Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Motown is Joe-Town!

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

Democrats are back in array!

The lights are all blinking red.

The gop couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Let there be snark.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

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174Comments

  9. 9.

    Tau

    Dunno, but I’m wondering if playing one now requires rolling your face over the entire keyboard, or if you can get away with just rolling your face over 1,2,3

  12. 12.

    Max

    Am I a horrible person for not being able to get into “Up”?

    I’m watching it, trying to get over the horror of having to tell my sweet dog to “drop the kitty” and it’s just not keeping my attention.

    For the cat people – the cat ran off just fine and there wasn’t any blood. But, keep your cats off my lawn!

  13. 13.

    MeDrewNotYou

    Deconstruction, folks!

    Our gracious host is a nerd, so ‘pally’ means paladin. Not sure what game we’re talking here, but if its D&D I know a bit.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I’m having an attack of déja vu. This is that WoW thing, isn’t it?

    I’m having an attack of déja vu. This is that WoW thing, isn’t it?

  16. 16.

    panicbean

    @Max:

    We watched Up a couple of times this last week, mostly because invited guests insisted on it, and I thought it was o-kay. They all loved it. Go figure. Squirrel was funny, tho.

  18. 18.

    schrodinger's cat

    Unsatisfied with just the twitter account I think Tunch has finally taken over the blog.

    Edited: He is sending messages in code to his home planet in a galaxy far far away.

  19. 19.

    demkat620

    Okay, pally = paladin. Ret = retroactive?

    What did I win? Oh and whoever recommended In Bruges, thanks.

    Enjoyed it very much.

  20. 20.

    meh

    wow do you have like an hour to get into it lol? way to miss all the nerfs that made ret suck – 0/12/59 is the cookie cutter spec ATM – that should let you pull around 3k-4k dps moderately geared.

    This should help get you back up to speed. I have 2 pallies atm – holy/prot and prot/ret and I never play the ret anymore – too many other DPS classes just outdps them on a regular basis.

    Once Blizz took away the burst damage, then the sustained high lvl dps, its not nearly as much fun of a spec to play. Prot, now there is a good time.

    Edit – if you want to roll something that you can ramp up quickly and just absolutely melt faces, unholy DK is the way to go – granted, DK’s are the new huntards and you will be mercilessly mocked, but they can still top the meters with simple facerolling. If you want a fun class to roll (after you realize ret makes the baby jebus cry) try rolling a rogue – stunlocking squishies and jacking them before they get a spell off is ummmm good.

  21. 21.

    freelancer

    @ajr22:

    Funny, at moments like this, I imagine that playing in Tunch’s head on a continuous loop every time Cole only gives him his allotted daily amount of food.

    Hide your remotes, John.

  25. 25.

    John Cole

    @meh: My toon is already geared for prot and am satisfied with that spec. Figured I would do some grinding tonight since I feel like death and can’t read and would spec ret. to do it.

    Then again, I have not played for almost a year for a reason.

  27. 27.

    meh

    yeah the random dungeon addition was a very nice treat…makes you realize that (if you are on a fail server) there are options for running dungeons that don’t involve hating your groupmates – but then again, a pug is a pug is a pug – but finding a dungeon in under a few mins is a very nice touch.

    Oh and Darren’s right – that’s an old spec – as I mentioned, I don’t really play the ret that much anymore…

    @john – nah, I would probably stick with prot – with the new changes, especially to blessing of sanctuary, sacred shield, etc, you can grind huge numbers of mobs very, very quickly. I have out dps’d quite a few guildies on my prot with them dps’n. But for questing, I would def go prot over ret since you don’t have the burst you used to.

  28. 28.

    freelancer

    @meh:

    I’m a console gamer, and I only minored in L33T, but your fluency stuns me.

    Google Translate cannot help here folks.

    I nominate MEH early for Comment of the Year 2010, to non-WoW ppl, the incoherence is epic and thus infinitely amusing.

  29. 29.

    ellaesther

    So glad to see that I was not the only one for whom that sentence was a very confusing place to rest one’s eyes.

    Oh my God I’m so cold. It’s only January 3 and oh my God I’m so cold and can’t winter be done? Please?

  30. 30.

    geg6

    meh and John Cole: You guys are just immunizing yourselves for the food porn this thread is gonna turn into at 8pm ET, aren’t you?

  31. 31.

    Kobie

    Oh. It’s WoW. :/

    I just got back into City of Heroes, which is a dopey yet brainlessly fun game.

  34. 34.

    geg6

    ellaesther @29: Where do you live, if I may ask? Is it as ass chillingly cold there as it is in the ‘Burgh? The high today was about 10F with wind chills below 0. I’m loving my Snuggie, no matter how old it makes me seem. I even spread it over my comforter last night for an added layer of warmth. Snuggies are teh awesome.

  36. 36.

    Darryl

    January 3rd, 2010 at 6:18 pm Reply to this comment
    demkat620
    @meh: Would it be rude to say I don’t speak Geek?

    I do speak geek, but that doesn’t help, because the original post was written in Dork.

  38. 38.

