Taak…i wszystko wróciło do normalności…W sensie, że już nie piszę tak często i dużo…jakoś jeden miesiąc uciekł… Tak w ogóle to na początku tego miesiąca (12 listopada?) blogowi stuknął roczek. Jak tak sobie przejrzałem pierwsze posty to chyba widać pewną poprawę w pisaniu blogu, w każdym razie mam nadzieję, że to poprawa. Chodzi o to, że nie piszę jakiś newsów, które każdy może przeczytać na innych stronach, a skupiam się bardziej na moich relacjach czy ocenach. Chyba o to chodzi w blogu?

Wracając do tytułu newsa…Dawno nie było nic o kinie, więc wykorzystam to, że ostatnio dużo widziałem i napiszę co nieco o 4 filmach różnej maści. Zacznę od najsłabszego ogniwa…

“Gamer“

Akcja rozgrywa się w “niedalekiej przyszłości” (to mnie przeraża), gdzie możliwe jest sterowanie innymi ludźmi. Fortunę na tym zbija Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) tworząc grę “Slayers” i…coś w stylu Second Life. Głównym bohaterem jest Kable (Gerard Butler), który jest obecnie najlepszym graczem w “Slayers” i cały świat mu kibicuje jednocześnie chcąc go załatwić. Otóż osoby które walczą w “Slayers” są więźniami skazanymi na dożywocie, ale jeśli przeżyją 30 walk zostają zwolnieni. Oczywiście więźniowie na czas wejścia na arenę sterowani są przez graczy….Mówiąc w skrócie…chodzi o to, że Kable mimo dużych szans na wolność postanowił sprzeciwić się systemowi jednocześnie jeszcze bardziej komplikując sobie życie…

Co mi się nie podoba?…Fabuła…niestety, ale po godzinie strasznie się nudziłem i nic nie trzymało mnie w fotelu…po prostu film do mnie nie trafił, chociaż przyznam, że interesował mnie. Spodziewałem się czegoś innego (mniej nawalanki) i prawdopodobnie stąd moje rozczarowanie.

Oczywiście są też plusy. Podobała mi się wizja przyszłości, aż tak spodobała, że przeraziła. Nie wiem czy kiedykolwiek zobaczę…w zasadzie to nie wiem jak opisać ten komputer, więc może zainteresowanych odsyłam do kina…Bardzo fajne były też zdjęcia. Wprowadzały trochę chaosu, ale mimo to to ciekawie się oglądało.  No i oczywiście Michael C. Hall, chyba najlepiej zagrał.

Jak jesteś zmęczony pod każdym względem, półtorej godziny bez myślenia – polecam, mimo wszystko.

“Upiorna noc Halloween (Trick ‘r Treat)“

Już kiedyś wspomniałem o nim przy okazji pisania o “Zapaśniku“.

Opowiada 4 różne, lekko ze sobą powiązane historie, które wydarzyły się tej samej nocy w Hallowen w jakimś nudnym miasteczku w USA.

Przyznam szczerze, że przed obejrzeniem spodziewałem się czegoś innego, ale przecież to Halloween, więc sam się dziwię o czym myślałem…;D W każdym razie…przyjemny na wieczór, trochę zaskakujący, śmieszny, może też trochę…przestraszyć!

Mało widziałem horrorów, więc trudno się mówi o jakiś minusach, ale myślę, że to dobry film w swoim gatunku i polecam na wieczór.

“Funny People“

Judd Apatow, reżyser takich komedii jak “Wpadka”, “Supersamiec” czy “Boski chillout” zrobił coś bardziej poważnego. Sam powiedział – “Staram się zrobić bardzo poważny film, który będzie dwukrotnie zabawniejszy od moich poprzednich”.

George Simmons (Adam Sandler) jest światowej sławy komikiem. Występuje publicznie oraz zgarnia pierwszoplanowe role w komediach. Pewnego dnia dowiaduje się jednak o swojej ciężkiej chorobie.  Pewnego wieczora, po występie poznaje Irę (Seth Rogen), początkującego komika. George zauważa w nim potencjał i zatrudnia go, jako swego asystenta. Między nimi nawiązuje się przyjaźń. George zauważa jaki jest nieszczęśliwy i stara się wszystko naprawić. Szuka na nowo wartości, które mają mu pomóc osiągnąć szczęście.

Film ma dwie strony. Trwa ponad 2 godziny co w dzisiejszych czasach jest rzadkie. No i niestety trzeba przyznać, że to trochę za długo. Powiedziałbym, że można by usunąć kilka scen, ale gdy pomyślałem “jakie?”. To jakoś trudno było się zdecydować. Widocznie po prostu musi taki być. Więc trzeba się na to przygotować.

Mimo to inne rzeczy to wynagradzają. Wprawdzie wielkim fanem Sandlera nie jestem, ale lubię Rogena. Lubię też dialogi, które…nie każdego mogą rozśmieszyć ze względu na tematy, ale myślę że warto. Pozwala też na zastanowienie się nad życiem i pokazuje, że pieniądze szczęścia nie dają!

Polecam osobom, które lubią dzieła Apatowa, specyficzne dialogi, któregoś z tych aktorów lub mają dużo czasu i nie zaznaczyli żadnych z tych trzech powodów, żeby się przekonać.

