Category: Musings

Depressed Doggy… Also Depressed Me…

So a week has passed since I stayed at home. Spent more time with the dog indoors keeping me company, but only got to take her out for a walk once or twice this past week. Not necessarily in the mood for the great outdoors… honestly can’t blame her.

For my part, I’ve been doing alright. Other than a nagging cough that has been with me since the dawn of time – or so it seems – I’m weathering this whole thing fairly fine and I’ve been able to run a few errands here and there while taking care of the folks. I have to be honest, though; I dread stepping outside these days. Not just because of the pandemic, but also because the general atmosphere is a little worse for wear.

Being on an island that makes up for half of Quebec’s cases is bad enough to warrant certain crowd control methods to maintain physical distancing and some places have proven to do a good job of this. Other places, like the groceries and larger department stores selling essentials, still need work. For my part, I try to keep my distance. If I see a crowded lane, I avoid it completely and look for an opening, or wait for one to clear… I try to keep my distance and yet nobody else cares.

Montreal, as of this writing, is in a state of emergency. A great majority of public spaces are closed off until further notice. Places where I would go for a walk to clear my head and just get away from people are no longer accessible. I am barely holding it together and it scares me shitless… especially considering that nobody has bothered to explain which parts of Montreal I should avoid going to since this is a fairly sizable chunk of land.

All of a sudden… this one island, one city bullshit people were pushing a decade or so back…. nah, it was stupid back then even. Dumb fucks.

All you folks on the front lines – the health care workers, the store employees, and likewise – you have my utmost respect for dealing with this shit and putting on a brave face while doing it. I honestly couldn’t do what you do daily and if anything, you are much more courageous than I could ever hope to be.

Yeah, I think I’ve said enough now. I’m off to bed.

YouTube Embeds Not Working

So the old YouTube Embeds aren’t working for some reason. Whenever I try to run a video, I end up getting an error message. However, the video itself works fine when you’re watching it off the Youtube page itself or appropriate YouTube app.

It’s not just my stuff, either. I’ve tried other video embeds on other sites and I got the same problem.
I’m wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that I updated my video drivers and that I’d need to restart. Who knows?
But then, if that’s the case, why are the Dailymotion embeds working fine?
Anyway, I’ll let you folks know if anything changes on that front. In the meantime, I’ve got reviews to finalize and prep for the next little bit. With any luck, the first review should up tomorrow.

UPDATE 3:02 P.M.
The embeds work now… not so much this morning, but whatever the issue was seems to have been resolved. Thank goodness for small favors.

New review tomorrow.

Desensitized By Twitter

So we’re in the middle of a very serious, very unsettling period in our world.

We have a rapidly spreading pandemic that has claimed the lives of thousands and have infected a hundred thousand more. Our way of life have been disrupted as a result with the closures of major public institutions, the cancellations of live events, and in sweeping lockdowns. And with news of panic buying and concerns over the slightest of symptoms… things are pretty grim.
Over on the Twitter world, there’s a thing going on urging people to stay at home. It’s a thing that’s trending at the moment. Most notably, people are amazed that this serious thing that’s been claiming lives isn’t being taken more seriously by the general public.

I’m not surprised that people aren’t taking something being pushed as urgent on Twitter seriously… partly because it’s Twitter and more often than not, it’s populated by idiots… but also, something else comes to mind… maybe we’re just desensitized by Twitter and the social media bubble.

Think about it… something relatively minor turns up; whether it’d be a critical viewpoint of something beloved or a naughty thing that someone said years ago suddenly popping up – it usually results in a Twitter uproar. Things of sociological and political natures – no matter how minor – result in protests and online petitions and stuff that in the grand scheme of things, don’t matter or are approached in a way that a lot of noise is made over nothing.

It seems like every other day, there is a big controversial nature that starts trending on Twitter and everyone jumps on the bandwagon in agreement, all for the sake of more likes. So when something like this comes along and it’s something that you need to take really seriously, but you ultimately don’t because every blow-up that came before was over something so trivial and pointless that this ends up being something that’s trivial and pointless.

And this is not me saying that treating others equally regardless of sex, race, or orientation is trivial – I’d love to live in a world where everyone is treated as humans and not branded with labels – but rather, this is a plea to the so-called social groups who cause outrage because of a single word in a piece of fiction that doesn’t matter to tone it down a little. This is a plea to the folks who live their lives on social media platforms to show a little restraint and thought into your posts that doesn’t come across as something that’s posted for the sake of a few likes.

What I’m trying to say is… don’t treat every minor piece of business like it’s a big colossal disaster. Because when a real big colossal disaster comes along, nobody is going to care.

