CONSUMING [nichole] Today

I can’t believe I did it, but I created a (trial) account for the new MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online. I don’t normally play these types of games beyond an initial trial or beta here and there. Instead I usually prefer lament over the time and money wasted by playing.

(Forcing you to pay $50-$60 for some plastic and cardboard and then $120-$180 per year for the privilege of playing is a bit much, especially since I know many people who play several games at once and/or have multiple accounts)

But enough complaining! This game is FUN! Despite being a relative newbie I managed to enjoy and make it through the introduction/tutorial. Having a seasoned gamer in the same room with me helped at times, but for the most part I played on my own without feeling completely lost and confused.

That’s not to say I didn’t make it through unscathed. I’ve become intimately close to the mini stone henge circles laid about where you magically appear after dying a gruesome death. So far I’ve been killed by:

A bunch of nasty blackwolds (what the heck is a blackwold!?) + their pet wolves.
A pack of howling wolves.
A gang of angry bears.
A murderous group of hunters who I mistook for good guys.
A swarm of killer bees + 2 hungry bears.

Maybe I can get the title “The Resurrected” when I reach level 10.

There are a few things every once and awhile that I feel the developers and hardcore gamers take for granted. For the developers, little things like having to know to hit ESC to skip the intro movie (it’s really cool, but after watching it a dozen times.. *yawn*) - why can’t I hit ANY key or click the mouse? For the experienced gamers constantly using cheesy gaming lingo and asking questions or speaking in reference to other online games like WoW and EQ is annoying.

Anyway, I’m seriously considering going beyond the trial with this one. Having consumed both the movies and the books I’m enjoying the familiarity of Tolkien world and want to explore more.

Artist Arnd Drossel walks along a country road in a sphere made of over 200 lbs of steel wire. The artist is making a 300 kilometre journey across Germany to draw attention to the many people who according to Drossel are “out of balance” and in need of “social psychiatric” help.

Despite not knowing German and being unable to read Drossel’s Inner Balance site or understand the video he has posted I feel that the recent tragic happenings at VT seem to underscore this walking social statement.

Think about it.

Long live Google Product Search!

According to CNET News,

Acknowledging that it’s better to be clear than clever, Google is rebranding “Froogle” as “Google Product Search” and simplifying the interface to match the main search site, a top executive said on Wednesday.

Also in a bid to push their payment processing product a new feature that lets users display only merchants that accept Google Checkout has been added.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always liked the name Froogle! I do admit that when verbally telling people about Froogle I always had to spell it and explain that it was Google’s search engine for shopping and price comparison.

I hope this isn’t a sign that the fun and young Google is turning into a stuffy corporate  ol’ fogey.

Channel your inner Picasso over at MrPicassohead for a fun and artsy way to waste time online!

I had been seeing the commercials Fox’s new series Drive for awhile. They barely caught my attention and I had no intention of adding this new show to my viewing roster.

But luckily for Fox, I had the TV on in the background tuned to The Simpsons while doing other stuff when Drive came on before I realized it.

I was hooked within the first 5 minutes.

Might have had something to do with Nathan Fillion who I’ve been drawn to ever since his days on One Life To Live as Joey Buchanan. (Of course we all know he was great on FireFly too.)

I even skipped watching Desperate Housewives to see the 2nd hour of the premiere.

Drive is about participants in an illegal cross-country road race for $32 million. But if you are expecting an unimaginative show about cars and speed (like I was) change your expectations now! Many of the “racers” have been coerced into the race by various methods (not yet completely revealed) such as Fillion’s character, Alex Tully, whose wife has been kidnapped by unknown persons affiliated with the race. The race becomes almost secondary to the individual characters, their backgrounds, and their varied motives for winning.

Unfortunately, Drive seems to have not done so well in this week’s ratings with only 6 million people watching on Sunday evening. Has me wondering if it will suffer the same fate as other much loved but fast canceled series?

If you are interested and missed the beginning you can catch it online at Drive’s official Myspace page.