    Betsy

    @ellaesther:
    Yeah, winter is surely making its presence felt here in Bahston. I am happy that I’m going to a conference in San Diego next week. San Diego weather should make up for having to be at the conference.

  39. 39.

    ellaesther

    @demkat620: It doesn’t help any that I live in a 100 year old house with the cheap-ass windows that the DPOs (“Damn Previous Owners”) put in. I literally have blankets over some of them.

    I’m reading the Little House books to my daughter and we recently read “The Hard Winter” and I was thinking about that this morning, how they literally spent months Not Dying. Just doing whatever the fuck they could to not die of the cold. There was no warmth, no comfort, no food hardly, no nothing. There was just: Freeze to death, or not. I have a feeling that it was even less pleasant than the book makes it sound…!

  41. 41.

    ellaesther

    @geg6: I’m in the western burbs of Chicago. Do I remember that you’re in the city? I can never remember who’s where! (Well, I can remember asiangrrlMN because it’s right there in her name, but other than that…).

    @Betsy: We’re actually taking the kids to Disney World in four weeks and I am very, very excited, because a) it will be warm and b) we had so much fun the last time, four years ago — but I actually remember that, four years ago, having had a week of warmth in the middle of my Midwestern winter actually made it harder for me! It was like my body just went: “Waaaaiiiitttt! It can clearly be so much better! Go baaaaaaaaaack!”

  43. 43.

    Jim

    Am I a horrible person for not being able to get into “Up”?

    I watched it on a transatlantic flight. Sweet, but meh.

  44. 44.

    geg6

    ellaeasther: Not right smack dab in the city. I live in Beaver County (no female part jokes, folks, I’ve heard them all) which is 30 miles or about a half hour with no traffic from the city. Northwest of the ‘Burgh and abutting eastern Ohio near Youngstown. In fact, almost exactly midway between Pittsburgh and Youngstown. The southwestern part of Beaver County abuts John Cole’s lovely state. It is fucking cold than shit here and seems likely to stay that way all week.

  45. 45.

    ellaesther

    @Max: I found it… uninspiring. I felt that they tried to find the sweet spot between realistic and surrealistic, and rather than find the sweet spot, they kind of just missed the boat at both ends (if that mixed metaphor makes any kind of sense).

    I did find it kind of cool that the main character was a little Asian-American boy and his race goes entirely unmentioned. ‘Cause he’s just a kid.

    And my kids loved it!

    But Princess and the Frog (which we saw on Christmas) was better. And Chicken Run (which we saw again last night) was WAAAAAAY better.

  47. 47.

    Fern

    @demkat620:

    By wearing many, many layers of clothes. And moving quickly.

    Friday morning was -34 C and the windchill was -46 C. I survived by not leaving the apartment.

    The good news is that one does, at least partially, acclimatize. When it gets to -10, we’ll probably be running around with our coats unbuttoned.

  48. 48.

    RedKitten

    I couldn’t really get into WoW, once I figured out that I’d have to partner up with people to complete various quests. Shit like that bothers me — I play video games to AVOID other people, not to group up with them. If I can’t do well on my own, I don’t want to play.

  50. 50.

    Max

    @ellaesther: I totally want to see Princess and the Frog. Not enough to go to the theatre, but its on my list when it comes out on PPV.

    Up! just didn’t do it for me. I’m more a Shrek girl. Maybe I’m dead inside.

  52. 52.

    Fern

    @ellaesther:

    The year I was in Vancouver in February and there were things blooming – blooming! – well I can tell you that I have never been a grumpier person when I came back home to another two months of snow.

  54. 54.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    There was just: Freeze to death, or not.

    And hope no one goes apeshit and starts doing unpleasant things with the wood chopper to relieve the tedium. If memory serves, Laura briefly succumbs to cabin fever and freaks.

    (Yeah I read ’em. So?)

    But yeah, it’s vicious cold here too and not being able to go outside on the last three day weekend for months without donning the Arctic expedition gear kinda sucks a good deal.

  55. 55.

    geg6

    Personally, I liked Up. And I am usually NOT A FAN of animation of any sort. Especially Disney. But I have to say, if forced to choose, my favorite animated film was probably Ratatouie (sp?). For the food porn, of course.

  56. 56.

    RedKitten

    @Fern:

    The good news is that one does, at least partially, acclimatize. When it gets to -10, we’ll probably be running around with our coats unbuttoned.

    I always get a kick out of that. In fall, if it’s single-digits out, everybody’s bundled the hell up. By March, as soon as it hits above zero, you see people outside in shorts.

  57. 57.

    Chuck Butcher

    @ellaesther:
    Pah, my house is 1878 in NE OR at 3500′ elv at the foot of 10K mtns – but then, I’ve had at it.

    Temps are bobbing above and below freezing the last two days turning the 2′ of snow into – well you can guess.

  59. 59.

    Nicole

    UP had me weeping in the first 15 minutes, but then I’m a sucker for people dying in the movies. I also wept through the end of AI, and I HATED that movie. And when Demi Moore died in The Seventh Seal even though I was well aware that movie was a piece of crap. Hell, I got a little misty-eyed when the Kraken bought in in Clash of the Titans. Which is a movie that did not need a remake, by the way.

  60. 60.