Use social media to keep track of your loved ones, the news as it happens, to keep informed on this pandemic that’s going, and basically not to be an ass. There’ll be plenty of times down the road where being an ass will be fine for a lark, but this isn’t it.

And while you’re at it, try not be an ass in the real world, either. My faith in humanity chips away each time I see obese women fight over toilet paper that they shouldn’t be hording in the first place.

That’s all I got for today… I’ll see about getting another video up sooner or later.

Taking Its Toll On The World

So the NBA and NHL have suspended the remainder of their seasons until further notice. Major League Baseball has also postponed their season kick-off. E3 has been cancelled. A lot of little wrestling shows are postponing or outright cancelling their events until further notice. Some major corporations are having their employees work from home. Broadways are cancelled until further notice. Movies are being pushed back to later dates. Some sporting events are going ahead with empty arena shows. And the United States has instituted a 30-day travel ban to and from Europe and its denizens. Even some folks are calling in sick for the sake of self-isolating themselves from the rest of the world.

If this isn’t a sign that what we’re witnessing is to be taken seriously, then I don’t know what is.

Meanwhile, you have dumb shits panic buying supplies by the dozen, leaving nothing but empty space and shit, all the while defeating the purpose of closing down public centers and cancelling events that might bring in more than a couple hundred people.

Look, I don’t have the words to properly convey or comfort anyone facing this latest obstacle in life. Either you’re off the hook, you’re infected, or you know someone who may have contracted this virus.

All I can say is be careful out there, take good care of yourselves, wash your hands, avoid unnecessary prolonged contact or crowded spaces, and most of all, don’t give in to panic and mass hysteria. Stay informed, stay safe, and wash your hands.

Also, stay away from Twitter. Twitter is shit. Especially now.

Own A 3DS? Get Mega Man Legacy Collection For A Few Bucks…

Source: https://www.siliconera.com/mega-man-eshop-sale-covers-almost-major-entry/

So, for the next couple weeks and in light of the Mega Man Zero/ZX series getting their own Legacy Collection, the Nintendo eShop has discounted lots of its Mega Man titles on the Switch… but the most notable is that the 3DS version of Mega Man Legacy Collection is now $5.99 for a limited time, down from its original $14.99. Now, honestly, that’s a way better deal than buying each of the individual Virtual Console releases, which aren’t discounted.

For what it’s worth, the 3DS doesn’t have any of the updates that the console and PC versions got; the controversial Rewind feature as well as the Turbo function, which eliminated all the slowdown. However, there is amiiboo support or whatever it’s called… so that’s something.

That Bandwagon Is Heavy

It’s another controversy at Saudi Arabia… what happened this time? Another international incident? More propaganda gone wrong? Too much female skin was exposed?

No, the controversy is that 527-year-old Bill Goldberg made his return to WWE and beat Bray Wyatt for the WWE Blue Belt… apparently, people are upset by this, so much so that they’ve threatened to cancel their WWE Network subscriptions.
Cool story, bro.
This is WWE’s Seniors Tour, where Undertaker shows up at a gauntlet match as the last entrant and wins the match without ever taking off his hat and coat. This is where Miz and John Morrison are once again tag-team champions. This is where the old guys will have the most spotlight because they’re the bigger stars and everyone else on the roster are a bunch of geeks who look like idiots in comparison.

I read the results for the show and I’m laughing my ass off at all the fake outrage. People upset by Brock Lesnar squashing Ricochet or Undertaker winning a thing at the last minute or Goldberg beating the Fiend? Why? I find out all these things and I shrug; none of these things surprise me. Ricochet is a geek that was disposed of as such, Undertaker/AJ might be a match at Mania and this could be the first step towards that, and Goldberg winning the title gives us Take 376,275,371,879 of the Roman Reigns coronation as the “main guy” at Wrestlemania because THIS TIME FOR SURE!

I’m not upset by this turn of events, I’m not going to cancel the Network as a result of this turn of events, and I’m certainly not going to join the latest trending bandwagon on Twitter to post some fake outrage just so I can get a bunch of likes. This is why I don’t take Twitter seriously, because more often than not, the outrage is genuine; it’s just a bunch of dipshits parroting the popular opinion for them likes and then they move on to the next fake controversy while all the genuine issues get overlooked because I’m twitting on the twitter like a fucking twit.

Bray Wyatt will be fine, kids. Sure, he lost the belt to an old guy. So what? Sooner or later, you’ll forget this happen and he’ll be back to his usual red light district self in no time. He doesn’t need the title for that sort of thing.

