Chalked Up: Stephen's New Life

About a month ago I moved out of Eagle Mountain into a new home in Provo, UT.  I'm now no longer living with a wonderful family of 4 but have 4 other single guys for roommates.  My new room is big, my ward is great, and it's conveniently close to a bus stop that can take me to school and the frontrunner.  All in all, it's a good change but it's also a hard change too.

So why is it hard?  Well, let me give you an idea of how often I have moved...

I was born in Maryland and when I was 5 years old my family picked us up and we moved to Arizona.  In Arizona, I lived in three different neighborhoods and went to three different schools before we moved back to Maryland when I was about 10 years old.  My mom was offered her old job back and she couldn't refuse.  I didn't want to leave my friends in Arizona.

Back in Maryland, we lived with my Grandparents for a little while until we found a Cape Cod style stone house in Sykesville, MD.  I fell in love with this magical house.  It was 3 stories and a graveyard was just beyond our backyard.  Down the street lived my childhood best friend Michael Baker.  I had a great childhood here growing up.  It broke my heart when we moved back to Arizona.  I later found out in life that the reason we moved to Arizona was because my mom wanted me to have better educational opportunities since I had a learning disability.

For our 2nd time in Arizona we switched schools 3 times and lived in about 5 different places.  We moved when I was in High School as well.  When I was on my mission I served in countless different areas and there was a period of 4 transfers where I was in a different area for each transfer.  When I finally came back to Arizona I came home to a different house.  (My parents once again moved while on my mission.)

Since moving here to Utah in July 2011 I have come to live in 5 different homes.

The "headboard" of my bed I drew on my wall. That's a
dragon celtic knot to the left and a bear one to the right.

So yeah, I move a lot.  It's the only life I've ever known.  My life is full of Hellos and Goodbyes.  Looking back, I know that all of my decisions to move have been the right decisions.  I'm not flighty and try to run away from problems.  The way my life has played out, a change of scenery has often been what I've needed.

So that brings me to where I'm living now and what I've done with my room.  Having lived in so many places I've decided I want to live here as long as possible.  I want this place to feel like my home and a place I belong to.  I want to know what it feels like to really have my roots in a place.

Thus, I painted three walls in my room.  I didn't use just any paint.  I used chalkboard paint.  As many of you know, I love to draw and I'm studying Animation at Utah Valley University.  To be able to draw on my wall is probably the best way for me to make something my own.

Here are some pictures of my work...

My awesome new room!

Some instagram prints and a print I made.

Detail of my family and friends tree.

It's a sleeping firefox!

Some words of wisdom and instagram prints.

A print and a poster.

I collect belt buckles.

A print I bought at Wal Mart and some Instagram prints.

I live in my own little world.

Fadircum, a valley where my kingdom
resides. Many forests, hot springs,
rivers, and really big lake.

Blekgaf, a tropical country with dry parts. Known for it's
many mirages and illusions.

 

The point of this post today isn't just to show off some cool things you can do to a room or to once again show off my crazy cool art skills.  The message I have is that investing in something is worth it even if it's risky.  To paint these walls cost me a little over $70.  I could very well meet my eternal companion and need to move out of my place at the end of this year or maybe even sooner.  So why take the time to make an emotional connection when it's going to end?

Map of Coereldur.  A lot of work.

I actually don't know.

The top means
"Confrontation of fears."
The bottom means
"Path of the warrior."

It does hurt to move.  It hurt so much to say goodbye to Michael when I moved to Arizona.  It hurt to leave my old roommates and have to say goodbye to them.  I miss the wards I've been to even when I was only there for a short period of time.  But I also know that I don't regret allowing those friendships and emotional connections to exist.

The last time I saw Michael was in 2005.  It was on my senior trip for my High School.  My parents had kept in touch with his family and Michael came to visit me while I was near where he lived.  It was great to see him and pick things up right back where they left off.  I didn't realize how much I had missed him until I had seen him.

