Have You Ever?

Long ago (or it will be long ago by the time I post this), there was this internet questionnaire floating around so I thought I'd answer it too! :P

Driven or been driven at 100 mph/160 kmh?

Nope. I dislike driving, so when I drive I try to be as careful as possible and drive as little as I can. That kinda goes for all vehicles actually. If I can walk, I'll walk.

Learned a possibly deadly skill?

Capoeira is possibly deadly, so yes... though it is unlikely deadly when I use it. I'm pretty good with guns though. :P

Ridden in a helicopter?

Nope! Never had a need to. This also falls into the "its a vehicle" thing for me.

Gone zip lining?

Nope. Seems unnecessarily risky. If someone managed to attach the other end of the line, I'll find the bridge to get there instead.

Been to an NFL game or Ice Hockey?

Nope, neither interest me.

Watched Dr Who?

While I might have seen bits of an episode or two, nope. Doesn't interest me.

Been to Canada?

Nope. I might do this one day.

Visited Disney?

Yes but I was so small I hardly remember it.

Visited an actual castle?

Nope. Someone really needs to build one of these nearer to me.

Visited Vegas?

Nope. Again I might do this one day, though Canada seems more likely.

Eaten alone at a restaurant?

Yep! I've got no problems doing that.

Played an instrument?

Yes, a few. I try to sing too.

Ridden a motorcycle?

Nope. This one is highly unlikely too being a vehicle and all.

Ridden a horse?

Yup! I rarely get to do this though, and I'm not very good at it.

Donated blood?

Nope. I need mine thanks.

Been skiing/snowboarding?

Nope. Never seen snow. I hear its cold.

Gone camping?

Nope. Never had a need to. Definitely not going to "for fun".  

Gone to a festival?

No. Oh, wait yes I have. Not really going out of my way to go to them though as there are people there. I try avoid people.

Driven a stick shift?

A manual car? Yes. Automatic is much simpler and less stressful.

Ridden in a police car?

Nope. Never needed to.

Driven a boat?

Nope. This combines a few things I dislike. "Driving" "vehicle" "water". None of those appeal to me.

Eaten Escargot?

WTF is Escargot? (Looks it up). Oh, so "have I ever eaten snails"? Blech. Hell no.

Been on a cruise?

Nope. At least I wouldn't have to drive it? LOL.

Been on TV?

I don't think so.

Been in a paper/book/magazine?

None of those... but a flyer yes. And the inside part of a music CD cover.

Eaten Sushi?

Yes. Not going to make that mistake again.

Seen a UFO?

Nope. I don't actively look for them though, and for me many aircraft/drones would be UFOs at night.

Been Bungie Jumping?

Nope. Seems like a really bad idea, so not going to do that.

Rescued an animal?

I walked a lost dog home once (good thing he had an address on his collar), but other than that nope.

Met someone rather famous?

A few - yeah, and that's not counting the ones that show up at conventions.

Luke Cage

"Always forward, never back."

After being subjected to illegal human experimentation in prison, Carl Lucas (Mike Colter) gains super strength and near indestructibility then uses said powers to escape back to Harlem to lay low from the law, changing his name to the titular "Luke Cage", and reluctantly becoming a hero to that crime filled neighborhood.

There's a lot to like with this show, the acting is good, the lead is likeable, most of the villains are decent, season 2 has capoeira (always get bonus points from me), and most episodes showcase a band or music group which is fantastic even though half the songs aren't my sort of thing.

That said, for me this is the weakest series when compared to Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. The first season in particular is very slow paced and all the black references just for the sake of solidifying that this is a black show for black people just reeks of racism didn't do it for me.

It's like a punch to the face!

Fortunately most of that is fixed up in Season 2 but apparently it wasn't good enough to save it from the axe. Still worth a watch, and definitely better than the DC counterpart "Black Lightning" which was just way too ghetto for us to even make it past episode 1.

Saints Row 2

Open world silliness at its best.

The Saints Row franchise has never been on my radar, and I only got this game when Greenman Gaming was giving it for free. Yes, it's now very dated and the combat is hilariously bad/over simplified, but props for getting some capoeira in there.

