Lunar New Year in Farmville 2

There are a lot of animations in FV2 that go largely unmentioned. The new Lunar New Year lantern stand is an example.

Here's a couple of screen shots of the kick off for the Lunar New Year lantern tasks.

Free lit lanterns bobbing on the river in the night.

The lanterns rise up into the sky and fly away.

Also, every time you make a lantern in the lantern stand and a neighbor "buys" it, they take the lantern to the river where it floats and then flies away.

But wait! There's more! There are other many little animations that no one seems to mention. For example, you can hover over mushroom lamps (if you have them) and they light up. There are a couple of wood fires that light up when you hover over them. As a remnant of an owl task, there is an owl tree with a tiny owl house where the owls peer out when you hover over the tree.

And there are constant special animations to kick off new tasks. A recent reward animation was a sleigh ride with four friends. The entire screen was animated with my farm in the background.

As an old school computer user I am amazed by the work put into this free game to make it fun and attractive. They should win an award.

Floating in Second Life

Here are two screen shots showing the kind of stuff I like in Second Life and mostly what I do there: stuff you can't do in First Life. Here I am (as an avatar) in a floating world simulation. Part of the fun is the duck boat that you ride down a slide. At the end of the slide the boat disappears and your avatar falls underwater.

My avatar (wearing a freebie fish head gifted to me at the site)
powering a traveling, floating contraption. Everything is easy here (see
the destination address in the slot at the top of the screen shot).
Just "sit" and you'll find your avatar doing all sorts of things.

My avatar floating in the sky. This trick takes advantage of
the building technique where one side of an object has a
texture and the other side is transparent.

Why be normal or ordinary, indeed!

If you have a membership, you can go directly to Rafts.

The Best Free Game No One Plays: Hidden Shadows

"Surgeon's Stable" scene from the
"Doctored Death" episode.

Zynga's Hidden Shadows game on Facebook is a hidden picture adventure with everything: beautiful art, crime stories arranged like episodic TV, interstitial graphic novel panels, achievable goals, a moderately increasing difficulty level, intuitive interface, and (most important for me) the capability to play without "neighbors" or a whole bunch of friends.

You also get a good run for your basic supplies of energy and easily earn the materials you need to speed up investigations or make more energy. Not a whole lot of materials, of course. Zynga still wants you to buy stuff and energy. And there are two annoying screens to click through asking you to invite friends. However, there is enough to keep going at a critical juncture or if you just can't wait 12 hours for lab results.

The mild disadvantages are that Badges needed to move forward can take a long time to earn and if you choose to investigate the wrong evidence (when you have a choice of two) you'll find yourself spending a lot of time earning Badges. These take progressively more energy to earn and max out at five per scene. New scenes are opened up from analyzed evidence.

Even though this game has "everything" none of my friends play it. For a short time, in order to win extra stuff for Farmville 2, a couple of friends played it. They got the booty and quit. I can't stop.

The items you search for are varied (although they have a thing for hats) and usually in plain sight. As you level up the items blend in more, are hidden in shadow, and sometimes are only partially shown. If you can't find the item or wonder what a generic word like "bat" means, you can hover over the word and see the image. This distinguishes between the animal and the wooden variety. You also get a hint from seeing the image because you see exactly what the item looks like in the scene. I can tell from the size and angle approximately where in the picture the item is hidden.

Hints are quickly available. In the screen snap above, in the lower left corner is the Hint counting up. In a matter of seconds you have a Hint available. One is all I've ever needed. Hints are available for purchase (of course) and you can make them from the raw materials generated by successful completion of scenes.

Achievable objectives and earnable materials, yet no one plays this game. I have one friend who  plays a couple times a week and that's it. I don't get it. Why would no one enjoy the pleasant passing of time with a pretty, moderately challenging game?

Opening screen. Pretty or what?

Notification to complete more scenes to analyze
the evidence you find in a scene.
Badges are earned by completing scenes.

Make Speed-Ups and Energy (but not Badges)
from materials gathered (automatically) in scenes.
As you can see, I have a lot of materials.

