The dining habits of a nerd (part 2)

Here we go again! another list of nerdy consumables that go well with other things we all love. This time I've included a few recipe links in case your a real hands-on geek and want to make these yourself!

while watching LEGEND OF KORRA you might consider these dishes...

Savory beef stew: 

this result is based off the water tribe, but tweaked in order to be accessible to a wider audience. now traditionally, stews in the water tribe would not use beef, as beef would need to be imported in order to make this. The water tribes mainly thrive off of sea food, so if you really want to stick to tradition

you could try FISH (and/or octopus and squid) SOUP. The southern water tribe especially thrives off many soups and stews due to both its warming quality and quantity of sustenance it provides. I believe beef stew would be something savored by a water tribe native however, as it would be both unique and familiar at the same time.

beef stew: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/beef-stew-recipe.html

fish soup:http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fish-Soup-with-Bread-and-Rouille-105642

seafood stew: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/seafood-stew-recipe.htmlPORK 

shrimp and octopus soup:http://allrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-and-octopus-soup-caldo-de-camaron-y-pulpo/

STUFFED CABBAGE:

This result is based off the earth kingdom. the earth kingdom has access to many different types of food, but despite that fact, there are some things that native earth kingdom residents would enjoy that would bring back nostalgic thoughts of home and childhood. cabbage is a staple earth kingdom vegetable, extremely versatile and added to many different dishes, but I paired it with pork because it is also another very traditional, although perhaps more middle-class earth kingdom ingredient. 

stuffed cabbage: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/braised-cabbage-stuffed-with-pork-recipe.html

SPICY CHICKEN CHILI:
this ones based off, you guessed it! the fire nation. Ive
chosen a dish that combines two staple fire nation ingredients, chicken and spiciness (chilies) most fire nation dishes include chilies since they naturally enjoy spicy foods. the recipe includes various peppers and chilies so it would not be hard to imagine residents enjoying a bowl of this for dinner. 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spicy-chicken-chili

APPLE CUSTARD PIE:
last but certainly not least, this ones based of the air nation. since the air nomads were originally vegetarians, they seemed to have quite a few fruit based desserts, including custard tarts and apple pie. I have combined these two traditional dishes in my search for something quintessentially air nation-esk.

apple custard pie: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/apple-custard-pie






while playing SETTLERS OF CATAN, one may consider some of these food options.

With little to go on in terms of what food resources were available to settlers (besides sheep and wheat), I tried to limit the ingredients, and keep things within the realm of farm-like food to provide the most authentic recipes within the mindset of the game. and of course, you don't want a full fledged feast or large dishes to mess around with while playing a game, so I kept most of the items simple and small.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS:
This would be a great snack especially if your playing the game at breakfast, simple, easy to make, and perhaps topped with some raspberry jelly or used for the base of an EGGS BENEDICT.










buttermilk biscuits: http://southern.food.com/recipe/southern-buttermilk-biscuits-26110
eggs benedict: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2450/gordons-eggs-benedict

LAMB KEBABS:
with lamb obviously an important resource to the settlers, I couldn't possibly forget  to include a lamb based dish. these would be great for a catan based dinner party or barbecue, you can easily eat them with one hand while pwning your rival settlers with the other.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/marinated-lamb-kebabs-recipe.html


SPINACH AND BACON QUICHE:
spinach is a fairly easy plant to grow, which I have done myself, and assuming the settlers have pigs, and eggs and a few other things, this would make a great food for any time of the day. I've gotta say, this one looks pretty darn delicious too.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe.html

CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY and drinking go together like naruto and hinata (yes I'm still a naruhina advocate) so heres some offensive and fun cocktails to go with an equally offensive and fun
game:

ADIOS MOTHERF*CKER:
4 different types of liquor and a few other ingredients...Id say the name strangely fits.
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink735.html










RED HEADED SLUT:
so...kindof like Jean Grey? yeah, I'm gonna get some lashback for that... http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink644.html












SEX WITH AN ALLIGATOR:
not a pleasant mental image...but the drink actually looks pretty cool.
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1145.html

PISSED OFF JAPANESE MINNOW FARMER:
yes, this is an actual drink name and no, I don't know why.
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1t5s435.html

WATCHING AVENGERS and eating...what else? shwarma
shwarma recipe: http://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/meats/beef-shawarma-recipe/
   

last but not least...BUYING A PS4 OR XBOX ONE: and eating ramen...because you'll be broke.


thank you for reading my article! I had to do most of the research on my phone because my computer is busted, so it wasn't too fun, but its worth bringing fun stuff to read to fellow geeks, please share and comment!

mass effect, adventure time, and other stuff.

LOTS of news, or at least rumors and plans on the mass effect front. First off lets start with something I am particularly excited about, a possible graphic re-haul of the mass effect trilogy for the

next gen consoles! this would also include all the dlc for every game. I know, you have a lot of questions, but bioware has a long standing reputation for dragging out project ideas for a long period of time, which i'm ok with because the end result is usually amazing (...except the "end" result of the trilogy, but, lets not talk about that...ever again). honestly nothing has been confirmed, its all in the idea stages at this point, but I will tell you what I do know. 

