Undying Loyalty in WoW

                             left: 1st WoW cinematic, feat. forsaken,
                 right: screenshot from Return of the
                 King feat. Undead Army.

I lied. I've never been unsure about them, I always thought they were poor choices for a playable race. Their popular appeal aside, their motivations have always been weak, and their leader, and those alliances always suspect. I've also never been particularly drawn to the character class: Warlock, but I will attribute that to my own prejudices.

Inherent in my dislike of them has always been a question of loyalties. Their own, and also in-game, or even the player-base as a whole.

1.) In the Warcraft universe, the Burning Legion and all its affiliated demons are the cause of countless worlds' destruction, and untold loss of life. Inclusive in this category are the Forsaken.

2.) All Forsaken used to be human, and supposedly all have their own free will. All supposedly now hate the living-humans. Not the orcs, not the remaining highborne elves. Just humans?

3.) Some (or all) retain some degree, if not all of their past memories, and some even have living relatives.

4.) They appear to almost worship their leader as a deity, who attempts to spread death and corruption just as their former murderer and oppressor: Arthas- whom they loathe.

5.) Their leader makes alliances with demons (who caused the curse of the undead, which made the Forsaken) and other undead, like the Valkyr- who also helped Arthas as the Lich King spread the corruption... you get the idea.

And so on, and so forth -one of the best in-game (in my mind) starting zones  quests, is in the Scarlet Enclave, wherein the player (regardless to whichever faction he/she belongs) gets to experience his character fighting back against the indomitable will of the Lich King. Willpower and the identity of self are paramount, and the sole goal of the player, eventually.

I love the Death Knight experience, and wish there was a way, in-game to alter the undead experience... but I am sure it is too late (nearly 8yrs., not including Warcraft) to re-align loyalties.

Remodeling in the World of Warcraft

I think it is about time for a few new edits to the main capital cities in WoW.
Namely the Park in Stormwind City, and the Goblin Slums in Orgrimmar. Neither is appealing, nor do they fit in the storytelling that most of the environments in WoW are capable of expressing.

For these and other reasons, I believe the two areas should be reworked. If
The Park served no original purpose, (I seem to recall a few druids wandering around, pre-cataclysm) other than being a copy of the Mage District, then it should be given a clearly defined use, for example, it could be both a subset area for the Gnomes, who are still without a legitimate capitol, and the new SI:7 base, (again?). There is an area set aside called the Dwarven District, why not another Little Gnomeregan, with turning gears at the entrance, escalators winding down, and a submarine base leading out into the bay? There could be a set of retractable bridges leading to the district, and a water pumping station to filter ocean water, and re-fill the canals.

If that idea is dismissed, then it could also be returned to an actual park, and an environment for both the Druids, and the Shaman. It could have as its centerpiece, a floating island from Nagrand. It could be chained to the cliff side of the coastline, and could even have a barrow den hollowed out underneath, and/or a Shaman circle above.

Or it could be a docking station for a smaller craft in the style of the Exodar. I hear it is considered lore, that the Draenei ship is operable again, there could be a shuttle between the still hard to reach place, like Silvermoon City has always had an Orb of Translocation.

Now as far as the Goblin Slums, I found that its organization to be fairly complete, and well thought out. Same as the Tauren, and Trolls; their section of the city is fairly self-sufficient. My only concern is building typology, and time. Given the duration of the Goblins stay in the city, the Slums need to evolve. In Kazan, everything was over-crowded, and built up, and as the player explores the Lost Isles, there are Goblin inventions like the Town-in-a-Box.

I think a) a few cliff-hugging skyscrapers, b) a couple of well placed lifts, and c) a single centrally located profession-training machine: they're Goblins! The town needs to reflect their engineering background. I was also thinking the ramshackle array of tents could be replaced by poolside gazebos, and maybe a trebuchet to launch players to the top of the red cliffs, but I'm a purist to the aesthetic.

