Home Haunt: The proprietor of a family-run haunted house enlists his long-suffering son once more in preparing their home as a haunted house attraction. Rummaging through a thrift store, they find a peculiar LP that promises to open the gates of hell. Just the thing they needed to add some atmosphere, right? Unfortunately, as they dim the lights, enter the maze, and start the record, the family and their guests are in for far worse than they'd ever expect...
More good and gory fun. The special and makeup effects are particularly memorable in this segment. I felt like it had a lot of character packed into its five minute finale, in which all goes to hell (literally), and demons haunt the haunt. It passes out four Halloween haunt fliers out of five.
Overall rating: All in all, a satisfying, blood-soaked treat that may not reinvent the wheel, but keeps it churning with spooky and enjoyable fare. In some ways it's among the best that the consistently entertaining franchise has to offer. I give it four and a half lame, found footage cameramen Halloween costumes out of five.
Listening to: HIM - I Love You (Prelude to a Tragedy). I actually have some listening history with HIM, stretching back twenty years or so. I used to workout to their tunes (sometimes still do), and I love the catchy crunch of their guitars. Just the right song for a fast approaching Halloween!
@colin I love retro-inspired music! It's a big life inspiration for me.
@Bracelet Hey, it's the right month for it, so I figured, why not get a jump on all the spookiness to share?
@aku-chan I would focus on the stop-motion, which is awkward and ungainly and... inhuman? May be why it holds up so well. And it feels so disgustingly tangible!
"First, we lay out the groundwork of who's who here." Simmi had managed to put together an easel with pieces of paper and a fat marker. She deserved an extra peck on the cheek for that. "And your first lesson - know your colours." "In the zone, you'll come across soldiers wearing different colours of camo. Pay attention, as these colours reveal their allegiances and whether they're friend or foe." He waited for comments, and hearing none, began.
He started with writing FREELANCERS = GREEN. "That's us. I don't know why you're here - maybe you're in debt, you're a mercenary, or any adventurer, it doesn't matter. If you came here by boat or don't belong to one of the other factions, you're with us. So when I'm done lecturing, give us people around the camp a hey, or lend them a hand in the field, would you? We have one rule among each other." He paused. "Don't be a jerk. That punky chick with the orange hair is who you go to for jobs, when you're starting out." Simmi smirked at this.
He wrote INSURRECTIONIST = ORANGE on the board. "The Insurrectionists are an upstart faction that worship Dillard Kempt. They function as bandits to us Freelancers, and are usually hostile on sight. Also armed with weapons of various make, like bolt action rifles and old submachine guns. They function out of Goldwood Forest, so be on your toes if you see them coming."
Then he wrote REVOLUTIONARIES = RED. "The local chapter of the commies wear red and black. I've never had them attack me or any other Freelancer, but that doesn't by default make them friends. They're jovial, willing to lend a hand, and if you cross them, exceedingly dangerous. I've taken a few jobs from them and never been stabbed in the back... but they've got their own agenda."
He wrote the letters NFTA = BLUE on the board. "Now I don't know where you all come from. You may be from a territory that the NFTA administers benignly." He cleared his throat. "Here, the NFTA is markedly less than benign - that is to say they're hostile to anybody who isn't one of theirs. Watch out for them! They're usually professionally trained and function cohesively in units. They're more well armed and armored by default."
He was narrowing down the list, writing SCAVS = BLACK. "These guys are bad news. Trust me, I have the scars to show. They're a loose band of mercs and treasure hunters who are out for profit, plundering the zone. Spoken plainly: they'll shoot on sight. While they don't work together often (or do it well), they're not to be trifled with. Don't engage them if you don't have an advantage.
Finally, he wrote CULT (?) = PURPLE. "Be wary of these folks! As best as I can find out, they operate up north near the Stone Maze, and only come out as solo stalkers. While I've never had them outright attack me, who knows what their goals are? Their gear is odd, with all sorts of strange mystical devices, and the kind of stuff you'd normally have any trouble procuring. Engage them at your own risk."
"Any questions?" His students were still listening intently, fortunately. One of them, a slight young woman in light expedition clothing, was actually taking notes.
"Next, we'll focus on important locations, and where you can get jobs."
Bees, I've got another update! Mega update this time, as I've been writing it over the course of the last few days.
After being absent from the gym for several days, it's good to get back in there and pound out some reps. Today was the last heavy Chest day before I go in a different direction.
Paused Bench: 127.5 x 6, 130 x 5. Eh, it's okay, but still a bit below-par for me.
Paused Incline Bench: 100 x 6, I think.
Paused Overhead Press: 65 x 5.
Triceps Pushdown: 10 x 8. Not going heavy with these today.
EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 45 x 8. This is a new PR! I had no idea I could actually curl this much.
I am going to depart from my current linear increase of weight, and try an actual program again. I've in the past used Candito's program to good effect, but I want to try something a bit different, so I'm going to go with Bromley's Bull Mastiff program. As I bought a copy of his book a few years ago, I actually possess the original template (which is later in the book). Excited to give my body a break from all the heavy poundages, and try progressing in another direction, of course.
(I still love my keyboard, it is awesome and good value for the money and the typing feels so good)
Tomorrow mom and I are having our weekly dinner at a tea buffet called "Playt" that's a favourite of ours - their cuisine runs the gamut, but the quality doesn't; it's always tasty! Om nom nom.
Have a great weekend, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Clive Barker's Undying, a 2001 horror FPS.
WWI veteran Patrick Galloway, an amateur sorcerer, is called to the estate of his friend Jeremiah Covenant. Jeremiah insists that he is haunted by the spirits of his malevolent siblings, who, as children, performed a ritual that allowed them to cheat death. This ritual twisted their souls and bodies and made them undead monsters, and in over his head, Covenant has summoned Galloway to investigate. As a seasoned adventurer, Galloway will use any means he knows of (and some he discovers) to put an end to this deadly curse.
Sure, I've seen the first Hellraiser. But that's about as familiar as I am with Clive Barker's works. Even when I was a kid, and I heard about this game, I was a touch skeptical. "It's got a writer attached to it, but so what?" I thought.
And then I played the game, and was blown away. This was an ambitious, fully-satisfying, and above all, creepy horror game with strong FPS gameplay. The shooting was fundamentally good, of course, but it was the vast environments and the memorable, horrifying family that sold the deal. The puzzles were subtle and revealed layers to the gameplay that I'm still unpacking, and the level design is vast and multilayered. Where 1997's ROTH (which I may feature later on) stumbles, Undying positively soars.
Are you an FPS gamer? Undying is available on GOG for a steal.
Blame Canada: Getting in touch with my Canadian roots and watching episodes of Kenny vs Spenny. If you were like me and had never heard of this thoroughly puerile show, it was a series of competitions between two friends (!) to outdo each other in the most immature and pointless ways possible. The episode I'm on is particularly apropos of my favourite exercise - it's a battle between the two to see who benches more. Hilarity ensues!
Playing: So I'm pretty much losing interest in Surroundead. So far it's been an early game mess of looting, melee combat, and endless wandering. I get that the creator wanted to be more authentic in terms of loot and items, but that means the game is mired in the inconsequential.
Got stuck in Abiotic Factor again and had to consult several (confusing) walkthroughs. I'm not playing the game to its fullest, as there are so many recipes and decorations I haven't used. If I ever successfully finish the game with my rushed playthrough (failing to do so is a real possibility!), I'll start another one in which I play as a completionist. Even rushing through this dense game is difficult, however.
Watching: I finished watching VHS Halloween, so here's a big huge review.
So the theme for VHS Halloween is... well, you can probably guess. All the shorts have a spin on Halloween revelry gone terribly wrong.
Diet Phantasma: The framing short for this installment documents the testing of a new soda (just in time for Halloween) by a beleaguered scientist and his team. However, the tests don't go smoothly; while commenting that the soda is tasty, test subjects, without fail, violently expire...
Eh, it was okay. The gore is great, but the short is kind of repetitive (which may be the point, to show just how myopic, amoral, and short-sighted the team developing the soda is). Better for its comedy content than for being memorable. I give it three Phantasma sodas out of five.
Coochie Coochie Coo: Before heading to university, two mischievous friends promise to each other they'll paint the town red with their last Halloween together. Raising hell throughout the neighborhood, they come across, and become trapped in, a mysterious house with a horrific secret...
I liked this one! The horror starts when the annoying duo is trapped within the house, with familiar, but horrific vibes of monsters and mayhem running amok; I felt like there was a dash of inspiration from the Resident Evil series, which we can never have enough of. Uncomplicated, scary fun. I give it four and a half ominous pictures on the shelf out of five.
Ut Supra Sic Infra: Enric is the sole survivor of a Halloween night party gone violent. Shaken and traumatized, and unusually reluctant to relate exactly what happened, he tells the Policia of how they entered a mysterious mansion, poke around for a bit, and end up inexplicably murdered. The Policia takes him to the site to re-enact the events, little realizing what is about to transpire...
A dyed in the wool supernatural offering that's not particularly noteworthy except for it being set outside of the States. The horror felt perfunctory and while there were some creepy moments, it didn't really register for me. I give it two and a half unplugged phones out of five.
Fun size: Four adult friends are out on Halloween night trick or treating, vowing that they won't let derision over their age put a damper on their fun. Their sojourn is derailed when they encounter a strange bowl of candies they've never heard of. Soon, they find themselves in a surreal place with an equally surreal tormentor, and learn exactly what goes into those strange candies...
This one was good, fantastic fun, and features quite the nauseating premise. Again, it's a simple and uncomplicated premise of trying to escape from a dangerous place - kind of like a barf-inducing SCP. It scores big kudos for creativity, even if the protagonists are as deservedly-unfortunate as usual. I give it four and a half pieces of peculiar candy out of five.
Kidprint: Halloween this year in a small town has been curtailed, in light of a series of child disappearances. The proprietor of an electronics store, who films "Kidprints" to help prevent disappearances, nonetheless vows to take his kids out to have a good time but inadvertently stumbles upon a grisly discovery...
This one is the grimmest and darkest of the bunch, with little of the tongue-in-cheek black comedy of the others. It's predictably creepy, without being exceptional, and the killer is somewhat unmemorable. I give it three and a half video tapes out of five.
Home Haunt: The proprietor of a family-run haunted house enlists his long-suffering son once more in preparing their home as a haunted house attraction. Rummaging through a thrift store, they find a peculiar LP that promises to open the gates of hell. Just the thing they needed to add some atmosphere, right? Unfortunately, as they dim the lights, enter the maze, and start the record, the family and their guests are in for far worse than they'd ever expect...
More good and gory fun. The special and makeup effects are particularly memorable in this segment. I felt like it had a lot of character packed into its five minute finale, in which all goes to hell (literally), and demons haunt the haunt. It passes out four Halloween haunt fliers out of five.
Overall rating: All in all, a satisfying, blood-soaked treat that may not reinvent the wheel, but keeps it churning with spooky and enjoyable fare. In some ways it's among the best that the consistently entertaining franchise has to offer. I give it four and a half lame, found footage cameramen Halloween costumes out of five.
Listening to: HIM - I Love You (Prelude to a Tragedy). I actually have some listening history with HIM, stretching back twenty years or so. I used to workout to their tunes (sometimes still do), and I love the catchy crunch of their guitars. Just the right song for a fast approaching Halloween!
Cheers for your latest PRs this past week! 
Thank you so much @Mamatigerj @CODawn @aku-chan @TopNotch @graoumia @Fremen and @JCU!
Ox pushed the pin home, and then turned to his "class", the giant map affixed in place. "It's important to know where to go when you're starting out, and where to avoid. We're here," he indicated the southernmost spot on the map - the Observatory. "What can I say? This is home. There're safe places to sleep, a trader, advice if you want it, and good company. Very good company." An unexpected, raucous cheer from the stalkers gathered. He could swear Simmi turned a little red. "Also, rule of thumb: as you go northward, it becomes more dangerous."
He tapped the Crossroads with a bayonet one of the stalkers had lent him: it functioned as a handy makeshift pointer. "But this is truly where it starts. The Crossroads leads to all the fundamental regions of Carcosa, but it's the first place you'll get attacked, be it by transhumans (more on them later), or roaming Insurrectionists. Of course, from here, you can reach the Flood Plains, Depot, and Black Lake, to name a few, ah, I'll focus on those today. There are slim pickings here; practically every building has been looted by those who came before you. Flag down a friendly patrol if you're in trouble; if they're not around, run. It's not cowardice, but simple survival, to get across the bridge and into our territory, where our sharpshooters can keep you safe."
Next, he tapped the region labeled Flood Plains. "Points of Interest include a large plant, an area of inexplicable storms, and a flooded village. On the other side of the river is a lab containing the doctor. You might be shocked when you see him, but he's a good one, and he's given me several rewarding jobs. He's a friend of the Revolutionaries, so treat him well, or earn their ire. There's also a lab named 'RG West' accessible from the doc's lab, but it's still festooned with all sorts of creatures and traps."
"Those totalitarian freaks from Terra Reddita make their camp in the Goldwood, in the southeast. If you have a death wish, you can access the area through the train tracks leading southeast. They're close by, but they've never tried coming south, to where we are. And good thing for them, because we'd band together and beat them down pretty badly if they did."
"The Black Lake is a dangerous, but rewarding region. But first - don't swim. The fish'll getcha. There's a floating cabin that needs to be seen to be believed along the shore, but the most danger is to be found around the village, which still swarms with transhumans. There's a strange, bubble-like anomaly on the road leading to Metropol that acts like lowered gravity. Be careful jumping around in it, lest you get caught with your pants down. Oh, and our sponsor wanted to add this message: his base is in the docks on the western side of Black Lake, next to Metropol. He's kind of weird, but his money's green, so if you need a job, you can find him."
