Status Quo Sunday and the Return Of The King

This week's jam:


OK, so I moved recently.

Not to a new city or state, mind you, I'm actually closer to work. But we did downsize if just for a little bit. I'm still setting things up down here, but between work, and unpacking, the music's been rough going.

Now, I don't want this to be entirely a post where it's like, YEAH KICKSTARTER'S STILL GOING...
 etc. But, here's some lessons I've learned over the past couple weeks:

1. Promoting shit is INCREDIBLY difficult on a phone.
Mobile browsers are very limiting, and you can't trust shit typing in an email on said mobile phone. I had to spam this goddamn thing everywhere, and I received messages on KS for people who would gladly help me with that.

I went to an UltraCon single day event, and collected some business cards for some interesting opportunities, but I couldn't do anything for the past couple weeks, and ON TOP of that, the Rock Band Road Crew had its deadline set for September 17th, while I was still out. So, without a desk and internet, I had to cobble something together that I eventually got rejected for.

Really, it felt like my life was on pause, waiting for all the bullshit to clear so I can get back to work. That's no excuse, and I'm learning to deal with that, but holy shit it's stressful. Oh, it's possible to get by, but impossible these days if you have anything that needs to be shared with the world.

2. Sometimes you feel like the only capable one...
Still living with my family, and the "We're fucked in a zombie apocalypse" short version is this: My Dad's suffering from back problems, my Mom can't lift heavy things and doesn't want to lighten the load, and my brother is more concerned with making sure his PS3 games are alphabetized than keeping everyone on task or learning what a Phillips-head screwdriver is. I feel like I'm the only one going anywhere in life and these people are holding me back.

It's one of those times when "Going Galt" (referring to the book Altas Shrugged, when all the rich people leave) seems tempting, with the weight of the world bearing down on your shoulders to just shrug it off.

Just imagine them struggling putting together a desk or moving a box that's "too heavy" and they'll have to learn to DEAL WITH IT. They might learn something! Holy shit!



Randian Objectivism is bullshit. It seems that you're needed for everything all the time everywhere, but you are still but a human being, dealing with other human beings and there is a lot other people have to put up with. I was at work most of the time everyone else was packing, so I couldn't see what they were going through.

So at this point, communication becomes key.

Let others know when and if so, how, you're feeling overwhelmed, ask others for help, to lighten your load and make your limits perfectly clear.

Though me and my brother carrying heavy shit up a narrow flight of stairs and you say "Don't scratch the walls?"

Fuck that noise.

3. Learn to let it go
Want to know how to piss off a serial hoarder? Play this while you're moving...


I'm still unpacking everything and learning how to put it away. It's incredible how much STUFF you can acquire over the course of a couple years. I've gotten into Magic the last time we moved, I've started selling T-shirts, etc. But I've tried to keep it manageable. I'm making a run to donate what I don't need, thinning out my bookshelf and looking for stuff to throw out. I'm trying to decide what stuff I need

Meanwhile, my Mom was trying to move every damn item we acquired to a smaller place, to the point where we had to get a storage unit. If you have to get a storage unit, it's time to get rid of it, I say.

I voulenteered to pay for anything we've missed provided we get the bullshit over with sooner, she said no.

I still remember when we originally moved from New York, she was almost in tears because we might leave behind a jug of laundry detergent. Granted, any armchair psychologist can tell you it wasn't about the detergent, it was that we could leave behind something. And we couldn't throw anything out, because "We Might Use It In The Future".

This sounds like petty complaining, but I'm trying to parse this into a clever little saying you can keep in your pocket, so I'll leave you this:

Ask yourself these three questions, always:
Why do I hold on to what I have? 
How can you better use what you have?
Who can use what you don't need?

Dear Hallmark, please give me all the money dollars for this greeting card bullshit.
Sincerly,
R. Bastard, esq.


MIZUCON ON FRIDAY!!

Echo Chamber Post Game Episode 138

THIS WEEK IT'S THE ERIC, ERICH AND ERICA SHOW


But Hurricane Erica was a Tropical Storm then fizzled out.


-HOW DARE YOU! How dare you not cater to my tastes exactly?

HOW DARE YOU acknowledge other people in the world?

HOW DARE YOU HAMDIX for not making the soundtrack be exclusively Avenged Sevenfold and Dragonforce? What's with all this obscure hipster bullshit like "The Who" and "Elvis Presley"?

HOW DARE YOU call me a faggot online! I'm not gay, I fucked your mom! You're the faggot!


HOW DARE YOU say "Black Lives Matter"! I'm not black, arer you saying my life doesn't matter even though white people are treated with way more respect in diginity in similar situations?