Unfortunately, we didn't keep much better contact after that and I haven't spoken to him since. I've tried to find Michael on facebook and people finder services with no luck.  Even though I haven't been able to find him, I'm glad I was able to share in such a great friendship with him.  I feel the same for all the shared experiences of many people in my past life.  Yeah, I will sometimes feel sadness but I also feel a lot of gratitude.  The thing is, sadness is good.  If you had a good connection to someone or something then you would need to feel sadness when you part ways.

I wish some of these friendships in my life would just last forever.  The wonderful thing is that although relationships change, true friendship will always last forever.

My family and friends tree.

-Stephen

Top Ten Dads in Geekdom

In honor of Father's Day (I know it was three days ago so shut up) I decided to devote a post to the top ten dads of geekdom. Now to clarify, I'm focusing on dads not fathers because as it's been said anyone with active reproductive material can become a parent, it takes true character to be a dad. That being said Darth Vader is not going to show up on this list, because one selfless act does not a dad make.

I actually found it a bit harder to find 10 good examples of dads in geekdom, Click here for my thoughts on that.

As usual, I couldn't be bothered to put my list in order. These just exist in my top ten.

10: Goofy
When I mentioned that Goofy would hit my list I had a lot of people give me surprised reactions, then I said Goofy Movie and all was clear. Goofy is a good dad because he's constantly trying everything he can to connect to his son, both in the TV show and the films, and only fails because he's dealing with a 90s teenage stereotype. It may take a while for Goofy to succeed, but he definitely gets an A for trying.


9: Mr. Incredible
This film focused heavily on Bob's relationship to Helen, but I appreciate the scenes where Bob interacts with the kids. He seems to genuinely care about his kids, and this manifests in some really cute moments. I love him and Dash with the slot cars because I remember playing that with my dad, and the scene where he comments on Violet wearing her hair back is just darling, as well as helps develop her character. Mr. Incredible may be having a midlife crisis, but the one thing he doesn't want to escape from is being a dad.


8: Splinter

Here's an interesting family: a mutated rat teaches four mutated turtles martial arts and the delights of TV so they can become super heroes on the streets of New York. I'm sorry, but no matter how many times I try to describe anything from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I just think it sounds weird, and I was raised with the thing! Splinter though is probably one of the best characters from this whole thing, since he seems to be the only one able to express emotion outside of cheesy one liners and talk about pizza. Splinter has this fatherly devotion to his children, a strength we usually see in martial arts sensai/student relationships but is taken to the next step here by him being the one who raised them. I feel like Splinter is not only the perfect example of a master warrior, but the perfect example of one who can balance the warrior with the love and devotion only a dad can offer.

7: Mufasa

For all the films Disney has made they have a reputation for having parents either barely there or non-existent. With that in mind, it's extremely refreshing to see Disney characterize Mufasa as probably the best dad in the world, if only to make it more sad when he's brutally murdered by one of Disney's best villains. Mufasa finds a way to balance grooming his son to be the future king while also showing him the simple love and connection only a dad can provide.


6: Johnathon Kent

I understand that Jor El plays a big part in the new Man of Steel film, but since I haven't seen it yet I can really only speak for Superman's adopted father, Johnathon Kent. This is the one who Superman goes to when he's not sure what to do morally, or when the burden of being both Clark and Superman is too heavy to carry. Johnathon can also be credited for the infamous glasses that separate Clark from Superman, as well as the body language to keep people off his tail. As the picture at Deseret Book says, even Superman needs a dad.




5: Arthur Weasley
I really wanted to put Sirius Black on this list, but he just wasn't present enough for me to justify it. Arthur though, was a great dad not only to his seven kids but to Harry and Hermione as well. Here's what I love about him: Even though his family was poor, even though he was interested in muggle stuff (A taboo apparently in wizard culture), he always kept his honor and fought for what was right. Arthur is a steady as a rock good guy, who would happily give his life to help any of his kids, weather they're gingers or not.

