Fandom: Experiencing the Same Thing Differently
I like films. I have done so since I was a young child, mainly because we watched them as a family. Furthermore, both my parents weren’t just casual viewers. They were fans who were knowledgeable about their hobby. Plus they came from a generation where going to the cinema was a major part of their life and a very accessible pastime. Hence my love of film, filmmaking and analysis. But like any form of fandom, it can often be a very broad church. For example, I may be at a social gathering such as a dinner party or a fundraising event for the Humber and District Catholic River-Wideners Club and I strike up a conversation with a stranger. The stilted conversation turns to film (or more informally “movies) and for a brief moment, there is the possibility of a shared interest. However, if the other party then indicates that they are a committed advocate of the works of Ben Stiller, then that common ground evaporates like a politician's promises after election day.
LOTRO: Day, Night and Weather Cycle
I don’t know about you guys but whenever I log into The Lord of the Rings Online, it’s usually night in the game. This is a curious anomaly that can be somewhat frustrating if it’s the test server and I want to take some screenshots of new content. I put this down to the fact that I usually log in to LOTRO in the evening, here in the UK and I am unfortunately in sync with the Laurelin server night time phase. Sadly, there are no third party addons that can track the in-game time and server reboots always reset the game’s internal clock. However, I do like the fact that the game has a clear day and night cycle, which adds greatly to the overall ambience of LOTRO. Both of these phases have subcategories, all of which persist for specific times. Here is the cycle as it stands at present in the game.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
I enjoyed both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition and consider them to be more than just standard, visual effects driven blockbusters. Zack Snyder’s exploration of the DC Expanded Universe blends the mythological fantasy of metahumans with a more cerebral dissection of their role in society. The political and philosophical dimensions of their presence is a key theme in both films. As a consequence there is ambiguity, darkness and violence. Snyder certainly has a penchant for visual flair, as seen in previous movies such as 300 and Watchmen. But his directorial style seems to be at odds with the very studios that employ him. Snyder tells a story in however much time it takes. Studios prefer standard running times that lend themselves to as many screenings a day, as possible. Hence there is always a clash of ideas and sadly those that hold the purse strings usually get their way.
LOTRO: Buy or Subscribe?
I’ve been playing the MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online, since December 2007. During that time I have purchased all the expansions that have been released throughout the games lifecycle. Initially, I subscribed to LOTRO as this was the only way to play the game. When Turbine adopted a free-to-play hybrid business model in 2010, I continued with my subscription as it offered a means to access new content (all updates are free to VIP account status players) and provided a monthly stipend of 500 LOTRO points. Naturally, over time one’s relationship with a game changes, especially an MMORPG. So in more recent years I have played LOTRO mainly when there is new content available. Hence I only subscribed on such occasions. Then in 2020, Standing Stone Games, made all the content included in the VIP subscription, free for a limited amount of time. I claimed this offer and found myself the owner of everything in the game up to Update 27: The Great Wedding.
Thoughts on Blogging Part 13
I mentioned not so long ago the possibility of a website revamp. I was concerned that the general layout of the blog was not optimal and that readers couldn’t easily find old material. In the past I even went as far as to write a guide to navigating through Contains Moderate Peril and using the categories to find old posts. Well I got a few emails and Twitter DMs about this and it would appear that folk like things just as they are. So I have reviewed my position and decided to leave things as they are at present. I did a little digging though my website stats, both from Squarespace and Google Analytics and it would appear the summary blocks at the bottom of each post are used and that the bounce rate for my site is not exactly as it first appears. Seems that readers do peruse other articles and the search facility is being used more often, especially for finding film reviews. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Goodbye Politics
Today, I logged on to Twitter and unfollowed over 50 accounts. These included journalists, social commentators and some everyday folk who are ardent activists. It’s not something I especially wanted to do. In fact clicking the unfollow button for some accounts was especially difficult. But I had to do it. Despite the fact I am a level headed and analytical person, I can no longer tolerate the decline of UK politics and current state of national discourse. Rational debate has been replaced with tribalism and every possible subject conceivable is now presented as a partisan bun fight and you have to pick a side. For over a decade I have been politically homeless because I no longer think that any of the major UK political parties are fit for purpose. No one is interested in any form of national unity, tackling the big issues and equality. There’s a conspicuous lack of tangible, long term plans and policies. Political parties are just self serving lobbyists for specific interest groups. If you aren’t one of them or don’t fit favourably into their world view, you are effectively the enemy.
LOTRO: Executive Producer’s Letter February 2021
Rob Ciccolini, posted an Executive Producer’s Letter for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, yesterday. This road map for 2021 pretty much confirms much of the content he broadly referenced in his recent live stream Q&A session. The letter doesn’t contain any major surprises but it is useful to have a more comprehensive time table for what is coming to the game this year. As ever, he thanked players for their ongoing support for LOTRO and Standing Stone Games endeavours. It is too early to determine whether SSG has successfully improved their communications policy but the letter has been fairly well received on the official forums.
