Nothing wildly important to say here. Just a couple of minor updates.
First off, Dellenar; my main who is a level 70 mage. Last week I got Revered with The Consortium, which got me a bunch of new jewelcrafting recipes. And I've now begun the long grind to Exalted. Also, today, while running the Daily Heroic (Botanica), I hit almost 3 milestones. First, Incanter's Robes dropped for me, which gave me 5/5 of the mage Dungeon Set 3! The gear isn't particularly good, but it's a start. Before today my chest armour and cloak were my only two pieces of gear that weren't a level 70 instance/quest drop. But I got a nice blue 70 robe for myself. Also, I got up to 25 badges of justice, which meant I could buy myself a nice epic cloak! So now all my gear is of level 70 blue quality or above, and I have 3 epics! That is, my cloak, my boots, and a ring. Hurray! I'm also within about 600 reputation points of exalted with The Sha'tar! Which means after any one Tempest Keep run, I'll be exalted!
Next, my new highest level alt, Nellius, the human priest. He's currently level 42. It really shows me how great the new levelling patch was! First, there's a whole new zone of quests in Dustwallow Marsh, which is cool. A bunch of quest rewards have been beefed up in power. And a whole bunch of previously elite quests and areas are now non-elite! So there's a whole bunch of new quests for me to do. And to top it off, less XP per level, and more XP per quest. So I've gone up 12 levels in the past week! And I currently have 290/300 Tailoring, 245/300 Enchanting, 214/225 Cooking, 260ish/300 First Aid, 175/225 Fishing. I've spent pretty much all of Nellius and Dellenar's gold doing that! All I need to do now is spend a bit of time fishing, and I'm sorted for all professions for a while.
I went from level 30-40 by doing only a couple of zones! I did all of the quests in arathi highlands, hillsbrad foothills and alterac mountains; except for one level 40 underwater quest I haven't got round to doing yet, but I bought an underwater breathing potion for it. That took me to about level 36. I then did all the quests in Dustwallow Marsh, which, along with finishing off the arathi/hillsbrad/alterac quests got me to level 41! I'm currently doing the whole of Stranglethorn Vale just for completeness.
I'm loving being a shadow priest! I got shadowform at level 40 which is really cool. My main issue with being a priest is that I have no way of avoiding interruption through damage, except through Power Word: Shield, which costs a shitload of mana! So, while I can quite easily kill a baddie 4-5 levels above me, my mana consumption is huge. Vampyric Embrace is great, and combined with PW:S use to avoid interruption, I'm left with constantly high health. But I don't get the mana equivalent until level 50. Bah.
My current spell rotation consists of:
1) Buff with PW:Fortitude, Shadowform & Inner Fire (Shadow Resistance if needed)
2) Pull with mind blast (8 sec cooldown)
3) Apply VE
4) Apply Shadow Word: Pain
5) Power Word: Shield
6) Mind Flay x 2
7) Mind Blast
8) Wand to death
It's brilliant for damage, but rubbish for mana. Oh, well! I'll only be shadow until I can spec for healing in Outland, anyway. Long live the WoW!
Sunday, 23 December 2007
Friday, 7 December 2007
1990s Norwegian Black Metal
Recently I've been getting quite into First Wave of Black Metal music. The generally lo-fi production, combined with brutal music is heavenly. And of course, naturally, I begun to listen to some early 1990s Norwegian Black Metal.
Norwegian Black Metal is notorious for the crime waves that surrounded the genre in the 1990s. Murders, suicides, and church burnings to name but a few. Unfortunately, it's those murders and suicides which are the tragic part of the genre. By 1990-ish, the biggest up-and-coming name in Norwegian Black Metal was a band called Mayhem. They used the typical black metal formula of using evil-sounding pseudonyms as their names. In 1990, the line-up of Mayhem was Dead on vocals, Euronymous on guitar, Necrobutcher on bass, and Hellhammer on drums. Based on bootleg recordings of the time, the lineup is simply fantastic. Dead was one of the best guttural vocalists I've ever heard. The tragedy is that in early 1991, Dead commited suicide, without ever recording anything in the studio. Two years later, in 1993, Euronymous was murdered by former friend known by the pseudonym Count Grishnackh, of the band Gorgoroth. The crimes of course gave the bands notoriety, and made their music much more popular, as well as inspiring other young scandinavians to form bands. But the real tragedy is the impact it had on the music. Dead was an incredible vocalist, but the world doesn't get to hear it, because he never recorded anything. Euronymous was a great guitarist, but he only recorded one album with Mayhem, which was released after his death. Count Grishnackh recorded a couple of albums with Gorgoroth, and appeared on the same Mayhem album as Euronymous, but he's spent the last 14 years in prison, and as such hasn't recorded any black metal.
If you ask me, these deaths are much more tragic than a lot of the more well known rock deaths, such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Randy Rhoads. All those artists recorded a great deal of music before their deaths, and everybody can hear them today. But the casualties of the early Norwegian Black Metal movement don't have that privilege. They died without really recording anything. One wonders what effect they might have had on black metal had they lived just a few years longer, and recorded a couple of albums.
Norwegian Black Metal is notorious for the crime waves that surrounded the genre in the 1990s. Murders, suicides, and church burnings to name but a few. Unfortunately, it's those murders and suicides which are the tragic part of the genre. By 1990-ish, the biggest up-and-coming name in Norwegian Black Metal was a band called Mayhem. They used the typical black metal formula of using evil-sounding pseudonyms as their names. In 1990, the line-up of Mayhem was Dead on vocals, Euronymous on guitar, Necrobutcher on bass, and Hellhammer on drums. Based on bootleg recordings of the time, the lineup is simply fantastic. Dead was one of the best guttural vocalists I've ever heard. The tragedy is that in early 1991, Dead commited suicide, without ever recording anything in the studio. Two years later, in 1993, Euronymous was murdered by former friend known by the pseudonym Count Grishnackh, of the band Gorgoroth. The crimes of course gave the bands notoriety, and made their music much more popular, as well as inspiring other young scandinavians to form bands. But the real tragedy is the impact it had on the music. Dead was an incredible vocalist, but the world doesn't get to hear it, because he never recorded anything. Euronymous was a great guitarist, but he only recorded one album with Mayhem, which was released after his death. Count Grishnackh recorded a couple of albums with Gorgoroth, and appeared on the same Mayhem album as Euronymous, but he's spent the last 14 years in prison, and as such hasn't recorded any black metal.
If you ask me, these deaths are much more tragic than a lot of the more well known rock deaths, such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Randy Rhoads. All those artists recorded a great deal of music before their deaths, and everybody can hear them today. But the casualties of the early Norwegian Black Metal movement don't have that privilege. They died without really recording anything. One wonders what effect they might have had on black metal had they lived just a few years longer, and recorded a couple of albums.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Daily Delights
Yes, it's back to the World of Warcraft-themed blog entries!
Well, yesterday and today I went to Varsity and played some WoW. And, rather than playing a really low levelled character, I decided to give my Main (Dellenar, 70 Human Mage) a bit of screen time. So, upon logging in, I collected the four new Daily Quests from Shattrath city, which were introduced with the 2.3 Patch.
Essentially, Daily Quests are quests which are repeatable, but which can be done only once each day. Each character can do up to 10 daily quests each day. And these new ones are brilliant!
There are four of them: Daily Battleground, Daily Dungeon, Daily Heroic Dungeon, and Daily Cooking.
The Daily Battleground quest is simple. It targets a random Battleground Each day (out of Eye of the Storm, Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin). If your team wins the battle, you complete the quest. You then get some bonus honor (around 400, I think). Both yesterday and today the battleground quest was for Warsong Gulch, which, if you don't know it, is a "capture the flag" type battleground, where the first team to 3 captures wins. Between the two days' quests, I've managed to get around 1500 honor just in the last two days! I might even take up PvPing more often!
