"You're a minifigure, Harry!"

I am a big kid.

I like video games...

I like Lego...

I enjoy the Harry Potter franchise.

So, it only makes sense that I should play the Lego Harry Potter video games. I started with the first game which covers years 1 through 4, which I got for a deal at $15, brand new at Toys R Us.  I enjoyed it so much, I picked up years 5 through 7 before I had completely finished it. Together, the games rang in just over $30, due to a sale on the second, which isn't bad considering they each probably ran near $50 or $60 when they first came out.  They are, as you'd imagine, very nerfed down, which is odd, considering the story deals heavily with death.  Sometimes, this just adds to the comedy.

You deserved better, Ced! (A dissected wizard, stuffed into a cup certainly isn't disturbing!)

The gameplay involved is pretty much the same as all the Lego games.  You WILL NOT get a perfect score on any level during the main story line, so there is a lot of backtracking involved later on in 'Free Play'.  There are areas that are only accessible to certain characters, or items that only react to certain skills (some skills, like advanced spells in the HP games, are acquired later).  This fact gave me pause to chuckle.  One of the aspects of the game deals with rescuing 'students in peril'... this can range from chasing away bullies, freeing said students from spiderwebs, getting them out of a jam that they have obviously put themselves in, etc. The one that cracked me up the most was a boy, trapped in a box that was wrapped in a heavy, metal chain and locked with a huge padlock.  I heard his thumping and muffled shouts for help during Year one, alas, Harry wasn't powerful enough to spring him.  The poor little fella was trapped in that box for 4 years until Harry was strong enough to blast off the chain that bound him within his confines.

"What did you learn in school, Son?"  "Patience... and how to sustain myself on my own tears and fingernails"

Being an older Lego game, the characters communicate through pantomime and various inflected sounds. This makes for some difficult storytelling, which explains why the newer games have actual voice actors with lines.  It just makes the story go a bit smoother, but in doing so, it does lose some of its charm.

So, as you go along, teachers teach you new spells which help you advance, some characters have a slightly different loadout than others ie, Harry could conjure a Patronus in Year 3, which others couldn't cast, but he could not cast Riddikulus, due to the Boggarts taking the form of Dementors when they'd pop out at him.  This makes it a fun challenge trying to get around obstacles with your given characters, or chosen characters, later on in 'Free Play'.  Some characters even get an extra goodie, Harry, for example, has his Invisibility Cloak, Hermione has Crookshanks, Nevil has a shovel.  All are very handy.

One gripe I had was with free play.  There were items that had red sparkles floating around them, which no one could access.  My guess was that you'd need Vold... He-who-shall-not-be-named to use them.  Since I hadn't unlocked him yet, I bought Kakarov, Headmaster of the Durmstrang School and known Death Eater, thinking that might do the trick, but to no avail.  Later on, I unlocked and bought Snape... because Snape's the shit, and he could manipulate those items because he was a Death Eater!  What the Hell???

Fun Fact: If you play the game on the Xbox, and have Snape hide in a barrel, you unlock an achievement called "Solid Snape".

Never rub another man's rhubarb!

A friend asked me if the spell loadout carried over from the first game to the second by going off the console's memory.  I had wondered that myself, I mean it couldn't be very challenging starting off with all the spells, so how does one make the game challenging without feeling like your character had been sent back to first year?  The game handled that brilliantly, by simply following the story.  "Hem hem!" Year 5 introduced Dolores Umbridge, the newest DADA teacher, and lapdog to Cornelius Fudge and the Ministry of Magic.  Paranoid that Dumbledore was creating an army to challenge the Ministry, Umbridge used her position to try to nip that in the bud.  *poof* four or so "dangerous" spells gone. (They also added new spells and goodies to make new puzzles and further the story.)

The second game changes a few things which made it a bit difficult.  Fine manipulation of Lego pieces seemed tougher the second time around, and they changed the location of where you buy some of the extras, but all in all, both games are a great deal of fun!

Mischief Managed!

Mawwaige

My weeks are usually quite boring.  I work at a job that is a bit under stimulating and sometimes quite aggravating.  Due to his fact, I tend to shy away from writing about my days here.  I really don't want this blog to become a bitch-fest, though I reserve the right do just that on occasion, should a topic warrant it.  My evenings usually find me haunting my apartment with my cat, watching TV or movies, or playing video games (and much to my chagrin, too often nodding off on the sofa right after eating dinner).  That is, unless I make plans to do otherwise.

I suppose, I shall once more regale you with the happenings of my weekend.  If you'll remember, in my last post, I wrote about the bachelor party for my friend.  If you don't remember, or haven't read it, go on back and do so... we'll wait...

Need more time?

Well, this past Saturday was the big day!  I spent the morning getting ready, I had to buy a card and pick up the gift.  Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find my black tie or slacks (probably in storage), so I had to buy them as well.  I made a mental note of the pants size of my jeans before I left on my shopping trip, with the intent of just grabbing a pair off the rack and saving myself some time by not trying them on.  Luckily, while in the store, I had the nagging hunch to try them on... they wound up being a size too small.  I had a feeling that was going to be the case as soon as I had gotten into the changing room and saw myself in the full length mirror.

Maybe this will inspire me to workout more.

Last year, I had injured my knee.  No sooner did it get back up to snuff, my leg went through a serious trauma, then Winter had settled in with the laziness and indulgence that often accompany it, etc. etc. etc.  View them as reasons or as excuses, I won't argue either.  Long story short (too late!) I got fat.  But, I digress...

