Ive been growing my hair on t over the past year and half and every time I go back into the salon, I show my gal a series of images from a different Kurt Russell film. It’s been working out pretty well for me this far, next up is getting the beard to match…

JACK: “I’m beginning to feel like a little bit of an outsider here…”

ALL: “You are!”

No, you’re fine, I totally understand the mistake. I AM a pretty big HoMM fan and I was unaware that they had licensed out the IP as well, so I can’t blame you for not knowing.

I agree that there is something bland about the aesthetics of the game. From a distance (or in a thumbnail), it looks very good and faithful to the art style of the original games, just with some extra bells and whistles. However, upon closer examination there is something about the design language which feels like I’m looking at a mobile game ad. It could be that I associate HoMM with a hyper specific micro genre of fantasy art. My views are very HoMM 2 coded, and that game feels its art was ripped from the book jackets of Del Rey and Tor published paperbacks circa 1987. I love the look, especially the hero portraits.

So, this new look doesn’t really do anything for me. I’m not knowledgeable enough to suggest that AI was used to design some of these assets, but that’s the impression the art gives me, which I’m sure was not their intent.

But, it’s not? Unless you’re aware of something I’m not, this game is published by Hooded Horse, and developed by Team Unfrozen.

The director’s previous film, Leon: The Professional, features a 12 year old Natalie Portman falling in with an adult hitman who seems to be developmentally stunted in some ways. Over the course of the movie, Portman’s character “falls in love” with Leon. To the movie’s credit, this is clearly not reciprocated, but it still features a scene where Portman puts on lingerie (over her clothes) and does an impression of Marilyn Monroe’s famously horny “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” routine.

Put that right next to The Fifth Element, which features a savvy adult male who becomes the guardian of a woman who is physically an adult but mentally a child, and you’ve got a kind of gross pattern. Still though, I’d argue all of this, on its own, is easily defensible as artistic expression.

Where things get suspect is when you factor in the director’s personal life during the making of these films, as he started “dating” a 15 year old (who he met 3 years prior) before writing Leon. He was 32 at the time. They married after she became pregnant at 16.

Also, that “child-like” performance Mila Jovovich gives in The Fifth Element? Well it’s important to note that the director wound up getting divorced from his child bride because of the affair he was having with Jovovich. At least she was 18 at the time, but, still, when placed into context, yuck.

If you have affinity for survival horror and adventure game (or 90s goth aesthetic)I recommend adding Grim Beard to your rotation.

It’s an Albany expression.

Here’s hoping they let Irons go full ham. Love him in full villain mode.

Some criticized Warner Bros. for the move, saying the studio was throwing away money by not holding on the rights in perpetuity. Other articles took a more alarmist tone, saying that the move, while not the first, could destabilize the entire film industry by emboldening directors and creating an environment where studios own nothing.

I don’t shop at Trader Joe’s because it’s outside of my budget, but I have friends that do. I’ll be sure to ask them. Their niche as what I guess I’d call a “boutique grocery store” would seemingly allow for coffee grinders in-shop, if for no other reason than I think it appeals to what I’d imagine their key demographic is.

Oh wow! That’s even more expensive a selection than I remember. Is this a chain, or a local store?

This is snarky, so I’m preempting this by saying this is in the spirit of a gentle tease, and not an attack on your person: The presumption that I’ve somehow simply missed the aisle which contains bulk whole bean coffee and it’s attendant grinders for the past 20 years is wild. Is this a platform 9 3/4 situation? Or must you close your eyes, spin counterclockwise 3 times, and say Arabica Kadabra?

In seriousness though, color me jealous. I’d love to have access to what you’re describing, especially the fresh nut butter.

Do you mind sharing your general location? Within the Midwestern US, they all seem to have gone the way of the dodo.

more info than you could ever want about Pitchford’s porn habits

In short, there was a legal dispute between Pitchford and a former counsel for Gearbox. As part of a pattern of suit-countersuit, the former employee alleged that Pitchford had left a USB stick at a local restaurant which contained proprietary company info as well as underage pornography. Pitchford confirmed that all of the above, with the notable exception of the “underage” part. Given nothing came of it, and he was remarkably candid about what type of porn was actually on the USB, I’m inclined to believe him.

At least Kirkbride’s fever dreams were entertaining…

It’s always odd to me when words develop parallel but distinct meanings based on context. Like, I know “to cleave to” something is to attach to it, but it trips me up (esp. in a Warhammer context where Saltzpyre would be hanging out) since I default to “he was cleaved in twain”.

As with most other English oddities, I assume this is holdover from my ancestors treating other languages like swap meets.

Josh Ritter’s Kathleen performance from Live at the Iveagh Gardens has far and away subsumed the studio version for me. The original track is fine, I guess, but there’s some kind of alchemy in that live performance that takes it from a kinda sleepy singer/songwriter ballad to a roots rock revival jam. Or something like that. Idk, I’m certainly no music critic, but I know which version I prefer.

This sounds like something George Clooney’s character in O Brother Where Art Thou might say.

Personally, a proverbial pile of proctologists pass as performers called “The Soggy Bottom Boys” perfectly.