Friday, August 31, 2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Tournaments Are Not Worth Shooting
As I sit here, trying to figure this out, I know one thing. Stuff will change forever when it comes to game conventions. While there are crazy fans, it's nothing a restraining order or a kick out for the rest of the day can't fix. That is nothing compared to this shooting in Jacksonville over a Madden game.
It's been all over the news and Internet, but the shooter, David Katz, wound up killing two others and himself. All because he lost at Madden. Like most of these incidents that happen, it typically comes down to the mental well being of the shooter. Websites are finding out more as we speak, discussing relationship issues with his mother, and being able to buy guns in Maryland legally.
If I were to think a game tournament shooting would occur, Madden would be the last thing I would think. I would have thought maybe a Smash Bros. tournament or something on computers like World of Warcraft or PUBG. Or even one of those Games Done Quick week long events because of some of the people that have gotten kicked out. I don't know whether Katz was going to use the guns if he were to either win or use it to cause chaos somewhere else in Jacksonville. Competition brings out a different animal in everybody. But not to the point where you want to kill somebody.
What doesn't surprise is the ripple effect on it. Conventions and tournaments are stepping up to add in more security to ensure something like this doesn't happen again. It's not always a bad thing to get angry, but you have to have a certain amount of anger and stay level headed. I hope people learn from this and you know this will be political again with all the gun control crap and what side Katz was on nonsense.
It kind of scares me what the future will hold for conventions.
It's been all over the news and Internet, but the shooter, David Katz, wound up killing two others and himself. All because he lost at Madden. Like most of these incidents that happen, it typically comes down to the mental well being of the shooter. Websites are finding out more as we speak, discussing relationship issues with his mother, and being able to buy guns in Maryland legally.
If I were to think a game tournament shooting would occur, Madden would be the last thing I would think. I would have thought maybe a Smash Bros. tournament or something on computers like World of Warcraft or PUBG. Or even one of those Games Done Quick week long events because of some of the people that have gotten kicked out. I don't know whether Katz was going to use the guns if he were to either win or use it to cause chaos somewhere else in Jacksonville. Competition brings out a different animal in everybody. But not to the point where you want to kill somebody.
What doesn't surprise is the ripple effect on it. Conventions and tournaments are stepping up to add in more security to ensure something like this doesn't happen again. It's not always a bad thing to get angry, but you have to have a certain amount of anger and stay level headed. I hope people learn from this and you know this will be political again with all the gun control crap and what side Katz was on nonsense.
It kind of scares me what the future will hold for conventions.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Christopher Robin Film Review
When I heard of a live action attempt of Winnie the Pooh, it intrigued me a little bit. Sitting through Christopher Robin today, it was not something I was expecting. It is surprisingly good despite the tone and the somberness.
It starts off with a farewell for the young Robin and all his friends as he prepares for boarding school. The film doesn't waste too much time getting to the adult version, but we do get to see certain pivotal moments of his life. One thing I'll give Disney credit for is not intervening with the very brief World War II scenes, especially when they have an explosion in it. Robin works at a luggage company and must deal with potential cuts and he has a weekend to figure things out and can't go to the childhood cottage with his wife and daughter.
As it gets to that, Pooh finds his way to London and Christopher Robin thinks it's all a dream when he meets his childhood friend. With that, it kicks off a big adventure that contends with the human trying to save his and other people's jobs, while dealing with his past, present, and potential future in the form of his family and friends. They don't sugar coat anything regarding the situations. Combined with the look of the Hundred Acre Woods and the somber color and lighting, it paints a good picture of what you would not expect out of this film. The special effects are surprisingly well done. Even though these are stuffed animals (at least I think), they come off very real and they don't get overboard or cute with using the effects.