The most immediate content release coming to LOTRO is Update 29: Wildwood which was previewed on the Bullroarer test server last month. As this is an addition to an existing area in the game, this update will be free. This content update, coming this month, will be followed by the Spring Festival, which will feature new seasonal instances featuring Grimbeorn. I tried one of these, again on the test server, and it was suitably droll and whimsical. It involves escorting Grimbeorn’s “Big Bees” around the meadows of Lossarnach so they can pollinate the flowers, while you fend off hordes of Goats!
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)
Although I have a passing interest in the franchise per se, I'm not a consummate fan of all things Batman. Hence a lot of content passes me by or I catch up with it years later. So it came as a great surprise when I discovered Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders; a 2016 release in the ever growing catalogue of DC themed direct to DVD animated films. The movie is a de facto continuation of the sixties TV series, with the original actors reprising their roles (where possible). The cast includes Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin and Julie Newmar as Catwoman. Due to the death of actors Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin the voices for The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler have been provided by Jeff Bergman, William Salyers and Wally Wingert. All of whom do their best to recreate the tone and idiom of the original artists.
Classic TV Themes: Star Trek
Before we start, no I am not writing about Alexander Courage’s classic main theme for the original Star Trek show. I can add nothing further to that particular discussion and it remains iconic and inspiring, even when distilled down to just the initial fanfare. In this post I want to draw your attention to another piece of music from Star Trek that has permeated its way into popular culture. A cue that when heard, if the listener is familiar with its provenance, will instantly conjure up images of flying drop kicks, ear claps and judo chops. A piece of music that can be added to pretty much any video footage and instantly make it more heroic. Yes, I am talking about what has become generically known as Star Trek “fight music”. Or more specifically, the "The Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah" cue from Amok Time (S02E01) composed by Gerald Fried. The scene during the koon-ut-kal-if-fee ritual in which Spock fights Kirk on the planet Vulcan for complicated “reasons”.
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”
The problems that beset the modern world are complicated and nuanced. Thus any potential solutions will be equally complex and subtle. There are no quick fixes for issues such as climate change or nuclear proliferation and anyone trying to sell you one is either a charlatan or a fool. In his book, The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan strongly advocates that adopting a scientific approach to thinking is essential in a modern democracy. By this he means questioning ideas critically and requiring evidence based arguments. If something cannot be effectively measured, tested or verified we should be deeply sceptical of it. He even goes so far as to argue that it is patriotic to ask questions and that any person, institution or organisation that avoids such scrutiny should be deemed suspect. Published in 1995 Sagan’s concerns regarding the coming century have proven sadly accurate. A quarter of a century ago, he predicted the rise of misinformation, fake news and alternative facts. When information is controlled and a population lacks critical thinking it becomes "unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true".
The Idiot Box
Thoughts on TV shows and my current viewing habits.
Things have not returned to normal here in the UK. The first lockdown ended last July but restrictions remained in place. Then we had lockdown 2.0 in November and are currently enduring a third which started in December. Hence I have watched a great deal more TV than usual and not at the expense of any other leisure activity. Mrs P even went so far as to catch up with 11 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles. A prodigious feat. As ever there is a great deal of quality TV available to choose from. Thankfully, I am now perfectly comfortable in abandoning any show that doesn't keep me engaged. Hence what I’ve listed are shows that I’ve enjoyed and found entertaining. Furthermore, the extra viewing time I’ve had available has also allowed me to give a few shows a second chance.
A Month in Gaming
Here we are again. Yet another month has gone by and I find myself writing another instalment of “a month in gaming”. And to be honest, I have very little to say in this particular roundup of my gaming activities. I played Star Trek Online throughout February and created a new Klingon character to take advantage of the ongoing Klingon recruitment event. I have managed to upgrade a Tier 5 D7 and kit it out in such a way that it is fairly robust. And I also created a new Jem’Hadar alt, as they start at level 60 and you are provided with a fully equipped vessel and crew. Nothing fancy but it allows you to get into the endgame content a lot quicker. I may write a more detailed blog post about this at some point. I also played a lot more Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout as my granddaughters came to stay for a week. I have already expressed my thoughts about the mechanics of that game in a prior post.
COVID-19 Pandemic 2021 Part 9
Over the last year, the UK government has mishandled many aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, the ongoing national vaccination program is not one of them. Taking the initiative while the major pharmaceutical companies were still developing their vaccines, the UK government has ordered 407 million doses from multiple manufacturers. The aim is to vaccinate everyone aged 18 or over in the UK with one dose by the end of July. This does not include children until further research is carried out regarding safety. At present the Covid vaccine is not compulsory. Two vaccines, developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca, are currently being used in the UK. A third, from Moderna, has also been approved. All three have proven to be effective at preventing people from becoming seriously ill and dying from Covid-19. The Oxford vaccine offers protection against the “Kent” variant currently dominant in the UK. Early research suggests that the other brands do the same.
