A post wherein I prove Coyote wrong

I finished reading the book of Lovecraft stories...and I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. Even at this age, it still was pretty inventive. The storytelling was good, though the stories get to be formulaic. Take one academic type person, have them discover hints at an ancient horror, have them slowly pick up a trail of clues until they finally learn the horrible truth, then have them narrowly escape and question the point of sanity in such a universe. It's a testament to Lovecraft that he was able to make this formula work well over and over. The different styles of horror were well-conceived. A demon here, a bloody religious sect here, a dark history to a bloodline there.

The forward I read made a big deal of Lovecraft's racism. Yeah it was there, but I didn't find it as overt as the forward led me to believe.

I liked the Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow over Innsmouth (I dug the twist of the ending), Nyarlathotep and The Terrible Old Man.

Anyways, you owe me two and a half minutes of exultation of my person.

Meep, meep. Hellbus.

So last night me and my girlfriend were fooling around, as couples are wont to do. I'm spending an inordinate amount of time on her boobs, cause, you know, boobs. Suddenly she shudders and collapses forward. "I just came," she says breathlessly. "That's a feat, no one has done that to me before" meaning orgasm through breastical stimulation. And all I can think is: BZZING. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.

I am a horrible person.

Also, if any of you reading this meet my girlfriend, don't mention I blogged about this. She'll kill me.

A post wherein I piss off Coyote

A little while ago I finally finished the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. It took me a while. Do you know why? Because, frankly, they weren't that good. It was a struggle to get through them.

And I think I know why.

Also some time ago my girlfriend and I watched a couple Marx Brothers movies. She thought they were ok, but didn't enjoy them the way I did. The reason is because she doesn't have a comprehensive knowledge of classic cinema and therefore wasn't able to play them within the context of the larger cinematic whole. As movies themselves sometimes they aren't very funny. But when you compare them to other comedies of the time, they are fucking hysterical.

I don't have a comprehensive knowledge of sci fi literature. I don't. I haven't read all the science fiction that other people that read this blog might. This was my first Asimov experience. To others, they might be great books, with extreme historical significance to the world of sci fiction literature. To me, they were books filled with decent but underdeveloped ideas, hokey names, and utterly atrocious dialog. Oh yes, his dialog was terrible.

It seemed to me that Asimov would get an idea for something, and often the idea was pretty good, and he'd run with it for a while, then he'd get bored and just drop it. So many of his stories ended abruptly. "Well, I have spent a hundred pages developing this terrorist organization, but I'm bored so I'm just going to spend five pages telling the reader how they were caught and killed". There is a reason that Foundations Edge was the best book in the series. It was the only one where Asimov actually stayed on the same plotline for the length of the book.

My girlfriend tells me that Asimov has some really great 1-2 page short stories. I can believe it. Clearly the novel format is not his strong suit.

So yeah, thoroughly unimpressed. I realize this might make me something of a pariah around here, but it's the truth.

Now, after I'm done with the Castle book (which is meh), I think I'll hit some Cthulhu stuff. Probably be disappointed again.

This just in

I've got a brand new pair of rollerskates, you've got a brand new key.

The day is coming

Sometimes I feel like I am just playacting at being an adult, and at some point people will figure it out and take my job and apartment from me until I grow up.

Man....

I woke up today and my borogroves were all mimsy, my mome raths were outgrabing and my bandersnatch was positively frumious!

On a related note

Things that piss me off: #1435

What is it with people parking backwards in angled parking lots? Especially in parking garages that have unidirectional traffic flow. What the fuck is up with these douchebags. You are just making life more difficult for yourself. Park like a normal person, fucktard.

On the pressure of peers

Couple of days ago I went into my googledocs to send a share invite to Taco for some ideas I had so he could tell me how lame they were. Reading in between the Taco lines, they were lame. But while I was there I sent a share invite to my girlfriend so she could read my Thomas Waits story. She's read a couple other things by me, and I'm slowly meting out my stories to her. Turns out she seems to really like it. I mentioned how I submitted it for publication a couple times and it got rejected. Now she really really wants me to submit it and more stuff. To the point that we spent most of the evening at Barnes and Noble reading short fiction magazines so I could see which ones I should submit to. She made me...MADE ME...buy some of them.