Someone Explain It, So That It Makes Sense.

Someone please, explain it, so that it makes sense to me. I just have missed something in the core concept.

I understand there is a political theory that says Trickle Down Economics (economics being a field solidly based in math, and not subject to whimsical nonsense,) means that if those who are already financially successful are given even greater means through corporate and personal tax breaks, instead of he masses, that eventually We The People, (by which I mean the majority) will eventually get the benefits, because they (by which I mean rich assholes) will be ultimately spending more.

I get it, and at its surface it is a simple concept. Here's where I disagree...

Ultimately, what this concept is saying: is that we all (the majority) are dogs, sitting obediently at the feet of our masters (corporate assholes) and if they deign to delight us with scraps from their table, we should just sit there chewing happily, and feel all happy and warm inside.

The unfortunate reality, is that this concept has never been true, and those that cling to it, out of either desperation, or selfishness are the remnants of a bygone era of self-indulgences and effectively caste systems.

I get it, I mean for the wealthy millionaires, and now billionaires why they think that they should give the least, and take the most, percentage-wise: they're selfish. It's in the name of the concept, but what I don't understand are the dogs. The loyalists to their corporate overlords. To any and all Republicans, who aren't listed in Forbes magazine, or high-ranking members of a Fortune-500 company, I have to ask, why?

Others more qualified than I, have already explained part of this problem, it stems from the fact that right-wingers in government have aligned themselves with the religious nutters, and that those Bob Jones-esque (by which I mean more assholes) zealots are busy programming middle America, (both literal Mid-West USA, and figurative middle class) to believe nonsense like in order to love Jesus, or support our troops, you have to think their way.

And that I don't get... in fact, when you'll have my complete understanding, is when you say something like: to support our troops, you'll offer them free health insurance for life, and a college education, and maybe even VA Housing for all veteran's families, not just the section 8 vouchers for homeless vets, but they don't...

Instead (and they're in their own capacity, honest) telling us, what they're going to do is give the wealthiest and extra boost, and that they hope (reads: know is unlikely) will happen, is that you'll get the run-off, rather than the river.

I think I've been giving my opinion again, oh well... next time - just the facts.

Getting Political Again...

Or... Why We the People can't afford to elect Willard "Mitt" Romney as President of the United States of America.

Agenda, motivations, these are not only salient points, but the heart of the matter. "Mittens" is an avatar of the corporate sociopath; he is greed.

It is not just that he wants to allow the wind energy credits to expire, but why?
So only the wealthy, who already have the means and resources, can profit in the energy market, and by that we probably mean "oil men".

It isn't just that he refuses to support a program which at its core is reminiscent of the plan that was passed in my state of Massachusetts, but also has a planned parenthood infrastructure.

And on a personal level to him,
It isn't just that he doesn't want to pay taxes on his income, and wants to make it so "middle class families" share an increased burden so he and his can get away with paying next to nothing. By the way, will do nothing to actually pay down the national debt- just saying.

The sad fact is, that he wants to run America like a business, and that is not only bad for businesses everywhere, small and et cetera, but bad for everyone whose personal well-being doesn't net a profit for the people he'd like to see at the top tier of control; the elites.

Unfortunately for many of us, even the average misinformed Republican, this plan doesn't include you. You as an avg. income earner, are to him, beyond the scope of his purview. It's not that dissimilar from Reaganomics, but the sad truth is that "Trickle Down Economics" is a biased concept, and its distortion of the truth doesn't benefit anyone but the already wealthy.

Let's regroup: the 80's were not a great time, and Ronald was not a great president, he was an actor, with Alzheimer's more than likely already affecting his mind. It is sad that he served two terms. It is even more sad that his VP served a term after that, and that a spoiled little rich kid got in 8 years after his dad, but let me ask you; do you really want to go back?