    BethanyAnne

    @freelancer: and the sad part for me is that I read that clearly, and didn’t realize it was incomprehensible outside WoW until your comment.

  61. 61.

    demkat620

    @ellaesther: Yes. I will be going to FL on business next month and I know I won’t want to come back.

    Don’t miss Soarin’ and ask for the highest row. That way you won’t see peoples feet. We had the best time there last summer and I am still not sure if it was because we chose a great place to stay or just that we have done WDW enough that we know what to do and what to avoid and just took it easy but it was a great vacation.

    The Laugh Floor is fun too.

  63. 63.

    ellaesther

    @kommrade reproductive vigor: And why wouldn’t you read them? My goodness, they are so well written! And such a huge part of our culture. When my English friend who works in publishing got her green card, I sent her: A copy of the Constitution, a can of apple pie filling, and the set of Little House books.

    And yes! What happens with Laura, actually, is starvation, I think. She gets very fuzzy headed and can’t think straight, and there are a couple of days when they kind of snap at each other.

    The lady with a sharp implement (a long knife) in the middle of a harsh winter night is actually a book or two later — she’s the wife in the family with whom poor Laura is boarding when she teaches her first school. (Being in the 21st century, I read about this woman and all I could think was “she’s not evil! She needs help!”)

  64. 64.

    Jim Once

    @Fern:

    It’s been minus 34 degrees FAHRENHEIT here. Relief tonight, though – minus 16 degrees. Woohoo. And yes, so fracking bored. Heading downstairs to see what I’ve put on Roku.

  65. 65.

    BethanyAnne

    Hey John, if you haven’t done the death knight starter quests yet, do them. It’s a really fun couple of hours diversion. Blizz really oudid themselves on it.

  66. 66.

    demkat620

    @Fern: See, that shit just ain’t right.

    Anything below 50 degrees is too cold for me. I need to migrate. South.

  68. 68.

    Seanly

    @John Cole:

    I got back into WoW for about a year, stopped playing for a couple of months and uninstalled. Not missing it – I was never in a strong guild my second time and never did lots of endgame raiding like my brother did. Went Fury with my warrior, but still never had good gear for the endgame.

    Thinking about Star Trek Online though…

    Well, Denver did Pittsburgh a favor, but Baltimore is refusing to play dead. Too bad as I’ve gotten my wife into being a Steelers fan. Now she’ll just question why I’m watching the playoffs.

    At least my two Div-I college (Arkansas – used to live in LR and Clemson – got 1st masters there) won their bowl games.

  70. 70.

    Hugh

    I play a dual spec druid, feral and resto. I also go months without playing. What drives me crazy is the players who go nuts when you make a mistake, becoming seriously angry. Have you guys seen this clip? The real WoW players have. Here’s a group of people who are perhaps too deep into this game and they’re working with a guy who’s a doober. I kind of side with the doober.

  71. 71.

    ellaesther

    @demkat620: We started looking at the 3-D Google Earth map of the parks with the kids yesterday and all got so psyched! I was really surprised by how much fun I had the last time — I expected to enjoy it through the shorties, and had no idea I would have a blast too.

    Highest row for Soarin’, and the Laugh Floor – check!

  73. 73.

    panicbean

    @Notorious P.A.T.:

    Made perfect sense to me. :)

    See here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teh

    Orginally started off as a typo for “the”, but recently has changed a bit in meaning. “Teh” still means “the”, however, it is mostly used in the same manner that spanish speaking people use the word “El”.
    “I got two cookies with teh whipped cream!” makes sense, but “I got two cookies with the whipped cream!” doesn’t. Get what I mean?

  74. 74.

    Gaffa

    At least you’re going to ret to try to DPS, John.

    Last night I used the new, friendly, family-loving Evil Eye of AutoPUGging to find me a group, and ended up in a heroic HoR run. We supposedly had a pally healer.

    After the third wipe on the first boss, we realized he was actually a ret paladin in DPS gear and not a single point in Holy, who had signed up as a healer just so he could get more quickly into PUGs to get moar badges quickly, plz. Apparently he thought spamming an untalented Holy Light would keep a group up in the toughest dungeon in the game.

    We kindly booted him out our door and found a resto shammie, and all was good in the world.

  75. 75.

    ellaesther

    @demkat620: That’s actually what we’re doing! They’re in first and fifth grade, and with Middle School bearing down upon us rapidly, we know this is likely the last year we’ll get away with it. It’s a week in which they have two half-days, so they’re not missing a WHOLE week, technically, but… yeah. We’re privileging Disney over their educations.

  76. 76.

    Bostondreams

    @Seanly:

    Never could get too into WoW. Still playing City of Heroes and looking forward to the ‘Going Rogue’ expansion (no Palin jokes, please!).

    Right now, I am into a really cool but rough little indie MMO called Fallen Earth.

  78. 78.

    Annie

    @ellaesther:

    I am freezing here in DC, suffering from an awful flu. Can you write me a note and get me out of school to go with you to Disney World? I certainly can use a week in the sun, and the way I feel, I definately privilege my warmth over any of my students’ education…..

  79. 79.