Season One - completed.

Season Two - in progress.

Human heart or graphic heart? Prevent errors.
Hover over the word and find out!

Full Bloom: Too Many Hazards

Full of blooming screens!

I once introduced a friend to Mille Bornes by stating the objectives as 1) get as many miles as you can, and 2) stop your opponents from traveling. He got it really good. In four moves all of us were stopped. Including my friend who had (of course) raised the vengeance of us all.

Full Bloom is a Facebook game that reminds me of that friend. Obviously someone told them that the game is merely a draw, so they throw up as many screens as possible before you get to the actual playing board: invite friends, play a special pre-game, get a gift, give gifts, find a special butterfly, and a news screen. If that isn't enough, when you get to your "garden" there's a big yellow arrow pointing to the news button. Then, you can click on the game button to go to the playing board.

Full Bloom also sucks up CPU usage. I know because I've played it on a Windows laptop and had warnings. It's a simple little match-three game with no need for tons of CPU. So, what's it doing with the CPU? Is it just lazy programing? Or perhaps malicious surreptitious tracking? Could it possibly be checking my hard drive?

The game itself is nicely made: pretty, logical, levels up in small increments, adds interesting hazards. Too bad it's all larded up with crap that makes it frustrating to begin playing. Also, the add-ons are outrageously expensive. It's about $1.00 to add on 5 moves in the middle of a game (if you run out of moves or time). Other options are equally expensive. Really silly when you consider that you could buy a "real" game with endless playing time and unlimited moves for $10.

I like the game. In spite of the detractors I play it a lot. I've never paid to play and I never will. It's not worth it.

One of three pre-screens to click through before you
get to play the game.

You arrive here after the preliminary screens.
After this you can go to the playing board.

After the garden, on the way to the playing
board - a little detour.

Assignment in Eternity audiobook

I am going apeshit over Bronson Pinchot's narration expertise. Because, yes, I have been under a rock. What an amazing voice and what excellent characterizations! I particularly enjoyed the humorous New York/Jewish accents in Jerry Was a Man. Another example of how excellent narration elucidates a story.

What the library tells us (with no mention of Bronson Pinchot being an award-winning narrator). Assignment in Eternity: Robert A Heinlein is widely and justly regarded as the greatest practitioner of the art of science fiction who has ever lived.  Here are two of his greatest short novels: Gulf, in which the greatest superspy of them all is revealed as the leader of a league of supermen and women who can't quite decide what to do with the rest of us. Lost Legacy, in which it is proved that we are all members of that league—or would be, if we but had eyes to see.

All you need is Overdrive Media Console (for desktop and phone) and a library account. I hope your library has this and many other Pinchot narrations.

You can log in but you can never leave

Bumped! A standard occurrence since I got my free Linden home and land.

I still have a paying account in Second Life (SL) due to the weekly bonus being enough to cover my quarterly dues. I also have a free alternate account and thought that having a paid account stopped all the spurious logouts. I was wrong.

Regional density of my home in Second Life. Every grayed square represents a house.

I availed myself of the free home and land deal which comes with any paid account. I chose an Asian theme thinking that I would be online while most of Asia was offline. I was right about that. What I hadn't realized from the enticing images of free homes is that the homes are packed in. Every square inch of available space is crammed with houses. No yards, no gardens, no public areas – in short, no free space at all. How many 512 parcels can you fit into a region? The Linden answer: too many!

Continental density of my home land. Obviously the servers weren't made for this kind of greed.

The set up process was easy, if a little funky. I had to log in from the email notification and not the online landmark to actually log into my home. However, once at home, it's nearly impossible to leave. 90% of the time when I try to teleport elsewhere I end up logged out. In the few experiments I've conducted, I have been able to teleport if I log back in right away and then teleport. Is this how it's supposed to be? I think not.

