The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 13,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Year: 1990
Basic Idea: Save Irene again while blowing in the wind.
Review: I remember for my 10th birthday weekend, my best friend came over. It wasn’t time to open presents yet (my birthday wasn’t until Monday), but my parents gave me one before hand because my friend was over. That game was Ninja Gaiden II. I had played the previously one to death and was anxiously awaiting the sequel. I was a bit disappointed.
One of the hallmarks of the first game, the plot and cut scenes, is possibly better in this version. And there’s a few added features that are really nice. The ability to climb walls is a relief. There is a wider variety of power-ups (and the shuriken is now the default), including the shadow ninjas who follow you, do what you do (including using power-ups), and cannot be hurt. Sometimes they can clutter up the screen, but they can be used very effectively to get out of sticky situations, or attack bosses from a distance. Sadly, the jump’n’slash power-up is gone, a very welcome tool when falling onto a ledge with enemies.
What drops this game so far down the list for me is the unfair difficulty present in some of the levels. One level has the wind randomly howling at your front or back. There’s nothing like timing a long jump, then having the wind knock you into a pit. You thought the eagles were tough to avoid in the first game? Try doing so in the wind. Or how about in the dark? One level puts you in near blackness except for when lightning strikes, giving you brief visibility.
If you loved the first game, it’s still worth picking this one up. But be prepared for increased difficulty. The third game, which won’t have another mention in this list, is harder still and worth playing only with a game genie.
Synopsis: The tedious jobs Picard talks about in Tapestry get some limelight.
Memory Alpha Summary: And another death on Wesley’s conscience!
Review: Why are crew evaluations done in Ten Forward? That’s just asking for trouble. But it does provide a good introduction to Ben the waiter. He’s a cool replacement for Guinan that I think could have been a semi-regular
The premise of this episode could have tanked badly as it feels somewhat gimmicky. And to be fair, the parallel poker games are gimmicky. But to hear some people in the lower decks say some of the things we’ve been saying for seven seasons is realistic fun. We also learn that ensigns have to share quarters. Now that bites.
I think what really helps this episode is bringing back Ensign Sito from The First Duty. We already know a little bit about her and her past, and her growth in this episode, with Worf, with Picard…it’s quite touching. And the ending is one of the biggest tearjerkers in the entire series run.
I do have to mention something that pissed me off, though. Nurse Ogawa is talking to Beverly about her relationship with Powell. She asks her something like, “Do you ever feel like early in a relationship you’re just going in blind?” Then Beverly says, “I’m not sure what you mean.” Fuck, Beverly, you just fucked a ghost who was your grandmother’s sugar daddy in the last episode. Not to mention the trill you fell in love with in two days.
Synopsis: Data and Jenna sittin’ in a tree…
Memory Alpha Summary: Tasha would be so jealous
Review: An underrated episode, even by myself in the past (though it is apparently Patrick Stewart’s favorite of the series). Data’s experience in a relationship goes about how you’d expect and hilarious antics ensue. Spiner is so damn good I laughed at even his predictable lines, the best part being in the ‘lover’s quarrel’ he programs himself to initiate. “You’re not my mother!” Love it.
The “Enterprise is in danger” part of the episode is also damn good. The special effects team deserves some high-fives with how the dark matter affects the ship. The death of Lt. Van Mayter is one of the creepiest moments in the show’s run. I’ll never get that image of her stuck in the floor out of my head.
Synopsis: The answer as to how get one more main character from TOS to show up.
Memory Alpha Summary: Beam him up!
Review: While I didn’t go as gaga over seeing Scottie as many did, this is still a very enjoyable episode, with a salient plot about how the elderly can feel worthless. It was fun to see a Dyson’s Sphere come to life. Subtly throwing in music from the old series added a nice touch. And the relationship that develops between Scottie and Geordi is pretty cool, too. Scottie admonishing Geordi for telling the captain how long it really takes to get shit done is great humor.
Synopsis: Homosexual allegory. Controversy! Aaaaahh!
Memory Alpha Summary: Do not tell me about your sexual organs.
Review: A decent episode maligned more for what it wasn’t than what it was. We have characters proclaiming that the Federation doesn’t have sexuality issues, but Worf proclaiming that women are weak because they like using wild cards in poker is lame. We have Riker describing that men are different from women because they don’t put color (makeup) on their bodies, even though some do, even in this series. Even though this race’s “defect” is being born more feminine or masculine and therefore wanting sex, when they have their defect they still only have heterosexual relationships. Riker says English doesn’t have a gender neutral pronoun; actually, it does, but nobody uses it anymore. Finally, Riker falls in love with one of them, who is of course obviously played by a female actress. Overall, this episode also does nothing to address the fact that a homosexual relationship is never seen in the series run, even in the background in Ten Forward. Okay, maybe the episode is not all that decent.
Sexuality stuff aside, Frakes is very good here. He finally falls for somebody in a non-whorish way, and the pain he goes through watching the person he loves get discriminated against is believable. I also chuckled when Picard admonishes Riker for potentially violating the Prime Directive by trying to stop his lover’s sexuality treatments. This is the same guy who brought an innocent girl on board his ship to look at her own god. Pull back on the kettle there Mr. Pot.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 33 trips to carry that many people.
We’ll be back next weekend with a Trek video game review. Today I want to give a shout out to some friends of this site. I’m adding a Links tab as well.
Casa De Leche: Run by one of my close friends, Kelly Wells, a screenwriter and actor. The site is mostly devoted to his writing game in the style of Survivor, which I also blog about here. He also hosts intensely run games of Werewolf.
The Almighty Guru: Run by another good friend, Dean Tersigni. While the main page is him mostly bitching about the world, there are some fun pages along the left hand column, including video game reviews, hacking guides, and a comic strip he created called the Blasphemer’s Bible.
Dauntless Media: Run by Samuel Walters, this site has the most comprehensive reviews of the first three Star Trek series on the world wide web. The link takes you to the TNG page, but don’t miss out on the rest of his site. He has rated and written reviews of many, many television series, movies, soundtracks, and books. Not surprisingly, he is also a published author.
The Flying Omelette: This video game site has been around a very long time. The lady who runs it has played video games at a rate I could only aspire to. The site is filled with shrines, reviews, and humorous articles, mostly about the NES.
Nibbishment: A personal blog by friend Peter Bruzek. The Top 50 Video Games and Top 50 Video Game Moments keep me coming back.
This was probably my favorite challenge of season six, and it was also one of my better weeks as well.
You’ll do two classified ads of 100 words or less each:
1. An ad searching for an embalmer or undertaker.
2. An ad searching for someone to work – at any job – in a porn shop.
Both should make the job look enticing and be able to generate interest, though neither should come out and actually say what the seeker is truly seeking.
I decided to join the .jpg rage that was going on that season and created the following:
Unfortunately, these were judged by two separate judges, so they didn’t actually get to see the fact that I was able to use the same last line for both.
Death By Troggles 
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