I've no idea. Hunting Monsters certainly sounds like Pokemon. But I don't know if monsters are hunted so that they can aid you in combat or if monsters are hunted for the loot they drop.
For $300 I can find something far more comfortable than a bag of urethane foam.
Which is what I'm working on now.
I'm trying to mix "early minimalist" with "comfortable for my ass". Which is why I thought of "foofs" moreso than "chairs". But i'm not going to spend that asinine amount of money just to not have chairs.
"like White in the monitoring room and with the martini this week."
That I liked. Because his role is to do crazy things on the side.
I don't hate the new season. It's just obviously different. And that bothers me. Adam and I were talking about it at one point. And part of the problem is...
You know how the Guild of Calamitous Intent was funny in its being an organization with rules and forms? How part of the humor was this notion that villany was institutionalized? I enjoyed that.
But then you get this obvious, overt, blatant focus upon that system. And it wrings all the humor from the situation. And I know you can come up with a counter example but I don't fucking care.
They're adding depth to the series where before it was a surface level joke of having the venture brothers placed in these odd situations with blatant references to other series.
When Sergeant Hatred came in, and had all those forms, and talked about villainy as a job? That ruined the joke for me. And I know he was just trying to piss of Monarch, and I know all the other little nitpicky counter examples that I don't care about.
But primarily? They're delving into something that fundamentally has no depth, whose humor exists in its being on the surface.
If Monarch attacks the ventures and then a Guild lacky shows up and reprimands him for not filling out a form? THAT is funny. When they spend half an episode delving into the various forms and build up the bureaucracy as a significant component of the flow of a story?
They're changing the formula by which humor occurs.
They're part of Hatred's revenge on Monarch, they're not guild forms. That's the punchline of the forms joke. They look like one thing.. and turn out to be something entirely different.
You're right in that they're adding depth.. but they've been doing that from the beginning. We were simply dropped in media res into the Venture World, so to speak.
And while I get what you're saying.. at the same time.. I honestly think these are much FUNNIER. But I'll grant you that it's character based humor.. which plays on a different level.
I mean.. it's no different than the Phantom Limb background stuff, or 27 and 13 returning to duty and singing Mars...
Unless your frustration is that the Ventures have seemingly slid into the background.. which.. is reasonable.. though.. it's worth noting this entire season, short of.. what.. Monarch-Marriage.. and Billy's secret history.. the episodes have been pre-built upon Jonas Venture's massive jerkhood.
.... I also wonder if you're missing out on some humor that you can't get the context from Wiki for.. and which I might well be substituting for similar jokes from the earlier seasons.
I mean.. you know Jefferson Twilight is a Blade analogue, just as Doc Orpheus is a Doctor Strage gag... But stemming from that, the London gag (Blade is british, but that's never really acknowledge outside of some of the comics) or the repainted Falcon toy..
The underground Dwellers being music gags was spelled out at the end, and touched upon at the very beginning, but from that, stemming the Buggles gag, and so on..
That sounds.. pretentious.. but.. I do wonder if some of the humor you find lacking isn't tied to outside knowledge... I mean.. did you laugh your ass off at Dr. Z? I suspect not.. but if a Race Bannon's Daughter analogue showed up?
The show's tied deeply to the things it spoofs and references.. and.. I wonder if perhaps the references might not be a bit more obsure this time, is all.
" do wonder if some of the humor you find lacking isn't tied to outside knowledge... I mean.. did you laugh your ass off at Dr. Z? I suspect not.. "
You're asking me if I know who Dr. Napolean Zin is. And that right there results in a gigantic FUCK YOU.
I get the jokes and the references. The problem isn't the jokes and the references. The problem is that the series is changing to be something other than what it was in the first two seasons.
Add up the amount of T&A in seasons one and two. The episode two weeks ago contained at least 4x as much T&A as seasons one and two put together. The Sergeant Hatred bit taking the bureaucracy of the Guild and wringing out the last possible jokes from that. The bit characters becomming a significant part of the cast.
Crazy Johnny Quest grown up is now a character? He hangs around and is a recognized part? What's next, caligula is going to show up riding The Master in his Cerberus form?
I'm not nitpicking on any particular component of those particular jokes. I'm utilizing those particulars to communicate that the overall style of the series changed. It's different than it was in season one and two.
Someone other than me took one of the battery backups and rewired all of the things in the back. SO when they turned on one of the machines it overloaded either the circut or one of the backup systems so everything shut down.
If we want to liken Venture Brothers to Happy Days, I think we've reached the point at which Chachi shows up.
We still have the original cast. They're still doing vaguely the same things. But we're placing the load of humor onto new characters and side characters where before the core cast was enough.
Mind you, I didn't hate Chachi. But I'm able to recognize when this shit happens in a series. The core concept dries up so they have to expand.
Well, no.. I mentioned that because it didn't stand out to ME. And. yeah.. I knew it was kinda condescending.. I was trying to figure out how to get my point there, without that tone.. clearly I failed. I knew he was from the old Johnny Opening.. but.. I didn't catch the repeated lines, etc. I was making the point that we've all got our own contexts, and I wondered if I was substituting humor from some of those that you weren't, is all.
I disagree with what Venture's doing, though, becuase I'd argue it's done that ALL ALONG. Only originally, all the characters were new. I mean. How is any of this different from Brock's OSI past flashbacks and Molotov?
"How is any of this different from Brock's OSI past flashbacks and Molotov?"
Good point.
This could very well be simply episode organization. So far this season we've only had one "venture brothers solve a mystery" episode, and that episode was just T&A. Maybe things will sort themselves out over time.
I just want to see Hank and Dean be Hank and Dean, and I want Monarch to be all awesome between those scenes.
Especially Triana and friends, and the organization.
the Shadowman 9 episode was supposed to be last seasons Finale.. which explains, in part the opening series of episodes without any focus on the Venture bros.
Since we're talking about Venture Brothers there's another thing that's been bothering me.
Part of the Venture Brothers watching experience is the discovery of the illusion to the series. We know that the series is a spoof of Johnny Quest. But through watching the episodes we get to learn how the series relates to those things it spoofs.
For example, there was the episode where Race Bannon shows up. Race says, "Tell Johnny I love him." OK, so Race exists in the world, and Johnny, in some sense, exists. Then later we meet Johnny. In ANOTHER episode we meet Rusty's version of Hadji, which supports the spoof. But earlier this season, if I remember correctly, we met the Hadji from Johnny Quest.