It's very much in the vein of a drama, though it does have a few slapstick and comedy moments. Ewan McGregor plays a wide range of emotions and doesn't ham it up or act over the top as Christopher Robin. It comes off very authentic as someone who is stressed out and cracks a little bit. Hayley Atwell is great in her screen time as the wife, Evelyn. Like McGregor, her character is authentic and gives off some good tones and emotions The actress that plays the daughter is solid as well. Jim Cummings is still a good performer for Tigger and Pooh despite being 65 years old. The rest of the animals put off very good performances. Overall, it's acted quite well. Even some of the characters at Robin's job put up solid efforts.
If I have a minor complaint, it is a little slow in the middle part of it. The somberness is a little overboard at times, but it doesn't overwhelm the movie to the point of losing its purpose, which is about not forgetting your childhood and the simple things in life 30 years later. Other than that, it's a pretty good movie. If it's still playing in your local theater, try and see it. Sometimes, Disney can surprise you and Christopher Robin is a prime example of it. A little bit of Pooh isn't always a bad or scary thing.
It starts off with a farewell for the young Robin and all his friends as he prepares for boarding school. The film doesn't waste too much time getting to the adult version, but we do get to see certain pivotal moments of his life. One thing I'll give Disney credit for is not intervening with the very brief World War II scenes, especially when they have an explosion in it. Robin works at a luggage company and must deal with potential cuts and he has a weekend to figure things out and can't go to the childhood cottage with his wife and daughter.
As it gets to that, Pooh finds his way to London and Christopher Robin thinks it's all a dream when he meets his childhood friend. With that, it kicks off a big adventure that contends with the human trying to save his and other people's jobs, while dealing with his past, present, and potential future in the form of his family and friends. They don't sugar coat anything regarding the situations. Combined with the look of the Hundred Acre Woods and the somber color and lighting, it paints a good picture of what you would not expect out of this film. The special effects are surprisingly well done. Even though these are stuffed animals (at least I think), they come off very real and they don't get overboard or cute with using the effects.
It's very much in the vein of a drama, though it does have a few slapstick and comedy moments. Ewan McGregor plays a wide range of emotions and doesn't ham it up or act over the top as Christopher Robin. It comes off very authentic as someone who is stressed out and cracks a little bit. Hayley Atwell is great in her screen time as the wife, Evelyn. Like McGregor, her character is authentic and gives off some good tones and emotions The actress that plays the daughter is solid as well. Jim Cummings is still a good performer for Tigger and Pooh despite being 65 years old. The rest of the animals put off very good performances. Overall, it's acted quite well. Even some of the characters at Robin's job put up solid efforts.
If I have a minor complaint, it is a little slow in the middle part of it. The somberness is a little overboard at times, but it doesn't overwhelm the movie to the point of losing its purpose, which is about not forgetting your childhood and the simple things in life 30 years later. Other than that, it's a pretty good movie. If it's still playing in your local theater, try and see it. Sometimes, Disney can surprise you and Christopher Robin is a prime example of it. A little bit of Pooh isn't always a bad or scary thing.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Call of Duty WWII Review
The last time I really was into Call of Duty was with Modern Warfare 3 and being on and off with Black Ops II. After that, it stopped intriguing me and became meh. With last year's WWII, it was back to basics. No futuristic stuff. Just getting to its roots once again. It works well and is a phenomenal way to be a very strong shooter.
You got the same American and German weaponry. Stuff like M1 Garands and Panzershrecks will do a lot of damage if you know what you are doing. The controls are like other games in the series. It includes the prone, jumping, and crawling combined with the aiming and firing of weapons and grenades. It actually has a decent story in itself. As Red Daniels, you try to show your worth as a Private to a unit that bonds together in even the toughest of situations during the waning stages of World War II. There's a bit of heart to it despite feeling a bit cliched.
It's a great looking game. The attention to detail in the environment of war is excellent. You feel like you are in the shoes of the Allies going through the snow and grass combined with the destruction of villages and cities. It's very clean and gritty at the same time. Combined with the audio and sound effects, it comes off like a war movie. It's not exactly Saving Private Ryan, but it's close.
