Saturday Casual Gaming 249: Soda Dungeon

In Which I Play A Fun Free Steam Game

I love me some Roguelike Dungeon Crawlers, guys, and Soda Dungeon has been suggested to me pretty much ever since it came out. Since it was free on Steam, I couldn't resist and downloaded it.

It's addicting as heck.

Which is funny, because addiction is kinda a big theme in this game.

Addiction, money, fame, and big scary monsters

You are a hapless, impoverished person with big dreams of bigger wealth, but the best way to get money where you are is to venture into a dungeon of certain death... which you're super not into. Fortunately, while hanging out at the local soda bar, you end up with a grand scheme: con a bunch of soda-addicted crazies into going into the dungeon of death for you.

And thus, your journey as a very messed up kind of adventure pimp begins.

But... money!

Ethical complications aside, this game is fantastic. From the peppy, bullet-hell-style music to the awesome arcade-like graphics to the hilarious story (so far), this game has had me hooked from my first run with a mostly naked Soda Junkie.

You have different choices you can make while your party ventures through the dungeon. Do you choose each move yourself, or do you let the game automatically run your guys through? Which of the three boss chests do you open? Do you take one of the alternate paths that occasionally appear, or do you ignore all possible distractions?

Speaking of bosses...

They can be pretty epic...

Look how tiny you are compared to that behemoth! Your party, which can contain up to five adventurers of varying skills and abilities, is always dwarfed by the bosses (and minibosses) of each section. So far, I've only made it to the fourth zone, the ice levels. I'm sure I'll eventually get further, but I'm having a good time, regardless, and earning tons of money.

But what can you spend that money on?

One of the main features of Soda Dungeon is the Soda Bar, where you hire your adventurers to go make you money. You spend that sweet gold on upgrades to the Soda Bar, which let you buy and sell gear, earn money while offline, invite more and stronger adventurers who get buffs depending on the decor and food qualities, and you even end up with a wizard who can warp you to later levels you've beaten so you don't always have to run the dungeon from level 1! At one point, a faintly creepy gladiator guy shows up to let you know you can send a trio of adventurers to die for you in the arena for money. If you want to see how far your loot can take you, that's a fun challenge!

All in all, Soda Dungeon, from AN Productions and Pox Power via Armor Games is a great game, both on Steam and on Mobile, so if you're looking for a free game fix, this is definitely a fun one to play.

And I'm serious about that music being awesome. It really gets you pumped!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Filmic Friday 249: The Human Tornado

In Which I Discuss the Sequel to Rudy Ray Moore's Dolemite

So, for Thanksgiving, some friends of mine were running a Blaxploitation marathon, serving up "Jive Turkey", if you will. Not being one to turn down a good time, I rolled on down to their place and settled in to watch the end of the Isaac Hayes vehicle Truck Turner (and if you've ever wanted to hear Star Trek's Uhura toss N-bombs like they're grenades in Vietnam, then it's definitely a must-watch!). Once that movie was done, we checked in on what Whitey was up to with some random Anglo-centric shorts, then it was on to some more Rudy Ray!

We tossed The Human Tornado onto the tv.

We thought we were ready.

Nothing can prepare you for The Human Tornado

So, The Human Tornado tries to pick up where Dolomite left off, with Dolomite throwing a party in his new mansion in the Deep South. Our only indication that this is, in fact, the Deep South, is an incredibly racist sheriff who tries to kill Dolomite for sleeping with his wife (who may have been blackmailing Dolomite into sex?) It's also the origin of the infamous "b***h, are you for real?!" line.

So the sheriff basically chases Dolomite out of the Deep south and he and his friends flee to California and Queen B's club. They get picked up by one of the weirdest Gay Stereotypes (which... honestly, I can't tell what they're more annoyed by - the fact that he's gay or the fact that he's a white boy looking for dark meat?) I have ever seen in a movie. They basically carjack him (though he's a willing participant) and "drag" him with them to California.

Unbeknownst to Dolomite and co, B's club has been taken over by an evil club owner (sound familiar?) and two of her girls have been kidnapped.

But fear not, Dolomite is on the case!