4: Uncle Iroh

To me you can't say enough about Avatar the last Airbender, but one of my favorite pieces is the relationship between Prince Zuko and Iroh. Here we have a literally wounded boy, desperately trying to regain his father's respect and love, and by his side is the patient and kind Iroh. Through the series Zuko recognizes who truly loves him, not as a piece on a chessboard, but as a person. Iroh is trying to make up for the lost of his son Mako by finding redemption in his nephew, and if you ask me he found it. If you want evidence just ask Zuko's grandson in Legend of Korra, general Iroh.


3: Rupert Giles
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer we don't get a lot about Buffy's father. What we do get is her relationship with her Watcher, Giles. At first reluctant to look after the seemingly vapid teenage blonde, Giles grows to love her as though she was his own daughter. The song he sings in the musical episode is basically a fatherly love letter to his Slayer, and at times can bring me straight to girly tears. Check it out.





2: Sarek
He's Spock's dad. And yes, I know Vulcans can't show emotion, but work with me. If we remember Abram's first Star Trek film, we see Sarek being quite tender with young Spock, reassuring him that he can make it through the trials of his life, and even opening up to him by saying that the reason Sarek married a human was because he loved her. Jump back even further to Star Trek: The Next Generation when Sarek suffers from Vulcan aging and mind-melds with Picard to control his excess emotion. Picard expresses for Sarek his love of Spock and his regret that they couldn't be closer. It's an awesome performance from Patrick Stewart as well as a perfect piece for an obscure but important character.


1: Uncle Ben
Last but not least let's not forget Spider-Man's big piece of emotional damage Uncle Ben. This character is one we only get in flashbacks and the beginning of the Spider-Man story. He raised Peter as his own, but because Peter was off competing in an underground wrestling match and didn't stop a criminal, Uncle Ben got killed. Fortunately before he left he gave Peter the basis of which he based his entire super hero career on: "With great power comes great responsibility". I don't even know what context he was using when he told Peter such a perfect line, but it works. We all miss Uncle Ben.

Some honorable mentions before I go:
Alfred Pennyworth: As much as I love Alfred the only time we really see dad stuff and not incredibly tolerant legal guardian/butler stuff is in the movies, and even then it's usually more of a buddy thing.

Maurice: Belle's dad from Beauty and the Beast. As far as Disney characters he's actually a pretty well developed dad, but I feel that Mufasa did it better simply by having a more compelling character than crazy inventor.

Tenzin: The Airbending Master from Legend of Korra is definitely a good dad, and we can only assume that his father Aang rocked, but I felt that Iroh's development throughout the series had to get credit, though I am open for more awesomeness when Legend of Korra starts back up next month.

-JOE

P.S. Click here for an introspection as to why dads aren't more present in geekdom.

Lovecrafted Games: Customizable 3D printed miniatures - On Kickstarter!

Two days ago, my friend and fellow author on Mormon Geeks, Stephen, asked me if I had anything to post about this week.  I said I didn't (some of the recent games I played were kind of 'meh').  So, he told me about a kick start project that was starting on Monday, for customization 3D miniatures.  I was immediately intrigued.

A custom sculpted and painted miniature for a D&D character I played called Simon.

What is a miniature?  It's a small figuring that can represent a human, elf, dwarf, monster, etc.  Generally, I first same them used in Dungeons and Dragons characters to give a representation of a character that could be moved around a map, further enhancing the game-play experience.  Honestly, a small figuring that looks like my epic dwarf barbarian is a lot cooler than a little red die.

Why is customization so important?  Well, for me, I always found that the miniatures that were available just didn't work out for me.  Most of the time, they didn't quite match my character.  I had to pick a 'best fit'.  Enter: Lovecrafted Games.  Seeing the need for customizable miniatures, they put for their solution.  From what I can see, the thing looks like it will be an awesome way to order a miniature that is a perfect fit (or at least much closer than a generic fit) for your character.  To top if off, they will have a cool looking web interface so that the miniatures will be even easier to customize.

Lovecraft games will have soooo much more.  To learn more, check out their Kickstarter page here.  This looks like it is a simply awesome idea!