For a series that strays from being like Medal of Honor and Battlefield, WWII plays like an old school game. You got health. One of the things that's unique is doing your part in battle and killing enough enemies gets you help from your unit like more ammo or finding out the locations of enemies. There's only 12 levels, but there is enough length and unique playability to not feel like it was another Call of Duty game. With some stealth and plane gameplay in it, they went all out.
There is some difficult moments, but never frustrating unless on the hardest difficulty. The online aspect for the most part is strong. It's like most of the series with the same games and matches. Some glitches here and there along with some poor respawning locations at times, but newcomers should not be upset about not doing well their first time. It'll take time to unlock stuff, but you'll get comfortable. There's still Nazi Zombies and offline split screen multiplayer, giving you the same options. Overall, a complete package that should satisfy a lot of people.
I would definitely try to get into Call of Duty WWII while you still can. As I said, it was back to basics. They succeeded on that, and I hope they try again to do more of this style.
Score: 8 out of 10
You got the same American and German weaponry. Stuff like M1 Garands and Panzershrecks will do a lot of damage if you know what you are doing. The controls are like other games in the series. It includes the prone, jumping, and crawling combined with the aiming and firing of weapons and grenades. It actually has a decent story in itself. As Red Daniels, you try to show your worth as a Private to a unit that bonds together in even the toughest of situations during the waning stages of World War II. There's a bit of heart to it despite feeling a bit cliched.
It's a great looking game. The attention to detail in the environment of war is excellent. You feel like you are in the shoes of the Allies going through the snow and grass combined with the destruction of villages and cities. It's very clean and gritty at the same time. Combined with the audio and sound effects, it comes off like a war movie. It's not exactly Saving Private Ryan, but it's close.
For a series that strays from being like Medal of Honor and Battlefield, WWII plays like an old school game. You got health. One of the things that's unique is doing your part in battle and killing enough enemies gets you help from your unit like more ammo or finding out the locations of enemies. There's only 12 levels, but there is enough length and unique playability to not feel like it was another Call of Duty game. With some stealth and plane gameplay in it, they went all out.
There is some difficult moments, but never frustrating unless on the hardest difficulty. The online aspect for the most part is strong. It's like most of the series with the same games and matches. Some glitches here and there along with some poor respawning locations at times, but newcomers should not be upset about not doing well their first time. It'll take time to unlock stuff, but you'll get comfortable. There's still Nazi Zombies and offline split screen multiplayer, giving you the same options. Overall, a complete package that should satisfy a lot of people.
I would definitely try to get into Call of Duty WWII while you still can. As I said, it was back to basics. They succeeded on that, and I hope they try again to do more of this style.
Score: 8 out of 10
Monday, August 20, 2018
Women Can Assault Men, Too!
The idea of men being assaulted is not a fever dream. It can actually happen. This doesn't happen to just women and I'm willing to bet there are a number of Hollywood actors that have been harassed and assaulted. Unless you're someone like Terry Crews, they probably don't say anything about the women accusers because they would be ostracized by the community and the media. With this new incident of Asia Argento, it brings up a little strength to MeToo, but it also hurts it significantly.
Argento was one of the first to accuse Harvey Weinstein of raping and assaulting her. Now, she has her own battle to deal with. She has a lawsuit involving an incident that happened in 2013 with an actor she worked with on a movie when he was a young child. I'll leave a link at the end of the blog. This 17 year old at the time, Jimmy Bennett, was supposedly harassed by the actress and then paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay mum on what happened. Stuff like sex and photos being half naked (both of them) were the highlights.
Age of consent in California is 18 years old. This is the kind of stuff that gets people in jail, but I doubt Argento will be sentenced. While you can accuse harassment and be accused at the same time, it kind of shows the double standard in actresses and why at times these movements are a joke. It's why I have a hard time believing half the stuff that these women say. You can easily be swayed and fooled by them, and the media will buy into it hook, line, and sinker. And the sad thing is I believe the Weinstein things happened, which I still do. I think this will hurt any movements, not just MeToo. The fact that this has hurt actress Rose McGowan says a lot about the movement of harassment.