This is a conspiracy, isn't it. You fuckers put her up to this, didn't you. Why do you hate me so?

(though I did see some that take novellas, which means I could submit Pebbleman....NO, THAT WAY LIES MADNESS)

Warning: Do not read if you have a weak constitution

So yesterday morning I had to come in early for a meeting. 10 minutes before the meeting I have to take a shit, so I head for the good bathroom. There are two bathrooms on the floor. One is nicer and newer, but as such it gets a lot more traffic. The other bathroom is really old, tiled like a 1950's insane asylum and hardly anyone uses it. That's why I like it, because I am a primal being and I like to do my business in private. However, the stalls in the old bathroom have 1 inch gaps on either side of the doors, so privacy is pretty much nil. Therefore, when I need to take a shit I head for the new bathroom.

When I get there, someone is in the neighboring stall. Which, again, I don't like to have an audience, and this guy is clearly taking his time. He ain't moving any time soon. But I have to get my shit done in a short amount of time, because the meeting is within minutes. So I sit down thinking "buddy, you are going to hear things cause I don't have time to wait you out." So I let the symphony warm up with a "pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffft pfft pfft". Immediately after, I hear "BRUNG BRUNG BRUNG" as the guy next door manically tears at the toilet paper. There is a sense of frenzy as he finishes up and flees the bathroom.

So how am I feeling now? Am I ashamed from having drove a person from my vicinity with a bodily function? No. No, I am exultant. I am proud. My territorial display his driven an interloper from my lands. This is my territory. I am the alpha male of this bathroom.

I finish up and stride to my meeting. All beware my primal nature.

Wild and crazy times

My evening last night consisted of making a fake turkey dinner for my girlfriend (Jenny-O turkey roast, instant mashed potatoes and boxed stuffing), forcing her to watch Marx Brothers movies, and concluding the evening with an impromptu and prolonged tickle-fight. We are either the lamest or coolest people around. I prefer to believe the latter.

Eight! Years!

Eight! Years!
- Crow, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

So I finished my last game before being able to play the PS3 last night. The adventure game Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. I have a lot of negative things to say about this game, which is unfortunate and misleading since I really liked it, but let's cover a little history about the game first. You know, in case anyone reads this.

So this game, from famed Norwegian game maker Ragnar Tørnquist, is the pseudo sequel to his critically beloved The Longest Journey. The Longest Journey was released in 1999, during the last sort of hey-day of adventure games (my preferred genre). So desperate was I for an adventure game at the time of decline, that I bought a copy of that game from Amazon UK, before it was even clear that the game would get a US release. And it was good. It told the story of twin universes, one the Earth 200 years in the future, dominated by science and would eventually be known by the name Stark, and it's magical twin universe of Arcadia. The protagonist was a young woman named April Ryan who had to help preserve the balance between the two worlds. It was a simple point and click style adventure game, with some very ridiculous puzzles, beautiful bitmap backgrounds, pretty ugly character models, and a story that sucked you in.

Fast forward to 2006. He releases Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, a story centered on another young woman Zoe Castillo, but with help from April and others of the first game, with further perils and adventures in Stark and Arcadia. This is perhaps one of the last good adventure games before the genre died out completely. And it did die. It's gone. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. The adventure tab in Steam has stuff like Prince of Persia, which are action games thank you very much. The adventure genre is dead, outside of the occasional loose kin that crops up, like Heavy Rain.

I have many complaints about Dreamfall. First of all, the control scheme is utter shit. Utter shit. I had to tweak and tweak and tweak the controls to get something I could work with. No excuse for a game from 2006 to have that heavy handed control scheme. Second, stupid gameplay elements were added. Such combat mechanics and stealth mechanics. I'm sorry, those do not belong in an adventure game. They don't. I shouldn't have to try and solve a puzzle while using stealth to dodge trolls or fight off rebels. That's crap. They don't belong there. Plus, they weren't any good. The combat had three controls: block, hit lightly, hit hard. It consisted of dodging out of the way when your enemy attacked and then hitting him in the butt. And the stealth involved holding the Ctrl key to sneak and then timing your hiding behind corners. They weren't fun, they sucked and took me out of the game.