The Daily Dungeon and Daily Heroic quests target a random outland instance each day. The daily dungeon targets the level 70 wing of a random dungeon, and the heroic targets any outland dungeon on heroic mode. The dungeon quest was the Mechanar both days, but I couldn't get a group for it. Essentially, you complete the dungeon, and you get some bonus gold, bonus reputation, and an Etherium Prison Key, which is involved in a repeatable consortium quest.
The heroic quest was Blood Furnace yesterday, and Steamvaults today. I completed both without a hitch. The heroic quest is great! 350 reputation (plus 10% for being human!) for both the Consortium and the dungeon's related faction; 24 gold, and 2 Badges of Justice.
Badges of Justice are a BoP drop from bosses in Heroic Mode dungeons and Raid instances. You can use them to purchase epic loot from Shattrath city. Most heroics give 3-4 badges per run, so 2 extra is great!
The daily cooking quest is really cool. Again, it was the same quest yesterday and today, but I think it varies sometimes. I had to go to netherstorm, to the eco-domes, and pick up 15 berries. Easy. Plus I got a bunch of raptor ribs from the raptors patrolling the bushes. Then I get a choice between a crate of meat or a crate of fish. I chose the meat, both times. In yesterday's box, I got a random junk item, about 7 warp flesh, and 6 talbuk steaks. I also got a new recipe! In today's box I just got the junk item, 8 basilisk meat and 7 serpent flesh.
I'll note at this point that before tuesday, my cooking skill was at 371/375, and the only yellow & orange recipes available are for fish (my fishing skill is really low). The only other recipes that give skill points are the serpent flesh recipe and the raptor meat recipe, which are both green.
The new recipe I got was for talbuk steaks, and was already grey. The bonus it gave was hit rating, so I'll probably never make any! The raptor ribs I collected, and the serpent flesh I got, however, gave me skill points! I'm now at 373 cooking! Plus, the serpent flesh and basilisk meat I got from the quests cooks to give +23 spell damage as the buff! Woohoo!
All in all, the daily quests are fantastic! I can easily see myself doing all 4 of them every day, when I get home. It's a great way of making the game at level 70 much less stagnant. Not only do I get free food every day, as well as free gold and extra Badges of Justice, I also get bonus reputation, and it's REALLY easy to get a group for that day's heroic. The best thing, however, is the consortium reputation. It's a faction which is really hard to get reputation for, and I need to get exalted, as I'm a jewelcrafter.
Woohoo. Anyway, that's all for now.
Well, yesterday and today I went to Varsity and played some WoW. And, rather than playing a really low levelled character, I decided to give my Main (Dellenar, 70 Human Mage) a bit of screen time. So, upon logging in, I collected the four new Daily Quests from Shattrath city, which were introduced with the 2.3 Patch.
Essentially, Daily Quests are quests which are repeatable, but which can be done only once each day. Each character can do up to 10 daily quests each day. And these new ones are brilliant!
There are four of them: Daily Battleground, Daily Dungeon, Daily Heroic Dungeon, and Daily Cooking.
The Daily Battleground quest is simple. It targets a random Battleground Each day (out of Eye of the Storm, Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin). If your team wins the battle, you complete the quest. You then get some bonus honor (around 400, I think). Both yesterday and today the battleground quest was for Warsong Gulch, which, if you don't know it, is a "capture the flag" type battleground, where the first team to 3 captures wins. Between the two days' quests, I've managed to get around 1500 honor just in the last two days! I might even take up PvPing more often!
The Daily Dungeon and Daily Heroic quests target a random outland instance each day. The daily dungeon targets the level 70 wing of a random dungeon, and the heroic targets any outland dungeon on heroic mode. The dungeon quest was the Mechanar both days, but I couldn't get a group for it. Essentially, you complete the dungeon, and you get some bonus gold, bonus reputation, and an Etherium Prison Key, which is involved in a repeatable consortium quest.
The heroic quest was Blood Furnace yesterday, and Steamvaults today. I completed both without a hitch. The heroic quest is great! 350 reputation (plus 10% for being human!) for both the Consortium and the dungeon's related faction; 24 gold, and 2 Badges of Justice.
Badges of Justice are a BoP drop from bosses in Heroic Mode dungeons and Raid instances. You can use them to purchase epic loot from Shattrath city. Most heroics give 3-4 badges per run, so 2 extra is great!
The daily cooking quest is really cool. Again, it was the same quest yesterday and today, but I think it varies sometimes. I had to go to netherstorm, to the eco-domes, and pick up 15 berries. Easy. Plus I got a bunch of raptor ribs from the raptors patrolling the bushes. Then I get a choice between a crate of meat or a crate of fish. I chose the meat, both times. In yesterday's box, I got a random junk item, about 7 warp flesh, and 6 talbuk steaks. I also got a new recipe! In today's box I just got the junk item, 8 basilisk meat and 7 serpent flesh.
I'll note at this point that before tuesday, my cooking skill was at 371/375, and the only yellow & orange recipes available are for fish (my fishing skill is really low). The only other recipes that give skill points are the serpent flesh recipe and the raptor meat recipe, which are both green.
The new recipe I got was for talbuk steaks, and was already grey. The bonus it gave was hit rating, so I'll probably never make any! The raptor ribs I collected, and the serpent flesh I got, however, gave me skill points! I'm now at 373 cooking! Plus, the serpent flesh and basilisk meat I got from the quests cooks to give +23 spell damage as the buff! Woohoo!
All in all, the daily quests are fantastic! I can easily see myself doing all 4 of them every day, when I get home. It's a great way of making the game at level 70 much less stagnant. Not only do I get free food every day, as well as free gold and extra Badges of Justice, I also get bonus reputation, and it's REALLY easy to get a group for that day's heroic. The best thing, however, is the consortium reputation. It's a faction which is really hard to get reputation for, and I need to get exalted, as I'm a jewelcrafter.
Woohoo. Anyway, that's all for now.
Thursday, 22 November 2007
Death Metal
Today's post is on the subject most dear to my heart: Music.
More specifically, it's about the worrying trend of stereotypes against my taste in music. Put quite simply, literally every person I know has this wierd impression that the only music I listen to is Death Metal.
Now, I do of course listen to death metal. It's a fantastic genre. But it's far from my favourite genre of music, and I only have one t-shirt by a death metal band; and the majority of people who saw it wouldn't recognise it as death metal.
I'm a big fan of pretty much every kind of metal there is. NWOBHM, thrash metal, speed metal, death metal, black metal, viking metal, technical death metal, progressive metal, doom metal, power metal and just bog-standard heavy metal. Also, I listen to a huge variety of rock music as well. I'm into everything from the beatles to the stones; from pink floyd to rush; from alice cooper to bon jovi!
So why does everybody get this strange idea that all I listen to is death metal?
I have a few theories.
Firstly, and most obviously - nobody who doesn't listen to metal even understands what metal music is all about. The majority of non-metal fans seem to be under the impression that "metal" music is all guttural vocals, with fast, repeated power chords underneath it. I used to hate guttural vocals, and I'd been listening to metal for a good 4-5 years before I could tolerate it, and only then learned to love it. People don't seem to understand at all the massive diversity in metal. For example - let's take a band like Iron Maiden. Very mainstream. Most people will have heard of them, and like them. Characteristic power metal vocals. Classic NWOBHM sound. That's all very well. Then take a band like Kreator. German thrash metal band. Almost no similarity in style to maiden's music. MUCH faster than maiden's music, with the vocals much gruffer. That's just two examples. But each of the genres I listed above has a totally different style of music.
Secondly, non-metal fans seem to be of the belief that most metal songs are about satanism and cutting people up. This is an issue that is a pet hate of mine. Why are people so blind?
