Today's Mighty Oak

Myst series replay: Myst Masterpiece Edition

Yesterday's nut September 21, 2018

As part of the 25th anniversary of Myst, Cyan launched a crowdfunding campaign that, among other things, included copies of all the games on Steam.  Being my favorite game, I jumped all over it, and last night finished up playing through Myst ME.  I figured I’d write about each game as I finish them up.

Myst, being my favorite game of all time, is one that I’ve played many times.  So I was able to go through faster than someone figuring out the puzzles for themselves for the first time (Revelation will be tough, I tried to put most of that game out of my head).  But I made sure to take the time to read all the journals and enjoy the ambiance.

It’s a bit dated of course, but for 25 years old, it still holds up, and it’s amazing the type of innovations they were able to figure out to make the game work and make it an immersive experience.

As always, I left the Selentic Age for last, but at least now, my ear seems to be much better trained than the last time I played through.

I think the Channelwood Age is my favorite, but just walking around the island of Myst itself is always such a pleasure.  The bundle includes RealMyst which I’ve never played, so I’m excited for that, and I’ll be doing that last, and at least just wandering around a bit instead of playing the whole game again.

I also, of course, love the look of Stoneship, and Mechanical was actually the first Age I remember getting to.  It also reminds me of Garrison from URU, so it’s neat to see that influence.

The ending is so well written, and such a wonderful way to conclude the game, leaving you with an emotional journey, as well as teasing Riven.  I’ll be starting Riven probably sometime next week, but that’s a much, much larger game, and I think has the hardest puzzles of the whole series, so it will be a while before I”m back writing this again.

all we need is some ice cream and a hug

Yesterday's nut January 1, 2013

Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful celebration bringing in 2013.

Now, first up, I’ve talked about this before with some friends, and we all still have a problem believing that it’s a thing.  The Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve was robbed of $18 million worth of syrup.  Go ahead and read that a few times and just let your mind be blown.  Only in Canada.

The NYT has a great, long-form piece about the avalanche at Tunnel Creek.  It’s a great story, and the way it is presented is just amazing as well.  Some people are saying the ads break it up too much, but I didn’t find them that intrusive, honestly.

The gun control debate (hopefully) continues.  I don’t agree with the NRA’s idea of putting armed guards in schools (there’s also no evidence that that would work, case in point, the fact that everyone at Fort Hood had access to guns and the massacre still happened, the police department at Virginia Tech and the armed guards at Columbine).  But here’s a new angle I never thought of:

And as always, violent video games aren’t to blame.  Otherwise we’d have a much, much larger problem.

And this is scary, the Los Angeles gun buy back program produced two rocket launchers.

That’s it for right now, but I’ll be back with more soon, have a great one!

The Guardian and Information is Beautiful teamed up to look at that data for the end of the world, which, in case you weren’t aware, didn’t happen.

 

I keeep my jealousy close, becasue it’s all mine

Yesterday's nut September 24, 2012

Let’s see what I have today.  First up, a beautiful time-lapse project of Pittsburgh:

IGN has a great article: Why Video Games Matter.

I missed this when it debuted, Harry Potter, 10 years later:

Wired has a cool article up about children’s exploration in Pittsburgh.  Check it out.

And lastly, I don’t watch it very often, but I like it when I do, here’s a fan-made opening of 30 Rock:

You can’t “copywrite” the concept of having a hammock

Yesterday's nut August 13, 2012

Quick update for everyone, let’s see what we have today.

First up, this book should never be made into a movie (I also honestly don’t think it could be), but here’s an awesome opening credits sequence for House of Leaves:

Well this isn’t good.  Apparently artificial butter flavoring may also cause Alzheimer’s (as well as various types of cancer)

If this comes to Pittsburgh, I’ll totally do this with a team: The Dare Theory.

Here’s a good run-down of all the Instagram filters, for your easy reference.

Awesome video of Pittsburgh:

Here’s an awesome interview with Wigle Whiskey.  One of these days I’ll try it out, although I know nothing about whiskey.

