Zut! Competition!

It appears I face a challenger in my quest to become the most notable Cardwellite on Blogspot - my nefarious brother, Joel. To this affront, I declare this: he is a big stupid-head with a silly beard! Sir, this is war!

Things I recommend

Ry Cooder: Paradise and Lunch (1974)

Ry Cooder was one of a number of artists in the 70s who present a major challenge to anyone who would attempt to slot different music into neat, self-contained genres. Like Randy Newman and the McGarrigle Sisters, Cooder exploited the often murky demarcation lines that separate American popular music, mixing and matching country, jazz, blues, western and gospel to create a sort of ultimate, idealized America, that manages to be both iconic and original. Highlights include a sublime cameo by jazz pianist Earl Hines on the otherwise bluesy Ditty Wah Ditty, and an inspired interpretation of the 60s R&B hit, It's All Over Now.



Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992)

Don't listen to any fanatical Sierra supporters - Lucasarts was the best, indeed arguably the only good developer of graphical adventure games in the early 90s. Fate of Atlantis was one of its very best, offering a story well worthy of the Indy series, with Nazi scientists, mysticism, camel chases, fistfights, balloon rides and an explosive finale. However, it is far more than an interactive movie - the gameplay does not disappoint, with puzzles that are never unsatisfying and always fit the logic of the Indy universe. The game's greatest gameplay triumph is its innovative three-path structure. At a critical point in the plot, Indy has to choose whether to follow the Fists, the Wits or the Team path, with each choice leading to a completely different series events. This not only creates an incentive to replay the game, but is an interesting way of looking at how we can solve the same basic problem in vastly different ways. Fate of Atlantis is probably the best introduction to the glories of classic Lucasarts, as familiar characters and the absence of surrealism make it a more welcoming experience than the bizarre worlds of Sam and Max or even Monkey Island.

Token First Post

I started this blog almost a week ago. I have yet to post. Why is this? Is it that I am a 6th rate thinker at best, sails tattered, crew scurvy-ridden? Is it that I am an irrepressible procrastinator? Is it simply that my heart is not really in it? To all three, the short answer is yes. The long answer is yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssss.

However, I realized that part of the reason for my inability to fill this space is simply the pressure of being first. I felt that the first post of a new blog ought not only to be especially good, but also that it should be somehow indicative of everything that would follow it. It would define the tone as well as the content.

With this high-minded artistic ideal, I set out like a man who has just embarked on his honeymoon with his beautiful, young bride. Yet, like so many before me, I was undone when my darling wife turned out to be an axe-wielding transvestite with a taste for human flesh. That is to say, I was disappointed, the pressure to create the perfect first post leading not only to an unfulfilled sex life, but also considerable danger to my person. Like an over-extended simile, it tried my patience.

In the end, I decided that my first post would be neither enlightening, entertaining, nor epoch-defining. "Perhaps," thought I, "if I can just bang out some rubbish, throw in some dubious assonance and maybe a little smarmy deconstruction, then I can bypass the first post altogether." And so here we are. Hopefully now that I have this out of the way I'll be able to think of something actually worth saying for the next time. Until then, keep your stick on the ice.