Most artists who DO have such themes in their vocals are doing it purely as an act. The classic examples are the american death metal bands of the late 80s and the scandinavian black metal scene of the early 90s. The basic goal there for competing bands was to be "more evil" than the other bands. It's all an act. In fact, most metal artists sing about political issues, love, fantasy ideas, and pretty much everything. The majority of pop songs these days are blatantly about drugs, paedophilia and sex. The majority of "indie" songs these days are just incredibly boring (lyrically) songs about love. So why do people scorn an entire genre of music based solely on lyrics? Lyrics which are, in actuality, far more in depth and interesting to listen to than that of most mainstream music.
The third theory I have is specific to one band, whose t-shirts I wear quite a lot. Megadeth. I have a feeling that people interpret the syllable "deth" in the name of the band to mean "death metal". They couldn't be more wrong. Firstly, the band chose the spelling "deth", omitting the 'a', because they didn't want to be associated with death metal. Secondly, the word "megadeath" is a word that means a million deaths caused by a nuclear bomb. The band's name is meant solely as an anti-nuclear thing. Thirdly, the band don't play anything close to death metal. Their early albums were thrash metal, sometimes bordering on speed metal. And their newer albums are more of a straight heavy metal sound.
In conclusion. Why do people have this ridiculous idea that I only listen to death metal? Is it due to their ignorance of the genre of metal music? Is it because of their stereotypical ideas about the lyrical content of metal music? Is it because they misinterpret something as simple as the name of one of the bands I'm a fan of? Is it something else I haven't even thought of?
I know very few people I know have heard much of the music I like. I realise that most people don't like metal music, which is why I don't force my taste in music on them. But where to they get these ideas about my musical taste from?
Does anybody have any ideas?
More specifically, it's about the worrying trend of stereotypes against my taste in music. Put quite simply, literally every person I know has this wierd impression that the only music I listen to is Death Metal.
Now, I do of course listen to death metal. It's a fantastic genre. But it's far from my favourite genre of music, and I only have one t-shirt by a death metal band; and the majority of people who saw it wouldn't recognise it as death metal.
I'm a big fan of pretty much every kind of metal there is. NWOBHM, thrash metal, speed metal, death metal, black metal, viking metal, technical death metal, progressive metal, doom metal, power metal and just bog-standard heavy metal. Also, I listen to a huge variety of rock music as well. I'm into everything from the beatles to the stones; from pink floyd to rush; from alice cooper to bon jovi!
So why does everybody get this strange idea that all I listen to is death metal?
I have a few theories.
Firstly, and most obviously - nobody who doesn't listen to metal even understands what metal music is all about. The majority of non-metal fans seem to be under the impression that "metal" music is all guttural vocals, with fast, repeated power chords underneath it. I used to hate guttural vocals, and I'd been listening to metal for a good 4-5 years before I could tolerate it, and only then learned to love it. People don't seem to understand at all the massive diversity in metal. For example - let's take a band like Iron Maiden. Very mainstream. Most people will have heard of them, and like them. Characteristic power metal vocals. Classic NWOBHM sound. That's all very well. Then take a band like Kreator. German thrash metal band. Almost no similarity in style to maiden's music. MUCH faster than maiden's music, with the vocals much gruffer. That's just two examples. But each of the genres I listed above has a totally different style of music.
Secondly, non-metal fans seem to be of the belief that most metal songs are about satanism and cutting people up. This is an issue that is a pet hate of mine. Why are people so blind?
Most artists who DO have such themes in their vocals are doing it purely as an act. The classic examples are the american death metal bands of the late 80s and the scandinavian black metal scene of the early 90s. The basic goal there for competing bands was to be "more evil" than the other bands. It's all an act. In fact, most metal artists sing about political issues, love, fantasy ideas, and pretty much everything. The majority of pop songs these days are blatantly about drugs, paedophilia and sex. The majority of "indie" songs these days are just incredibly boring (lyrically) songs about love. So why do people scorn an entire genre of music based solely on lyrics? Lyrics which are, in actuality, far more in depth and interesting to listen to than that of most mainstream music.
The third theory I have is specific to one band, whose t-shirts I wear quite a lot. Megadeth. I have a feeling that people interpret the syllable "deth" in the name of the band to mean "death metal". They couldn't be more wrong. Firstly, the band chose the spelling "deth", omitting the 'a', because they didn't want to be associated with death metal. Secondly, the word "megadeath" is a word that means a million deaths caused by a nuclear bomb. The band's name is meant solely as an anti-nuclear thing. Thirdly, the band don't play anything close to death metal. Their early albums were thrash metal, sometimes bordering on speed metal. And their newer albums are more of a straight heavy metal sound.
In conclusion. Why do people have this ridiculous idea that I only listen to death metal? Is it due to their ignorance of the genre of metal music? Is it because of their stereotypical ideas about the lyrical content of metal music? Is it because they misinterpret something as simple as the name of one of the bands I'm a fan of? Is it something else I haven't even thought of?
I know very few people I know have heard much of the music I like. I realise that most people don't like metal music, which is why I don't force my taste in music on them. But where to they get these ideas about my musical taste from?
Does anybody have any ideas?
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
World of Warcraft: The Short Person Crusade!
Before I get on to a blog about my "new" character, and current exploits, I thought I'd post a screenshot I came across from a while ago. It's of me, among a group, at the last boss of Shattered Halls. It's just a really cool shot, I think. And I remember that's why I took it. It's a great shot of a group, sitting right before a boss, planning strategy. In this case, judging from the chat log, we're deciding that the two hunters should take out the "adds", and that we should take him down quite quickly, because the healer only has limited mana. Good times.
But anyway, on to current affairs!
So, as always happens during the months I'm away from my beloved WoW, I've been trawling all the forums and fansites, and planning what to do when I can play again. I decided to play a healer. And I opted for a dwarven priest. But luckily, I already had a level 13 Dwarven priest. So when I went to Varsity for a few hours to hijack their internet. Here's how my character started:
So, as you can see, I'm a level 13 dwarven priest, called Beerdy. Quite a witty name, I thought. I also have all my weapon skills, including wands maxed out, and defense doing quite well. I'm a fairly well accomplished tailor, with mining skill. Nice. And I have a nice, healthy, 27 gold. I also have cooking and first aid, at low levels, but no fishing. Shouldn't take long to get them up to the level they should be. But not until I'm at home, since at 3 hours or so per week, I can't afford to waste them fishing!
Looking at my character screen, I have some pretty good greens for my level. But... no spell damage, no spell crit, and a pretty poor arsenal of spells. Going from left to right on the bottom row of my spellbar, I have:
Wand, Smite, Mind Blast, Shadow Word: Pain, Power Word: Shield.
On the next row up, I have: Melee weapon, Lesser Heal, Renew, Desperate Prayer (dwarf racial), Bandages, Resurrection, Fade. Then Power Word: Fortitude, and Inner Fire.
Talent-wise, I have 4/5 in spirit tap. But I'm only a few kills away from levelling up, and have a ton of rested XP. So the situation is good!
This shot shows a couple of things. Firstly, I dinged 14, after killing a few low level mobs around ironforge. I then went to ironforge and trained my skills. You can see a couple of new ones on the button bar, but I'll tell you what I got.
Smite, rank 3. More damage, more mana, more casting time. Only really useful as a puller, to start fights.
Renew, rank 2. from 45 heal over 15 seconds up to 100 heal over 15 seconds. VERY useful. Not many mobs of this level can outdamage renew by much.
Cure disease. Does what it says on the tin, really. Cures one disease. Good for this level, since a bunch of the creatures in loch modan and westfall are pretty disease-ridden!
Lastly, Psychic Scream. This is a pretty cool panic button, but very situational. What it does is, it sends 2 nearby mobs running in fear for 8 seconds. This gives plenty of time to get off a smite or two, or a mind blast.
The shot also shows a bug I found with the boots I made from tailoring. Notice how it says "Use: Increases damage and healing..." instead of "Equip:". Bugged!
Also, you can see a new feature of the minimap: Quest givers can now be seen on the minimap! In this case, it's just a silly repeatable quest which is impossible to do, since it's from back in the AQ opening event. But it still illustrates the point nicely, I think.