Am I saying every woman is a liar? No. But it's seems like an easy excuse to fake a story or try and get quick money from this. One of the more interesting stories is that ex of Chris Hardwick. She tells her "story" and then she tells people a couple months later to move on. What the hell were you trying to do then, Dykstra? Anyways, I hope this brings to light that men can be assaulted and for guys to use the same movement stuff. It's not just one side always getting hurt.
A small positive does not help the big blow MeToo will get. How it recovers is another story in itself. And if this stuff comes to light as being true, Argento will have a hard time finding work and what she says will be looked at with a fine tooth comb.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/asia-argento-paid-sexual-assault-accuser-report-1135872
Argento was one of the first to accuse Harvey Weinstein of raping and assaulting her. Now, she has her own battle to deal with. She has a lawsuit involving an incident that happened in 2013 with an actor she worked with on a movie when he was a young child. I'll leave a link at the end of the blog. This 17 year old at the time, Jimmy Bennett, was supposedly harassed by the actress and then paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay mum on what happened. Stuff like sex and photos being half naked (both of them) were the highlights.
Age of consent in California is 18 years old. This is the kind of stuff that gets people in jail, but I doubt Argento will be sentenced. While you can accuse harassment and be accused at the same time, it kind of shows the double standard in actresses and why at times these movements are a joke. It's why I have a hard time believing half the stuff that these women say. You can easily be swayed and fooled by them, and the media will buy into it hook, line, and sinker. And the sad thing is I believe the Weinstein things happened, which I still do. I think this will hurt any movements, not just MeToo. The fact that this has hurt actress Rose McGowan says a lot about the movement of harassment.
Am I saying every woman is a liar? No. But it's seems like an easy excuse to fake a story or try and get quick money from this. One of the more interesting stories is that ex of Chris Hardwick. She tells her "story" and then she tells people a couple months later to move on. What the hell were you trying to do then, Dykstra? Anyways, I hope this brings to light that men can be assaulted and for guys to use the same movement stuff. It's not just one side always getting hurt.
A small positive does not help the big blow MeToo will get. How it recovers is another story in itself. And if this stuff comes to light as being true, Argento will have a hard time finding work and what she says will be looked at with a fine tooth comb.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/asia-argento-paid-sexual-assault-accuser-report-1135872
Sunday, August 19, 2018
The War on Banning Info
For the last week or two, websites have put on a ban on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. He does a show called InfoWars and Facebook, YouTube, and a few other websites have banned him from putting his content on them. Recently Twitter suspended him for a week even though they were not immediate in doing what other sites were doing. I think this websites trying to stop him from spreading misinformation.
I think the reason, and it probably has been said in articles, is because of Sandy Hook. For those who don't know, that was the December 2012 shooting that took the lives of 20 people, including a number of kindergarten kids. Jones believed that was all staged and recently, has been sued by a number of families for the misinformation. So now, with battling custody of kids, he has to battle people he mocked and made lies of.
While this might piss off Trump, which it has, these websites are scared of Jones. What do I mean by that? This guy is more dangerous than Trump or any other person that runs a country. Like anything, he has share of fans, including the extreme nut job ones that believe every little thing that comes out of his mouth. Combined with the Sandy Hook lawsuits, the websites I believe are tired of the shtick and probably any complaints they've been getting and looked into the material. I don't think this is a political matter, but more so the deranged mentality of Jones.
By the time this blog is done, Jones will be a few days away from getting his Twitter back. He'll get back to doing his thing and whatever else he has intended to do. I hope websites will keep giving him the ban. It's about time they stand up to somebody.
I think the reason, and it probably has been said in articles, is because of Sandy Hook. For those who don't know, that was the December 2012 shooting that took the lives of 20 people, including a number of kindergarten kids. Jones believed that was all staged and recently, has been sued by a number of families for the misinformation. So now, with battling custody of kids, he has to battle people he mocked and made lies of.
