RTMT: Chasing Gamey

This morning — well, not my usual Random Tuesday Morning Post. First, it was only server restarts, and second, work and routine is back with a vengence, so dailies seemed to take precedent over writing.

But — I do have a few mental sticky notes I need to collect.

More action, smaller bra size:

Señor: I will lose you soon. Yes, your true friend is coming back. Lara Croft is returning soon, and she is AWESOME! She is also C.D. Rogue’s true virtual girl, too, so I may need to learn how to play TombRaider:

Tomb Raider – Monastery Escape Gameplay Walkthrough

And Conan O’Brien’s review is…well:

http://teamcoco.com/video/clueless-gamer-conan-obrien-reviews-tomb-raider

Legendary

I appreciate Tzufit’s post on this, and have a lot more to say about it. But I may not have time. We’ll see.
In the meantime, read it, and share your thoughts. It’s very well written and insightful, as always, even if I don’t agree.

Ancient Leviathan, come back! I just want to talk to you!

Saw this yesterday:

Measure Up:
Damn, Draeneis are tall:

Now I Am A Panda:
I did the bamboo thing Navi and Cymre reported on their blogs, and here are results:

My mage buddy rides shotgun

And a Tiny Rainbow Angel:

But that’s all I have for now. I’m running late to a 7PM meeting. One of many evening events that keeps me from regular raiding. Good thing I can get that legendary on my own time. Whew!

The "Mataoscars"*(TM): Red Carpet Strut

Haanta pilfered this red carpet from Karazhan, thinking it would be just the thing for the grand red carpet walk! Prince Medivh would never miss it, right? Just take any rug in the house…even though it really tied the castle together.

Disclaimer: Originally I had written that I would post all the choices on Survey Monkey and let you all decide; since I started getting so many exquisitely crafted entries, that idea was scrapped. Everyone is truly a ‘winner.’ Yeah, yeah, you say, sure. But I humbly ask you all lay your competitive mogging natures aside, and just enjoy the show!

Your host this evening is Random Murloc, Entertainment Reporter for the Azerothian Sun Times: Mr. Murloc, take it away!

Now, for each of our award recipients, we have only provided one photograph from the cast of characters – for more amazement, please click on their links and look over the ensembles. Vera Wang, eat your heart out! 

Best Use of Gimp Facewear and Dark, Dystopian Vision: Tome of the Ancient with Bladerunner!

Best Use of Blue Draenei racial feature and Going Native: Navimie of The Daily Frostwolf with Avatar

Best “That is Exactly What Tolkien Had In Mind” goes to Lorelei from Zazzy Mogs

Best “That is Spot-On Amazing” Kamilia for the professors from Harry Potter

Best Use of Screaming Eels: Cymre, The Princess Bride

Oscar for “No Blame, Hugo Style” Erinys for The Hunchback of Notre Dame

 Best Actor in a Science-Fiction Journey of the Hero and This Is Epic, Jojo from Admiring Azeroth:

Oscar for “I Want to Choke on an Apple and Have You Kiss my Face” goes to Nxyrinne for Snow White:

Best Use of White Rabbits, and Wanting to Fall Down Rabbit Holes goes to Saga from Spellbound for Alice in Wonderland:

Anoukisse from Diary of a Gnome Spy brings us the Best Supporting Actors Ever in the History of Ever, The Lord of the Rings:

Kaitz from Memoirs of a Pet Collector wins the award for “Redemption of Kristin Stewart as Snow White for a Non-Believer” Oscar (seriously – these are amazing)

Oscar for “Hans Solo Fired First” Star Wars, Syrco!

Jaedia takes home the award for Best Redheaded Princess and Mother’s Love, from Brave:

Award for My Favorite Singing Mermaid of All Time, The Little Mermaid goes to Malkshake:

For “Making It Look Easy Even When It Wasn’t and Best Blog Post About This Contest,” Starre for Breaking Dawn!

Oscar for “Is That a Light Saber In Your Pocket or Are You Glad to See Me?” Jstmel’s Star Wars:

Award for Most Swoon-Worthy Epic Movie of All Time, Tyledres of Frost & Claws, Beauty and the Beast (And if anyone calls me a beast they’re toast)

Please – if I forgot someone, please be kind and tell me right away so I can amend the situation! Apparently I can’t count either because I counted some twice, but here is what we have. I cannot urge you all strongly enough to click on every one of these links and congratulate these players for their originality, creativity and keen eye for style! And credit must go to Cymre for coming up with the Mataoscars! Brava!

I could not have asked for anything better, and thank you all again for these wonderful creations!

Word of the day: gruesome

Oh boy, this is so cool! I received over 20 entrants for the Movie Mog event – I’m going to switch things up a bit, and I’ll be working on the post later this afternoon. Stayed tuned, boys and girls!

In the meantime, I wanted to share some “real” news, not just infotainment; there are a few things that our intrepid girl reporter, Mataoka, has noticed around Azeroth.

