W00t: pWn Mass Effect 3

Poor M hasn't gotten much access to the xBox 360 since I've been monopolizing the tv through my 18th century-style illness (minus home-doctor visits or visits of any kind, but with plenty of moaning about End of Life and the Pain! Oh, the pain.)  The only thing that seems to eleviate my (notable) suffering is a stream of British lady crime dramas, between which he occasionally manages to squeeze in this Mass Effect 3 business he's been into recently.  Straight up, I do not like Mass Effect 3 because they use this language from Firefly (yes, that's right, Joss Wedon's doomed, yet critically acclaimed 2002 space-opera television show.)  Namely, "Shepard" and "Reaper", which I find so distracting I can hardly bare it.  

So, it's a FPS (First Person Shooter!) and you can design your own character - what a surprise, M has designed a hot, cyborg lady with blonde hair and giant sunglasses (an homage to his wife, perhaps?)  and she runs around shooting Reapers (gawd).  Seth Green does one of the voices.

As far as I can tell, he spends a lot of time in the menus, doing God knows what.  Switching guns, I suppose.  Or changing outfits.  BTW, there's an old article in the NYT about how much time men spend dressing their characters in video games.  Very interesting.  But, anyway, to my (keen) eye, Mass Effect 3 appears to be very similar to Rage and Killzone, which was pretty similar to Call of Duty.  What I think would really be more interesting would be if the FPS were like a detective?  And she needed to solve a murder while exploring a seaside town on the north side of England.  And she crept around in stone cottages and cleaned out attics and drank tea and called people "Pet".  Sure, she's lonely sometimes but being a woman at her level on the force required a lot of sacrifices.  Shooting is largely unnecessary because she solves her cases with a combination of feminine intuition and trenchant knowledge of the human condition.

Sick!

Well, now we've really done it.  I got the cold/flu M had/has, so we're a fine pair, sniffling and coughing, our house a total pit because we can't care for each other or even ourselves.  This is the worst, I tell ya. The worst.  *frowny face*

Naturally I've been desperately trying to distract myself from the grotesqueness that is my own existence (how can there BE so much mucus?), but sometimes it's like Netflix doesn't even know who I am...  I watched Catherine Breillat's Bluebeard, which was weird and interesting but not the feminist tour de force I was expecting.  We watched 21 Jump Street, which, I hardly need to tell you, was absolutely terrible.  I rewatched A Very Long Engagement - had theory that crying would help my head feel better, but it didn't.  I watched a bunch of 30 Rocks - theory that laughter is best medicine is also total shite.  Finally remember the masses of British crime dramas with leading ladies and that's helped a bit.  Unfortunately I haven't done much of anything for the past 5 days but lay on the couch surrounded by a pile of cast of tissues, moaning and occasionally watching television.  Again, you can imagine me frowning.  So, if you have any streaming suggestions, please...  And, if you feel like coming to our house in a hazmat suit, we'd be much obliged.

the cottage

My friend has a family cottage in Indiana and invites a group of us to go down in the summer - oh, it is pure heaven!  The only sad part was that poor M was sick and didn't go with us.  But, my weekend travelling partner was my good friend MZ, who is about the best travelling partner you can ask for.  Here she is, over the moon about a lovely cream pitcher.

We had a totes fab brunch on the way out of town at Nellcôte.  I highly recommend it for brunch if you're in the area.

This is moi on the pier, heartbroken that the weekend was about to come to a close.  

Indiana, oh, Indiana!

A few weeks ago we went to Indiana to visit family.  I saw both my Grannies and M saw his gran.  My nephew was extremely charming, when he was not being uncharming.

We visited our beloved IU campus and also made it to the Chocolate Moose.  One summer I went to the 'Moose every night with my roommates J & B - back then you could get a twist cone for less than a dollar - what a bargain!

give me the shoes!

I had this crazy experience yesterday - I need a new pair of tennis shoes, so, I popped over to the local tennis shoe shop (that one on Dempster and Hinman, if you're a local), and it's like I have to audition for this freakin' pair of shoes!  Have you ever had this experience?

First, the guy makes me WALK FOR HIM.  I probably shoulda left right then.  But, like a chump, I walk.  Then, I'm like, I want this brand of shoes, and I like this one, and he says, Let me bring out a few pairs for you.  So, whatever, but then he comes out with totally different shoes.  Then I say, Those are ok, but I want that one.  And he says, HE ACTUALLY SAYS THIS, "That would not be wise."

That's when I start putting my own shoes back on.  And he says, "We don't actually like our customers to pick out their own shoes."

No one, but NO ONE keeps shoes from me!

PS, did anyone notice those awesome yellow trainers some of the Olympic runners were wearing?

In other news, I'm in exciting Madison for the rest of the week for a conference.  Wouldn't it be funny if  I ordered some cheese curds and the waiter says, "That would not be wise"?  Who am I kidding, that would never happen in Wisconsin!