August 2022: Day 188 of the war

Ukraine has managed to hit targets deep in Crimea, which the USA agrees is part of their territory. This has sent Russian tourists in that region fleeing back home and leaving the resorts empty. You can actually check on this webcam if/when people start coming back. That said, exploding stuff and retaking territory are two different things, but the counter offensive has begun.

Russia has settled into a defensive stance in anticipation of this so the battle lines haven't moved much from last month. Reports state that they are failing to pay some of their troops, but that doesn't stop them from threatening to explode nuclear power plants and deploying Steven Seagal. It might require one of these powerful exo-suits to stop that guy.

While this all might be "same/same" and war fatigue for you, Ukrainian redditor Saberflux gives daily updates from Kharkiv which seems to be on the receiving end of Russian missile strikes almot all the time. Redditor PCX99 also has daily war summaries for those interested.

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Warframe: Chroma and Xaku
Warframe: Excalibur and Zephyr
Warframe: Nyx and Rhino

The Sandman (Season 1 - Netflix)

When the lord of Dreams (Tom Sturridge) escapes from his magical prison he must go about regaining his power, rebuilding his ruined kingdom and saving and/or punishing those he sees fit. That's the main selling point for me: the main character is often quite heartless when dealing with problems, and the visual effects are great.

He could also pass as a vampire.

The story is also structured very differently than to most other shows which is intriguing, but might be too odd for some viewers. It might also be the most "representative" show when it comes to races and sexuality that I've seen. Not a bad thing, but it is noticeable. Definitely one I'd recommend but as it is a bit out there, your mileage may vary.

Warframe: Khora and Lavos

The cat and the snake whippers.

Khora

My first recommendation is to only passively farm for this warframe as her blueprints come from Sanctuary Onslaught. You will already be doing SO for a lot of things - ranking up other frames, weapons, Tenno powers, then frames and weapons again when you forma them so just collect her as she comes. You might go crazy if you specifically only do SO for her as the drop rate is low.

The "cat warframe" is a very PG description of Khora, who does look like a cat woman and has an immortal cat as a pet (in addition to your regular pet/companion). What she actually enjoys is wrapping enemies up in wires to stun them (the cat pet also wraps enemies in wires), sometimes dangling them from the ceiling (which for some reason makes them hostile to their friends), and whipping them like the bad, bad things they are. This makes infested particularly easy, but despite my best efforts to prep her for Steel Path interception, she just keeps running out of power and has very low survivability against any SP foe with a firearm.

Lavos

"The snake" is also a misnomer for Lavos, who is acquired from the Entrati syndicate store. He is actually an alchemist that looks snake-like and has twin snakes he can whip out at enemies which restore his health. He also has a nifty speed slide, a pulsating flying drone, and a whirling AoE all of which can be imbued with almost any status you like (he can't innately summon puncture, slash or impact).

Not only does he have instant access to almost any status effect in the game, he also does all this with 0 energy! This is because his powers simply work on cool downs which probably appeals to any World of Warcraft readers. While he can be a pretty tough cookie, especially with the right weapons, I don't have a purpose for him that my firewalking Loki can't already do - outside of energy drain missions I suppose.

The Gray man and Full Metal Alchemist (2017 / Live Action)

People who want to save people are the most dangerous people of them all?

The Gray Man

CIA trained assassin (Ryan Gosling) becomes the target of his own agency when proof of their corruption falls into his possession. While the plot is thin and predictable it is an action packed film with some good fight scenes and some laughs included. Entertaining enough to recommend, especially for Ryan Gosling fans. Just don't go in with any expectations and everything will be fine.

Full Metal Alchemist (2017)

Based on the popular manga of the same name, this series follows a pair of brothers desperately trying to retrieve that which they lost due to their own foolishness. While the film condenses and alters a bit of the story, it is still pretty solid for the most part (the ending is a bit lol and the pace means it lacks some emotional hits) and while the CGI isn't the best as its obviously on a budget, it's passable. The main issue for me is the protagonist.

