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Apocalypse?

So, I liked X-Men Apocalypse. Haven't had more than a few hours for it to sink in yet, but, you know, so far so good.   I like how the main villain's early actions make it understandable how someone could choose to follow him without personally desiring the end of the world. I mean... nuclear disarmament? Good start, buddy!   But   What if   What if there were a story where some mighty immortal, trapped under rocks for literally thousands of years, woke up, got to see the world   And had an over

It's More Likely Than You Think

So   It's been a while. Things have gotten... kind of weird, since the last time I made a blog entry.   I haven't composed a new piece of music in more than a year, thanks to my computer's speakers and headphone jack breaking - followed, back in May, by the computer itself. About to go ahead and install a couple of programs for that on this borrowed computer, once I can verify that the owner is cool with that.   In less aggravating (but probably more important) news, some of you might have notic

Desperation

So today I took my shiny new diamond pickaxe down into a cavern to mine some obsidian (and maybe more diamonds, because hey, I'm an optimist like that).   Instead, a group of skeletons decided it was high time for me to take a good long time-out in a column of lava, beginning today's adventures in messy death.   Next, I went back into the cave, recovered what I could (which did not include the diamond pick, because of course it didn't) and set out to mine some more - this ended with me using wat

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

Comparisons - Thick As A Brick 2 vs. The Whirlwind

As I sit here, listening through The Whirlwind for the first time in a couple of years, it strikes me that the vocals on this album compare rather unfavourably to those on Thick As A Brick 2, Ian Anderson's follow-up to Jethro Tull's legendary single-song album, released forty years late.   It's not so much anything about the quality of the voices involved - years of smoking certainly were not kind to the pipes of Ian Anderson - but the technique of the singing. With Transatlantic's 70+ minute o

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

Album of the Year So Far

So, yesterday, everyone's favourite guitar-playing undead penguin released a new album - his third, if you don't count the EP released under his metal side project, the name of which I can't even type right because Windows refuses to believe that you can put an Ümläüt over a t. You can follow the link above to the album's Bandcamp page, where you can pick up this shiny new album for a very reasonable seven bucks - not bad for 45:18 of instrumental rock. The cover art might be a bit sketchy, and

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

Well Someone Can't Limbo

Turns out - and I am ashamed for not figuring this out earlier - narrow hallways are the perfect place to fight Wither Skeletons. You just string three blocks along at their head height, stand back, and hit them until they die. The only way it could be simpler is if someone had already placed the blocks for me.

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

Oh, yes. He's a real beast! It's a wonder you're still alive.

So, I found the most adorably stupid Daily Mail article today - yes, I know, that's a tautology, but bear with me.   The article, you see, was about the Greenland Shark, a large, cold-water shark most closely related to dogfish, that looks like this;   Now, most of what the article said in describing this "fearsome creature" isn't factually incorrect - they have indeed been found with the remains of polar bears, reindeer, and seals in their stomachs.   The article just failed to mention one thi

Well Then

Decided to try my luck at finding a mesa in another world, just for giggles.   Given the known incident with the 'indianajones' seed (spawned the player in a jungle, I thought maybe, just maybe, blackmesa would spawn me in, you know, a mesa.   Nope, zombie dungeon.  

Somebody Down There Likes Me

In an effort to get some more productive work done than wandering and dying in search of a mesa biome, I elected to hunker down by my river and fish.   This was, on the whole, an excellent idea, considering the fishing rod I dredged up - Unbreaking III, Lure II, Luck of the Sea II.   Clearly, great Cthulhu would like a favor in return for his generosity. Perhaps a temple is in order.

You Know...

When you drop into a desert temple to loot the chests, and a creeper follows you down, it really starts to feel like the universe has it in for you.

The [Wrong] Land of Hope and Glory

So, my search for a mesa biome continues, as I have covered more than ten kilometers searching for that magical land of disco clay and pretty sand.   Today, the search has hit a milestone - the first time I've found an entirely different ultra-rare biome while looking for mesas.     On the one hand, this is really cool.   On the other, I really wanted a mesa.   It doesn't really help that I have nothing with Silk Touch.

Gotta be Honest...

Found myself in a Deep Ocean biome for the first time, and it's honestly kind of scary, swimming at the surface, looking down, and not being able to see the bottom.   They need to add ocean-going hostile mobs now, just so you can get the experience of having a great white shark come rushing out of the depths, or even just see a faint hint of movement down there, and start fearing for your life.   And once they add hostile ocean-going mobs, they need to give you an update or two to wait and be af

Near-Fatal Good Luck

My luck in Minecraft has an interesting flavour to it lately - I set out from my home on a savanna plateau, hoping to find a mesa from which to get hardened clay for use in the construction of my house.   I did not find a mesa biome.   Instead, I found three villages and five desert temples, leading to quite the collection of enchanted books, horse armor, diamonds and other goodies... and a rather low food supply by the time I turn back - or think that is what I am doing.   This results in me ge

Switch Khan with Malcolm Reynolds...

