Panflute

I did quite like Halo Reach's campaign. Plenty of memorable environments and I liked the sense of foreboding of knowing it wasn't going to end well. Halo: CE's campaign dragged on for way too long though, and I never finished it in like 3 attempts.

I bought this game after reading this, and it's really fun. It has the Pick Up And Play aspect of Rocket League. As I don't know the rules of American football, it took me a few matches to get used to it, but by now I've already completed a season and it's not boring yet. I also love how all the teams have a different feel to them. Also, the commentary reminds me of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, which is always a plus.

Last I heard the Dutch guy was still in custody. Käsespätzle at the restaurant you're referring to were really greasy. I'd still take them though.

I got arrested for attending a sexually explicit party along with some Brits. I'd kill for some shitty German food now.

"A settlement somewhere"

"A place at the Rhine" is a really lazy subtitle

I worded that wrong, I don't have a Switch sadly. I played a lot of Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U though. How is Doom on the Switch? I played it on the PC and it was an amazing game without any weak moments.

It's too bad I don't have MK8 on Switch because I'd kill all your asses.

And there is a slew of detrimental things that are 100% optional yet do not get confronted with that line of reasoning. It's just an inconsequential way to trying to sound smart.

Yes, but my point was that people apply that logic selectively, which is a very disingenuous thing to do.

And yet most of us spend 8 hours a day in an office doing shit that doesn't matter, until it's weekend and we fuck women who have temporarily rendered themselves sterile through artificial means. It's weird how this idea that 'humans should do what we're hardwired to do' is selectively applied to diets while it conveniently denies that the lives we lead in modern society radically contrast our animalistic origins in many, many ways.

Yeah, that keeps surprising me. Tupac died at 25, Biggie was only 24. BG Knocc Out was still in high school when he made Real Muthaphukkin' Gz with Eazy-E, and iirc in Shook Ones, Progidy says he's 19. It seems many rappers also make their best stuff when they're young. Ice Cube had already made all his classic stuff by the time he was 25, Ren released all but one of his albums with NWA or solo before he hit 30, and King Tee's last album is from 2002, when he was in his early thirties. One thing that seems different about hiphop compared to metal is that there is a much greater need to be ahead of the curve if you want people to remember you, and it seems that as soon as you lose that edge, you're seen as outdated. By the time NWA released their second album, it was still great, but everyone was already doing it so the impact wasn't quite as big. Same goes for Bone-Thugs, Wu-Tang Clan and a slew of others. Not saying they can't make good music anymore, but there's never going to be something that hits as hard as E.1999 or 36 Chambers. Pretty sure DJ Quik was in his mid-twenties when he made that song though, as it came out in 1995 and he had already been making music since 1987. That's one of the main things that bothered me about the Straight Outta Compton movie (other than Eazy-E being made to look like a broke chump): if you watch it without knowing the group, you'd think MC Ren was a background figure, while in reality he was the best rapper in NWA. Ice Cube may have been the better lyricist, but if you listen to songs like If It Ain't Ruff or any of the stuff on Niggaz4Life, he just had the best flow of that group. Not to mention that he also co-wrote Eazy-E's first solo album, and the NWA aesthetic (black jackets, white shirts and Raiders caps) was based on what Ren was wearing. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are undeniable titans of industry, but the way they tried to change history with that movie gives me a very sour taste in the mouth.

I always preferred West Coast music because I liked the productions better. I mean, beats like Shook Ones, CREAM and Da Mystery of Chessboxin are among the best, but West-Coast producers like Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and especially DJ U-Neek came much closer to being proper songwriters. It's my theory that this is also why the East Coast has generally had the better MCs, because the music was more centered around the vocals, whereas in the West you could get away with being a technically mediocre rapper and still have major hits (Eazy-E and Dr. Dre again being prime examples). Not to say there weren't excellent rappers on the West too. It's why Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are my favourite: their early work combines technically outstanding rapping with the laid-back Western sound. On the other hand, I can't listen to Biggie because even though he was a great rapper, I don't find him pleasant to listen to. I never really got into Eminem for the same reason. As for Immortal Technique, I was never into explicitly political hiphop. I like a few of his songs, but I get tired of that stuff pretty fast.