"Speaking of Metropol, you can access it through the Depot. The Depot's relatively dangerous because it's such a confusing location, though you might find some loot hidden here and there. That's nothing compared to the city - Metropol is a war zone. I strongly advise you not to go there early on, unless you like being shot at left and right. Of course, there's some great loot to be found there..."
"Regarding advice... we'll cover weapons and gear, but let's get some lunch first."
I'm beaming this message into your heads from geosynchrous orbit, Bees! I made the wise choice to fit in a workout on Sunday, because I won't have the chance tomorrow.
Today I started the Bullmastiff program, so this is W1D1, Wave 1.
Bench Press: 100 x 20. Wow. I could feel my muscles giving way at the end of the final rep. As I have completed 14 reps more than the standard six, I am to add 14% to the weight next week. Neat!
Tempo OHP: 40 x 12 (I have no idea how I was able to pull this one off), and then a more suitable 30 x 12. Total burn. My front delts were fried by the end of these.
EZ Bar Pushdowns: 9 x 15. Just going through the motions.
Barbell Curls: 20 x 15. Same here.
I'm very excited to see what fruit the program bears eventually. I've never tried this specific training progression before, and I'm sure my joints will be thanking me for the break I'm taking from all the heavy, mindless, add 5 lbs each week ape lifting I've been doing. I don't think it'll be easy, by necessity. But let's see how it goes.
The weather is finally going to cool down next week. WELL THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG.
Still happily celebrating spooky season.
Hope you're having a great Sunday, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Night of the Living Dead: the 1990 remake, to be precise.
Johnny and Barbara have arrived at a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to pay their respects, but are stunned by the arrival of malevolent, flesh-eating corpses. When Johnny is killed, Barbara flees to a nearby farmhouse, and meets with a group of survivors, who all agree they must doing anything to survive the waves of the living dead that seem to keep inexplicably arriving to threaten them. The redoubtable, thoughtful Ben butts heads with the obnoxious, unpleasant Cooper, and the two argue on how best to survive.
Meanwhile, the day turns to night, and the dead keep coming...
I know, I know, I didn't pick the original NotLD. That's because this one popped up on HBO back when I was 14/15, and it absolutely entranced me.
I'm very fond of this one, and attribute my love of zombies to watching this one. The zombies were inexorable, and infectious, sure, but the actual meat (hardee har har) of a zombie movie is the drama between the living. There's plenty of that here, of course, thanks to the great acting by the recently-passed Tony Todd, who cuts a formidable figure; but the MVP is Patricia Tallman's Barbara, who thoroughly subverts the passive victim role Barbara had in the original.
I also want to opine that this is one of the most underrated horror remakes of all time. It's taut, well-directed (kudos to Tom Savini, as this was his first time in the director's chair), and the violence and gore doesn't disappoint, thanks to believably gruesome makeup effects. An absolute gem that still holds up to this day!
Playing: I gave up on Surroundead, of course.
There was a demo for a crafting/shooting game... what was it called? The Last Survivor, or something like that. Anyway, it ran on my PC like someone wading through sludge, so I gave up on it.
But I've mostly been spending my time progressing through Abiotic Factor, which still delivers. Granted, I needed a walkthrough to find out where some of the items were, but I didn't feel guilty about it like I usually do. Last night, I constructed an X-Ray Tower to ward away an unkillable creature, got radiation poisoning several times, and cooked several different soups with the limbs of my alien foes. Neat!
Watching: Hmm. Really should start Heavy Metal.
Listening to: Reflexmachine - The Creature Walks Among Us. We're going ultra-indie with this here song. I have no idea how I originally found it, but I love its lo-fi, punky, staccato bursts of grinding guitars, not to mention the singer's paranoid outbursts. Another great Halloween song!
"Be careful what you say
It can get in the way
The Creature walks among us now!
I see him watching every day
Be careful what you say
The Creature walks among us!"
Ox pushed the pin home, and then turned to his "class", the giant map affixed in place. "It's important to know where to go when you're starting out, and where to avoid. We're here," he indicated the southernmost spot on the map - the Observatory. "What can I say? This is home. There're safe places to sleep, a trader, advice if you want it, and good company. Very good company." An unexpected, raucous cheer from the stalkers gathered. He could swear Simmi turned a little red. "Also, rule of thumb: as you go northward, it becomes more dangerous."
He tapped the Crossroads with a bayonet one of the stalkers had lent him: it functioned as a handy makeshift pointer. "But this is truly where it starts. The Crossroads leads to all the fundamental regions of Carcosa, but it's the first place you'll get attacked, be it by transhumans (more on them later), or roaming Insurrectionists. Of course, from here, you can reach the Flood Plains, Depot, and Black Lake, to name a few, ah, I'll focus on those today. There are slim pickings here; practically every building has been looted by those who came before you. Flag down a friendly patrol if you're in trouble; if they're not around, run. It's not cowardice, but simple survival, to get across the bridge and into our territory, where our sharpshooters can keep you safe."
Next, he tapped the region labeled Flood Plains. "Points of Interest include a large plant, an area of inexplicable storms, and a flooded village. On the other side of the river is a lab containing the doctor. You might be shocked when you see him, but he's a good one, and he's given me several rewarding jobs. He's a friend of the Revolutionaries, so treat him well, or earn their ire. There's also a lab named 'RG West' accessible from the doc's lab, but it's still festooned with all sorts of creatures and traps."
"Those totalitarian freaks from Terra Reddita make their camp in the Goldwood, in the southeast. If you have a death wish, you can access the area through the train tracks leading southeast. They're close by, but they've never tried coming south, to where we are. And good thing for them, because we'd band together and beat them down pretty badly if they did."
"The Black Lake is a dangerous, but rewarding region. But first - don't swim. The fish'll getcha. There's a floating cabin that needs to be seen to be believed along the shore, but the most danger is to be found around the village, which still swarms with transhumans. There's a strange, bubble-like anomaly on the road leading to Metropol that acts like lowered gravity. Be careful jumping around in it, lest you get caught with your pants down. Oh, and our sponsor wanted to add this message: his base is in the docks on the western side of Black Lake, next to Metropol. He's kind of weird, but his money's green, so if you need a job, you can find him."
"Speaking of Metropol, you can access it through the Depot. The Depot's relatively dangerous because it's such a confusing location, though you might find some loot hidden here and there. That's nothing compared to the city - Metropol is a war zone. I strongly advise you not to go there early on, unless you like being shot at left and right. Of course, there's some great loot to be found there..."
"Regarding advice... we'll cover weapons and gear, but let's get some lunch first."
I'm beaming this message into your heads from geosynchrous orbit, Bees! I made the wise choice to fit in a workout on Sunday, because I won't have the chance tomorrow.
Today I started the Bullmastiff program, so this is W1D1, Wave 1.
Bench Press: 100 x 20. Wow. I could feel my muscles giving way at the end of the final rep. As I have completed 14 reps more than the standard six, I am to add 14% to the weight next week. Neat!
Tempo OHP: 40 x 12 (I have no idea how I was able to pull this one off), and then a more suitable 30 x 12. Total burn. My front delts were fried by the end of these.
EZ Bar Pushdowns: 9 x 15. Just going through the motions.
Barbell Curls: 20 x 15. Same here.
I'm very excited to see what fruit the program bears eventually. I've never tried this specific training progression before, and I'm sure my joints will be thanking me for the break I'm taking from all the heavy, mindless, add 5 lbs each week ape lifting I've been doing. I don't think it'll be easy, by necessity. But let's see how it goes.
The weather is finally going to cool down next week. WELL THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG.
Still happily celebrating spooky season.
Hope you're having a great Sunday, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Night of the Living Dead: the 1990 remake, to be precise.
Johnny and Barbara have arrived at a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to pay their respects, but are stunned by the arrival of malevolent, flesh-eating corpses. When Johnny is killed, Barbara flees to a nearby farmhouse, and meets with a group of survivors, who all agree they must doing anything to survive the waves of the living dead that seem to keep inexplicably arriving to threaten them. The redoubtable, thoughtful Ben butts heads with the obnoxious, unpleasant Cooper, and the two argue on how best to survive.
Meanwhile, the day turns to night, and the dead keep coming...
I know, I know, I didn't pick the original NotLD. That's because this one popped up on HBO back when I was 14/15, and it absolutely entranced me.
I'm very fond of this one, and attribute my love of zombies to watching this one. The zombies were inexorable, and infectious, sure, but the actual meat (hardee har har) of a zombie movie is the drama between the living. There's plenty of that here, of course, thanks to the great acting by the recently-passed Tony Todd, who cuts a formidable figure; but the MVP is Patricia Tallman's Barbara, who thoroughly subverts the passive victim role Barbara had in the original.
I also want to opine that this is one of the most underrated horror remakes of all time. It's taut, well-directed (kudos to Tom Savini, as this was his first time in the director's chair), and the violence and gore doesn't disappoint, thanks to believably gruesome makeup effects. An absolute gem that still holds up to this day!
Playing: I gave up on Surroundead, of course.
There was a demo for a crafting/shooting game... what was it called? The Last Survivor, or something like that. Anyway, it ran on my PC like someone wading through sludge, so I gave up on it.
But I've mostly been spending my time progressing through Abiotic Factor, which still delivers. Granted, I needed a walkthrough to find out where some of the items were, but I didn't feel guilty about it like I usually do. Last night, I constructed an X-Ray Tower to ward away an unkillable creature, got radiation poisoning several times, and cooked several different soups with the limbs of my alien foes. Neat!
Watching: Hmm. Really should start Heavy Metal.
Listening to: Reflexmachine - The Creature Walks Among Us. We're going ultra-indie with this here song. I have no idea how I originally found it, but I love its lo-fi, punky, staccato bursts of grinding guitars, not to mention the singer's paranoid outbursts. Another great Halloween song!
"Be careful what you say
It can get in the way
The Creature walks among us now!
I see him watching every day
Be careful what you say
The Creature walks among us!"
NightWolf714
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
Congrats on the newest PRs!
@NightWolf714 Thank you!
"What do you think of them?"
Ox took a bite from the assorted mush of long unopened MRE ingredients. This one was a reasonable facsimile of curry chicken, which was as good as you were going to get with these things. Their quality ranged from the edible to the repulsive, from flavours like Chinese stir-fry to beef burrito. He glanced up at Rodger. "Hard to say. Sometimes you've got to wait until the bullets start flying, to be sure. At least they're listening." Rodger nodded, arms folded. He was stocky and compact, and due to his no-nonsense good nature, had been tasked with looking after the newcomers - at least until they were independent enough to look after themselves. As a gesture of goodwill, today's lunch was on Ox, consisting of several cans of assorted food and MREs passed out to each fledgling stalker. He didn't mind the loss, having accrued enough food supplies to feed himself for some time.
He glanced over at Simmi giving a brief talk to the newcomers over lunch. It was decided that her side of things would be on collectibles, artifacts, and items, and which were useful, which less so. She was also covering how to keep one's self fed and properly sustained while out adventuring. Just a fine gal. When she was done, the four newcomers were left to their devices. One of them - the young girl in expeditionary clothing, buried her head in a book, seemingly tuning out the others. A youthful man in a rugged jacket and jeans, with a revolver stuck in his pants, conversed with an unique-looking woman with eye-catching features, while another, smaller kid who was similar in age, though not disposition, to the James Dean wannabe sat listening.
"Yo." Simmi had made her way over to them. Rodger nodded at the fledglings. "Your boyfriend says it's too early to say which of 'em will survive." Simmi raised an eyebrow. "That's true. However, we've seen lots of people come through, so we do have some indicators..." Ox swallowed another mouthful of meagre chicken mush. "I haven't been here as long. What would you say decides success, for the most part?" Simmi put her hands in her pockets and thought about the question. "Adaptability. Dedication. A willingness to learn and not tune out lessons from the Zone. But above all..." She paused for a moment.
"When they've lost everything, and been kicked for good measure, the willingness to get back up and continue. Kind of like a handsome fella I know." She winked at Ox.
Rodger rolled his eyes.
Today is W1D2 of the Bullmastiff program. The focus was on Deadlifts today, but I fudged some of the program in the sense that I made it a true "Back day", by adding in more back-centric accessories and exercises. Normally the program adds a squat (?) exercise to Deadlift day plus some unrelated accessories, which I dispensed with.
Anyway...
Deadlifts: AMRAP set of 110 x 20. Holy crap, this one shouldn't have been difficult, but it just about shattered me. My hamstrings feel pretty funny after this.
Romanian Deadlifts: 60 x 15. Feel the burn!
Wide Grip Pulldowns: 45 x 15.
Neutral Grip Chin Ups: 20 reps over five sets.
So a lot less volume and intensity than I'm used to. Next week I'll try upping the poundages on some of the accessories.
Progress selfie. Still got a bit of a belly, but I'll give it some time.
I see every one of you Bees, and appreciate your hard work!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Dagon, the 2001 Stuart Gordon-helmed work that borrows almost directly from the works of HP Lovecraft.
While boating off the coast of Spain, Paul Marsh and his girlfriend Barbara experience an accident that leads to them washing up on the shores of a strange Spanish town. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse when they search for help, and realize that the peculiar townfolk have a strange and ancient secret they're hiding...
So spoiler warning: I haven't actually read any of Lovecraft's stories. I made it a few pages into The Call of Cthulhu before giving up - something about the prose nettled me. But watching this mythos-inspired flick years after the fact is a very frightening (and at times, disturbing) experience. Even without having read Lovecraft's works, this felt like an authentic Lovecraftian experience; strange mystery and otherworldly horror of the stories is perfectly on show here.
