things i think about stuff.

Things I Think About Stuff: Using Tumblr

The truth of the matter is, I’m still a bit confused and overwhelmed by it. What goes here? Thoughts on video games? Pictures of beans? Ideas about pickles? The answers to all of these questions has been “yes”. And that’s ok.

But it seems to me that Tumblr probably functions best with a very specific goal in mind. As in: this is the place where there are only thoughts on video games. Or pictures of beans. Or ideas about pickles. 

And that makes sense. People like their information to be sectioned in nifty boxes so that they can find it and discard it at their leisure. When I want to learn about video games, I go to IGN. When I want to learn about Dr. Who, I watch it on tee vee. When I want to eat a muffin, I go to the muffin store. When I want to talk to my dog, I sit on the floor. Or call her. I don’t want to have to log in to IGN, read an article about Dr. Who while sitting on the floor of a muffin shop all in order to talk to my dog. Or don’t I?

That said, I have not given up the fight. I’m going to keep this as something of an internet brain sketch-book of writing practice, throwing ill-formed notions into the void of information and hoping to someday hear an echo.

Maybe at some point “my brain” will be interesting enough to garner its own section. Yeesh, that’ll be a dull time.

In the meantime, an update. I am sad to report that I have not played Zelda: Skyward Sword since my last report. There Link still stands, awaiting his journey through the Lanyru mines. I tell myself that I’ll pick it back up, but with each passing day, another bit of the control scheme and plot fritters away. Hyrulian sigh.

However since then, I have played and loved the thatgamecompany’s (Flowr) new PSN-exclusive, Journey. It took about two hours, and was one of the single most memorable, enjoyable, and evocative video games I’ve ever experienced. There’s a lesson to be learned in there. SOMEWHERE!

Things I Think About Video Games: Halfway Through The New Zelda

Note: So, I’d like to write about video games (and probably board games), but less as “reviews” and more as a reflection on gameplay and my experience as a life-long gamer. So if you are looking for a review, google it up. This is highly subjective…

Full disclosure: I love video games. I love Nintendo.  I love Zelda.
And these days, I almost never finish finish a game.

Half-way through the newest Zelda, “Skyward Sword”, I’ve decided to take note of my progress both with this game and as a gamer, and over time perhaps we’ll find out together whether or not it holds my attention long enough to finish it. And learn about ourselves along the way!

Full-er disclosure: I’ve owned at least one of if not all the major systems from every generation of games since the Intellevision, and I’ve often been lucky enough to play some of the more obscure ones, too (I’m looking at you, 3D0). Throughout this time, I have enjoyed the rocky, pipe-filled road of what is known as being a Nintendo Fanboy. I try to be objective, and as with all lifelong love affairs, we’ve had our ups and downs. But in the end I think it’s safe to say that I am a Big Nerd for the Big N. (Heck, my band wrote an album about it…)

As fully disclosed, though I am a lifelong gamer, in the last ten years I’ve had less time to play them. Somehow paying the rent and being a full-time artist is less conducive to finding time to play Phantasy Star 2 for 15 hours straight 8 days a week. I try to choose my battles (and car races and plumber fights) with great care. On the odd flip-side of this collectable coin,  I spend more time reading about games and the industry than I do playing them.

“So what’s my freakin problem?” fans of Call of Duty might ask. I’m far too fussy. I look for games that are compelling. Compelling in terms of art direction, gameplay, innovation, or in a nifty overworld, all of these things together (LIMBO, Portal 2, and Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery, are solid examples from the last year or two). Then! I want said game to magically hold my insect-like attention long enough to finish it. Nay, not just to finish it - to MAKE ME LONG TO PLAY IT. I want to be hustling extra fast through my meatball sub so that I can MAKE TIME to get to play.  I want nothing short of GAME LOVE. In the rare instances when this pixellated cocktail does emerge, as much as I adore every aspect of a gameplay experience, too often at some point I tap out, put the game down for a few days too long, and can’t remember whether R2 runs or pukes. In the last 15 years, I’ve played hundreds of games, but only finished a handful - Shadow of The Colossus, Metroid Prime, Limbo, Heavy Rain, Katamari Damacy, New Super Mario Bros. Not too many more. (To some extent, competitive games like Street Fighter or Mario Kart and social games like Animal Crossing are an exception to this. The goal-set is different, so I can play them for longer. Decades for those mentioned, but that’s to talk about on another day.) 

All that said, I still find time to play (all too often this time is found on my iPhone, but we’ll save that voluminous musing for another day, too). I’ll also save my further thoughts on the way in which Nintendo has handled this last generation of consoles. Suffice it to say that while I agree that it’s been a mixed bag of big excitement and big failure, I believe that overall Nintendo has had an awesome console cycle and done a great job revolutionizing the industry once again.

