Anyhow: The making of the WoT game client:
Friday, September 23, 2016
Wargamming's game clients
I love the random ability for WG's client to work. It's fun! I love hitting "Battle" and _maybe_ getting to actually play the game .. especially knowing my tank is sitting there not doing shit, because the client is white-screen-crashing, whilst my stats plummet.
Anyhow: The making of the WoT game client:
Anyhow: The making of the WoT game client:
Finally escaped..
Hello all,
After my last post in October 2014, I was captured by a team of elderly people at a nearby nursing home. I do PC work on the side, and got a job there to do Windows Updates. They refused to let me leave. I spent almost 2 years in a room, with a catheter and IV forced into me. The residents would daily, hourly, bring me iPads, laptops, name it. The tasks were 99% menial, such as:
"No no, that's not your Windows logon password .. it's going to be your Netflix password to logon to Netflix"
And:
Lady: "I got an email that my Avast account will auto renew. What do I do?"
Me: "You do nothing. It will auto renew itself and work fine for the next year."
Lady: "Why do you say I don't ever do anything!?!"
Me: "Mom. I didn't say that. I said you don't have to take action to renew Avast, it'll do it on its own..."
Opps! Just revealed that all of this really comes from helping my Mom with her computer issues.
The Avast story ends with her buying Avast VPN for $19.99, which she doesn't need. I now have to call them to try and get that money back.
-fkd
After my last post in October 2014, I was captured by a team of elderly people at a nearby nursing home. I do PC work on the side, and got a job there to do Windows Updates. They refused to let me leave. I spent almost 2 years in a room, with a catheter and IV forced into me. The residents would daily, hourly, bring me iPads, laptops, name it. The tasks were 99% menial, such as:
"No no, that's not your Windows logon password .. it's going to be your Netflix password to logon to Netflix"
And:
Lady: "I got an email that my Avast account will auto renew. What do I do?"
Me: "You do nothing. It will auto renew itself and work fine for the next year."
Lady: "Why do you say I don't ever do anything!?!"
Me: "Mom. I didn't say that. I said you don't have to take action to renew Avast, it'll do it on its own..."
Opps! Just revealed that all of this really comes from helping my Mom with her computer issues.
The Avast story ends with her buying Avast VPN for $19.99, which she doesn't need. I now have to call them to try and get that money back.
-fkd
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
A Beached Tank
Is a sad tank. For it beached. No one knows why, but then, its family comes with it to beach. Do they wish to beach? Do they miss him? We do not know, but he dies, then they diez.
So sad to see the great beasts beached and died. Yes died did the great beasts.
Good bye tanks..
So sad to see the great beasts beached and died. Yes died did the great beasts.
Good bye tanks..
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
WoT: "i c you have a great spot doing lotsa dmg, may I join u?"
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| This guy ruined my game |
It all started when I picked my Lion. I was doing great dmg vs two IS-6s. Dude, aka KV-4, notices this. You see, when you see a teammate farming dmg, that means: 'hey! imma get some!"
He pulls in front of me, and blocks my shots. Oh, he doesn't mean to, but he gets tracked and he has no healz, no fast track fix shit. He just sits there perpetually tracked..
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| Sry for shitty text: I used mspaint. |
Psst ... we lost.
So anyhow, I finally just leave him there, blocking my best-spot-on-this-map. Bcs he is perpetually tracked by the two IS-6s I took down to no hp, doing my pro sky-scrapper (side-scraping).
Three enemies start capping. I go back to defend. I die before him. The good die young, the sucky live.
Oh, and forgive teh blacked-out, redacted names. WG forbids you name anyone.
Thank god Watergate wasn't handled this way..
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| Here he sits, perma-tracked and shit, not able to rise, for did not he invest, in skills to incest, that his tracks be repaired, when damaged and snared .. or something. Edit: insist! not incest! |
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| Watergate |
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Man of god
I wish this post were a joke, or exaggerated, but it's totally true:
[Note: I'm helping my Mom with her computer using chrome remote desktop. For some reason, the mouse doesn't work, so I had to tell her what to do ... it's a known bug]
Mom: "Hi son."
Me: "Hi Mom."
Mom: "You remember that administrator password you gave me and told me never to put in without calling you first?"
Me: "[oh no] Yes Mom."
Mom: "Well .. I got this popup and it told me I needed to update. I clicked 'yes' to update and then it asked me for that administrator password you gave me, and I put it in.."
Me: "...Mom, I, look, why didn't you call me?"
Mom: "I don't know. You told me updates were good."
Me: "Yes Mom. I meant updates form Microsoft, or the legit program maker, but I told you never to use that password without calling me first."