After some searching, car chases, and incredibly funny sped-up fight scenes, Dolomite does what he does best - seduces the bad guy's "nymphomaniac" wife using a bad disguise and worse velvet paintings. What followed was one of the strangest things I've ever seen on film, and I'm a connoisseur of Neil Breen films.

This scene both makes more and less sense in context.
I have never been drunk or done drugs, but I think I know what it's like now...

As funny as that scene is, the culmination of it, with Dolomite and the "Nympho" having literal house-destroying sex, is even funnier, because "They're in the house on the hill in Pasadena!!!!!" is possibly the worst last lines I've ever heard for someone.

1) Which house on which hill?
2) She literally slithers out of bed screaming this and passes out
3) Somehow, it's even sillier in context!


So while Dolomite is having his bizarre pleasure cruise for information, Queen B and her people are planning to wreck the bad guy's party and have his guts for garters.

Because just like in Dolomite, they're the ones who get things done!
And BY THE WAY! The guy on the left with the black ski cap?
That's Ernie Hudson.
Yes, that Ernie Hudson.

And meanwhile, the kidnapped girls are dealing with some really really awful dudes doing bad things to them in a crazy witch's hovel.

Really bad things.
These are more effective bad guys than the bad guy who hired them.

But, of course, since it's a Dolomite movie, of course the bad guys are killed. There's a subplot involving the sheriff hunting down Dolomite with the grudging help of the local police, but he drops one too many N-bombs and they ditch him. Instead, he tries to take on Dolomite on his own. It goes about as well as you'd expect, but...

Not to spoil you or anything....






Dolomite gets shot in the back and apparently killed.

Yeah.

That was a shock to me, too...

But then he stands up and laughs just as the credits begin to roll?

Is Dolomite a demigod of some kind? I mean, it would fit with his badass Anansi archetype, and I'm pretty sure someone who was better at scholarship than me could write a very good paper on the subject!

Regardless, The Human Tornado is amazing. If you're looking for a good time, absolutely give it a watch!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk 249: 1980s Blue Christmas

In Which I Made an Art!

So, I'm going to be doing some weird art this month. I'll be taking a random color theme and a random decade and making a scene! This week's pairing was "blue" and "1980s"!

"Blue 80s"; pencil and Sharpie on sketch paper, 2019

Dedbert has on his 1980s scarf and his aviator glasses, and there is a plethora of blue tinsel and blue satin baubles :) I'm pretty pleased with the sketchy nature of this picture, and I look forward to more weird sketchy Christmas art :)

I'm having a productive day, artistically speaking. Between writing and crocheting, I've gotten a lot done besides my art! I hope to get even more done before tomorrow!

That'll do it for me today (I know, very short, but I'm very distracted by a story I'm writing :P)

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 249: Christmas In The Squared Circle

In Which I Talk About Wrestling Gimmicks and Christmas

It's that time of year, folks, where the weather gets cooler (if you're in the northern hemisphere...) and thoughts turn to Christmas (if you celebrate it). This is a time of year for family, festivities, and...

Professional Wrestling?

ECW's December to Dismember, WCCW's Star Wars cards, to WWE's Season's Beatings, wrestling has a long and rich history of shows on or near Christmas Day.

But what of wrestlers themselves? Surely there aren't a plethora of Christmas or Winter-related gimmicks?

Well... kind of. Almost every wrestler on earth between the 1980s and today seems to have played Santa Claus at least once, but... few have well and truly made it a "gimmick". And I refuse to discuss Xanta Claus.

So this month, I'd like to talk about a few wrestlers who've had winter and/or Christmas-themed gimmicks or personas!

Today's focus is on Glacier, from WCW (and now AEW!)

Doesn't he look frickin' rad?!

Glacier, aka Raymond M Lloyd, was a martial artist who was hired by WCW to take advantage of the 1990s obsession with Mortal Kombat. Kind of obvious, yeah? I mean... you look at that photo and the similarity to SubZero is unmistakable.

But how was he in the ring?

Glacier was actually pretty alright!

Like a lot of guys with a martial arts background, he occasionally struggled to make his moves and strikes look "real" in the ring. The dude just didn't want to accidentally kill one of his opponents, and I can respect that. Also, it must've been tough to wrestle with a single contact lens in.