I had gotten myself around, shaved, showered, and dressed.  Earlier in the week, I had posed a query to my friends in Facebook as to whether or not I should wax and curl my mustache for the occasion.  The response was a resounding "Yes!".  The notion was further supported from a text I had received from the groom, on Friday night, encouraging me to do so.  Apparently, the bride's father was planning on doing the same thing, along with one or two others in attendance.  So, the mustache was waxed and curled.

A little late in the evening.

 The venue for the wedding was a nice little B&B about 40 minutes from where I live.  Both the wedding and the reception were held in an old barn, that had been repurposed for just such events.  It was actually quite lovely, decorated with white lights.  The guests were greeted by live strings, which played through (pausing for the wedding, itself) until the hors d'oeuvres were served, it was very elegant.

The groom and his men looked very handsome, the bride and her ladies were all lovely, and the wedding ceremony was beautiful, with its mix of humor and apparent love that they share with one another.  After the ceremony, while the wedding party ran the gamut of photos, the guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and located their assigned tables for dinner.  Soon after, the music switched over to a playlist of the bride's design, and she did a fantastic job with her choices.  Several people requested a copy of her playlist.

I had gone to the wedding stag, as I have yet to sucker anyone into dating me.  Weddings are an occasion where it is nice to have a date, what with all the dancing and such, so that was a bit of a downer.  On the up side, being that I was dateless, I was assigned to sit at the table of EVIL.  Table 3, home of the miscreants, trouble makers and ne'er-do-wells.  We did not disappoint.

At one point, I was pulled aside to participate for a photo of just the few who had the patience and ability to don our fancy, curled mustaches.  The bride's father informed me that I looked as though I should be holding a rapier in one hand, or sporting a Derringer.  The photo was captured with one shot, with no need for a re-shoot... 'cause that's how we roll.

Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time throughout the night.  There was much laughter, love and frivolity.  I, myself, had a wonderful time with my friends, as well as catching up with old friends whom I have not seen in years.

And, once again, I'd like to wish the bride and groom a lifetime of happiness together.

Narcissism, thy name is blog.

Blogs are, at their core, narcissistic things, this one being no different.  They need an audience, they need readers, they need validation, otherwise, they'd just be journals... tucked away under pillows or resting on writing tables, read only by the person who had set down the words to begin with.  That said, blogs need to be interesting, entertaining, humorous, etc., to gather and keep an audience.  Therein lies my dilemma.

I have a wide variety of interests, but just because I enjoy something, it doesn't mean you... the reader... would be at all interested in reading about it.  So, I've spent a week with my thoughts, wracking my brain for a topic that might fit the bill.  This is why I could never be a professional writer (well, one reason). I would not be able to keep to a deadline, or at the very least, I'd struggle with one.  Luckily, I have not imposed a stringent goal for my blog entries, they shall appear when they appear.

So, for lack of a better idea and for the sake of having written something, I give you... my weekend.

My weekend had a rough start, considering I missed work on Thursday and Friday due to a nasty migraine.  A fierce battle ensued... my weapons being sleep and copious amounts of hot tea, sweetened with raw honey from the Pine Barrens (a gift from a very good friend).  I am  fortunate in that, I don't get them as often as used to, but they do like to rear their ugly heads from time to time.  Unfortunately, when they do crop up, they render me almost completely useless.  I am not a fan.  And, as is par for the course, a persistent, albeit duller headache tends to linger after that migraine has passed.

Saturday was my friend's bachelor party.  Those who arranged everything did a very good job.  The groom isn't much of a drinker, nor was he interested in going to a strip club.  He does, however, have a considerable sweet tooth.  All those invited to attend were asked to bring a dessert of some kind, a table quickly filled up with pies, tarts, cannolis, Irish potatoes, and other tasty treats.  I myself baked chocolate chip cookies and bought a raisin soda bread from McCarthy's Tearoom in Bethlehem. (I was there anyway, as I was picking up loose tea for said groom since it always seems to be out of stock when he makes it into the area.)

The party was held at JT Baker's in Sellersberg, PA, in a private room.  A small group of friends attended, food was eaten, laughs were had, games were played.  A few of the games were Red Dragon Inn, a very fun card game from SlugFest Games (the company happens to be owned by a mutual friend of ours), Cards Against Humanity (another card game, it's like the game Apples to Apples... but very wrong) and Smashup, among others.  A good time was had by all.

Sunday was a lazy day.  I finally got to watch Kickass2 and Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and enjoyed both.  I think I liked Catching Fire more than the first movie, but neither held a candle to their respective books.  No idea how I'll feel about the third movie, considering it was my least favorite book of the three.

Movies watched, restless from all the sleep I had had, and feeling fat from all the eating, I felt the need to get out and do something.  A few weeks ago, my friend took his daughter to go see the Lego Movie.  Ever since, they had been collecting the smaller sets to construct together.  He mentioned to me that he was having a hard time locating a set that his daughter was very interested in.  I made it my mission to track it down, because I seem to have a knack for finding things like that.  Between my leet internet skillz and fancy legwork,  my labors bore fruit.

Everything is awesome!

Because the internet needed another blog!

My inaugural post!

One day, you'll be able to tell your friends, "I was reading that blog before it was cool"

I've really no idea what I'll be writing about as I have a number of interests and ideas, thoughts and notions, but I am happy to have you along for the journey.  I suppose we shall figure it all out along the way.

Stay tuned!!