    Sentient Puddle

    I tried getting back into WoW a few months ago, starting from scratch. I appreciated how they made a lot of the early Azeroth stuff soloable, but then I got to 79, and started to realize that my solo days were pretty much numbered, and I had run into exactly zero people with whom I had the slightest desire to ever group with again. That depressed me to the point where I haven’t logged in since.

    I could probably be persuaded to play again with a group of people who did not entirely suck. I mean, I’d like that 79 levels to not go to total waste…

  81. 81.

    Gaffa

    @Sentient Puddle: Well, it is a MMORPG. Which means, y’know, a big point of it is wandering around killing stuff with other people. Because, really, compared to any first-person style game, WOW does come up short.

    Give the new, improved Looking for Group tool a try! Ask politely in Dalaran on your server if there’s any guilds recruiting–if you don’t feel like raiding, then ask for casual, or social guilds. If you see someone working on a tough quest out in the wilds, give them a hand, you might make a friend.

    It can take a while to meet a group that fits you, so don’t feel guilty about swapping around guilds until you find one your style. But kinda like dating in real life, if you don’t go out to meet people, the odds that cool people are going to wander over and talk to you all by your lonesome are pretty slim.

  83. 83.

    Max

    testing testing testing….

    warming up the keyboard in preparation of the Iron Chef Obama-Style.

    6 minutes Doug E Fresh You’re On.

  84. 84.

    zoe kentucky in pittsburgh

    To everyone who is suffering through the cold– if you don’t have an electric blanket go order one online right now. Imagine your entire bed being toasty warm, no more cold spots and warm spots. The only problem with them is you *really* don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. But it’s worth being able to sleep well.

    We even have an electric throw blanket in the living room. It really is the only way to be truly toasty when it gets so damn cold that my dogs don’t even want to go outside.

  85. 85.

    zoe kentucky in pittsburgh

    @max

    Oooh! I nearly forgot about Iron Chef Obama! Thanks for the reminder!

  87. 87.

    Rick Taylor

    For anyone who’s wondering what WoW is, that link to the South Park episode explains it as well anything could I think.

  88. 88.

    ellaesther

    @Annie:

    Dear Annie’s school,

    Annie needs to get warm. She will be playing at Disney World for a few days, with my permission. It is in the best interests of her students that she do so.

    Signed,
    ellaesther

  89. 89.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    @panicbean:

    Wrong.

    I find it interesting that I’ve asked 10 people why they do that shit and got 10 different answers. Maybe it’s just a stupid linguistic tic that people mindlessly copy from other people then retroactively try to justify?

  90. 90.

    matoko_chan

    Dude, pallies are snore city.
    Roll a dk…or go hardcore pro and roll a lock.
    Levelling is soooo much easier now.
    Pugging has become like battlegrounds–lookin-for-group is multirealm now….so you are aren’t limited to the scrubs and retards on your own server.

    And……make a Balloon-Juice guild….we will all realm-transfer toons to join and play with you.
    <3

  91. 91.

    Sentient Puddle

    @Gaffa: Whoa, you’re making it sound like I’m expecting it to be a single player game, which is most assuredly not the case. It wasn’t my first MMO, and it’s not my last. I’m well aware of how these things work.

    My point was that the community was pure, unadulterated shit. Walking into any major city, I was flooded with pure bile from the trade channel, which I had no desire to bother trying to filter through. The people I did have to interact with in grouping, trading, or whatever weren’t much better, and I was glad to never have to deal with them again. About the only thing that I didn’t try was finding some sort of global chat channel that was sort of a hideaway from all this crap (my server on LOTRO, which I’m currently playing, has one, which does a lot for the sanity).

    All in all, WoW has the singularly worst community of any MMO I have ever played. At this point, I’m of the opinion that the only plausible way to get into a good guild in WoW is to go in with people you already know aren’t total idiots.

  93. 93.

    Brachiator

    @Nicole:

    And when Demi Moore died in The Seventh Seal even though I was well aware that movie was a piece of crap.

    Demi Moore was in The Seventh Seal? Wow, I never knew that she had worked with Ingmar Bergman?

    Hell, I got a little misty-eyed when the Kraken bought in in Clash of the Titans. Which is a movie that did not need a remake, by the way.

    Hell, I’m not sure that Clash of the Titans needed to be made the first time. But yeah, the trailer for the remake looks absolutely craptastic.

    And, Demi Moore. The Seventh Sign. Great scene when she shaves her head and plays chess with Death.

  97. 97.

    zoe kentucky in pittsburgh

    OT, but you know it’s officially winter when every animal you have in the house are all vying for your lap. Not for the affection but for the warmth.

    Hell, even the dogs and cats are snuggling together. Maybe I should turn up the heat a little bit.

  98. 98.

    matoko_chan

    also, too….

    One Game to rule them all, One Game to find them,
    One Game to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

    Given the WEC meltdown over this…..how do you think Klem and the Kloset Klannsmen will react to seeing an erudite, intellectual, and gracious BLACK man debate a two-digit WHITE dimbo with big hair and mall bangs in the presidential debates in 2016?

