StevePrutz

Moving some posts to Medium and elsewhere

2023-08-20T10:14:00.001-05:00

There may be some video game or gardening posts here, but many of my blog and non-blog posts will be visible elsewhere, mostly likely my personal site. Chiefly because of the credibility of Blogger. For instance, blogspot.com can't be referenced as a source on Wikipedia...

For professional/philosophical writings, see Medium.com, like this one:

"Product Owners: Machine Learning will help you write better User Stories, but it won’t replace you"

See: https://medium.com/@sprutzman

Annual Diet: Vegetarian January, Vegan February

2022-12-31T08:00:00.048-06:00

I've been following an Annual Diet after the US Holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day) for several years now. It makes a good de facto New Year's resolution, and covers a good winter period where I'm mostly indoors (due to allergies).

Here are the ground rules...

JANUARY 1-31: Ovolactovegetarian

No meats for a month

Exceptions: eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, butter)

FEBRUARY 1-28: Vegan

No meats for 28 days
No dairy (milk, cheese, butter) for 28-29 days

Exception: Omnivore diet for Super Bowl Sunday (mid-February), possibly ghee

Oh, and if there is an emergency (sickness, or major power outage affecting refrigeration), the diet goes back to full omnivore.

That's it!

Some great non-meat ideas:

curry with rice
nachos
cabbage tacos
three-bean chili
cauliflower cheddar bake
cauliflower tikka masala
one pan pasta
caprese salad (or crostini)
pesto (with bread/chips)
home fries
vegan paella

Anticipation of Dread (Metroid 5 speculation and Nintendo nostalgia)

2021-07-18T09:16:00.343-05:00

[NOTE: contains some mild spoilers for the Metroid saga, but no spoilers for Metroid Dread]

It was a shock to hear that Nintendo had produced Metroid 5 (Dread) and it would be ready-to-play in October, no less. And I was also surprised to find I've never really written about the franchise. So, here we are... 2021 is a long way from 1994, when I first played a Metroid game.

Super Metroid was a seminal moment. I was thirteen. I recall two things happening in that point in my life. One, I was drinking huge glasses of Metamucil. There was a motherly thought that I wasn't getting enough fiber, so I'd consume the supplement after school while gazing up at the TV pixels. Two, I had relatives visiting while I was in the thick of exploring Zebes. I was so engrossed in the game that I would be zoned-out when they tried to engage me. I regret this memory as an adult, but I admit I was a socially-awkward kid having a "watershed moment".

Super Metroid existed in a pre-WWW time, where there was a reliance on hearsay and printed media for hints on such a maze-like map (or a tricky boss fight). But, I don't remember any friends or neighbors playing Metroid, so I must have figured it out solo. I did have the game manual, but that's was the extent of my knowledge of lore. Besides, video game canon is disregarded easily.

Putting "Super" in front of SNES games was a gimmick, but for Metroid 3 I think there is a subtext. It is a story that picks up after Samus Aran has exterminated all but one of the titular species (see also, Metroid II story). The larva is stolen by Space Pirates for weaponizing purposes. Eventually, the hatchling grows to be gigantic--much larger than seen previously in the canon. The gigantism could be due to Pirate genetic manipulation/weird science, but it is clear this is a super specimen.

Like many others dedicated the franchise, I was elated to see another 2D metroidvania officially greenlit in a post-Switch era. In this time of remakes and revamps (like Skyward Sword HD), it also seemed odd that there wasn't a digital way to play the Metroid predecessors. I wasn't impressed enough to buy the Samus Returns remake--didn't make sense to buy a DS handheld just for that. So I did what probably many other Geriatric Millennials did--I dusted off my Game Boy Advance SP to play Metroid 4 (Fusion) and the Zero Mission remake. It seemed like a chore at first, but just a few hours into the Metroid 1 remake fueled the nostalgia enough to go down a YouTube rabbit-hole. 🌌

I've been watching a lot of streamers playing ROM hacks/mods of Metroid games. It astounds me how much time people put into their customizations of the Metroid games. It's fanatical, and it's clear the Metroid fandom is alive and well, mostly as Super Metroid is on the "Mount Rushmore of speedrunning". It's a game rich in intentional sequence breaking with frame-perfect precision.

