I...Live...AGAIN!
One moment
*Goes and gets Army of Darkness and puts it on before continuing typing*
Where in the name of sweet baby Cthulhu is my Evil Dead boxed set? I guess Ill have to settle for the first one with commentary :( Ah well.
Its that time again ladies and gentlethings, for me to remember I actually have a livejournal and do a year-end roundup. Yes I realise its coming up to a week since new year but ive been in a grumpy mood the past week or so and havent felt motivated enough to do this. So there.
The following is split into a few ''of the year'' categories followed by things that have occured this year Im happy and or unhappy with, so in the words of the fat italian plumber ''lets a' go!''.
Band of the YearWithout a doubt its Within Temptation. They were amazing when I first saw them at Download, an impression that was confirmed a few months back when I went to see them at the Manchester Academy with Emma and Kittan. They are talented, they know how to work an audience, they have a fantastic stage presence, and they are not arrogant. Both times Ive seen them they have always ended the set looking exhausted but jubilant and more than a little overawed by the crowds reaction to their performances. You can tell they enjoy what they do and that they dont quite believe how much people like them.
I hope they keep that attitude of playing for the audience rather than for money or fame, it'll be a nice change really.
Honourable Mentions : Iron Maiden, Dragonforce, Alice Cooper
Book of the YearHmmm, Im going to have to go with Innocent Mage by Karen Miller, not necessarily the best book ive read this year but considering that its a first attempt at a fantasy novel by a new author it is damn good. Its also a change from a lot of modern fantasy in that instead of focusing on a series of events, a quest or some epic struggle its instead focused around the personal lives (admittedly exceptional in some cases lives, but lives nonetheless) of a small group of people who all grow and mature in various ways over the course of the story. The book also throws some wonderful little pieces of character insight at the reader as well which made me smile or ''ahhh'' in appreciation more than once. Strongly reccomended.
Honourable Mentions : Risen Empire, Elric of Melnibone, The latest Feist books, Watchmen
Film of the YearA tough one, there havent been many films this year that Ive really rated. 300 was entertaining in a manly testosterone filled way as was Beowulf, but there have been some really poor films released too, 30 Days of Night and Spiderman 3 to name but two. So instead this years winner is a film I saw for the first time this year but was actually released some time ago, Dagon. If you get the chance to watch this lovecraftian piece of cinema do so, you wont be disappointed :) well you might be, but then Cthulhu will eat your soul.
Game of the Year (Board)Tannhauser, an easy to learn and quick to play boardgame pitting two small teams of soldiers and heroes against each other in a world where the first world war still rages and the nobility of the german reich consort with terrible extraplanar powers while the allies experiment with advanced Command and Conquer-esque technology.
You can see why I like this game already, nazis, demons, zombies and chainguns. Whats not to love? The prepainted models are good, the rules are pretty simple but with enough complexity to stay interesting and theres plenty of room for addons. I personally hope this line lasts for quite some time.
Honorable Mentions : Warmachine
Game of the Year (Computer)Graphically beautiful, deep as the Elder Scrolls games tend to be, an interesting storyline, entertaining combat, and characters voiced by Patrick Stuart and Sean Bean. Im not a huge fan of the autolevelling foes as I believe the feeling of accomplishment from achieving high levels and easily defeating creatures you previously struggled with suffers somewhat and the spell crafting system could use more work to make the spells graphically different but other than that theres very little to complain about.
That and radiant AI is hilarious.
Game of the Year (Geekery)Do You Worship Cthulhu? A great little card based game where a group of players (the more the better) are split into cultists, villagers, investigators etc and must root out the taint of the Esoteric Order of Dagon before they are all sacrificed to Cthulhu. A game that allows easy modification hence the last game I played transforming into Do You Worship Chaos? with the playerse being split into Gangers, Inquisitors, Arbitrators and the like.
Great for parties, better when you're all drunk, but in that case whoevers running the game should have a notepad and pen just in case they forget whos who and who is dead :P.
Honorable Mentions : Spooks, Zombies, Munchkinthulhu
Things Im Happy WithThe preston munch and its continued popularity, especially with the first anniversary coming up.
Making many new friends this year, those of you who read this know who you are and I hope those that dont know I appreciate them greatly :)
Robbi, nuff said :P
Seeing more bands live :) I need to see MORE this year, MORE I SAY!
The main DnD campaign. Ive more games in the offing for this year (possibly 3 new groups o.O phew) but this one has been running off and on for more than 4 years now. With a bit of luck it will have ended by February and have left a legacy of ridiculous encounters, dramatic battles and sugar highs in the minds of my friends and myself :) Its been fun.
Things Im Unhappy WithIm still living at home, a situation which needs to change. I love my family but I want to get away from them, get more privacy and become more independant of them.
Still working at Borders, ive enjoyed it on and off but I really should move on to a better paying job with more regular hours.
My ill temperedness, especially round this time of year. I can be a grumpy so and so but sometimes I really should just slap myself around the face and tell myself to cheer up.
Hmmm more good than bad, I avoid Ammits jaws for another year. (A cookie to whoever gets that reference without having to look it up :P)
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darktorment's journal
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