  99. 99.

    meh

    @ matoko_chan

    And……make a Balloon-Juice guild….we will all realm-transfer toons to join and play with you.
    <3

    I would send over one of the pallies and another 80 fo sho…

  102. 102.

    adhocheretic

    @Tim: @matoko_chan:

    I just came back to WoW this week for cheap entertainment/relaxation after a 2 year break.

    I’d definitely be up for rerolling/transferring to play with folks who appreciate Balloon Juice. Can’t expect to find people through PUGs who meet that criteria.

    What servers do you play on?

  104. 104.

    Sentient Puddle

    @matoko_chan: I’m game. I know people here aren’t idiots (just as long as we keep BoB out). Hash out the details here…I don’t care about server or side. Well, preferably horde, though I suppose I could pay for a faction change if I really wanted to.

  105. 105.

    Sentient Puddle

    Oh yeah, and for what it’s worth, I’d also prefer NOT a PvP server. Random ganking isn’t my thing.

  106. 106.

    matoko_chan

    Well….seems like we shud invade Coles server to spare him expense.
    I can only make healers it seems.
    We will need a tank.
    ;)

  108. 108.

    Anne Laurie

    @Max:

    Am I a horrible person for not being able to get into “Up”?

    Possibly the most overrated film of the year. Hipsters trying to retcon retroactively construct a mashup of fifty-year-old Disney shows and eighty-year-old Looney Tunes as remembered from their television-addicted childhoods, with the end product carefully gelded of all “tragedy” and “conflict” to suit the all-edges-must-be-padded sensibilities of the newest generation of helicopter parents.

    The only belly laugh I had was Dug’s gleeful explanation: “It is a joke, because the squirrel gets dead!” And I was the only one in the damned theatre who laughed at that line.

  109. 109.

    BethanyAnne

    @Sentient Puddle: Hey there. I’ve played on several WoW servers, and there is real variance. I’d say, if you were interested at all in trying again, to give Proudmoore or Dalaran a try. I’ve found both of them to be really friendly. PvP servers seem to uniformly have a ton more attitude. You’re prolly not up to give it another go, but if you are, that’s my 2 copper :-)

  110. 110.

    Anne Laurie

    @Betsy:

    Yeah, winter is surely making its presence felt here in Bahston.

    Not by Midwestern standards, m’dear. I was comfortable outside this afternoon wearing just a sweater, warm gloves & hat. Of course, I was shovelling what seemed like rather more than the official eleven inches of snow at the time, but trying a similar stunt in the Midwest would’ve put me in the hospital with hypothermia (and a possible psychiatric hold). I spent 16 years in lower Michigan before moving to the Boston area, and believe me, it’s nicer here in winter 97% of the time!

  111. 111.

    Nicole

    @Brachiator: Here’s the really embarrassing part about that particular gaffe of mine- I had just looked it up on imdb to make sure I was remembering the title right (as I haven’t seen it since it was in the theater), and thought, “Heh, wouldn’t it be hilarious if someone confused it with The Seventh Seal? I’d never do that.”

    Oh, pride. Thou goest before a fall. Bergman, wherever you are, I totally apologize.

    On the other hand, believe me, if you were 8 when Clash of the Titans came out, it totally needed to be made. I still remember an article from the time, saying that two gratuitous nude scenes were put into the movie to insure it would get… wait for it… a PG rating.

  113. 113.

    burnspbesq

    Not a bad day. Both Duke teams (men’s and women’s) won by 20-plus, and the Jets are humiliating the Bungles.

  117. 117.

    WolvesValley

    @ellaesther:
    Nobody really freaks out in The Long Winter, except that Pa once shakes his fist and yells at the wind blasting out of the northwest during a blizzard. And the family immediately rallies to comfort him (and each other).

    You’re right that it’s Mrs. Brewster in These Happy Golden Years who goes off the deep end. Laura doesn’t think she’s evil — she’s just afraid of her, with some reason.

    There was no help for poor Mrs. Brewster at that time and in that place. Ole Edvart Rolvaag’s Giants in the Earth, also set in the Dakota plains at about the same time, depicts in much more detail the destabilizing effect of the loneliness and the immensity of the landscape on a sensitive woman’s mind.

    (Coming out in the open after two or three years of regular lurking. And sympathizing with you about the Chicago cold; I was in grad school there and had to walk from 51st & Harper to 59th & Ellis to get to class. January wasn’t fun.)

  118. 118.

    Sentient Puddle

    Well, if we’re going to invade John’s server, I quote the FAQ:

    Used to play Mug’thol, Eitirgg, and Sargeras. I don’t anymore. I just have too much stuff going on and a dog and a cat.

    So, three to narrow it down from! Except of those three, only Eitirgg is non-PvP.

  119. 119.

    daryljfontaine

    @Nicole: It’s that inner 8-year old in me that thinks the remake actually looks kind of neat. I don’t expect a lot from it other than warmed-over nostalgia.

    But then, the Narnia movie took me straight back to the days in my childhood when they used to air the animated The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in primetime, usually paired with Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

    D

  120. 120.

    Reverend Lowdown

    a balloon juice guild? Not my favorite game but I’d come over from EQ2 to get some of that. Great idea.

  123. 123.

