Totalitarian Vegetables

I don't think I've ever really talked about Haley on this journal. I know that I have mentioned her before, but nothing really substantial. Personally, I believe that entire books should be written about her. Unfortunately, I don't have the necessary talent or skill to do her justice. So, I will do what I can. She does deserve the best.

(My best friend)

Hay, I love you. Thanks for being so good to me for so long.

A couple thoughts:

 

Jim Halpert loves Pam Halpert like no man has ever loved another woman.

 

I won't apologize for being mega excited about Avatar.

 

I just bought the greatest item in living human history.

 

Dwight Schrute is superhuman.

 

Ocarina of Time is still my favorite videogame ever.

 

I'm very tempted to pre-order Dragon Age: Origins.

 

Beyond that, it's nice to be employed again. 

 

 

For the last few days, there has been something on my mind.  I'll remember it as I sit down at my desk for training, or while I'm driving home from work.  But, inevitably, I forget by the time I get to my computer to type it up.  So, I'm taking this time to type out some random thoughts in the hope that it will come to me.  

I finished Season Five of The Office.  I'm not sure how I felt about the last few episodes, save Company Picnic.  The season finale was incredible and nigh perfect.  Then, the first episode of Season Six not only delighted the hell out of me, but it completely blew my mind.  The one after that felt really disjointed to me.  But, all in all, I am still pleased.

I've read three volumes of Flight, a really neat collection of indie-style short comics.  Some of them are fantastic, some of the pretentious, and some just plain bizarre.  I like them, though.

My little brother-six years younger- got married last weekend.  I flew up to Pennsylvania to Best Man it up.  It was great wedding, very nice.  Our old pastor from the good ol' days officiated, and it went off without a hitch.  Well, there was one hitch.  Ohhhh, I'm so clever.

Trackmania is a fun little free game.  You can get it on Steam, and it looks and plays great.  Crash Course, the recent DLC for Left 4 Dead, is a disappointment, and I get a little more disappointed everytime I play through it.  On a related note, I truly need to resubscribe to PC Gamer.

Community kinda blows.  The only things it has going for it are Donald Glover from Derrick Comedy and the girl who plays Annie.  Everyone else is uniformly terrible.  I would say that I expected better from Chevy Chase, but, really, I don't.  Not anymore.

There's a guy in my training class who looks, sounds, and smells like Creed Bratton.  Not nearly as awesome, though.  In fact, I can hear him chomping and crunching on Doritos, right now.  FROM ACROSS THE ROOM.  Also, he's staring at me.  That's weird.

We went to Jay Blanchard park on Sunday.  It was a really nice day.  Crisp.  Which means that I not only got to wear a jacket, but I was able to wear Dad's fedora that I brought home with me from Keith's wedding.  I love that hat.  And, Dad looked really good in it.   It's nice to have something of his, something to remind me of him.  He died almost seven years ago, and it still hurts like he died yesterday.  I kinda like it like that.  I don't ever want to forget.

There's a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon movie called Turtles Forever coming out soon.  In it, the turtles from the 80's meet up with the turtles from the 00's for hilarious high-jinks and awesomeness.  Here's a clip from Comic Con: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqbjIrMznBA&feature=player_embedded

For training, I have to get up before the sun does. That sucks.

Oh, I think I remembered what it is that I keep forgetting!

As with many other places, Friday here is Casual Friday.  I wore my regular work clothes: black dress pants, blue button shirt, and a black tie.  The girl who sits next to me remarked, "No Casual Friday for you, huh?"

"Nah," I said.  "It's not really my thing."

I have a couple reasons for this.  First, Casual Friday is super goofy.  It's like Wear-Your-Pajamas-To-School Day.  It's hard to put my finger on it, but it always seemed to me to be vaguely insincere.  Like, someone who doesn't really ever wear anything but suits decided it would be a 'fun and hip' idea. 

I also don't like to mix my personal life with my work life.  I had this problem at Genewize, too.  The person I am at work is vastly different from the real me.  My job is not my life.  Not yet, anyway.  Someday, yes.  Now, no.  I don't want to come to work wearing my normal clothes and wear that plastic CASUAL FRIDAY! smile.  It seems false to me.  

And, lastly, I have never really worked or been a part of an organization that I am really dedicated to.  I will do my job, I will do it well.  I will do it incredibly well.  But, I will -not- give myself over to it in a personal way.  Not in my current job, not in previous ones-save Pronto- and definitely not in the Camarilla.

So, yeah.  I've over-analyzed, over-thought, and over-reacted to Casual Friday.  I see that.

Still not gonna do it.

From the Witcher homepage:

 

 

There’s been a huge interest over our promotional Witcher 2 video that leaked last week. I think it’s best if we straighten few things out.

1. Does the leaked video show final or close to final product quality?
As Adam (CD Projekt RED CEO) noted in our response to the leak, the video was created using a very early alpha version of The Witcher 2 and therefore does not represent the final quality of the game in any way. Basically, the video was created six months ago to show the game to the potential publishers, and a lot has changed since that time. Moreover, the movie does not even touch the main aspect of the game, which is it’s story. We put all our efforts into making the story even more exciting and captivating, giving our fans exactly what they expect.

2. I don’t like Geralt’s voice. Are those final voiceovers for the game?
After seeing the video many of you worried about the quality of voiceovers and the different voices used by lead characters. We’re proud that our team members can imitate native English actors so well that some people would even consider these VOs being part of the final product . However, we are not planning to change RED into the world’s first non-native recording studio for English movies and games by using non-native non-actors. Don’t worry, we’ll stay in our day jobs. The voices in the video are not in any way final, and were only created for the purposes of the video. By the way - personally, I don’t like Geralt’s voice in this movie either .

