Ricky WTF

Ricky Martin is proud father of twin sons by a gestational surrogate mother.

Ricky, WTF!!!! I would have TOTALLY had your kids!

Even though that's the ugliest hairdoo I've seen on a guy since Martin Short....

I still love you, Ricky. I'm just deeply deeply hurt. (long sigh) But I'll raise them like my own...

Buying Plat and Characters in a MMORPG

Does this create an unfair advantage for some players over others in a game?

Advantage? Um, Yeah.. However.. the key word here is "unfair".

Thinking it is "unfair" that someone can buy a level 80 character or the right to loot their mythical epic, or more plat than God is very popular. But think about it. Is it unfair that Joe down the road is driving a brand new Jaguar, and I'm not?

If one has the money to spend, is it unfair that they can buy plastic surgery to look younger, thinner, and yeah, better?

Is it unfair that some kids go to school in Kmart sneakers, and some wear Nikes?

It all boils down to one thing. If you have the money, you can have the advantages in life. Why should gaming be any different?

I wouldn't have a problem with EVERY game offering plat and character leveling services. The people who don't fly that way don't have to take advantage of it. Perhaps they can earn special titles such as "Queen of the Hard Way" or "Hard Core Gamer" or "Not a Pansy Exchange Buyer". Whatever makes them happy.

Me? I'll be bidding on line with my paypal to get some plats for that new mount or to pay off that mythical epic ---

But that's a whole other story, isn't it....

I Am A Live Gamer Junkie....

I admit it. I am embarrassed. It was bad enough when it was Station Exchange. I would buy and sell characters, and actually make some money off of them.

I'm easily bored and ADD so it was easy for me to fall into the buying characters and puttering around with them market of Station Exchange.

Then life got real busy and I went away a while. I dabbled here and there with games. I puttered. Oh I puttered. I couldn't settle back into EQ. Vanguard was hard, LOTR was... Hell, I don't even know what the problem was there. Conan disappointed me, Wow bored me, so I went back to EQII just before the Station Exchange puked and Live Gamer took over. Live Gamer sucks. The website sucks, the delays suck, the errors suck, the search functions suck. Between it and the economy the EQII market is dead.

So now I buy low.. and basically, can't even sell the damn characters. My accounts are full and I must stop. But OMG, there's an 80 Wizard Fae with epic and blah blah for only 70 bucks! (bid bid bid). MUST STOP.

I will forever stop making fun of Home Shopping Network junkies.

I am a Live Gamer junkie (hangs head). I just MAY be their sole source of income....

In other news...

I'm having fun puttering in EQII still. I just wish I could settle on one and level it to 80 and play it all the time. I'd like to stop doing the same quests over and over again with multiple chars. I've taken to PLAYING with myself (get the mind out of the gutter, I mean two boxing).

Age of Conan

I was very excited about this game. I really had high hopes.

Seriously, why do they release games before they are even close to done?
Why do they make low levels so BORING.....

yeah... the thrill is gone before it even started.

WTF SOE?

Ok. So I haven't had much to say lately. I have new respect for people who update their blog every day. Sometimes it seems that there just aren't enough hours in the day and by the time you sit down to relax, the brain cells are melting.

I had been puttering in Wow and petered out... so I fired up my trusty Sony All Access Pass (Gotta love all those games for 30 bucks) and bought the EQII Expansion, Rise of Kunark. Cracking my knuckles, I looked at my character selection screen and picked a toon to level to 80.

Now I have several level 70s. A Swashbuckler, a Wizard, a Necro, a Ranger, a Monk, and a 66 Conjurer. I've always had a bad case of alt-itis. It's the ADD I think. I really admire people who play ONE character and put all their energy into it. I wish that was me. But it's not. I start needing "a change". I think the longest I concentrated on one character when I was on EQ I playing my Wizard, Sapfyre.

So, after deciding on my Swashie, I started questing in the Kunark zone, Kylong Plains. The quests were plentiful and fairly easy. It took me a while to remember what the heck I was doing (cough) with my Swashie and I cranked up ACT to parse myself and help tune my dps.

I thought they did a good job on the zones I've seen so far. Kylong Plains is huge and enough quests, nameds and new areas to get you a few levels and some AA. I liked the look and feel and it was fun to see those old familiar areas from EQ1; The Lake of Ill Omen, The Swamp of No Hope, ect.