First, a warlock she knows, Kaajinn, went deep into Horde territory to gain the trust and love of a great guild. Yes, it was all for a pet. Those of you who love pets know that going from zero to hero in a few days is worth it, totally. Part of gaining guild reputation includes checking in with the ultimate emo chick, Sylvanas. More on that later. What concerned her is WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?

Another doctor, I see! One Dr. Martin Felbern, with questionable credentials, in the Undercity, doing gods-know-what to these body parts. But–must say–his robe is to die for!

Please don’t think I’m picking on Horde for gruesome acts, oh no! The Alliance is, well, a tad abominable in their definitions of ‘war trophies:’

There is an unfortunate photo-merge in this shot: the hook you see in the dead ogre-cum-throw-rug’s mouth is on the end of Agent Malley’s staff, and not in his mouth. Mataoka tried to get a decent angle, but using her spy camera tucked in her fanny pack, was not able to get a clear shot. But yes, that is an ogre rug, skinned, tanned, and furry, on the sandy floor of the quartermaster’s tent. 

Ugh.

Day Twenty: Tiny Story Time

The heartbeat of a mouse: that is what the ticking of the clock seemed to be. Purposeful, fleeting, and nervous to get to the next second. Each tick was a triumph over the cat’s paw, each tock a trap dodged. Time skittered into mouseholes. The shaman, however, did not avert the snare of the blankets. The cold late winter rain lie on the doorstep. Yesterday it has been deceptively mild and sunny, and she thought she had eons of time for a walk. The day was dead, buried with an assault of stars, and she said, “I can go tomorrow.” Here was tomorrow, half gone, and weighted with regret.  Her sadness permeated the walls of the cottage. The dwarf knew there was only one thing to do: go to Dalaran and buy the lass a large, gooey, pudding-filled, real butter cream chocolate cake. Guarf left by gryphon, and returned with the boon; it was the size of a baby bear and twice as sweet. The girl pretended to be asleep, but was only fooling herself.

There is that juncture in a heartbeat where the soul can go left and cry, or right and laugh, and it’s paralyzing. She heard the thud of dry firewood, matches striking, and the wood fireplace awakening. He called to her from the living room. (Gods, his patience was worn down by that one’s moodiness…!) In the long late afternoon darkness, an evening of thick lead grey, the fire burned, and in the center of the room, on the small painted table, a cake, with her name on it. In terror, the dwarf saw her lower lip quiver, and the eyes well up (Draenei tears are the only known nightmare for Dwarfs), and he stuttered, “No, no, no, lassie, no! You will not be crying over this cake! I like my chocolate chocolaty, not salty!” The admonitions stopped with her warm hug. 

Editor’s Note: Day 20: If this was your last day of playing WoW, what would you do?

Theme Song Family of the Year – Hero

Doctor, doctor…

Mishka is our kindly Draenei doctor, healing all brave wounded Alliance. I really dig her style — those glasses, the camo boots, and pauldrons; however, I am a little concerned about her bloody gloves. That cannot be hygienic. Hope you had your tetanus shot.

There are all kinds of good (and bad) doctors in Azeroth. There was one in Theramore, Dr. VanHowzen,  who had you quickly heal soldiers, called Triage, and you received a certificate, kind of like summer medical school. When I went to look some up, these doctors made the Google ranks: Dr. Weavil, Dr. Razorgrin, Witch Doctor Zum’rah, to name a few. I think it would be interesting to have more quests for our specializations; I do kind of miss the interactions between our trainers some days, though I must admit I love getting new spells on the fly. Leveling is so incredibly fast now, with heirlooms, guild buffs, etc., but like good medical training, being a good player does take time, and I have often wished for more of these interactions.

And, we players have to keep track of so many things:

I think my friend Krasher was trying to see if we were paying attention.

Theme song: Calling Dr. Love/Kiss

Disc Priest-world

I did it again. Yesterday I had an eye doctor appointment, and I had so many things piled on my desk calendar I didn’t see it. Kind of ironic, no? Yes? Whatever. But NO MORE! I am getting it under control, people! I made another promise to myself today I would do these things:

1. Operation Shieldwall dailies on Mataoka

2. Molten Front dailies on Zep (82/125 Filling the Moonwell)

3. Molten Core on Momokawa for fluffy green shoulders (nope)

4. Botanica on Momokawa for fluffy yellow shoulders (nope)

5. Make another piece of Imperial Silk to work towards the 12 needed for a bag –

6. Work on Kaajinn the Conflicted’s reputation with Horde guild (she is darling, that one)

But the promise wasn’t the doing, the promise was the STOPPING. Navi’s post on Raid Exhaustion hit home, not because I’m in her same hooves, er, shoes, but we all do too damn much. She and I do have a lot in common, but I look back and can’t imagine trying to work full-time, keep a marriage, small children, school, etc., all going. I can’t even get myself to the eye doctor, for God’s sake. I take care of legions of other folks, but for myself, my job, etc.? Eek. I was talking with CD Rogue the other night, about that cross-over moment when game times ceases to become a game, a hobby, and becomes an addictive, compulsory act. This blog is not a journal of my play time, but a glimpse into a player’s descent into madness. But I gotta say, spending time in Azeroth is a helluva lot more fun than having one’s pupils dilated.