It's got tons of humor, story, and skilled voice actors as well as a decent vehicle system, when you get used to it. It also has a great selection of radio stations, one of which my wife kept singing along with while I played!

You play as the resurrected Saints gang leader, and are tasked with violently taking over the open-world city. There are a multitude of extra activities (racing, stunt jumping, being a bodyguard to celebs, stealing ho's, lowering real estate value by pouring poop from a sanitation vehicle, and more) as well as collectibles hidden all over the place. I've finished the game and I'm only on 70% completion!

Need to stop more prostitute uprisings. With a chainsaw.

There's a crazy amount of customization too - for your character, your clothes (each article independently), your vehicles, your gangs, your cribs. Yes it's silly, but god damn it's fun. Graphics wise, its very dated but I still can recommend it for anyone who likes driving around in open world craziness. Three police cars out of five! Now my interest is piqued for the other Saints Row games...

TESO: The Last March

Adventures of Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

Reaper's March is a breath of fresh air after the stifling forests of Malabal Tor. Apart from the Imperials assaulting this zone (led by Tharns no less) there's also an evil khajiit spirit called the Dark Mane (also conjured by a Tharn) raising scary looking Khajiit warriors wherever it goes. The main quest involves assisting a pair of twin sisters in stopping this threat, which is great.

Capoeira esquivas are useful here too!

Unfortunately that "threat" occupies only maybe 1/3rd of the region, with the rest occupied by local bandits, gamblers, an arena and skooma peddlers. I do get to free Barbas (the talking dog) from a prison of his master, Clavicus Vile, though. There is also an awesome side quest at a scary mansion with a massive cavern underneath occupied by Imperials who are looking for the Oghma Infinitum. Hermaeus Mora tells me they cannot have it.

Quite a literal army of bad dudes in the tunnels.

Finally I'm at a level where I can solo handle the group of 8 or so mobs here, and manage to take down the boss too. For all my work, Mora appears and snatches the Infinitum at the last moment - rephrasing that "no mortal" can have it. I manage to retain a single page, still enough to make most people insane.

After beating back the Tharns and destroying the Dark Mane, Queen Ayrenn seems more agreeable to an alliance or at least a cease fire with the Pact but I don't know. She looks, talks and smells like a Thalmor scum. Odds that she will keep her word are next to nil.

Man of Tai Chi

[Post #26 of the Blaugust Challenge!]

This Chinese martial arts flick follows the life of Tai Chi practicioner Tiger Chen, who is manipulated by a very charismatic antagonist in the form of Keanu Reeves to begin fighting for all the wrong reasons which causes all sorts of problems in Tiger's life. Balance is a strong theme here, and almost all the fights are spectacular displays of hand to hand combat. Yes, there is some light wire work until the very end where due to the nature of the combatants there is heavier use of it, and there is one unexplained (BS) move that might trouble the UFC die hards.

So fighting. Much intense. Wow.

As a story it works pretty well, though there are some questions not answered in the telling and obviously there are subtitles for those of us linguistically challenged. The hero is likeable enough, as are the female leads, but it's Keanu who steals the show as the slightly insane bad guy. I did have issue with the "fight announcer" lady though - her lines are wooden (possibly intentional) nor is she decent eye candy (given her dress codes I assume she's meant to be).

I also took some issue with not seeing the full length of some fights and for some inexplicable reason the movie tries to give you epilepsy right at the start and around halfway through with a burst of intense flashing lights. Obviously the heavier use of wire work for the final fight also makes it a bit of a let down after all the previous combats. Despite all that it is a decent film, one I give three kicks out of five.

Blaugust Bonus: I never was into sports of any kind during my school years (though I did like badminton) so I've always been quite unfit. Not enough to be fat or obese but just ... weak? :P It was only after I was working when I decided to try out capoeira. I can still remember the first class where I could barely do one pushup and that irritating noise of berimbau music. Well I soon found myself enjoying that music and while I never became Superman I did manage to shed a bit of weight. Being sore all over after each class became an awesome feeling, and I think it did wonders for curing some shyness. I stuck with it for a number of years but eventually had to give it up to concentrate my funds elsewhere (aka. I got married :P).