Tbh I've always preferred Ruthless over Death Row when it comes to West Coast music. They may not have top-end rappers like Kurupt and 2Pac (apart from Bone Thugs), but producers like Rhythm D, Cold 187um, Yella and DJ U-Neek they did have a more underground take on the G-Funk sound. Productions like this define that era for me:

The thing about The Chronic is that it is a monumental hiphop album that really established (though did not invent) G-Funk as the West Coast sound for years to come. Still it isn't an album that is good from start to finish, which is rare in hiphop anyway. It's front-loaded with classics such as Fuck Wit Dre Day, Let Me Ride and Nuthing But A G Thang, but then you have forgettable songs like Lil Ghetto Boy and filler like High Powered and the album goes out on a whimper. I think Dogg Food might be a stronger album throughout, mainly because Kurupt is a top-tier MC while Dr. Dre as a rapper (not a producer) is okay at best.

Another classic. Kurupt's verse on this is one of the best in hiphop imo.

I've been a vegetarian for about 10 years

Apart from a being a good diss track, this song also has an excellent beat. I love the bass line.

I never really liked their songs that were just about doing drugs. Budsmokers Only and Buddah Lovaz were the weakest songs of E.1999 imo. Those ice-cold raps about murder and violence were always what defined their sound for me. Like a blend of G-Funk and Horrorcore.

Been listening to Bone Thugs' E.1999 again a lot recently, along with other West Coast stuff (yeah I know they're from Cleveland but stylistically WC). With the amount of stuff that's online today you can find a lot of interesting background info and other stuff. Like I found out that the verses by Dresta and BG Knocc Out on Real Muthafucking Gz were recorded on the same day they met Eazy-E. Also found this early version of Bone Thugs' "Down 71" that sounds like it would've fit perfectly on their first EP.

Not really playing anything for the past month apart from Elder Scrolls Online and FIFA.

I think it still makes a difference whether you go there and play like shit and finish 4th, or you roll up your opponents and take the trophy home. It won't be what decides the season, but what Real Madrid needs right now is to simply play some games and dominate them, like they did against Sevilla. It doesn't even really matter what the competition is, as long as they get their shit together before they face PSG. We have seen that again this wasn't the case against Al Jazira (although in all fairness Real Madrid were really unlucky and on another day it would've been 8-0), so I hope they turn up against Grêmio.

I didn't even know about the booking policy, but that is pure lunacy. If FIFA's goal is to make the Club World Cup more attractive for European teams, stuff like that is so counter-productive. And yeah, it will be very interesting to see where this will take Real. Maybe I'm being optimistic, but I think that if they end up winning this, get a few goals in and play good football, that might do something to boost the confidence that seems to have been so absent this season so far. Beyond that, a lot hinges on their performance in El Clásico. It's the type of game that might make or break a season.

This is especially true for Ronaldo. I'm glad he broke duck against Sevilla because you could see that, with every match, he grew more frustrated with himself, which doesn't only affect his own game, but those around him, as he got even more angry than usual at his teammates for not giving him every ball. This is of course completely unnecessary behaviour if you have his quality, and demonstrate it in the Champion's League with 9 goals in 6 matches. Even though Benzema is going through a drought as well, I think it affects his overall posture less, as he still puts in a lot of work and doesn't start yelling at himself with every ball he misses. With that in mind, I'm very curious how these players will perform in the Club World Cup this week. It wouldn't surprise me if Ronaldo and Benzema carried the team to victory.

It's not showing mercy, it's lacking either the willpower or ability to shut the door on teams that are obviously inferior in every regard. It is a fact that the longer you postpone finishing off your opponent, the more he'll start believing in himself. With Real Madrid, what I've noticed is that it often takes them a long time to get up to speed and adjust to the game. The first 20-25 minutes tend to be riddled with unforced personal errors such as bad passes and losing the ball unnecessarily. Then the team maybe gets a few chances in and before you know it it's half-time and anything is still possible. With teams like Alavés, you have to be focused from the start and overrun them in the first half-hour. Why Real don't seem to do that is a more complicated matter. Sevilla was an obvious exception, but even there, in the first 20 minutes Sevilla were simply playing better football and that is just inviting trouble. I also disagree it's a recent thing, as I've always had the idea that Real Madrid has a lot more trouble mopping up these 'default wins' than Barcelona. The crazy season of 2006-07 comes to mind.