HOW DARE YOU cut in front of me in line you old hag? You're like 90, you can fucking wait like 20 minutes for me to argue with the cashier over a coupon.




-Mystakin's back, so cast your Five Cost Starving Buzzard and get ready to speedrun through this podcast with your backup strats.

-Rock Band "themes"-
"Really Hard Southern Rock Song"
RB1- "Green Grass and High Tides" by The Outlawas
RB2- "Bohdisvatta" by Steely Dan
RB3- "Free Bird" by Lynard Skynard

"Song By The Who"
RB1- "Won't Get Fooled Again"
RB2- "Pinball Wizard"
RB3- "I Can See For Miles"
RB4- "The Seeker"

"Mega Dumb 80's Hair Metal Song That Gets Picked All The Time"
RB1- "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi
RB2- "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor
RB3- "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
RB4- "Panama" by Van Halen

"Throw The Last Song We Head On The Radio On To This"
RB1- "Dani California" by THe Red Hot Chili Peppers
RB2- "That's What You Get" by Paramore
RB3- "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse
RB4- "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars

"Throw That Indie Song From That Car Commercial On To This"
RB1- "Reptilia" by The Strokes
RB2- "Float On" by Modest Mouse
RB3- "Lasso" by Phoenix
RB4- "Arabella" by The Arctic Monkeys


Song by Avenged Sevenfold
RB1- "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
RB2- "Almost Easy"
RB3- "The Beast and The Harlot"
RB4- "Hail To The King"

Song by The Foo Fighters-
RB1- "Learn To Fly"
RB2- "Everlong"
RB4- "Feast And The Famine"

Dumb 90's Song-
RB1- "Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys
RB2- "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit
RB3- "Walking On The Sun" by Smash Mouth
RB4- "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes

-Shovel Knight Amiibo!


AS OF RIGHT NOW, it seems like a neat little unlocking thing, but is seems to set up a bad precendent, especially with the Amiibo scarcity. But I can see them doing somethng where you can buy the related DLC for the same price since it unlocks stuff among different games/systems.


-Super Mario Maker/Kaizo Mario is what happens when a Game Designer actively hates you and wants to hide in the bushes while you play and giggle at your failure. Most game deves passively hate you where it's like "Eh, we could fix this, but nah"
Kaizo Mario is a 72 oz, Steak Challenge of a game, only two minutes in you realize you suck at eating.
Kaizo Mario is the "let's make smaller paddles!" bit from That 70's Show.


-The Consuming Shadow, while not game of the year material is still a refreshing game, in that it goes hard on one thing (puzzle solving/logic puzzle) while being part of another (survival horror).

You can download it here.
 

What TCS reminded me the most of was this logic puzzle:


Albert Einstein once posed a brain teaser that he predicted only 2% of the worlds population would be able to solve.
FACTS:
1. There are 5 houses in 5 different colours.
2. In each house lives a person with a different nationality.
3. These 5 owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigarette and keep a certain pet.
4. No owners have the same pet, brand of cigaratte, or drink.
CLUES:
1. The Brit lives in a red house
2. The Swede keeps a dog
3. The Dane drinks tea
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The green house owner drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall keeps birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill
12. The owner who smokes Camel drinks beer
13. The German smokes Marlborough.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house
15. The man who smokes Blend has a neighbour who drinks water.
The question is, who keeps the fish?
See if you can answer it in the comments!

Status Quo Sunday Rides Into Valhalla

This week's jam:

KICKSTART THE JAMS (FROM STATUS QUO RADIO) MOTHERFUCKERS!

Now, back to the main course:
-I'M MOVING?
Wait what?

-YEAH, I'M MOVING
So naturally this is going to throw a wrench in things as far as music goes (as if my normal schedule is anything to go by), so it is doubtful I'll make Umicon, as we're getting the keys late and all my stuff is in constant flux.

-NOOO!!!
That doesn't mean it's all bad, I'll just be grounded for a little bit and probably miss posting after Friday. Tomorrow's Labor Day, so I'm going to try and make a couple videos before the "real" fun starts.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN THE MEANTIME?
Watch me at Orlando Nerd Fest:

Watch live video from OrlandoNerdFest on Twitch

Play Until Dawn
-No, seriously, it's like a AAA horror game starring Agent Ward, The Cheerleader and Mr. Robot that took a look at the Telltale Game's version of The Walking Dead and went "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED MOTHERFUCKER". Even watching through LPs is fun because so far no two people have played the game quite the same.

Kickstart Status Quo Radio
-Because You Know you want to...