This last screenshot for today shows me playing with Scott's latest character, Scooter, the gnomish warrior. He's just hit level 10, and is picking up his new skills. What does the future hold for this intrepid duo? Only time will tell!
But anyway, on to current affairs!
So, as always happens during the months I'm away from my beloved WoW, I've been trawling all the forums and fansites, and planning what to do when I can play again. I decided to play a healer. And I opted for a dwarven priest. But luckily, I already had a level 13 Dwarven priest. So when I went to Varsity for a few hours to hijack their internet. Here's how my character started:
So, as you can see, I'm a level 13 dwarven priest, called Beerdy. Quite a witty name, I thought. I also have all my weapon skills, including wands maxed out, and defense doing quite well. I'm a fairly well accomplished tailor, with mining skill. Nice. And I have a nice, healthy, 27 gold. I also have cooking and first aid, at low levels, but no fishing. Shouldn't take long to get them up to the level they should be. But not until I'm at home, since at 3 hours or so per week, I can't afford to waste them fishing!
Looking at my character screen, I have some pretty good greens for my level. But... no spell damage, no spell crit, and a pretty poor arsenal of spells. Going from left to right on the bottom row of my spellbar, I have:
Wand, Smite, Mind Blast, Shadow Word: Pain, Power Word: Shield.
On the next row up, I have: Melee weapon, Lesser Heal, Renew, Desperate Prayer (dwarf racial), Bandages, Resurrection, Fade. Then Power Word: Fortitude, and Inner Fire.
Talent-wise, I have 4/5 in spirit tap. But I'm only a few kills away from levelling up, and have a ton of rested XP. So the situation is good!
This shot shows a couple of things. Firstly, I dinged 14, after killing a few low level mobs around ironforge. I then went to ironforge and trained my skills. You can see a couple of new ones on the button bar, but I'll tell you what I got.
Smite, rank 3. More damage, more mana, more casting time. Only really useful as a puller, to start fights.
Renew, rank 2. from 45 heal over 15 seconds up to 100 heal over 15 seconds. VERY useful. Not many mobs of this level can outdamage renew by much.
Cure disease. Does what it says on the tin, really. Cures one disease. Good for this level, since a bunch of the creatures in loch modan and westfall are pretty disease-ridden!
Lastly, Psychic Scream. This is a pretty cool panic button, but very situational. What it does is, it sends 2 nearby mobs running in fear for 8 seconds. This gives plenty of time to get off a smite or two, or a mind blast.
The shot also shows a bug I found with the boots I made from tailoring. Notice how it says "Use: Increases damage and healing..." instead of "Equip:". Bugged!
Also, you can see a new feature of the minimap: Quest givers can now be seen on the minimap! In this case, it's just a silly repeatable quest which is impossible to do, since it's from back in the AQ opening event. But it still illustrates the point nicely, I think.
This last screenshot for today shows me playing with Scott's latest character, Scooter, the gnomish warrior. He's just hit level 10, and is picking up his new skills. What does the future hold for this intrepid duo? Only time will tell!
Monday, 1 October 2007
Insomnia
I don't really know what's wrong with me. For at least the last six months, I've been totally unable to fall into a regular sleep pattern. Take right now, for example. I'm tired, and I should be able to sleep easily. But I have too much to think about! Night after night I find myself lying in bed in the early hours, very tired, but with so much running through my head that I can't sleep. It varies between random thoughts about the TV show/film I just watched to worries about never finding love or never waking up! All total nonsense, of course. But this time last year, I was sleeping soundly every night. What's changed? What the hell is wrong with me? Perhaps I should see a doctor? But then again, to quote The Verve: "The drugs don't work". Maybe I need to concentrate on doing more with myself, so that I don't wile away my evenings sitting in my room. Or maybe I should stick at trying to sleep, instead of heading for my computer because I can't sleep. Well, only time will tell!
Sunday, 23 September 2007
4/5 Dungeon Set 3
I've been meaning to post these screenshots for a while, as Scott wants to see my groovy shoulders.
This is a picture almost straight on at the login screen. You can see my DS3 Helm and Shoulders quite clearly. You can also see my cool glowing sword I got from Keepers of Time revered.
This next one is taken from more of a side-on position. You can see the shoulders more clearly, and can see the gloves under the robe's sleeves. You can also see my cool off-hand, which is some kind of nethermancer's manual.
I can't wait to get the robes, and complete the set!
This is a picture almost straight on at the login screen. You can see my DS3 Helm and Shoulders quite clearly. You can also see my cool glowing sword I got from Keepers of Time revered.
This next one is taken from more of a side-on position. You can see the shoulders more clearly, and can see the gloves under the robe's sleeves. You can also see my cool off-hand, which is some kind of nethermancer's manual.
I can't wait to get the robes, and complete the set!
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world...
Of all the films ever made, there's one which I seemed to know the story of off by heart, despite the fact I'd never seen it. It's probably the film which is referenced the most, and spoofed the most. Casablanca.
It's generally regarded as one of the best films of all time. I'm watching it as I type, and it definitely lives up to that standard! The acting is phenomenal. The characters and story are great. It's an extremely well made film!
It really makes me think about the state of modern cinema. Nowadays films seem to have two main goals. To make the audience laugh, and go make them go 'ooh, what a big explosion!' Casablanca has so far had no explosions, no action scenes, and no comic relief. Instead it concentrates on great characters. Actors who can actually enunciate. Women who are naturally beautiful, rather than being plastered with make-up. Actors who actually speak with the accent they're supposed to! (Ever see Leo Di Caprio as King Louis XIV?!)
Am I the only person who loves a good film these days, rather than just seeing the token black guy blow something up and say "damn!"? In Casablanca, the film was made totally without political correctness. Obviously the Germans are portrayed as the enemy, since the film was made during the war. But Sam, the black piano player, is not portrayed in any kind of politically correct way. He's treated exactly like a normal person. There's no "Daym nigga! That Ilsa beeyatch you nailed in Paris just walked in!" I'm actually overwhelmed with how great cinema can be, when done right.
It really makes me mourn, however, for the films of today. One can only watch Adam Sandler lose his cool so many times before all you can give him is a weak chuckle out of habit. But hearing Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart ask Sam to play 'As Time Goes By' sends a shiver down my spine. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine." "Here's looking at you, kid." "Louis, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship." "We'll always have Paris." All lines I've heard so many times. But it doesn't lessen the impact of any of them.
I'll definitely start watching other classic films. The next one I'll watch is Gone with the Wind. Any other suggestions?
It's generally regarded as one of the best films of all time. I'm watching it as I type, and it definitely lives up to that standard! The acting is phenomenal. The characters and story are great. It's an extremely well made film!
It really makes me think about the state of modern cinema. Nowadays films seem to have two main goals. To make the audience laugh, and go make them go 'ooh, what a big explosion!' Casablanca has so far had no explosions, no action scenes, and no comic relief. Instead it concentrates on great characters. Actors who can actually enunciate. Women who are naturally beautiful, rather than being plastered with make-up. Actors who actually speak with the accent they're supposed to! (Ever see Leo Di Caprio as King Louis XIV?!)
Am I the only person who loves a good film these days, rather than just seeing the token black guy blow something up and say "damn!"? In Casablanca, the film was made totally without political correctness. Obviously the Germans are portrayed as the enemy, since the film was made during the war. But Sam, the black piano player, is not portrayed in any kind of politically correct way. He's treated exactly like a normal person. There's no "Daym nigga! That Ilsa beeyatch you nailed in Paris just walked in!" I'm actually overwhelmed with how great cinema can be, when done right.
It really makes me mourn, however, for the films of today. One can only watch Adam Sandler lose his cool so many times before all you can give him is a weak chuckle out of habit. But hearing Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart ask Sam to play 'As Time Goes By' sends a shiver down my spine. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine." "Here's looking at you, kid." "Louis, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship." "We'll always have Paris." All lines I've heard so many times. But it doesn't lessen the impact of any of them.