While this might piss off Trump, which it has, these websites are scared of Jones. What do I mean by that? This guy is more dangerous than Trump or any other person that runs a country. Like anything, he has share of fans, including the extreme nut job ones that believe every little thing that comes out of his mouth. Combined with the Sandy Hook lawsuits, the websites I believe are tired of the shtick and probably any complaints they've been getting and looked into the material. I don't think this is a political matter, but more so the deranged mentality of Jones.
By the time this blog is done, Jones will be a few days away from getting his Twitter back. He'll get back to doing his thing and whatever else he has intended to do. I hope websites will keep giving him the ban. It's about time they stand up to somebody.
Friday, August 17, 2018
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Losing the EmuParadise
Nintendo's attitudes towards emulation has always been something they have frowned upon. In the last month, they ordered a 100 million dollar lawsuit that saw two sites shut down. While EmuParadise was not in that suit, it shut down itself to avoid any issues. These attitudes from the Japanese offices are not going to help them.
While I understand they are within their rights to stop emulation and ROMs, Nintendo has done nothing. So far with the Switch, it has produced no classic games from their library of consoles. Sure, there's Donkey Kong, but that's the arcade game and Arcade Archives footing the bill. As far as EmuParadise goes, people have lost more than just the Nintendo stuff. It means losing every Sega system. PlayStation brands up to PSP. Basically, anything between the Atari 2600 up to PSP. Not only are those lost, but so are Arcade ROMs and DOS games, which is a major blow.
I target Arcade and DOS for a reason. The former, there aren't many arcades in the United States. Not to mention machines may not be well maintained. No one is going to fork over a lot of money just to get a board of OutRun or Final Fight. Regarding the latter, there are a lot of games that don't see the light of day on modern systems. The same can be said for consoles, but for computers, not every title is going to make it to GOG or Steam. Also, not everybody uses Virtual Machine or whatever they can do to use an older operating system.
Consoles don't have it bad, and I don't think it's a huge blow. That being said, I do think a word of caution is needed. One thing that helped EmuParadise was that it wasn't a torrent site and it didn't give you viruses or malware. It's going to be tough because what sites are you going to trust. Much like the DOS stuff, there are plenty of games that don't make it to modern systems. In that regard as well, there are also Japanese and European games that may intrigue people. With emulation, it exposes them to a bigger (or smaller) library that fit with a certain part of the world.
I'm not against emulation as I do think it's important. I do understand Nintendo's frustration, but to milk the same NES and SNES games for the fifth or so time, what's the purpose? I could understand GBA and up, but for 8 and 16, maybe 64 bit era games? The Japan offices of this company are out of touch with understanding fans and doing things. It's a losing battle. Emulation may have been given a big blow recently, but there will still be plenty of sites to find ROMs and ISOs.
While I understand they are within their rights to stop emulation and ROMs, Nintendo has done nothing. So far with the Switch, it has produced no classic games from their library of consoles. Sure, there's Donkey Kong, but that's the arcade game and Arcade Archives footing the bill. As far as EmuParadise goes, people have lost more than just the Nintendo stuff. It means losing every Sega system. PlayStation brands up to PSP. Basically, anything between the Atari 2600 up to PSP. Not only are those lost, but so are Arcade ROMs and DOS games, which is a major blow.
I target Arcade and DOS for a reason. The former, there aren't many arcades in the United States. Not to mention machines may not be well maintained. No one is going to fork over a lot of money just to get a board of OutRun or Final Fight. Regarding the latter, there are a lot of games that don't see the light of day on modern systems. The same can be said for consoles, but for computers, not every title is going to make it to GOG or Steam. Also, not everybody uses Virtual Machine or whatever they can do to use an older operating system.
Consoles don't have it bad, and I don't think it's a huge blow. That being said, I do think a word of caution is needed. One thing that helped EmuParadise was that it wasn't a torrent site and it didn't give you viruses or malware. It's going to be tough because what sites are you going to trust. Much like the DOS stuff, there are plenty of games that don't make it to modern systems. In that regard as well, there are also Japanese and European games that may intrigue people. With emulation, it exposes them to a bigger (or smaller) library that fit with a certain part of the world.