If I were a Linden, I'd try to make SL enticing, easy, and fun, not a technological, mystical, unexplainable, frustrating horror.

my blue heaven-in-progress

I have discovered underwater (virtual) living. My little plot in Second Life is water property, which means, that in the normal scope of things when left untended and reverted to its default condition, it is normally underwater. Of course this has no effect on my AV which flies at altitudes of 4,000 meters as well as walking under and on water.

Periodically I have a complete property makeover removing all the objects and rebuilding. I've had beach houses, fields of flowers, a huge temple, and a cozy wilderness hideout.

I was happy to find a ton of editable underwater plants and animals in the SL free library. I've rezzed a bunch of seaweed, jellyfish, a shark, a squid, and a manta ray. My build is beginning to develop a theme.

I like glow. I've been into glow for nearly a year now (which is a lifetime in SL). So my stuff is glowing. I'm searching for comfy underwater cushions for more than one person. So far all I can find is mermaid shells and clams. Right.

Anyway, as noted it doesn't really matter that I am underwater. My wind chimes work just fine here as does the fairy acorn light. If worse comes to worst I can always plant a couple of couches or slap down one of my single prim homemades.

what I'm watching right now

Initiating and Celebrating

Inducting newbs with the "Dream Dance" while celebrating NaNoWriMo word count.

Current Fads
Listening. Road to My Dream, Tony Gerber; whirring space heater fan
Watching. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Activity. writing a novel!
Gadget. iPod Shuffle
News Source. Facebook
Reading. Soul Mates - Thomas Moore; The Ballad of Frankie Silver - Sharyn McCrumb; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
Writing. a novel!

Star Trek Free Episodes - The City on the Edge of Forever

I had one of those cassette tape players that Spock wears when I was in the 11th grade (about the time this episode was broadcast).

The Vig and I

Mr. Mortensen (Viggo, VM, The Vig - The Vig? I ask you!) is doing much better than I expected. Good for him. Apparently VM has taken over the Toronto Film Festival with the release of three films.

My best hope at the moment is his performance in The Road. I'm really looking forward to seeing the film. The stills look so gritty and intense. They bring back that Ranger character (The Lord of the Rings) I love so much. If, as rumor has it, he may be up for another Oscar nomination, I hope it's for The Road and I hope he gets the nod and the prize. As a western dude he looks wooden. Of course I haven't seen Appaloosa yet, but from the previews he looks a bit of a board. What do I know? I've only watched a million movies in my life.

He's a damn good looking guy and does a great impersonation of a 100-year-old ranger and an ex-con (A History of Violence). I haven't liked him too much in his other movies, except the one with Kirk Douglas (A Perfect Murder). I liked the stills of him as a romantic Spanish swashbuckler.

My opinion is definitely skewed by his performance in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which was my first exposure to VM) where he did a great job in a part that was made for him. And if it wasn't made for him, he sure made it look that way. VM may prefer directors that give him his head, but Peter Jackson's direction developed a his acting in a way that has no comparison to other roles VM has played.

The fashionable VM! He gets nothing but accolades these days. He has worked hard and long to get them. However, I persist in my view that his acting is over rated. He is a talented artist, able to express himself in music, poetry and art and various combinations thereof. I do wish him well. I just think he could do so much better if he were to settle down and focus on something. My plan would be the life of an itinerant poet, like Homer, only wilder and more diverse. Or maybe acting roles as complex esoteric characters which could bring out his natural depth.

Ah, well. It's not my life is it?

Stephen King for Free!

Watch a series of animated graphics. Reminds of "The Plant" serialization days. Never did get the whole thing. I guess the publisher got wigged out over PDFs. You know, there's just too much concern about locking up content.

Shopping for a Waterfall

Why buy a fountain when you can own a waterfall? In Second Life (SL), where you can do and own almost anything, shopping happens on a whole new scale. I rent a little plot which I have decorated with trees, shrubs, torches and a big bowl of lava. Floating upright in the lava are four lit candles. The bowl sits in the middle of circle of a megalithic stones, sort of like Stonehenge. Hey, why not? I do have a fountain and decided the plot would be more "natural" if I had a nice stream or waterfall.