As a terrifying experience, it just works! Paul is up against forces unknown (and unknowable), and the atmosphere of escaping one horrific situation after another has an almost videogame-like touch (a friend I watched it with compared it to Resident Evil 4 - not light praise). And it's not just atmosphere - there are horrifying creature effects and gore that made me deeply uncomfortable in one scene. Gordon was a veteran director of Lovecraft movies, and constructs the film's visuals and horror with an experienced touch.
A true cult horror gem.
Playing: Mostly been devoted to making lots of progress in Abiotic Factor. I had to consult a walkthrough a time or two, but I'm ready to blast through the gunk covering up the... something or other in the Cascade Laboratories. I also discovered a new mechanic that should've been really obvious to me - water purification! I didn't realize that you could take tainted water and purify it, bit by bit, or that there are water drums that allow for storage of basically playthrough-length supplies of water. Eager to jump back in and... well, collect more water.
I tried the Beneath demo (an aquatic horror game), as the full game is coming out later this month. It feels like unfinished dreck at the moment, so the developers are in dire need of a hat trick. Boom! Uninstalled.
There's an interesting looking FPS coming out called Mohrta (sp?) that looks quite intriguing. Pity I've already saved up some cash for Vampire Bloodlines 2, which drops in a little over a week...
I've got to admit, this fusion of Morrowind-like graphics and Dark Souls gameplay looks pretty rad, indeed.
Watching: Not much, but there are some interesting horror releases coming up...
Listening to: The Hives - Bigger Hole to Fill. I'm very picky with their work, but sometimes their swagger and braggadocio move me. This one in particular I find pretty gnarly, and well-paced.
"I pet the cat along the whiskers
And I always go along the grain
You'll never see me in the deep end
If I ain't got nothing to gain
Don't serve the fool or act the donkey
If you allow me to explain"
"What do you think of them?"
Ox took a bite from the assorted mush of long unopened MRE ingredients. This one was a reasonable facsimile of curry chicken, which was as good as you were going to get with these things. Their quality ranged from the edible to the repulsive, from flavours like Chinese stir-fry to beef burrito. He glanced up at Rodger. "Hard to say. Sometimes you've got to wait until the bullets start flying, to be sure. At least they're listening." Rodger nodded, arms folded. He was stocky and compact, and due to his no-nonsense good nature, had been tasked with looking after the newcomers - at least until they were independent enough to look after themselves. As a gesture of goodwill, today's lunch was on Ox, consisting of several cans of assorted food and MREs passed out to each fledgling stalker. He didn't mind the loss, having accrued enough food supplies to feed himself for some time.
He glanced over at Simmi giving a brief talk to the newcomers over lunch. It was decided that her side of things would be on collectibles, artifacts, and items, and which were useful, which less so. She was also covering how to keep one's self fed and properly sustained while out adventuring. Just a fine gal. When she was done, the four newcomers were left to their devices. One of them - the young girl in expeditionary clothing, buried her head in a book, seemingly tuning out the others. A youthful man in a rugged jacket and jeans, with a revolver stuck in his pants, conversed with an unique-looking woman with eye-catching features, while another, smaller kid who was similar in age, though not disposition, to the James Dean wannabe sat listening.
"Yo." Simmi had made her way over to them. Rodger nodded at the fledglings. "Your boyfriend says it's too early to say which of 'em will survive." Simmi raised an eyebrow. "That's true. However, we've seen lots of people come through, so we do have some indicators..." Ox swallowed another mouthful of meagre chicken mush. "I haven't been here as long. What would you say decides success, for the most part?" Simmi put her hands in her pockets and thought about the question. "Adaptability. Dedication. A willingness to learn and not tune out lessons from the Zone. But above all..." She paused for a moment.
"When they've lost everything, and been kicked for good measure, the willingness to get back up and continue. Kind of like a handsome fella I know." She winked at Ox.
Rodger rolled his eyes.
Today is W1D2 of the Bullmastiff program. The focus was on Deadlifts today, but I fudged some of the program in the sense that I made it a true "Back day", by adding in more back-centric accessories and exercises. Normally the program adds a squat (?) exercise to Deadlift day plus some unrelated accessories, which I dispensed with.
Anyway...
Deadlifts: AMRAP set of 110 x 20. Holy crap, this one shouldn't have been difficult, but it just about shattered me. My hamstrings feel pretty funny after this.
Romanian Deadlifts: 60 x 15. Feel the burn!
Wide Grip Pulldowns: 45 x 15.
Neutral Grip Chin Ups: 20 reps over five sets.
So a lot less volume and intensity than I'm used to. Next week I'll try upping the poundages on some of the accessories.
Progress selfie. Still got a bit of a belly, but I'll give it some time.
I see every one of you Bees, and appreciate your hard work!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Dagon, the 2001 Stuart Gordon-helmed work that borrows almost directly from the works of HP Lovecraft.
While boating off the coast of Spain, Paul Marsh and his girlfriend Barbara experience an accident that leads to them washing up on the shores of a strange Spanish town. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse when they search for help, and realize that the peculiar townfolk have a strange and ancient secret they're hiding...
So spoiler warning: I haven't actually read any of Lovecraft's stories. I made it a few pages into The Call of Cthulhu before giving up - something about the prose nettled me. But watching this mythos-inspired flick years after the fact is a very frightening (and at times, disturbing) experience. Even without having read Lovecraft's works, this felt like an authentic Lovecraftian experience; strange mystery and otherworldly horror of the stories is perfectly on show here.
As a terrifying experience, it just works! Paul is up against forces unknown (and unknowable), and the atmosphere of escaping one horrific situation after another has an almost videogame-like touch (a friend I watched it with compared it to Resident Evil 4 - not light praise). And it's not just atmosphere - there are horrifying creature effects and gore that made me deeply uncomfortable in one scene. Gordon was a veteran director of Lovecraft movies, and constructs the film's visuals and horror with an experienced touch.
A true cult horror gem.
Playing: Mostly been devoted to making lots of progress in Abiotic Factor. I had to consult a walkthrough a time or two, but I'm ready to blast through the gunk covering up the... something or other in the Cascade Laboratories. I also discovered a new mechanic that should've been really obvious to me - water purification! I didn't realize that you could take tainted water and purify it, bit by bit, or that there are water drums that allow for storage of basically playthrough-length supplies of water. Eager to jump back in and... well, collect more water.
I tried the Beneath demo (an aquatic horror game), as the full game is coming out later this month. It feels like unfinished dreck at the moment, so the developers are in dire need of a hat trick. Boom! Uninstalled.
There's an interesting looking FPS coming out called Mohrta (sp?) that looks quite intriguing. Pity I've already saved up some cash for Vampire Bloodlines 2, which drops in a little over a week...
I've got to admit, this fusion of Morrowind-like graphics and Dark Souls gameplay looks pretty rad, indeed.
Watching: Not much, but there are some interesting horror releases coming up...
Listening to: The Hives - Bigger Hole to Fill. I'm very picky with their work, but sometimes their swagger and braggadocio move me. This one in particular I find pretty gnarly, and well-paced.
"I pet the cat along the whiskers
And I always go along the grain
You'll never see me in the deep end
If I ain't got nothing to gain
Don't serve the fool or act the donkey
If you allow me to explain"
-
GentleOx
-
Last edited:
NightWolf714
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
Looking great! 
That movie sounds really interesting! I may have to add that to my watch queue.
That movie sounds really interesting! I may have to add that to my watch queue.
Thanks a bunch @JCU and @NightWolf714 and @TopNotch! I haven't had a real toned physique in years, so I feel this is a step in the right direction.
"Let me see what weapons you have."
The young guns, with the exception of the diffident pup, rummaged through their packs and produced an assorted range of weaponry. Lucia, the scholarly one, took out an semi-automatic handgun that she seemed quite comfortable with, ejecting the mag and locking the slide back. Howie (good thing he had braggadacio to spare) pulled out his .38 revolver from his pants: Ox winced. Morgan, the beautiful, elegant young lady produced a lever-action rifle with an ease that suggested frequent use. Dean, the kid, had nothing. Not even a pen knife. The gathered stalkers let out grins and scattered laughs. Simmi frowned at this, made eye-contact with Ox, and nodded her head in the direction of Dean. Ox sighed.
"Look, folks, I'm not Santa Claus, but if you're ever in a bind here, come to us, and we'll sort you out. Bert," he called over to the shopkeep, "get this kid a PPK and some ammo. On me." The chatter lessened, somewhat. Dean brightened a little when he heard this. "Thank you Mr. Ox - I'll make it up to you, I promise!" Ox shook his head. "Kid, I don't expect anything back, except some independence. When you're in friendly faction territory and you're safe, you can count on your friends all you like. But out there -- it's just you and your weapon. And you can't do much without a working weapon."
"My weapon works real well," said the leather-clad lothario. Some snickers and chuckles from the crowd. Then he raised his revolver and brandished it, waving it in the direction of the gathered stalkers in the process. Some of the crowd backed away or dropped to the ground, while others cursed. A not insubstantial number drew their own weapons, and seemed to be getting ready to shoot Howie dead. Something was going to get bad real fast.
Ox raised placating hands. "It's a rookie mistake. Howie doesn't want to shoot any of you." Simmi added her voice. "Have you all forgotten why we're in this camp? We're in this together, and that means we tolerate each other when we doing something stupid. Think back to how you were as rookies. Unseasoned. Didn't know shit." Her words seemed to shame those who had drawn their iron. "We're not spilling each other's blood, and that's final." Her voice had a toughness to it he hadn't yet heard. Ox walked over to Howie and put a hand on his arm.
"Kid, I can tell you've never been trained in shooting. Never, ever, flag someone with your weapon unless you intend to shoot them. Treat every gun as if they're always loaded." Ox squeezed the youth's bicep, hard, and Howie winced. Ox didn't raise his voice, but his tone was steely and intractable. "Do it again, and I'll shoot you myself. We clear? Howie tugged his arm, but Ox held on. "We clear?" The youth was staring daggers at him.
"Clear," he spat.
I'm super sleepy today, Bees, and who knows why, but I do have time today to bang out an update.
Today was W1D3 of the Bullmastiff program, and had a focus on Shoulders.
Overhead Press: 52.5 x 21. Augh. Got more than 20 reps, at least.
Behind the Neck Press: 40 x 12. Can up the weight on these.
Front Dumbbell Raises: 10 x 12.
Straight Bar Pushdown: 10 x 12.
EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 25 x 12.
+24,500 steps. Gah.
The next workout is Leg day. *Shudder*. My hamstrings are still fried, so let's see how I handle it. I'm taking a break tomorrow, as I have some classes to teach, and honestly, because I'm just too pooped.
Feeling a bit downbeat, Bees. But I can't point out why. I think I'm just tired, and need to rest and recharge
And plenty of videogames and spooky movies, of course!
I love every one of you, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Resident Evil 7, the game that single-handedly resurrected the Resident Evil franchise!
Ethan Winters is on his way to Dulvey, Louisiana. His wife, Mia, mysteriously disappeared several years ago, and Ethan's strongest memento of her is a video she sent from a company cruise, saying how she looked forward to seeing him again. This was until several days ago, when a new message only she could send reawakened his hopes. Parking outside the sprawling Baker family estate, Ethan sets out to find his wife and escape the strange and dangerous House, and its bizarre denizens.
I played this one several months before I got sober, so it's been burned into my memory as one of those experiences I played when I wasn't insensate with drink. I do remember it very fondly, and my opinion at the time (which hasn't changed) is that it's a modern horror classic. I was a touch skeptical when I heard that it would be the first first-person (say that three times fast) Resident Evil game. Taking a move from Kojima's playbook, Capcom released a demo that took no small inspiration from PT, and it was simply stellar. It was scary, intuitive, and had a feeling akin to exploring the mansion in the first Resident Evil (which is not a feeling that represents the preceding games, particularly 5 and 6). And it represented the final game amazingly well.
This was a creepy, detailed experience that was clearly made with a lot of love and thought. It apes the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a little, but the horror is mostly from atmosphere rather than jump scares (though I do remember a few being there). The Baker estate is huge and filled with all sorts of minute goodies and traps, and it has as much character as its oversized characters. I remember being besotted with the immersion - short of Cyberpunk 2077, few other games pay so much attention to the physical presence of the protagonist. And the combat is surprisingly well done! While there are indeed firearms, there's a fine battle struck between helplessness and fighting back against the horrors.
Eagerly awaiting RE IX too!
Playing: More Abiotic Factor shenanigans. I unlocked a new sector, only to be confronted with this hulking monstrosity that looked like the grim reaper on steroids! My reaction was something like a stunned "Oh... f*ck!" (I love it when games make me feel that way!). I immediately noped out of there, and entered a strange portal nearby. I haven't combatted the beast yet, and indeed, walkthroughs say it can't permanently be defeated. Ah, better science up something new...
Tried a demo for RPG shooter Second Suns(?). The last time I checked it out was last year, but IMO, it's still got a ways to go.
I installed Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth again... maybe I'll finish it this time. Underrated game that was ahead of its time; perhaps it merits a Spooky Spotlight this month.
Watching: So I found something to watch! It's titled Hostile Dimensions, and is about alternate universes and exploration - to find a missing graffiti artist, which I couldn't care less about - but it's the extradimensional shenanigans that have me interested. I'll watch s'more of it tonight. Maaaaaybe.
Listening to: HEALTH (Max Payne 3 soundtrack) - 90. Kind of how I feel at the moment. A more atmospheric and moody track from the normally all-guns-blazing HEALTH.