What Glacier is possibly best known for, however, is his insane entrance.

Lights, great music, and fake snow falling down gently into the arena all marked the coming of Glacier during his Blood Runs Cold era. WCW, to their credit, were 100% behind this man coming off as a total badass, spending nearly half a million dollars every time they used his full entrance! And on top of that insane number, that super awesome outfit he's wearing?

That cost them $35'000

You read that right.

And yes, you could probably get that from an internet propmaker today for under $1'000, depending on materials.

WCW was a madhouse. That's why people loved it!

So, yeah...

Glacier was pretty awesome, but unfortunately, his was a short-lived career in the land where The Big Boys Play (look at the adjective), and after the Blood Runs Cold gimmick died off, and his cool-looking opponents Mortis (aka Kanyon) and Wrath moved on, Glacier sold off his gimmick (in-character, which is very confusing and sounds stupid) to Kaz Hayashi and Ernest the Cat Miller.

An ignoble end to a really cool gimmick.

Yet... Glacier did not truly die!

Glacier has been seen on the Indie scene, at ROH shows, at AEW and AAA shows... even winning the NWA tag titles (pre-Billy Corgan)! So he's still around...

He just doesn't get a half-million dollar entrance and armor that could pay off my student loan debt...

That'll do it from me this week!
Go Enjoy Something!

Talk About Tuesday 249: Snow Day

In Which Today Is A Snow Day!

So, yesterday's Nor'Easter was... not on time. I'm still glad I wasn't out at 9pm, though, because instead of snow, our lovely storm dumped a buttload of sleet and ice on the roads. I walk everywhere, so basically, if I'd gone out, there wouldn't have been a blog today because the wifi at our local hospital is garbage.

But I stayed home and moved lawn furniture around and crocheted.

In fact, I finished that tree for my mother, stuffed it, and moved on to making another dinosaur!

I'll be finishing dino number 2 today and working on more snowflakes, too :)

It's currently doing that nasty thing outside where it's both snowing and sleeting, so it's very unsafe outside. It's pretty though. I'd take a photo, but all you'd see is my window screen :|

I don't have a lot planned for this coming week, to be honest. It's not that there isn't plenty to write about, I'm just having a hard time coming up with plans today. With the cold temperatures and incredibly warm, soft blankets, it's hard to think of anything. I basically just want to cozy up and sleep forever.

But I won't.

• Tomorrow I'll talk about wrestling, though I'm not 100% on what I'll discuss?
• Thursday there will be art!
• Friday will be me talking about The Human Tornado and/or Disco Godfather...
• Saturday will be some video game, but I'm not sure which one yet
• Sunday will be about some tasty noodz
• Next Monday I'll have more crochet to show you all!
• Next Tuesday I'll have more caffeinated ramblings to share with you :)

I think that'll about do it for me today!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday 249: Dinosaur Finito!

In Which I Have Worked Very Hard!

What a day. It's going to be a real nor-easter apparently (hasn't started yet), and I've been running around all day prepping for it. I took back bottles, I helped my mother move lawn furniture indoors and went shopping with her to get some essentials, like bread (we were out!!!), and I've been so busy that I only just now got to take my shower. Thankfully, all that's over with, but there's one thing I've not had a chance to do.

I haven't crocheted today.

But FC! You may exclaim. Doesn't the title of today's blog indicate that you finished making your dinosaur???

I did!

I actually finished it on Tuesday :P

The head and part of the body!

Most of the body!

Look at his cute lil face!

So close to being done!

And here is his body finished. He looks a bit like a tadpole, no?
Also, that's a normal sized colored pencil for scale. The baby is biiiiiig!

Here he has his first spike. I'm so proud of him!
And there's some stuffing back there, too...

My baby is 100% spiked at this point!

Time for his sweet lil feetsies!

Are you ready for possibly the best reveal shot I have ever had for a project? Are you?!

I needed to find a good spot to take the photo and my bed was a hideous mess, everyone on earth was downstairs and in the way, and my dad's room was off limits. So I looked outside at that beautiful Tuesday sky and put my lil dino on the windowsill!