“Solista“

Opowiada o spotkaniu bezdomnego muzyka (Jamie Foxx), który cierpi na schizofrenię z reporterem (Robert Downey Jr.) lokalnej gazety dużego miasta Oparty podobno o prawdziwą historię. Pokazuję więź jaka powstała pomiędzy tymi postaciami mimo wielu konfliktów.

Przyznam, że już trochę zapomniałem, bo to dzieło oglądałem na samym początku miesiąca…Wrażenie wywarła na mnie ta fabuła, która zawiera ciekawe sytuacje, ale też ciężkie chwile pomiędzy postaciami oraz jak niewiele potrzeba niektórym aby żyć. Strasznie podobały mi się obie postacie. Foxx świetnie zagrał osobę, która żyje muzyką. Chyba nie zapomnę tej sceny jak Nathaniel dostaje…(spoiler). A Downey Jr. reportera, któremu niby nie zależy na przyjaźni, ale głupio mu zostawić chorego na ulicy…

Nie podobała mi się tylko jedna scena wizualizacji muzyki, która wyglądała jak…z Windows Media Player…Po za tym film naprawdę godny uwagi, o świetnej przyjaźni, o miłości do muzyki. Polecam jak cholera.

Trick or Treat

]]> http://rishab.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/haloween-trick-or-treat/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:00:25 +0000 Sanjay Kattimani http://rishab.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/haloween-trick-or-treat/

This was Rishab’s first Haloween.

Rishab was dressed as a bumble bee. He found another bee..

Then he visited some hourse saying “Trick or treat” and collecting chocolates and other treats from them.

There is something wrong with stop signs in French. They don’t look right: ARRÊT. Stop is red, the color of blood, warning; it is eight-sided and four-lettered; S-T-O-P. Slapping an ARRÊT on a STOP sign doesn’t make it so – it just looks like a STOP sign with a weird word on it. And what’s with the circumflex? over the E? the crooked accent, that folded thing? Are they trying to be cute? They don’t fool me. Every time I see the circumflex I see the ‘s’ that used to be there: forêt means forest; hôpital, hospital; arrêt, arrest. They are not fooling anyone. Mr. Ostrowsky taught me that in 7th grade French class, that the circumflex is a sign, a reminder of a lost s. But why do French people need reminders of lost letters? Why not just leave the letter there? Why drop it and tack on a reminder? Indecisive, sentimental, nostalgic, fancy…ARRÊT… give me STOP any day, or, at a minimum, ARREST.

Such were the perverse thoughts that circumflexed my brain as Jo and I went trick or treating, door to door, (or should that be tricking or treating?) in Laval, Quebec three weeks ago, stopping at all those arrêt signs with their missing s’s, following a flock of Pakistani-Canadian children and their happy mothers. Actually it was door to every tenth, or twentieth door, as the good people of Laval do not make a fuss over Halloween. Most of the porch lights were off and there were virtually no decorations anywhere. We owned the street, but were hard pressed to find candy and only bumped into two other groups of trick or treaters all night. I wore my multicolored crazy quilt Joseph coat, Jo had on her wedding dress with a gigantic flaming pink fake boa while Sumera and the mothers wore typical and beautiful South Asian garb under Western style overcoats and –this was a first– no head scarves.

My family had had a big discussion a few days before the trip; Natessa expressing surprise that our devout Muslim friends would even celebrate Halloween and myself quibbling over whether celebrate is the proper term. Observe? Practice? What is Halloween? It’s not really a celebration. It’s more a concession, an accommodation, to the night, to the other side, to our strange superstitious past, to spirits, ghouls, to the idea of worlds — of the living, of the dead, and veils that grow thin between them. You don’t celebrate Halloween. You participate. You go trick or treating. You become the ghoul, the demon, the sweet-demanding devil.

The girls had a blast. When we found a house with a porch light on they would ring the bell and stand silently, smiling with their bags held high. I’d yell at them to say “trick of treat” but they didn’t obey. “Trick or treat” had less meaning than a circumflex to these five through eight year olds who spoke fluent Urdu, Punjabi, some French and Arabic but only a smattering of English. They were princesses, a comic book hero, and a bumblebee — no ghouls in sight. But they did know about a certain kind of veil, a place between worlds, or at least their parents did. Just a few years ago they were homeless, feared and fearful refugees, fleeing a post 9/11 America, stranded on the border, peering into the agents’ eyes, seeking asylum, a home, no trick, just an appeal to be treated with respect, and given a chance to prove themselves as new citizens. These are the lucky ones, Sumera and her family, and their friends. Let in, given that chance, now making the grade. And here they are, with head scarves off, laughing in the night with their wide-eyed children filling their bags with candy from strangers.

We saw only one jack o’ lantern — all night. The French really don’t celebrate Halloween. I guess it’s an Irish-Anglo thing; the French are too enlightened, too frank, too free, for such tawdry Celtic nonsense. Too abbreviated. I told Sumera about the turnips, about how, in pre-pumpkin Ireland, the people would hollow out a turnip and carve a face in it and place a burning ember inside and leave it on their doorstep to ward off the devil and his minions, and also leave sweets to satisfy them. She nodded as if she understood, perhaps thinking of the pre-Islam nature religions that Mohammed himself had to negotiate with, conquer, appease. I thought of Allah, originally the god of the idol worshippers in Mecca, now the great God of Creation and all Muslims, and of El, the high god of the nature religions of Canaan and Mesopotamia who donated his name to the great Lord God of the Jews. El-Shaddai. God Almighty. (Is it significant that the names Allah and El derive from the same word/name?)