"Let me see what weapons you have."
The young guns, with the exception of the diffident pup, rummaged through their packs and produced an assorted range of weaponry. Lucia, the scholarly one, took out an semi-automatic handgun that she seemed quite comfortable with, ejecting the mag and locking the slide back. Howie (good thing he had braggadacio to spare) pulled out his .38 revolver from his pants: Ox winced. Morgan, the beautiful, elegant young lady produced a lever-action rifle with an ease that suggested frequent use. Dean, the kid, had nothing. Not even a pen knife. The gathered stalkers let out grins and scattered laughs. Simmi frowned at this, made eye-contact with Ox, and nodded her head in the direction of Dean. Ox sighed.
"Look, folks, I'm not Santa Claus, but if you're ever in a bind here, come to us, and we'll sort you out. Bert," he called over to the shopkeep, "get this kid a PPK and some ammo. On me." The chatter lessened, somewhat. Dean brightened a little when he heard this. "Thank you Mr. Ox - I'll make it up to you, I promise!" Ox shook his head. "Kid, I don't expect anything back, except some independence. When you're in friendly faction territory and you're safe, you can count on your friends all you like. But out there -- it's just you and your weapon. And you can't do much without a working weapon."
"My weapon works real well," said the leather-clad lothario. Some snickers and chuckles from the crowd. Then he raised his revolver and brandished it, waving it in the direction of the gathered stalkers in the process. Some of the crowd backed away or dropped to the ground, while others cursed. A not insubstantial number drew their own weapons, and seemed to be getting ready to shoot Howie dead. Something was going to get bad real fast.
Ox raised placating hands. "It's a rookie mistake. Howie doesn't want to shoot any of you." Simmi added her voice. "Have you all forgotten why we're in this camp? We're in this together, and that means we tolerate each other when we doing something stupid. Think back to how you were as rookies. Unseasoned. Didn't know shit." Her words seemed to shame those who had drawn their iron. "We're not spilling each other's blood, and that's final." Her voice had a toughness to it he hadn't yet heard. Ox walked over to Howie and put a hand on his arm.
"Kid, I can tell you've never been trained in shooting. Never, ever, flag someone with your weapon unless you intend to shoot them. Treat every gun as if they're always loaded." Ox squeezed the youth's bicep, hard, and Howie winced. Ox didn't raise his voice, but his tone was steely and intractable. "Do it again, and I'll shoot you myself. We clear? Howie tugged his arm, but Ox held on. "We clear?" The youth was staring daggers at him.
"Clear," he spat.
I'm super sleepy today, Bees, and who knows why, but I do have time today to bang out an update.
Today was W1D3 of the Bullmastiff program, and had a focus on Shoulders.
Overhead Press: 52.5 x 21. Augh. Got more than 20 reps, at least.
Behind the Neck Press: 40 x 12. Can up the weight on these.
Front Dumbbell Raises: 10 x 12.
Straight Bar Pushdown: 10 x 12.
EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 25 x 12.
+24,500 steps. Gah.
The next workout is Leg day. *Shudder*. My hamstrings are still fried, so let's see how I handle it. I'm taking a break tomorrow, as I have some classes to teach, and honestly, because I'm just too pooped.
Feeling a bit downbeat, Bees. But I can't point out why. I think I'm just tired, and need to rest and recharge
And plenty of videogames and spooky movies, of course!
I love every one of you, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Resident Evil 7, the game that single-handedly resurrected the Resident Evil franchise!
Ethan Winters is on his way to Dulvey, Louisiana. His wife, Mia, mysteriously disappeared several years ago, and Ethan's strongest memento of her is a video she sent from a company cruise, saying how she looked forward to seeing him again. This was until several days ago, when a new message only she could send reawakened his hopes. Parking outside the sprawling Baker family estate, Ethan sets out to find his wife and escape the strange and dangerous House, and its bizarre denizens.
I played this one several months before I got sober, so it's been burned into my memory as one of those experiences I played when I wasn't insensate with drink. I do remember it very fondly, and my opinion at the time (which hasn't changed) is that it's a modern horror classic. I was a touch skeptical when I heard that it would be the first first-person (say that three times fast) Resident Evil game. Taking a move from Kojima's playbook, Capcom released a demo that took no small inspiration from PT, and it was simply stellar. It was scary, intuitive, and had a feeling akin to exploring the mansion in the first Resident Evil (which is not a feeling that represents the preceding games, particularly 5 and 6). And it represented the final game amazingly well.
This was a creepy, detailed experience that was clearly made with a lot of love and thought. It apes the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a little, but the horror is mostly from atmosphere rather than jump scares (though I do remember a few being there). The Baker estate is huge and filled with all sorts of minute goodies and traps, and it has as much character as its oversized characters. I remember being besotted with the immersion - short of Cyberpunk 2077, few other games pay so much attention to the physical presence of the protagonist. And the combat is surprisingly well done! While there are indeed firearms, there's a fine battle struck between helplessness and fighting back against the horrors.
Eagerly awaiting RE IX too!
Playing: More Abiotic Factor shenanigans. I unlocked a new sector, only to be confronted with this hulking monstrosity that looked like the grim reaper on steroids! My reaction was something like a stunned "Oh... f*ck!" (I love it when games make me feel that way!). I immediately noped out of there, and entered a strange portal nearby. I haven't combatted the beast yet, and indeed, walkthroughs say it can't permanently be defeated. Ah, better science up something new...
Tried a demo for RPG shooter Second Suns(?). The last time I checked it out was last year, but IMO, it's still got a ways to go.
I installed Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth again... maybe I'll finish it this time. Underrated game that was ahead of its time; perhaps it merits a Spooky Spotlight this month.
Watching: So I found something to watch! It's titled Hostile Dimensions, and is about alternate universes and exploration - to find a missing graffiti artist, which I couldn't care less about - but it's the extradimensional shenanigans that have me interested. I'll watch s'more of it tonight. Maaaaaybe.
Listening to: HEALTH (Max Payne 3 soundtrack) - 90. Kind of how I feel at the moment. A more atmospheric and moody track from the normally all-guns-blazing HEALTH.
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GentleOx
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Thank you @TopNotch for the encouragement. I do feel better today!
Ox spent the rest of the afternoon at the makeshift firing range teaching the group self-defense tactics. He had explained taking cover, firing weapons, what to do when your weapons jammed, and where to get more ammunition. Dean and Howie were notably less experienced, and it showed. Both flinched when they shot their firearms (Dean would shut his eyes), and their posture and stances needed more practice and reinforcement. Howie was still giving him the stink-eye and shooting numerous glares his way. Ox just ignored it; on the scale of things to worry about, this was ranked comically low.
The two women were different. Lucia had clearly used that 9mm pistol before; perhaps she had a background in self defense, or the armed forces? Maybe not the latter. She seemed like too much of an individual to fit into the military regimen. Morgan was so talented with that lever action of hers, and all the related procedures for maintaining and reloading it that it was almost... suspicious. He noticed that Simmi seemed a bit confounded by Morgan. Was she jealous? She wasn't the type. He made a mental note to ask her later.
He gathered the recruits to him and cleared his throat. "I've taught you all most of what I know. It's up to you now to accomplish your goals. But, as I've emphasized, if ever you need our help, don't be afraid to ask. We're a community here, and we hope that you can be a part of it and contribute what you know. You may be venturing out alone like I and the others have many times before, but this Observatory can be home now, if you wish it. Good luck." He had to say the words. He wanted to make it a new ritual. He paused, looking at each of them in turn.
"Roam and grow fat off the land," he intoned to them.
"Roam and grow fat off the land," they repeated.
Hello again, Bees!
Today was the end of the first week of the Bullmastiff program. Leg day!
Squats: 70 x 15. Kind of subpar compared to the other body parts, but it's a start.
Front Squats: 40 x 12. Ugh. Thought these would be easy, but they kicked my butt nonetheless.
Split Squats: 10s for 12 reps.
Lying Leg Curls: 35 x 12, I think.
Back Extensions: Sets of 12 reps.
+23,800 steps (eh, closer to 24, given how much walking around I do at home, but I'm not putting my phone pedometer in my pocket anymore)
No big buffets this weekend, as mom wants to try out a hole in the wall restaurant a ways away.
I'm not sad today, thankfully, but I'm still pretty gassed. This will mark the first week in many that I've worked out four days in a week.
It's the weekend! Take a load off, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is one of the most influential horrors and slashers of all time.
Texas, the 70s, and a group of young folks are traveling through rural Texas on a road trip. As fate would have it, they stop by a rundown house and nosily explore. Unfortunately, this house belongs to a depraved and vile family and their hulking, violently relentless son Leatherface. As Leatherface cuts down the youths one by one, they wonder if they'll ever escape unscathed...
First off, no none of it was true, though it took inspiration from the gruesome serial killer Ed Gein. But it did spawn an entire franchise, and swiftly cement its place as one of the best and scariest flicks of all time.
So I'd heard about this one all the time; people casually drop the film's title and mention its depraved content, but I'd never actually gotten around to watching it until several years ago. Was it really as good and scary as everybody said it was? I'm not going to bury the lede: it is. It's simply that good and foundational of a flick for the horror genre that it should be studied.
The making of the film is the stuff of legend; director Tobe Hooper had a limited budget, but still managed to produce a film that you can watch, smell and practically taste. The rural Texas scenery and horrific house of nightmares are captured in a way that harkens back to documentary filmmaking, which makes the violence all the more unsparing when it happens. Gunnar Hansen is simply a revelation, and his Leatherface inspires terror and a surprising amount of empathy at the same time. Speaking of violence, a lot of it is expertly implied - by the setting, and by clever editing, making this a film that's actually less violent than we're told it is.
An absolute horror classic that I recommend to everyone curious about the genre.
Playing: More Abiotic Factor. I found a tool with which to banish the banshee with scythes for arms. Again, had to consult a walkthrough to know where to progress next, but we're on the way, now. I'm not a big fan of sections in which you have to stealth your way through invincible enemies, but them's the breaks, I guess.
Also, a bit of Freedom Fighters??
Vampire Bloodlines 2 comes out in less than a week! Hoping my potato of a PC can run it acceptably. It's been a long, long time, so I can wait a few days.
It's the Steam Next Fest, which features plenty of intriguing demos, so I dipped my toes in the water, so to speak, and tried a few of them.
Revisited the demo for Pigface, which I originally rage quit after getting killed early on; this must've been half a year ago. Now, the gameplay registers with me as fluid, sharp, and surprisingly free form. While the gameplay does lend itself to spray and pray gunplay, I'm sure it is possible to melee your way through. But perhaps the real star is the grimy environment in which it takes place - a dilapidated city worn to the bone with decay, drugs, powerlessness, and sheer violence. It's like someone took the basic idea behind Manhunt and altered some of the details - but the disgusting violence and action still remains. I'm on the fence about whether or not to purchase it, but I'll give it some time. As I find the replay value a bit limited, it's going off my hard drive for now.
Tried a demo for Road to Vostok, which is a polished, well thought-out extraction game. It seems to pride itself on its hardcore gameplay (you have to manually reload your mags, for example), and a gimmick of permadeath when you enter a certain region. I had no interest for such punishing fare, and it lost my attention. Boom! Uninstalled.
Also played a demo for Junji Ito Maniac. While it deserves credit for its smooth framerate and horrific creeps, and I am indeed a fan of Junji Ito's bizarre, demented mangas, the crudely basic gameplay doesn't appeal to me. I think I'll stick to replaying RE7 - and indeed, that game had a demo that was leaps and bounds beyond this one. Boom! Uninstalled.
Lastly, tried a demo for extraction-shooter Misery. It was aptly named. Boom! Uninstalled.
Watching: It's the weekend, so I'll try to watch more of Hostile Dimensions.
Listening to: Ace Frehley - Rock Soldiers. Ace Frehley, former guitarist for Kiss, passed very recently. Thank you, Ace, for all those scorching leads and awesome guitar solos. Rock on in heaven!
"Rock soldiers come
And rock soldiers go
And some hear the drum
And some never know
Hey, rock soldiers
How do we know?"
Ox spent the rest of the afternoon at the makeshift firing range teaching the group self-defense tactics. He had explained taking cover, firing weapons, what to do when your weapons jammed, and where to get more ammunition. Dean and Howie were notably less experienced, and it showed. Both flinched when they shot their firearms (Dean would shut his eyes), and their posture and stances needed more practice and reinforcement. Howie was still giving him the stink-eye and shooting numerous glares his way. Ox just ignored it; on the scale of things to worry about, this was ranked comically low.
The two women were different. Lucia had clearly used that 9mm pistol before; perhaps she had a background in self defense, or the armed forces? Maybe not the latter. She seemed like too much of an individual to fit into the military regimen. Morgan was so talented with that lever action of hers, and all the related procedures for maintaining and reloading it that it was almost... suspicious. He noticed that Simmi seemed a bit confounded by Morgan. Was she jealous? She wasn't the type. He made a mental note to ask her later.
He gathered the recruits to him and cleared his throat. "I've taught you all most of what I know. It's up to you now to accomplish your goals. But, as I've emphasized, if ever you need our help, don't be afraid to ask. We're a community here, and we hope that you can be a part of it and contribute what you know. You may be venturing out alone like I and the others have many times before, but this Observatory can be home now, if you wish it. Good luck." He had to say the words. He wanted to make it a new ritual. He paused, looking at each of them in turn.
"Roam and grow fat off the land," he intoned to them.
"Roam and grow fat off the land," they repeated.
Hello again, Bees!
Today was the end of the first week of the Bullmastiff program. Leg day!