Metroid Dread speculation

I've shielded myself from Metroid Dread game footage and further spoilers, because I want to go in fresh, cold. Since Metroid Fusion in 2002, there hasn't been any official word on what happened to Samus since the X Parasite incident (and the destruction of planet SR388). My imagination runs wild.

With planets SR388 and Zebes only a memory, Dread will take place on a new setting. I'm sure there will be metroids of some kind and classic upgrades for Samus' suit, but I'm looking to have my expectations subverted. The classic beginning of Samus obtaining the morph ball upgrade can't happen as it did in Metroid 1 (and the nearly-identical Metroid 3) intro. Because the events of Fusion gave Samus a fully-powered suit, there will have to be some explanation as to why the enhancements are needed (yet again). I understand the "upgrade progression" need in metroidvania, but perhaps the morph ball won't be the first suit upgrade. Hell, maybe Samus will start suitless! Also, I hope they don't bring back Kraid and Ridley--those dudes are dead. Something novel, please.

There's also an interesting connection with world events and the curing of Samus with a vaccine. Maybe they'll do something cool with that...

I've never had a desire to play the 3D Prime games, but I know there's a narrative of phazon, Dark Samus, etc. There's a possibility there, plus that could to satiate Prime fanboys.

The Metroid saga is a YA game that stands out in a milieu of Nintendo franchises for kids. No matter how much the Legend of Zelda tries to be serious and dark, it won't alienate the kids. And that's maybe why I like Metroid so much--it stays dark.

In 1994, I hadn't seen any of the Alien movies, but Xenomorphs and facehuggers were part of the 80s/90s pop-culture. And its popularity was a springboard (springball?) for the Metroid story and aesthetic. Whatever happens with Dread, at a minimum it will be a fun maze of discovery with a retelling of the original mythology. I'm totally OK with that.

Axiom Verge 2 is also slated for 2021. It seems like my gaming schedule is overbooked! 🦠

Movies watched in 2020

2021-01-01T14:15:00.020-06:00

Here's my annual list. I beat 2019 by about 60. I stopped tracking TV series, too.

The only films I saw in theaters were: Star Wars IX, Tenet, and Mad Max

Key:
Bold and green = released in 2020 or 2019 and new to me
Blue/cyan = released before 2019; new to me
* = repeated watch; NOT NEW to me