Then, for another example, we have the episode where Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend were talking in the Mall Cafeteria and Monarch makes a comment about Dr. Girlfriend's "this is heaven" comment, where we learn that she really does sound like that to the characters.
The longer the series goes on, the less of that we have; the less mystery there is to how the series exists and its context.
During the episode with Hatred's party they made the joke of Dr. Girlfriend having the card of jacklyn onassis on her back. So, whee, they played their "dr. girlfriend looks like jacklyn onassis" card.
The longer the series goes on the less of those they have available.
Thinking about that. and.. not sure of THAT, either.
What you claim as existing, I see as a warping of character. You seem to see these as single moment reveals.. but.. I'd argue they're more along the lines of homages and commentary again. Note the Col. Hunter Gatherer - Nick Fury/Thompson, or the Mass Murderin' Scooby Gang.....
And I'm not sure you CAN run out of the illusion element. I mean. Why would have ever suspected Dr. Girlfriend didn't sound like Dr. Girlfriend to the rest of the cast?
Unless you were given a reason to, by the show. I mean.. And the character showing up doesn't ruin that, as you see it. Note that in the Venture continuity, Race was an interegator for OSI... Because.. of course he would be. Why wouldn't Dr. Quest have his own OSI bodyguard?
I dunno.. maybe I'm misunderstanding you. I would like to see more King Gorilla.
...the Veiled illusion thing hinges upon the show making reference to the characters not responding to these things.
Prior to that, it's not so much veiled illusion as it is audience imposed supposition. And for the life of me, I'm not seeing anything that I can take for the show refusing to acknowledge something.
Actually.. a paper that would be kinda interesting, and narrow enough to be do able would be the portrayal of Barbara Gordon as Oracle, over the years, as computer technology advances.
I'm trying to figure out how to do a Scott Pilgrim thing right now, because I think taht might be managable.
That link brings back my little rant about how I hate popular culture papers Vis-Ã -vis "Buffy is the Ubermensch".
The cliffnotes version, which I thought of when Adam asked me about it, is that I'm ok with a paper on the Ubermensche which uses Buffy as an example AMONG MANY OTHERS, but I'm not ok with a paper on Buffy which talks about the Ubermensche.
Which is why I perk up at your "I'm trying to figure out how to do a Scott Pilgrim thing right now, because I think taht might be managable." comment.
Because the paper needs to be about a concept, and the popular culture examples need to be secondary to that concept. If we're embracing the mentality that we want to write about comic/anime/manga/movie X and then try to pull something vaguely academic out of that? Then we just need to put on our damned cat ears and be done with it.
Some guy brought his kids into the office and amid the rambunctious murmor of the conversation they were having I heard the six year old son exclaim, "I ALWAYS KNOW what's going to happen!!!"
mmm...hubris.
Then he hit his little sister or something and made her cry.
It'd be entirely about Barbara Gordon. After taking a bullet to the spine, she becomes wheelchair bound. And ends up Super-Hacker Oracle. But as technology progresses, becomes more ubiquitous, her role changes entirely. She first starts out by infiltrating and subverting a covert military program, the Suicide Squad.. but it's only in providing and learning information.
Later, she's actively influencing events and organizing heroes, acting similarly to Martian Manhunter's telepathy-strategist role.
I didnt' read it as sniping, so much as unfamiliarity with the concept. I mean, by the last couple years, she's actually given a chance to walk again, because of her role as Oracle.. turns out it's a nano-virus version of Brainiac.. but.. well.. it becomes a comment on how things have progressed from the mid 80's, by way of how that has allowed her character to change. Of course, I don't have the material to really discuss that.. only the assorted nerd knowledge and having seen a couple scattered issues. so. it's nix'd.
"it becomes a comment on how things have progressed from the mid 80's, by way of how that has allowed her character to change."
I don't think of that as an academic paper so much as a summary of the plot of the story and an assessment of the character. And that could very well just be my personal tastes, but I don't see any sort of contribution made by that sort of paper. It's just "here's what happened to Barbara Gordon". And, sure, that can serve as an example of technological progression, but if that is the case? Why not just talk about the technological progression?
Whenever I would take a philosophy class with Landrew and the professor gave an example for a concept, Landrew would focus upon the example moreso than the concept. So when we talked about Being and Time, for example, and the professor used for an example of Dasein "the state of mind you have when you're running late and so you go and get your keys, run to the car, get in, and start driving to your appointment". For Landrew his understanding would begin and end with that example. If someone asked him about it? He would repeat the example. If someone asked him what the example meant, he would just restate the example more slowly.
That's what bothers me about some popular culture writings; they're Landrewing the experience, they're focusing on the example moreso than the concept.
Using examples is sensible and aids understanding. But when the example is where one's understanding begins and ends, when one does not understand or approach the concept? Then they've failed.
Don't write a paper about Buffy being the ubermensch. Write a paper about ubermensch and use Buffy as an example. Even better? Include multiple examples. Most best? Don't use any fucking examples and just talk about the damn concept.
Well, but it WOULD be an academic paper. Examining how technology has changed an invalid's role in society, via the changing role of Oracle.
How the changing landscape changes the character's portaryal fundamentally. I mean the inital concept was 80's style information hacker. B y now, though, computer stored and networked information is so interwoven into life that the very limits of what the Oracle character can do have been shifted dramatically.
I mean.. this stuff is going on basically in the background, over years and years.. it's not the point of the stories discussed, so your complaints wouldn't really have valid ground here.
You would have to set me on fire. Unfortunately, you'd be too busy laughing.
I dislike how stupid conversations about network problems make me sound.
An address changed as a result of some firewall tweaks. So Boss #2 called saying he couldn't access his e-mail remotely. The solution? He needs to change the 1 in the address to a 2.
And offering "Change the 1 to a 2" as a solution to a problem? It just sounds...silly.
Did you know that if you get a security certificate for www.crapfest.com it costs $99 for one year, but if you get a security certificate for *.crapfest.com it costs $449.95 a year?
You know what that is? That is a quote that sparks not only a hate fueled rant but also the possibility of a five car pileup depending on when the rage burns itself out.
Apparently Age of Conan removed the boobies recently, or is going to remove the boobies in the future.