Squats: 70 x 15. Kind of subpar compared to the other body parts, but it's a start.
Front Squats: 40 x 12. Ugh. Thought these would be easy, but they kicked my butt nonetheless.
Split Squats: 10s for 12 reps.
Lying Leg Curls: 35 x 12, I think.
Back Extensions: Sets of 12 reps.
+23,800 steps (eh, closer to 24, given how much walking around I do at home, but I'm not putting my phone pedometer in my pocket anymore)
No big buffets this weekend, as mom wants to try out a hole in the wall restaurant a ways away.
I'm not sad today, thankfully, but I'm still pretty gassed. This will mark the first week in many that I've worked out four days in a week.
It's the weekend! Take a load off, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is one of the most influential horrors and slashers of all time.
Texas, the 70s, and a group of young folks are traveling through rural Texas on a road trip. As fate would have it, they stop by a rundown house and nosily explore. Unfortunately, this house belongs to a depraved and vile family and their hulking, violently relentless son Leatherface. As Leatherface cuts down the youths one by one, they wonder if they'll ever escape unscathed...
First off, no none of it was true, though it took inspiration from the gruesome serial killer Ed Gein. But it did spawn an entire franchise, and swiftly cement its place as one of the best and scariest flicks of all time.
So I'd heard about this one all the time; people casually drop the film's title and mention its depraved content, but I'd never actually gotten around to watching it until several years ago. Was it really as good and scary as everybody said it was? I'm not going to bury the lede: it is. It's simply that good and foundational of a flick for the horror genre that it should be studied.
The making of the film is the stuff of legend; director Tobe Hooper had a limited budget, but still managed to produce a film that you can watch, smell and practically taste. The rural Texas scenery and horrific house of nightmares are captured in a way that harkens back to documentary filmmaking, which makes the violence all the more unsparing when it happens. Gunnar Hansen is simply a revelation, and his Leatherface inspires terror and a surprising amount of empathy at the same time. Speaking of violence, a lot of it is expertly implied - by the setting, and by clever editing, making this a film that's actually less violent than we're told it is.
An absolute horror classic that I recommend to everyone curious about the genre.
Playing: More Abiotic Factor. I found a tool with which to banish the banshee with scythes for arms. Again, had to consult a walkthrough to know where to progress next, but we're on the way, now. I'm not a big fan of sections in which you have to stealth your way through invincible enemies, but them's the breaks, I guess.
Also, a bit of Freedom Fighters??
Vampire Bloodlines 2 comes out in less than a week! Hoping my potato of a PC can run it acceptably. It's been a long, long time, so I can wait a few days.
It's the Steam Next Fest, which features plenty of intriguing demos, so I dipped my toes in the water, so to speak, and tried a few of them.
Revisited the demo for Pigface, which I originally rage quit after getting killed early on; this must've been half a year ago. Now, the gameplay registers with me as fluid, sharp, and surprisingly free form. While the gameplay does lend itself to spray and pray gunplay, I'm sure it is possible to melee your way through. But perhaps the real star is the grimy environment in which it takes place - a dilapidated city worn to the bone with decay, drugs, powerlessness, and sheer violence. It's like someone took the basic idea behind Manhunt and altered some of the details - but the disgusting violence and action still remains. I'm on the fence about whether or not to purchase it, but I'll give it some time. As I find the replay value a bit limited, it's going off my hard drive for now.
Tried a demo for Road to Vostok, which is a polished, well thought-out extraction game. It seems to pride itself on its hardcore gameplay (you have to manually reload your mags, for example), and a gimmick of permadeath when you enter a certain region. I had no interest for such punishing fare, and it lost my attention. Boom! Uninstalled.
Also played a demo for Junji Ito Maniac. While it deserves credit for its smooth framerate and horrific creeps, and I am indeed a fan of Junji Ito's bizarre, demented mangas, the crudely basic gameplay doesn't appeal to me. I think I'll stick to replaying RE7 - and indeed, that game had a demo that was leaps and bounds beyond this one. Boom! Uninstalled.
Lastly, tried a demo for extraction-shooter Misery. It was aptly named. Boom! Uninstalled.
Watching: It's the weekend, so I'll try to watch more of Hostile Dimensions.
Listening to: Ace Frehley - Rock Soldiers. Ace Frehley, former guitarist for Kiss, passed very recently. Thank you, Ace, for all those scorching leads and awesome guitar solos. Rock on in heaven!
"Rock soldiers come
And rock soldiers go
And some hear the drum
And some never know
Hey, rock soldiers
How do we know?"
Indeed it is, @CODawn! Frehley had so many memorable riffs that will live on in my mind!
The Observatory, evening. Some music from the radio wafted up from the landing below. "Sometimes I think/I've found my hero/but it's a queer romance..." sang the belle from more carefree days.
Ox was sat on his bed (though he seemed to spend much time in Simmi's bed as well) tinkering with his new purchase in the space above the "war room" (which was more like a computer, a desk with a map, and an assortment of neatly stacked documents). When the plate carrier was assembled, he started experimenting with the pouches made for additional equipment, like pistol and rifle mags. Buoyed by recent trade with the Reds and raids on NFTA outposts, a new shipment of gear had become available for sale. While the leather jacket and jeans getup was indeed stylish (and Simmi liked it, which was a plus), they offered scant protection on its own. He had settled on a well-constructed setup with large shoulder straps, unobtrusive cummerbunds, and a large front MOLLE space with which to attach many accessories, and lastly, Level IV-rated armour inserts (these were more pricey than the carrier itself). After some debate, he had purchased one in black, and it went well with the all-green coveralls he had purchased as well. Repping the Freelancers.
"Still playing with your toys?" Came Simmi's voice from below. Ox looked down at Simmi, but her back was to him. She must've been working, or bored and needing a distraction. "I thought such dirty talk beneath you," he snarked back. "I like being above many things," he heard her say, as he strapped on the plate carrier. "I dare not ask," he said, with sarcastic trepidation. Finally clothed in his full ensemble, he got off the bed and made his way down to the landing. Simmi looked up with a grin as he approached.
"How do I look?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips and cocking them to the side like a dilettante. Her expression hardened for a moment as she approached him, put her hand on the plate carrier, and tugged at it in different spots.. Then, to his surprise, she balled up a fist and punched him in the chest. Ox took an involuntary step back from the force of the blow. "Did I do something to piss you off?" She grasped the plate carrier and tugged at it once more. Seemingly satisfied, she stepped back. "Don't want your gear falling apart when bullets start flying." He grinned at this, raring to go.
"Any jobs available?"
Hi Bees!
Feels like forever since I've been at the gym, though it's only been two days? I think? I was supposed to exercise yesterday, but I wasn't feeling it, so I had more in the tank today.
Or so I thought.
Today was W2D1 of the Bullmastiff program - a chest/push day.
Bench Press: 120 x 6 for three sets, 120 x 10 for AMRAP set. Ooof. This did not go as well as I'd hoped. I was hoping for well over ten reps, but it wasn't to be. This means that my weight jump for the next week isn't as great, but that's all part of the process, I understand.
Tempo OHP: 30 x 13. But Ox... You're used to doing sets with 60 and more! Not at a tempo, I'm not. These totally kick my butt as the sets go on.
Straight Bar Pushdown: 10 x 10. Not the biggest of PRs, but a PR is a PR.
Barbell Curls: 30 x 10.
Tomorrow is deadlift day. Yikes!
The weather is set to cool... tonight. We're supposed to experience a temperature drop, which this sweating Ox will surely welcome!
I'm getting a lot of ads for Halloween parties in which people show up in costumes and drink and stuff. Totally not my scene. I would rather go to a haunted house attraction - which I don't have the money to do this year. Sigh.
Anyway, hope you're getting your share of spookiness, Bees!
Spooky: Today's spooky spotlight is on George A. Romero (RIP)'s 1978 opus Dawn of the Dead, the trailblazing sequel to 1968's Night of the Living Dead (itself a trailblazer). It's also, like The Thing, one of my favourite movies of all time.
The zombie plague has spread from the countryside to the city. In Pittsburg, news station employees Fran and Stephen plot to take a news chopper and leave the city: everyone else is. Meanwhile, deployed to an impoverished tenement populated by ethnic minorities, SWAT team members Roger and Peter witness the lengths to which ordinary people will cling to their deceased loved ones - even after they've transformed into flesh eaters. Disgusted with the chaos around them, they join with Fran and Stephen to desert the city by chopper. Leaving the chaos of the city and the rednecks in the countryside who see the epidemic as sport, they settle on an abandoned mall with all its facilities and stock intact. The group then decides to clear out the zombies and make this perfect refuge their home, until a gang of marauders decides that someone needs to share their spoils...
What can I say about this one...
It starts mundanely, if in agitation; we follow protagonist Fran, a manager in a news station, as the world seems to unravel. We hear arguing, short outbursts, and a belligerent exchange between a skeptical talk show host and the scientist/spokesperson who is fighting to convince them. To the jeers of the onlooking station staff, he asserts that
"Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill!"
Like every other Spooky Spotlight, this one is near and dear to my heart. It's possibly the very first DVD that I owned (I wonder what happened to it...), and another one of my foundational forays into horror. While the original NotLD is Romero's most influential movie, I'd argue that Dawn of the Dead is just better. It's bigger and more ambitious for sure, and it's simply got more of everything: more suspense, more action, more gore, more drama, and more satire, given that it takes place in a shopping mall (gamers should take note that this is where Dead Rising originates from). At the end of the day, this is a classic horror flick that ticks all the boxes and adds in a healthy dose of satire. I watched a few minutes before writing this, and had to resist the temptation to watch it through, again.
NB If I'm not mistaken, the film is free to watch on Youtube!
"When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth."
(Oh good, there are still some days left in Spooky Month for more features. I'm not done yet! To remind myself, for the next Spooky Spotlight, I'm featuring the Blair Witch Project!)
Playing: I'm still making my way through Abiotic Factor's campaign, of course. I recently divided into another anteverse (that's the game's terminology for alternate worlds) full of puritanical pilgrim rejects who have a vendetta against outsiders because... some reason or the other. Retrieved the precious cargo and made my way home. I have a handy dandy water filter at my home base that makes it easy to filter drinking water everlasting (and with the ability to make soups, solving my hunger problems completely).
So, my burning enthusiasm for Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 (yeesh, what a title) has had a wet blanket thrown over it. Early reviews have been released, and the game has not been received well, to say the least. It's not hard to see why; they commonly state that RPG staples like managing your inventory and developing your abilities (which was a huge part of the first game) are nonexistent? WTH? Why would you drop these time-honoured traditions from such a game? Also, talk is that it'll run quite poorly on a potato of a system like mine.
Therefore it's been crossed off my wishlist, as there are plenty of other better games that deserve my attention.
Installed the demo for Warhammer: 40K 2, which I'd always assumed was too redoubtable and beefy for my poor little 1080ti. I have absolutely no idea why it required 73 gb of space. Hijole! Surprise, surprise, I got it to run! Didn't make much of an impression on me, but it means there are other games I can try. But regarding whether or not it stays...
BOOM! Uninstalled.
Watching: Still haven't resumed Hostile Dimensions.
Found out about an older comedy series called Bottom, which is precisely summed up by the below clip:
Holy shit! It's like a live-action cartoon!
Listening to: Bobby Johnston - The Barrens theme. So this is the theme or leitmotif from a movie that failed to impress me; it was about the folklore-inspired Jersey Devil, which purportedly haunts the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The movie is mostly despised by me because almost all the drama hinges on whether or not said Devil is real, which the movie only resolves in the final five minutes.
What nonsense. I can't stand movies which hinge on the "Is it real, or is it fake?" dichotomy. Just tell me and get it over with (I think Hide and Seek is guilty of this as well), or pack the spoilers into the nature of the character, or their malady. Anyway, this is not a review, so I chose this song because it's simply sublime. It's haunting, rings with tragedy, and is more memorable than the movie itself, for me; case in point, I remembered that fairy-tale like melody while forgetting almost completely about the film.
The Observatory, evening. Some music from the radio wafted up from the landing below. "Sometimes I think/I've found my hero/but it's a queer romance..." sang the belle from more carefree days.
Ox was sat on his bed (though he seemed to spend much time in Simmi's bed as well) tinkering with his new purchase in the space above the "war room" (which was more like a computer, a desk with a map, and an assortment of neatly stacked documents). When the plate carrier was assembled, he started experimenting with the pouches made for additional equipment, like pistol and rifle mags. Buoyed by recent trade with the Reds and raids on NFTA outposts, a new shipment of gear had become available for sale. While the leather jacket and jeans getup was indeed stylish (and Simmi liked it, which was a plus), they offered scant protection on its own. He had settled on a well-constructed setup with large shoulder straps, unobtrusive cummerbunds, and a large front MOLLE space with which to attach many accessories, and lastly, Level IV-rated armour inserts (these were more pricey than the carrier itself). After some debate, he had purchased one in black, and it went well with the all-green coveralls he had purchased as well. Repping the Freelancers.
"Still playing with your toys?" Came Simmi's voice from below. Ox looked down at Simmi, but her back was to him. She must've been working, or bored and needing a distraction. "I thought such dirty talk beneath you," he snarked back. "I like being above many things," he heard her say, as he strapped on the plate carrier. "I dare not ask," he said, with sarcastic trepidation. Finally clothed in his full ensemble, he got off the bed and made his way down to the landing. Simmi looked up with a grin as he approached.