Star Wars IX
Riddick*
Day of the Dead*
Tremors*
Les Miserables
Snatch*
Murder on the Orient Express
John Wick 3
The Square
1917
Wild and Wonderful Whites of WV
The Lighthouse
Terminator Dark Fate
Parasite
Doubt
Two Popes
Alita: Battle Angel
Ford v Ferrari
Godzilla King of Monsters
Escape from New York*
Knives Out*
Uncut Gems
Logan Lucky
Marriage Story
Matrix Revolutions*
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Lawless
Rocketman
Inside Out
Bloodsport*
the Platform
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas*
Overlord
Blues Brothers*
Dark Waters
Gravity*
Rambo Last Blood
Birds of Prey
MST3K Jack Frost*
Harry Potter 1*
Harry Potter 2*
Harry Potter 4*
Under the Skin*
Runaway Train
King of New York
A View to a Kill
Harry Potter 5
The Long Goodbye
The Big Sleep
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang*
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Blow the Man Down
Battle Beyond the Stars
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Spy Who Loved Me*
Star Wars Rise of Skywalker*
Alien Covenant*
GoldenEye*
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby*
Mommie Dearest
Demolition Man*
Arkansas
Cedar Rapids
Joe Dirt*
Mad Max: Fury Road*
World is Not Enough*
This is Spinal Tap*
Die Another Day*
Casino Royale*
Casino Royale*
Lance
Blazing Saddles*
Parallax View
Quantum of Solace*
Alien: Resurrection*
Bronson*
Pumaman* mst3k
Austin powers*
Austin Powers 2*
Body Heat
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice*
Ad Astra
Judge Dredd*
Austin Powers in Goldmember*
Enemy Mine
Tampopo
Kingpin*
Jaws 2
Jaws 3D
Eraser
Frost/Nixon
Doctor Sleep*
Wonka*
Jerry Seinfeld 23 Hours to Kill
Patriots Day
Jaws*
Midway
Skyfall*
Batman v Superman: Ultimate*
House
Vice
Hunger Games 2*
Robin Hood: Men in Tights*
Hunger games 3*
Innerspace
Ready or Not
In the Heat of the Night*
Hotel Artemis
Purple Rain*
Spectre*
The Hitcher
Serpico*
Nighthawks
Once upon a time in Hwood*
Papillon
1917*
Doctor Strange*
Thomas crown affair*
Hannibal*
Saved
A million little pieces
Predator 2*
Venom
Best of the Best
Red Dragon*
Richard Jewell
Searchers
Brawl at Cell Block 99*
Dunkirk*
Tenet
Zombieland 2
Soldier*
M.S. Frankenstein*
Halloween II
Halloween 4
Red Planet*
Man of Steel*
Halloween 5
Arrival*
Buckaroo Banzai
I'm thinking of ending things
Nocturnal Animals*
Trick 'r Treat*
Miles Davis Birth of the Cool
Halloween 6
Mummy's Hand
Mummy 1959
After Hours
Sleepy Hollow*
Horror of Dracula
Halloween 2007
Don't Breathe
Halloween II 2009
Goodfellas*
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
The Thing from Another World
Creepshow...
Addams Family*
Fright Night
The Blob
The Hunt
Anna Karenina
Rocky*
Rocky 2*
Rocky III*
Blood Simple
If...
Rocky IV*
Star Trek II: Khan*
The Shadow*
Halloween*
Home Alone*
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York*
From Russia with Love
Godfather 2
It's a Wonderful Life
Mad Max: Fury Road*
Thunderball*
8 1/2
Thin Man
Wonder Woman 1984
Maltese Falcon
Frantic
WW84*
Hillbilly Elegy
You Only Live Twice

DK Tropical Freeze advice 🏝️ ❄️

2020-08-14T12:31:00.001-05:00

🦍 I’ve been meaning to write more here, and I’ve got my eyes on video games at this crazy time of self-quarantine. Before I post my Top 30 list (and articles), a warm up: the Nintendo Switch.

Donkey Kong Country (SNES) is one of my all-time favorites (Top 30, probably higher), so I decided to buy the Switch version of the 2014 “sequel”... Tropical Freeze.

It was on sale on the Nintendo eShop thingy. And holy shit, is it hard. It’s way hard. 🦧 The developers knew this, so they provided some much-needed mercy in spots. Here are some tips for you Switch players:

Play as Funky Kong. Don’t even think about playing the classic way.
Play. As. Funky. Kong. He hovers! He has more hearts!
Use the alternate controller config. The action went way smoother after I could use X and Y to grab.
Play thru once (and beat the game) without worrying about all the secrets.

Once ready, this GameXplain video will help.

Learn how to high-bounce off an enemy.
Get all the gold Banana Coins you can. The 1-Ups and bananas don't really matter.

You will get better. There’s so much to unlock here, that the replay value (once you get over the hump) will make the game quite enjoyable.

I really wish I had the advice above when I began! 🍌🍌🍌

Best of the Year 2019: Movie (Oscars edition)

2020-02-09T13:06:00.002-06:00

TL;DR: I think Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is hand-crafted to win Tarantino the Best Picture award.

I saw a lot of movies in 2019. In my catching up, I've seen almost all the Best Film nominees. Maybe it was off-year, but I don't feel like there's stand-out classic that just screams to be "the best". I haven't yet seen Marriage Story. I don't think I'll ever see Jojo Rabbit. And Little Women is probably a no-go. Maybe the worst blockbuster was Star Wars IX, but I may post about that psychological tornado later.

I think history will remember Tarantino's Pulp Fiction as his best film, but his magnum opus is probably ...Hollywood. Think about the Academy voters--those Boomers will gobble up the heavy LA nostalgia. Meanwhile, the Gen-Xers will just blindly vote anything Tarantino. It's a shoe-in.

http://www.nombres-animados.net/Letra-O/Oscar/Nombre-animado-Oscar-18.gif

Here's my list of best ~~seven~~ eight of 2019:

Avengers: Endgame
Doctor Sleep
Glass
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
1917
Parasite
Us

I didn't pick a best. Maybe Parasite? I'd bet Uncut Gems is awesome too, but I haven't yet seen it.

