Panic Attack....

Wow. That is quite the intro on Expert Bass. I mean, I'm not terrible at the game; I hacked my way through Battery and Peace Sells on Expert Bass on my first time through, but that intro just absolutely destroyed me. I wish I had time to practice...that is all that is keeping me from finishing the Impossible Bass Challenge in Rock Band 2.

This may take me a while:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Jq41yYN4M

Hellboy Fail

I like superhero movies.

A lot.

I'll watch just about anything that is a superhero movie. And I usually watch them with my son (with a few exceptions -- he just is not old enough to handle The Dark Knight yet). We've watched X-Men movies, Spider-man movies, Superman movies, Fantastic 4 movies, Justice League on DVD, The Batman on TV -- just about everything. Good, bad, indifferent -- we'll try anything.

So the other night we sit down to watch Hellboy. It has Nazis, inter-dimensional demons, guys with giant guns, mind-readers and just about everything else you could want in it.

After 45m, my son turns to me and says "I'm bored. Can we watch Wall-E instead?" And I couldn't really argue with him.

We could probably have an extended conversation about how a movie with no dialogue for the first 30m is more entertaining to an 8-year old than a superhero action movie, but I think it probably speaks for itself.

Bailout passes Senate

Not a lot to read yet. People seem to be cautious about it passing the House, but at this point I bet it will.

It is interesting that a situation like this brings out the PANIC extremists on both sides. I am always nervous about any decision driven by fear and lack of information. Even if action is required, an action driven by fear is likely to be worse than the actual problem. (And yes, I'm familiar with the concept of "a good action now is better than a perfect action later"; I am just not convinced this is even a good action).

The universe did not implode

So, Congress did not spend $700 Billion of our money. In fact, they went on vacation today. And the universe did not implode.
I think they should stay on vacation a little longer and really really think about what they are going to do with the economic situation.
But I like what they have done so far.

San Diego vs. Denver...worst announcing ever?

So, after the referees blow the fumble call and Denver scores the touchdown to pull to 38-37, the Broncos decide to go for 2 and the win instead of 1 and overtime. The announcers then go off about how this is not as safe a taking the point and going to overtime, even though there is a 60% or better chance of gaining 2 yards and the win, while overtime gives you a 50/50 shot at even getting the ball.

Even better, when Denver does get the 2 point conversion, one of the announcers starts yelling "Denver wins!"...with 24 seconds still left on the clock. At least the other announcers had the decency to just ignore that.

I don't even like either of these teams; I just would like the paid professionals whose job it is to inform us about the game to have a better clue of what is going on than I do watching at home.

Rock Band Wii

April, Payton and I are having a ball playing through the game together. I play drums (on Easy, still), and we are moving along very nicely and having a lot of fun. We are planning to pick up the first Track Pack when it comes out and hope there are plenty more. Worth every penny.

Solving Problems

The question “What shall we do about it?” is only asked by those who do not understand the problem. If a problem can be solved at all, to understand it and to know what to do about it are the same thing. On the other hand, doing something about a problem which you do not understand is like trying to clear away darkness by thrusting it aside with your hands. When light is brought, the darkness vanishes at once.
— The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts. p.75

One is done! Now on to Raining Blood

One has been conquered, or at least held at bay by a 3-star rating.

I'm working up to beating Raining Blood. It just feels a little too much like work.

ARGH!

I just finished 99% of One on Hard. I lost my rhythm on the last set of fast strum notes, and got booed off at almost the last second.

This does give me hope that I can do it.

Guitar Hero 4 Thoughts

As if my opinion matters:

There is no need to increase the difficulty any more. There is a good shot of losing a large portion of the audience (like my wife and son) if the game continues to increase in arbitrary difficulty. We play the game to enjoy the music more than anything else.

Metal is not the only genre with great guitar music. Please keep selecting from a broad range of styles and artists. Introducing some blues guitar and even some country guitarists would only improve things, even if they were on the bonus song list.

In career mode and quick play, let me play either guitar or bass/rhythm for each song. Track my score and star totals individually. Make the guitar the only one that is required to pass a tier. Don't make me go to coop or practice to play bass.