"How do I look?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips and cocking them to the side like a dilettante. Her expression hardened for a moment as she approached him, put her hand on the plate carrier, and tugged at it in different spots.. Then, to his surprise, she balled up a fist and punched him in the chest. Ox took an involuntary step back from the force of the blow. "Did I do something to piss you off?" She grasped the plate carrier and tugged at it once more. Seemingly satisfied, she stepped back. "Don't want your gear falling apart when bullets start flying." He grinned at this, raring to go.
"Any jobs available?"
Hi Bees!
Feels like forever since I've been at the gym, though it's only been two days? I think? I was supposed to exercise yesterday, but I wasn't feeling it, so I had more in the tank today.
Or so I thought.
Today was W2D1 of the Bullmastiff program - a chest/push day.
Bench Press: 120 x 6 for three sets, 120 x 10 for AMRAP set. Ooof. This did not go as well as I'd hoped. I was hoping for well over ten reps, but it wasn't to be. This means that my weight jump for the next week isn't as great, but that's all part of the process, I understand.
Tempo OHP: 30 x 13. But Ox... You're used to doing sets with 60 and more! Not at a tempo, I'm not. These totally kick my butt as the sets go on.
Straight Bar Pushdown: 10 x 10. Not the biggest of PRs, but a PR is a PR.
Barbell Curls: 30 x 10.
Tomorrow is deadlift day. Yikes!
The weather is set to cool... tonight. We're supposed to experience a temperature drop, which this sweating Ox will surely welcome!
I'm getting a lot of ads for Halloween parties in which people show up in costumes and drink and stuff. Totally not my scene. I would rather go to a haunted house attraction - which I don't have the money to do this year. Sigh.
Anyway, hope you're getting your share of spookiness, Bees!
Spooky: Today's spooky spotlight is on George A. Romero (RIP)'s 1978 opus Dawn of the Dead, the trailblazing sequel to 1968's Night of the Living Dead (itself a trailblazer). It's also, like The Thing, one of my favourite movies of all time.
The zombie plague has spread from the countryside to the city. In Pittsburg, news station employees Fran and Stephen plot to take a news chopper and leave the city: everyone else is. Meanwhile, deployed to an impoverished tenement populated by ethnic minorities, SWAT team members Roger and Peter witness the lengths to which ordinary people will cling to their deceased loved ones - even after they've transformed into flesh eaters. Disgusted with the chaos around them, they join with Fran and Stephen to desert the city by chopper. Leaving the chaos of the city and the rednecks in the countryside who see the epidemic as sport, they settle on an abandoned mall with all its facilities and stock intact. The group then decides to clear out the zombies and make this perfect refuge their home, until a gang of marauders decides that someone needs to share their spoils...
What can I say about this one...
It starts mundanely, if in agitation; we follow protagonist Fran, a manager in a news station, as the world seems to unravel. We hear arguing, short outbursts, and a belligerent exchange between a skeptical talk show host and the scientist/spokesperson who is fighting to convince them. To the jeers of the onlooking station staff, he asserts that
"Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill!"
Like every other Spooky Spotlight, this one is near and dear to my heart. It's possibly the very first DVD that I owned (I wonder what happened to it...), and another one of my foundational forays into horror. While the original NotLD is Romero's most influential movie, I'd argue that Dawn of the Dead is just better. It's bigger and more ambitious for sure, and it's simply got more of everything: more suspense, more action, more gore, more drama, and more satire, given that it takes place in a shopping mall (gamers should take note that this is where Dead Rising originates from). At the end of the day, this is a classic horror flick that ticks all the boxes and adds in a healthy dose of satire. I watched a few minutes before writing this, and had to resist the temptation to watch it through, again.
NB If I'm not mistaken, the film is free to watch on Youtube!
"When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth."
(Oh good, there are still some days left in Spooky Month for more features. I'm not done yet! To remind myself, for the next Spooky Spotlight, I'm featuring the Blair Witch Project!)
Playing: I'm still making my way through Abiotic Factor's campaign, of course. I recently divided into another anteverse (that's the game's terminology for alternate worlds) full of puritanical pilgrim rejects who have a vendetta against outsiders because... some reason or the other. Retrieved the precious cargo and made my way home. I have a handy dandy water filter at my home base that makes it easy to filter drinking water everlasting (and with the ability to make soups, solving my hunger problems completely).
So, my burning enthusiasm for Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 (yeesh, what a title) has had a wet blanket thrown over it. Early reviews have been released, and the game has not been received well, to say the least. It's not hard to see why; they commonly state that RPG staples like managing your inventory and developing your abilities (which was a huge part of the first game) are nonexistent? WTH? Why would you drop these time-honoured traditions from such a game? Also, talk is that it'll run quite poorly on a potato of a system like mine.
Therefore it's been crossed off my wishlist, as there are plenty of other better games that deserve my attention.
Installed the demo for Warhammer: 40K 2, which I'd always assumed was too redoubtable and beefy for my poor little 1080ti. I have absolutely no idea why it required 73 gb of space. Hijole! Surprise, surprise, I got it to run! Didn't make much of an impression on me, but it means there are other games I can try. But regarding whether or not it stays...
BOOM! Uninstalled.
Watching: Still haven't resumed Hostile Dimensions.
Found out about an older comedy series called Bottom, which is precisely summed up by the below clip:
Holy shit! It's like a live-action cartoon!
Listening to: Bobby Johnston - The Barrens theme. So this is the theme or leitmotif from a movie that failed to impress me; it was about the folklore-inspired Jersey Devil, which purportedly haunts the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The movie is mostly despised by me because almost all the drama hinges on whether or not said Devil is real, which the movie only resolves in the final five minutes.
What nonsense. I can't stand movies which hinge on the "Is it real, or is it fake?" dichotomy. Just tell me and get it over with (I think Hide and Seek is guilty of this as well), or pack the spoilers into the nature of the character, or their malady. Anyway, this is not a review, so I chose this song because it's simply sublime. It's haunting, rings with tragedy, and is more memorable than the movie itself, for me; case in point, I remembered that fairy-tale like melody while forgetting almost completely about the film.
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GentleOx
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Gratitude to @CODawn @JCU @Fremen and @TopNotch!
Boring. Bore. Boredom. Bored: adj, a state of being characterized by a lack of stimulation, aimlessness, and ennui. I'm so bored, I can't even afford to pay attention. Ox was standing at the Observatory table wondering how he could further pass the time. He'd already futzed around with the computer and checked the reports on the desk, after which he'd examined the map countless times. He had no idea how Simmi could spend her days in this space; it was already (he checked his watch) two hours, and the lack of any tasks to do was getting to him. Simmi had briefly explained that she had to leave the "desk" to him for awhile, without really specifying what it was she was up to, or where she was going. After a quick peck on the cheek, she had left, leaving him to the buzzing of the monitors, and the empty space. Hold on, someone was opening the door. Was it her?
Not Simmi: it was another lady. Morgan, the striking young woman from among the fresh batch of recruits, had ascended the stairs and now stood before him, a hand on her hip. "Hello, Ox. Looks like you're in some need of relief." Was that... innuendo? Ox shrugged. "I was given a job to do." Morgan approached, and began to leisurely saunter around the room, slowly circling him. Her hips were awful distracting. Finally, she paused, facing him. "So, you and her?" Something in his head told him to be very careful. "That's right," he said, a little bit brusquely. He folded his arms, though that was little defense against him turning red. "You ask me, she has no idea how lucky she is," she said, trailing a hand down his arm. What was going on? Ox gently stepped back, trying to get some distance from her, but she insistently stepped forward, getting uncomfortably close to him. "C'mon, you know she's not the only woman you can please..." Too close. Ox put his hands on her shoulders, to fence her away, but she stepped inside of his grasp and reached out to pull his head forward for a kiss.
Another sound from below, the door once more opening, though the steps of the person entering where harsh and insistent. Even angled away from Morgan's mouth, Ox could see Simmi step on to the landing, her gaze furious. Oh f*ck. She coughed loudly, and Morgan broke away from Ox to face Simmi, though Morgan didn't seem surprised to see her. "Oh, hi there. The things we --" Simmi held up a hand, and Morgan shut up. "Get out." Without further ceremony, as if she hadn't been pawing at him a minute ago, Morgan casually stepped away from Ox, and left the observatory. Ox held up two placating hands, "Look, I..." Simmi shook her head, and pointed a finger at the loft, upstairs. She leaned forward, her lips at his ear and whispered,
"We need to talk."
Oh hai Bees! I braved the cold and the rain to head for the gym on this colder day.
Today was Back day, and I'm still following the Bullmastiff program.
Deadlifts: 140 x 10. Eh. Not great, but that's alright. All about the auto regulating now.
Romanian Deadlifts: 65 x 12.
Barbell Rows: 65 x 12.
Meadows Rows: 30 x 12. Haven't done these with such low weight before.
Neutral Grip Chin Ups: 21 in total.
This is the coldest it's been this year, so everyone's bundled up in their winter coats. I was a hoodie Ox today!
My computer keeps crashing quite a bit. At one point, it was the CPU overheating, and the next, the graphics card is overheating or somesuch. I have no money, so I can't upgrade. Good thing it mostly works...
Tomorrow I have tons of classes, so my next update is likely going to be Friday. Just have to survive long enough!
Yummy hot pot dinner on Saturday, om nom nom.
The winds blow cold, Bees. Stay warm out there.
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on The Blair Witch Project, a found-footage horror which may just be my favourite movie of all time. I don't know how many times I've seen it, ever since that fateful evening in 1999 when I popped the VCD into our video player and watched it from start to finish, in awe.
In 1994, three college students - Heather, Michael, and Josh - set out into the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland. Originally they are there to shoot Heather's documentary on a local legend: The Blair Witch. While the shoot goes smoothly at first, the trio get lost in the woods, and what starts out at unnerving and creepy descends into the outright terrifying as the three wonder if they're ever going to escape. Tensions boil over and nerves are frayed by day, while by night, the three find themselves assailed by forces malicious and unknown. Their footage is found by the authorities later on, and pieced together to reveal exactly what happened to them.
If you haven't seen it before (almost everyone has heard of the film by this point), this was a totally improvised film in which three young actors were sent into the woods and essentially filmed the movie themselves. The marketing campaign, which, as a 14 year-old I kinda missed entirely, is the stuff of legends, and is the most effective of its kind in potentially all of film history. The most I heard was from other people saying things like "OMG! Have you watched The Blair Witch Project? It's the scariest movie of all time." I don't know if that's true, but I think the film capitalizes on an immersive, background-rich horror that benefits from what our imaginations can conjure up.
But what about the film? It posits itself as the pieced-together footage found after the students disappeared. A lot of people will be turned off by the found footage approach, and by the invective and bickering by the leads. This is, coincidentally, the film that turned me on to found footage. Consider that the cast is essentially improvising the whole time, and I think their acting is simply astounding. We want to hate Heather, who essentially dragged the other two into this mess and forces them to keep going. Something about it feels like you are watching the forbidden: that these are terrifying events which should be locked away and forgotten. And finally, is it scary? Definitely. I'm not going to reveal what transpires in the film, but sometimes, a lot of it is about what you imagine rather than see. And the final ten minutes are just terrifying.
There's a lot more I could write on this film, but in the end, I'm not going to mince words. I think it's one of the best horror movies of all time.
Playing: My adventures in Abiotic Factor continue! I finally got out of the annoying Security Sector, and am in the Hydroplant. I'm probably about 60% of the game through? I think. There are still more gadgets to construct, and monsters to fight. I'm actually surprised by how adroitly and tightly the game has been designed, despite encompassing an enormous world. Will explore more tonight.
Tempted to buy Escape from Duckov, which seems to be growing in popularity, even though I've already got a plethora of single player games. Will sleep on it. EDIT: Purchased it. Seems like a good purchase, but I'll share more when I've played more.
Also playing bits and pieces of Freedom Fighters.
Watching: Uh... Maybe I'll stay up late enough tonight to watch something? Wouldn't count on it, though.
Listening to: AFI - Behind the Clock. So, I've never listened to AFI before, but I understand that the sound on this song is a departure from their usual oeuvre. It's moody, steady, and has vibes from Bowie and the Sisters of Mercy, to name a few. A great way to pay homage to retro sounds!
"Green light lit, the blue remake
No one will care, will care to see
Thriller killer been revealed
He's inside you, she's inside me"
Boring. Bore. Boredom. Bored: adj, a state of being characterized by a lack of stimulation, aimlessness, and ennui. I'm so bored, I can't even afford to pay attention. Ox was standing at the Observatory table wondering how he could further pass the time. He'd already futzed around with the computer and checked the reports on the desk, after which he'd examined the map countless times. He had no idea how Simmi could spend her days in this space; it was already (he checked his watch) two hours, and the lack of any tasks to do was getting to him. Simmi had briefly explained that she had to leave the "desk" to him for awhile, without really specifying what it was she was up to, or where she was going. After a quick peck on the cheek, she had left, leaving him to the buzzing of the monitors, and the empty space. Hold on, someone was opening the door. Was it her?
Not Simmi: it was another lady. Morgan, the striking young woman from among the fresh batch of recruits, had ascended the stairs and now stood before him, a hand on her hip. "Hello, Ox. Looks like you're in some need of relief." Was that... innuendo? Ox shrugged. "I was given a job to do." Morgan approached, and began to leisurely saunter around the room, slowly circling him. Her hips were awful distracting. Finally, she paused, facing him. "So, you and her?" Something in his head told him to be very careful. "That's right," he said, a little bit brusquely. He folded his arms, though that was little defense against him turning red. "You ask me, she has no idea how lucky she is," she said, trailing a hand down his arm. What was going on? Ox gently stepped back, trying to get some distance from her, but she insistently stepped forward, getting uncomfortably close to him. "C'mon, you know she's not the only woman you can please..." Too close. Ox put his hands on her shoulders, to fence her away, but she stepped inside of his grasp and reached out to pull his head forward for a kiss.