Mom: "I'm sorry son. Can you help? I keep getting these things popping up and my computer's running slow."
Me: "Ok, look. Just don't log into your bank account, ok?"
Mom: "I'm in there right now."
Me: "You logged into your bank? I told you never to do that if ever you think you've been infected."
Mom: "Well I know. I was just in a hurry."
Me: "Mom, listen, shut down your computer. Stop using it. Only call over the phone or use your phone to access your bank."
Mom: "I can't access my bank on my phone I have to use the computer."
Me: "Mom, you surf facebook on your phone right?"
Mom: "Yes."
Me: "Ok. It's the same thing. Most banks even have an app for your phone."
Mom: "But I don't have a mouse on my phone."
Me: "Ok look. Let me call you later. I'll remote in and fix your computer. Just shut it off for now ok?"
Mom: "Ok."
[Later]
Me: "Hi Mom. Did you shut your computer off like I asked?"
Mom: "Yes. I unplugged all the cables."
Me: "...Mom I didn't tell you to unplug all the cables. That wasn't necessary. I... ok nevermind. Let's get all the cables back in first."
[An agonizing hour later, after many discussions about the difference between a category5 cable and a USB cable and listening to how bad knees hurt at said age]
Me: "Ok Mom. Malwarebytes should be asking for the administrator password now. I cannot see that screen."
Mom: "But you told me not to use that."
Me: "I told you to call me before using it, for just such occasions as this infection."
Mom: "So I can put it now? It won't hurt my computer?"
Me: "No. It will not. It wasn't the administrator password that hurt your computer. It was the malware you installed by giving it. This is good software now. Use it now."
[I open the browser and see google shortcuts to ourtime. Yahoo messenger pops up 'user Manofgod']
Mom: [To Manofgod: 'hi baby! I'm working on my computer with my son!]
Manofgod: "Hey baby, what are you wearing this time?"
Manofgod: "I am sorry I did not type that I hafe to go."
[Awkward silence]
Me: "Ok. Mom. Can you please close yahoo messenger for me? It's in front of the malwarebytes install screen."
[Malwarebytes install closes]
Me: "...Mom. I, you closed malwarebytes install."
Mom: "I did? I didn't mean to. I was just doing what you said to do."
Me: "I did not tell you to do that. Nevermind. Ok. Let's go back to google."
Mom: "How do I get to google?"
Me: "We just discussed this. The same way you would were I not on the phone with you."
Mom: "Ok. So click the colorful circle?"
Me: "Yes. chrome. Click Chrome."
Mom: "Chrome? But you said google."
Me: "Mom. Chrome is a browser and it loads.. Ok look. Just go to ourtime ok?"
[Chrome opens with google.com as homepage. 'Ourtime' begins to type out in the search box]
Me: "Ok stop!"
Mom: "Why?"
Me: "Because now we have google.com."
Mom: "Oh, ok. I see that now."
Me: "Ok. Now erase ourtime and type in malwarebytes like you did earlier."
[Her phone rings]
Mom: "Hello? Hehe, hi baby! Ok! Good. Give me 15 minutes, I'll be right there! Honey, can you do this without me? I have to go now."
Me: "Go where?"
Mom: "To meet Bobby off ourtime!"
Me: "...ok Mom. That's fine."
Mom: "Oh, btw son, can you reset the administrator password to 'Manofgod'?"
Me: "Sure Mom. Manofgod it is. Tell Bobby I said hi."
Mom: "Ok son. He's really a great christian man."
Me: "He's a man of god right?"
Mom: "Hehe! Right!"
[Note: I'm helping my Mom with her computer using chrome remote desktop. For some reason, the mouse doesn't work, so I had to tell her what to do ... it's a known bug]
Mom: "Hi son."
Me: "Hi Mom."
Mom: "You remember that administrator password you gave me and told me never to put in without calling you first?"
Me: "[oh no] Yes Mom."
Mom: "Well .. I got this popup and it told me I needed to update. I clicked 'yes' to update and then it asked me for that administrator password you gave me, and I put it in.."
Me: "...Mom, I, look, why didn't you call me?"
Mom: "I don't know. You told me updates were good."
Me: "Yes Mom. I meant updates form Microsoft, or the legit program maker, but I told you never to use that password without calling me first."
Mom: "I'm sorry son. Can you help? I keep getting these things popping up and my computer's running slow."
Me: "Ok, look. Just don't log into your bank account, ok?"
Mom: "I'm in there right now."
Me: "You logged into your bank? I told you never to do that if ever you think you've been infected."