P.S. Joker is good but overrated. If I hadn't seen or heard of King of Comedy I would probably think Joker is the best.

Best of the Year 2019: Song

2020-01-27T18:20:00.000-06:00

Instrumentals (no lyrics) aren't included in the list...

Sebadoh
"Celebrate the Void"

Kim Gordon
"Air BnB"

Health
"NC-17"

Ride
"Repetition"

Battles (with Tune-Yards)
"Last Supper on Shasta, Pt 1"

Show Me the Body
"Arcanum"

Joji
"Sanctuary"

UNKLE
"Crucifixion / A Prophet"

The Who
"Ball and Chain"

Best of the decade 2010-2019 (music album)

2020-01-22T18:17:00.003-06:00

An absolute metric ton of music comes out in 10 years. For me, what I listened to most (as an album) was Waaves' Afraid of Heights. Here's a list of 25 or so (in reverse alphabetical order):

> > Read further...

Movies (and TV seasons) watched in 2019

2020-01-05T06:00:00.001-06:00

Starting in 2018, like Steven Soderbergh, I kept track of all the movies (new and old) that I watched over the course of 12 months.

For 2019, here's my list. Looks like there's about 130!

> > Read further...

Best of the decade 2010-2019 (film)

2019-12-31T13:10:00.004-06:00

Here's my list of about 10 movies which were great in the past decade. Mind you, I haven't seen everything in 2019 (or previous) years, but I've seen a ton of comic book films and obviously Denis Villenueve and Christopher Nolan stuff.

Quite clearly for me, Mad Max was the best thing I saw. I think everyone would agree that it's the most transcendent/iconic for filmmaking in the 2010s.

Inception (2010)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Prisoners (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Gravity (2013)
Gone Girl (2014)
⭐ Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Tie: Black Panther (2018) or Deadpool (2016) or X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

As I finish this list, I'm going to see Star Wars: Skywalker in a few hours ...It has nothing to do with the list above... Wish me luck!

blog update: Best of 2019 and the decade

2019-12-08T17:06:00.001-06:00

Hello!

Looks like we're fully into the "end of the year" cycle... Tons of sites are posting their best-of lists. I've been listening to a lot of good tunes and a heap of great cinema. I think it's a little too early to post my lists. Over the next weeks, I'll be researching my "best of 2019" and "best of the decade". If you can't wait until January/February (maybe April), I'll make some crystal ball award season predictions now... 🔮

Billie Eilish will be the toast of the town. She'll win many awards (like the Grammy).
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood will win the Best Picture Oscar. I personally don't agree, but experience tells me it'll win... or come close to the win.
Tom Hanks
Watchmen will get tons of attention. I haven't seen it, but I'm reading it's good.

Those are my most lucid predictions. I'm excited for several December movies, including the intriguing Richard Jewell dramatization.

I'll have several lists ready for the cold and icy winter that's coming! ☃️

Lyric Entry #012

2019-02-04T07:30:00.000-06:00

I have a mansion, but forget the price
Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice

I live in hotels, tear out the walls
I have accountants pay for it all

They say I'm crazy but I have a good time
I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime
Life's been good to me so far!

My Maserati does 185
I lost my license, now I don't drive

I have a limo, ride in the back
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked

I'm making records, my fans they can't wait
They write me letters, tell me I'm great

So I got me an office, gold records on the wall
Just leave a message, maybe I'll call

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
(Everybody say "I'm cool", he's cool)
I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far!

...

I go to parties sometimes until four
It's hard to leave when you can't find the door

It's tough to handle this fortune and fame
Everybody's so different, I haven't changed

They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time
(Everybody say "oh yeah", oh yeah)
I keep on going, guess I'll never know why
Life's been good to me so far!