Watch The Back Half of RPG Limit Break
-It's a speedrunning marathon for the mainline Final Fantasy Games. It's interesting to see how something that's meant to be grindy and epic be speed-ran over the course of this Labor Day weekend, but they seem to make quick work of these games, with the longest game being FFX clocking in at 10 and a half hours.

Subscribe To Echo Chamber Homies on Twitch:
BONESAW GAMING- Jeff of Single White Infidel and friends bullshit over video games.

MYSTAKIN'S STREAMTACULAR SPEEDRUNPORIUM- Speedruns in the morning, casual stuff in the evening, good times all around!

Register For A Political Party- Whether to make sure Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Primary, or that known rapist and contributor to the death of Earth Donald Trump doesn't win, here's some information for the state of Florida, so the process should be similar in other states, but
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW TO REGISTER! 

Any other states I 

DO YOU REALLY WANT THIS IN YOUR FUTURE?

LIVE VIDEO: Rhythm Bastard at Orlando Nerd Fest 2015

Watch live video from OrlandoNerdFest on Twitch

Echo Chamber Post Game Episode 137

BOY HAVE WE GOT SOMETHING FOR ALL THE .5 LADYFANS OUT THERE...

-Right, so Sonic Dreams Collection...

"It's a 72-oz Steak Challenge of a game"- Rhythm Bastard
It has been the hottest game to Let's Play on the YouTubes, and it's quite the thing. It's like a Five Nights at Freddy's or P.T. where it sets up this atmosphere where nothing can be predicted or taken for granted, then disappears into the ether. It's not meant to be played, it's meant to be experienced.

Granted if it cost money, there would be no value in playing it. Unlike P.T. and FNAF, there's no challenge to keep you going, it's just a walk through this bizarre adventure. It does take me back to the days of "NO MY UNCLE WORKS FOR NINTENDO AND IT'S REAL"

-In this podcast, we ponder how Transformers work.

Yeah, so apparently, Transformers do need some kind of fuel. From the, ugh, Transformers Wiki:

Unlike humans who need air and water as well as food, generally the Transformer's only major need to assure their continued functioning is fuel (though again, even this can vary depending on the fiction).

Energon is the most common and preferred form of Transformer fuel, but other alternatives may be substituted if it is unavailable. Collection of butt stuff for idiots

Yeah, so they need food I guess. There's also a whole 64 articles on Transformers Anatomy. You can all argue which one is the dick.

-As promised, a cover of "Panama by Reggie Watts. While it threw a lot of people off, it's very creative. Reggie Watts puts a looper to good use, and it's interesting to see how another genre of music is played as he builds the track line by line.

-Hackers, Hackers, Hackers. Looking back, it's quaint, really. It takes place in this weird world where grownups are both absolutely clueless about computers while simultaneously being mega geniuses. Hacking is both a long and complicated process where system have to be broken down and rearranged carefully over a long period of time, and a bullshit video game that can be cracked with typing really fast. Passwords can be obtained through the very real and regularly used method of "social engioneering" which is nerdspeak for "lying" and at the same time guessing "GOD" because Matthew Lillard said so.

There's only one human being on Earth I'd trust less than Matthew Lillard...

WORLDBUILDING WEDNESDAY: The Royal Cow

SUPPORT THE ALBUM ON KICKSTARTER!

While the ruse of "Live From The Gravel Pit" and its sister program lasted for a very long time, and still continues to this day, some individuals liked to get their entertainment elsewhere from smaller clubs that didn't cater either of the big two sponsors.

These kinds of clubs are ignored for the most part, however once they start getting popular, they don't last long, due to "changes in zoning laws", "noise complaints" and "spontaneous combustion". Afterwards, these clubs were purchased by a wealthy corporate sponsor, the acts signed to multi-year record deals, and the sponsors used both for maximum profitability.

Some clubs, through guile and secrecy, manage to stay in business unscathed, one of which being The Royal Cow.

Started by the Cinder family in 1965, after moving to the area from Kansas City, it was originally a sports bar, and did pretty OK business even though the name of the bar is a veiled reference to the Kansas City Royals. Their daughter, May, found some college friends to jam out with on occasion on slower nights, though she still learned to help her parents run the business. She also invited small bands from her university to play as well, but was under constant persuasion by her family to stop so they could keep control of the bar.

After her father fell ill and her and her mother had more control, they renovated the bar to add a secret room in the back that, according to the city is used for "storage", but is really used as a stage.

It's flown under the radar due to clever soundproofing, secret codes, and a couple bodies hidden under the floor boards. Primarily, though, the club remains untouched as it sits in between large office buildings, belonging to two rival corporations, so who have decided it more profitable to leave the small property well enough alone, instead of spending resources trying to acquire it.