Are they are still there, old Allah, old El, old Beelzebub and the others, those old nature gods, or are they just harmless devils to be mocked and bought off with sweets? Are they smiling from inside our pumpkins? Are they lost and gone forever or is Halloween a circumflex, a folded circle pointing forward and backward, cryptically, crookedly but directly at them? Or do I just need to work off this sugar high, learn to appreciate the French, abbreviate my fevered brain?

* Arabic for ‘if the God is willing’

Here is the link for my talk on Halloween safety for kids  (decorations, costumes) and Safe Trick-or-Treating on Healthradio.

Unfortunately since a few days before our first Halloween experience in Vancouver – the entire family fell ill with the flu. A state of affairs which unfortunately remained a constant up until this week! We had a short period of feeling normal but then relapsed one by one. Needless to say I was in no fit state to write any entries for my blog which sucked big time, as we’ve  had a few yummy samples of comfort food in those two weeks. Comparing Halloween in Germany or England to here is not even a case of comparing apples and pairs. It’s like comparing an earthquake that is one on the Richter scale to another which is 9; there is simply no comparison.

Of course local shops and advertising all around Europe acknowledges a countdown to the ghostly witching hour and kids can find some costumes in the stores; a few families even improvise and go trick or treating. But this all encompassing embrace of Halloween theatre, where the whole neighbourhood converges and indulges in this feast of role playing fun – is unheard of, a sad loss methinks.

I’ve never seen anything like it and what I did see, blew me away. I loved it. It was not cheesy or corny, in my eyes it just looked like good darn fun. I was even able to help out in organizing our schools Halloween bash ‘The Howl’. People take their crafts seriously in Vancouver and although it was a tad intimidating at first, those who contributed were so heartfelt and sincere in their enthusiasm no one gave a toss if I was less than perfect, what counted was getting the job done. My kinda thinking…

Unfortunately my relapse occurred on the night of the ball so I didn’t get to enjoy the end product – but some of the goodies the other mums had prepared as booster food for the ‘preppers’  opened up a whole new world of delectables for me and I will be practicing new snack goodies before the next Halloween hits. Although frankly desserts are not my forte, I will have a go at least with the cookies, regardless.

Irony of ironies, we did do some trick or treating for half an hour on the night (and then went right back to bed)!  The kids made out like bandits with their candies and goodies. Never seen anything like it; for half an hours work they had enough treats for the next month or two! Amazing if only life had a plethora of other opportunities for disproportionate returns!! You could make a killing – at whatever…

Our pumpkins on the other hand didn’t get a look in for dinner until last night. Like everyone else we love roasted pumpkin seeds; so we prepped our pumpkins two days ago. Scooped out their innards and separated the flesh from the seeds. Washed then lightly salted the seeds and placed them in the oven on a baking tray to roast at 150 degrees Centigrade. Did do 180 at first but that batch burnt to  a crisp, waaay too much carbon for my liking!! What was truly delightful though was the flesh. That I made into my standard – spicy pumpkin soup which I served with Irish soda bread. A family favourite. Here’s the recipe if ya interested:

Pumpkin Soup =  (1) Flesh from one whole pumpkin. Sliced, diced as desired.  (2) A tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (3) One medium onion. (4) 6 cloves of garlic; note I am a devout garlic fan so for some peeps that is probably way too much. Play around with the number, the minimum is 2 cos you want to taste it. Don’t be a wuss push your comfort zone. (5) 2 teaspoons of grated ginger. (6) 2 slivers ( or more if you can) of a scotch bonnet chilli pepper, I think  they are called habeneros here. (7) 4-5 teaspoons of Vegeta vegetable broth or 3-4 cubes of which ever vegetable broth you prefer.  (8) Spices: 2 teaspoons of curry powder,  a teaspoon of crushed cumin or half a teaspoon of whole. A handful of freshly chopped coriander if you have it but this is optional.  (9) 1 small tub of creme fraiche or low fat sour cream.

Preparation = On a medium heat; place olive oil in a pan, add onions, garlic and ginger and gently fry for five minutes. Add spices, stir then add the flesh of the pumpkin. Add a cup or three of water. Allow to simmer – reach to boil and then add the vegetable broth. Continue to add water as required. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes. When pumpkin is tenderly cooked, add creme fraiche and coriander, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve with Soda bread.

Soda Bread =  (1) 4 cups of flour, (2) 1 teaspoon of salt, (3) 1 teaspoon of baking soda, (4) 1 teaspoon of sugar, (5) half a litre of buttermilk.

Preparation =  Preheat oven to either Gas mark 8/ 450 degrees Fahrenheit/ 230 degrees Centigrade. Sieve the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, stir together with your hand and make a hole/ditch in the middle of the flour. Add the buttermilk and gently stir together the ingredients with your fingers. I kinda do a very gentle spin and in no time you have a light dough consistency. It is always handy to have some loose flour on hand. Place the dough on a floured surface. Gently roll the dough into a round loaf. Don’t over handle the dough as this affects its consistency when baked i.e turns tough rather than light and fluffy! Place in oven for between 30-45 minutes or until lightly brown. If you try this I hope you enjoy it as it is a family favourite and its so easy we’ve had it for breakfast and light teas and the bread is great for sandwiches or on its own with butter. Enjoy.