Another sound from below, the door once more opening, though the steps of the person entering where harsh and insistent. Even angled away from Morgan's mouth, Ox could see Simmi step on to the landing, her gaze furious. Oh f*ck. She coughed loudly, and Morgan broke away from Ox to face Simmi, though Morgan didn't seem surprised to see her. "Oh, hi there. The things we --" Simmi held up a hand, and Morgan shut up. "Get out." Without further ceremony, as if she hadn't been pawing at him a minute ago, Morgan casually stepped away from Ox, and left the observatory. Ox held up two placating hands, "Look, I..." Simmi shook her head, and pointed a finger at the loft, upstairs. She leaned forward, her lips at his ear and whispered,
"We need to talk."
Oh hai Bees! I braved the cold and the rain to head for the gym on this colder day.
Today was Back day, and I'm still following the Bullmastiff program.
Deadlifts: 140 x 10. Eh. Not great, but that's alright. All about the auto regulating now.
Romanian Deadlifts: 65 x 12.
Barbell Rows: 65 x 12.
Meadows Rows: 30 x 12. Haven't done these with such low weight before.
Neutral Grip Chin Ups: 21 in total.
This is the coldest it's been this year, so everyone's bundled up in their winter coats. I was a hoodie Ox today!
My computer keeps crashing quite a bit. At one point, it was the CPU overheating, and the next, the graphics card is overheating or somesuch. I have no money, so I can't upgrade. Good thing it mostly works...
Tomorrow I have tons of classes, so my next update is likely going to be Friday. Just have to survive long enough!
Yummy hot pot dinner on Saturday, om nom nom.
The winds blow cold, Bees. Stay warm out there.
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on The Blair Witch Project, a found-footage horror which may just be my favourite movie of all time. I don't know how many times I've seen it, ever since that fateful evening in 1999 when I popped the VCD into our video player and watched it from start to finish, in awe.
In 1994, three college students - Heather, Michael, and Josh - set out into the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland. Originally they are there to shoot Heather's documentary on a local legend: The Blair Witch. While the shoot goes smoothly at first, the trio get lost in the woods, and what starts out at unnerving and creepy descends into the outright terrifying as the three wonder if they're ever going to escape. Tensions boil over and nerves are frayed by day, while by night, the three find themselves assailed by forces malicious and unknown. Their footage is found by the authorities later on, and pieced together to reveal exactly what happened to them.
If you haven't seen it before (almost everyone has heard of the film by this point), this was a totally improvised film in which three young actors were sent into the woods and essentially filmed the movie themselves. The marketing campaign, which, as a 14 year-old I kinda missed entirely, is the stuff of legends, and is the most effective of its kind in potentially all of film history. The most I heard was from other people saying things like "OMG! Have you watched The Blair Witch Project? It's the scariest movie of all time." I don't know if that's true, but I think the film capitalizes on an immersive, background-rich horror that benefits from what our imaginations can conjure up.
But what about the film? It posits itself as the pieced-together footage found after the students disappeared. A lot of people will be turned off by the found footage approach, and by the invective and bickering by the leads. This is, coincidentally, the film that turned me on to found footage. Consider that the cast is essentially improvising the whole time, and I think their acting is simply astounding. We want to hate Heather, who essentially dragged the other two into this mess and forces them to keep going. Something about it feels like you are watching the forbidden: that these are terrifying events which should be locked away and forgotten. And finally, is it scary? Definitely. I'm not going to reveal what transpires in the film, but sometimes, a lot of it is about what you imagine rather than see. And the final ten minutes are just terrifying.
There's a lot more I could write on this film, but in the end, I'm not going to mince words. I think it's one of the best horror movies of all time.
Playing: My adventures in Abiotic Factor continue! I finally got out of the annoying Security Sector, and am in the Hydroplant. I'm probably about 60% of the game through? I think. There are still more gadgets to construct, and monsters to fight. I'm actually surprised by how adroitly and tightly the game has been designed, despite encompassing an enormous world. Will explore more tonight.
Tempted to buy Escape from Duckov, which seems to be growing in popularity, even though I've already got a plethora of single player games. Will sleep on it. EDIT: Purchased it. Seems like a good purchase, but I'll share more when I've played more.
Also playing bits and pieces of Freedom Fighters.
Watching: Uh... Maybe I'll stay up late enough tonight to watch something? Wouldn't count on it, though.
Listening to: AFI - Behind the Clock. So, I've never listened to AFI before, but I understand that the sound on this song is a departure from their usual oeuvre. It's moody, steady, and has vibes from Bowie and the Sisters of Mercy, to name a few. A great way to pay homage to retro sounds!
"Green light lit, the blue remake
No one will care, will care to see
Thriller killer been revealed
He's inside you, she's inside me"
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GentleOx
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Last edited:
Suggesting, not outright showing, is indeed one of the excellent moves of the Blarir Witch project. Still, maybe ... maybe because of the extra hype, it never impressed me that much. Go figure!
Cheers for your recent PR! 
Thank you @Mamatigerj!
@PetiteSheWolf I was touched by a little of the hype, but not very much (probably because this was 26 years ago). Something like Paranormal Activity I found much more disappointing.
"You think she's a spy?"
Simmi nodded her head, gravely. "At the least. As we saw from what happened downstairs, a saboteur as well." They were seated in her small loft, with room enough for a bed, a desk, and a small bookcase. They sat together on the bed, though Ox found it hard to face her directly. He evaded the implication for now. "Who could she be spying for?" "I don't have any hard evidence yet. But her being here set off alarm bells. She's already been trained in survival skills and marksmanship. And then there was just now." Ox heaved a sigh. "I know we haven't been together long, but I would never cheat on you. For heaven's sake, I was trying to pull her off of me." "Ox." Simmi's tone was soft, but she looked directly into his eyes. "I know. You care too much to do that. She was trying to break us apart and sow discord." A moment of silence. Ox steeled himself for what he was going to say next.
"You used me. As bait."
"I did." Simmi's eyes were still on his, to her credit. "I didn't know how you would react if you were forewarned."
Ox's hurt must've shown on his face, because her tone was soft. "We're playing dangerous games here. It's not just going out and looting and coming back alive. That's not enough! The other factions would rather we didn't exist at all, so they play their games. We simply have to be better."
"Is that all I am to you? A piece on the board?" Fire filled her eyes.
"No. If you knew how much I care about you..."
"Not enough to tell me the truth?" He thought she would slap him.
"It's dangerous here, too. I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I had to do it." Her tone was icy.
"It's dangerous everywhere! All the more reason to talk to and be honest with each other." She folded her arms. She still looked like she wanted to slap him. He wanted to shout and scream, but he fought the urge.
With a deep breath, Simmi exhaled and unfolded her arms. "Forgive me." He was still frustrated, and a little angry. But the anger lessened at this olive branch. Ox swallowed all the bile and resentment at being manipulated, and reminded himself that he loved this woman. He reached out and put his arms around her. "I forgive you." They held each other in that embrace for a beat before slowly breaking apart. "Promise me one thing?" "Anything." "We need to trust each other. Whatever concerns you might have, I'll try to understand, but I'll never betray you. We can't let them win."
"I promise."
What's up, Bees?
After my flurry of classes yesterday, I had some respite today to go to the gym for my Bullmastiff shoulder workout.
Overhead Press: 65 x 12. Never done this much before, so this is a new PR!
Machine Shoulder Press: 50 x 12. Another PR! This one was much tougher than I envisioned it being.
Rope Pushdowns: 9 x 10. Just keeping it light today.
Barbell Curl: 35 x 6. Will up the reps as time goes on.
+23000 steps!
I have a single lesson tomorrow, and then I'm cleared for the weekend. Yesterday was just tiring.
We're going to have another yummy hot pot dinner tomorrow! Super noms! We ordered a Malaysian laksa inspired soup last time that had too many ingredients, and it kind of spoiler the yummy premium beef we ordered. We'll get something less obtrusive in taste tomorrow.
Have yourselves a great Friday, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight in on Silent Hill, one of the best and scariest survival horror games and a pioneer of the genre.
Harry Mason is on vacation with his adopted daughter Cheryl. A widower, he and his wife at the time found Cheryl abandoned as a baby and took her in, raising her as their own. In the present, Harry swerves to avoid a figure on the road and ends up swerving off the road entirely. When he wakes up from the crash, he finds himself in a strange city, Silent Hill, with Cheryl missing, and an ever-present fog draped over the town. At odd times, the town takes on a nightmarish, rust-stained hue that seems to be otherworldly and nightmarish. Encountering strange creatures, and a helpful police officer, Sibyl, he must find his daughter and discover the strange secrets behind the town.
This one was one of the first few horror games I purchased. Even by today's standards, it's an absolutely horrific and terrifying game that still packs a lot of power in its surreal scares. While the Resident Evil series crept towards the outlandish, Silent Hill's first few installments, while borrowing from cults and monsters, still felt more evocative. There was stronger drama and plot tension in the various machinations than most other horror works have envisioned. It becomes very clear as the story goes on that Harry is over his head, and in the midst of greater powers.
That's not the only way he's in over his head. As an regular man, he lacks the military expertise of RE's protagonists, and is at turns feeble, inexpert, and weak, clumsily stooping to ranged or melee combat when he has no choice. This lent itself well to the gameplay that often makes you run, rather than fight. The creatures you're fighting range from the strange to the absolutely bizarre. While none of them would be as memorable as the second installment's Pyramid Head, encountering them is jarring. Because it borrows from the surreal, (and RE from the grounded), Silent Hill is free to expand its scares and really play around with them.
Example: You're in an abandoned, nightmare-world school, and enter a locker room. There is a strange pounding sound from one of the lockers. Passing by several lockers, you walk up to this locker and open it: nothing inside. Relieved, you step back and make to leave the room, when another locker bursts open and a corpse tumbles out. It's probably one of the best subversions of the classic (if done to death) cat scare.
It borrows from a who's who of horror royalty, ranging from Jacob's Ladder to Stephen King. And that score, by series veteran Akira Yamaoka, is to die for. Some of the melodies and leitmotifs live rent-free in my head, and I'm still very fond of them; a lot of my earlier Darebee posts featured Yamaoka's score.
Now I have to get around to playing Silent Hill 2, at least once in my life...
Playing: I've split my time between Escape from Duckov and Abiotic Factor. I find EfD quite charming and tightly constructed. The gunplay is more fun and forgiving than Zero Sievert. I have died several times, though I'd forgotten about the extraction mechanics (ie you leave all your stuff behind when you die). Perhaps I've been spoiled by Zero Sievert.
Anyway, interestingly, EfD is the first mainland Chinese-developed game I've owned. I played Gunfire: Reborn, but I understand that that one was locally developed here, though it does lean strongly into Chinese culture.
Didn't play Abiotic Factor last night, but I'll try to make more progress in the Hydro Plant this time.
If there's time left, maybe a touch of Witchfire?
Watching: Good Boy is out! I want to see Indy fend off the ghosts and ghoulies tonight! But I have to finish Hostile Dimensions first, which intriguing concept aside, feels like an underdeveloped stinker. Ah, c'est la vie.
Listening to: Pylot - Invisible. Don't mind me here, just vibin' to more late night synth.
"How do I reach your heart?
This diamond ring is the only part
But was it only digital?
A drifter I remain, invisible"
@PetiteSheWolf I was touched by a little of the hype, but not very much (probably because this was 26 years ago). Something like Paranormal Activity I found much more disappointing.
"You think she's a spy?"
Simmi nodded her head, gravely. "At the least. As we saw from what happened downstairs, a saboteur as well." They were seated in her small loft, with room enough for a bed, a desk, and a small bookcase. They sat together on the bed, though Ox found it hard to face her directly. He evaded the implication for now. "Who could she be spying for?" "I don't have any hard evidence yet. But her being here set off alarm bells. She's already been trained in survival skills and marksmanship. And then there was just now." Ox heaved a sigh. "I know we haven't been together long, but I would never cheat on you. For heaven's sake, I was trying to pull her off of me." "Ox." Simmi's tone was soft, but she looked directly into his eyes. "I know. You care too much to do that. She was trying to break us apart and sow discord." A moment of silence. Ox steeled himself for what he was going to say next.
"You used me. As bait."
"I did." Simmi's eyes were still on his, to her credit. "I didn't know how you would react if you were forewarned."
Ox's hurt must've shown on his face, because her tone was soft. "We're playing dangerous games here. It's not just going out and looting and coming back alive. That's not enough! The other factions would rather we didn't exist at all, so they play their games. We simply have to be better."
"Is that all I am to you? A piece on the board?" Fire filled her eyes.
"No. If you knew how much I care about you..."
"Not enough to tell me the truth?" He thought she would slap him.
"It's dangerous here, too. I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I had to do it." Her tone was icy.
"It's dangerous everywhere! All the more reason to talk to and be honest with each other." She folded her arms. She still looked like she wanted to slap him. He wanted to shout and scream, but he fought the urge.
With a deep breath, Simmi exhaled and unfolded her arms. "Forgive me." He was still frustrated, and a little angry. But the anger lessened at this olive branch. Ox swallowed all the bile and resentment at being manipulated, and reminded himself that he loved this woman. He reached out and put his arms around her. "I forgive you." They held each other in that embrace for a beat before slowly breaking apart. "Promise me one thing?" "Anything." "We need to trust each other. Whatever concerns you might have, I'll try to understand, but I'll never betray you. We can't let them win."
"I promise."
What's up, Bees?