Best of 2018: Music album

2019-01-22T19:51:00.002-06:00

Double Negative
Low

This is it. I've read two reviews that say this album is political, but I don't see it. It's one of Low's best, most complete works. Better than their early stuff, than Drums and Guns, than Invisible Way. It's quiet, it's disjointed, it's romantic. It's an album that demands headphones to hear those little raindrops. It makes you think of the husband-wife songwriters making this in the studio.

Age Of
Oneohtrix Point Never

Virtue
The Voidz

Criminal
The Soft Moon

Pinned
A Place to Bury Strangers

Best of 2018: Song

2019-01-01T11:49:00.001-06:00

Check my Spotify playlist for various selections. By far, my favorite songs came from Low this year. The others are good, too, so take a look-see.

Shortlist:

"Always Up" by Low
"Young" by the Soft Moon
"All Wordz Are Made Up" by The Voidz
"Never Coming Back" bt A Place to Bury Strangers

https://open.spotify.com/user/steveprutz/playlist/4UwUhBz5HDX9yrPIlPB49B?si=PHqF1rQbRdWZ75brwy0Fuw

The worst film of 2018

2018-12-26T11:56:00.001-06:00

Suspiria 2018 is almost three hours long. Imagine seeing a slow, atmospheric movie on a weeknight. That's how I experienced it, and I don't recommend seeing it even in ideal conditions. It's a movie about a witch-run dance school, but there is very little dancing. Like, I don't want to see choreographed dance routines, but I was honestly subverted on that point. I also went in knowing the 1977 original work. I wouldn't call this film a remake, no way. It's barely got the original plot, and the rest is all new. That's not a compliment. I could have been marketed as a totally new idea, and it's sad it had to go with brand recognition--which is a stretch for an Italian cult horror film. Maybe it could have been called A Coven Milling About. I was expecting great special effects demonstrating black magic and witch-power, but again, I was disappointed. Halfway through, I couldn't wait to go home.

A comment: the cast is almost entirely female. There are two males that I recall, obviously a call to how "feminist" the filmmakers wanted this whole ordeal to be. And I think the director, Luca Guadagnino, intentionally cast grotesque and ugly women to support "Susie" (Dakota Johnson). It was really distracting--too much so. I realize how superficial this whole paragraph sounds, but honesty triumphs over deception.

I'm glad it bombed. I'll be surprised if it wins any mainstream awards. Tilda Swinton isn't even worth seeing--not her best work at all. The Thom Yorke soundtrack is overrated (hard overrated). None of this is worth a second of your time. Go see the original and its sequel, Inferno, which was on Amazon Prime last I checked.

Lyric Entry #011

2018-10-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues

I'm just the oily slick
On the wind-up world of the nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel

I hang around dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel

So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your Alice

You know she has no sense
For all your jealousy
In a sense she still smiles very sweetly

Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous

And now you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets
And leave discreetly

I might make it California's fault
Be locked in Geneva's deepest vault
Just like the canals of Mars and the Great Barrier Reef
I come to you beyond belief

My hands were clammy and cunning
She's been suitably stunning
But I know there's not a hope in Hades
All the laddies cat-call and wolf whistle
So called gentlemen and ladies
Dog fight like rose and thistle

I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief

midway 2018: what I'm watching

2018-09-04T19:50:00.000-05:00

YouTube & Twitch
I follow a ton of YouTubers, but, aside from pro musicians and directors, the "amateur" ones that post frequently and I look forward to watching:

acgameryoutube (Twitch)
Cinemassacre
CinemaTyler
Michael's shenanigans
IdeasOfIceandFire
RedLetterMedia
Rifftrax (Twitch)
Sam O'Nella Academy
Sardonicast/YourMovieSucksDOTorg
Shadow Glass
Summoning Salt
TierZoo
Trekspertise
troutjerky87 (Twitch)
videogamedunkey

> > Read further...

Picard returns to Trek

2018-08-05T08:04:00.000-05:00

So they've announced another Trek series reviving the TNG Captain Picard character...

[YouTube announcement]

Sir Pat is 78 years old... by the time this series gets underway and released, he'll surely be 80...

Honestly this series is going to focus on mentoring youth. Sure, there will be Data and Worf guest drop-ins, but I don't see a full reunion happening unless ratings dip. I'm cautiously optimistic, but also fearful that Alex Kurtzman will screw it up.