    Reverend Lowdown

    City of Heroes/City of Villains is a fun game too. Best villain name that I came across was a fella called “Patriot Act Enforcer”.

  124. 124.

    Perry Como

    My favorite WoW moment was getting 2k+ in 2v2 arena with a Demo Lock and Ret Pally (way pre-buff on Ret). I was the tank (lock), the pally stun locked the shit out of everyone. Lulz were had.

  125. 125.

    ruemara

    @Hugh:

    leeeeeerrroyyjenkins! Utter cool vid, but that was a set up joke but experienced gamers. it is also a fun achievement to do if you’re rather bored and 80.

    Eitrigg? I’m on Eitrigg-BE priest. rather boring since I’m below 30 and leveling this as an alt.

  126. 126.

    Gravenstone

    I’d toss in another vote for a B-J centric guild somewhere PvE. I swore never to do PvP again after the pain that was Rallos Zek in EQ. Non-consensual ganking decidedly does not fit my mood or mindset.

  127. 127.

    machine

    While leveling to 80 was a cast iron bitch, I now love playing my dual spec shadow/holy priest. It’s fun to run around buffing & healing random lowbies that are getting creamed.

  128. 128.

    over_educated

    Is John horde or Alliance? You can switch factions now? Do you get a new race or can there be alliance undead and such?

  129. 129.

    Gravenstone

    @over_educated: You swap to the “opposite” race, within class limitations. I moved my Horde shaman over so he is stuck as a Dranei. At least until Cataclysm launches, when I guess Dwarves will be able to be Alliance shaman as well.

  130. 130.

    matoko_chan

    well….obviouso the guild shud be invitation only, and sadly, prolly can’t be named balloon juice because of stealth trolls….howevah….it is my experience that “conservatives” don’t get WoW for the most part.
    I’m not sure why that is…..because WoW is cooltown and conservatives are the anti-cool? or…..because they can’t admit playin’ cuz they are old white and serious?
    Or maybe all the mythos and legend is satanic, pagan, and anti-xian.
    WoW is a popculture mashup, and we all know conservatives hate popculture.
    or mebbe…..WoW is an egalitarian skillarchy….so they can’t claim their traditional white xian supremacy.

    who can say?
    ;)

  131. 131.

    matoko_chan

    oh…..the light just came on….
    Blizzard bans racists and child molestors……that is what…..95% of conservatives?

    Life isn’t fair….but Blizzard tries to be.
    :)

  132. 132.

    Remember November

    you could try http://www.elitestjerks.com

    best site for specs. a bit nerdcore on the math but their theorycraft is sound.

    and for all the wow haters out there…there are 11 million of us. we are many, we are legion.

    ( but about 10% of those are virtual currency farmers…)

  134. 134.

    Remember November

    There is a Horde guild I’m in on Garrosh that is derived from “The Great Orange Satan” called Wreck List fyi.

  136. 136.

    Rhonda

    After years of playing single-player RPGs on consoles I recently decided to give WoW a try. After the Cataclysm announcement I decided I wanted a chance to experience all of the old world content before the changes. I’ve been playing Dragon Age: Origins on the Xbox 360 and (even as a single-player RPG) enjoyed the group aspect of it and the healing role in particular. So I’ve ended up rolling a Troll Priest in WoW and have really been enjoying it, partly, I think, because I found this great build/guide to level a Priest on Wowhead.com.

    I would really be interested in a BJ guild and would absolutely be willing to switch servers to get involved. Thus far I’ve been mostly self-sufficient in leveling my Priest, although I have grouped with one or two people kind of randomly on various quests. Most of them were actually quite nice (of course, I’ve also run into the occasional idiot–the first person I had any interaction with was a Tauren Druid who asked if he could hump me). But I think in large part I’m missing out on the social aspects of the game, which is really the reason to play WoW.

    I’d also be interested in some general advice on finding an easy-going, social guild that is free of the racist, homophobic, sexist bullshit that seems to be all too common with any endeavor involving large groups of random people. Unfortunately I just don’t have any real-life friends who are playing WoW right now so that avenue is not open to me.

  137. 137.

    Gravenstone

    @matoko_chan: I would beg to differ. I was running my Hordeling in the weeks leading up to the 2008 election. I occasionally made the mistake of listening in to General chat (yes, even Barrens chat). Reporting idiots for racist or misogynistic comments was basically an hourly experience for me during that time. I’m sure the Alliance side fared better.

  138. 138.

    matoko_chan

    @Rhonda:
    my guild got a player banned for repeatedly sayin nigger in trade and trolling our guild vent, and you can report anyone making offensive sexual remarks to a Game master.
    Blizz maintains a perv watchlist and any incident that is reported is legally required to be investigated by EULA and terms of use.
    Blizz is very sensitized to pedophiles trolling for child victims.
    Sure, most offenders are kids, and Blizz will let them off with a warning when their fb or myspace reveals they are not 50 yr old men.
    But if it is reported Blizz is legally bound to investigate.

  140. 140.