I should point out that our family can eat really spicy food. Although we moderate for our youngest cos she’s a monk when it comes to a fiery palate but having said that if you choose to follow the recipe remember to play around with it to suite your needs; so if you can’t eat chilli’s (hot peppers) don’t add any, the same goes for curry powder. Just adding the coriander and the cumin is sometimes a tangible treat.

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5. Your friend no longer believes you when you say you spilled water on his couch and conveniently on your crotch while you were sleeping for the 10th time.

4.  Waking up with a black eye and not remembering where you got it just isn’t fun any more.

3.Your boss is starting to think that you may have a drinking problem after seeing a picture of you on facebook with I love sex shaved into your chest hair.

2. You have been banned from the local pizza shop after numerous drunk dials ordering pizza and not answering the door when the delivery guy comes.

1. God has taken you up on your offer.

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“Congratulating the Kuffaar on the rituals that belong to them is prohibited by consensus, as is congratulating them on their festivals by saying ‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy your festival,’ and so on…”

مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَومٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ

“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

“Imitating them in some of their festivals implies that one is pleased with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them the hope that they may have the opportunity to mislead the weak.”

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصوم السبت والأحد ، ويقول : هما عيدان للمشركين فأنا أحب أن أخالفهما

The Prophet used to fast on Saturdays and on Sundays, and he would say: “These are Eidaan  (two days of Eid) for the Mushrikoon. So I love to oppose them (contradict them, differ from them) in these two.”  (For more info on the issue of fasting on Saturdays, see: http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Article&iw_a=view&article_id=2325 )

What would he say – upon seeing MUSLIMS (his “followers”) greeting, and warmly congratulating the Kuffaar on their Eids ? 

مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَومٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ

“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

“It is not permissible for the Muslims to attend the festivals of the disbelievers, according to the consensus of the scholars whose words carry weight.

The Fuqahaa’ who follow the 4 schools of thought have stated this clearly in their books. Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab that he said:

“Do not enter upon the disbelievers on the day of their festival, for divine wrath is descending upon them.”

And ‘Umar also said:

“Avoid the enemies of Allah on their festivals.”

Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr that he said:  “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and celebrates their new year and festival and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.” ”   SCARY

So yes, most definitely, as the Prophet told us (as reported in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari):

المرء مع من أحب

“A person will be with the one whom he loved (on the Day of Resurrection).”

YOU will be with the one whom you loved. “Love” is not just saying, I love Allah, I love Islaam, I love Prophet Muhammad. Love is not talk. Talk is cheap!  Love is, striving to imitate, to be like, and to follow the practices of someone or something.

Now, ask yourselves this: Are you imitating the Prophet more in your life, or are you abandoning his Sunan? Forget about whether it’s Waajib or Sunnah. This isn’t a Fiqh issue. It’s an issue of: Do you really love the Prophet Muhammad such that you will strive to imitate him in every aspect of your life?  Or are you imitating the Kuffaar more in your life?   Who do you wish to be resurrected amongst – the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions, or the Kuffaar?

There is plenty of material in this release for free players: the finale of Mogloween 2009, the age-old tradition of Trick-or-Treating, and the much-anticipated hatching of the rare Halloween gourds. Plus, the next quest of Zorbak’s Legion is up for Dragon-Amulet holders.

Share and Share Alike

About:

In Falconreach, Myx stands alone, covered with cobwebs. He’s bored and lonely; he has sat all alone and unused for weeks while his beautiful mistresses had gone off to use other cauldrons. Just then, we arrive on the scene with Tomix with some good news for the evil cauldron: we’ve got a plan to get the Cauldron Sisters back together. The Soulweaver asks if Myx knew the secret recipes of the sisters, but the cauldron refuses to tell. However, Tomix is not after the recipe; he wishes to know if Myx could make their candy on his own, the one they planned to make together this year. Myx is hesitant, for the sisters had never decided on a formula. But we tell the cauldron that he’s our only chance; we’ll get the ingredients, and then it’s up to him. Myx lets loose a burst of fire in delight at being needed.

Our character proceeds to run through the town to steal bits of each of the Cauldron Sisters’ candy, battling past the various ghosts along the way. Unfortunately, each sister has her table guarded by a pair of Moglinsters, so we are forced into battle with those familiar friends before pinching the ingredients.

Once we have done, it is night in Falconreach, and we return to Myx with all our ingredients. We remark that we don’t know what the mixture would turn out like, since each sister’s candy on their own is kind of… meh. Myx sniffs that the Sisters’ true brilliance comes out as a team; we’ll see when we toss the ingredients inside him.

Just then, the Cauldron Sisters arrive, and they start berating our character for stealing their candy. But Trouble manages to notice Myx quivering violently, and he yells for everyone to duck and cover. With that, an explosion bursts out from him, and knocks us all off our feet, though a new kind of candy showers the area.

Once we have recovered, each sister takes her time to inspect the new candy. Trouble notices that her Sugar Springs have melted into this brown creamy stuff covering the confectionary. Bubble takes a bite and notices that her Faerie Floss has melded with the Bits-O-Wax to create nougat. Toil then remarks that the nougat is perfect; that’s what inspired Bubble to add Faerie Floss into the mix. And Bubble turns to Trouble, letting her know that her melted Sugar Springs were delicious. At last, an incredible thought comes to Trouble: they have created the perfect candy, and they must share it.