The game will still have an "M" rating due to the violence and bloodshed, but it will not longer include "boobies".
Rather than bitch about how stupid it is to deem violence more acceptable than nudity...I'm trying to figure out why they would remove the nudity. As far as I knew it was the game's only selling point.
Nudity doesn't put a strain on the hardware or coding. Removing nudity will not remove the M rating. So...why do it? Why release a game with nudity and then cover it up?
Guild is doing Black Temple all three raid days this week, which is a nice change. The goal is to see some new bosses/content instead of just doing the same weekly repeat of shit we've already done.
I think WoW really needs to change its loot system. Random loot as a game mechanic needs to die in a fire...at least on bosses which require large groups of players.
Apparently back in the day Everquest drops were not random on bosses. Rather, only gear would drop which a player in the group needed. So if the loot table of the boss contains a priest healing hat, and all of the priest healers have that hat or a better hat? The hat won't drop.
I'd like to take that idea and make it better. Perhaps allow players to select from a list of possible loot the loot they want to see and then only selected loot will drop. Except that ruins a lot of the illusion.
The best solution, I think, is to completely remove the "mobs drop items" concept and rather have mobs drop some form of currency which a player then uses to purchase an item.
So if you kill Illidan it's not the case that he drops a Tier 6 token. Rather, you get some proof that you killed Illidan and you return to an NPC who is so damned happy that he gives you the Tier 6 whatever.
Or seperate it even further and go with something like Badges of Justice. Kill a mob get a Badge of Justice. Finish a quest get a Badge of Justice. Win a game of PVP get a Badge of Justice. Kill a boss in Black Temple get a shit ton of Badges of Justice.
Then use those to purchase items.
Perhaps you structure the items to be such that realistically people have to do X to amass enough Badges to get item Y. Or there are different badges for different items.
It would be nice if every run of a given instance provided players with something useful. Rather than kill a boss, "oh he didn't drop what I wanted" and then go back and kill him again and again and again until the loot you want randomly generates from his loot table.
I don't see a problem with that sort of thing. I ran Kara for months just to get Badges of Justice when I didn't need any of the gear particular bosses dropped.
That's along the lines of what Etrian Odyssey does.
and.. well.. it's dull.
There's far less desire to getting those items. The randomness of the loot? Helps provide impetus to play.
Think about it in terms of opening Magic Packs.. or even getting the scratchoff in-game prizes from WoW the CCG.
I know you're interested in a more dedicated level of play.. but what you're describing would need tweaks, at minimum, to create appeal to most players.
Also, while i'm complaining about things none of you care about...
Hood of Hexing has three gem sockets: Red, Yellow, Blue. If players use gems which correspond to those socket colors in those sockets they get a socket bonus of +5 spell damage and healing.
Which is fine, except that the +5 spell damage is less than what a player could get by simply ignoring the socket colors.
Red Gem: +12 Spell Damage Red/Yellow Gem: +5 Spell Haste, +6 Spell Damage Blue Gem: +6 Spell Damage, +7 Stamina
The Red and Red/Yellow gem are the best Warlock DPS gems to use. The Blue Gem is the best Blue Gem to use in a Blue Socket.
The problem? The socket bonus (+5 Spell Damage) when added to the Blue Gem results in +11 spell damage, +7 Stamina. It is better for DPS to ignore that Blue Socket and either put in the Red Gem (which is 1 more damage) Or use the Red/Yellow gem (which is 5 less damage, but 5 more spell haste. Stamina is negligible).
It's interesting to me that Blizzard would design the item Socket Bonuses to be so minimal that ignoring them is a better policy than adhering to them. If it was "use three shitty blue gems and get +45 spell damage"? Of course I would follow the specified gem socket colors. But when following the colors provides less DPS than following them? It makes me wonder why they're there.
"but what you're describing would need tweaks, at minimum, to create appeal to most players."
Yeah. That's the biggest problem. If items do not come from specific instances then those specific instances are not run. Players could find the most efficient path to obtaining Badges (as we did with Kara) and then just farm those instances while ignoring the rest.
And then players realize they're just following paths of efficiency to amass quantities of X and they stop playing.
There's a whole psychological aspect to MMOs that simply eludes me. Or, it doesn't elude me...so much as it's frustrating in its inconsistencies.
"Would it be akin to the "skill test" cards designed in Magic?
the so-called Bad Rares?"
Maybe?
I think it's an attempt to ensure that certain gems are used. Blue Gems primarily provide stamina moreso than damage, so the only reason to use them is to be either a very confused PVP player or to think that they are required.
If the slots had no color then players would be prone to fill them with +12 damage or the damage/haste gems. But with the colors it makes players reconsider what gems they use.
Which is odd...because it's really just a question of math.
Note: They're not taking a Nigger. Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck engaged in a "heated discussion" about the word which ends with Elisabeth Hasselbeck in tears.
Hi-fucking-larious.
"When we live in a world where pop culture then uses that term, and we're trying to get to a place where we feel like we're in the same place, where we feel like we're in the same world...how are we supposed to then move forward if we keep using terms that bring back that pain?"
gotta agree with whoopi on this one. Words only have power, when we let them have power. "Bad words" are only bad because we as a society allow them to maintain negative connotations. If we allow these words into open discussion, they will no longer become interesting.
moving back to warsaw, or elsewhere? If you are actually leaving bloomington around 2 and need a place to crash midway to warsaw, feel free to stop by.
Thanks for the well-wishes and offers. I'm here in Bloomington and taking care of things. This is the last weekend before the lease is up, so when I leave, this place has to be completely empty, so I probably won't be making my way back to Warsaw until Sunday evening.
Also, I don't know if anyone saw Grindhouse last year, but I recently bought Planet Terror and Death Proof (the two movies that made up Grindhouse) and don't know anyone else who has seen them.
You know why it's important to watch Indiana Jones? So you can read Kotaku:
"Still, we had a video earlier of an angry, ticked off PS3 fanboy who claimed to know Japanese culture about as well as Marcus Brody could [teeth clenched] blend in [/teeth clenched] in the Middle East of the late 1930s." Kotaku article in question
This is Joss Whedon keeping busy during writer's strike, correct?
And he does this by using Doogie Howser to nail the "evil villainy is just a job lol" joke coffin where it has already been nailed firmly shut by the not-so-great parts of Venture Bros et al?