Terraria

A little random trivia for you: I am not the best at video games. And I really suck at first-person shooters. Give me side-scrolling Mario any day and I can do some awesome and amazing things. When we got Super Mario Bros Wii, my wife kept dying before finally finishing the first three levels. I, on the other hand, didn't have my first death until near the end of the 2nd world. And I consistently had 99 lives in the later part of my first go through of the game.

My point being, I really enjoy side-scrolling games. They're less difficult to navigate and I know I'm not gonna worry about changing directions. The buttons are simple to use and fighting bosses don't require too much thought process.

Well, years after the first time I played the original Super Mario Bros. back in the late 80s, fellow Mormon Geek, Andrew, introduced me to the world of Terraria. And at first I thought "this is the stupidest game". And then I realized "this game is AWESOME!"

Terraria is a side-scrolling game whose graphics pretty much belong on an SNES or a Sega Genesis. And there really isn't much to the story, which was my initial problem in the game. I had no idea what I was doing the first time I played it. Then I understood the goal is to seek out treasures, build up my house, and destroy the bosses that can pop up.

For me, it's finding the goals to accomplish that make it fun. Start off with a goal of "build a house". Then there's "get copper armor and tools". And maybe better armor, or better tools, or a specific tool or weapon. Eventually I find myself saying "beat the Wall of Flesh." Still haven't done the last one, but I will soon enough.

A lot of people prefer a similar game called Minecraft. Minecraft is a first-person game, which is probably the biggest and most obvious difference. And I really haven't played Minecraft, but I definitely prefer the 3rd-person sidescrolling.

Terraria is my go-to game right now. My line of thinking is akin to "I need to kill some time, I'm gonna play Terraria." If you like simple game play (like me because I suck at first-person shooters), then Terraria is a game that can work great for you.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.

Hope burns bright-a guest post by Adam Coon

Green Lantern

I've long been a big Green Lantern fan. I've worn a Green Lantern costume for Halloween three different years, as well as to the premier of the Green Lantern movie a couple of years ago. And I've collected every issue of Green Lantern since the return of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Rebirth almost ten years ago.

I had a very active imagination as a child (and I'll admit that I still do today), and the idea of having a ring that could create anything I imagined had a lot of appeal to me. If I could will it, I could create it.

But as much as I love all things Green Lantern, I found myself even more intrigued when DC expanded the concept of the emotional spectrum and introduced the Blue Lanterns. While a Green Lantern's power is based on willpower, a Blue Lantern's power is based on hope. I've also been impressed with how closely Blue Lantern powers follow the gospel concepts of hope and faith.

Blue Power Ring

The scriptures tell us that “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen” (Ether 12:6). As hope is a necessary element for faith, for the purposes of this post, I will use them interchangeably, though I will note that in reality faith is more than just hope. And as will is a necessary part of taking action, I will also use will, action and works interchangeably.

The scriptures also tell us that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). Pres. Thomas S. Monson has also been quoted as saying, “Work without vision is drudgery; vision without work is dreaming; work coupled with vision is destiny.” If “hope” is substituted for “vision,” this quote very much follows the relationship between will and hope.

Going back to the comic books, shortly after the first Blue Lantern was introduced, it was shown that proximity to a Blue Lantern more than doubled the power of a Green Lantern's ring, just as in life, hope can encourage, motivate and even strengthen action.

A Blue Lantern supercharging
Green Lantern's ring

It was also soon shown that unless they were in close proximity to a Green Lantern, a Blue Lantern's ring had very limited abilities (limited to flight and a protective aura). But when near a Green Lantern, a Blue Lantern has all the abilities of a Green Lantern, as well as many more. When near a Green Lantern, Blue Lanterns have been seen to have healing abilities, the ability to reveal others' hopes, and in one case is shown to channel the hope of the natives of an orbiting planet to turn back the clock on a dying star by several billion years.

This is a good analogy of life, in which case vision, hope or faith without willpower or action will accomplish next to nothing. But when action and vision (or will and hope) are combined, there is almost no limit to the potential that can be accomplished.