I'll definitely start watching other classic films. The next one I'll watch is Gone with the Wind. Any other suggestions?
Friday, 14 September 2007
Dungeon Set 3: A Small Update
Just a small update since my large post earlier today. I just did a run of Steam Vaults, and got the Dungeon Set 3 Shoulders. Hurrah!
The 4 piece set bonus gives a chance upon being hit, when mana shield is active, to give +100 spell damage for 15 seconds. Not terribly useful, as mana shield only survives 2-3 hits when solo, and 1 hit when instancing. But nice, nonetheless.
I also, during the course of the instance, got to within 400 reputation of revered with Cenarion Expedition! I then bought a few Coilfang Armaments on the AH, enough to get me to revered. I now have my first heroic key!
The 4 piece set bonus gives a chance upon being hit, when mana shield is active, to give +100 spell damage for 15 seconds. Not terribly useful, as mana shield only survives 2-3 hits when solo, and 1 hit when instancing. But nice, nonetheless.
I also, during the course of the instance, got to within 400 reputation of revered with Cenarion Expedition! I then bought a few Coilfang Armaments on the AH, enough to get me to revered. I now have my first heroic key!
World of Warcraft: Karazhan, Warriors, and Other News
Well, time for another World of Wacraft post, talking about several different things. It's been a pretty eventful week or two in my characters' lives.
First, my main, Dellenar, the level 70 Human Mage. First, a few weeks ago, I started the Karazhan attunement quests. The first few steps are just easy solo quests, and "go speak to this guy" quests. The first real step is to get the 3 shards of the Master's Key, to allow entry to Karazhan. The first key shard is a quest just to get the first one, and it's in the Shadow Labyrinth; the level 70 wing of Auchindoun. But to get in, you need a key, which drops from the last boss of Sethekk Halls, about a level 68 wing of Auchindoun. After doing Sethekk Halls, and also getting the mage Dungeon Set 3 Legs from its last boss, I did Shadow Labyrinth, and got the first key shard quest done. After this is a quest to get the Second and Third shards. One is in the Steam Vaults, which is the level 70 wing of Coilfang Reservoir, and contains two, yes two, pieces of the mage dungeon set 3. I did this about a week ago, got the shard, and the DS3 Gloves, which gave me 2/5 pieces of the set, and the rather useless set bonus of -0.25 seconds to the cast time of flamestrike. Flamestrike is pretty useful for AoEing in groups, so -0.25 secs is useful, but when that makes it 2.75 secs instead of 3s, it's a set bonus I wouldn't mind losing.
After this came the major snag. The last shard was in the Arcatraz, which needs a key to enter. The key, unlike the Shadow Labyrinth key, comes from a quest chain. The quest chain starts off with some nice easy solo quests, but the quest chain leads to a quest to kill a 70 elite. I seemed unable to solo it. But I didn't give up, and after trying a couple of times a day for about a week, I finally killed the guy. I then handed in the quest, took it to the big Naaru in Shattrath city, and got the follow-up: Get the two halves of the Arcatraz Key. One from the last boss of the Mechanar, and the other from the last boss of the Botanica. The Mechanar, Botanica and Arcatraz are the three non-raid wings of the Tempest Keep instance. So, that day, I went to the Mechanar, and got pretty much every single mage drop there in the one run, including the Dungeon Set 3 Headpiece! I also went to the Botanica, and got both the key shards. I completed the key, and found a group to go to the Arcatraz. We got to the container for the third Karazhan key shard, and I got it. After this the group kind of fell apart, but it didn't matter - I'd got what I came for.
The next step after this in the Kara quest chain is to go to ANOTHER level 70 instance. This time it's a caverns of time instance, the Dark Portal. To enter requires you to have done the Durnholde Keep instance, but I'd done that a month or so previously. I did the Dark Portal today, which gave me honoured with Keepers of Time, and nearly Revered! It also got me the Master's Key. Hurrah! I can finally enter Karazhan! Now to find a guild to go with...
Over the last few weeks my reputations have done pretty well. I've got to revered with the Scryers and with Kurenai! Unfortunately, these are pretty much the only two factions that getting revered with gives you nothing! I'm within 2000 reputation of revered with 3 factions, however; Keepers of Time, Cenarion Expedition and The Sha'tar. Pretty much 1 instance run with each, and I'm ready to do their heroics! I also got to Honored with the Keepers of Time, which also gives me nothing. Well, it gives me access to a "Frost Glyph", which adds 20 frost resistance to a head slot item. Since I'm a mage, I have Frost Ward, meaning I really don't need much extra Frost Resistance. The one resistance I do need is arcane, and I got that glyph from the Sha'tar.
So to summarize what I needed to do to enter Karazhan:
1) Reach level 68 (I think)
2) Get to Karazhan, get and do two solo level 70 quests in the nearby areas.
3) Travel across the eastern kingdoms to find a guy.
4) Get to Shattrath City (easy as a mage with portals!)
5) Clear Sethekk Halls to get Shadow Labs key.
6) Clear Shadow Labs to get First Key Shard.
7) Get follow-up.
8) Get to the first boss of Steam Vaults to get Second Key Shard.
9) Do a quest chain ending in an elite-killing quest, to get the quest for the Arcatraz Key.
10) Clear both the Mechanar and the Botanica.
11) Get to the first boss of the Arcatraz for the Third Key Shard.
12) Go to the CoT: Dark Portal instance, and complete the whole event.
13) Return to Shattrath, then return to Karazhan. Phew!
Easily the most epic quest chain I've done so far; and it isn't even finished! The chain continues inside Karazhan. And upon reaching Honored with the Violet Eye (Karazhan faction) you get yet another quest chain. The quest chain has taken me to 2392/3000 towards friendly, without even setting foot in Karazhan, which is always good!
Now, to my new Alt, Nellacon the (currently) level 22 Draenei Warrior. About 2 weeks ago, Scott got a 10-day trial of the Burning Crusade. Obviously this meant he rolled a Draenei, and he chose the Shaman class. I decided I'd also roll a Draenei, and level with him. So I rolled a Warrior. After a couple of weeks, we're both level 22. Scott really loves his shaman, and I don't blame him. It's THE class for him, I think. The shaman can Melee DPS, Magic DPS, Heal, and they have enough survivability with Mail armour, and some totems, to allow you to solo elites pretty well.
I'm also loving my warrior. It's such a contrast from the mage. I can't make a full comparison, obviously, since with my mage I'm level 70, and used to seeing 1.8k normal hits and 2.5k crits. My warrior is level 22, and crits for about 120 with heroic strike. I've decided to level as a dual-wielding Fury warrior, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, fury gives great DPS, and some really good grinding talents. Also, I want to keep my 1H weapons skills high, so that if I tank an instance, I can do it without missing every melee swing. I'm really enjoying playing the warrior, and also levelling with a friend. I can't wait for Scott to have a high-levelled character, so we can take on some of the group quests I can't solo.
In summary: WoW is excellent at the moment!
First, my main, Dellenar, the level 70 Human Mage. First, a few weeks ago, I started the Karazhan attunement quests. The first few steps are just easy solo quests, and "go speak to this guy" quests. The first real step is to get the 3 shards of the Master's Key, to allow entry to Karazhan. The first key shard is a quest just to get the first one, and it's in the Shadow Labyrinth; the level 70 wing of Auchindoun. But to get in, you need a key, which drops from the last boss of Sethekk Halls, about a level 68 wing of Auchindoun. After doing Sethekk Halls, and also getting the mage Dungeon Set 3 Legs from its last boss, I did Shadow Labyrinth, and got the first key shard quest done. After this is a quest to get the Second and Third shards. One is in the Steam Vaults, which is the level 70 wing of Coilfang Reservoir, and contains two, yes two, pieces of the mage dungeon set 3. I did this about a week ago, got the shard, and the DS3 Gloves, which gave me 2/5 pieces of the set, and the rather useless set bonus of -0.25 seconds to the cast time of flamestrike. Flamestrike is pretty useful for AoEing in groups, so -0.25 secs is useful, but when that makes it 2.75 secs instead of 3s, it's a set bonus I wouldn't mind losing.