And I was at Wal-Mart looking for shampoo when I decided to look around a bit. I found the Scum & Villainy boosters for the Star Wars pocket model game. You will fear my sandcrawler. GO ON. FEAR IT.
I also saw that they were packing GI Joe figures into old style packaging. It's really and by all accounts unfair. Like I'm going to just casually by a Wild Bill figure. Never! You put that shit in a blister pack that looks like how it was when I was wee? FUCK YOU AND YOUR WAYS OF GETTING ME TO ABANDON MY MONEY
Is it Pokemon?
ReplyDeleteI've no idea. Hunting Monsters certainly sounds like Pokemon. But I don't know if monsters are hunted so that they can aid you in combat or if monsters are hunted for the loot they drop.
ReplyDeleteAww, man.. I got the blue balls in my Blood Eye!
ReplyDeletei know that everyone follows the lolcat word as much as i do...
ReplyDeletebut man, this one takes the cake.
What sort of mushy left out in the rain cake are you distributing, Mike?
ReplyDeleteFlava Flav‽
Caleb, it's totally a scam. With the internet, he can get that recipe again just like that.
ReplyDeleteDon't let him tell you otherwise.
Order of the Triad shirt this week....
ReplyDeleteand I really like it.
gah.. I hate all the little flaws and issues the Work Computer has with the blog.
ReplyDeletedouble posts abound.
A cat with a watch around its neck does not a flava flav make.
ReplyDeleteJ, why aren't you using Meebo at work?
ReplyDeletefor that matter, why aren't Any of You....?
www.meebo.com
Doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteGah. Dagnabbit. You're so deep in the wrong hole that only real-time updateing arguments will suffice to fix you.
ReplyDeleteClearly, you need Meebo for that.
I don't think I'm in the wrong hole. I think you and I are in two different holes. And you're yelling at me for not being in your hole.
ReplyDeleteWhich is sweet and all, but I'm not gay.
But you totally ARE. You're making definitive claims about something without anything but the most cursory examination of the material.
ReplyDeleteI'm not yelling at you, any more than you're yelling at the movies. If tone is the issue, perhaps double checking your own would be wise?
Sometime this week, J, we need to hang out.
ReplyDeleteYou need to relearn how to interact with people outside of yourself, and I need to relearn when you're just bs-ing and when you're serious.
Besides. You gotta start weaning yourself off WoW now, else you'll go cold turkey and fail hard.
Instead of buying chairs and couches for my apartment I thought about buying a few foofs.
ReplyDeleteThen I looked at the price.
Jesus FUCK they charge a lot of money for bags of shredded urethane foam.
heh.
ReplyDeleteyeah. I fear the foof, even as I like it's comfort.
I'm really surprised. A 6-foot bag of urethane foam is $100 less than a 6.75 foot actual couch from Ikea.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the bigger sofa sized foofs would be maybe $120 each...MAYBE. But they're over $300.
FOR A BAG OF URETHANE FOAM!
yeah. I was flabbergasted when I saw how much they cost.. but.. they is the comfy.. I 'unno.
ReplyDeleteFor $300 I can find something far more comfortable than a bag of urethane foam.
ReplyDeleteWhich is what I'm working on now.
I'm trying to mix "early minimalist" with "comfortable for my ass". Which is why I thought of "foofs" moreso than "chairs". But i'm not going to spend that asinine amount of money just to not have chairs.
Holy God.
ReplyDeleteFF 13 confirmed on the Xbox 360?!
Mousepads. buy up a lot of mousepads.
ReplyDeletethe cheap ones.
Cut'em up and fill a beanbag.
Final Fantasy XIII coming to Xbox 360; Simultaneous release in Europe and North America with PS3.
ReplyDelete...Interesting.
It is official: THERE IS NO REASON TO BUY A PS3!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go ahead and say "called it"!
I think this merits its own thread...
ReplyDeleteprobably, but it'll mostly be us all gape-jawed.
ReplyDelete"After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track “Shackler's Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy."
ReplyDeleteWOW!
Also, the Rock Band 2 setlist is pretty keen.
ReplyDeleteJ, I saw you called last night while I was napping.. something up?
ReplyDeleteThe raid was canceled because only 18 people signed up. So I called to see if you wanted to hangs.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't answer so I watched House and did Daily quests.
whee
Ah.. fair enough. I slept. so.. yeah. fair enough.
ReplyDeletestuffs tonights?
Works for me unless something unforeseen happens.
ReplyDelete... the Unforseen is seen by the OORRDERR of the TRIAAAAAD!
ReplyDelete(hand gestures and dramatic waving)
Remember when the Venture Brothers peripheral characters were...peripheral?
ReplyDeleteThose were awesome times...
HEH. Just saw the added link in the side.
ReplyDeleteYou take that back, you son of a bitch.
ReplyDeleteYOU TAKE IT BACK!
We're getting NEW peripheral characters.. plus Mr. White.. who's.. just peripheral.
and Jonas' Team Venture!
The novelty of the characters is what made them appealing. I really don't want to see an episode whose primary story is about The Alchemist.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm reading through this Pharyngula stuff about the cracker.
ReplyDeleteAnd, um. Crazy.
No, you DO, you just don't KNOW it yet.
ReplyDeleteI'll give you something in that as characters get more lines, they lose something of the madcap background gag nature they had.
On the other hand, they become MUCH funnier as they broaden in character.
The Order of the Triad trying to get liscenced? and all of Jefferson Twilight's cranky bitching? Great.
Alchemist is more like Mr. White, in that he's not a great source of humor by himself.. but with others, he's a great go to for the punchline.
like White in the monitoring room and with the martini this week.
I'd say we didn't want a Baron Uhnterbite ep along hte lines of Unterland... and then we got AHHCK! IT WAS YOU! THE CAT HAIIR!
or the Billy, Master Quiz Boy... which gave us The Nozzle.
The Body of Christ compells you for a bit of Brie!
ReplyDelete"like White in the monitoring room and with the martini this week."
ReplyDeleteThat I liked. Because his role is to do crazy things on the side.
I don't hate the new season. It's just obviously different. And that bothers me. Adam and I were talking about it at one point. And part of the problem is...
You know how the Guild of Calamitous Intent was funny in its being an organization with rules and forms? How part of the humor was this notion that villany was institutionalized? I enjoyed that.