IGN has a great article about why video games matter, check it out:

My theory is that those of us that didn’t grow out of games are the people that didn’t lose that spark of imagination. We’re wowed by deep space and ocean depths andunexplored caves. We want to believe that the real world still has some magic.

That’s it for now, have a great one!

We’re all on death’s door repeatedly ringing the doorbell, like maniacal girl scouts trying to make quota.

Yesterday's nut August 3, 2012

Quick update for everyone, hopefully I’ll be back with more soon.  First up, get ready for Bowtie Tuesdays, returning in September!  So for now, learn how to tie a bowtie with Bill Nye:

Apartment Therapy goes over how to disguise video games on a book shelf.  Seems like a lot of work, but I guess if you’re going for a certain look, go for it.

Yes, children should do their chores regardless, but I like this:

Man Made has a cool post up about using a sprinkler and paint to cover surfaces.  I imagine it gets clogged pretty quick, but still kind of cool.

BuzzFeed features two bizarre ads for a Philadelphia ice cream company.  The best comment, “IT PUTS THE ICE CREAM ON ITS SKIN OR ELSE IT GETS THE HOSE AGAIN”

A hotel in England has replaced the Bibles in the rooms with…50 Shades of Grey.  An ingenious marketing stunt, I do have to say.

And Brandon Sanderson announced that he finished the final book (book 14) of The Wheel of Time.  There are still edits to do, but those will mostly be done by others.  It’s a great series, although I got distracted while in book 9, so I’ll be going back to get caught up.  I’m not sure what the status is of the rumored prequels and off shoots (three prequels and two off shoot trilogies), but I’m not really holding my breath.  Here’s the cover, and aside from “The Fires of Heaven,” it’s probably my favorite title in the series:

That’s it for now, but I’ll hopefully be back soon!

“We’re just trying to live our normal lives. What did McDonald’s ever do except make delicious chicken nuggets?”

Yesterday's nut June 9, 2012

I was able to sneak away from camp on our day off (don’t worry, I’m going back to work tonight), but wanted to get through some of the cool stuff I’ve seen go past in my RSS feeds.

First up, we won’t be able to see it again in our lifetime, but here is the Venus Transit:

Here are some pics as well, pretty awesome!

Scientists are hosting bake sales for NASA!  Not to raise money, but to raise awareness.  Pretty awesome, and sad.

Most likely set up, but a fun video with the Pine-Sol lady:

Awesome ad from Copywranter, being driven around Colorado this summer:

Hide and seek, from the perspective of a baby:

Amazing art of saints as superheroes.  Pretty cool.

A brief history of video games:

I’ll hopefully be back soon, have a great one!

If a tree falls in a forest, then springs back up as a joke, do the squirrels freak out?

Yesterday's nut April 23, 2011

Okay, big update for everyone, so here we go.

First up, this comes from Slog, and is fantastic:

Two weeks ago in his column, Dan Savage eviscerates Maggie Gallagher.  It’s wonderful to read, check it out.

Video Games will now have their own category in the Grammy’s!  Thank goodness.  Baba Yetu won last year for best instrumental (I linked to it before, and it deserves it, it is such a good song, especially the duet version).

Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian, is back!  And now she’s addressing the masses:

Catholic Vandals in France destroyed “Piss Christ.” I’m not familiar with the work, but apparently it’s quite famous.  They assaulted a guard and attacked the photo with an ice pick, which just sounds viscous.  It always makes me sad to see art destroyed.

A few months ago, Gawker redesigned their family of sites, and they are horrible to try to navigate now.  Here’s a graph of their traffic, can you guess when the redesign went live:

It’s nice to see the Democrats actually go on the offensive for once, and the ad is a lot of fun (if not sad):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z7FiBsR8OQ

Also in politics, remember the phrase that those who protest the loudest against [insert any cause] are usually actually personally involved in [cause].  See: Larry Craig, et al.  Well, the Tea Party member of the state congress of Montana who tried to removed all equality for LGBT citizens?  Yeah, she’s a lesbian.  When will politicians learn that this pattern is clear?