What is it that you, the voter, see happening under the elitists reclaiming power? Forgive me for being a Egalitarian instead, but I don't just spout equality, I believe in it. We should not have elected W. in the first place, we were very wrong to re-elect him out of fear, and I don't see adequate cause to put another unprincipled CEO into the oval office.

Bain Capital is proof not of financial success, but solely of gain through exploitation, and deceit. We shouldn't applaud him for ripping companies apart, we should question why he thinks his form of profiteering should be rewarded. He doesn't create jobs with his methods, he only loads his own coffers, and it is the only way he knows. He is incapable of creating structure that lasts.

My PC Build

A few months back, I put together a new PC tower using parts I bought on Amazon.com.
I've been really happy with it, for the most part, and thought I'd share the specs.
I spent just under $1100 for all the parts, and for now have it hooked up to a 40" Sony TV.
 

• XFX AMD Radeon HD 6790 840 MHz 1 GB DDR5 – Video Card
• Sabrent Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI Network 300 Mps – Wi-Fi Card Adapter
• Corsair Memory Vengeance 16 Dual Channel Kit DDR3 1600 MHz 240 Pin DDR3 SDRAM
• AMD Phenom II X4 960T Processor, Black Edition
• OCZ Fatali1ty 550W Gaming Power Supply
• Asus 24xDVD+/-RW Drive DVD-RAM
• Asus Sabertooth 990FX – AM3+ TUF Series DDR3 Motherboard
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
• Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
• Cooler Master HAF ATX Mid Tower Case

So even though I have spent more on an individual computer before, this is by far the best I've ever had.

 
 

 

Mists of Pandaria: Challenge Modes.

Mists of Pandaria: Challenge Modes

Thanks to perculia of wowhead,

Just want to voice my opinion; the Shaman gets totally screwed in this armor set...
Looks like a Witch Doctor from Diablo III. Who by the way, from appearances looks like it is just re-purposed abilities of the Death Knight, who were created by  Ner'zhul who was an orc shaman...

ah, never mind me, but it looks stupid. Plain and simple. Thought the last leather dress w/bones on it looked stupid for a mail armor set, but this one redefines bad, which is saying something because the textures and details on the various elements are so good on all of them.

Been having a surreal several weeks at work. Those who run the company are selfish, sadistic, and border on the sociopathic personality. Their self-centered-ness is compounded by an almost compulsive need to hurt others (especially ironic, considering I work in social services), all in the name of preserving their own lot in life.

Sadly, like a fictitious Sith Empire, the evil Lords don't realise they are deconstructing their own supporting framework, until they too are on the chopping block, with all-too-often disastrous effects. They don't see the proverbial forest for the trees.

Without going any further into detail, karma doesn't work fast enough for me. Call it Adult A.D.D., call it whatever you like, but the right people never seem to get what's coming to them. Also, it should be noted that this constant gardening of the company, takes as many flowers and shrubs, as it does weeds. Not one to mix metaphors, I'll quit here.

8 -year-old-son-beats-family-dog?

Why on Earth would anyone think the solution is to move? For that matter, why, when your child exhibits cruelty to animals, is your first reaction therapy? It's called punishment. Learn to not be so weak and pathetic.

Any of these options will do nicely;
a) no watching sports with the little psychopath.
b) discipline your misbegotten terror each and every time he so much looks at the dog with malicious intent, or
c) put your little ungrateful bastard through counseling, and tell him (once you've found your backbone) that you could give a shit if he hates you.

On a side note; I am ashamed for you, that you have so little manhood, that you'd let this child manipulate you, I almost can't believe you're a real person.

Uh, I guess I'm just not that into blogging...

Not much going on, but I think I have a better idea for this thing...


Rather than making some unnecesary posts that nobody ever reads, I'll just start using this to make expanded twitter posts...


that no one ever reads.


In any case, I'm having fun. Hope everyone's weekend is going well. Just listening to Pandora Radio, using Twitter, and here trying to update my Blogger account - you know, completely useless multi-tasking that isn't very productive at all.