I did find a nice selection at reasonable prices, one included a cave with meditation cushions. I kept looking until I discovered a section of waterfall parts. When saw the parts, I remembered the free SL library full of rocks, stones, water, and scripts. While I much prefer others to make things for me, I decided to make a waterfall, just to make sure it's what I really want. My waterfall is more like a fountain, but I made it myself (except for the decorative Spring Woman plaque) without a lot of heavy lifting and I like it. It'll do for now.

I am Green Lantern!

Your results:You are Green Lantern Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination. Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Hot headed? HOT HEADED? I am not hot headed. A little excitable sometimes but not hot headed.

Current Fads
Listening. One Guitar, No Vocals, Leo Kottke; very loud power tools trimming hedges
Watching. Stick It (2007)
Activity. preparing for guests; maintaining sanity
Gadget. Palm Zire 31
News Source. the news feeds in Safari
Reading. too lazy to look - I've cut back a lot in my reading though, well except for yesterday when I finished Garden Magic and then started on, oh, I can't think of the title right now ...

CaRnIvAl

Did you miss Fasching and Mardi Gras? Plan on November in England for the Somerset festivals. Most raise money for charity so you can party for a good cause.

My Second Life

My Second Life

Second Life is a game that simulates a virtual world. In Second Life (SL) you can do everything you can do in Real Life (RL) and more. Actually, you don't do it - your avatar does. An avatar can be everything from a human to an abstract notion, although most are barbies and he-men. Anyone can create a seductive pole dancer or hulking macho biker guy.

SL is wonderland laid out like an ancient map (here there be dragons) on a grid. The place names are whimsical (Delphi Vistano), realistic (Frankfurt Nord), esoteric (Gourdnak) and commercial (Freebie Heaven). You can wander down a re-creation of The Beatles era Liverpool and drop into the Cavern Club. Visit NASA and wander through a historical exhibition of space vehicles. Browse art created by a RL geisha in training. Some universities have SL-based courses. Yep. Go to college. Play a game. Get graded. Graduate. You can attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous or participate in a guided imagery circle meditation. You are limited only by your imagination, server lag and the amount of time you can keep your keister in a chair.

Flying is my favorite thing to do (much like in a dream except you don't have to put your arms out like superman or do that heavy air swimming thing). And then there's the dancing. I'm happy teleporting around playing the free game and doing free stuff (there's plenty of it). Others run their own sims (locations), have private islands and do and wear the best that money can buy. This interactive simulation is always on. At any given time there are around 47,000 participants. Over a million users have signed up. You can meet players from all over the world.

There are tons of interest groups (you're only allowed to join 25). There is an active community creating blogs and sites that focus on SL while linking it to RL. So, you can be offline while online. You can try something in SL you wouldn't dream of doing in RL. Musicians have gotten started this way. Some perform only in SL.

What else you find in SL? Eternal life, as in no one ever dies. Drink all you want and never get drunk. There are money trees where you can pluck free Lindens (the SL currency named after SL's founders). And, yes, free sex, heavy armory and animals that will eat you (if you like that sort of thing).

The catch is that you need a high end computer and high speed internet access to play. Really. That's it. Go play.

My Bad Eastern Promises

Okay. I was a little harsh reviewing Viggo in Eastern Promises, which goes to show me that I shouldn't review thespians I admire right after watching a performance. I have this way of expecting a lot of everyone and even more of those I like.

While catching up on the Google Analytics for this blog, I noticed a spike of interest in Viggo's "Time Waits for Everyone" between the 19th and 23rd of January (Analytics tells me how my pages are found and what search terms bring visitors to my posts). A little research reveals that was when the Oscar Nomination for Mr. Mortensen was announced. Why this drove searchers to look for "Time Waits for Everyone" is a question whose answer I am leaving to anyone who already knows. What I did find were lots of viewer comments that were nicer than mine. Including the one about the over 50 bunch getting their second wind. Doh! I should have caught that.