I'm not against emulation as I do think it's important. I do understand Nintendo's frustration, but to milk the same NES and SNES games for the fifth or so time, what's the purpose? I could understand GBA and up, but for 8 and 16, maybe 64 bit era games? The Japan offices of this company are out of touch with understanding fans and doing things. It's a losing battle. Emulation may have been given a big blow recently, but there will still be plenty of sites to find ROMs and ISOs.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
The Sports Voting Struggle
What happened to Terrell Owens should not have happened. He should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame two years ago instead of this year. There wouldn't have been any snubs or anything of that magnitude. It is the case of sportswriters having too much power.
The problem with these kind of writers is that they don't always look at just stats and success. In the case of Owens, I suspect they had a look at him putting on acts during games and I would say mainly his days in Philadelphia. If there is an issue with that, fine, but don't put up this personal grudge on someone who is in the top 5 in most wide receiver categories. And I'm saying that as someone that never really cared for Owens' personality. I kind of wonder about someone like Everson Walls. I hope people can look beyond The Catch and being a Dallas Cowboys player to see he had a good enough career as a corner to be considered for the Hall. The same can be said for other sports.
Some might want fans to vote. I'm not sure that would work either. Let's go to baseball for that example. Lots of people don't want to see Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the Hall of Fame. You give fans that kind of power, a lot of those people, even if some were listed but never used performance enhances, would lose a big chance to be in the Hall of Fame. Really, there's no easy solution to wanting specific players in or out of the Hall of Fame. Especially in baseball, with that godawful ten year limit and failing to reach certain percentages eliminating you for good.
I think the Owens thing is a one time thing. I don't think writers hold that strong of a grudge, but it's better than just having fans do the voting for now. I might intend on writing another blog about this whole thing regarding Owens, but for now, I don't think voting should be changed yet.
The problem with these kind of writers is that they don't always look at just stats and success. In the case of Owens, I suspect they had a look at him putting on acts during games and I would say mainly his days in Philadelphia. If there is an issue with that, fine, but don't put up this personal grudge on someone who is in the top 5 in most wide receiver categories. And I'm saying that as someone that never really cared for Owens' personality. I kind of wonder about someone like Everson Walls. I hope people can look beyond The Catch and being a Dallas Cowboys player to see he had a good enough career as a corner to be considered for the Hall. The same can be said for other sports.
Some might want fans to vote. I'm not sure that would work either. Let's go to baseball for that example. Lots of people don't want to see Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the Hall of Fame. You give fans that kind of power, a lot of those people, even if some were listed but never used performance enhances, would lose a big chance to be in the Hall of Fame. Really, there's no easy solution to wanting specific players in or out of the Hall of Fame. Especially in baseball, with that godawful ten year limit and failing to reach certain percentages eliminating you for good.
I think the Owens thing is a one time thing. I don't think writers hold that strong of a grudge, but it's better than just having fans do the voting for now. I might intend on writing another blog about this whole thing regarding Owens, but for now, I don't think voting should be changed yet.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Pac-Man 256 (PS4) Review
One of the most infamous levels of any
video game is level 256 of Pac-Man. It is a garbled up stage where
half of the level is messed up. Take that concept and rework the
classic formula and you get Pac-Man 256. It's gameplay manages to
stay refreshing to a tired concept and plays unique despite only
coming out in the last two to three years on phones, PC, and
consoles.
The idea of the game is to get a high
score, just like the 1980 classic. It is an endless loop with a huge
catch. Keep moving, because the glitched up screen is coming to get
you as well as the usual ghosts that want you dead. Have no fear, as
you have an assortment of powerups and some screen clearing moments
to move further away from the huge glitch.
It's graphics are very basic
considering this was originally on phones. There's nothing fancy
here. Being simple is not a bad thing. The audio is in that same
boat. It's music is a remix take of the intro before starting the
game along with the classic sound effects. This game offers on
consoles and the PC multiplayer. Up to four can play together.