Mom: "Well I know. I was just in a hurry."
Me: "Mom, listen, shut down your computer. Stop using it. Only call over the phone or use your phone to access your bank."
Mom: "I can't access my bank on my phone I have to use the computer."
Me: "Mom, you surf facebook on your phone right?"
Mom: "Yes."
Me: "Ok. It's the same thing. Most banks even have an app for your phone."
Mom: "But I don't have a mouse on my phone."
Me: "Ok look. Let me call you later. I'll remote in and fix your computer. Just shut it off for now ok?"
Mom: "Ok."
[Later]
Me: "Hi Mom. Did you shut your computer off like I asked?"
Mom: "Yes. I unplugged all the cables."
Me: "...Mom I didn't tell you to unplug all the cables. That wasn't necessary. I... ok nevermind. Let's get all the cables back in first."
[An agonizing hour later, after many discussions about the difference between a category5 cable and a USB cable and listening to how bad knees hurt at said age]
Me: "Ok Mom. Malwarebytes should be asking for the administrator password now. I cannot see that screen."
Mom: "But you told me not to use that."
Me: "I told you to call me before using it, for just such occasions as this infection."
Mom: "So I can put it now? It won't hurt my computer?"
Me: "No. It will not. It wasn't the administrator password that hurt your computer. It was the malware you installed by giving it. This is good software now. Use it now."
[I open the browser and see google shortcuts to ourtime. Yahoo messenger pops up 'user Manofgod']
Mom: [To Manofgod: 'hi baby! I'm working on my computer with my son!]
Manofgod: "Hey baby, what are you wearing this time?"
Manofgod: "I am sorry I did not type that I hafe to go."
[Awkward silence]
Me: "Ok. Mom. Can you please close yahoo messenger for me? It's in front of the malwarebytes install screen."
[Malwarebytes install closes]
Me: "...Mom. I, you closed malwarebytes install."
Mom: "I did? I didn't mean to. I was just doing what you said to do."
Me: "I did not tell you to do that. Nevermind. Ok. Let's go back to google."
Mom: "How do I get to google?"
Me: "We just discussed this. The same way you would were I not on the phone with you."
Mom: "Ok. So click the colorful circle?"
Me: "Yes. chrome. Click Chrome."
Mom: "Chrome? But you said google."
Me: "Mom. Chrome is a browser and it loads.. Ok look. Just go to ourtime ok?"
[Chrome opens with google.com as homepage. 'Ourtime' begins to type out in the search box]
Me: "Ok stop!"
Mom: "Why?"
Me: "Because now we have google.com."
Mom: "Oh, ok. I see that now."
Me: "Ok. Now erase ourtime and type in malwarebytes like you did earlier."
[Her phone rings]
Mom: "Hello? Hehe, hi baby! Ok! Good. Give me 15 minutes, I'll be right there! Honey, can you do this without me? I have to go now."
Me: "Go where?"
Mom: "To meet Bobby off ourtime!"
Me: "...ok Mom. That's fine."
Mom: "Oh, btw son, can you reset the administrator password to 'Manofgod'?"
Me: "Sure Mom. Manofgod it is. Tell Bobby I said hi."
Mom: "Ok son. He's really a great christian man."
Me: "He's a man of god right?"
Mom: "Hehe! Right!"
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| And now for a picture of a dog not giving 2 shits about Cesar Millan |
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
It was yet another night of "omfg I suck at dota2"..
"fkd what are you even building?"
"Report Axe [I'm Axe and I'm 1 and 12]"
And:
"Don't invite this guy [fkd] to party anymore he blows."
Then later:
I got accused of hacking .. or, I guess I received a mass spam to everyone in someone's friend list of hacking:
And my 13 year old nephew has been playing Dota2 for literally 3 weeks.. He goes 20 and 2ish regularly. I've never broke even.
Report fkd..
"Report Axe [I'm Axe and I'm 1 and 12]"
And:
"Don't invite this guy [fkd] to party anymore he blows."
Then later:
I got accused of hacking .. or, I guess I received a mass spam to everyone in someone's friend list of hacking:
And my 13 year old nephew has been playing Dota2 for literally 3 weeks.. He goes 20 and 2ish regularly. I've never broke even.
Report fkd..
Friday, April 4, 2014
Multiplayer Games Suck
I hate you, multiplayer games. I do so good vs the cpu, single player. I play L4D2 and rule single player. Coach has my back, kills zombies before they hit me. Rochelle heals me. Eets nice..
Then, I play multiplayer, I run to the action spot that causes the next event, but, team not with me, I get pounced by hunter and gutted. "Gawd, uyou scuk fkd!" Me: "ikr!!!"