Looooooook at him! He's so stinkin cute!

I am in love with this dinosaur design, so thank you, Stringydingding, for having this pattern available for free on your website, and I hope to one day buy a bunch of your pdfs so that I can support a fellow hooker. Uh... crochet person. We don't really have a cool sounding nickname like "knitter" or "tailor" or "seamstress"... Hm.

Now, I didn't simply work on a dinosaur, no.

I have made 6 snowflakes already. All in one day, in fact!

I'm also working on this Christmas tree for my mother. It has taken me over 4 hours at this point, but I'm nearly done with it!

And I've been continuing work on a very large project that I'm not sure I'll finish this year...

So, I apologize for the very late blog, and I hope to have tomorrow's up at an appropriate hour lol.

Here's hoping that if you're in this Nor'Easter's path that it doesn't cause you or your property harm, that you have ample heat available, that you have all that you need, and that life in general is not cruel to you.

Be safe, be warm.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Survival Sunday 248: Butter Spaghetti from Japan?

In Which I Make Japanese Spaghetti... For A Third Time.

Now, I've made these kinds of fusion dishes before from Umai Crate, and there's always a hint of trepidation. Sometimes you'll get tasty bolognese, sometimes you'll get weird watery konjac noodles. Thankfully, this week's attempt was some tasty soy and butter spaghetti!

But of course, I couldn't just have the spaghetti, so I decided to use some leftover steak we had in our fridge and do my best to follow the instructions.

I melted about a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and fried up the slices of steak.

A few things to note about cooking with butter:

• Butter can and will snap and pop at you, so if you're like me and a wimp about these things, clear the kitchen of other people first. Then you can't be a jerk to them when you burn yourself.
• Butter can and will get grease stains all over your shirt when you inevitably burn yourself.
• Butter burns fast, so keep an eye on that pan!
• Butter is freaking delicious.

With the meat heating through, I took the ingredients out of their package and took a look at what I was working with.

I was a bit nervous about this spaghetti, since it was so bloated-looking. I was afraid it would be too soft.
It was not!

The package for the Butter and Soy Sauce Spaghetti!

The instructions on the back of the package were in Japanese, but luckily, Umai Crate came through for us and had their own instructions in their pamphlet.

It said to just... dump the noodles in? Actually, it said to dissolve the noodles in the pan.
I figured that meant "detangle" rather than "melt into oblivion"...

And thankfully, they detangled pretty well!

Once my noodles were separated and mingling with the steak in the pan, I added a couple tablespoons of water to help loosen up both the pasta and the oncoming sauce!

Sadly, everything moved way too fast at this point and I got no pics of the sauce going in, but it was thick and rich and smelled really good. It was butter and soy sauce. Of course it smelled good.

It smelled and tasted so good that I literally couldn't get a picture without my burned hand shaking lol.

Now, as a side note, the steak had been stored with some leftover rice, so we reheated that and added some tasty shiso furikake we'd also received from Umai Crate.

Which was also very tasty!

So how did the spaghetti taste?

The Butter and Soy Sauce Spaghetti tasted like heaven. Warm and buttery with that umami soy sauce undertone, it was a gloriously mellow experience. If I'd remembered to add some black pepper, it might have been even better, but utterly unseasoned (aside from the steak), it was still fantastic. The steak paired perfectly with the noodles, so it was overall a very good experience. I'd pay for that in a restaurant.

It was so good that I'm planning to look up a recipe for Soy Sauce and Butter spaghetti to make at home...

How about the furikake and rice?

Well, the rice was your standard grocery store rice that had been cooked several days prior and left to sit in the fridge. Once reheated (and with a bit of steak juice soaked in from the storage), it was pleasant on its own. I should mention that it's my mother's habit to add butter to a pot of rice as it steams and cools on the stovetop, so there was butter in this, too. The salty butter flavor was perfect with the herbal, ume plum-hinted flavor of this furikake, and it was fun to watch the white rice slowly get stained magenta.

If you ever see that particular kind of spaghetti in an Asian Market, absolutely pick it up! And, uh, if you accidentally buy too much, feel free to send one my way ;)

Go Enjoy Something!
FC