Blue Lanterns have also been shown to have abilities related to several of the other types of Lanterns. Blue Lanterns have the ability to drain the power from the rings of members of the Sinestro Corps (the Yellow Lanterns empowered by fear). And Blue Lanterns are also able to cure Red Lanterns (who are powered by anger or rage) who would otherwise die when their rings are removed. And finally are able to decrease the hunger or appetite of the Orange Lantern (who is powered by greed or avarice).

This is also true in life. Hope overcomes fear. It can counter anger and resentment, and fend off greed. Indeed, of all the emotional spectrum embodied by the different Lantern Corps, hope is easily the most powerful, but only when coupled with willpower.

In addition to its analogy to how some of the principles of the gospel and life work, the Blue Lanterns also have a special meaning to me.

I've usually been a pretty optimistic guy, tending to look at the positive or try to find the positive in negative situations. But there have been some circumstances and events in my life during the past few years that have left me feeling very discouraged. At times, I have been in despair, not being able to see how things could get better. During some of those times, I have found hope in the Blue Lantern motto, “All will be well.”

To me this means that even though things may not be going well right now, and in fact things might be really bad, there is hope. And as long as I hold on to that hope, and use that hope to motivate me to action, things will get better. And I've found on a number of occasions as I worked those principles, my life did improve.

Me wearing my Blue Lantern shirt

A few years ago, a good friend gave me a t-shirt with the Blue Lantern emblem on it, and written in bold across it the word “HOPE”. I wear this shirt often because it inspires me, just as the members of the Blue Lanterns have and continue to do.

I'll close with the Blue Lantern Corp oath (which is also my favorite of all the corps' oaths):

In fearful day, in raging night,

With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,

When all seems lost in the War of Light,

Look to the stars-- For Hope burns bright!

Pardon Our Dust

Hey Everybody!

So you may have noticed I didn't post last week and you may also notice that things are starting to look different around here. It looks like I have some explaining to do! Alright, so here's what's going on folks: I'm doing a design overhaul on the blog! Woohoo! It's been a lot of work and a lot of fun and I'm almost finished. 

In the meantime, here are some backgrounds that you can use on your computer or smartphone. You love us so much so why not see our cartoon alter egos offline, right? ... Right? *puppy dog eyes*

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Hope you like what I've been working on.  Look forward to more fun stuff on the way!

-Stephen

UPDATE:  The wallpapers for Joe's cartoon ego have been added.

Victory for the people

So in case you don’t obsessively follow Disney like I do, here’s the story so far: Merida, the Oscar-winning princess from last year’s film Brave, was popular enough to be inducted into Disney’s line of princesses. Apparently being a princess in a Disney movie isn’t enough to cut it, but whatever we’ll go with it (Though a note is that Mulan is considered a Disney princess, while Pocahontas is NOT, explain that one…). Anyway, as part of her induction Disney gave the sassy tomboy with the bow a little makeover.

Fans were not happy.

Now say what you want about the film (The second act was a mess, the villain was sub-par, the magic was confusing and kind of stupid, the backgrounds looked like stuff they recycled from Tangled…) Merida was cool. She’s a no-nonsense princess who can shoot a bow like Hawkeye and her main motivation isn’t marriage. She’s a lot like Disney’s recent princesses who are in pursuit of their own goal, only unlike Repunzel and Tiana she didn’t end up with a man. I loved it! Then Disney decided to make her look older… and skinnier… and show more of her… femininity… The masses were outraged. It seemed like for every positive step Disney have taken towards showing a more diverse and colorful world they were about to take a step back and try to recreate Barbie.

Fans across the internet spoke out against this move, as moms in droves staged online protests and petitions to the House of Mouse.

And guess what?

Disney listened.

The image of the “improved” Merida has been removed from their website. Everyone’s favorite ginger archer is going to stay as she always is. Sassy and classy.