But then you get this obvious, overt, blatant focus upon that system. And it wrings all the humor from the situation. And I know you can come up with a counter example but I don't fucking care.
They're adding depth to the series where before it was a surface level joke of having the venture brothers placed in these odd situations with blatant references to other series.
When Sergeant Hatred came in, and had all those forms, and talked about villainy as a job? That ruined the joke for me. And I know he was just trying to piss of Monarch, and I know all the other little nitpicky counter examples that I don't care about.
But primarily? They're delving into something that fundamentally has no depth, whose humor exists in its being on the surface.
If Monarch attacks the ventures and then a Guild lacky shows up and reprimands him for not filling out a form? THAT is funny. When they spend half an episode delving into the various forms and build up the bureaucracy as a significant component of the flow of a story?
They're changing the formula by which humor occurs.
But the joke is that the forms are meaningless.
ReplyDeleteThey're part of Hatred's revenge on Monarch, they're not guild forms. That's the punchline of the forms joke. They look like one thing.. and turn out to be something entirely different.
You're right in that they're adding depth.. but they've been doing that from the beginning. We were simply dropped in media res into the Venture World, so to speak.
And while I get what you're saying.. at the same time.. I honestly think these are much FUNNIER. But I'll grant you that it's character based humor.. which plays on a different level.
I mean.. it's no different than the Phantom Limb background stuff, or 27 and 13 returning to duty and singing Mars...
ReplyDeleteUnless your frustration is that the Ventures have seemingly slid into the background.. which.. is reasonable.. though.. it's worth noting this entire season, short of.. what.. Monarch-Marriage.. and Billy's secret history.. the episodes have been pre-built upon Jonas Venture's massive jerkhood.
I dunno.. I'm muddling through it in my head..
ReplyDeleteand.. while I'm not sure the formula for forming humor has changed.. I'll admit the tenor of some of the humor has.
HRmn.
Everything in the back broke.
ReplyDeleteYEY
So i'm fixing things in the back.
.... I also wonder if you're missing out on some humor that you can't get the context from Wiki for.. and which I might well be substituting for similar jokes from the earlier seasons.
ReplyDeleteI mean.. you know Jefferson Twilight is a Blade analogue, just as Doc Orpheus is a Doctor Strage gag... But stemming from that, the London gag (Blade is british, but that's never really acknowledge outside of some of the comics) or the repainted Falcon toy..
The underground Dwellers being music gags was spelled out at the end, and touched upon at the very beginning, but from that, stemming the Buggles gag, and so on..
That sounds.. pretentious.. but.. I do wonder if some of the humor you find lacking isn't tied to outside knowledge... I mean.. did you laugh your ass off at Dr. Z? I suspect not.. but if a Race Bannon's Daughter analogue showed up?
The show's tied deeply to the things it spoofs and references.. and.. I wonder if perhaps the references might not be a bit more obsure this time, is all.
Fuuuun
ReplyDeleteHas anyone dabbled in the YAD forums? Reading? There're some gems in there, I tell you.
ReplyDelete" do wonder if some of the humor you find lacking isn't tied to outside knowledge... I mean.. did you laugh your ass off at Dr. Z? I suspect not.. "
ReplyDeleteYou're asking me if I know who Dr. Napolean Zin is. And that right there results in a gigantic FUCK YOU.
I get the jokes and the references. The problem isn't the jokes and the references. The problem is that the series is changing to be something other than what it was in the first two seasons.
Add up the amount of T&A in seasons one and two. The episode two weeks ago contained at least 4x as much T&A as seasons one and two put together. The Sergeant Hatred bit taking the bureaucracy of the Guild and wringing out the last possible jokes from that. The bit characters becomming a significant part of the cast.
Crazy Johnny Quest grown up is now a character? He hangs around and is a recognized part? What's next, caligula is going to show up riding The Master in his Cerberus form?
I'm not nitpicking on any particular component of those particular jokes. I'm utilizing those particulars to communicate that the overall style of the series changed. It's different than it was in season one and two.
Someone other than me took one of the battery backups and rewired all of the things in the back. SO when they turned on one of the machines it overloaded either the circut or one of the backup systems so everything shut down.
ReplyDeleteYey those people.
If we want to liken Venture Brothers to Happy Days, I think we've reached the point at which Chachi shows up.
ReplyDeleteWe still have the original cast. They're still doing vaguely the same things. But we're placing the load of humor onto new characters and side characters where before the core cast was enough.
Mind you, I didn't hate Chachi. But I'm able to recognize when this shit happens in a series. The core concept dries up so they have to expand.
Well, no.. I mentioned that because it didn't stand out to ME.
ReplyDeleteAnd. yeah.. I knew it was kinda condescending.. I was trying to figure out how to get my point there, without that tone.. clearly I failed.
I knew he was from the old Johnny Opening.. but.. I didn't catch the repeated lines, etc. I was making the point that we've all got our own contexts, and I wondered if I was substituting humor from some of those that you weren't, is all.
I disagree with what Venture's doing, though, becuase I'd argue it's done that ALL ALONG. Only originally, all the characters were new. I mean. How is any of this different from Brock's OSI past flashbacks and Molotov?
I think you're forgetting or inured to plenty of what was in the first two seasons, honestly.
ReplyDeletewe'll shout and point about this tonight.
Because this can only be settled with finger wagging.
"How is any of this different from Brock's OSI past flashbacks and Molotov?"
ReplyDeleteGood point.
This could very well be simply episode organization. So far this season we've only had one "venture brothers solve a mystery" episode, and that episode was just T&A. Maybe things will sort themselves out over time.
I just want to see Hank and Dean be Hank and Dean, and I want Monarch to be all awesome between those scenes.
And Triana's friend needs to come back.
Agreed on ALL of that.
ReplyDeleteEspecially Triana and friends, and the organization.
the Shadowman 9 episode was supposed to be last seasons Finale.. which explains, in part the opening series of episodes without any focus on the Venture bros.
Since we're talking about Venture Brothers there's another thing that's been bothering me.
ReplyDeletePart of the Venture Brothers watching experience is the discovery of the illusion to the series. We know that the series is a spoof of Johnny Quest. But through watching the episodes we get to learn how the series relates to those things it spoofs.