Then, I am Tank. \o/ I AM TANK!!!!!
I run at them!!! They ... they run away. They won'tlet me hit them. Why not?!?! I don't do so good tank.
And then, they vote kick me .. they didn't even speak English.
But why else do multi-player games suck?
oh, idk. Because you might decide to make a clan in World of Tanks....
[Break]
Time for Alice In Chains. My god, this song is fucking incredible:
So like, idk. You work hard to build a clan of people. You check stats, you work on stats of people, you pour over stats, and you develop this fucking stupid moral code:
"Do not ever try to steal members from another clan. Big no-no. Do not!!!"
And I never did. If ever I came across a talented player who was in another clan, I just passed over..
I think it was bro-code:
"Bro, she's hot, but she's that dude's woman. Don't go for that dude's woman, k?" Dude's going, "dude, don't take my woman, k?" It's fucking bro-code
Pssst: I know guys irl that don't respect the bro-code ... psst, I always did....
In WoT, there is no bro-code.
"fkd bro, wtf you ranting AGAIN!?!?"
Well, because I worked hard to build my clan. I worked very hard, recruiting players not in a clan, and here's the deal:
All I managed to do was create a nice buffet of talent, for other clans to come and snipe.
Let me state this clearly:
If you are building a clan, and you build it by picking apart the membership of another clan, then you are a whore. You are a man whore. And here's the other thing:
I am now of the mindset that whoring works. Everyone successful is a whore. Bill Gates: whore. Obama, whore...
Whoring is good. Whore on. Doing things by the bro-code sucks. There is no bro-code. There is no Terminus, no sanctuary, no honest-living. There are only whores.
Be a whore, or be used by a whore. Either way, whore.
I've typed this long and not used: ho. Be a ho. Time for grill, or gold teeth. Idfk, I'm too white:
Then, I play multiplayer, I run to the action spot that causes the next event, but, team not with me, I get pounced by hunter and gutted. "Gawd, uyou scuk fkd!" Me: "ikr!!!"
Then, I am Tank. \o/ I AM TANK!!!!!
I run at them!!! They ... they run away. They won'tlet me hit them. Why not?!?! I don't do so good tank.
![]() |
| I don't do so good tank.... |
And then, they vote kick me .. they didn't even speak English.
But why else do multi-player games suck?
oh, idk. Because you might decide to make a clan in World of Tanks....
[Break]
Time for Alice In Chains. My god, this song is fucking incredible:
So like, idk. You work hard to build a clan of people. You check stats, you work on stats of people, you pour over stats, and you develop this fucking stupid moral code:
"Do not ever try to steal members from another clan. Big no-no. Do not!!!"
And I never did. If ever I came across a talented player who was in another clan, I just passed over..
I think it was bro-code:
"Bro, she's hot, but she's that dude's woman. Don't go for that dude's woman, k?" Dude's going, "dude, don't take my woman, k?" It's fucking bro-code
Pssst: I know guys irl that don't respect the bro-code ... psst, I always did....
In WoT, there is no bro-code.
"fkd bro, wtf you ranting AGAIN!?!?"
Well, because I worked hard to build my clan. I worked very hard, recruiting players not in a clan, and here's the deal:
All I managed to do was create a nice buffet of talent, for other clans to come and snipe.
Let me state this clearly:
If you are building a clan, and you build it by picking apart the membership of another clan, then you are a whore. You are a man whore. And here's the other thing:
I am now of the mindset that whoring works. Everyone successful is a whore. Bill Gates: whore. Obama, whore...
Whoring is good. Whore on. Doing things by the bro-code sucks. There is no bro-code. There is no Terminus, no sanctuary, no honest-living. There are only whores.
Be a whore, or be used by a whore. Either way, whore.
I've typed this long and not used: ho. Be a ho. Time for grill, or gold teeth. Idfk, I'm too white:
Forgotten Weapons Fires a 7.5 cm Pak 40
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| I'd say the German soldiers didn't have such long hair, but it makes for a quite a spectacle |
Wiki page on the Pak 40
This gun was fitted into the FCM36 tank destroyers captured by the Germans from the French in WW2. These were known as the FCM36Pak40. Pics:
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
World of Tanks: Cap or Kill?
GT: "These idiots are capping when it's 9 of us and 1 left.
fkd: "I always cap."
GT: "When it's 9 to 1?"
fkd: "Ya."
GT: "Why?!?"
fkd: "idk, there's this big flag and a circle, just feels right."