But this post isn’t about not being able to balance real and virtual worlds. I did stop, and my stubborn side is not going to log on anymore today. But I did want to crow about a few fun things:

So, some of you noticed I made Zep a Disc/Shadow Priestess. I went into LFR and look at these numbers (yes, I know it’s vast buckets of overhealing, but couldn’t help myself!)

In my sparse research on discipline priests, I came across this phenomenal site:

http://talesofapriest.com/about/

I still love my Holy specialization, and feel a twinge of disloyalty. But learning knew things and skills trumps ruts any old day, so I still contend it’s better to try something new than to not. So far the worst part of giving up Holy is losing my Valkryie death form. Fortunately with Disc priest, I don’t die as often.

But today, the rest of the day, and it’s not noon yet, I have a full stretch of time to devote to the mundane, the uncreative, the unimaginative: taxes, bill paying, letters, laundry, and lunch. I used to be able to find the zen in those tasks, but it’s becoming more difficult. Fortunately, I have some intelligent heroes out there, ready with book recommendations, and Goodreads feeds. I just finished A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and I laughted out loud at the dentist’s office yesterday (yes, I made it there, but apparently…nevermind). It mentions The Morrigan, a terrifying trio I had never heard of until this novel. If it’s not a guild name already I call it! Badb, Macha, and Nemain would be wonderful names for Forsaken Shadow Priests, don’t you think?

Ravens and Crows – my current motif

Found this other image, too:

The Morrigan by Alexandra Feehery

Oh, damn, now I’m tripping down the art lane – anything to stay away from tax forms!

Look what Vidyala just posted – breathtaking!

That damn fist weapon still won’t drop for Mataoka. The fact that that is depressing me depresses me. So again, except for some easy dailies, time to stop for a while. The RNGs have turned their backs on that shaman. Not sure what she did to incur their ire. Eff them if they can’t take a joke anyway.

*The title, for those who don’t know, is an allusion to Terry Pratchett.

PS Damn, I did log on. Just a little bit.

Last one for today, okay, this morning: We Love Beautiful Things

No wonder why we play so much:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/opinion/sunday/why-we-love-beautiful-things.xml

A Prayer for the RNGs

I got a double-yolk egg this morning and made a wish.

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the RNGs my soulshards to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray for a rez for goodness sake

In the morning when I wake up

While the patch is loading, I need a hookup

I send this prayer to all grand pixelized gods

To update my characters, add-ons and mods

And please let that weapon drop in LFR,

If it doesn’t drop soon I’m going to go live in a bar

I’ve tried for weeks with elder charms and luck

But still running with blues, and it really does suck

I try to put on a brave face and am a superstitious git

But with low damage per second, I feel like a nit

I’ll not change my socks and light candles of hope

But when I humbly ask I get a big, fat nope

So RNGs if you hear my prayer

And if about this little shaman you ever did care

Send me that fist weapon all shiny, sharp, and trusty

Until the next patch, and it’s forgotten and rusty

What was that? Think it was a Gilnean Raven!

I LOVED this story on NPR the other day:
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/02/170849125/did-you-hear-that-i-think-it-was-the-sound-of-a-walrus

One of the drawbacks to playing in a high-traffic area of the Matty-shack are the interruptions into game immersion. I love the sounds in Azeroth – from the music, the bird calls, the growls and haunting tormented souls in Naxxramus. (Keep it down, sister! I’m trying to get loot here!)

When the game comes back on line today, I’ll be running errands. But that’s cool. The only sounds I don’t care for are the theme songs of the Shrine – a bit twangy for me, like Tome’s response to the doctor’s office music.  Some things are better left off.

Joe the Talking Crow

RTMT, II: Going backwards to move forwards

1. Find out where to get a Valorous Kirin Tor Tunic:

Back to Ulduar, I suppose.

2. Find out more about Ysondre and Taerar’s connection:

This WoW-wiki page says Ysondre’s location is unknown. Baloney! She’s RIGHT THERE in Feralas! My goblin warlock Kaajinn saw her yesterday, and even helped kill a dragon for her!

Playing on the Horde side for a bit is interesting, but — and this is a huge dorky but–Kaajin felt a huge amount of internal conflict over killing Alliance soldiers and lieutenants. She may not do that again.

3. Finish the Leyara’s Locket quest chain on Zeptepi. Yes, this means back to the Molten Front. This is why I wish all goodies and equipment were BOA. I know – silly me. But –maybe that’s not best. It is

4. Write those RP back stories. Gotta go back and do some more research.

5. Write a story about the star-crossed lovers in Karazhan: (no I did not write this link)

Just curious: what have been some of your favorite things to “go back to?” I’m beginning to believe that progression is not all it’s cracked up to be, but wandering throught the kaleidoscope of stories and lore – a very rich world indeed!