For example, there was the episode where Race Bannon shows up. Race says, "Tell Johnny I love him." OK, so Race exists in the world, and Johnny, in some sense, exists. Then later we meet Johnny. In ANOTHER episode we meet Rusty's version of Hadji, which supports the spoof. But earlier this season, if I remember correctly, we met the Hadji from Johnny Quest.
Then, for another example, we have the episode where Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend were talking in the Mall Cafeteria and Monarch makes a comment about Dr. Girlfriend's "this is heaven" comment, where we learn that she really does sound like that to the characters.
The longer the series goes on, the less of that we have; the less mystery there is to how the series exists and its context.
During the episode with Hatred's party they made the joke of Dr. Girlfriend having the card of jacklyn onassis on her back. So, whee, they played their "dr. girlfriend looks like jacklyn onassis" card.
The longer the series goes on the less of those they have available.
Thinking about that. and.. not sure of THAT, either.
ReplyDeleteWhat you claim as existing, I see as a warping of character. You seem to see these as single moment reveals.. but.. I'd argue they're more along the lines of homages and commentary again. Note the Col. Hunter Gatherer - Nick Fury/Thompson, or the Mass Murderin' Scooby Gang.....
And I'm not sure you CAN run out of the illusion element. I mean. Why would have ever suspected Dr. Girlfriend didn't sound like Dr. Girlfriend to the rest of the cast?
Unless you were given a reason to, by the show. I mean.. And the character showing up doesn't ruin that, as you see it. Note that in the Venture continuity, Race was an interegator for OSI... Because.. of course he would be. Why wouldn't Dr. Quest have his own OSI bodyguard?
I dunno.. maybe I'm misunderstanding you. I would like to see more King Gorilla.
"Why would have ever suspected Dr. Girlfriend didn't sound like Dr. Girlfriend to the rest of the cast?"
ReplyDeleteFor the same reason that we don't know if the Griffon family can understand Stewie.
It's the cartoon veiled illusion where often the audience has access to things characters do not.
Animal crossing Wii
ReplyDeleteposting this here so I can get it at work
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bgsu.edu/departments/popc/page47945.html
...the Veiled illusion thing hinges upon the show making reference to the characters not responding to these things.
ReplyDeletePrior to that, it's not so much veiled illusion as it is audience imposed supposition. And for the life of me, I'm not seeing anything that I can take for the show refusing to acknowledge something.
I dunno.
oo oo write a paper on Buffy Manga and Nationalism as it relates to Fandom Ethnography.
ReplyDeleteActually.. a paper that would be kinda interesting, and narrow enough to be do able would be the portrayal of Barbara Gordon as Oracle, over the years, as computer technology advances.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to figure out how to do a Scott Pilgrim thing right now, because I think taht might be managable.
Also, I apperently slept all night last night. from what I thought was a half hour nap.
ReplyDeletemy bad.
That link brings back my little rant about how I hate popular culture papers Vis-Ã -vis "Buffy is the Ubermensch".
ReplyDeleteThe cliffnotes version, which I thought of when Adam asked me about it, is that I'm ok with a paper on the Ubermensche which uses Buffy as an example AMONG MANY OTHERS, but I'm not ok with a paper on Buffy which talks about the Ubermensche.
Which is why I perk up at your "I'm trying to figure out how to do a Scott Pilgrim thing right now, because I think taht might be managable." comment.
Because the paper needs to be about a concept, and the popular culture examples need to be secondary to that concept. If we're embracing the mentality that we want to write about comic/anime/manga/movie X and then try to pull something vaguely academic out of that? Then we just need to put on our damned cat ears and be done with it.
"portrayal of Barbara Gordon as Oracle, over the years, as computer technology advances."
ReplyDeleteThat's another question of focus. Are we writing about Barbara Gordon or are we writing about computer technology advancing?
One of those is academic. The other is fanservice.
Which is not me sniping at you. I'm just grumpy because the FUCKING WEBSITE broke again.
ReplyDeleteSome guy brought his kids into the office and amid the rambunctious murmor of the conversation they were having I heard the six year old son exclaim, "I ALWAYS KNOW what's going to happen!!!"
ReplyDeletemmm...hubris.
Then he hit his little sister or something and made her cry.
Kids are awesome.
I fucking hate our damned website.
Today's First Read talked about Indiana.
ReplyDeleteWhile bringing attention to that may sound pathetic, it is interesting that they're at all talking about the possibility of Indiana going to Obama.
It'd be entirely about Barbara Gordon. After taking a bullet to the spine, she becomes wheelchair bound. And ends up Super-Hacker Oracle. But as technology progresses, becomes more ubiquitous, her role changes entirely. She first starts out by infiltrating and subverting a covert military program, the Suicide Squad.. but it's only in providing and learning information.
ReplyDeleteLater, she's actively influencing events and organizing heroes, acting similarly to Martian Manhunter's telepathy-strategist role.
I didnt' read it as sniping, so much as unfamiliarity with the concept. I mean, by the last couple years, she's actually given a chance to walk again, because of her role as Oracle.. turns out it's a nano-virus version of Brainiac.. but.. well.. it becomes a comment on how things have progressed from the mid 80's, by way of how that has allowed her character to change.
Of course, I don't have the material to really discuss that.. only the assorted nerd knowledge and having seen a couple scattered issues. so. it's nix'd.
What if I do some sort of paper and talk on Fred Van Lente's Action Philosophers?
ReplyDeleteJust to break your head?
You still need to get those, by the way.
"it becomes a comment on how things have progressed from the mid 80's, by way of how that has allowed her character to change."
ReplyDeleteI don't think of that as an academic paper so much as a summary of the plot of the story and an assessment of the character. And that could very well just be my personal tastes, but I don't see any sort of contribution made by that sort of paper. It's just "here's what happened to Barbara Gordon". And, sure, that can serve as an example of technological progression, but if that is the case? Why not just talk about the technological progression?
Whenever I would take a philosophy class with Landrew and the professor gave an example for a concept, Landrew would focus upon the example moreso than the concept. So when we talked about Being and Time, for example, and the professor used for an example of Dasein "the state of mind you have when you're running late and so you go and get your keys, run to the car, get in, and start driving to your appointment". For Landrew his understanding would begin and end with that example. If someone asked him about it? He would repeat the example. If someone asked him what the example meant, he would just restate the example more slowly.
