SO EMOTIONAL: The Associated Press is reporting that Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48. Cause of death is unknown at this time, but given what we've learned through the years we can presume some things, which would make this news shocking, but sadly not surprising.
Think about what it takes to have a voice so gifted to make one's rendition of the National Anthem the definitive one, to have scores of American Idol contestants' efforts compared to her heights, a catalog of hits so deep that had her career ended before "I Will Always Love You" she would still be thought of as the premier R&B singer of her generation.
What tremendous talents. What a damn shame.
added: Sasha Frere-Jones. "With the weird blend of investment and helplessness that typifies kin, we’ve watched Whitney Houston die in front of us, slowly and unmistakably, for more than a decade.... Considering how many times Houston confronted her own addiction in public, her end confirms that the pull of addiction can be stronger than the pull of dignity."
Saturday, February 11, 2012
AARON BURR, REJECTED. I HOPE HE DOESN'T SEE IT AS A SLIGHT ON HIS HONOR: Following up on our previous item, the 2012 inductees into the New Jersey Hall of Fame include the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-shaking, booty-quaking, Viagra-taking, love-making, legendary E Street Band; former Giants owner Wellington Mara (Rooney's grandpa, who curiously never lived in New Jersey); Campbell’s condensed soup inventor John Dorrance; Annie Oakley; Joyce Carol Oates; Sarah Vaughan; Michael Douglas (whose "entire New Jersey tenure may have been in diapers," the article notes); and Christopher Reeve.
CAREER ERA: 3.46. THACO: 11: Curt Schilling's swords and sorcery RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur, has released to surprisingly strong reviews.
When one considers the personnel behind the Amalur product, the strength shouldn't be surprising at all. Salvatore for lore. McFarlane for looks. Morrowind/Oblivion and EverQuest vets for quests and world building. Yes, that should work. And yet, since I first heard about Schilling's 38 Studios, maybe 18 months ago, I have been braced for disappointment rather than tingling with anticipation. Somehow, the idea that a notoriously serious and successful person from the notoriously serious world of baseball had a long-standing and yes, serious, interest in fantasy gaming, one of my guilty pleasures, and was diving in with some of his millions to create the games he'd always wanted to play as a fan ... well, it seemed like great PR, and so it had to be too good to be true. Right? Wrong, apparently. And it's hard to quantify how gratifying it is to be wrong. 3d6+3, at least.
Really, this could not come at a better time. Many RPG-dependent escapists are hitting the long tail of potential returns from further investment of time in Skyrim, and as the highs become progressively lower and the minutes spent in game searching for overlooked side quests or investigating theories about leveling mechanics feel more and more completely wasted, we're nervously eying The Old Republic and wondering if we can really afford to go back to an MMO (the hard stuff) for a fresh fix. A well-made, relatively wide-open RPG from a new market entrant is just the thing to keep the neurons humming.
When one considers the personnel behind the Amalur product, the strength shouldn't be surprising at all. Salvatore for lore. McFarlane for looks. Morrowind/Oblivion and EverQuest vets for quests and world building. Yes, that should work. And yet, since I first heard about Schilling's 38 Studios, maybe 18 months ago, I have been braced for disappointment rather than tingling with anticipation. Somehow, the idea that a notoriously serious and successful person from the notoriously serious world of baseball had a long-standing and yes, serious, interest in fantasy gaming, one of my guilty pleasures, and was diving in with some of his millions to create the games he'd always wanted to play as a fan ... well, it seemed like great PR, and so it had to be too good to be true. Right? Wrong, apparently. And it's hard to quantify how gratifying it is to be wrong. 3d6+3, at least.
Really, this could not come at a better time. Many RPG-dependent escapists are hitting the long tail of potential returns from further investment of time in Skyrim, and as the highs become progressively lower and the minutes spent in game searching for overlooked side quests or investigating theories about leveling mechanics feel more and more completely wasted, we're nervously eying The Old Republic and wondering if we can really afford to go back to an MMO (the hard stuff) for a fresh fix. A well-made, relatively wide-open RPG from a new market entrant is just the thing to keep the neurons humming.
Friday, February 10, 2012
ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER OR MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FRANCHISE?
- Comets
- Isotopes
- Blue Caps
- Blue Crabs
- Crickets
- Sand Gnats
- Famous Flames
- Thunderbolts
- Midnighters
- Knights
- Miracles
- Miracle
The odd numbered answers are the Hall of Famers, having been given that honor years after their more recognizable front men (Bill Haley, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, James Brown, Hank Ballard, and Smokey Robinson, respectably) were enshrined. Finally there's a ray of hope for the Waves, Beaters and Cruisers.
ONE LESS FEWER REASON TO WATCH THE GRAMMYS: You don't have to wait until Sunday to find out whether Adele can still bring it. What do you think, Karl?
NOT THE BEES! Nicolas Cage would like to clarify that he is not, in fact, a time-traveling vampire. He still has not commented on whether or not he is actually a giant puppet.
I JUST WANT A CRUCIFICTORIOUS COVER OF "500 CANDLES IN THE WIND:" Ken Tremendous has already proclaimed it "the greatest thing that could ever happen" --a mashup of Parks and Recreation and Friday Night Lights, called, naturally, "Clear Eyes, Full Parks, Can't Lose!"
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