Mid Month Update - March

Sometimes the updates come Mid-month.  That's just how it is.

This month I finished X Files, old and new.  Seasons 8 and 9 really weren't good.  They added this whole new arc, and I don't think it had a chance to resolve properly.  Loose ends everywhere, but I guess that's just the X Files.  A few of the new episodes were really good, particularly episode 3 (guest starring Rhys Darby, who is great).  I've since moved on to a 2008 British show called 'Survivors,' which I find I really enjoy, and recommend.  Only two 8-episode seasons, I hope it comes to a good conclusion.  And in the meantime, I tend to fill the gaps with episodes of Scrubs, which is particularly well suited for that role.

Speaking of Scrubs, Jane and I just saw a play, the lead of which could easily have been played by a young Zack Braff.  The play was 'Book of Mormon' and it was very funny.  There was an awful lot of hype for this play, which I think hurt my reaction to it a little.  I was expecting something groundbreaking, but instead I just got something that was pretty funny and with lots of great singing.  But ultimately, nothing particularly different from an episode of South Park.  I would still recommend it, it was a lot of fun, my favorite song was "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream." 

On the Video Game front, Jane and I have been playing Life is Strange and 80 Days.  Life is Strange is a high-production point and click adventure game, where you have the ability to reverse time and change key decisions.  It's pretty cool, but it also is kind of annoying.  The interface takes a little getting used to, sometimes I can't quite interact with objects how I think I should be able to.  Additionally, the characters are 19 years old, and fully voice acted, and I find I can only take so much of that before I need a break.  80 days is a story game, which sort of progresses like a board game.  You buy materials, and hitch rides to different places on the globe, trying to win your bet to get around the world in said 80 days.  The setting is early 1800s alternate SteamPunk history, starting in Britain. I like it.  It feels complete, and there are so many decisions to make, that it's very clear that the game will play out differently on repeated plays.  Not unlike a good board game.

Speaking of Board games, Jane and I play a good amount of Dominion, which is a great card-drafting game.  And we also have been playing Carcassonne, which is a map-building game that is also very fun.  And then, also, there's still Magic: the Gathering.  My latest project has been building my own draft cube, which is lots of fun.  It's like building 10 decks at once.  Even if I never really get to draft it, I think I'll still have lots of fun and probably build another one.  Oh, MTG, so obsessive. 

I guess there really isn't anything else going on.  All the news fit to print,

-D