To me this is extremely encouraging, not just at Disney but at society as a whole. I like the idea that children’s media is going beyond making emotionless drones to sell to boys and girls. This is one of the reasons I love Monster High, because unlike Barbie’s Malibu/LA plastic world each girl has their own look and personality rather than just being colored differently. Merida’s victory is a victory for all parents and children everywhere, that we won’t stand for shoddy carbon-copies any longer!

Go Merida! Keep shooting for your own hand!

-JOE

Confessions of a Fanboy

Me corrupting my niece Bella early... :)

I know I’ve admitted this several times before, but I am a card-carrying fanboy, which is pretty much a fangirl but with a lot more shame. The fact is: I get excited about things I like. Sometimes it’s normal (Batman) and sometimes it’s stuff I should’ve never known about (Monster High), but either way fanboys and girls fall deeply in love with their subject matter.

All that being said, it’s no surprise that two videos in the last month have made me cry.

Yes, I’m pathetic.

First is this tribute to Disney Animation. As my massive report on my trip to Disneyland demonstrated I am a massive Disney geek, and being a kid who saw The Little Mermaid and Lion King in theaters, a tribute to the animation just brings out my inner child like nothing else can.

So check it out

Next is a bit more recent. Another tribute video, this consists of other fanboys and girls gushing about DC’s latest cancellation of both the Green Lantern series and Young Justice. Now I was a major fan of Young Justice since it prominently featured some of my favorite yet sadly obscure heroes, namely Superboy, Zatanna and Captain Marvel. If they’d thrown Harley Quinn in somewhere I probably would’ve had the logo tattooed on my back. The first season won several awards but after an unusually long sabbatical the second season took place five years later from the first, and while the overarching story was a bit slow interest was at least present for what the characters were going through now. Sadly it was abruptly cancelled to be replaced with Teen Titans Go, a pandering Muppet Babies wanna-be. Now while I don’t think this video will actually get DC to bring back Young Justice or Green Lantern, I consider it a very touching tribute to the shows as well as to super heroes in general and what they mean to their fans.

And so, here it is.

Being a Fanboy means that while I get teased about a lot I also get the chance to fall in love over and over again with different creations and characters, all while being old enough to understand their significance to me on an intellectual level. I’m the guy who defends Monster High as more than just a Barbie knock-off and declares any one Monster High character to have more personality and depth than Barbie ever had, and I’m kinda proud of that. As embarrassing as it is to say some of this stuff makes me cry, I’ll also say that it’s better than not feeling anything and just living life in a shallow vacuum of emptiness that most of society seems to be pushing men towards…. Wait, that’s another blog for another day… J

-JOE 

Going Rogue - A Review of Two Roguelikes

It has been a long while.  I have been AWoL for the last little bit.  Minecraft has been eating a lot of my free time.  (I'm sure you all would be bored to death of all the different Minecraft mods I've tried out in the past few months).  Today I'm going to review two roguelike games.  What is Rogue you say?  Read on, dear viewer!

What is Rogue?

Rogue was a game released in about 1980.  It was a dungeon crawler.  Each level of the dungeon would have a 3 by 3 room grid.  The room sizes as well as the passageways between the rooms would be randomly generated.  Each time the player played the game, the layout of the dungeon as well as the location of the monsters would be different.  The graphics for Rogue weren't all that impressive.  The player was represented by the '@' symbol, and all of the monsters and items were represented by the same.  It often led to some hilarious forum posts for first time players. "A 'C' then started to chase me!"  Because of its popularity, many games have replicated Rogue's basic formula.  Some examples are Dungeon Crawl, Nethack, Angband, Moria, ADoM, and so on and so forth.  Today, I'll be looking at two modern spinoffs.

Sword of the Stars: The Pit

Sword of the Stars:The Pit (or SOTS for short) was released in March of this year.  It features many of the same features that Rogue had: randomly generated dungeon levels, random loot, as well as the turn based system that Rogue had (in the original Rogue, monsters wouldn't move until the player had moved).  SOTS provides quite a few interesting spins on the classic Rogue formula.