But I really liked the game. Why? I'm going to use a superlative here. And I'm not going to use it just for a point. I'm going to use it because it really is the -est of the situation I have experienced in my life. Without inflation, it is the most.

This game is the most cinematic game I have played in my life. It is as close to a bastard child between game and movie I have ever seen. Ever. EVER. I'm not just talking cutscenes, though there is that. The game is divided into 14 chapters, and the last two chapters you don't even control your character, it's just cutscenes. And it's not a bad thing, because it's all about story progression and resolution. You don't go "man I wish I could take back control of this character", you go "holy crap, what is going to happen next?"

But it goes beyond that. The game is built like a movie. If you have extended dialog with a character, the camera will cut to a different angle, just like a movie. You don't stay with one character the entire time, you play from at least 3 different character perspectives, shifting back and forth over time, so that multiple narratives are interwoven, like in a movie. There is one time where you play each character and get them to arrive at the same spot at the same time for a big climax. Hell, there is one time where you actually play both sides of a conversation between two of the characters. It's like a movie, there are multiple things going and when the story calls for following a different person, you do. Along those lines, the majority of the puzzles fall directly in line with the story. Only a couple are stupid.

And the music. The game is scored like a movie. And I'm not talking just like symphonic background music, though there is that and it's very good. I'm talking when there is a montage when a character is traveling, or when a character is sitting on a bed crying, there will be an actual song, written by an actual person, SUNG by an actual person, that sounds like something you would hear on the radio, playing over it. Just like you would find in a movie. I still wonder if they licensed some Norwegian pop tunes to use or what, cause these don't sound like songs written for a game. They sound like songs someone made that got used.

If you want a game that makes the narrative paramount, this is it.

But that takes me to my final and perhaps major grief. It's only half a game. I don't mean that like KOTOR II (I'm still bitter about it). The best analogy I have is Fellowship of the Ring. While it has its own internal story arc that comes to a resolution, the major point of it is to set up a number of larger and grander and more important story arcs. And it does just that. Then it stops, and you are left without resolution to the larger issues you have come to care about. It is very clear, the game was set up to have a sequel.

Multiple sequels as a matter of fact. I did some digging and it turns out Funcom intended to release the follow up game in episodic format, called Dreamfall Chapters. That was in 2007, it was announced. Then shortly thereafter Funcom ran in to financial troubles and they lost their CFO and the head of the company said that Dreamfall Chapters was being put on the backburner. He said indefinitely, Ragnar says temporarily, but that was about 2 years ago and there has been pretty much no news since then, other than Ragnar occasionally popping up and swearing the game is still planned. Apparently there is a story written and everything, but everyone that worked on Dreamfall, that would work on Dreamfall Chapters, is currently working on another project at the moment, for a game I have never heard of. So hope in this manner is slim. It really seems like they made this game to make another game, and the latter won't see the light of day.

But what do I know? There was 7 freaking years between the first two games, maybe Ragnar isn't the type that gives up. I hope not, there is some good writing, and some really inventive ideas at play here. Plus, Ragnar is really really good at funny side characters. From Theoretically Blind Bob, to reformed evil wizard Roper Klacks, to the sidekick from both games that I consider on par with Mort and Murray as funniest sidekicks, Crow. There were a couple times in Dreamfall that I nearly laughed my ass right off my frame, and most of the time it involved Crow.

So there were are. Last of the list is done. Time to move on to the PS3. I should play Heavy Rain, seeing as I already put a couple hours into it showing my girlfriend, but I think I'm going to Red Dead Redemption it up. I'm a little adventured out and I want to kill some things.

Time to be a bad man.

Get Webster on the phone

Last night I spent over an hour looking at Way to Suck That Dick. It's sort of a "horrors of amateur pornography" blog. My reactions oscillated beyond abject terror and milk-shooting laughter. Some times at the same time. Then I decided there should be a word for that, a work meaning both terrified and amused. I propose "cringesteria". I think it should be an actual word. Let's get on that.