...and Star Trek Colon Into Darkness becomes a much better movie. Why?   1. That's the Captain speaking, right there.   2. "Khan" was basically the hero anyway - he exposed a corrupt, war-mongering admiral, went toe-to-toe with the Federation to save his friends, and got shot in the back by Kirk and Scotty. Keep Burgerking Custardbath in the role, and it's just Sherlock Goes to Space with thirty minutes of desperately scrambling to make him the villain at the end.   Swap Mal in, and it's just an

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

So Apparently

The actor [Gal Gadot] that is slated to play Wonder Woman has confirmed that she is undergoing some serious training/physical conditioning for the movie.   Training that involves swords.   I may still have some doubts about her acting ability, based on what I know her to have been in - the Fast & Furious franchise isn't exactly known for nuanced performances, or actors capable of the like, but...   Well, if the long list of training material is any indication of her role in the movie - a lis

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

Hoo Boy

So, a few months ago, I tried to find some reference on the medieval Chola naval vessel known as the Thirisadai - essentially the equivalent of a battleship. At this time, I posted a blog entry, requesting aid in finding these references - the request was unsuccessful, which is hardly shocking; BZPower is not exactly a community built upon a shared fondness for naval history, nor is a high proportion of the site's population comprised of historians.   Anyway, I let that project rest for a while,

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

And That's Terrible

Let's just take a moment to reflect on the fact that the Green Hornet got a movie before Wonder Woman got to appear in one.   Okay? Had your flashbacks to how awful that movie was yet?   Great.   Wonder Woman's going to be played by a cardboard actress in a movie directed by Zack Snyder.   Let me put it this way - given the choice between not eating, and eating a muffin made of broken glass, I'd go ahead and not eat.   Zack Snyder movies tend to be muffins made of broken glass - very shiny, no r

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

HeavyMetalSunshineSister

The ArchChancellor's Top Ten Video Game Names

10. Inbred Chocobo Spies   9. National Lampoon's Dog Hospital   8. Invisible Landmine in the Outback   7. Deep Space Spelling of the [consigned to an unpleasant afterlife]   6. Shady Pachinko Encounter   5. British Sushi - The Game   4. Relentless Furry Dancers   3. Olympic Ninja Desperados   2. Children of the Cheese-Fight   1. Flying Hamster Combat   Honourable mention: Mario's Wrestling Power, Heavy Metal Sunshine Sisters, NCAA Dwarf Fiasco, Narcoleptic Harpoon - the Gathering Storm, Muppet N

Respect

The blogs have become an uncomfortable place lately, and, due to some disagreements on the way a few things have been handled, I have found myself at odds with people I would rather count as friends. I don't see an end to this situation coming as soon as I would like it to, so there is something I would like to make clear before things go too far.   I do not want a fight.   I have never logged onto BZP with that desire in my mind. I have enough people to argue with elsewhere, were I the sort of

On Individual Characters vs. Broad Trends

I have recently seen an instance in which a single female character was portrayed overreacting to something. The scenario was played for laughs, and while a good amount of time could be spent going over the joke itself and why it was or was not funny, a more important issue is some of the criticism that the joke received - that having this character, who was female, overreact in an emotional manner, was sexist. That it implied the attitude that all women were prone to overemotional reactions.  

Lead Instrument Suggestions

So I've got a piece of music that's been sitting unfinished on my computer for something like two years. The current list of instruments is as follows-   -Flute -Alto Saxophone -Electric Guitar (Jazz) -Electric Bass (Fingered) -Drumkit -Timpani   The first section went along fairly smoothly, with a four-measure ostinato primarily played by the flute and saxophone... the only problem is that, at this time, there isn't actually a lead instrument. Nothing's actually playing a melody over this, whic

Lord Voldemort

Gets a whole lot less intimidating when you realize that, with a quick enough draw, Gilderoy Lockhart could have won a duel against him.   What's that? Most powerful Dark wizard in living memory? That's impressive. Shame he can't remember which way is up.

Help: Medieval Chola Naval Vessels

For a personal project, I find myself needing to know what ships of the medieval Chola Navy looked like - my particular interest rests with the Thirisadai and Vajara classes. My own searches on the topic have come up empty, for the most part. Accordingly, I am asking you to assist in this search, in the hopes that you might have better luck finding good sources than I have.   To be useful, pictures of these ships should show them from the side, front, back or top. A view of the ship from beneath
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