First off, SOTS is a science fiction genre game whereas Rogue was a fantasy game.  Players can arm themselves with a variety of ranged weapons, as well as things like knives, swords, and nanoblades.  There are also more futuristic weapons like a laser pistol, laser rifles, or even the powerful Meson cannon.

One major change is that the player is unable to see behind the character (there is a small black cone that stretches out from behind the character).  Many times, I have been caught off guard by monsters that managed to sneak up behind me.  Also, unlike Rogue, SOTS has actual graphics for everything in the game, rather than using alphanumeric characters.

Probably my favorite feature of the game are the computer terminals that are placed randomly throughout the dungeon.  Once per terminal, the character has a chance of retrieving an encoded message.  As the messages get deciphered, the player can learn lore from the game, random musings from dungeon inhabitants, or recipes.  For example, Message #1 is 'Remember to Drink Your Ovaltine'.  The best part is that the messages are saved even if the character dies, so that the knowledge they obtained is usable by all future characters.

Overall, I found Sword of the Stars to be a fun and challenging game.  Trying to survive on normal difficulty has proven quite difficult for me!

Rogue Legacy

Rogue Legacy is a game that is still in beta.  In Rogue Legacy, the player takes the role of a knight that is trying to find a cure for the King in a dangerous castle.  The castle is a randomly generated dungeon full of monsters, traps, and spikes.  Every step is deadly and could be the character's last (especially at the start of the game).  The character starts out with only the most basic of armor and weapons. The deadliness of the castle usually leading to the character's quick demise.  However, once one character dies, one of the character's heirs take their place on the quest, inheriting all their gold (and any upgrades).  So, each time a character goes through, they will gradually get stronger and stronger.  In addition to the upgrades, each character can have a class and a variety of interesting traits.  For instance, the Turrets trait makes the character yell out expletives (all of them are censored as @%!$ and the like) when they get damaged.  The colorblindness trait makes the whole game only show up in black and white.  Most of the time, the traits are just for flavor, although some can influence the size of the character and their ability to knock back enemies or be knocked back themselves.

One major variant from the original Rogue is that the game is entirely realtime.  The player must react quickly to defeat many of the monsters and traps in the castle.

I've tried out the demo, and quite enjoyed it.  I was able to beat the final boss after a few hours of trying.  I'm quite interested to see what other areas of the castle will be like in the final version of the game as well as any new classes or equipment that the final version will offer.  As of May 31st 2013, Rogue Legacy was 'Greenlighted' on Steam, meaning that it will soon be available on Steam.

If you are looking for some fun games to try out, check out these two.  They might just tickle your fancy.

Dynamic Duos

With a title like that I could go so many different directions. I could talk about. And initially, I was gonna take this to a certain set of movies. Instead, that'll be a later post. Today, I'm gonna talk about some of my favorite dynamic duos from TV shows and movies.

Before I go through my list, I had to make a difference between two similar ideas. That's Dynamic Duos and Bosom Buddies. There's a difference to me. There are some relationships on here that are both. But there's a difference between them. A Dynamic Duo have two (from duo) distinct (from dynamic) personalities. Where Bosom Buddies are BFFs who play off one another, Dynamic Duos use their separate ideas and concepts to battle for something else. Dynamic Duos can easily be Bosom Buddies, but these concepts aren't the same. Power Couples are also considered a different category. I highly anticipate blogging about both those other similar ideas later, and probably some crossover from post to post.

Without further garbling, here are my top 10 dynamic duos

10. Frodo & Sam (Lord of the Rings): I wasn't sure I was going to put them on this list. There's something about Frodo & Sam that classify them as Bosom Buddies. However, they have a cause that they collectively fight for, which makes them a Dynamic Duo. Frodo is charged with taking a powerful ring to Mordor. Sam is charged with keeping Frodo safe. What makes them Bosom Buddies is that they went through their own personal hell in order to get there. So they're Dynamic Duo trait comes from the time they leave the shire to the time they get back. They have to fight and survive a lot in order to accomplish their goal.