    Macha Maguire

    I’m sure the Alliance side didn’t fare better at all – unless the US servers are entirely differently wired to the European ones. The role play servers (PvE only, not PvP) were the ones with least lolists, but even then, half the huntards were under 12 years old and the other half were chinese gold farmers (who might have been any age – they never interact, so you don’t know)

    I had a Forsaken Priest in an all-gay guild which was so very cool when up against kids who think ‘gay’ is the worst insult they can imagine. I gave up when I read that WoW was the crack cocaine of gaming… That was… 6 months 3 weeks and 1 day ago and I still ache to switch it on.

    My name is Kyst and I am a recovering WoW addict

  141. 141.

    machine

    Count me in for the Balloon Juice guild. Could we name it “The Rolling Restarts”? It seems appropriate for the level of sophistication in game support infrastructure.

  142. 142.

    Macha Maguire

    Thing about guild names is that when you’re in a battle ground (which, let’s face it, is where all the adrenalin is) you want the shortest possible name so you can’t be seen by the bad guys when you’re hiding in a bush in Arathi Basin.

    or at least, it feels better like that.

    tho’ I guess this only applies to those of us who hide and may no longer be relevant these days…

  144. 144.

    Nicole

    @daryljfontaine: Oh, I complain about it, but I have no doubt I’ll go see it. Because I am weak.

    Oh, Riki Tiki Tavi! You made my day with that reference. I remember it, too. And the Narnia animated special and Watership Down (music by Art Garfunkel). Back when kids’ animation specials could get quite dark at points. I loved them for that.

  145. 145.

    DaddyJ

    @WolvesValley:

    There was no help for poor Mrs. Brewster at that time and in that place. Ole Edvart Rolvaag’s Giants in the Earth, also set in the Dakota plains at about the same time, depicts in much more detail the destabilizing effect of the loneliness and the immensity of the landscape on a sensitive woman’s mind.

    There’s a non-fiction book published in the 70’s called Wisconsin Death Trip that documents with found newspaper clippings and small-town photographer’s plates the dark side of rural Midwestern life in the late 19th c.–infants in coffins and people hanging themselves in their barns. Something to keep in mind when bloviators wax nostalgic about the good old days.

  146. 146.

    Sentient Puddle

    OK, just to try and get some sort of a ball rolling here, hows about we start up a BJ guild on Eitirgg, say, tonight? This just to get some sort of a structure going. We can move around elsewhere, change sides, or otherwise rejigger as we want. But for now, I think setting something up is a good idea, even if it’s just newbie alts.

    Speaking of which, anyone remember off the top of their head how many signatures a guild charter takes? The number ten sticks out in my mind, but I might also be imagining shit.

  148. 148.

    Remember November

    @ruemara:

    I leveled a vanilla ed. warlock- took me a month to 60 playing nights/weekends. Pre heirloom/gimme/lollipop bonuses. And I was thankful…

  149. 149.

    adhocheretic

    @Sentient Puddle:

    I’m up for it. I’ll have a hordie newbie named Fizbee on Eitirgg for 7 PM.

    Does that work?

    I can’t remember how many people it takes to sign a charter.

  150. 150.

    meh

    bah lvling is teh suk. Let me know the guild name and I’ll bring my backup pally tank over…I hardly ever play her anymore – be a nice excuse to dust her off a bit…

  151. 151.

    jh

    What’s the population on the Eitirgg server?

    I only ask because if the BJ guild ever wants to get into any endgame content, it pays to be on a server with a decent player base, just in case you have pug a few spots.

    I just transferred from Area 52 to Elune about 6 weeks ago and it’s amazing how much easier it is to find well geared, no nonsense, non-reatarded players willing to pug endgame stuff on a good, high population server.

    Just my .02

  153. 153.

    Sentient Puddle

    @adhocheretic: Sounds good. No idea what my name will be…I always make something up right as I’m making the character, but I’ll find you.

    @jh: No idea, and at this point, I’m not too concerned about it. I just want to move from people saying “hey, we should make a BJ guild” on an open thread to getting some sort of structure in place. Once that’s done, then we can start worrying about more specific stuff.

    EDIT: And this isn’t to say give me Eitirgg or give me death. I’m fine with a different server. But I also don’t want to spend all kinds of time thinking about it before even starting.

  154. 154.

    jh

    @sentient puddle

    No worries and I agree that the best way to get something done is to get started.

    Also, I’m curious as to what John Cole and tunch think.

  155. 155.

    adhocheretic

    @jh:

    (the Tunch reference got me thinking about pets)

    If I make a hunter, you can count on my pet being DoughyPantload the turtle.

  156. 156.

    adhocheretic

    @Sentient Puddle:

    I was just voluntold to work until 10 PM tonight.

    I won’t be able to make it though I’ll probably be on to relax a bit after I get home around 11 PM.

  158. 158.

    adhocheretic

    @meh: My highest level character is 25 – No point transferring.

    Looks like I’ll be starting anew.

  159. 159.

    Rhonda

    Thanks to Sentient Puddle for getting things moving. WoWWiki says we need 9 signatures to start a guild, so that should be pretty easy. Here is a link to warcraftrealms.com data on Eitrigg (the gist of it is that there are too few Horde characters running their mod to give reliable data). Here is a link to the U.S. realm stats, which includes A/H ratios for characters level 10 and up that have logged on in the past 30 days. I’m too new to this to know the significance of any of this (if any), so I will leave it to those of you who have been playing longer and know much more than I do about such things.