That's one down

I finished Okami last night. It was...long. Saying that first makes it sound like it was tedious. It wasn't. It's just that...there was a lot of game there, a lot more than I thought. For example, let's compare the playtime to that of the last two games I finished (all on the Wii). I finished The Force Unleashed in under 7 hours. Yeah. I actually went online to make sure I really played all of it. I did. On a side note, while I like the job the development team did on switching the control scheme for the Wii port, the graphics were UTTER SHIT. I realize that the Wii isn't a powerhouse of graphics, but the graphics quality of the game was way below what the Wii is capable of. It was insulting. Anyways, the next game I finished was Metroid Prime 3. That took 17 hours, which is about what I expect from that style of game. I finished Okami in 43 hours. Hell, it only took me 34 hours to finish Mass Effect 2. And I did all these games to the same level of completion. Complete the main story and all available side quests, without going back for the tiny nitty gritty things. Like in Metroid Prime 3 I didn't get all of the powerups, but I missed maybe 3. The game said I covered 94% of the content. In Okami, the carrot to bring you back for gameplay is collecting Stray Beads. There's 99 of them. I probably got 45. But I did every side quest. Granted I didn't play it in the most efficient manner, but I'm also a guy that makes extensive use of walkthroughs so that surely shaved off some time.

Shut up. I play games to relax, not to be frustrated by some stupid puzzle for 20 minutes. I play until I get well and truly stuck, then I check a walkthrough to get me going again. I feel no guilt for this.

Anyways, the game was really good. The cel-shaded animation style was very refreshing, the story was different than your average game and I even teared up a little at one point at the end. The combat system is really well suited for the Wii, don't believe the bitchers. It is also violently Japanese. I mean, duh, it's based on Japanese folklore, but even above and beyond that it has a Japanese feel. If you are looking for a fun, relatively family friendly (except for one part where the annoying tiny sidekick goes on and on about a woman's breasts) and very inventive game, I'd recommend it.

Now, on to the last two areas in Portal, then back to Fallout 3. I had a hard time getting into Fallout 3 the first time, I hope the layoff hasn't been too long to just jump back in.

Detritus, page 7

1. I am forcing myself to make this blog post for 2 reasons. One, I haven't made a meaningful blog post in, like, forever. Not that it matters, really. It's not like I've got a quota to fill. Any meaningful event filters through GP in one fashion or another to you guys. But still. And two, I am procrastinating at work big time. I mean big time. If I could find a plausible reason, I'd go home. Seriously, I have nothing to do and I don't really want to be here anyways.

2. The girlfriend and I are taking a trip this weekend. We're going to visit her folks in St. Louis, where we have tickets to see the Young Frankenstein musical (we're apparently theatre-going folk, having just seen Avenue Q, which was freaking hilarious). It is our first overnight trip together. We've been dating 11 months. When it comes to relationship progression, I am slower than molasses on the moon. I blame not having a relationship until I was 30.

3. I've been thinking off and on about getting another cat. My girlfriend and my mother have been nudging me in that direction, but what do they know. How would that work? My cat is the cutest cat that has ever or will ever be, how could I add a second one? My love cannot be split.

4. My girlfriend took care of someones puppy this weekend (a common occurrence since she's a vet, pretty much everyone she knows has multiple pets). I am not a dog person, I really don't like them, but this puppy was pretty darn cute and a good amount of fun. But I'm thinking puppies are like children. Better rented than owned.

5. This weekend the girlfriend and I watched some movies streamed from Netflix over the Wii. Overall I'd call it a success. Occasionally there were pauses as the download had run out, and the screen resolution was pretty crappy on my 46" TV, but other than that it went well.

6. Today actually started out pretty damn well. I fixed a problem with my computer myself, which is a major victory. One of my drives wasn't getting recognized. I went in myself and found a cable that got knocked loose when the computer repair guy was installing my new graphics card. I thought I was going to have to take my computer into the shop, but now it's all good. Then I got an awesome parking spot. Sadly the good vibes didn't extend into the work day, but hey, the day started well.