GT: "So that's it? Just a flag and you will forego killing last enemy?"
fkd: "Ya. Like, these rednecks in my neighborhood put an american flag in their yard, and I often drive into their yard up to their flag and just sit there in my car. They come out and go, 'tf are you doing' and I go, '...capping.'"
fkd: "I always cap."
GT: "When it's 9 to 1?"
fkd: "Ya."
GT: "Why?!?"
fkd: "idk, there's this big flag and a circle, just feels right."
GT: "So that's it? Just a flag and you will forego killing last enemy?"
fkd: "Ya. Like, these rednecks in my neighborhood put an american flag in their yard, and I often drive into their yard up to their flag and just sit there in my car. They come out and go, 'tf are you doing' and I go, '...capping.'"
Monday, March 3, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Saturday, December 14, 2013
An avid Tolkien fan's take on The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (SPOILER ALERT!!!)
THE BELOW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!
As Christopher Lee said (real life friend of J.R.R.T.) in the extra DVD footage of LoTR: "You do not improve upon Tolkien." I simply think Jackson and company feel that they can..
All things being equal, why not go with the book?
All from memory, forgive if I get any book facts wrong:
An avid Tolkien fan's take on The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
1st, things I liked about the movie:
-The river scene was well done. I loved it!
-Smaug was an incredible work of CGI. Never once did I think about the CGI. He was totally convincing.
-I like the Kung-fu-Panda Bombur. What a hoot!
-Radagast: he has been a nice addition to Jackson's movies and a nice augmentation to Gandalf as a kindred.
-Mirkwood: the scenery of this sickly forest was an artistic pleasure.
-Bilbo: Martin Freeman is an incredible Bilbo. I simply love the way he says, "Smaug."
All of these things I just listed about the movie that I like are entirely detached from my thoughts on the book which now follow:
I have read The Hobbit dozens times over the decades, and once out loud with my daughter. I have read LoTR many times over, and atm out loud with her too we are almost done. I have read The Silmarillion over and over as well, along with tertiary books such as Tolkien's letters, etc. So, here is an avid fan's take on this latest Peter Jackson movie:
This was a good movie and I do not not recommend it. As a movie, detached from its source material, it's worth seeing. Yes, I liked it. I was not bored one minute, and I'm glad I saw it, but ...as an avid Tolkien fan over decades -- I'm an older guy.... The liberties taken in this movie were so much (compared to its source material), that I actually feared what would happen as I'm watching it. It took more liberties than any of Jackson's Tolkenesque films to date, and maybe that's the best word to describe the film: Tolkenesque, because it sure wasn't 100% Tolkien. I audibly groaned at one point so that my daughter asked what was wrong: it was the developing love affair between Kili and this fabricated-for-the-movie female elf. (Note: there would not have been a dwarf found without a beard, at all; these dwarves in Jackson's movies are just too gd pretty IMO, since when do we need to Channing-Tatum-up dwarves? /the-dwarves-are-too-damn-pretty-meme) Spider scene -- why not have the dialogue where Bilbo taunts the spiders? Where is "attercop"? Where is this (and other) wonderful examples of writing wherein, Tolkien isn't just writing a fantasy book, but introducing English speakers to ancient parts of the language, that encourage us to delve further into the past of our language? The dialogue in the book here is legendary IMO, and now masses will replace it with the vacated display of this movie. Lake town -- we have humans, dwarves, orcs and elves ... oh and a hobbit. Reality: there were just humans, dwarves and a hobbit ever in Laketown. Dol Guldor -- all to do with Dol Guldur is 100% conjecture. Bilbo and Smaug -- this is by far my biggest disappointment. Bilbo NEVER took the ring off when talking with Smaug, and this bullshit of Smaug being in cahoots with Sauron is nothing but that: bullshit.... Bilbo named Sting, not some spider. The barrel river scene -- whilst well done in the movie, my daughter and I laughing out load at one point -- was NOT a combat sequence. These orcs were NOT chasing "The Company" the entire movie, they were never in Mirkwood. They were never in Laketown. Radagast was NOT in The Hobbit, and he NEVER had bird shit running down his face. The dwarves NEVER encountered Smaug, at all, much less had a walt-disney-ride tour through Erebor -- Lonely Mtn -- that was nothing less than WoW Iron Forge. Smaug was NOT covered in gold, ever. There was not this great forge scene and Smaug never got covered in molten gold, and I guess the boat or whatever Thorin rides in, in molten gold, does a hellava job dissipating heat. There was NOT some special bow and arrow system to fight dragons -- it was just a plain bow and arrow. The way they