    I’m currently playing on Thrall and while the A/H ratio is very good for Horde, the server crashes way to frequently for me to recommend it. I’m happy to transfer my (currently) level 31 Troll Priest to any server we settle on, but I do want to hold off until we’re (relatively) sure about a server to avoid paying for another transfer fee if possible (I don’t really want to start leveling an alt until I get at least one toon to 80). But this is a great idea! The thought of a BJ guild makes me positively giddy!

  161. 161.

    meh

    well I will throw my .02 cents in on the server question – re-rolling/transferring to a server (especially a high pop one) is tricky for a number of reasons. If you are looking for endgame content, you tend to have better luck pulling quality players to fill, but at the same time, you have a harder time finding good, non dickhead players. High pop/World First servers tend to pull the hardest of hardcore raiders to them. As it sounds to me, we have a group of anywhere from 5-15 likeminded people that wouldn’t mind getting together and killing baddies with fellow DFH. That said, since most people sound like they are going to be rerolling, you might want to consider a new server for a couple of reasons.

    1) it tends to have newer people so if you are roaming barrens looking for that ghost tiger and are getting jumped by the evil ostriches, you might be able to find someone at a similar experience level (i.e. friendly but not jaded and embittered from being on progression based servers) thus making gameplay a bit more fun.

    2) for those people that are looking to maybe bring an 80 (or 2), new servers offer free transfers – so if people bring 80’s, things sort of peter out, its only the cost of a one-way ticket. Now I’m speaking for myself there…

    3) new servers also tend to have a few server firsts still out there, so if people lvl up quickly and want to raid, you might still be able to pull an Undying Title or something because you might hit on a server where people have lvled up and skipped right into Ulduar or ToC10/25. While titles and achievements don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, for people working up their 1st 80, getting that first title is a bit of thrill.

    I have 5 80’s of various classes (tank, heals, ranged/melee dps, pvp/arena omgwutwasthat speced dps) and would be happy to bring one (or maybe two) over to the new home to help people with questing, etc.

  162. 162.

    Sentient Puddle

    @meh: I was thinking rerolls for now. I just want to start gathering people in-game and not have to worry about trying to coordinate over the open thread. Then if we decide to move, we won’t have invested too much into whatever characters we rolled and also begin to consider character transfers.

    Of course, if John were to post a new open WoW thread…!

  163. 163.

    jh

    I have a lowbie Horde Hunter that I’d be willing to bring over.

    My other toon, a fully epic’ed out lvl 80 ally mage can come later if things go well.

  164. 164.

    WolvesValley

    @DaddyJ:
    Thanks, I will have to look for Wisconsin Death Trip. But is the “infants in coffins” reference intended to mean that infant mortality was even worse in the rural Midwest in the late 19th century than it was elsewhere? My impression was that it was pretty bad in most places and at all levels of society — even the rich were lucky to raise all their children, and a large proportion of child deaths were before the age of five.

  165. 165.

    Spork

    I’d start a new toon, that way we could all start together. My 80 ally priest is happy where he is, my 80 DK I can’t remember how to play. New toon is free :)

  167. 167.

    matoko_chan

    hmm…a wow thread wud be coolio….praps we can drag some wowcrackheads over from TNC’s place.

    I’m big time battlegrounds pvper….the new ranked bgs and ranked 10man hard teams for bgs with arena points are going to be my meat.
    Wintergrasp and the ICC gunship battle and Flame Leviathan and the Isle are my favorites.
    I’m pretty flexible about jumping realms, but I have never played Horde.
    A pve server with a 1:1 alli/horde ratio is my idea of big fun.
    Older servers have better economies i think, for the farmers among us.

    For the Alliance!
    and….may elune light your path.

  170. 170.

    meh

    my 3 guesses why there hasn’t been a new thread…

    1) Mr. Cole found out that if you have 6 months of rested xp, boosted xp on quests, and the new LFG, its easy to eat up 48 hours of straight grinding…

    or

    2) Mr. Cole is regretting that he ever mentioned WoW in a thread and is hoping that we will eventually turn on each other in a shouting ally vs horde death match of dork posters…

    or

    3) He is out with his dog hunting down some food for that Boeing 777 of a cat of his before the thing devours WV…

  171. 171.

    Sentient Puddle

    Oh I’m sure it’s not 1. He’s posted a few things since this thread, so he’s at least taken some sort of a break. My guess is that he isn’t paying attention to what’s happening on this thread.

    Or 2. That’s pretty plausible as well.

  173. 173.

    Sentient Puddle

    I just logged on to Eitirgg as an orc named Mazog. Serious originality failure going on with that name, but it wasn’t taken.

    I’ll be playing for a while, getting myself up to snuff and trying to scour some cash for a charter. Feel free to send a tell.

  174. 174.

    Macha Maguire

    Yep, ‘2 also’ would be fine

    I am so, so glad I’m in Europe. Else my ‘no more WoW’ pledge would be broken. Hence also probably my marriage… :)

    enjoy yourselves!

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