That's what bothers me about some popular culture writings; they're Landrewing the experience, they're focusing on the example moreso than the concept.
Using examples is sensible and aids understanding. But when the example is where one's understanding begins and ends, when one does not understand or approach the concept? Then they've failed.
Don't write a paper about Buffy being the ubermensch. Write a paper about ubermensch and use Buffy as an example. Even better? Include multiple examples. Most best? Don't use any fucking examples and just talk about the damn concept.
"What if I do some sort of paper and talk on Fred Van Lente's Action Philosophers?"
ReplyDeleteI would have to set you on fire.
Well, but it WOULD be an academic paper. Examining how technology has changed an invalid's role in society, via the changing role of Oracle.
ReplyDeleteHow the changing landscape changes the character's portaryal fundamentally. I mean the inital concept was 80's style information hacker.
B
y now, though, computer stored and networked information is so interwoven into life that the very limits of what the Oracle character can do have been shifted dramatically.
I mean.. this stuff is going on basically in the background, over years and years.. it's not the point of the stories discussed, so your complaints wouldn't really have valid ground here.
You would have to set me on fire. Unfortunately, you'd be too busy laughing.
I dislike how stupid conversations about network problems make me sound.
ReplyDeleteAn address changed as a result of some firewall tweaks. So Boss #2 called saying he couldn't access his e-mail remotely. The solution? He needs to change the 1 in the address to a 2.
And offering "Change the 1 to a 2" as a solution to a problem? It just sounds...silly.
GARH. Why, oh WHY, does Hanover stick to it's buearacratic red tape over dipshit small things.
ReplyDeleteConflict is interesting, and if it's conflict over something small then all the better.
ReplyDeleteless conflict, more Casey on Maternity Leave, and not sure there was a note left to verify I could move in on the date I had spoken to her about.
ReplyDeleteThat'll do it.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that if you get a security certificate for www.crapfest.com it costs $99 for one year, but if you get a security certificate for *.crapfest.com it costs $449.95 a year?
YEAH.
Learned that today.
“I was blown away,” said Cara, a 27-year-old homemaker from Forest Hills in New York City. “I’m not a no-carb type of person, and I usually don’t even think about it. But you pick up a little muffin with your coffee, and it has 630 calories in it? That’s a bit extreme!”
ReplyDeleteYou know what that is? That is a quote that sparks not only a hate fueled rant but also the possibility of a five car pileup depending on when the rage burns itself out.
Rush is on Colbert Report tonight.
ReplyDeleteToday's You Are Dumb is delightful.
ReplyDeleteApparently Age of Conan removed the boobies recently, or is going to remove the boobies in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe game will still have an "M" rating due to the violence and bloodshed, but it will not longer include "boobies".
Rather than bitch about how stupid it is to deem violence more acceptable than nudity...I'm trying to figure out why they would remove the nudity. As far as I knew it was the game's only selling point.
Nudity doesn't put a strain on the hardware or coding. Removing nudity will not remove the M rating. So...why do it? Why release a game with nudity and then cover it up?
Wow... you can get Pandora running on the iPhone?
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of your new furniture.
ReplyDeleteI demand you buy SUMOlounge gear.
Sumolounge.com
Mostly becuase I think they are shipped with the women for demo purposes.
"space age, rip proof nylon"
ReplyDeleteI thought we had moved beyond "space age".
The Sumo bean bags aren't that much less than Foofs.
ReplyDelete7 foot Sumo: $399
7 foot Foof: $434.99
That's an acceptible price for a woman, no?
ReplyDeleteahem,.. I mean..
nope. I mean what I said. I'm just that pathetic.
It's certainly an acceptable price for a woman. Not an acceptable price for a bag full of shredded foam.
ReplyDeleteA seven minute long conversation about blueberries just ended. The final statement?
ReplyDelete"I love my wife's blueberry pie."
I'm not a doctor...but I think she needs to get that checked out.
but for a woman, and a bag of shredded foam, in which one might later hide her parts?
ReplyDeleteHmn.
Girl parts do not make for good cushions. And if it was the sort of girl who would make for a good cushion? I wouldn't want her.
ReplyDeleteRemember what the flag for my Animal Crossing town says:
"No Fat Chicks!"
Nice return on that one.
ReplyDeleteBored at work. Stalled, waiting on others.
I'm fixing links. WHEE.
ReplyDeleteGuild is doing Black Temple all three raid days this week, which is a nice change. The goal is to see some new bosses/content instead of just doing the same weekly repeat of shit we've already done.
I think WoW really needs to change its loot system. Random loot as a game mechanic needs to die in a fire...at least on bosses which require large groups of players.
Apparently back in the day Everquest drops were not random on bosses. Rather, only gear would drop which a player in the group needed. So if the loot table of the boss contains a priest healing hat, and all of the priest healers have that hat or a better hat? The hat won't drop.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to take that idea and make it better. Perhaps allow players to select from a list of possible loot the loot they want to see and then only selected loot will drop. Except that ruins a lot of the illusion.
The best solution, I think, is to completely remove the "mobs drop items" concept and rather have mobs drop some form of currency which a player then uses to purchase an item.
So if you kill Illidan it's not the case that he drops a Tier 6 token. Rather, you get some proof that you killed Illidan and you return to an NPC who is so damned happy that he gives you the Tier 6 whatever.
Or seperate it even further and go with something like Badges of Justice. Kill a mob get a Badge of Justice. Finish a quest get a Badge of Justice. Win a game of PVP get a Badge of Justice. Kill a boss in Black Temple get a shit ton of Badges of Justice.
Then use those to purchase items.
Perhaps you structure the items to be such that realistically people have to do X to amass enough Badges to get item Y. Or there are different badges for different items.
It would be nice if every run of a given instance provided players with something useful. Rather than kill a boss, "oh he didn't drop what I wanted" and then go back and kill him again and again and again until the loot you want randomly generates from his loot table.
I don't see a problem with that sort of thing. I ran Kara for months just to get Badges of Justice when I didn't need any of the gear particular bosses dropped.
That's along the lines of what Etrian Odyssey does.
ReplyDeleteand.. well.. it's dull.
There's far less desire to getting those items. The randomness of the loot? Helps provide impetus to play.
Think about it in terms of opening Magic Packs.. or even getting the scratchoff in-game prizes from WoW the CCG.