If you're looking for something
different to the Pac-Man formula but still plays like the classics,
this is a game to try. It's that kind of game that will have trying
one more time to do better. Best to not play it every day unless you
don't get bored quickly.
Score: 8 out of 10
Friday, August 10, 2018
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Gunn's Out: A Huge Misstep?
A reason why I wait on stories of alleged harassment or controversy is because my gut tells me it is far from over. The James Gunn thing is something that is going to continue on for a good while. Disney fired him over some tweets he made years ago and I believe they were rape jokes. Now, he was set on doing a third Guardians of the Galaxy and I believe they were close to starting to shoot the film.
Like a number of stories, both sides of criticism and defense have come. A number of Guardians cast members have been in huge support. Most notably was Dave Bautista. These guys believe that Disney overreacted to this and should have looked into it and heard his side. It's to that point where articles recently have Bautista speaking about quitting his role in the new Guardians and potentially a new script could be in place, scrapping Gunn's script.
Obviously, rape jokes are not really funny, but that was a long time ago. People can change. Anyway, the offensive stuff was not going to fly with Disney. We're seeing baseball players in the news the last few weeks for the wrong reasons with offensive tweets. It's people trying to cause trouble, especially in an age of this MeToo garbage where the movement is often abusing the phrase for purposes and gain. I see this as a big blow to this Cinematic Universe and I kind of see this combined with the performance of Ant-Man 2 as the start of the decline of the modern Marvel film
This is far from over, but I don't think anyone is going to win over Disney. They are a tyrant with too much power and can do whatever they want.
Like a number of stories, both sides of criticism and defense have come. A number of Guardians cast members have been in huge support. Most notably was Dave Bautista. These guys believe that Disney overreacted to this and should have looked into it and heard his side. It's to that point where articles recently have Bautista speaking about quitting his role in the new Guardians and potentially a new script could be in place, scrapping Gunn's script.
Obviously, rape jokes are not really funny, but that was a long time ago. People can change. Anyway, the offensive stuff was not going to fly with Disney. We're seeing baseball players in the news the last few weeks for the wrong reasons with offensive tweets. It's people trying to cause trouble, especially in an age of this MeToo garbage where the movement is often abusing the phrase for purposes and gain. I see this as a big blow to this Cinematic Universe and I kind of see this combined with the performance of Ant-Man 2 as the start of the decline of the modern Marvel film
This is far from over, but I don't think anyone is going to win over Disney. They are a tyrant with too much power and can do whatever they want.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Thought on Game Sizes
No review today as I want to discuss an issue many gamers know about. You just got a game that you have been wanting to play for a while. Put it in your PS4, Xbox One, or Switch. Not a minute goes by where you have to let the thing download and install the file. What gives?
From the 70s, a lot of video games didn't hold much data. It was kilobytes, something that would continue on into the 90s where Genesis and Super NES games were still small. A little bigger but still in the kilo section. As file sizes got bigger, cartridges got more expensive, hence the 70 to 90 dollar games back in the early to mid 90s. Even with CD's, a lot of them had multiple discs as companies were trying to find ways to utilize the medium. Until the Saturn and PlayStation came, it was a mixed result.
With technology, it's obvious stuff gets bigger and bigger. A CD size was not enough by 2000 and the DVD started becoming the norm following the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2000 and 01 respectively. This is where instead of megabytes, we saw gigabytes. And that number has gotten higher with each new generation since to where the games now need download time. Personally, I don't see this going down anytime soon. It might get to the point where 200 gigabyte games might be the norm.
Computers suffer from the same thing, though it's mainly digital and the emphasis on using something like Steam or GOG. Discs are an afterthought, unfortunately. Stuff is not compressed and while that might be nice, it's not nice on people who may not have enough storage to do another download. PlayStation and Xbox have been able to compensate with very good storage size for the average person. Something like the Switch suffers from not having a huge storage size and the focus is getting SD cards if you are set on playing non-Nintendo games, which even something like Zelda takes up a good chunk of space.