But a cry of ‘no’ is heard, and Greed explodes into being before us, knocking Myx over. He declares that we can’t share the candy, for he had worked too hard. After the Cauldron Sisters right Myx again, Trouble snaps back at Greed that it is there candy to do with as they please. They were too worried with what they were going to get out of their own pieces to realize that this was the time of year to celebrate and share. Toil adds that together, they had made a candy better than they could have crafted on their own; Bubble simply growls and sticks out her tongue at Greed. Tomix then appears before the malicious spirit, and tells him to leave, for he has no power over the sisters any longer. But Greed instead replies that he doesn’t need the Cauldron Sisters any more; he has the whole town to draw power from. Our character retorts that we also have something to share with him, and with Tomix by our side, we proceed to battle Greed.

At his defeat, Greed explodes, and darts away into the night as a little ball of black smoke. Tomix declares that it isn’t over; Greed still had some power over the town, so he was unable to banish him completely. He could still sense his thread moving in the darkness; and sure enough, what is left of Greed retreats to the town hall, and hides within the bookcase in Damien’s library. Meanwhile, what are we to do with the current Greedling infestation? Twilly then pops in and claims that they moglins could help; they could absorb the Greedling’s magic to render them harmless. They’re going to really want candy from now on though… we better be in disguise when we want to come visit with the candy. But what about the townspeople hoarding their precious candy in their homes? The Cauldron Sisters then propose a solution: they would share their candy with everyone else. Hopefully, the more we give to them, the more they would get in the mood to share. So it’s time to Trick or Treat!

Meanwhile, in the town hall, Sepulchure’s spy reports to his master that something new has come to town, but now it has hidden in Ravenloss underground. The Doomknight believes it to be another good distraction for us, so his spy must be ready to make his move.

Pros:

Much of the plus points of the quest comes in its second half. After Myx manages to, er, mix, the Cauldron Sister’s candy together, a new type of confectionary is formed, and it’s composition is quite detailed; instead of vaguely saying that it is the perfect candy, it is mentioned that Trouble’s Sugar Springs have melted, and Toil and Bubble’s ingredients have combined into nougat, which is precisely what they were shooting for from the beginning. Thus ends the speculation on what the original recipe, and thus the perfect candy, is. The fight with Greed afterwards is a good challenge; he has plenty of hit-points, and excellent multi-hit attacks that deal significant damage, not to mention are well-animated as well. And at his defeat, there comes a surprising plot twist; Sepulchure is back in town, and his spy is almost ready to make his move. It looks like whatever the Doomknight has in store for us is only just around the corner, but as it is, the plot twist effectively closes the quest with a good deal of intrigue, and ties in this otherwise independent event with the master plot of DragonFable.

Cons:

The first part of the quest, with the exception of the Moglinster guards, is exactly the same as the previous two quests; we run around the town to collect things and battle various ghosts along the way. It is repetitious, and took a good amount of patience to complete. And the resolution to the Cauldron Sister’s bickering is not, admittedly, all that surprising; right from the first quest, I predicted that Myx and our character would show the sisters just how much better it would be to work together than apart by making some candy ourselves. Lastly, though there’s no way to completely avoid it, the message the Cauldron Sisters give about realizing their mistakes, and that Mogloween is the time to share comes off as preachy. But other than these three points, this quest is actually a very good one.

Grade:

Though the initial phase is quite lackluster, the second rivals ‘As the Cauldron Boils’ in quality. Thus, ‘Share and Share Alike’ earns a 7.5/10.

Trick-or-Treat

About:

It’s that time of year again, when we knock on the doors of Falconreach’s houses and beg for candy, risking our necks to the ghouls, fiends and moglinsters that could crop up unexpectedly. For those who aren’t familiar with the tradition, our character comes to a lane before three different houses upon accessing the quest, and runs to one of them each time to knock on the door for candy (once we finish with one house, the three houses are replaced with new ones). If we’re lucky, we receive an amount of confectionary from the owner of the house as a treat; if we aren’t, we are either waylaid by a mad moglinster, or tricked into fighting a Mogloween monster. We could continue trick-or-treating for as long as we want to collect candy, which could be exchanged afterwards for a variety of things: unlocking the Pumpkin King armor, upgrading the weapons that are dropped at the quest’s end, and/or unlocking the various masks to ward off the moglinsters.

Pros:

And I thought that there wouldn’t be any room for real Trick-or-Treating this year. Guess the team proved me wrong, and that’s a pro in itself. Plus, there are quite a few good drops for the free player this Mogloween: the Batwing weapons series are both powerful and armed with excellent stats, and the Greedling helms are also equipped with great statistics, rivaling even the helms from the SandSea. Both the weapons and the helms are quite simple in design, which is a change from the detailed equipment we usually receive.

Cons:

Other than the weapon and helm drops, there really isn’t that much new material for this year’s Trick-or-Treating. The Pumpkin King armor is exactly the same as last year’s, and the new weapon series, the Frankenblade, is DA-only. In addition, the masks that are meant to be unlocked are both expensive in terms of candy, and not quite as fun as last year’s batch, though they do offer a good percentage of candy bonus.

Grade:

Though it’s a nice tradition, this year’s Trick-or-Treating doesn’t stand very well as a quest on its own. It gets a 6.5/10 from me.