Want to see something fun and cute?  Check out Cute Roulette.  It’s like Chat Roulette, but with (presumably) no penises, just lots of baby animals!

You’ll have to excuse me while I laugh.  Considering he is the man who after a rant of anti-Semitic slurs called a cop “Sugar Tits,” Mel Gibson has the gall to say he has never treated anyone badly, and certainly not for their religion or gender!

That’s it for now, have a great one!

Leia: “Baby’s yours.” Luke: “Bad news…”

Yesterday's nut March 3, 2011

So, sometimes I forgot how much of a sucker I am for a good strings section.  With that in mind, I give you the latest video from the Goo Goo Dolls for “NotBroken”

Buzzfeed has amazing Charlie Sheen quotes with baby sloths (much like they did with kittens and Mel Gibson not too long ago), my favorite:

Check out this amazing article about why video games should have their own dedicated Grammy.  “Baba Yetu” is amazing, although the live duet version from VGL is even better:

Tim Burton is set to do a new Hunchback movie!  That remains my all time favorite Disney movie, and I’d actually really like to read the book, so I’m interested in this.

Check out this awesome idea for a new Scrabble set:

This kind of flew under the radar, but Nickelodeon is bringing back classic cartoons with new episodes!  So hoping for Ahh! Real Monsters!

And the internet memes continue for Christina:

That’s it for now, media heavy update, but I’ll be back again soon, have a great one!

“Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you’re in.”

Yesterday's nut January 29, 2011

Couple things for everyone.  First up, the Old Spice man is going to be coming back!  Check it out:

Jesse Ventura, previous governor of Minnesota and professional wrestler is suing the TSA.  Thank goodness somebody is.

Here is a list of all the movies nominated for best pictures, and what their posters would have looked like if they were honest.  Here’s my favorite:

Dan Savage is getting a pilot for MTV.  And I’m freaking excited!

And apparently Canada is just as behind the times as the U.S. is.  Once again, they are trying to remove the ban on gay blood donation.

Here is a mashup I never thought I’d see: Ferris Bueller and Fight Club:

This is kind of amazing, and scary.  A woman in the UK had certain connections in her brain burned out by a laser, because they were too active and were causing her depression.

Did you watch the State of the Union?  How about all the match-making on with it?  While I like the idea behind it, I am kind of sad that it actually turned into celebrity match-making.  Sigh:

Do we really have to have this fight again?  There is no link between violent video games and violent action in the real world.  Otherwise, I’d be out killing people with a lightsaber every single weekend.

Want to learn about a subject quickly?  Try Qwiki.  It’s still in testing, but really cool.

That’s it for now, catch everyone later!

Caffeine keeps you up. I died last week. Go figure.

Yesterday's nut January 9, 2011

And I’m restarted and updated and back!

Let’s start it off with this amazing pic:

I never really thought to add smoking and reading, but, someone else did.

Last year, the Westboro Baptist Church picketed outside of Twitter. because God hates messages that are 140 character or less…or something.  But they got rick-rolled!

Check out some other awesome signs here.  I love when nerds counter-protest!

This is amazing!  Apparently, doctors in the U.K. have been able to bring about brain activity on a man in a coma who was declared brain dead, and now they can ask him simple questions.  Amazing!

Gamespy has a list of the 25 worst stock video game photos, check them out here, and below is a favorite:

Making a website or some other pursuit and need a dummy image?  Here’s a dummy image generator, pretty handy when you need it.

Have I told you lately how much I want this?  Really, this would be awesome right next to a Lost Orchid Station sign.  Dorkiest garden ever!

It’s from last year, I believe from when Facebook once again screwed up their privacy settings, but check out this history of media scares.

Okay, that’s it for now, I think.  Catch everybody soon!

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