They want to build up Wrestlemania as a big deal and so they bring back all the old stars who were big stars because nobody gives a shit about their current ones. It’s a harsh reality that a WWE fan who has been watching this company for years on end needs to come to terms with because it’s going to be a thing for a good long while. The current main event scene that populates your weekly programming are talented individuals who are saddled with horrendous material that presents them more as geeks than big time stars. It’s been like this for years and it will continue to be like this. And on the one chance they fluke on a good idea, it’s only a matter of time before they ruin that too.

It’s largely why I kept away from modern WWE programming; it’s too easy to be cynical about their storytelling and presentation. It’s quite telling that we’re about to roll into March and I’ve yet to watch the Royal Rumble in its entirety. Hell, it’s perhaps even more telling that I’m not really all that excited for Wrestlemania. If anything, I’m more hyped for the next AEW PPV – whose top programs comprise largely former WWE guys – than I am this year’s Wrestlemania; a scenario that I didn’t think was fathomable.

In any event, that’s over and done with. I’m sure WWE will find a way to give this latest Mania card something worth looking forward to… but I gotta be honest. I don’t like their chances.

Maybe what this show needs is more Shane McMahon…

Never mind.

BOOM Studios Staff Says There's Too Many Comics On Shelves

Source: https://www.newsarama.com/49124-boom-says-too-many-comics-in-direct-market-publishers-need-to-earn-space-on-shelves.html

Came across a rather hilarious piece of business recently that I thought was worth talking about briefly here.

A Newsarama interview with BOOM! Studios’ President of Publishing & Marketing Filip Sablik and Retail Sales Coordinator Morgan Perry revealed their beliefs that there are too many comics on direct market store shelves and that publishers need to earn their space on said shelves. Now, to clarify, the interview itself isn’t too bad – they did mention that BOOM had to reduce the number of titles they have in the works to focus on the quality of their remaining books. That’s actually something to be commended upon and an attitude most publishers should take on. Instead of releasing a billion books to the market, just release a few that are going to sell and focus on those.

However, BOOM! Studios is also the company that has a billion variant covers for each issue of their Power Rangers comic, which no doubt contributes to there being too much product occupying store shelves. Quite frankly, there’s no reason to have a billion variants to what would’ve been an otherwise run-of-the-mill comic when one or two would suffice. And some of these alternate covers are just the laziest things ever conceived, whether it’d be the “action figure” covers or the Cardzillion-based card covers. Not to mention… are the stuff they’re currently running with really worth occupying that precious yet overcrowded direct market shelf space?

As an aside, I want to also post a transcript of a speech given by Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson during the annual ComicsPROl membership meeting. He’s got an interesting and refreshing take on the ailments of the comic industry as well as offering some possible solutions on how to fix it. There’re some points that I agree with and some points that I don’t, but it’s a fascinating read, regardless.

Said transcript can be found here:
https://www.newsarama.com/28069-image-publishr-talks-at-comics-pro.html

Ataribox Delayed Again… This Time Due To Coronavirus

Source: https://us.blastingnews.com/gaming/2020/02/atari-vcs-console-delayed-yet-again-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak-003063581.html

Anyone remember Ataribox? Of course, you don’t, but here’s the latest update for those who care.

IndieGoGo backers who contributed close to three million dollars to the Ataribox crowdfunding campaign and hoping to receive their brand spanking new systems next month after several delays… will have to wait a little longer since the release has been delayed again. This time due to the recent Coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over 1000 lives to date and it’ll be a while before the production plants will resume operations.

This is not the sort of thing you’d like to make a joke around; clearly, this latest delay in a series of them is out of the hands of Atari. It’s nature at work in this regard. But if the Coronavirus is a legit reason for the delay and not just a cover story for a delay that was going to happen anywhere – because I’m sure some folks will feel that – but I will give Atari the benefit of the doubt and assume the delay is nature’s fault.

So, hopefully, once everything is settled, Atari can get to release the console that they sold to people… and hopefully not delay the thing again because they need to defer money to their hotel business.

Think I’m joking? Boom.
https://hoteltechnologynews.com/2020/02/in-launching-its-first-hotels-featuring-immersive-virtual-reality-experiences-atari-isnt-playing-games/

Fired Up The WWE Network For The First Time In Weeks

Much to my personal astonishment, I have not spent much time on the WWE Network as of late. The last item that was on my watchlist was a WCW All Nighter special uploaded as a hidden gem, which was basically a five-hour long look back at the top matches of the various Clash Of The Champions network specials.

Also, much to my personal astonishment, I did not have to sign in to WWE Network, which had been case every time I’d load up the app on my Apple TV. So there was that.

So I made a point to sit down and watch this year’s Royal Rumble, which I’ve heard was alright for the most part… however, my mind strayed and I ended up watching an old WWF Pay-Per-View event called “The Wrestling Classic.”

At the end of it all, I almost regret not watching the Rumble like I planned.