Redesigning Contains Moderate Peril
I moved Contains Moderate Peril over to Squarespace from a hosted WordPress service in August 2015. The main selling points of a platform such as Squarespace are its resilient infrastructure and simplicity to use. Over the last five and a half years there has been no downtime, no software to update, no addons and plugins to manage and no additional charges due to traffic increase. Overall I like the service and therefore do not feel the need to change it. However, I think the site could do with a cosmetic overhaul. At present posts tend to look better on mobile devices than they do on PC. I also think the blog needs some additional functionality added that allows older content to be found more easily. However, I do not want the cosmetic changes to overshadow the content. The design needs to be clean, intuitive and functional. The focus of any blog should always be the writing.
Emails are still a reality of daily life for many of us. Although social media and other platforms are now the preferred method for informal communication, business and administration still relies heavily upon email. It is often the primary means of setting up an account for any online service. And it is also a source of unending junk, spam and pointless communications. Despite the numerous benefits, emails are often a source of annoyance and frustration. At present, I have 8 accounts that I use for various purposes. Between them I receive about 100 plus emails a day, most of which are marketing or spam. However, some of these are important and require action. Hence I have to check throughout the day as to which emails should be kept and which can be deleted. Being an organised person I’ve created various folders for archiving.
LOTRO: Producer Q&A 2021
Executive Producer Rob Ciccolini (AKA Severlin) made a surprise appearance on the latest The Lord of the Rings Online livestream this week and conducted an impromptu Q&A with those viewing. As ever it did not contain any major revelation regarding the long term plans for the game but it did include some interesting nuggets of information. The fact that he engaged with players is a talking point in itself. Communication has been a major complaint from LOTRO players for several years now. Perhaps the negative PR from last year regarding the server outages and the so called “mini expansion” have finally appeared on senior staff’s radar. The fact that LOTRO has a new owner may also have contributed to this “revised” approach to community relations. Here is a breakdown of what Rob Ciccolini had to say, courtesy of Massively Overpowered:
Fun versus Logic
It’s a curious thing how after a period of time, familiarity with the various rules and systems changes the way you behave in a game. When I first started playing Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout last summer, I would doggedly compete in every game, right the way up to the last second. However, six month later I am far more cognisant of the way in which the game works. There is a counter in the top right hand corner of the screen indicating that only 43 players can go through to the next round. If you get obstructed, delayed or stuck while completing the course there comes a point where you realise that you will not qualify. When this happens I now just stop and wait to be eliminated. It would appear that a lot of other players do the same. The round then ends and you are awarded your points regardless. There is no sanction for failure in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout as it is not that sort of game.
Audiobooks
In my youth I was a prodigious reader. I spent many a happy weekend visiting my local library and often spent my pocket money on books as a child. Overtime, I changed from reading fiction to non-fiction. More recently, a lot of my reading has been done online, consumed either via my office PC or tablet. That’s not to say that I don’t buy paperback or hardback books anymore. I still consider this to be the preferred experience. There is something fundamentally exciting about sitting down in a comfy chair, reading at your own pace, away from distractions. However last year I injured my left arm and I have subsequently found holding a large hardback book to be a difficult experience. So for the sake of convenience I started listening to audiobooks instead. I’ve always enjoyed them considering them a great alternative to traditional print media. What my recent foray into this format has taught me is how much the medium of the audiobook has grown.
The Lord of the Rings Unabridged Audio Soundscape Project
I have reviewed several audio recordings of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings over the years. My personal favourite is the BBC Radio adaptation from 1981, which has a superb cast of British character actors and does a wonderful job of adapting the text without diminishing the scope of the narrative. This is a dramatisation, rather than a straightforward reading of the book. However, if the latter is what you are looking for then the go to version is 1990 recording by Robert Inglis. He provides unique voices for all characters and even sings the songs included in the source text. And then there is the quirky Mind’s Eye Production from 1979, which is another dramatisation. This is a flawed version with a focus upon the character dialogue with much of the lore removed. Yet it has its charm and includes the often omitted Tom Bombadil. However, quite recently I accidentally stumbled upon a fourth adaptation and was surprised not only by the quality of the production but the curious history associated with it.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Director's Edition HD Recreation v3 (1979)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a wonderful paradox in the Star Trek cinematic pantheon. It is possibly the most hardcore science fiction story that the franchise has explored and is both simultaneously Trek-like and un-Trek-like. Director Robert Wise and the production team worked hard to deliver a completed film for the scheduled December 1979 release date. However, he felt that the theatrical version was only a “rough cut”. Hence in late 2001 he supervised a Director’s Edition of the film which runs 136 minutes (4 minutes longer than the theatrical release)and reinstates some additional scenes and replaces some of the optical effects with new CGI creations. Critics were divided as to whether the Director’s Edition improved the film overall but Wise felt that this version was much closer to his original vision. The Director’s Edition was released exclusively on DVD in standard definition.