3. Will the developers of The Witcher be involved in The Witcher 2?
The Witcher 2 is being developed by the same team which was responsible for the first one with some minor changes (50+ people remain from The Witcher’s development). It is true that there were some cuts in the development department at CD Projekt, but those were mostly connected with freezing development of The Witcher: Rise of The White Wolf.

4. What is the release date?
We haven’t established a release date yet. It will be announced together with our future publisher. However, please do not expect the game too soon. The Witcher 2 is still deeply in the development stage and as it is huge and complex, there is still many, many hours of work in front of us.

5. When we will see more materials from the game?
Except for this FAQ we do not plan any materials to be released soon. An official trailer and other stuff will be done with our publisher, and it won’t be very soon. Sorry.

6. What engine will be used in The Witcher 2?
The game does not use the Aurora Engine anymore. We developed a brand new engine dedicated to creating games with the design and features we love. The new engine is fully scalable and, well… kicks ass. We believe it will let us avoid all bottlenecks we came across during development of the first Witcher. Exact engine specifications, features and name will be revealed after the official announcement.

7. What platform will the game be released on?Although PC is certain choice we made regarding platforms for The Witcher 2, we also want to release the console version. More information will come after official announcement of the game.

Final Word. Despite the fact that we did not want to publish this video, we’re happy with the huge interest it gained. As always, please let us do everything we can not to disappoint you. Thanks a lot.

Stay tuned!
Tom Gop
Senior Producer
CD Projekt RED

 

Like I said, I'm really impressed by this company.

I realized that CD Projekt Red is a company that I can really respect.  They released one of the best RPGs I've ever played, The Witcher.  And it's a fairly mature offering, even the hamstrung US release.  Then, free of charge to all owners of the game, they release an Enhanced Edition patch.  Improving load times, textures, voice-work, and models, as well as including bonus content such as adventure modules, making of videos, a map, and a short story by the author.  Even still, they release a Director's Cut that restores all cut content from the original US release, plus more adventure modules.   Again, free of charge. 

 

And, today, I saw this comment on the website:

 

“Of course, we can’t and won’t try to deny the facts. The movie that appeared on the various sites yesterday presents our newest project, The Witcher 2, which we’ve been working on for some time. We made something about half year ago, to present the first playable version of the game.” said Adam Kicinski, CEO of CD Projekt RED. “Currently we are looking for a potential publisher (or publishers) for this title, and this leak is an uncontrolled side effect of that process. For today, we are not commenting on anything that concerns the game itself.”

More information about The Witcher 2 will be unveiled alongside the official announcement

 

 

To me, that just seems like the classy thing to do.  

And to top it all off, they've given us Good Old Games. 

 

When Ryan Reynolds was announced as the Green Lantern, I thought he was totally the wrong actor for the role.  Then, I saw that Martin Campbell was directing.  Therefore, I'll give a shot. 

 

Even though I really don't care for GL.

Scientists find the first extrasolar solid planet.

It’s quiet, now, Harlan Lincoln.  You’ve won. 

 

Sinner.

 

Walk.  Run.  Move faster!  You carry this weapon in your hand.  Its weight is unfamiliar, its shape barely remembered. 

 

Civilian.

 

Tighten your grip.  Check the safety- off.  Move quickly!  Move silently!  There is at least one more.  Surprise is your only hope.  You’re too tired and too weak and you don’t know if you have any skin left on your back.    The nightmare that walked in your skin won’t help you now.  It’s just you. 

 

FASTER.

 

There, resting on the counter in the medbay.  The Captain’s shotgun.  Your Captain.  You heard her scream.  Follow it. 

 

You have the shotgun.  You haven’t fired a weapon in six years.  Remember its kick.  Remember the spread, you want to be close. 

 

A pistol and a shotgun.  It’ll have to be good enough.

 

Check your corners, marine.

 

Civilian.

 

There.  The leader.  Move quietly.  You can do this. 

 

A flurry of movement.  It’s the doctor.  Hold your fire.  Get closer.  You can hear the other captain speaking.  It doesn’t matter. 

 

“Hey,” you say.  He sees you.  He sees the gun.  He surrenders.  Others swarm out.  Somebody takes the pistol.  They bind the man, Vetrone.  You don’t see them move past you.  They are alive.

 

You see the Captain.  Your Captain.  She’s hurt.

 

She needs you.  She doesn’t belong her, laying in a pool of blood.  Her blood, his blood, their blood. 

 

The Captain belongs in the bridge.  At her proper place.  The command chair. 

 

Take her where she belongs.

 

You see her.  She barely acknowledges you.  Doesn’t matter.  This is important.  You pick her up, she’s not heavy.  Left arm under her leg, right across her back.  She loops her left arm around your neck.  She looks at you.  Her eyes see into yours.  She understands.

 

“Come on, Captain.”

 

She nods.  The shotgun lays across her stomach.  You carry her out.  Past Gully, the doctor, past Sadie.  Down the corridor.  Past medbay.  Into the bridge.  You carry her.  Her strength flows into you.  You will not falter.  You will not fall.  You will be strong, because she is your Captain.  And she needs you.  You are strong.  Your arms are tireless. 

 

You set her gently, tenderly in her command chair.  You put the shotgun across her lap.  Weary, wounded eyes search out yours.  She’s grateful.  You understand.

 

“This is where you belong, Captain.”  Again, she nods.  You’ve done the right thing.  It’ll all be okay, now.  The Captain is where she belongs. 

 

Your Captain.

 

Everything will be okay.

 

You remember the lieutenant.  Shame and misery clench your soul.  Guilt digs its claws into your heart.  Black, vile loathing creeps over your mind.

 

Your Captain straightens. 

 

Everything will be okay.

(Cross-posted)

SPACE

(Fair warning, this is pretty R-rated.)