After this came the major snag. The last shard was in the Arcatraz, which needs a key to enter. The key, unlike the Shadow Labyrinth key, comes from a quest chain. The quest chain starts off with some nice easy solo quests, but the quest chain leads to a quest to kill a 70 elite. I seemed unable to solo it. But I didn't give up, and after trying a couple of times a day for about a week, I finally killed the guy. I then handed in the quest, took it to the big Naaru in Shattrath city, and got the follow-up: Get the two halves of the Arcatraz Key. One from the last boss of the Mechanar, and the other from the last boss of the Botanica. The Mechanar, Botanica and Arcatraz are the three non-raid wings of the Tempest Keep instance. So, that day, I went to the Mechanar, and got pretty much every single mage drop there in the one run, including the Dungeon Set 3 Headpiece! I also went to the Botanica, and got both the key shards. I completed the key, and found a group to go to the Arcatraz. We got to the container for the third Karazhan key shard, and I got it. After this the group kind of fell apart, but it didn't matter - I'd got what I came for.
The next step after this in the Kara quest chain is to go to ANOTHER level 70 instance. This time it's a caverns of time instance, the Dark Portal. To enter requires you to have done the Durnholde Keep instance, but I'd done that a month or so previously. I did the Dark Portal today, which gave me honoured with Keepers of Time, and nearly Revered! It also got me the Master's Key. Hurrah! I can finally enter Karazhan! Now to find a guild to go with...
Over the last few weeks my reputations have done pretty well. I've got to revered with the Scryers and with Kurenai! Unfortunately, these are pretty much the only two factions that getting revered with gives you nothing! I'm within 2000 reputation of revered with 3 factions, however; Keepers of Time, Cenarion Expedition and The Sha'tar. Pretty much 1 instance run with each, and I'm ready to do their heroics! I also got to Honored with the Keepers of Time, which also gives me nothing. Well, it gives me access to a "Frost Glyph", which adds 20 frost resistance to a head slot item. Since I'm a mage, I have Frost Ward, meaning I really don't need much extra Frost Resistance. The one resistance I do need is arcane, and I got that glyph from the Sha'tar.
So to summarize what I needed to do to enter Karazhan:
1) Reach level 68 (I think)
2) Get to Karazhan, get and do two solo level 70 quests in the nearby areas.
3) Travel across the eastern kingdoms to find a guy.
4) Get to Shattrath City (easy as a mage with portals!)
5) Clear Sethekk Halls to get Shadow Labs key.
6) Clear Shadow Labs to get First Key Shard.
7) Get follow-up.
8) Get to the first boss of Steam Vaults to get Second Key Shard.
9) Do a quest chain ending in an elite-killing quest, to get the quest for the Arcatraz Key.
10) Clear both the Mechanar and the Botanica.
11) Get to the first boss of the Arcatraz for the Third Key Shard.
12) Go to the CoT: Dark Portal instance, and complete the whole event.
13) Return to Shattrath, then return to Karazhan. Phew!
Easily the most epic quest chain I've done so far; and it isn't even finished! The chain continues inside Karazhan. And upon reaching Honored with the Violet Eye (Karazhan faction) you get yet another quest chain. The quest chain has taken me to 2392/3000 towards friendly, without even setting foot in Karazhan, which is always good!
Now, to my new Alt, Nellacon the (currently) level 22 Draenei Warrior. About 2 weeks ago, Scott got a 10-day trial of the Burning Crusade. Obviously this meant he rolled a Draenei, and he chose the Shaman class. I decided I'd also roll a Draenei, and level with him. So I rolled a Warrior. After a couple of weeks, we're both level 22. Scott really loves his shaman, and I don't blame him. It's THE class for him, I think. The shaman can Melee DPS, Magic DPS, Heal, and they have enough survivability with Mail armour, and some totems, to allow you to solo elites pretty well.
I'm also loving my warrior. It's such a contrast from the mage. I can't make a full comparison, obviously, since with my mage I'm level 70, and used to seeing 1.8k normal hits and 2.5k crits. My warrior is level 22, and crits for about 120 with heroic strike. I've decided to level as a dual-wielding Fury warrior, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, fury gives great DPS, and some really good grinding talents. Also, I want to keep my 1H weapons skills high, so that if I tank an instance, I can do it without missing every melee swing. I'm really enjoying playing the warrior, and also levelling with a friend. I can't wait for Scott to have a high-levelled character, so we can take on some of the group quests I can't solo.
In summary: WoW is excellent at the moment!
Sunday, 9 September 2007
Scott Simpson
Over the last few days, I've been watching loads of The Simpsons. I'm up to season 5 episode 7 as we speak. And I've noticed something. Scott would make a fantastic character on The Simpsons. He gets into extreme and ridiculous situations. He has little camp moments, like this classic Homer/Wiggum moment.
Wiggum: Lots of ghost cars on these roads.
Homer: *whimpers* Will you hold me?
Wiggum: Only if you hold me too.
I Simpsonized a photo of Scott the other day.
It looked something like this. If you ask me, he'd make a very good animated sitcom all of his own.
Wiggum: Lots of ghost cars on these roads.
Homer: *whimpers* Will you hold me?
Wiggum: Only if you hold me too.
I Simpsonized a photo of Scott the other day.
It looked something like this. If you ask me, he'd make a very good animated sitcom all of his own.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
A Night... Both Good and Bad
Well, the day started out very well. Me and Macd went to the cinema and saw Harry Potter V. It was much worse than my low expectations. Bunch of Bollocks, basically, from somebody that has seen the book.
After we came out, we met Scott, and went Out. It was great fun at first. At the start, Scott was deliberately trying to make a "quote of the night" by saying stuff like "I'm a camp Han Solo", which he clearly isn't. Once he got a bit plyed with his drinks, he came out with the real stuff. The ultimate being: "Neil, next time you're with a girl, and having sex with her, give her a Salami Slapper, from me!". I don't think that even needs any explanation.
In the end we decided to go to the garage. Which was a total disaster. I was feeling a bit tipsy, but as soon as the Scissor Sisters came on, as about the third song, Scott basically demanded I dance. Now I obviously wasn't in the mood to dance, and Scott, upon hearing this told me to "fuck off". So I did.
I can't believe how insensitive he is. He thinks that just because HE likes a particular song that everybody should love it. I'm tolerant of bands like the Scissor Sisters, but I by no means like them. If, however, Scott had in the end come to Bloodstock, I might have felt like I owed him something. But no, he didn't come, and I missed out on the BEST music festival ever to come to Britain. Since then, I've been going to lots of 'his' places, like Club Tropicana, but whenever I even suggest going to a Rock bar, he acts like an asshole. Maybe people with such different musical tastes shouldn't mix in nightclubs. I wanted to try to fit in with his kind of music, but he went absolutely mental when I wouldn't dance.
Am I in the wrong, for not being in the mood to dance, in a nightclub? Or is he in the wrong, for being totally insensitive of my feelings, and my musical tastes? Hmm...
After we came out, we met Scott, and went Out. It was great fun at first. At the start, Scott was deliberately trying to make a "quote of the night" by saying stuff like "I'm a camp Han Solo", which he clearly isn't. Once he got a bit plyed with his drinks, he came out with the real stuff. The ultimate being: "Neil, next time you're with a girl, and having sex with her, give her a Salami Slapper, from me!". I don't think that even needs any explanation.