7. I made a deal with myself. I am not allowed to buy a PS3 until I finish all the games in my backlog. Which is not to say that I will buy a PS3 when they are finished, but simply I am not allowed to until said condition is met. I've got to finish Okami on the Wii, finish Portal, finish Fallout 3 and it's associated DLC and then play Syberia and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2. Not included in these conditions are Dragon Age expansion cause I'm not sure I'm going to buy it, and the game of Fallout 2 that I got halfway through but got stuck. I love Fallout, but I'm not sure I'll ever finish that game, I don't think all the mechanics got properly transferred to the GOG version I got. That or I just suck. Probably the latter. Why a PS3 instead of an Xbox360 you ask? Well, in actuality I imagine I'll get all of them eventually, but I've got my eye on the PS3 for a couple games. One being Heavy Rain, exclusive to that platform. I wants it. Plus there's Bayonetta.

8. I've also got my eye on recently publicized Red Dead Redemption. A cowboy game? Yes plz, that genre is poorly explored. It's made by Rockstar which has me nervous, but we'll see. Plus in multiplayer you don't join a group, you join a "posse". Awesome, yeah? Of course you'd have to play multiplayer, which I sincerely doubt I'd ever do, but still, cowboy game. Which leads me to believe there should be a cowboy MMO out there. Seriously guys, think about that. A persistent western world. I would open a saloon or a whorehouse. Or maybe I'd be a roving gambler. Or a pistol-carrying preacher. The idea is rife with possibilities.

9. I may be the only honest man left in the world. My tax preparer fucked up my state taxes. Long story short, the state of Indiana gave me $2000 more dollars than they should have. In fact, they gave me a larger refund than I paid in taxes. And no one would believe me that something was wrong. The tax preparer couldn't figure out what he did wrong (the fucking moron, not using that guy again), and it took me a while on the phone with the Indiana Department of Revenue before they even figured out there was a problem, let along fixing it. I had to go through hell and high water to give back this money. Eventually it all got straightened out (the state said they wouldn't charge me a late fee amounting to $200 cause I was so honest, yo'reu damn right you won't, I ain't paying for other peoples mistakes). Seriously, the universe was shoving this money down my throat. But I wouldn't have it. Why? Simple reason, paranoia. If I had kept the money, every day I woke up I would've wondered if this was the day that the IDR goons knocked down my door and took me away in handcuffs. Plus I'm certain with that on the record I could never get elected to public office. I mean, I can't anyways due to other activities I'm sure (remember guys, I die, you are wiping my hard drive), but why make the pile any deeper. So how much is your peace of mind worth? Apparently mine is $2000.

10. I am going to cook tonight! That's right, not another hummus and bean dip dinner for tonight, there we be actual culinary processes at work in my kitchen. It's a big day.

Am I this boring?

I haven't made a blog post in over two months.

Mental note:

The last lines from the chorus of Moxy Fruvous' "Earthquakes" would make a good ring tone.

"Look at these tiny things bothering me"

Need to remember that if I ever get a phone I can make ringtones for.

My case in a single point

Valentine's day sucks. Most rational people know this. And as it turns out, being with someone doesn't make it any better. This actually pleases me. My girlfriend hates Valentines Day and thinks it's a stupid, made-up holiday. So I feel justified ranting here.

In the school newspaper today there is a two page compilation of "love notes" that students have written for other students. I don't know if this is a yearly tradition or whatnot, but it has that feel. Most of the notes are little sappy things, talking about how much they love the other person, perhaps sharing an inside joke. But one stood out in particular.

Dearest Jessica-

You are so sexy, especially when intoxicated. I never thought I would fall for a hot mess, but Jesus obviously had other plans for me.

Love you long time,
Seany


Ah, college love.

Top 5: Taco of the Top 5

Based on one of my favorite blog posts from Taco, I present:

Top 5 songs to bellow along with the chorus:

5. "Drunken Lullabies" - Flogging Molly
Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess
Singing drunken lullabies

4. "Mrs. Robinson" - Simon and Garfunkel
And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those that pray

3. "Ring of Fire" - Johnny Cash
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire
The ring of fire

2. "Body of an American" - The Pogues
I'm a free born man of the USA!

1. "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" - Jim Croce
Well he's Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
Baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than ole King King
Meaner than a junk yard dog

This also just in

I am...so....old.

This just in

I just received two text messages. Both from a Georgia phone number I don't know. They read:

1) nana you at the wrong wal mart
armani

and

2) nana you at the wrong wal mart
armani
cal house phone

Somedays, little bits of awesome get thrown at you.