Mogloween Gourds

About:

In the beginning of October, three types of rare gourds could be found in various quests across the game. Now they have hatched, and I happen to be lucky enough to possess the Small, Twisted Gourd, which became Gourdon the Gourd-o-Lantern, a pet.

Pros:

Gourdon is a funnily-animated character, I guess, and deals a decent amount of damage for a pet that isn’t our baby dragon: 6-12 hit-points, and with the occasional double-attack.

Cons:

Let me be blunt: Gourdon is poorly drawn. I’ve seen far better pets in DF’s history; even the gold-fish looks better. And… there’s not much else that could be said here. An ugly pet is an ugly pet.

Grade:

Gourdon may be a kind of pet you get used to after a while, but it still doesn’t hold a candle against a fully- or even partially-trained baby dragon, in terms of art, animation and power. Therefore, this part of the release deserves a 6/10.

And finally, Endon’s back and here to critique on the Zorbak’s Legion quest.

Zorbak’s Hideout

Sorry for the delay guys, we just had the snowstorm of the century where I live. But onto the review!

The latest entry into the Zorbak’s Legion chain is here! It starts with a meeting between you and “General” Zorbak. He is moaning that now that he has a proper army, he deserves a better lair than his current home. Well, you can’t really blame him once you see the condition of his hut. But Zorbak is aiming high, and sends you and the army of dracolichs to cease Thursday’s mansion in the name of Zorbak! After walking to the outskirts of Amityvale, you resolve to try and end this mission with no one getting hurt. Not gonna happen. The moment you open the door, the dracoliches stampede and rush inside. Since there are bigger and badder than them inside, you race in and try to find them all.

You basically explore Thursday’s mansion, which looks appropriately dark and creepy. You fight past a bunch of spirits and wisps until you get to the end, basically.

At the end, apparently you beat up the mansion so much in your various battles that it’s no longer worthy of the might Zorbak! You have two options: Stay and clean up, or come home with the dracoliches. Guess which one you choose?

The loot from this quest is a poison dagger, staff, and sword for levels 28 and 45.

Pros:

The theme for this quest was very well made, set in a spooky mansion, complete with untidy bookshelves and an abundance of cob webs. The loot was OK, nice to see some of the lesser elements get new weapons. Other than that, there wasn’t much to it.

Cons:

This was a filler quest, through and through. It was short, as you can explore the rest of the mansion if you want, but you can finish by going left and walking up the stairs. What’s more, nothing was really accomplished with this quest. Zorbak doesn’t get a new lair, and there is no character development in it. And although it was nice to see some lesser elements get some new additions, poison is not very useful, and I’m not sure there are any monsters with a sufficient weakness to warrant the use of these over the Dooms. This quest could be omitted from the chain and it wouldn’t really have an effect. The monsters are nothing new, just spirits and wisps. This quest was incredibly easy, with there being few monsters and most fold before the Destinies.

Grade:

I have not been very impressed with the Zorbak’s Legion chain so far, and this quest has done little to change that. After the downright breath-taking fire war quests, these are definitely sub-par. Therefore a 6/10 seems appropriate.

Final Grade of the Release:

It’s all about Mogloween for us free players on this release. We have overcome Greed but lie at the mercy of Sepulchure, Trick-or-Treated until we dropped, and battled alongside odd-looking pets.  In addition, Zorbak has been thwarted once more, and we save the baby Dracolichs. All in all, this week’s release earns a 6.75/10.

Ok, so Grayson came down with the flu during one of the most fun filled weeks, the last one in October. We may have been down, but we weren’t out! Here is a look at some of the things we did to stay busy during our quarantine:

Pumpkin Pancakes

Puppet Shows

We did do some brief Trick-or-Treating on Broad Street. My lil’ heros!

Check out more Perry Family Fall pics here.

]]> http://hibnerfamily.com/2009/11/10/tricks-treats/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:23:55 +0000 hibnerfamily http://hibnerfamily.com/2009/11/10/tricks-treats/

I’m a wee bit behind in posting Avery’s Adventures from staying with Nana & Papa while we were away. She got to do all kind of fun things besides play on the farm. Nana and Papa took her to a pumpkin patch and Nana also took her to a Children’s Museum in Victoria where she played with other little children. Mom and Dad took off a few days and the other days, she went to go play at a little daycare in town. On Halloween, Nana and Papa took Avery trick or treating and she had a blast. First of all, she loved her costume and wore the bunny ears the whole time. I couldn’t believe it! Harley, Mom and Dad’s Maltese, loved the costume too and was trying to play tug of war while Avery had it on. Ha!

Doing her classic “O, what’s that?” facial expression:

Brushing her teeth before she goes trick or treating (ha!):

Harley playing tug o’ war:

Petting Aunt Pam’s Puppy:

Cheeto Face:

Sorry it took me a couple weeks to get these up here, I’ve been busy in the photography department lately! So Halloween was amazing. We all had a blast, and with all of Lorelai’s new friends to play with and the amazing new people I continue to meet, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Here’s a few of my favorite Halloween pictures!

Absolutely loved this costume!

“]

The new bff's, Nick and Amanda, haha

Besties ♥

We got lost in a never-ending corn maze

She even drew the heart on this pumpkin all by herself!!