After my flurry of classes yesterday, I had some respite today to go to the gym for my Bullmastiff shoulder workout.
Overhead Press: 65 x 12. Never done this much before, so this is a new PR!
Machine Shoulder Press: 50 x 12. Another PR! This one was much tougher than I envisioned it being.
Rope Pushdowns: 9 x 10. Just keeping it light today.
Barbell Curl: 35 x 6. Will up the reps as time goes on.
+23000 steps!
I have a single lesson tomorrow, and then I'm cleared for the weekend. Yesterday was just tiring.
We're going to have another yummy hot pot dinner tomorrow! Super noms! We ordered a Malaysian laksa inspired soup last time that had too many ingredients, and it kind of spoiler the yummy premium beef we ordered. We'll get something less obtrusive in taste tomorrow.
Have yourselves a great Friday, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight in on Silent Hill, one of the best and scariest survival horror games and a pioneer of the genre.
Harry Mason is on vacation with his adopted daughter Cheryl. A widower, he and his wife at the time found Cheryl abandoned as a baby and took her in, raising her as their own. In the present, Harry swerves to avoid a figure on the road and ends up swerving off the road entirely. When he wakes up from the crash, he finds himself in a strange city, Silent Hill, with Cheryl missing, and an ever-present fog draped over the town. At odd times, the town takes on a nightmarish, rust-stained hue that seems to be otherworldly and nightmarish. Encountering strange creatures, and a helpful police officer, Sibyl, he must find his daughter and discover the strange secrets behind the town.
This one was one of the first few horror games I purchased. Even by today's standards, it's an absolutely horrific and terrifying game that still packs a lot of power in its surreal scares. While the Resident Evil series crept towards the outlandish, Silent Hill's first few installments, while borrowing from cults and monsters, still felt more evocative. There was stronger drama and plot tension in the various machinations than most other horror works have envisioned. It becomes very clear as the story goes on that Harry is over his head, and in the midst of greater powers.
That's not the only way he's in over his head. As an regular man, he lacks the military expertise of RE's protagonists, and is at turns feeble, inexpert, and weak, clumsily stooping to ranged or melee combat when he has no choice. This lent itself well to the gameplay that often makes you run, rather than fight. The creatures you're fighting range from the strange to the absolutely bizarre. While none of them would be as memorable as the second installment's Pyramid Head, encountering them is jarring. Because it borrows from the surreal, (and RE from the grounded), Silent Hill is free to expand its scares and really play around with them.
Example: You're in an abandoned, nightmare-world school, and enter a locker room. There is a strange pounding sound from one of the lockers. Passing by several lockers, you walk up to this locker and open it: nothing inside. Relieved, you step back and make to leave the room, when another locker bursts open and a corpse tumbles out. It's probably one of the best subversions of the classic (if done to death) cat scare.
It borrows from a who's who of horror royalty, ranging from Jacob's Ladder to Stephen King. And that score, by series veteran Akira Yamaoka, is to die for. Some of the melodies and leitmotifs live rent-free in my head, and I'm still very fond of them; a lot of my earlier Darebee posts featured Yamaoka's score.
Now I have to get around to playing Silent Hill 2, at least once in my life...
Playing: I've split my time between Escape from Duckov and Abiotic Factor. I find EfD quite charming and tightly constructed. The gunplay is more fun and forgiving than Zero Sievert. I have died several times, though I'd forgotten about the extraction mechanics (ie you leave all your stuff behind when you die). Perhaps I've been spoiled by Zero Sievert.
Anyway, interestingly, EfD is the first mainland Chinese-developed game I've owned. I played Gunfire: Reborn, but I understand that that one was locally developed here, though it does lean strongly into Chinese culture.
Didn't play Abiotic Factor last night, but I'll try to make more progress in the Hydro Plant this time.
If there's time left, maybe a touch of Witchfire?
Watching: Good Boy is out! I want to see Indy fend off the ghosts and ghoulies tonight! But I have to finish Hostile Dimensions first, which intriguing concept aside, feels like an underdeveloped stinker. Ah, c'est la vie.
Listening to: Pylot - Invisible. Don't mind me here, just vibin' to more late night synth.
"How do I reach your heart?
This diamond ring is the only part
But was it only digital?
A drifter I remain, invisible"
Cheers x2!!
NightWolf714
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
You are rocking with all these PRs!
Thank you so much @aku-chan @TopNotch @NightWolf714 @CODawn @Mamatigerj @Fremen and @JCU! You're all awesome!
Two weeks had passed. While things were nowhere near fraught with him and Simmi, the peace that stood between them was fragile. But Ox had already made his choice - to trust, and to hope that in doing so, he was helping to rebuild the connection that they had. And true to her word, Simmi had begun sharing with him more and more. Their favourite spot outside, where you had a view of the vast, vast sea, was now a place in which they shared their hopes and fears. While inside the Observatory, Ox had clumsily begun a conversation about Morgan only to have Simmi stop him. She whispered in his ear: "May be bugged." It would take some technical expertise they were short on at the moment to sweep the place clean, but if this place had a listening device, it was obvious who could have planted it.
Morgan, for her part, had disappeared. Was her mission successful? Would she return, as if nothing had happened? And what would they do if they saw her again? Ox had put this question to Simmi not too long ago, and while her response was nonchalant (she'd simply said "We'll see."), Ox had the impression that she had unresolved business with the saboteur. She had shared with Ox that Morgan was possibly an Insurrectionist spy, or more likely, working with the NFTA. The rest of the camp had grumbled that the "hot one", or with similar subtlety, the "eye candy" had absconded without a word. Ox had conducted interviews around camp and learned that Morgan had been ingratiating herself with several of the experienced stalkers around the camp, plying her charms. Again, whether she had gotten what she was after, was up in the air.
The other fledgling stalkers could be seen periodically, with different degrees of success. Howie had the worst luck, or the most incompetence. He had been hired at one point to destroy a signal jammer in the Crossroads that he couldn't find; Ox learned that he had tried searching for it at night. He also played cards frequently, and taken out a loan with his weapon as collateral; his subsequent "bad run" had cost him his sawn-off shotgun and $100. Dean was finding it tough to adapt to this new world, though he had accomplished a few small jobs, and was gaining an attitude of confidence that felt like he was joining the pack. And Lucia?
She was another story entirely.
(Sometimes I don't want to write anything. But when I focus on getting a sentence out, the rest of it flows, gradually.)
Hey Bees. Super pooped today, but after church, I did manage to squeeze in a workout and 24000 steps.
Squats: 80 x 11. Yay for eleven reps!
Front Squats: 40 x 15. Ugh, this just sucked.
Hack Squats: 50 x 15. The same!
Lying Leg Curls: 45 x 10, 50 x 6.
Back Extensions: Top set of 12 reps.
It got warmer today, but at least that's not as bad as trudging to church when it's 34 outside.
I'm going to try to fit in another workout tomorrow, but we'll see.
On Wednesday, we are going to bai saan (ie take care of my grandfather's grave), so I'm going to take a break on that day.
Have yourselves a great Sunday, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Dog Soldiers, the 2002 action-horror film that began Neil Marshall's career as a director.
A group of UK soldiers are on maneuvers in the Scottish Highlands. Their camaraderie is strong, and they embark on the exercise with jocularity (though several are unhappy at having to miss footy on the television), but their manner changes severely when they come across the bloody remains of another group of soldiers. Realizing that there's something out there hunting them down, they arm up, and escape to a cottage where they must make their stand against the savage creatures who have decided they are prey...
This one is an absolutely underrated gem. It's not just a horror film - it's an action (or military, if you want to dial it into a more specific genre) horror flick that has healthy doses of both. The script is strong, and the characters all have their own charisma and distinct vibes: an early Liam Cunningham is just loathsome, while an equally early Kevin Kidd has great leading man vibes.
It's not particularly ambitious, but it's strongly and tightly made. Not so spoilers: the creatures are werewolves, and they're brought to life through clever camera tricks and authentic-feeling costumes and practical effects. It's kind of surprising that we don't have more films made in this milieu, though recent examples do exist, and there're a smattering of low budget flicks in this genre with assorted levels of quality.
Marshall would follow this one up with an even better film (The Descent), but Dog Soldiers stands on its own hind legs as a low-budget delight.
Playing: I didn't play any Abiotic Factor last night either! I played more of Escape from Duckov, oddly enough. Little bugger has got me spending my free time gaming, once more.
Still want to play some Abiotic Factor, as I'm making good progress.
Watching: Um...
Listening to: Essenger - Empire of Steel feat Scandroid (Prizm remix). This one deserves special attention, because it features not only the sublime vocals of Scandroid's Klayton, but also, the sultry, emotive counterpoint voices of the ladies known as Prizm. The original, catchy feel of the track is there; the tempo is slower, and the duo add their own vocals to Klayton's to make a rich, velvet synthwave texture.
"So lay waste to all we've made
For your corporate palisade
You won't automate our roles
If we digitize our souls
A new force will intervene
Half human, half machine
And no enterprise on earth will make us kneel
To your empire of steel"
Two weeks had passed. While things were nowhere near fraught with him and Simmi, the peace that stood between them was fragile. But Ox had already made his choice - to trust, and to hope that in doing so, he was helping to rebuild the connection that they had. And true to her word, Simmi had begun sharing with him more and more. Their favourite spot outside, where you had a view of the vast, vast sea, was now a place in which they shared their hopes and fears. While inside the Observatory, Ox had clumsily begun a conversation about Morgan only to have Simmi stop him. She whispered in his ear: "May be bugged." It would take some technical expertise they were short on at the moment to sweep the place clean, but if this place had a listening device, it was obvious who could have planted it.
Morgan, for her part, had disappeared. Was her mission successful? Would she return, as if nothing had happened? And what would they do if they saw her again? Ox had put this question to Simmi not too long ago, and while her response was nonchalant (she'd simply said "We'll see."), Ox had the impression that she had unresolved business with the saboteur. She had shared with Ox that Morgan was possibly an Insurrectionist spy, or more likely, working with the NFTA. The rest of the camp had grumbled that the "hot one", or with similar subtlety, the "eye candy" had absconded without a word. Ox had conducted interviews around camp and learned that Morgan had been ingratiating herself with several of the experienced stalkers around the camp, plying her charms. Again, whether she had gotten what she was after, was up in the air.
The other fledgling stalkers could be seen periodically, with different degrees of success. Howie had the worst luck, or the most incompetence. He had been hired at one point to destroy a signal jammer in the Crossroads that he couldn't find; Ox learned that he had tried searching for it at night. He also played cards frequently, and taken out a loan with his weapon as collateral; his subsequent "bad run" had cost him his sawn-off shotgun and $100. Dean was finding it tough to adapt to this new world, though he had accomplished a few small jobs, and was gaining an attitude of confidence that felt like he was joining the pack. And Lucia?
She was another story entirely.
(Sometimes I don't want to write anything. But when I focus on getting a sentence out, the rest of it flows, gradually.)
Hey Bees. Super pooped today, but after church, I did manage to squeeze in a workout and 24000 steps.
Squats: 80 x 11. Yay for eleven reps!
Front Squats: 40 x 15. Ugh, this just sucked.
Hack Squats: 50 x 15. The same!
Lying Leg Curls: 45 x 10, 50 x 6.
Back Extensions: Top set of 12 reps.
It got warmer today, but at least that's not as bad as trudging to church when it's 34 outside.
I'm going to try to fit in another workout tomorrow, but we'll see.
On Wednesday, we are going to bai saan (ie take care of my grandfather's grave), so I'm going to take a break on that day.
Have yourselves a great Sunday, Bees!
Spooky: Today's Spooky Spotlight is on Dog Soldiers, the 2002 action-horror film that began Neil Marshall's career as a director.
A group of UK soldiers are on maneuvers in the Scottish Highlands. Their camaraderie is strong, and they embark on the exercise with jocularity (though several are unhappy at having to miss footy on the television), but their manner changes severely when they come across the bloody remains of another group of soldiers. Realizing that there's something out there hunting them down, they arm up, and escape to a cottage where they must make their stand against the savage creatures who have decided they are prey...
This one is an absolutely underrated gem. It's not just a horror film - it's an action (or military, if you want to dial it into a more specific genre) horror flick that has healthy doses of both. The script is strong, and the characters all have their own charisma and distinct vibes: an early Liam Cunningham is just loathsome, while an equally early Kevin Kidd has great leading man vibes.
It's not particularly ambitious, but it's strongly and tightly made. Not so spoilers: the creatures are werewolves, and they're brought to life through clever camera tricks and authentic-feeling costumes and practical effects. It's kind of surprising that we don't have more films made in this milieu, though recent examples do exist, and there're a smattering of low budget flicks in this genre with assorted levels of quality.
Marshall would follow this one up with an even better film (The Descent), but Dog Soldiers stands on its own hind legs as a low-budget delight.
Playing: I didn't play any Abiotic Factor last night either! I played more of Escape from Duckov, oddly enough. Little bugger has got me spending my free time gaming, once more.
Still want to play some Abiotic Factor, as I'm making good progress.
Watching: Um...
Listening to: Essenger - Empire of Steel feat Scandroid (Prizm remix). This one deserves special attention, because it features not only the sublime vocals of Scandroid's Klayton, but also, the sultry, emotive counterpoint voices of the ladies known as Prizm. The original, catchy feel of the track is there; the tempo is slower, and the duo add their own vocals to Klayton's to make a rich, velvet synthwave texture.
"So lay waste to all we've made
For your corporate palisade
You won't automate our roles
If we digitize our souls
A new force will intervene
Half human, half machine
And no enterprise on earth will make us kneel
To your empire of steel"
-
GentleOx
-
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