meet Beor is fucked up. It is entirely fabricated from the book, and I think the book was better, with Gandalf introducing "The Company" in pairs and such, in an elegant manner. And Beor never said he disliked or hated dwarves. The way they meet the elves is fucked up -- wtf fuck with that at all?. "The vanishing party of elves" in the forest could have made for great cinema IMHO. Oh, and Legolas was NOT in The Hobbit. ffs, Jackson has a dwarf and elf falling in love with each other .. my god.... Ok, and let's be sure to imprison Gandalf again, I mean, that's always a crowd getter! Why mess with principle scenes such as Smaug/Bilbo meeting? When Biblo takes off the ring revealing himself to Smaug, my heart collapsed. The power of that scene is that Smaug is truly baffled by this Hobbit. A thread throughout TH and LoTR is that the hobbits are true mysteries, to even ancient beings such as Fangorn (Treebeard). Bilbo is able to engage Smaug in a lengthy dialogue, mostly, because Smaug is just damned curious about what Bilbo is, and the fact that Bilbo is also invisible, makes the dragon as intrigued as hell. Smaug never knows about the ring. He never makes a single, solitary statement about the ring, at all! And where is one of my all time favorite Tolkien quotes, as Bilbo taunts Smaug just a little too much, making a joke as Smaug's expense, who then tosses a line of flame up the single tunnel (yes, it was a single tunnel that the dragon had always thought he should have blocked-up) to which Bilbo makes a saying he uses from then on: "Never laugh at live dragons." <-- WHERE IS THAT PETER JACKSON!?!? It could have been worse. Aragorn coulda showed up. He woulda been like, idk, 12? Since the 1st "The Hobbit" Jackson carved down the number of dwarves. Oh, and, let's make sure to have a wounded dwarf, who has to stay behind in Laketown (and there was not a 'river gate' that closed, and bottle-necked the barrels; and btw, the barrels were sealed, this is how barrels could float down a river without sinking (you see, because the barrels were sealed -- note: open barrels would quickly fill with water and sink), but now, his brother demands to stay behind too, and then, another dwarf overslept. So now, we have 3 nice dwarfs in laketown, along with legolas and this make-believe female elf -- that was NOT in the book at all. Because -- and you can see this coming in the next movie -- like, there's gonna be all this action-jackson combat fucking shit that filled the screen. 'Sleeping Bombur is 100% done away with, replaced by 'arrow-knee Kili' Bruce Lee would watch these elves fighting and be impressed. Neo would be impressed. My god, just how many orcs are there to die? These orcs vs these 2 elves is like me vs my bag of popcorn.... I worried before I ever saw the first Peter Jackson movie covering Tolkien's work. Upon seeing it, he won me over, and I was on board. I have been great, good and ok with all his "Tolkenesque" work since, until now. This last iteration has me getting those feelings again, that I had before ever seeing the 1st move. Please, Mr. Jackson: get it right, get it tighter, and err a bit more toward the source material. I know that was acerbic, but honest. I understand a movie is tough to produce, must have rhythms, action, ebbs and flows, that books do not have to deal with. I am a Jackson fan, I just would like to leave his movies covering Tolkien with the same feeling I left after LoTR:FoTR. This one is the worst of the lot, and I feel he both can do better, and knows he can. And it was Bilbo who saw the missing scale on Smaug when he had the ring on an when he was flattering Smaug and when Smaug rolled over to show off his body not some fucking kid of Bard who didn't exist in the book. Why take this small thing away? Why not err on the side of the book?
Mr. Jackson: you are tasked (have tasked yourself) with introducing the masses who might never read these books, to the works of Tolkien. Seeing how his writings are some the greatest in English Literature, I feel you should simply err on the side of authentic words he wrote, not a script written by graduate, pressured to sell "HTDoS" cups at Taco Bell.
As Christopher Lee said (real life friend of J.R.R.T.) in the extra DVD footage of LoTR: "You do not improve upon Tolkien." I simply think Jackson and company feel that they can..
All things being equal, why not go with the book?
All from memory, forgive if I get any book facts wrong:
An avid Tolkien fan's take on The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
1st, things I liked about the movie:
-The river scene was well done. I loved it!
-Smaug was an incredible work of CGI. Never once did I think about the CGI. He was totally convincing.
-I like the Kung-fu-Panda Bombur. What a hoot!
-Radagast: he has been a nice addition to Jackson's movies and a nice augmentation to Gandalf as a kindred.
-Mirkwood: the scenery of this sickly forest was an artistic pleasure.
-Bilbo: Martin Freeman is an incredible Bilbo. I simply love the way he says, "Smaug."