And also... Professor X... would he just be imitating that role mentoring kids?

So! Let's play the name lottery. What will be the title of this new Trek TV show?

Star Trek: Archeologists
Star Trek: Academy
Star Trek: Admiralty
Star Trek: Family Ties
Star Trek: Mentors
Star Trek: History Repeats Itself
Star Trek: Nothing Original
Star Trek: Diplomacy
Star Trek: Extended Captain's Holiday
Star Trek: the Generation Gap
Star Trek: Octogenerians
Star Trek: the Line Must Be Drawn Here!
and obviously, Star Trek: Make It So!

By the way, Rolling Stone published a great article in 2013 proposing they bring back the TNG cast in a revival series. Check it out.

Recommended GLQuake Console Commands

2018-03-20T10:05:00.002-05:00

+mlook
r_wateralpha .8
r_mirroralpha .8
sv_aim 1
showturtle 1
r_timegraph 1
r_shadows 1
crosshair 2

* http://www.gamers.org/dEngine/quake/QDP/qconcmds.html
* https://www.quakewiki.net/archives/console/commands/quake.html
* http://quake.wikia.com/wiki/Console_Commands_(Q1)

How do you set resolution?

For Steam, additional launch options must be set for "-width X -height Y". If you need windowed mode, use "-window"

Best of the Year 2017: Movie

2018-03-04T16:49:00.001-06:00

I wait until about March to send this out, because January-February are times of low quality and I can catch up. There's no real way to be totally ready to say "the best film of the year is ____" without a few years buffer. But here's what I think.

Get Out
Dir: Jordan Peele

Wonder Woman
Dir: Patty Jenkins

Good Time
Dir: Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie

Blade Runner 2049
Dir: Denis Villeneuve

Spider-Man Homecoming
Dir: Jon Watts

For the record, my money is on Phantom Thread to win the Oscars. I haven't seen it, but that's my educated guess.

Indiana Jones 5 title speculation

2018-02-12T07:30:00.000-06:00

With the nearing release of Spielberg's adaptation of Ready Player One, I wanted to take the opportunity to try and predict the plot and title of the announced sequel to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Here goes...

Credit

It's going to be about the afterlife. Hell, they've already covered aliens... How do you top extraterrestrials? I can guarantee mortality will be the motif.

Now for setting, I suspect something Egyptian. The Lost Ark was in Egypt, but the Ancient Egyptian culture is ripe for Indy. Perhaps the founding of Israel? It could be about Jewish/Christian mythology, too, but that's already been played in two of the movies. Maybe undead things?!? I'm going to maybe surmise there will be a sacrifice or even a zombification of the hero. Maybe that's a reach...

I definitely know things that it won't do: dinosaurs, killer sharks, friendly aliens, the Holocaust (see a theme here?)

My educated guesses:

Indiana Jones and the Afterlife
Indiana Jones and the Cult of Osiris
Indiana Jones and the Land of the Dead
Indiana Jones and the Torment of the Undead
Indiana Jones and the Spectre of the Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Messiah
Indiana Jones and the Mortal Coil
Indiana Jones and the Deathly Hallows
Indiana Jones Meets the Grim Reaper!

Blade Runner & BR2049 opening crawl text

2018-02-08T07:30:00.000-06:00

I kept getting lost in Google searches looking for this info, so I'm posting this info for all the world to find. I left the grammar and punctuation intact. Forget about Star Wars opening crawls, these are the gold standard.

Blade Runner (1982)

Early in the 21st Century, THE TYRELL CORPORATION advanced Robot evolution into the NEXUS phase - a being virtually identical to a human - known as a Replicant.

The NEXUS 6 Replicants were superior in strength and agility, and at least equal in intelligence, to the genetic engineers who created them.

Replicants were used Off-world as slave labor, in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets.

After a bloody mutiny by a NEXUS 6 combat team in an Off-world colony, Replicants were declared illegal on earth - under penalty of death.

Special police squads - BLADE RUNNER UNITS - had orders to shoot to kill, upon detection, any trespassing Replicant.

This was not called execution.
It was called retirement.