Time passes. I see things differently and it's not because of the nomination. His acting was good but I still prefer the gentler, more sensitive portrayals. A nomination should go to David Cronenberg for directing.

I'd better stop before this hole gets any deeper.

a new level of smooth in tv entertainment

ABC is back on my entertainment list with a player that really works. Unfortunately it is some type of proprietary player that wraps up Quicktime in a box of commercial ads. I had to download a browser plug-in which took about two minutes and automatically recognized me as a "Mac People." After the install confirmation I was seamlessly returned to the show I had chosen. Pretty neat.

The show played smoothly (except for that two minutes of smeary visuals) in high resolution. The ads play really huge (of course). Your days of opting out of commercials are numbered. Fortunately they can still be muted and there aren't as many of them as on "free" tv.

I watched two episodes of "Samantha Who?". I guess that means I liked it. I enjoyed seeing Christina Applegate in a new role that suits her. She was perky, believable and, well, smooth. I liked the writing, the dialogue is good, the costumes and make up are shinier than a new penny. The plot is entertaining in a "die hard" sort of way. There's a lot of action and one must suspend a fair amount of disbelief. One must also be enamored of formula and the amazing sheen of polish. I am reminded of the 50's as in "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver." Gloss. Very glossy.

Back to real life.

Hello

I'm still here, in case you were wondering or even if you weren't. Having a bit of a mini-vacation at Mom's. Saw the musical "Man of La Mancha" last night. The creative director gave it a very interesting treatment. Fortunately he prepared us for it before the show. I thought at first, "Ugh! Modern dance." It was nothing like that. I actually enjoyed it. The way the story was told it was sort of dark. Mom didn't really care for that. It's a really excellent production. I recommend you see it if you can. Today is the last performance. Hie thee to the beach!

I also have made progress on the novel nearly every single day. Starting off as a mystical fantasy it has morphed into a romantic comedy. Well, the important thing is that I'm writing and having fun. The only way to learn how to write a novel is to write one. Just sit down and do it. I've read lots of books on writing and had more than one English class and survived a couple of writing intensive college-level Psychology classes. Novel writing is nothing like any of that. You just have to write. I remember Kurt Vonnegut saying something like that in the video portion of an online class I took. "Yeah, right." I thought. It can't be that simple. Well, it is. If you want to write, just do it.

The editing, clean up and making it ready to print. Well, that's another story.

Where in the world is Bob Dylan?

Proving yet again that I am indeed a drifting outsider, I announce my discovery of Bob on AOL Radio*. I didn't discover AOL Radio very long ago either. But it's really great: XM for free! The quality is excellent. It's like the performers are right here in the room with me. Well, as close as my speakers can get them. Did I mention I hooked up my computer to play through my 1995 stereo? (purchased over six weeks on layaway from Circuit City)

Anyway, back to Bob. He has this weekly show that airs beginning at 6 a.m. ET (this morning - I don't have a schedule, don't hold me to it). The show is "Theme Time Radio Hour." Bob as a dee jay. Wow. Not a thing that crossed my mind in 1969. Or 2007 for that matter. But it's cool. Bob read the Ages of Man from William Shakespeare and then said "Willy the Shake said it all. The rest of the show is just footnotes." Then he proceeded to play songs related to the ages of man from all sorts of genres together with his personal and historical notes. I wish I could offer up some details as illustrations but it's a great show. Believe me. It's nearly over (now playing Neil Young singing "Old Man") and I need to get going so I can get to the jobsite on time for a change. ... after I spread a little weed and feed over the yard.

Here's a juicy fact from Bob: the most common birthday is October 5 because of New Year's Eve. So watch out this New Year's Eve (those of you with the potential).

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* If you scroll down the page you can download an application for your computer which is what I use. It's excellent. Or you can listen online. I haven't tried that. It might be good, too. Oh. And you need an AOL account. Mine is free. I think you can just use one of those free email accounts. Or is AOL totally free now? I don't know. Anyway. Check it out. Definitely worth it.