Darth Vader, Leia, and Fairy, ready to terrorize the neighborhood!

“]”]

And this is what Deb and Napolean's baby looks like

“]”]

This was the day after Halloween from my kitchen window

I hope everyone had a magnificent holiday (which, to me, it’s one of the BEST), and I’ll have more for you soon!

Yeah, Yeah…I know this post is a little late but whatever…you know you wanna see my goofy ass…
(pics via @graycontrast)

What’s that sound? Oh, right. It’s the sound of ZERO CHILDREN IN COSTUME KNOCKING ON MY DOOR AND ASKING FOR SOME OF MY AWESOME CANDY. What is WITH THIS? It’s HALLOWEEN! Aren’t kids in apartment complexes supposed to go building to building? Is that NOT a clever scheme to get candy out the WAZOO? I know, I understand. No doorbells, no reassuring porch lights, and “stranger danger.” But wouldn’t hitting 12 doors a building beat walking up and down a whole STREET. Granted, there are more than enough stairs at the apartment complex. But hey, the kids need to burn off the candy energy somehow, yes?

On the greener side of the grass, pumpkin fest was downtown today. Oh, and it was so cool. Definitely going on the calendar for next year. The streets were LINED with merchant tents and food venders and there were SO many people. You have to understand, I have never been to a legitimate city festival before. Especially not one the caliber of this. (Stop, Riverfest does not count and I do not go to Toad Suck Daze.) My personal favorite part? The costume contests.

Most Creative Kid Costumes I Saw:

• A box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (She was my favorite)
• Multiple peacocks (The prettiest one was the girl with real feathers)
• A couple of  “Ugly Dolls”
• An Ipod
• A gnome
• One of the members of Kiss
• A facebook page (really, Halloween 2009?)
• A cupcake (whose parents were an oven and a chef)
• Spider woman (it was INTENSE)
• and an ittty bitty baby girl was dressed as the most precious strawberry I HAVE EVER SEEN
  **note, there are several that deserve credit that I can’t remember. darn. it.

But the costume contests didn’t stop there. OHH, NO. There were PET costume contests too. And if you think puppies are precious with NO clothing, you should see them dressed up. There were great danes dressed as bumble bees, a million doxens dressed as hot dogs, lots of little yorkies dressed as pumpkins, and this gigantic black lab that was wearing bunny ears that gave me SO MUCH joy. These two, big gingery-colored dogs won the costume contest: they were wearing custom made tuxedo jackets and shirts and little top hats and carrying roses in their mouths. Their names were hurricane and echo. And they stole a little bit of my heart.

What has the rest of my halloween produced? Leftovers and watching The Proposal. In it’s defense, I really liked it. Sandra Bullock is admittedly one of my favorite actresses and I love how she spins romantic comedies.  I’m actually on round two of watching it. BUT I would have thought my Halloween night plans might be a bit more elaborate. Not complaining though. A relaxing weekend was what I was wanting, and a relaxing weekend is what I am getting.

Note to self: next time, relax on NOT holiday weekends.

Until Inspiration Strikes,

Lo

So after locking my keys in my car in a store parking lot on our way out on All Hallow’s Eve, we made a late appearance at Doomtown… just me and the curlykidz. This is the first time in years we didn’t go in a big group… but now that most of the group is in middle school, I don’t see or talk to most of the moms. So it was a little strange not to be making a caravan trip… but it was still a really good time. As usual, a kid or two expressed concern about entering the premises, but also as usual, before long they had stopped running from the monster, and were hunting them down instead… making friends, shaking hands (real and fake), and having philosophical conversations. The grim reaper stopped and pointed at Halle… and she deadpans, “You’re pointing at her, right?” and gestures to me. Wow… thanks for throwing me to the wolves!

Later on, a man passing by us said, “Grim comes for you tonight.” I thought it was the Rawhide employee, off duty, and laughed as we walked on.  A few seconds later, the devil on horseback approached and asked what he’d said to me.  I relayed the conversation, and he asks me to please do him a favor and go tell security, because he’s never seen the man before… and moves away.

I’m not sure about this, but change direction and go over to the Sheriff’s office and tell the guy of the request. He doesn’t seem to concerned, and I said I hadn’t really thought anything of it, but the  devil had been concerned… and speaking of the devil (I slay me) he gallops by like he’s in pursuit at this moment, and the Sheriff starts to look concerned. So we walk away, and I’m trying to explain to the kids what the big deal is, when out of the corner of my eye, I see that same guy, just standing there, basically now behind us, even though he had passed us shortly before (if this makes sense).

Now I’m feeling creeped out. So we go into one of the shops and browse around for several minutes, and as we exit, there’s that same guy again, just kinda hovering. Not exactly coming into the store, but hesitating like he’s about to. He doesn’t seem to be headed in any direction, and he doesn’t seem to be with anyone. I start to veer off to the side, and that’s when I see a couple of men in real law enforcement uniforms…

We didn’t see creepy dude again that night… and I left very thankful for good people lookin’ out.

Okay, before you guys whack my head off with a sledgehammer, let me explain why my supposed ‘Halloween’ entry is about 10 days late. The last few days, I’ve been working on two projects: T.Y.B.S. Weekly Sulit Bashing and preparations for my little angel’s 1st birthday concept. My wife and I finally agreed on the venue and which politician clowns to hire as added entertainment. By the way you’re all invited all your gifts are invited. So those kept ‘Ape’ the blogger busy. I still have a regular job so don’t call Social Services yet.

