I know you’re probably expecting a big April fools joke this Monday. But I just can’t joke around on a somber day such as this.

RIP Kid Rock.

Regardless of what you think of him personally, his music was always real.

Let’s all try and have a good time though, it’s what Mr. Rock would have wanted.

YouTube Obsession

DecayingMidwest appeals to me for many reasons and probably the obvious reason is that I am originally from the Midwest. The buildings they explore in these videos are buildings I recognize. Maybe not a specific building but abandoned churches, factories and schools are countless where I grew up.

I will also qualify that I only watch the shorts on this channel. I haven’t engaged with their full-length material mostly out of fear that I won’t like their videos after I hear the hosts speak. It probably takes a certain type of entitled personality to break into abandoned properties but I’m not complaining, I’m grateful for the footage, I just have zero interest in hearing their opinions on anything.

My attraction to these videos can be summed up in one sentence. The haunting allure of liminal spaces and the grotesque detritus of a failed state.

These were places where people went everyday to live or work and now, having no current use, they are being milked for their final drops of capital: Content.

It is horrifying and I cannot look away.

Watching

Even with modern sensibilities, it’s easy to see why Godzilla from 1954 spawned one of the largest franchises in cinema. It’s also interesting to see that all the things I associate with Godzilla today originate from his very first appearance.

Other than Shin Godzilla from 2016¹ and more recently Godzilla Minus One, most iterations of Godzilla aren’t portrayed as scary. It’s a shame really because the 54’ Godzilla is a really effective horror movie. In fact, one of the scariest scenes, the audience does not actually see Godzilla itself, only audio, practical effects and the actor selling the horror of witnessing a giant radioactive dinosaur trample a small Japanese village. Another thing is that I wish more movies would build miniatures to blow up. It still looks cool when Godzilla’s fire breath destroys a building.

Due to it’s relevance, I’m going to put this post exploring Japan’s post bomb media from Max Read here.

Reading

I’m continuing to make my way through the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, burning through the 2nd and 3rd entries fairly quick. They continue to be short, fun, character driven sci-fi romps with unique POV. Not mind blowing but I am fully interested in the main character and I want to see how the over-arching plotlines tie up.

Playing

So yeah, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a fun game. It doesn’t tell you shit, but that’s part of the fun.

Like Skyrim, it’s a game that really wants you to get lost on your way to a quest and pick up 3 more quests to do while you’re attacked randomly by wandering monsters. Quests often over-lap in interesting but logical ways. For example, and early quest has you rescue a magistrate from jail who is very interested in knowledge and books. He refuses to leave until you find a suitable “place of knowledge”. Later, while doing a side quest I uncovered a lost library and sure enough, this was suitable for the magistrate’s request. This may seem like an obtuse design but your pawns (your AI party-members) are always dropping helpful hints (not outright solutions) toward progress. Amazingly, they aren’t annoying.

I went into my playthrough blind and I’ve not been using any guides so everything feels important and new.

People are upset that the fast-travel mechanics are limited and claim Capcom just wants to sell more microtransactions. In truth, this is an intentional design brought over from the first Dragon’s Dogma that encourages deliberate exploration. But certainly, Capcom didn’t do themselves any favors by offering a fast-travel items as microtransactions. I haven’t ran into any issues where I feel I would ever need to buy any of these items but it’s still shitty.

Other Notables

**Neo-Neopets

**AI is not good at all!

**A damn good dam video.

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¹ I will not ask again: Please watch Shin Godzilla.