Author Archives: TheUser

Fuzzy Nation



Fuzzy Nation, originally uploaded by theuser.

I just finished Scalzi’s new book, Fuzzy Nation, last night. I picked it up Tuesday when it was released, and it was definitely a fun read. It follows Holloway, a prospector on an alien planet. He discovers a rich mineral deposit but also creatures that just might be sentient. If they are, the planet belongs to them and humans can’t exploit it. The book is a reboot of H. Beam Piper’s 1962 book, Little Fuzzy, now in the public domain.
Last week I read Carrie Vaughn’s After the Golden Age. In it the daughter of Captain Olympus and the Spark, the city’s best two superheroes, has no powers of her own. Working as an accountant, she attempts to put her parents’ arch-nemesis behind bars but finds out some interesting family history while she’s at it. The book was definitely entertaining but read like a teen novel and had quite a few errors.
About a month ago I finished Moondogs by Alexander Yates, a strange tale about a man visiting the Philippines to visit his father, a kidnapping, and superpowered soldiers. Oh, and the kidnapper had a rooster for a sidekick. It was good, but it sure left me feeling discontent with the way it ended.
Now I’m starting Little Fuzzy, and then I plan on reading the final book in the Hyperion series, The Rise of Endymion!

Daredevil, The Ultimates

I mentioned a while ago that I read Daredevil Visionaries – Frank Miller Vol. 2, but I’ve now read Vol. 3 and Daredevil: Born Again as well. Daredevil is amazingly badass, and I owe Kyle for teaching this to me. Born Again was especially great despite the fact that for most of the comic, Murdock didn’t don the Daredevil persona.
I also borrowed The Ultimates 1 and 2 from a friend and read through those recently. The Ultimates are the Marvel Ultimate versions of the Avengers, and the graphic novels were excellent. The only other Avengers comics I’d read were Avengers Disassembled, which kind of assumed you knew the characters. It was great learning about the different characters in the Ultimates. Captain America is still one of my favorite heroes, and it was interesting to see Thor such a hippie. I’ll definitely need to read more of the Ultimates (and go see the Thor movie sometime soon)!

May Update

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
I’ve been much more active now that I’m back in Carpe just because there are so many more people around. Also, with the 4.1 changes to heroics, I can do multiple heroics on my off days and still get valor points for all of them. I did four tonight with guildies, and it’s very nice to be able to do this! I should be able to buy a new piece of valor gear soon, and I only have a neck piece and two rings to buy as far as honor gear. Of course, I need honor enchants as well. I’m at ilvl 350 in PVE, but I haven’t done the new dungeons because I’m waiting for gem. In PVP gear I’m currently at 2.8k resilience. Also, I finished Children’s Week, and I love the new lore in the quests!
Portal 2
I managed to play through the single player campaign in Portal 2, and it was fantastic. It wasn’t as good as the original, but it was still amazingly great. I’m looking forward to playing co-op with gem as soon as she finishes the single-player campaign. Alex has also played it a few times at my house, and it’s even wonderful just to watch him play.
Hoard
I don’t really want to talk about this too much since I’m reviewing it for Game-Boyz, but I’ve been playing it too. It’s very fun, especially since each round is only about ten minutes.
Plants vs. Zombies
I finally got all the achievements in PvZ on iOS! The one I was missing was the achievement for getting all the plants. Of course, that was just a grind for money away! I kind of wish there was more to do in the game though. I know I could just play it for fun, but it’s more difficult to play when there isn’t a goal in mind. Even games that can’t be completed usually have a high score mode or something. Now this one is all done.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game
After all this time, I finally got to play Scott Pilgrim! I played with gem, Justina, and Collin. God, it is so much fun. It feels like such a great throw back to River City Ransom while containing modern gameplay mechanics and beautiful aesthetics. I can’t wait to finish it.
Rush
Rush is basically Chu Chu Rocket with more panels and a third dimension. I picked it up on Steam when it was on sale and have been having a lot of fun with it. I still have a lot of puzzles left to do, but it’s pretty interesting. There doesn’t seem to be any stages comparable to the arcade stages in CCR, but that’s okay, because the puzzles are fun.
Chu Chu Rocket
Speaking of Chu Chu Rocket, I started playing the iOS version of it again in an attempt to get more achievements. It has a lot of puzzles!
Capsized
Capsized is a new, indie platformer on Steam. I downloaded the demo and enjoyed it but haven’t yet purchased the full game. You move your character with WASD, aim with the mouse, and can shoot, jump, and interact with the environment in a few other ways. The game is gorgeous. Check out the screenshots here.
Mass Effect
I didn’t play this at all, but I did pick it up when it was on sale on Steam. I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually!
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
I found it! This had been lost for a couple months now I think, but I finally found the game today. Now I can get back to it.

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Scalzi’s Summer Movie Preview

Gaaah, Meh, or w00t! The 2011 Sci-fi and Fantasy Preview – Filmcritic.com Feature

Here’s my quick take on the summer’s science-fictional and fantastic would-be hits, which I grade, in order of increasing enthusiasm, as follows: “Gaaah,” “Meh,” “Hmmm,” and “w00t!” Because ranking by stars or letter grade is boring.

– John Scalzi
There are a lot more more interesting movies coming out than I realized.
Thor
Scalzi says Hmmm, and I’m going to have to agree. I’m interested because I like the Avengers, but Thor’s never been a character I’ve followed much. Although I’m looking forward to seeing it, I’m not sure how I’ll like it.
Priest
Scalzi says Meh. I’ve never heard of it before, but since all I know about it is that it takes place in a “future dystopic theocracy” and stars Paul Bettany, I’d give it a Hmmm.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
While Scalzi gives it a Meh, I’m going have to go lower and say Gaaah. Just stop.
X-Men: First Class
Meh. While Scalzi says Hmmm, I just don’t really care about the X-Men as much anymore.
Super 8
Meh, but since I don’t know anything about it and Scalzi gives it a w00t, I guess I should keep it in mind.
Green Lantern
I’m going to have to agree with Scalzi’s Hmmm here. It looks interesting even if Ryan Reynolds is annoying.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Yes Scalzi, Gaaah. I can’t believe they’re still pumping out Transformers. This needs to end.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Meh. While Scalzi gives it a w00t, and I do agree that it’ll probably be great, I can’t seem to get excited about Harry Potter now that the books have come to an end. I’m behind on the movies anyways; I haven’t even finished watching Half-Blood Prince.
Captain America: The First Avenger
How can you say meh? w00t all the way! It’s about Captain America, who is totally awesome. How can you meh Captain America? I hope the movie’s great.
Cowboys & Aliens
Here’s one we can both w00t over! While the graphic novel didn’t wow me, judging my the cast of Cowboys & Aliens, I think this one is going to be great!
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I’m in agreement with meh. It doesn’t anger me or anything, but I have no desire to see this.
Conan the Barbarian
While gaaah seems fairly strong, I can say meh and look away from this one. But then again, maybe I’d say gaaah if I knew anything else about the movie besides that it’s apparently being released soon.