I know you're interested in a more dedicated level of play.. but what you're describing would need tweaks, at minimum, to create appeal to most players.
actually.. thinking about it..
ReplyDeleteproviding a non-gear use for those tokens as well..
Coupled with a rarity limit on what they provide.. say there are only X bits of item (Y) available per.. whatever period seems reasonable.
That might actually work.
Also, while i'm complaining about things none of you care about...
ReplyDeleteHood of Hexing has three gem sockets: Red, Yellow, Blue. If players use gems which correspond to those socket colors in those sockets they get a socket bonus of +5 spell damage and healing.
Which is fine, except that the +5 spell damage is less than what a player could get by simply ignoring the socket colors.
Red Gem: +12 Spell Damage
Red/Yellow Gem: +5 Spell Haste, +6 Spell Damage
Blue Gem: +6 Spell Damage, +7 Stamina
The Red and Red/Yellow gem are the best Warlock DPS gems to use. The Blue Gem is the best Blue Gem to use in a Blue Socket.
The problem? The socket bonus (+5 Spell Damage) when added to the Blue Gem results in +11 spell damage, +7 Stamina. It is better for DPS to ignore that Blue Socket and either put in the Red Gem (which is 1 more damage) Or use the Red/Yellow gem (which is 5 less damage, but 5 more spell haste. Stamina is negligible).
It's interesting to me that Blizzard would design the item Socket Bonuses to be so minimal that ignoring them is a better policy than adhering to them. If it was "use three shitty blue gems and get +45 spell damage"? Of course I would follow the specified gem socket colors. But when following the colors provides less DPS than following them? It makes me wonder why they're there.
Would it be akin to the "skill test" cards designed in Magic?
ReplyDeletethe so-called Bad Rares?
"but what you're describing would need tweaks, at minimum, to create appeal to most players."
ReplyDeleteYeah. That's the biggest problem. If items do not come from specific instances then those specific instances are not run. Players could find the most efficient path to obtaining Badges (as we did with Kara) and then just farm those instances while ignoring the rest.
And then players realize they're just following paths of efficiency to amass quantities of X and they stop playing.
There's a whole psychological aspect to MMOs that simply eludes me. Or, it doesn't elude me...so much as it's frustrating in its inconsistencies.
"Would it be akin to the "skill test" cards designed in Magic?
ReplyDeletethe so-called Bad Rares?"
Maybe?
I think it's an attempt to ensure that certain gems are used. Blue Gems primarily provide stamina moreso than damage, so the only reason to use them is to be either a very confused PVP player or to think that they are required.
If the slots had no color then players would be prone to fill them with +12 damage or the damage/haste gems. But with the colors it makes players reconsider what gems they use.
Which is odd...because it's really just a question of math.
Hmn.
ReplyDeleteLemon is an enjoyable flavor except when it tastes like floor cleaner.
ReplyDeletethis is.. true.
ReplyDeleteThe View tackles Nigger
ReplyDeleteNote: They're not taking a Nigger. Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck engaged in a "heated discussion" about the word which ends with Elisabeth Hasselbeck in tears.
Hi-fucking-larious.
"When we live in a world where pop culture then uses that term, and we're trying to get to a place where we feel like we're in the same place, where we feel like we're in the same world...how are we supposed to then move forward if we keep using terms that bring back that pain?"
Oh, The View...
gotta agree with whoopi on this one. Words only have power, when we let them have power. "Bad words" are only bad because we as a society allow them to maintain negative connotations. If we allow these words into open discussion, they will no longer become interesting.
ReplyDeleteFuck yes, nigger!
ReplyDeleteFuck yes.
To those concerned:
ReplyDeleteI have to work from 4:30 to 2am tonight, then I have to move crap out of Bloomington.
that sounds unpleasant.
ReplyDeletemoving back to warsaw, or elsewhere? If you are actually leaving bloomington around 2 and need a place to crash midway to warsaw, feel free to stop by.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds entirely unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteNot the staying with Kyle. The leaving work at 2 a.m. to drive down and remove shit from the last bastion of freedom you had.
I'm stocked up on Vodka if you need somewhere to hide Sunday afternoon. I assume that Saturday will be spent driving.
Amsterdam Cat Mourns Adopted Panda Cub
ReplyDeletePandas are pretty damn stupid.
Thanks for the well-wishes and offers. I'm here in Bloomington and taking care of things. This is the last weekend before the lease is up, so when I leave, this place has to be completely empty, so I probably won't be making my way back to Warsaw until Sunday evening.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't know if anyone saw Grindhouse last year, but I recently bought Planet Terror and Death Proof (the two movies that made up Grindhouse) and don't know anyone else who has seen them.
Also also:
ReplyDeleteYou know why it's important to watch Indiana Jones? So you can read Kotaku:
"Still, we had a video earlier of an angry, ticked off PS3 fanboy who claimed to know Japanese culture about as well as Marcus Brody could [teeth clenched] blend in [/teeth clenched] in the Middle East of the late 1930s." Kotaku article in question
(in my worst patois)
ReplyDeleteMahrcus! MAhrcus Bhrooody!
and for J, also for anyone who hasn't seen it before .. well midnight,
http://www.drhorrible.com/
Here's my review of http://www.drhorrible.com/:
ReplyDeleteWilliam H. Macey attemps Stephen Colbert.
This is Joss Whedon keeping busy during writer's strike, correct?
ReplyDeleteAnd he does this by using Doogie Howser to nail the "evil villainy is just a job lol" joke coffin where it has already been nailed firmly shut by the not-so-great parts of Venture Bros et al?
Wonderous.
Never mind. I'm a sucker for musicals. This is the correct use of the internet.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was at Wal-Mart looking for shampoo when I decided to look around a bit. I found the Scum & Villainy boosters for the Star Wars pocket model game. You will fear my sandcrawler. GO ON. FEAR IT.
ReplyDeleteI also saw that they were packing GI Joe figures into old style packaging. It's really and by all accounts unfair. Like I'm going to just casually by a Wild Bill figure. Never! You put that shit in a blister pack that looks like how it was when I was wee? FUCK YOU AND YOUR WAYS OF GETTING ME TO ABANDON MY MONEY
omg sandcrawler?
ReplyDeleteThat could get me back into that stupid game...
not really. But...SANDCRAWLER
That has to be one lazy ass design.