I have no words… especially since others have put it more eloquently and more thoughtfully than I ever could. However, I did get a chuckle out of the confusion brought about by Twitter users who were confusing Robin Williams with Robbie Williams and vice-versa. Some could understandably consider this poor taste, but thinking about it another way, Mr. Williams was a comedian. I’m sure he would’ve found the whole bit amusing as well.
Godspeed, Mr. Williams.
On 27 July, 1914, troops from the Austro-Hungarian Empire crossed the Serbian border at the town of Mitrovitza. These were the first shots of World War I. This skirmish predates Austria-Hungary’s actual declaration of war the next day. The war lasted 1,569 days, ending with an armistice on 11 November, 1918.
In total, there were 16,543,868 lives lost in the conflict. A moment of silence for their passing.
It’s hard to find the words to convey the kind of feelings that’s running through my mind in the hours since I’ve learned of Bill Moody’s passing. And even as I type this entry, I find that there are no words that can properly convey those feelings and thoughts on an individual who I am only familiar with through his television performances…
And really, what can be said about a man who has not only had a long and distinguished career in the professional wrestling industry, but who has been an instrumental figure in contributing to the success and continually growing legend of WWE’s most iconic figure. The Undertaker character would not have reached the mythical status it achieved without Paul Bearer’s masterful talent to sell the gimmick and certainly no one else could have used that talent to bear fruit another long-term character in the form of Kane.
Whether he was known as Percy Pringle III or Paul Bearer or whatever, there’s no question that Bill Moody had that natural charisma and ability to bring the talent he managed to a higher level. And it is a profound loss that he is no longer with us. He will be missed.
Godspeed, Bill, and thanks for the memories.
(2015 Update: Replaced the old, deleted video with the DTM Archives version, which includes an additional annotation regarding a major player in this game.)
2011 in Review and a final 2011 VLOG is coming tomorrow…
I was just getting back from personal business when I got the news that Randy Savage had died. It was a shock to hear about that. And perhaps, it’s one that hurts quite a bit… because this was not just a moderately successful superstar wrestler nor is he someone dabbled in the main event scene. This is a legend… one of the true greats in professional wrestling. Someone who was as close to being the Total Package as you can get when it comes to that form of sports entertainment. He had the look, he had the voice, he had the moves, and most importantly, he had the charisma and the personality that really made him stand out and made people take notice… and clearly, a lot of people took notice for him to have gotten the name recognition that he did… and deservingly so.
Whether it was his classic matches or his classic insane rambling promos that half the time we didn’t understand what he was saying but who cares because this guy’s cool… or whether it was his classic Slim Jim commercials that actually got me to try out Slim Jims for the first and possibly last time… or his three-minute-cameo in the first Spider-Man movie nine years ago… or hell, even his rap album that he tossed out around the same time… it was one of those cases where no matter how good or how bad the final product turned out, you couldn’t help but feel that he gave it his all and that he gave it his best shot… and I think that effort and that passion showed in a lot of the stuff he did. For the most part, his stuff never felt phoned in… even during recent years when he was showing off his new action figure at the Comicon or cutting a promo for the WWE All-Stars game.
This is a man who deserved to be in that Hall of Fame of theirs… and the only sad thing is that he never got that chance due to whatever petty politics that held off such a thing.
Thanks for the memories, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. You shall be missed.
Can I get a “Oooooooo Yeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh!”
So I downloaded Mega Man 10 for WiiWare and beat the whole thing… in Normal Mode. My performance is also crap, but I’ve got enough footage to put together a montage of gameplay clips (That clip’s available on my YouTube channel – hard to miss). Nothing spoiler warning. All in all, this is a smooth follow-up to Mega Man 9 with some rather interesting level design. A fun, well-designed game, although there isn’t really much new. If you want my full thoughts, just click the break. I warn you; there are spoilers.
– So much like the previous game, there’s downloadable content, including three new stages for Time Attack, the Endless Run mode, and the worst kept secret ever… Bass mode. Yes, Bass is your third character and he seems to retain his anal abilities from his brief run on Mega Man & Bass. They even mention him in the Mega Man 10 instruction manual. All this wonderful stuff is supposed to be out in April.
– Certain stages have alternate paths you can access, much like in Mega Man 6. Although these paths rejoin at a certain point, the variety is helpful and it gives the levels a bit more depth.
– In another worst kept secret, Dr. Wily is the one behind the Roboenza virus epidemic and therefore you must venture through quite possibly the most intimidating Skull Castle ever devised. The first Wily level is particularly devious, as you’ll be facing “old foes from previous games” in three separate battles. Honestly, it’s actually one of the most clever things they’d ever come up with and a respectable nod to the series’ history.
– Proto Man plays pretty much like he did in 9; possesses charge shot, slide, and airborne shield, but only two shots on screen, double damage, and a slightly farther knockback. The knock back isn’t as far as in 9, though. Also, they redrew the shield so that it’s about as big as a Sniper Joe’s shield. I had to replay 9 to be sure and there you go. Also, Proto Man also has a shop, but it’s different and contains few items… nice addition of Tango, though.
That’s about it for now. Again, a great game… but…
So I downloaded Mega Man 10 for WiiWare and beat the whole thing… in Normal Mode. My performance is also crap, but I’ve got enough footage to put together a montage of gameplay clips (That clip’s available on my YouTube channel – hard to miss). Nothing spoiler warning. All in all, this is a smooth follow-up to Mega Man 9 with some rather interesting level design. A fun, well-designed game, although there isn’t really much new. If you want my full thoughts, just click the break. I warn you; there are spoilers.
Just before the New Year, Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth was released and I coughed up the thousand Wii Points to buy it. Somehow, I managed to reach the fifth stage on my first game on Normal difficulty… seems rather off. Don’t know if I’m that good or if the game’s that easy… most likely the latter. Even so, it’s still no walk in the park, it’s classic Castlevania, and I wouldn’t have it any other way… unless they made it more like Super Castlevania IV… but oh well.
dtm666 