I like the solokers you travel from post to post on (instead of a horse) but was kind of bleh about having to do a whole quest series to use them. Though I like the cool soloker pet you get out of it.

My playtime has been limited and I'm only up to 74 so far but moving along. I've been reading the forums and sites like 10 Ton Hammer to get reaquainted with the game. I've logged onto my other characters and moved them to Kylong to do a few quests but I'm finding I'm going to need to focus on just one if I really want to get to 80 sometimes THIS century. I'm pretty much soloing all the time now because my guild on Bazaar, Eternal Destiny, are raiding all t8. I'm playing catch up. I'm just not one to ask for a group. I kind of log on and do my solo thing and if someone asks me, I'll go group but otherwise I just putter on my own. That way if I wanna park my fae for 15 minutes while I watch American Idol or chat on msn, I'm not holding anyone up. I think I'm a little more anti social because I feel so rusty playing. My parses are embarrassing me :P

All in all, I like the new Expansion and the way the game is going. But I see a lot of issues with the epic system. I've read some drama on the forums and seen it in game. The haves and the have nots. Some people think they need to have all the best items in the game but they don't want to invest the time in a raiding guild. Yes, it's a lot of work flagging and getting access, getting new gear and prepping for some of those difficult raid zones. That's why the gear is so good there. Risk and investment = reward.

I don't understand how people don't get that. I just can't put that investment in time wise right now. But I surely don't expect to have the gear dropped in my lap. Some people on the forums want T8 raiding guilds to invite along non guildies to their raids so they can get flagged or get gear (or both). Those people obviously do not understand the teamwork and coordination involved. Not to mention the preparation. Anyway, I boggled at that on the forums.

So to recap so far, Kunark good. Like it.

But forums... same as always. Full of good advice, crazy opinions, morons, as well as people with patience of a Saint.

Now for some rants. Livegamer. WTF SOE? You worked pretty hard to have a successful Station Exchange and build a RTM trade. Seemed like it was going pretty well. I love the concept of being able to buy items and plat legally. Not to mention I HATE repeating low levels so if you want to try a new class, you can cheaply buy mid level chars and play them up. Great idea!

Why, when SOE has spoken so highly of the future of gaming being this RTM idea, would Sony outsource the Exchange to another company. Even worse, that company failed to start up on time and has already pissed off it's customers.

*shakes head* WTF SOE?

Fly Away

I was watching my lovely daughter playing Wow and buzzing about on her big black flying drake (bitch, I want one) and I started musing about flying.

I wish I could fly in real life. Flying would be really cool and handy! Lots of cool people in video and comic history can fly.. Superman, for example. And lots of music (good and bad) have been written about flying.

Back in the 80's Gino Vanelli was going to "Fly into the Night." (not to be confused with Benny Mardones who wanted to take us "Into the Night.") RKelly believed he could fly... and he thought about it every night and day. Come on, Dude. You know how many LSD users said that and ended up in the hospital (my brother was one. Note: Never slide down a outdoor wooden painted banister.. naked.ouch). Celine Dion said "Fly, fly precious one, Your endless journey has begun, Take your gentle happiness, Far too beautiful for this,Cross over to the other shore, There is peace forevermore, But hold this mem'ry bittersweet, Until we meet" Which sounds really sweet but makes me a bit nauseous. Blech.

The Offspring brought us "Pretty fly for a white guy." But that had nothing to do with flying, yeah.

Sinatra and many crooners as well said "Come fly with me." But they couldn't fly. Liars. Elton John told us.."You're a butterfly, And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye" Gay (cough).

I may be a chick, but I want to be a macho flier. No butterflies or hummingbirds. I want that Superman kind of flying. Up up and away. (jump up, whoosh)

This morning I was listening to my eceletic music mix and Lenny Kravitz came on.

Ok, now we all know he's like the rock and roll version of Prince. He's the skinny black guy metal head who's kind of macho by osmosis of the music.

But seriously, Lenny...

"I wish that I could fly, Into the sky, So very high, Just like a dragonfly."

A dragonfly!? Lenny, please.

I would "Fly Like an Eagle, into the sky." And eat your ass.

Ricky? Gay? STFU, Noob!!11

No one cares if Ricky Martin is gay. I dunno who Ole Henriksen is... and I don't care. If Ricky is gay, I will gladly be his fag hag. Ricky and I can go the dance clubs together and whisper about good looking men, pay strippers to wiggle for us and have a fabulous time. I will forego the Ricky Martin sex me up fantasy if I must! Hell, I got a gay best friend, I'd even let Ricky have him! (I'm pretty sure Scott wouldn't mind too much) :P

But... kinda brings a whole new meaning to BFFs, eh?