9. Shawn & Gus (Psych): Shawn is a dork. Gus is a nerd. They're definitely BFFs, but they also work well together to solve mysteries with Santa Barbara's finest (or not finest) detectives. Shawn does all these quirky, over the top performances to prove the guilt of murderers, and Gus is there to make sure Shawn doesn't go too far into it. Also, Shawn is like the world's worst wingman for Gus.

8. Robin Hood & Little John (Robin Hood): Go on...you know you want to sing it. "Robin Hood and Little John walkin' through the forest, laughin' back and forth at what the other'ne has to say." Or there's the other one..."We're men. We're men in tight, (high voice) TIGHT, tights." Whichever one you want to go with, Robin Hood and Little John are a powerful duo. They know what they're doing and work off one another's strengths quite well.

7. Cobb & Arthur (Inception): My wife still hasn't seen this movie and to be honest, it is one of my favorites. It is said when Christopher Nolan wrote this script, he created a character for a different part in filmmaking: Cobb was the director and Arthur was the producer. And after reading that, it made even more sense. You have to have a director to lead, but you need a producer backing up the director. Even though Cobb is interested in his freedom and Arthur is wanting the money (but also technically to not die as well as help his friend), they're aim of implanting an idea is consistent. They work as a team and definitely use one another's strengths as well as challenge one another in their job. I like their friendship, it's professional, yet personal.

6. Kirk & Spock (Star Trek): It would be illogical for me to not include this great duo. Kirk was the emotional leader with Spock keeping him grounded. Both in the original Star Trek series and through the movies, Kirk and Spock work/fight together in order to accomplish mutual goals.

5. Gilligan & the Skipper (Gilligan's Island): After a sucky 3-hour tour, all they wanted to do was get off an island. Instead, they kept getting stuck there. Whether a stupid mistake or someone else's greed, they were just stuck. Gilligan & the Skipper are almost the antithesis of a Dynamic Duo, but they still work together to get themselves off the island.

4. Carter & Henry (Eureka): Not the most popular show. And some people would argue that these two don't classify as a Dynamic Duo, but I say they do. Henry and Carter are best friends, but they're more than that. Carter is the dumbest person in a town full of geniuses. But what Carter lacks in intelligence, he more than makes up for in wisdom. Henry is not only one of the smartest, he is also one of the wisest. Without Carter and Henry, the town of Eureka would probably have been destroyed by a nuclear bomb.

3. Batman & Robin (Batman Franchise): Oh duh! Like I would omit THE Dynamic Duo. Yeah, there are 2 I rank higher than the "original". But I definitely gotta pay respect to good ol' Batman & Robin. Robin defines sidekick. He is the person that Batman needs to help him through most situations. Without Robin, Batman is a solitary dark knight, which fits the persona just fine. But with Robin, Batman becomes a team player who sees his weaknesses from being alone. Or you can disagree with me like Joe probably will.

2. Picard & Riker (Star Trek: The Next Generation): These two are actually a reversal of Kirk & Spock in a way. Riker is the emotional/lady chaser and Picard is the stiff "by-the-books" leader. But as a team, they've always got one another's backs. Picard trusts Riker to do the right thing, and vice-versa. Picard picked Riker to be the commander on the Enterprise. Riker chooses to stay despite being offered a ship multiple times throughout the show.

1. Leonard & Sheldon (BBT): Yes, Big Bang Theory is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. These two...like Gilligan & the Skipper make an anti-Dynamic Duo. But they are still a team. Their cause is science. Or maybe it's to get the audience to laugh. But honestly, Sheldon calls Leonard his best friend, mostly because a) it's a logical choice and b) Sheldon probably wouldn't survive without Leonard, even if he won't admit it. But what makes this one of my favorite Dynamic Duos is that they are exactly that: dynamic. Their personalities collide and Leonard just gives up because he knows it's not worth fighting someone who, as he put it, is "one lab accident away" from being a supervillain.

And remember: Alien abductions are involuntary.