The swan song to drive this notion home would seem to be Zelda: Skyward Sword. At least that’s what The Media seems to think…

(note: halfway-through Zelda semi-spoilers ahead)
Me, I’m only halfway through it. I’m guessing that I’m halfway through it because it seems like I have about half of the stuff on my inventory screen, and having played enough Zelda games, that’s usually the drill. And it’s been a really good drill so far. But I hope it gets a little better…

My Zelda history: My favorite Zelda of all time, indeed - MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME - is “Zelda: A Link To the Past”.  I also harbor an unabiding love for the classic NES version. The only Zelda from further generations that has kept my attention long enough to come close to completeion since was “Wind Waker”, a game that I still believe has the strongest art style of any iteration, this included. On the handheld-front, Minish Cap was also fun, and Spirit Tracks gets a noteworthy nod, but I fell off of both about 3/4 through. Whether or not Twilight Princess got better after the first four hours, I just don’t care. It was a huge disappointment to me. I’m a wolf, I’m a kooky little demon, I’m snowboarding, my sword doesn’t work. What?! And ok: I’m embarassed to admit that I’ve played through neither Ocarina nor Majora’s Mask. Both games were released during my Video Game Dark Age: the three years after my college apartment was burglarized and my N64 was taken from my booze-soaked grasp (sniff). Somehow Ramen Noodles were more necessary than Mario Kart, though it still fills me with red-shelled regrets. By the time I tried both Ocarina and Mask, I was too entrenched in my beloved Dreamcast to get into them. I fully acknowledge that this mucks my opinion, and I will endeavor to remedy this nerd-gap at some point, I promise.

So here I am, at the entrance to the Lanyru Mining Facility, about to go into what amounts to the third major temple/dungeon area. 

“Will he keep playing?!” the crowd cries out.

What I think so far:
The game opens well. It succeeds in bringing you through the ropes while setting up compelling characters and story - a landmark success for a next generation Zelda game. I almost gave up altogether during this section of Twilight Princess. I care more about Link and the governing situation than I ever have.

The hub-world is Skyloft and its surrounding sky. While seemingly small, I think it’s well-made with a lot of potential for exploration of beloved nooks and crannies. I see this as an improvement over the open-waters of Wind Waker. In Skyloft, less is more, with extra props to the population and their respective homes. I love the fact that every element has a reason for being there - the characters who you meet at the market during the day are in their homes at night.

The dominant mode of traveling about is via Giant Bird. Yep. Giant bird. Awesome.  This is conceptually rad and super-fun due to well-implemeted motion plus controls. Flapping around is a hoot, jumping from a platform and having your bird catch you is exhilarating, and diving from bird-back back is darned nifty. A small complaint I’ve seen nowhere else: I wish that when you dove into the main overworld of Skyloft, the game didn’t flip over to a load screen and land you in a pre-determined area. The developers probably did this to avoid the inevitable free-for-all chaos of being able to dive anywhere onto the main board, but over time high-diving has become my favorite sidebar (you’re often asked to find obscure little islands and dive onto them for glowy chests).  I just wish I could crash down onto that funky Bazaar! I also wish I could fight the item guy, but I guess you can’t have everything…

In general, you fly around a big open sky and then drop into a world that amounts to, thus far, one of three “over-worlds” - Forest, Volcano, and Desert. Each leads to a dungeon. This works well, but now that I’m at the third major approach, I’m ready for them to shake this formula up. I’ve heard rumors that they do, and if they do, I’ll stay aboard, but this is a crucial juncture for me. I’ll get through this dungeon, but if I have another identical lead-in, I worry that we’ll part ways.

I’m definitely done with the “dowsing in order to find the key or creature to open the door” refrain that comes right before each dungeon. These puzzles range from ok to irritating, the dowsing is inaccurate when not taking the height of a map into account properly, and I get stalled and frustrated (though admittedly, I am not that bright). They’re not quite filler, as they serve to introduce a map well, and I find the maps themselves clever. I particularly enjoy the pace at which they reveal shortcuts - rewarding you for hard work, but not forcing you to repeat tricky maneuvers. But dowsing is officially annoying.

The dungeons themselves have been a delight. Well-paced and exciting with very little tacked on filler. Noteworthy nod to rolling around on a giant boulder through hot lava in the volcano dungeon. I was un-moved by the first major boss fight, entertained by the second, though neither goes into the Big Book of Awesome Zelda Boss Battles. Hey, there’s still plenty of time for that…

A lot has been said about the motion-plus adding a great deal to the gameplay. In general, I agree. As I mentioned, flying around is tops, as is sky-diving. The item screen and maps interact well with extra accuracy, and the items themselves benefit most of all. The accuracy with the cool beetle item shines brightest, and clearly the developers agreed, as you have a lot of opportunities to use it. 

But perhaps a better title would have been “Zelda and The Cool Beetle Thinger”? While I agree that swordplay is better and more accurate, I disagree that it is fixed or even very good. Practice helps, certain situations work well, but there are an equal number of situations (with enemies who are too common) when you’re better off to flail your arms in the celebrated Wii-mote dance of irritation. Maybe I’m just bad at it, but it seems to me that despite the fact that the game is “asking” you to swing more accurately, a frustrated arm waving gets the job done just as well, if not better. The best use of fighting accuracy has been with the plant monsters (I’m not using proper terminology on purpose, kids. To me, they’re cool plant monsters. You know they are to you, too.) You must either swipe vertically or horizontally, and time it well, and it works. The overall sword accuracy isn’t so horrible as to pull me out of the game, but I disagree with the much-bally-hooed notion that it’s perfect. I also find myself needing to re-callibrate too often, an act that does not befit a professional adventurer. I’d be just as happy with a lock-on and fight system and let motion plus shine with the items and flight sequences (and wire-balancing - also cool and fun). 

