A thought on 9/11.

We were presented with a coloring book page of the events of 9/11. The outline was there but the image wasn't shaded in. There were no colors, just an outline. Many of us colored in that image, we chose greys and reds and shades of purple. Some of us were taken by the image so strongly that we painstakingly took our time, using what we thought were the best colors and shades that fit. Frame by frame, cell by cell until we had a full color representation.

Some colored with bias and others with objectivity. I am among those people.

Unfortunately, others skipped the page entirely, or found it ripped out by a controlling force. They were told it would help them sleep better at night and in that, they were told correctly.

A Citizens United Conundrum.

In order to get rid of money in politics you must gather as much cash as you can to win.

In order to get nicotine out of your system you must smoke as many cigarettes as you can.

Someone help me out here.

Grandpaw for Sanders!

I awoke to find my Grandpaw gearing up for some canvasing.



I thought we could all use some levity and more cat photos.

Cheers!

MGS 5 - The Phantom Pain.

Imminent release. 12AM EST. Gamespot will be selling at the equivalent in your timezone. I will be picking it up at 9PM out west.

I look forward to sharing thoughts on this one.

Cheers!

My take on guns.

If you have a gun for defense or to intervene as a hero you are faced with a horrible situation most people don't really seem to think through. Namely, if you use that gun there's a damn fine chance you'll kill someone. That's a nightmare you don't want. Even a deserving shit stain will haunt your days until you're dead. A fist fight you can regret and maybe make amends. However, if you take a life, that shit is real.

I get the hypothetical if you're spouse was being attacked and you had a gun you could deter the attack. Perhaps they have a gun too and you get a gunfighter's chance - if you win you'll be grateful and cursed in an instant.

So to boil it all down we should disarm. How we do that in this country I haven't a clue. Australia seemed to have pulled it off, we could at least try something. Cheers!

The Nightly Show on Hillary BLM.

The Witcher 3 new game plus free DLC is out.

Anyone else going to play through it again? I know I will.

Impressions on Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.

PS4 exclusive, released last Tuesday the 11th. Retail is $20 bucks.

This is the latest walking simulator from The Chinese Room whose last 'game' was Dear Esther. As you may have already gathered, I am not impressed with their latest effort. A victim of the early positive reviews and pretty graphics.

The title takes place in an English town circa 1984. All of the computers in the game are C64s, that made me smile and that's about the only thing that did. You'll spend your time walking around, even with sprint button, at a snails pace exploring various houses and locales searching for the glowy presence of 'spirits'. Once you happen upon one you will be treated to some faceless, bodiless back story that you will soon ignore. The visuals and audio is really good but there is no connection with spirit characters because they are nothing more than voices. After walking, ahem, limping along for a couple hours you're likely to quit from complete boredom. There are NO mechanics, no puzzles, no action, just a seemingly endless slog through a pretty husk.

I'd keep away, you're much better served by a good book or movie.

Anyone else have a take on it?

What are you currently playing?

I am not knee deep in any game at the moment. I have been playing a lot of Pinball Arcade lately and spending some time on Guacamelee (trying to finish it but it gets tough in spots).

I haven't played the new Batman: Arkham Knight but I have heard good things. Money is a little tight and I have a massive back catalog to get to, probably wait for a good price drop.

So, what is everyone else playing now?

What are you looking forward to playing?

As the summer slowly blazes away the onslaught of the fall video game release window is opening.

Here are some of the games coming soon:

August:
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture - PS4 exclusive but looks to be interesting
Gears of War Ultimate edition - XBONE exclusive but is probably going to be fun
Madden - yawn

September: (sport game heavy as usual)
NHL 16 - Not much a hockey person
Mad Max - Could be great, could suck eggs
FIFA 16 - Soccer is not my thing but these games sell like hotcakes
NBA 2K16 - Will be picking this up for sure, it's the only way to ensure the Blazers win
NBA Live - Last years game was a giant turd, here's hoping 2K will have some competition
Tony Hawk - early video looks like garbage but I have some hope

October:
Disgaea 5 - 4 was good and this might surprise a lot of people
Uncharted Collection - already have the first 3 but a must buy for anyone that skipped the PS3
Dragon Quest Heroes - this is looking good
Rainbow Six Siege - This could be a really fun multiplayer game
Wasteland 2 (consoles) - Finally the consoles get this game (highly recommend for any RPG fan)
Yoshi's Wooly World - If you have a Wii U this will be a likely pick-up
WWE2k16 - Could be good, hopefully they can honor The Piper with this one
Tri Force Heroes - Zelda, nuff said

November:
NFS - Looks excellent, we all would likely prefer another Underground but this is looking nice
COD BLOPS3 - I'll pass, but many won't
Fallout 4 - SOLD, looking massively forward to this one
Rise of the Tomb Raider - XBONE limited exclusive, looks impressive
Star Wars Battlefront - With the movie right around the corner this is going to sell like hotcakes

These are just some of the games heading our way in the near future. Which ones are you most looking forward to?

I'm all about Fallout 4 but I am a big video game nerd and will play many on this list.