So if Mr. T. is a Night Elf Mohawk (giggle), and William Shatner is a Tauran Shaman (flurry of karate chops fnar).. what would Ricky Martin be? *I* say a blood elf Rogue.. Especially if the rumor is true that he likes to "get behind the mobs". (cough)

I love you, Ricky.

Article from the web: (with similar articles all over the gossip circuit in December) __Boo hiss__

"WITH his Latin looks and daring dancemoves, RICKY MARTIN has always been a hit with the ladies.
But now a close pal has told the world he is gay.
Ricky has not commented on his sexuality, but Hollywood skincare guru OLE HENRIKSEN told a Swedish magazine: “He is a bit more open about it these days than he used to be.
“It’s difficult for artists, women as well as men, who need to sell lots of records to be open about their sexuality.”
When asked if the Livin' la Vida Loca star has a boyfriend, Ole added: “I don’t know if he has any.
"At least I haven't seen him.” :
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article565566.ece

Old gamers never die... they just log off

I discovered on-line gaming in 1990-ish with the Sierra Network. You used a modem (2400 baud if you were awesome, 300 baud if you sucked) and dialed a Sprint phone number which connected you with the Sierra Network on your computer.

There you could play with other gamers. Yes, the first Multi Player On-Line game network. There was a flight battle sim game called Red Baron, a board game area, Liesure Suit Larry on line, and Shadows of Yserbius, a graphical Medieval MUD. Almost 30 bucks a month for just 10 hours of play. $125 per month for Unlimited. And credit card? Natch, you didn't need one. You could just say BILL ME.. Many a game addict ending up owning them 500 or more dollars. It isn't hard at $125 a month. Good GAWD.

TSN became INN (The Imagination Network) and then went out of business a few years later (maybe because of all those people with unpaid invoices), and a few more on line opportunities popped up. There was America Onlines NeverWinter Nights, Empiriana, and The Realm. All of these were DnD type games, not much more than Graphical MUDS. Well, except for the Realm, which actually looked alot like a King's Quest type Sierra game.

In 1998, I got on the beta of Everquest. I toyed around with it, amazed and a little frustrated, but really didn't start playing the game until 1999 when it was released. And the fever began. MMORPGs exploded into the scene and I think I played with them all at one point or the other. But Everquest was the main dish. I bought all the expansions and spent a good 30 hours a week there sometimes. Luckily it wasn't $125 a month, eh?

There were other games along the way, but I never truly quit EQ. There were years on Star Wars Galaxies (and there's a whole other story), Lord of the Rings, City of Heroes/Villians, Final Fantasy XII, Matrix, Vanguard, and a few more here and there that give me a headache to remember.

When World of Warcraft was released at the same time as EverQuest II, I was torn. I had friends splitting off into both games and was also still playing Everquest in a raiding guild. So, I tried doing all three.

That just didn't work. I ended up puttering here and there and just never got into either EQII or Wow very deeply at first. It took Raid burn out on EQ to make me really play EQII a while, and that's when I started to realize I just didn't have that game fever and drive I used to.

It was not nearly as thrilling to spend a whole night doing a quest, clearing a dungeon, as it used to be. Why? Why was this? Because with so many new games out, all of my old posse were spread out all over. I had some new friends, some old friends, but things just weren't "the same".

With Wow I had friends on several different servers. So I'd play a few months on one server, then make new toons on another server and play there. Needless to say, a few years later and I don't have a single character on Wow over 40.

So, I've come to accept that I'm not young and wide eyed anymore. I might never recapture that magic of gaming. I'm an old gamer now. And maybe Wow is going to be my last "game" hurrah.

I've been known by many names out there on games in the last 18 years. Taliana, Sapfyre, Tannah, Saavik, Whisper, Steelcelt, Santina, Indaria, Firemist and Steelfire.

So for my last "hurrah" I've settled on World of Warcraft, the Venture Co server with a blood elf Hunter named Taliana (I think I've had a Taliana on every game I've ever played). I just hit 40 and have joined the guild my daughter, Tenaki is in, Hellhounds.

And so it begins..... (lifts a wine glass) "here's to not logging off just yet"