In the end we decided to go to the garage. Which was a total disaster. I was feeling a bit tipsy, but as soon as the Scissor Sisters came on, as about the third song, Scott basically demanded I dance. Now I obviously wasn't in the mood to dance, and Scott, upon hearing this told me to "fuck off". So I did.
I can't believe how insensitive he is. He thinks that just because HE likes a particular song that everybody should love it. I'm tolerant of bands like the Scissor Sisters, but I by no means like them. If, however, Scott had in the end come to Bloodstock, I might have felt like I owed him something. But no, he didn't come, and I missed out on the BEST music festival ever to come to Britain. Since then, I've been going to lots of 'his' places, like Club Tropicana, but whenever I even suggest going to a Rock bar, he acts like an asshole. Maybe people with such different musical tastes shouldn't mix in nightclubs. I wanted to try to fit in with his kind of music, but he went absolutely mental when I wouldn't dance.
Am I in the wrong, for not being in the mood to dance, in a nightclub? Or is he in the wrong, for being totally insensitive of my feelings, and my musical tastes? Hmm...
Monday, 3 September 2007
Life as a Septagenarian
So, I'm level 70 now. It's an incredible feeling, so I thought I'd share a couple of screenshots of my epic journey through the worlds of Azeroth and Outlands!
This is me, riding my first mount. It was such an incredible feeling!
This is me standing at the Dark Portal, about to go through! This was absolutely orgasmic! It was almost as incredible as...
This is me as I dinged 70. After months of grinding and questing, I finally hit the max level!
This is my character as he appears on the login screen today. Every item I have is of Blue quality, except the staff and belt, which are green. Check out my awesome helmet!
I really can't wait for Scott to reach higher levels, so I can quest with him!
This is me, riding my first mount. It was such an incredible feeling!
This is me standing at the Dark Portal, about to go through! This was absolutely orgasmic! It was almost as incredible as...
This is me as I dinged 70. After months of grinding and questing, I finally hit the max level!
This is my character as he appears on the login screen today. Every item I have is of Blue quality, except the staff and belt, which are green. Check out my awesome helmet!
I really can't wait for Scott to reach higher levels, so I can quest with him!
Queer Eye for the Macdonald Guy, part 2
Please note that this entry is NOT the entry I would like to publish. It is, in fact, not even close. But Scott has been getting on my back so much that I'm being forced to publish this very rough draft.
A new development in the Macd saga! Just days ago, the news reached my ears that Macd "pulled two girls in campus". Scott and I are unsure how to react to this news. Do we believe it? Did Macd make it up to impress us? Or did it actually happen?
Now, if it did happen, this is NOT the good news we've been hoping for. Any guy who feels it's a "conquest" to pull two girls in one night is not the emotionally mature guy we hoped he was. Why can't he try to find a nice girl, and have a relationship?
As promised, here are my theories. So what do we know about Macd? He's never had a serious relationship, or even a casual one. His only one "girlfriend" he avoided seeing, and possibly only went out with because of the fact that we'd make fun of him if he didn't. The only girls he's ever kissed, he never saw again afterwards. Scott and I are seriously worried about him. This is NOT the behaviour of a nearly-twenty year old guy! Why has he seemingly given up in his quest to find a girlfriend? Allow me to present the only theory which comes to mind.
Now, there's no plausible reason why a teenage boy would only go after one-night kisses. I'm sure if he wanted, he could take her home for a one-night-stand. So why wouldn't he go any further? Simple. He's a latent homosexual.
Allow me to elaborate. He's never shown any real interest in girls, except when the whole group is talking about them. He's never shown any active pursuit in girls, except for totally unavailable girls (Lisa, Debbie, that chick from drama). I'm of the opinion that David Macdonald is gay, but doesn't know it. There's no other rational explanation!
A new development in the Macd saga! Just days ago, the news reached my ears that Macd "pulled two girls in campus". Scott and I are unsure how to react to this news. Do we believe it? Did Macd make it up to impress us? Or did it actually happen?
Now, if it did happen, this is NOT the good news we've been hoping for. Any guy who feels it's a "conquest" to pull two girls in one night is not the emotionally mature guy we hoped he was. Why can't he try to find a nice girl, and have a relationship?
As promised, here are my theories. So what do we know about Macd? He's never had a serious relationship, or even a casual one. His only one "girlfriend" he avoided seeing, and possibly only went out with because of the fact that we'd make fun of him if he didn't. The only girls he's ever kissed, he never saw again afterwards. Scott and I are seriously worried about him. This is NOT the behaviour of a nearly-twenty year old guy! Why has he seemingly given up in his quest to find a girlfriend? Allow me to present the only theory which comes to mind.
Now, there's no plausible reason why a teenage boy would only go after one-night kisses. I'm sure if he wanted, he could take her home for a one-night-stand. So why wouldn't he go any further? Simple. He's a latent homosexual.
Allow me to elaborate. He's never shown any real interest in girls, except when the whole group is talking about them. He's never shown any active pursuit in girls, except for totally unavailable girls (Lisa, Debbie, that chick from drama). I'm of the opinion that David Macdonald is gay, but doesn't know it. There's no other rational explanation!
Monday, 27 August 2007
Queer Eye for the Macdonald Guy? - The Back Story
I'm sure many of my readers (Scott) will have noticed a worrying trend in David Macdonald recently. It's all to do with girls. I've read Scott's blog entries on the subject, but they all seem to be written through frustration, and to an outsider, they'd probably side with Macd.
So here's my attempt to dispel the myth of the Macd.
Macd has never had much of an interest in girls.Throughout school, it was first of all just McMahon and McMaster that got girlfriends, and I followed shortly after, and Scott after that. Nobody was too bothered about Macd's lack of interest in girls at that point, as most of the rest of the group had still never had a girlfriend either. But as the years passed on, and more of us started pairing off with girls, everybody couldn't help but notice Macd was left behind somewhat. At this point, we were thinking "Hey, he's a shy guy." and "He doesn't really get out much." and so we shrugged it off.
The first major milestone in Macd's love life saga was a girl called Claire. Now, the Claire story is a complicated story, so for those who don't know it, I'll summarise. Scott and McMaster went on holiday to Center Parks with Scott's family one summer, and there, they met a couple of sisters, Claire and Michelle. They became friends, and Scott started meeting up with them (taking along McMahon, since McMaster had a girlfriend) when they got back, as the girls lived in the Glasgow area. Things were going well, until Claire had a birthday party. McMahon couldn't go for some reason. I can't remember if it's because he didn't want to or because he couldn't, but Scott ended up taking Macd along to Claire's birthday party.
Now, at this point I should mention that Scott "fancied" Claire. While at the party, he was asked out by her friend, Heather, and he accepted. A few days later, while Macd was at Scott's house with Scott and McMaster, Claire phoned and asked out Macd. Possibly simply due to peer pressure, Macd accepted.
We were all elated! Macd had a girlfriend! No longer would he be the loser of the group! Wrong!
Macd hardly saw his "girlfriend", partly due to money troubles. The one time he did claim to kiss her, Claire afterwards said he "did it wrong".
Long story short, Scott siezed the opportunity, and convinced Claire to dump Macd for him. Macd made a show of being angry, but eventually admitted he hadn't really liked her in the first place.
Years passed, with Macd still never having had another girlfriend. Until one night, when we were at the Lismore. (Macd's dad's regular.)
The Lismore is an "old man pub". It has its set of regulars, and is frequented by women generally over 35. (as Scott will testify to!) One night, Macd found himself in conversation with an attractive woman, who claimed to be 30, but in fact looked much younger. The night was filled with obvious come-ons by the girl, which Macd remained oblivious to. Even after me pointing out the fact that she obviously liked him, Macd actually went as far as to ask her "My mate says you're into me - is this true?"
Eventually, at the end of the night, they stood together outside. An inebriated Scott and an inebriated Me watched from a close distance, shouting encouragement at him, and eventually he "snogged" her. He came over to us after, and we convinced him to go ask her for her number, which he did. She claimed she "didn't know it" and "didn't have her phone with her". Quite obviously a lie, since we saw her on the phone earlier!