Top 5: Decrescendo of the Top 5

Top 5 movies to see just for the ending

5. Les Diaboliques

4. Manhattan

3. Bridges of Madison County

2. Zorba the Greek

1. Being There

Honorable mentions: Memento, Hitch (yes Hitch, damnit), Return of the King (all 18 endings)

10 years

10 years come and gone so fast I might as well be dreaming.
- Paul Simon, "10 Years"

Well, the New Year has once again found us. Despite my best efforts at hiding from it. And it is the end of the decade. How did this happen? How did the decade come to a close so fast? I remember where I was when the decade started, it seems only weeks ago. And now it's past. 10 years. The decade feels lost to me.

As is my wont, when the year begins anew I reflect on the previous New Years post. What my aims were, and how I approached them. So let us revisit.

• Ask Marta (the cute girl in the stockroom) out for dinner. Whatever the outcome, it must be asked.

I actually did this. And I cannot believe. I marched down there, just marched down there, out of the blue, my heart pounding, I took her aside and asked her to dinner. Just...did it. She shot me down of course. But I still can't believe I did it.

• Work on and submit at least two publications for my job.

Two, no. One, yes. A review, which isn't as good as a primary research paper, but it's a massive review in a major journal, so it's nothing to snub my nose at. Took me months and nearly drove me insane. I finished it, submitted it, and just before Christmas did the the rewrites, got it back in and it was accepted. Finished. Now for the other one.

• Finish my zombie story and submit it to Wierd Tales

Not even close. In fact...god....I don't think I did any writing whatsoever. Truly I am a failure.

• Start at least one other story

I don't think I...no wait. I think I have a couple ideas rattling around in my head. Usually based on dreams.

• Have dinner at the Irish Lion at least once a month

Not once a month, but actually a fair bit. The girlfriend really likes that place. In fact, it's sort of "our place". So we go there fairly often.

• Get to know Noq better

Only a little, sadly. The vast bulk of Noq's awesomeness still remains a mystery, which I only have myself to blame.

• Post a lot in the Serenity RPG

Hey, I did my level best with that. I tried to revive it on a number of occasions. Any lack of posting I blame on others.

• Continue to work out at least 3 times a week

That sort of went out the window what with the review. Then the mono. Then a cold. Then out of sheer laziness.

• Pay off my credit card (again)

Victory! Credit cards are paid off and I have even started saving a little dough. I am fiscally responsible!

• Visit a new city

Yes, but this was a setup. I knew I was going to visit Boston when I added this to my post last year.

• Blog more

I think my blogging has tapered off some.

• Bitch less

You know, people tend to think I'm a sourpuss. Well, I am, but I don't bitch all that often. I may be grumpy sure, but I don't complain a lot.

• Sleep evenly

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

• Smile in the morning

What is this "morning" you speak of?

• Tell everyone I love that I love them

Nope.

• Ask for forgiveness instead of permission

I didn't ask for anything.

• Offer a shoulder

I do that a lot with the girlfriend.

• Offer a hand

Done.

• Offer a Dr. Pepper

No! My Dr. Pepper!

• Be the person people know me to be instead of the person I think I am

Not. Even. Close.

• Be the ball

I'm pretty sure I was sometime there.

• Heed the advice of Jimmy V.

I don't cry much anymore.

• Hold myself to my New Years resolutions only so much as I want, and not feel guilty if I fail.

There is absolutely no guilt there. Not one bit.

And now, for the new list.

• Begin working out again
• Go to the doctor and get myself back on medication
• Write SOMETHING damnit
• Try to publish a work of fiction
• Visit my friends in North Carolina
• Try to see Coyote sometime
• Try to see Noq sometime
• Finish one standalone computer game
• Complete my masterwork vision in Dwarf Fortress
• Try to keep my girlfriend despite my emotional closed-offness
• Get drunk
• Get funky
• Get off
• Sleep 8 hours uninterrupted
• Clean my apartment once a month
• Go on a double date with my friend Pam and her husband
• Sample a new scotch
• Hold myself to my New Years resolutions only so much as I want, and not feel guilty if I fail

May the new year give you better fortune than the last. It'd be hard to give worse.