So that’s where I stand, ready to enter the intimidating Lanyru Mining Facility, poised upon the precipice of “maybe-I’ll-finish-it-maybe-I-wonnnn’t”. I’ve had a lot of fun, but will I make it through? I have a feeling and heard soft whispers that they will shake it up, I’ve consciously avoided too many spoilers in either direction, and I’m cautiously optimistic.

Small gripes aside, for now I’ll cop to the fact that thus far this Zelda is great. Indeed, this is the funnest Zelda I’ve played since Super Nintendo’s “A Link to the Past” (gaps in my Zelda history notwithstanding), which is saying quite a lot. 

I hope I see it through. I’ll endeavor to update whether or not I do. Right here!

Until then, never forget: “Dodongo dislikes smoke”.

Things I Think About Food: Clinton Hill Pickles

Note: Tumblr (an internet device I am new to) suggested that I might be better off using “tags” as opposed to pages to sort the stuff that I think about. We’ll see about that, Tumblr! We’ll see via trying…These early posts are more about understanding the flow of information on Tumblr, so I’ll keep them short and sweet (which by my standards probably means 5000 words).

I live in the Clinton Hill/Dekalb neighborhood of Brooklyn. I moved here in the steamy July of 2006,  stumbling into a cavernous loft apartment accompanied by a gaggle of crazed Bohemians. I haven’t left the neighborhood (I’ve cut some of the gaggle and scaled down to a charming co-habitated studio) because I love it, and I never cease to be enamored with the curious little shops that open up around me.

Nothing exemplifies this ethic more than the our new neighborhood pickle store, Clinton Hill Pickles (431 Dekalb, very close to the Classon Ave G station). Rumor has it that the proprietors of CHP used to own and operate the legendary Gus’s Pickles in the LES. Alas I never visited it, and am unqualified to compare their current fare to that which they previously offered. But I am glad to report that the pickles (and other pickle-like offerings) are excellent.

This spot is so interesting. It popped into an odd-ball retail space that previously housed a charming if ill-conceived and under-stocked little thrift store. The thrift store closed, and six months later, the interior was painted green. A week after that, a curmudgedy little lady and her smiling son rolled several barrels out front, and filled them with delicious brine-soaked goods. That’s right, when the weather is nice, they just have barrels in front of the store, no need to go inside. On a soggy day, step in, and you can look at the barrels there. The lack of pretense is a cold slap of goodness. And it’s followed up by delicious crunchy pickles.

But here’s the rub, the real thing that I need to talk about. Yes, the pickles are grand, fit for a King who lives deep in a briney sea (I particularly favor the full sours, though I love the spicy - but be warned, they are Legitimately Spicy). But the real thing. Not the lonesome inflatable pickle man in the window (untrustworthy lout), not the $6 pint price point. 

It’s the beets.

I always liked a good beet well enough. Beautiful color, stout texture, robust flavor. But here we have the pickled beet, swimming in an opalescent sea of its own delicious juices. And friends: it is damned good. There’s something about these pickled beets, I’m tellin ya. I keep coming back. They’re the first thing I grab on a late night fridge prowl, the first thing I re-up when my guilty purple lips utter the sad lament, “Honey, I’m sorry, I ate all the beets again.”

Also of note: the beet juice gets everywhere. Precautions and containers be damned, the sacred juice somehow sneaks out of the sealed container (of bliss) and paints the town purple. And by town, I mean the counter, iPhone, and dog. So consider yourself warned. I happen to think it’s kind of awesome, doing Harold proud, but this unstoppable and insatiable purple swath can be a touch off-putting to the meek and uninitiated.

Beets and pickles aren’t all they have - there are some other interesting sundries offered without diverging too much from the point at hand - a few good mustards and grade a horseradishes, a vegetable medley and the like. Try it all, you won’t be disappointed. 

Pick a barrel, pick a pint.

Just don’t look that inflatable pickle in the eye. He’s watching!

***

An abridged version of this post appears on my YELP.

This Is A Blog for Thinkings

Correct. I’d like to have a bit of a dumping ground for my thoughts on various subjects. Acting as a means for me to both think (publicly, it would seem), but more importantly, acting as a place for me to practice writing. You can keep track of how badly the progress is going by counting adverbs…

I’m currently working on a novel, and if you’ve found your way here, you might know that I also make and sell a lot of my own art, and play in a kooky band, but I want a space for general mental meanderings and crawls. The main premise is “thinkings”, but I might also add separate mental delineations, probably by way of tags, as that seems to be Tumblr’s way.

I aspire to have posts dedicated to things I think about: tv, books, video games, as well as various social and/or psychological observations and the like. Moreover, I’d even like this to be a space for more in depth musings behind the process of the stuff that I make. We’ll see together, I suppose.

You and me, Internet.