While all the actors cheesily try to act like their comic counterparts the protagonist is simply unlikable or weak acting wise, but to be fair he also has the hardest job. His "blonde" hair is also the most distracting of all of them. In the end, I'm not sure I can recommend this because there are better methods to get the same / similar story and for fans, you already know the story so...? That didn't stop them from making two more live action movies though. :P

Warframe: Specters and the Proboscis Cernos

While my Loki can handle a lot of the steel path now thanks to the Xoris and the Nataruk bow (both quest rewards you can't miss), defense style missions are challenging enough that I rebuild a Frost to handle them as well defense specters (2 Star Vauban for infested, 1 Star Frost for the rest) armed with Proboscis Cernos bows, which actually starts out as a Cernos that you buy from the market. You then use upgrade it into a Mutalist Cernos and again into the Proboscis form (note: each form gives mastery!).

As a main weapon it has a very low ammo count and each arrow takes time to fire as you need a full draw. Whatever the arrow strikes, be it terrain or an enemy, becomes the spawn point for tentacles that grabs every enemy nearby with a short immobilize and stun then pulls them close before exploding with viral damage (meaning survivors will take extra damage to health from subsequent attacks). It's pretty neat, but there are better things for you to carry.

Specters on the other hand, don't care about ammo count or mods since they and their weapons level up based on when you summon them. The whole tentacle thing is another awesome form of crowd control which works nicely with my AoE weapons. Now to work out how to handle interceptions, which are "capture the point" scenarios.

Obviously the easy answer is to bring more players but until my crew is ready I'm going to try be soloing these. So far I've only completed Steel Path Phobos. Lots more places to go! :)

Warframe: Mag and Grendel

Frames that have the power to suck?

Mag

One of the easiest warframes to get, Mag can either be chosen as your starter frame or by camping "The Sergeant" on Phobos who is possibly the weakest boss in the game as he's only slightly more durable than the other corpus troops. Mag's specialty is magnetism, and she can -suck- pull enemies towards her, pulse energy that lowers hostile shields and armor, crush enemy bones and perhaps the most useful is make magnetic bubbles that either trap foes or attract bullets within which is why she pairs best with piercing bullet weapons. Alas, she is lacking greatly on the defensive side which makes her quite squishy, encouraging the careful shooting game play from the early days of Warframe. She's at best a stepping stone to something stronger.

Grendel

One of the hardest warframes to get as you need to complete the star map, win arbitration missions to get the currency to find Grendel parts locators and then do those three missions in which all your gear mods are deactivated, this chubby fella is actually quite funny to play. His main gimmick is eating, with his very first ability to suck enemies into his gut which increases his armor. Consumed enemies basically melt continuously but you can spit them back out at their buddies to cause more toxin damage (then probably eat them again), forcefully digest some to gain some minor bonus or turn into a large bowling ball that can knock enemies over and squish them.

While Grendel is decently tanky and it is hilarious to roll around and vacuum groups of enemies into non-existence, he is very energy hungry (drains per enemy in his belly) and by the time you get him you'll probably be looking to hit the steel path which he won't survive without lots of modification. In the end I just couldn't find a use for him that my current frame couldn't do, and fed him to the Helminth.

The Croods and A New Age

Surviving the stone age!

The Croods

A family of cave men have managed to survive thanks to the strength and rules of their patriarch (voiced by Nicolas Cage) but to avoid fatal catastrophe must change their ways and their life style. With colorful settings, hilarious creatures and near indestructible characters this is a very fun flick. While it starts a tad slow the plot is quite good and a few characters get to grow out of it. My only complaint is that it celebrates a rebellious daughter whose curiosity would have likely gotten herself or her family killed had this been a more adult medium. Definitely recommended!

Not the sharpest rocks in the cave.

The Croods: A New Age

The survivors from the first movie meet another, more educated tribe and clash when it comes to their ways of life. Ugh. This is one example of the sequel not being as good as the original. The jokes are cornier, the story is very loose, and the threat is not really there when compared what the Croods had to go through in their previous adventure. Possibly a movie to watch while you do something else, but otherwise not recommended.