The conclusions Scott and myself reached about this encounter was that he was a bad kisser, and she just wanted to blow him off.
Unfortunately, it's now about 2 years after that event, and Macd STILL hasn't had another girlfriend. In fact, he doesn't even seem to show interest in any attractive girls. Me and Scott routinely point out girls we find hot, but Macd never once shows any interest at all! He does, however, point out the ridiculously out of his league girls that most normal guys don't find the least bit attractive. You know the kind - the kind that plasters themself in a ton of makeup constantly, and which have no personality.
He doesn't even claim to want a girlfriend. He claims he wants a "one night stand" and he seems to believe there's a route into any girl's pants. What's more - he believes that he, an unremarkable looking, inexperienced virgin, can actually do it!
What is the truth behind Macd? Why does he act like he does? Is there any hope for him?
Find out my theories in another, upcoming blog entry!
So here's my attempt to dispel the myth of the Macd.
Macd has never had much of an interest in girls.Throughout school, it was first of all just McMahon and McMaster that got girlfriends, and I followed shortly after, and Scott after that. Nobody was too bothered about Macd's lack of interest in girls at that point, as most of the rest of the group had still never had a girlfriend either. But as the years passed on, and more of us started pairing off with girls, everybody couldn't help but notice Macd was left behind somewhat. At this point, we were thinking "Hey, he's a shy guy." and "He doesn't really get out much." and so we shrugged it off.
The first major milestone in Macd's love life saga was a girl called Claire. Now, the Claire story is a complicated story, so for those who don't know it, I'll summarise. Scott and McMaster went on holiday to Center Parks with Scott's family one summer, and there, they met a couple of sisters, Claire and Michelle. They became friends, and Scott started meeting up with them (taking along McMahon, since McMaster had a girlfriend) when they got back, as the girls lived in the Glasgow area. Things were going well, until Claire had a birthday party. McMahon couldn't go for some reason. I can't remember if it's because he didn't want to or because he couldn't, but Scott ended up taking Macd along to Claire's birthday party.
Now, at this point I should mention that Scott "fancied" Claire. While at the party, he was asked out by her friend, Heather, and he accepted. A few days later, while Macd was at Scott's house with Scott and McMaster, Claire phoned and asked out Macd. Possibly simply due to peer pressure, Macd accepted.
We were all elated! Macd had a girlfriend! No longer would he be the loser of the group!
Macd hardly saw his "girlfriend", partly due to money troubles. The one time he did claim to kiss her, Claire afterwards said he "did it wrong".
Long story short, Scott siezed the opportunity, and convinced Claire to dump Macd for him. Macd made a show of being angry, but eventually admitted he hadn't really liked her in the first place.
Years passed, with Macd still never having had another girlfriend. Until one night, when we were at the Lismore. (Macd's dad's regular.)
The Lismore is an "old man pub". It has its set of regulars, and is frequented by women generally over 35. (as Scott will testify to!) One night, Macd found himself in conversation with an attractive woman, who claimed to be 30, but in fact looked much younger. The night was filled with obvious come-ons by the girl, which Macd remained oblivious to. Even after me pointing out the fact that she obviously liked him, Macd actually went as far as to ask her "My mate says you're into me - is this true?"
Eventually, at the end of the night, they stood together outside. An inebriated Scott and an inebriated Me watched from a close distance, shouting encouragement at him, and eventually he "snogged" her. He came over to us after, and we convinced him to go ask her for her number, which he did. She claimed she "didn't know it" and "didn't have her phone with her". Quite obviously a lie, since we saw her on the phone earlier!
The conclusions Scott and myself reached about this encounter was that he was a bad kisser, and she just wanted to blow him off.
Unfortunately, it's now about 2 years after that event, and Macd STILL hasn't had another girlfriend. In fact, he doesn't even seem to show interest in any attractive girls. Me and Scott routinely point out girls we find hot, but Macd never once shows any interest at all! He does, however, point out the ridiculously out of his league girls that most normal guys don't find the least bit attractive. You know the kind - the kind that plasters themself in a ton of makeup constantly, and which have no personality.
He doesn't even claim to want a girlfriend. He claims he wants a "one night stand" and he seems to believe there's a route into any girl's pants. What's more - he believes that he, an unremarkable looking, inexperienced virgin, can actually do it!
What is the truth behind Macd? Why does he act like he does? Is there any hope for him?
Find out my theories in another, upcoming blog entry!
World of Warcraft: The Druid Crusade!
After weeks of pestering, Scott has finally returned to Azeroth - in druid form! The newly formed Nelf "Scottienda" (original, I know!) believes that Druid is the class for him.
So, today, rather than doing the final 140,000xp I need to get to level 70 (zomg!), I decided to boost Scott in his levelling process, and in the process get some Darnassus reputation.
First, to my accomplishments of the day. I maxed out my Darnassus reputation. This means I now have max reputation with Darnassus, Ironforge and Stormwind! This means, if I want, I can buy a tiger, a ram OR a horse to ride in Azeroth. I'm quite happy with the horse I have now, and when I hit exalted with Kurenei, I'll show off with a Talbuk mount! :D
I also got to within 140,000xp of the golden level 70! This should only take an hour or two's questing to achieve, so I'm very excited about it!
Scott's new druid, Scottienda, reached level 12 today, a mere 6 hours or so after being created. This is great progress so far, and I really can't wait to have a fellow high-level friend around to quest and instance with! He's decided to spec feral, which I feel is a good move, as it's generally considered the best spec for levelling. His previous, balance, druid on our old server, I feel wasn't up to his potential. But this new dr00d looks very promising.
Now all that remains is to see if it takes him another 3 weeks to play him again! ;)
So, today, rather than doing the final 140,000xp I need to get to level 70 (zomg!), I decided to boost Scott in his levelling process, and in the process get some Darnassus reputation.
First, to my accomplishments of the day. I maxed out my Darnassus reputation. This means I now have max reputation with Darnassus, Ironforge and Stormwind! This means, if I want, I can buy a tiger, a ram OR a horse to ride in Azeroth. I'm quite happy with the horse I have now, and when I hit exalted with Kurenei, I'll show off with a Talbuk mount! :D
I also got to within 140,000xp of the golden level 70! This should only take an hour or two's questing to achieve, so I'm very excited about it!
Scott's new druid, Scottienda, reached level 12 today, a mere 6 hours or so after being created. This is great progress so far, and I really can't wait to have a fellow high-level friend around to quest and instance with! He's decided to spec feral, which I feel is a good move, as it's generally considered the best spec for levelling. His previous, balance, druid on our old server, I feel wasn't up to his potential. But this new dr00d looks very promising.
Now all that remains is to see if it takes him another 3 weeks to play him again! ;)
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Workin' Nine to Five
What a way to make a livin'. I've been given a deadline with which to do the work for my dad, which means I have to, essentially, do 1000 entries a day. Which would be fine if I wasn't so inherently lazy! At the moment I'm more concerned with levelling up Dellenar (68 human mage) and Dolan (21 draenei shaman) than I am with working. I'm getting about £350 a month for doing this, so I'd better get on with it.
I am, in fact, procrastinating just by writing this.
I am, in fact, procrastinating just by writing this.
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Blogging and You!
Scott's been trying for months to get me to start a blog, so I eventually decided to oblige him. The title "musings of a troubled youth" is obviously meant ironically as a way of showcasing how emo the blogging scene in general is.
Don't expect to see much on here, because really, I have nothing much to say. Most thoughts I have are either to personal, or too radical for other people to read. Plus nobody really knows I have this blog, so nobody will read it except Scott. Oh well!
Don't expect to see much on here, because really, I have nothing much to say. Most thoughts I have are either to personal, or too radical for other people to read. Plus nobody really knows I have this blog, so nobody will read it except Scott. Oh well!
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