Darkest Dungeon and Fargo 2

I have a bit of a mixed bag for you all today.

First off, a game I've blogged about before, Darkest Dungeon, has officially escaped from early access! Congratulations to the good people over at Red Hook Studios. It's been a long road but the whole game is now available. I can't wait to finally sink my teeth in this wonderful game.

A word of caution if you will. There are a few options available that make the game considerably harder, such as persistent corpses in combat and heart attacks, and they can be turned off if you prefer. But they may be turned on by default, so check that before you start your oh so grim-dark journey of madness and monsters.

Secondly, I just finished watching the second season of Fargo. As mentioned elsewhere here, the first season is magnificent, and I can happily report that the second is just as good. In fact, everything I said about the 1^st season goes for the 2^nd as well.

It's set in 1979 and is thus a prequel of sorts to the first season, but it's pretty loose, and you don't have to watch the 2^nd season first.

There are a few of characters that show up as their younger selves (different actors though) and that is the real connection. A couple of times in Season 1 they reference times and places, as in “It's goddamn Sioux Falls all over again”, and you actually find out what happened, and things like that are always cool.

It really is a well made show in every way, both technically as well as artistically. I don't want to say more due to the spoiler risk, so if you haven't already, go watch it!

Well, that's the load out for today, tune in next week when we talk about Edgar Allan Poe and his future vision. Until then, have a great week!

Not always true

Today we will look at commonly held beliefs, or rather common misconceptions. There are lots of factoids out there that have been passed around, that simply aren't true. Here are a few:

1. Your tongue is not separated into different parts for each kind of taste.
2. It's better to wake a sleepwalker than to not. They will be confused, but less likely to hurt themselves. It's not dangerous to wake them.
3. Bulls don't hate the color red. They are colorblind.
4. The Great Wall of China is not visible from space. Neither are the Pyramids of Giza.
5. Bats aren't blind.
6. Birds don't rely much on smell, so it's safe to touch a baby bird that has fallen from the nest.
7. Eating before going swimming does not increase the risk of cramp. Alcohol might though, and being full might make you short of breath.
8. Neither chastity belts or iron maidens existed during the dark ages. They were invented much later, and the iron maiden was invented to sell tickets, not for torture.
9. Sugar doesn't make children hyper-active, just excited for a treat.
10. Vaccines do not cause autism!
11. The bible doesn't mention how many holy men that visited baby Jesus.
12. Undercover police in the U.S. don't have to admit being cops if asked.
13. You don't have to wait 24 hours before filing a missing persons report. In fact, the sooner the better.
14. Salieri and Mozart weren't enemies as the film suggests. They were in fact friends.
15. Napoleon was above average height for his time.

There we go, fifteen commonly held beliefs debunked. If you would like to learn more, go look it up. Wikipedia is that way →.

Until next time, have and informative and interesting week!

Did you know?

Hello and welcome to another installment of Eccentric Spheres! Installment number 177, in fact.

Speaking of facts, here are some interesting ones to help you along in the new year (how, I have no idea):

In 2007, a 75 year old woman named Mona Shaw destroyed a Comcast office with a hammer because she was outraged at their continually poor service. Police arrested her and fined her $345. I assume the local PD was also using Comcast...

The Manchineel tree is so poisonous that you get a violent rash if you stand under it when it rains. Smoke from burning Manchineel trees can cause you to go temporarily blind. Don't even think of eating the fruit, unless you happen to be a garrobo (striped iguana). They are the only ones who seem to really like the Manchineel tree.

When WWI ended with the Treaty of Versailles, Marshal Ferdinand Foch said, “This is not peace, it's a 20 year armistice”. WWII started 20 years and 65 days later.

If you think modern soccer riots are out of control, consider this: in 532 AD 30.000 charioteering fans died when a riot broke out between fans in Byzantium.

Scientists have created a sort of quantum gas that can reach temperatures colder than absolute zero (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, -273.15 degrees Celsius). At this point the gas becomes similar to dark energy.

Walter Summerford was struck by lightning three times when he was alive. After dying, his gravestone was also struck by lightning. Someone doesn't like him...

The Lone Star tick can give you a lifetime allergy to red meat by injecting a sugar found in said meat. Your immune system then creates antibodies against the sugar, which makes you allergic to eating red meat.

Bugs Bunny accidentally created a new insult when he called Elmer Fudd a nimrod. In the Bible, Nimrod is a mighty hunter, and Bugs was just being sarcastic, but no one got the reference, and still today calling someone a nimrod is to call him stupid.

The reason children can wolf down as much sugar as they can lay their sticky little fingers on and adults can't is down to your bones. As an adult your bones have stopped growing. It's as simple as that.

And with that simple fact, I'm signing off for this time. Until we see each other again, have an interesting week!

Coolest camera ever!

I was struggling to come up with a subject for this, the first post in 2016, when my wife found a video I just have to share with you.

The content of the video isn't really all that interesting, it's the video itself that's so cool. It's shot in 360 and you can actually drag the view point around!

Try it, it is so frikkin' cool. Look anywhere you want, when you want. I for one would love to watch a movie shot like this. Talk about re-watchability...

Anyway, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePYYRC8aGnI

And with that, I hope you have a great start on the new year. See you next week!