It's following the same route as upgrading technology, though the leap in sizes will be much bigger. We just have to grin and bear it. Nothing is going to change, and we have to live through this for a very long time. Future generations will have it much worse long after we are gone from this planet.
From the 70s, a lot of video games didn't hold much data. It was kilobytes, something that would continue on into the 90s where Genesis and Super NES games were still small. A little bigger but still in the kilo section. As file sizes got bigger, cartridges got more expensive, hence the 70 to 90 dollar games back in the early to mid 90s. Even with CD's, a lot of them had multiple discs as companies were trying to find ways to utilize the medium. Until the Saturn and PlayStation came, it was a mixed result.
With technology, it's obvious stuff gets bigger and bigger. A CD size was not enough by 2000 and the DVD started becoming the norm following the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2000 and 01 respectively. This is where instead of megabytes, we saw gigabytes. And that number has gotten higher with each new generation since to where the games now need download time. Personally, I don't see this going down anytime soon. It might get to the point where 200 gigabyte games might be the norm.
Computers suffer from the same thing, though it's mainly digital and the emphasis on using something like Steam or GOG. Discs are an afterthought, unfortunately. Stuff is not compressed and while that might be nice, it's not nice on people who may not have enough storage to do another download. PlayStation and Xbox have been able to compensate with very good storage size for the average person. Something like the Switch suffers from not having a huge storage size and the focus is getting SD cards if you are set on playing non-Nintendo games, which even something like Zelda takes up a good chunk of space.
It's following the same route as upgrading technology, though the leap in sizes will be much bigger. We just have to grin and bear it. Nothing is going to change, and we have to live through this for a very long time. Future generations will have it much worse long after we are gone from this planet.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Papa Loves Losing
I don't think I've ever seen a pizza franchise get into as much trouble and lose so much as Papa John's has in the last year or so. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter, they have been a really huge sponsor to sporting events, tons of commercials with the founder. That being said, Schnatter's mouth has got him losing NFL sponsorship. Baseball is stopping promotions. His own company is doing whatever is necessary to prevent him from getting back into power following last month's resignation as CEO. This is all on him and plenty of concern is arising regarding using slurs a while back.
When you think football and pizza, you think mostly Papa John's because of the commercials they plaster every commercial break. Schnatter's thoughts on the NFL anthem protests is what hurt him and started this decline. Some think there is an image problem with the company. I actually agree. I think they have to revamp themselves and try to change the image that they have suffered with since last October. I see higher ups getting nervous and making sure he has no involvement with the brand anymore. Schnatter is going to fight tooth and nail against the thing he founded and ensure the power he has had for a very long time.
Honestly, it is time for a new era. It is also time to find someone else as CEO. Whether that would be one of Schnatter's kids or someone who still has strong faith in the product, I don't know. Whatever they do, they have to think quick and come up with a solution that can stop the bleeding. Papa John's ain't going down quickly, but it needs time to pick up the pieces. And I think it starts with removing Schnatter's face and image all over their promotions and boxes. Everything. A clean restart may not be a bad thing.
When you think football and pizza, you think mostly Papa John's because of the commercials they plaster every commercial break. Schnatter's thoughts on the NFL anthem protests is what hurt him and started this decline. Some think there is an image problem with the company. I actually agree. I think they have to revamp themselves and try to change the image that they have suffered with since last October. I see higher ups getting nervous and making sure he has no involvement with the brand anymore. Schnatter is going to fight tooth and nail against the thing he founded and ensure the power he has had for a very long time.
Honestly, it is time for a new era. It is also time to find someone else as CEO. Whether that would be one of Schnatter's kids or someone who still has strong faith in the product, I don't know. Whatever they do, they have to think quick and come up with a solution that can stop the bleeding. Papa John's ain't going down quickly, but it needs time to pick up the pieces. And I think it starts with removing Schnatter's face and image all over their promotions and boxes. Everything. A clean restart may not be a bad thing.
Friday, August 3, 2018
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