All of these things I just listed about the movie that I like are entirely detached from my thoughts on the book which now follow:
I have read The Hobbit dozens times over the decades, and once out loud with my daughter. I have read LoTR many times over, and atm out loud with her too we are almost done. I have read The Silmarillion over and over as well, along with tertiary books such as Tolkien's letters, etc. So, here is an avid fan's take on this latest Peter Jackson movie:
This was a good movie and I do not not recommend it. As a movie, detached from its source material, it's worth seeing. Yes, I liked it. I was not bored one minute, and I'm glad I saw it, but ...as an avid Tolkien fan over decades -- I'm an older guy.... The liberties taken in this movie were so much (compared to its source material), that I actually feared what would happen as I'm watching it. It took more liberties than any of Jackson's Tolkenesque films to date, and maybe that's the best word to describe the film: Tolkenesque, because it sure wasn't 100% Tolkien. I audibly groaned at one point so that my daughter asked what was wrong: it was the developing love affair between Kili and this fabricated-for-the-movie female elf. (Note: there would not have been a dwarf found without a beard, at all; these dwarves in Jackson's movies are just too gd pretty IMO, since when do we need to Channing-Tatum-up dwarves? /the-dwarves-are-too-damn-pretty-meme) Spider scene -- why not have the dialogue where Bilbo taunts the spiders? Where is "attercop"? Where is this (and other) wonderful examples of writing wherein, Tolkien isn't just writing a fantasy book, but introducing English speakers to ancient parts of the language, that encourage us to delve further into the past of our language? The dialogue in the book here is legendary IMO, and now masses will replace it with the vacated display of this movie. Lake town -- we have humans, dwarves, orcs and elves ... oh and a hobbit. Reality: there were just humans, dwarves and a hobbit ever in Laketown. Dol Guldor -- all to do with Dol Guldur is 100% conjecture. Bilbo and Smaug -- this is by far my biggest disappointment. Bilbo NEVER took the ring off when talking with Smaug, and this bullshit of Smaug being in cahoots with Sauron is nothing but that: bullshit.... Bilbo named Sting, not some spider. The barrel river scene -- whilst well done in the movie, my daughter and I laughing out load at one point -- was NOT a combat sequence. These orcs were NOT chasing "The Company" the entire movie, they were never in Mirkwood. They were never in Laketown. Radagast was NOT in The Hobbit, and he NEVER had bird shit running down his face. The dwarves NEVER encountered Smaug, at all, much less had a walt-disney-ride tour through Erebor -- Lonely Mtn -- that was nothing less than WoW Iron Forge. Smaug was NOT covered in gold, ever. There was not this great forge scene and Smaug never got covered in molten gold, and I guess the boat or whatever Thorin rides in, in molten gold, does a hellava job dissipating heat. There was NOT some special bow and arrow system to fight dragons -- it was just a plain bow and arrow. The way they meet Beor is fucked up. It is entirely fabricated from the book, and I think the book was better, with Gandalf introducing "The Company" in pairs and such, in an elegant manner. And Beor never said he disliked or hated dwarves. The way they meet the elves is fucked up -- wtf fuck with that at all?. "The vanishing party of elves" in the forest could have made for great cinema IMHO. Oh, and Legolas was NOT in The Hobbit. ffs, Jackson has a dwarf and elf falling in love with each other .. my god.... Ok, and let's be sure to imprison Gandalf again, I mean, that's always a crowd getter! Why mess with principle scenes such as Smaug/Bilbo meeting? When Biblo takes off the ring revealing himself to Smaug, my heart collapsed. The power of that scene is that Smaug is truly baffled by this Hobbit. A thread throughout TH and LoTR is that the hobbits are true mysteries, to even ancient beings such as Fangorn (Treebeard). Bilbo is able to engage Smaug in a lengthy dialogue, mostly, because Smaug is just damned curious about what Bilbo is, and the fact that Bilbo is also invisible, makes the dragon as intrigued as hell. Smaug never knows about the ring. He never makes a single, solitary statement about the ring, at all! And where is one of my all time favorite Tolkien quotes, as Bilbo taunts Smaug just a little too much, making a joke as Smaug's expense, who then tosses a line of flame up the single tunnel (yes, it was a single tunnel that the dragon had always thought he should have blocked-up) to which Bilbo makes a saying he uses from then on: "Never laugh at live dragons." <-- WHERE IS THAT PETER JACKSON!?!? It could have been worse. Aragorn coulda showed up. He woulda been like, idk, 12? Since the 1st "The Hobbit" Jackson carved down the number of dwarves. Oh, and, let's make sure to have a wounded dwarf, who has to stay behind in Laketown (and there was not a 'river gate' that closed, and bottle-necked the barrels; and btw, the barrels were sealed, this is how barrels could float down a river without sinking (you see, because the barrels were sealed -- note: open barrels would quickly fill with water and sink), but now, his brother demands to stay behind too, and then, another dwarf overslept. So now, we have 3 nice dwarfs in laketown, along with legolas and this make-believe female elf -- that was NOT in the book at all. Because -- and you can see this coming in the next movie -- like, there's gonna be all this action-jackson combat fucking shit that filled the screen. 