***

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

REPLICANTS ARE BIOENGINEERED HUMANS, DESIGNED BY TYRELL CORPORATION
FOR USE OFF-WORLD. THEIR ENHANCED STRENGTH MADE THEM IDEAL FOR SLAVE LABOR

AFTER A SERIES OF VIOLENT REBELLIONS, THEIR MANUFACTURE BECAME
PROHIBITED AND TYRELL CORP WENT BANKRUPT

THE COLLAPSE OF ECOSYSTEMS IN THE MID 2020s LED TO THE RISE OF INDUSTRIALIST
NIANDER WALLACE, WHOSE MASTERY OF SYNTHETIC FARMING AVERTED FAMINE

WALLACE ACQUIRED THE REMAINS OF TYRELL CORP AND CREATED A NEW
LINE OF REPLICANTS WHO OBEY

MANY OLDER MODEL REPLICANTS -- NEXUS 8s WITH OPEN-ENDED LIFESPANS -- SURVIVED.
THEY ARE HUNTED DOWN AND 'RETIRED'

THOSE THAT HUNT THEM STILL GO BY THE NAME ...

BLADE RUNNER

***

Sources:

* http://www.trussel.com/bladerun.htm
* https://www.reddit.com/r/bladerunner/comments/75lmev/request_the_opening_text_for_2049/?st=jcj8n5t3&sh=0ec32b14
* https://youtu.be/u9L0pord5jE
* https://youtu.be/-fu7jN2_2pE

Lettice Envent! Some new words

2018-02-03T07:30:00.000-06:00

This is an experiment after a discussion about the lack of words in English. I mean, there’s only one real word for “love” (what a drag). All the new non-Latin words are being gobbled up by drugs, Star Wars things, and internet apps; it’s time to claim some for the sake of creative writing. The pronunciation and word usage is wide open, ready to be captured and twisted by English grammar police.

“zobe”: perhaps a child’s name or a flavored drink
“zideous”
“ximimeogram”
“spiceice”: spicy icicles?
“sowantu”: I so want to come up with a definition of this
“sollic”
“pentonexus”: the penultimate nexus
“dreek”
“dreculation”
“delthumb”
“corce”
“bibie”
“anticarol”: a song sung by a group to spread fear

Again, these have not really been researched and I did this late at night. So, if you want to define these new words or make them your own, go for it!

Best of the Year 2017: New TV

2018-01-20T06:44:00.001-06:00

The average intake of a human and a TV screen is increasing. But, hell... I can't remember what I watched. So, I've only got two stand-out TV shows that I know were new in 2017:

The Young Pope
Taboo

Older shows watched in '17, ranked:

Game of Thrones
Curb Your Enthusiasm*
Walking Dead
Twin Peaks*
Leftovers
Penny Dreadful
Life's Too Short
Mike Tyson Mysteries
The Moaning of Life
Toast of London
The Detectorists
Girls
Departures
Silicon Valley
Documentary Now!
The Simpsons
Neon Joe Werewolf Hunter
MST3K: The Return*
Halt and Catch Fire
Stranger Things
Trek: TNG***

* = Revivals

*** = Reruns (off the air for quite a while)

Best of the Year 2017: Music album

2018-01-10T18:27:00.005-06:00

Is This the Life We Really Want?
Roger Waters

Ignore all controversies over the man and focus on the artwork. From an angry Brit ex-pat comes a symbol to the American condition. It's The Wall updated for a 21st century angst. This is the timely protest album you want.

DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar

I rarely have patience for rap/R&B, but this album caught my attention. Check out "Element", "Humble", and "Fear" now.

Heaven Upside Down
Marilyn Manson

Hyped as SAY10 and delayed for quite awhile, this album delivers with songs like "Saturnine" (read the lyrics) the pseudo-title track ("Say10"). "We Know Where You Fucking Live" shows Manson hasn't lost his anger.

Whiteout Conditions
The New Pornographers

Never really liked this band until I heard this album. "This is the World of the Theater" and "Second Sleep" are good starters. More like White House Conditions, am I right???

Honorable Mentions

Patriots Day
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Vietnam War
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Creep EP
No Joy