So there was this terribly organized Halloween program for kids in our village on the same day Typhoon Santi hit the country. I don’t really understand why they pushed through with it. I mean, how can the innocent little children in monster costumes go out in the open to get candies?! But no typhoon can stop the organizers and these kids from partying!

especially this man-child in a Trojan costume. He was really the highlight of my day. Effort!

 A couple of things that stood out that day:

1. One homeowner actually had cotton candy makers outside his house to attract kids (and adults) alike. It was the first time I ate cotton candy since David Hasselhoff was manning the beaches (and bitches) in Baywatch.

 2. Another homeowner was giving away, not candies, but JOLLIBEE CHEESEBURGERS man. Hands down the best gimmick of the day.

3. Saving the best for last…my little girl. Who was absolutely ’stunning’ that day. She was Tinkerbell. I’m George Estregan Jr.

Happy Halloween guys…(c’mon! I had to let that one out!)

Pagbigyan niyo na ang huli sa balita!

www.complaintogain.com

www.complaintogain.com

When I was a child we would spend hours running through the neighborhood trick or treating, though snow, rain, sleet, whatever. We would move in the dark, from house to house, trying to find the fastest approach. This was independence, survival and great fun. Unfortunately, too many of us now take our children trick or treating at an indoor mall, an office complex, or a covered strip mall. There are lights everywhere, no on gets wet, and those indoors don’t even have to figure out how to keep warm and have their costume show. Stores are so close together that your child gets a new piece of candy every 5 steps. Well, where is the adventure in that?

Many children today have been brought up to feel entitled to all sorts of foods, privileges and material goods. I don’t think children are entitled to Halloween candy without a little effort. I am all for letting our kids get out there in the elements: running, jumping in leaves, feeling the cold, smelling the candles burn in pumpkins. I want to see a costume, especially one home made. I want to hear kids yell “TRICK OR TREAT”. Kids need to earn all of those treats.

Maybe you won’t feel so bad letting your children eat a few pieces of candy if their Halloween night is an active one. If you are worried about their safety, walk with your children, or follow on a bike. Make sure that each child has a patch of glow-in the-dark on them, either a vest, sticker, glow stick bracelet or necklace, or a flashlight. Give your children neighborhood boundaries and times to check in or be home. But let kids have Halloween–they might even get some exercise!

Need some tips on healthy and not-so-unhealthy Halloween treats?

www.complaintogain.com

Email, texting, SMS what ever you want to call it, it is a fact of modern day life.

But with this convenience comes of course abuse.

When I say abuse I am not talking about spamming since that is an annoyance that we can all do with out but it comes with people becoming coward like.

Saying things that they would never say to someone to their face.

Spreading rumors, lies and generally hiding behind the luxury this technology affords us.

We are all aware that the transfer of information via these means is instantaneous. You send and someone on the other end regardless of where they are gets the message moments later.

So denial of not getting the message is something that is fruitless unless you happen to be in an area with ” no service” part of the world.

But there are few places left where that occurs so when someone sends you a message, text, sms it is pretty much guaranteed that the message has been received.

No matter how much you want to deny it, ignore it, the sender knows you have received the message.

Now I have heard people say oh I have been so busy I did not have time to respond back??

What? How long does it take to say ” I’m ok real busy right now will email later” or something to that nature.

Or even “busy”.

Now if you do not have enough time in your day to send a short message with 4 characters in it. I strongly suggest that you go see a doctor.

Since you will work yourself to death.

But really folks there is no one that does not have a few seconds. Yes folks a few seconds is all that it takes to respond back to that person.

Look at it this way. May be the person sending the text, sms, or email is very busy also but they found the time to send you the message.

So bottom line here folks. If someone is thoughtful enough to send you a text take the few moments to acknowledge the receipt of it.

Since they know you have received it and your denial or ignorance of it’s receipt does not sit well with the person sending it. Just imagine how you feel when the role is reversed.

To learn how to complain effectively and get results. Check out my book Complain To Gain.

www.complaintogain.com

www.complaintogain.com

www.complaintogain.com

Time to finally clear the decorations!

Here are some pictures from  Yago’s first trick-or-treat adventure!  Daryoosh was just along for the ride this year, in his old-school Star Trek outfit.  Yago sported his devilish costume from last year (that finally fit him perfectly this year!) My costume was a bit stretched out considering Daryoosh was also under there last year, but it worked!

a devilish pair (the candied apple must not have fallen far from the tree...)

Be thankful that I spared all of you the picture of the grown man dressed as the tooth fairy (pliers and all) giving out candy.  There are trick-or-treaters all over town still having nightmares about him, I’m sure (or maybe just the parents of the trick-or-treaters? ACK!)

Yago had a GREAT Halloween!  I truly love this age.  On Sunday morning after Halloween, Yago asked for candy for breakfast.  I insisted he have a real breakfast first.  He finished his breakfast and I let him have a roll of smarties-looking sweet tarts candy.  In my mind I was trying to find a reasonable (to a three-year-old!) way of avoiding candy with every meal after giving in to the post hallween post breakfast request.  To my surprise, never asked for another piece of candy!  In fact, it is all sitting on a shelf in our pantry (all=everything left that I haven’t eaten yet). I can’t wait until next year!!