'Sleeping Bombur is 100% done away with, replaced by 'arrow-knee Kili' Bruce Lee would watch these elves fighting and be impressed. Neo would be impressed. My god, just how many orcs are there to die? These orcs vs these 2 elves is like me vs my bag of popcorn.... I worried before I ever saw the first Peter Jackson movie covering Tolkien's work. Upon seeing it, he won me over, and I was on board. I have been great, good and ok with all his "Tolkenesque" work since, until now. This last iteration has me getting those feelings again, that I had before ever seeing the 1st move. Please, Mr. Jackson: get it right, get it tighter, and err a bit more toward the source material. I know that was acerbic, but honest. I understand a movie is tough to produce, must have rhythms, action, ebbs and flows, that books do not have to deal with. I am a Jackson fan, I just would like to leave his movies covering Tolkien with the same feeling I left after LoTR:FoTR. This one is the worst of the lot, and I feel he both can do better, and knows he can. And it was Bilbo who saw the missing scale on Smaug when he had the ring on an when he was flattering Smaug and when Smaug rolled over to show off his body not some fucking kid of Bard who didn't exist in the book. Why take this small thing away? Why not err on the side of the book?
Mr. Jackson: you are tasked (have tasked yourself) with introducing the masses who might never read these books, to the works of Tolkien. Seeing how his writings are some the greatest in English Literature, I feel you should simply err on the side of authentic words he wrote, not a script written by graduate, pressured to sell "HTDoS" cups at Taco Bell.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
fkd the Moabite
Deep thought of the day: Blogging turns 5 minute emails into 50 minute posts -- the difference being, no body reads your blog posts....
I am a Moabite, erm, MOBAite....
HoTS is coming! Yes, Blizzard, who actually provided the canvas ... well, and the paint, the brush, the camera, the film for the camera and ever Bob fucking Ross to paint the picture that _is_ the genre of MOBA (oh look! a wiki on what a MOBA is!) ...is finally releasing their MOBA:
(I've been told to stop putting pics in between all my words and/or, that I use too many images, fuck that!)
/am-I-the-only-one-around-here-that-hears-"Heroes-of-The-Storm"-thinks-of-the-Doors-tune:-"Riders-on-The-Storm"?-meme
tl;dr: great page on the coming hero categories
It appears the heroes will be drawn from Blizzard's main-stays: Warcraft, Diablo and Strarcraft, and will be in 4 classes of:
Warrior – Mostly melee characters who can soak up lots of damage while also dealing it back.
Assassin – Your top damage dealers that can pick off enemies, but also tend to be more squishy.
Support – Assists other characters either by healing, buffs, or other abilities
Specialist – More specialized roles that don’t fit into the above. These include Siege and commander heroes.
Btw, the best part of writing this post is I'm listening to the Doors right now, RoTS....
I am a Moabite, erm, MOBAite....
![]() |
| ^This is a Moabite |
HoTS is coming! Yes, Blizzard, who actually provided the canvas ... well, and the paint, the brush, the camera, the film for the camera and ever Bob fucking Ross to paint the picture that _is_ the genre of MOBA (oh look! a wiki on what a MOBA is!) ...is finally releasing their MOBA:
![]() |
| HoTS |
(I've been told to stop putting pics in between all my words and/or, that I use too many images, fuck that!)
/am-I-the-only-one-around-here-that-hears-"Heroes-of-The-Storm"-thinks-of-the-Doors-tune:-"Riders-on-The-Storm"?-meme
tl;dr: great page on the coming hero categories
It appears the heroes will be drawn from Blizzard's main-stays: Warcraft, Diablo and Strarcraft, and will be in 4 classes of:
Warrior – Mostly melee characters who can soak up lots of damage while also dealing it back.
Assassin – Your top damage dealers that can pick off enemies, but also tend to be more squishy.
Support – Assists other characters either by healing, buffs, or other abilities
Specialist – More specialized roles that don’t fit into the above. These include Siege and commander heroes.
Btw, the best part of writing this post is I'm listening to the Doors right now, RoTS....
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