The combat system of me1 could go either way, there have been numerous requests rom fans to re-vamp the combat and inventory

system or make it similar to me3, however, this is what Aaryn Flynn, head of bioware edmonton and montreal had to say on the subject:  

"First it would be a helluva lot of work. Second, I hate the idea of us being accused of 'retconning' ME1. Third (and I bet everyone on NeoGAF knows this), there are those who prefer ME1... So given that all that, it doesn't feel like the right thing to do."

somewhat inconclusive, but it seems as though he is leaning towards keeping it pretty vanilla, which I think is cool. A lot of fans really enjoy the simpler interface of me2, however I really liked the variety of weapons in me1, which they seemed to partially reintroduce in me3.

moving on...the mass effect movie, is there any hope? 

mark protosevich, screenwriter for thor, made this comment about a year ago, 

“It was the first game adaptation I did and it will probably be the only one. They’re hard. I will freely admit it was hard. Because – especially with ‘Mass Effect’ - there’s just so much material. Narratively, with the game, you’re talking about nine, ten hours of narrative you’re jamming into two hours."

obviously its been "on the table" for a long time, but will it ever actually see the light of day? in more recent news, IGN seems to think so, heres a quote from their article titled "UNIVERSAL MAY HAVE JUST ANNOUNCED THE MASS EFFECT MOVIE":

"Legendary sealed a multiyear co-financing deal with Universal last year and already has an untitled Michael Mann project set for Jan. 16, 2015..."

I mean, were all excited and hopeful, but I'm gonna wait for some actual NEWS before speculating about this, its just too important a topic to be grasping at straws for at this point, show us some evidence!!!

moving right along...adventure time! has it taken a turn for the worse? pendleton ward, creator of the show, has just stepped down. One of his many comments on the subject, following a similar tone was this:

"Whatever the next thing is, I just want my brain to be happy doing it," he says. "My state of mind is superimportant. I'm so fried, so I have to sort of work within the confines of what my brain can handle."

I have personally watched every adventure time episode to date. in my opinion, after Pendleton left it seemed to take a turn for the very ordinary and unexciting. I really hope they can get a new writer in that knows Pendleton's thought process, or maybe even bring something new to the show. None of us want to see another "ghost fly" episode...

Finally, in conclusion...cats

The new mass effect game (mass effect 4)

It has no official title, and we know very little at this point. what I do know I will share.
this new game will not be a sequel to the series, that much we know. that leaves two options: a spin-off, or a prequel. either which way, I am excited to see its development. They have stated that it will not have anything to do with the previous mass effect games, however, will give a "nod" to the previous games. easter eggs imminent. from the video, the environment looks much more diverse than the previous games and has a bit of an undirected feel to it, changing almost at random. well, sorry to disappoint but thats about all Ive got, they are really working hard to keep this thing under wraps, and reveal just enough to keep the gamers metaphorical whistles wet. until next time...I should go.

Peter and the colossus

I'm kicking myself because Ive forgotten to mention my friends upcoming independent film to you guys, and I'm super excited to see it! once you see the trailer you will be too. sorry I have to post a link to the video instead of uploading because of technical issues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0tJTabxeZw

so, The director has given me permission to let you guys in on an exclusive production blog. originally it was only for producers and such, however; I told him you fellow bloggers are awesome and would like exclusive stuff cuz...who doesnt? so heres the production blog in all its exclusive glory:

http://peterandthecolossus.blogspot.com/

now, since the directors been so nice to you guys, maybe you could help him out a little...right now the movie is in post production and juuuuust about done, however, there are a few additional funds needed to really round it out.too mitchel veirnes, writer/director, explains further in the link below:
(watch it! even if you don't want to donate, he explains stuff about the movie I didn't and shows a few clips I didn't show also)

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/finishing-funds-for-peter-and-the-colossus

5 Things you might not know about dragon age: inquisition

1. First and foremost, MULTIPLE RACES ARE BACK!!! thats right, humans, elves and dwarves will all be playable as the main character once again. The storyline will still be linear to an extent, meaning, you won't get to choose the background of your character from what I know thus far. You will, however, be treated differently depending on your race by npc's and team members in the game. For some strange reason, certain people have been posting articles saying that you WILL NOT be able to play different races...people please...do your research before you post entirely false information, here are my sources for the info from Gamespot, IGN and kotaku:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/dragon-age-inquisition-sees-return-of-multiple-player-races-6412614
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/07/dragon-age-inquisition-multiple-player-races-return-mounts-added
http://kotaku.com/dragon-age-inquisition-lets-you-choose-your-heros-rac-1045961945


2. The will be online multiplayer, I havent been able to find much about this, I think they are trying to keep a few things like this a mystery for those who buy the game. It may possibly be the same type of style as me3's multiplayer where the more you play, the higher territorial stats you gain in the singlplayer campaign.


3. The main character (the one you play) will be voice acted, whether male or female. I'm not sure if the voices will be different for the different races but we will just have to find that one out

4. There will be mount's, such as horses (I assume) they are trying to make the dragon age world more explorable. not quite an "open world" game like skyrim, but from what Ive read, the areas that you can travel to are quite large, and you will be wanting to use those mounts to get around. balancing a linear story and an "open world" game are quite difficult, so they will be working on that perfect compromise between the two, while still having many open-ended stories besides the main one.

5. You will be able to customize your armor. thats right, you and your team's armor will be choosable like in DA:O and you will also be able to customize some textiles and coloring as well.

great decals for gamers and anime fanatics!

A big thanks to the people at stickeraddicts.com  for sending me some great decals! please go check them out and buy a decal or two, these are great quality decals with a wide selection of colors and sizes, theres even a section just for gamers! If it's not obvious from the pics, I decided to decorate my 360 and laptop (sorry for the one that overshadows the other, my laptop is so full of stickers)

 metal flake galaxy storm trooper.

 chrome skyrim sticker...yeah, best color ever

If the last ones hard to recognize, its edward from cowboy bebop. originally black, but I changed the color to purple for no extra charge!

MGS V: The phantom pain

I feel the need to post this trailer for the game as It really stuck out among the rest, I won't say much more because I think it really just speaks for itself. keep in mind, it is quite graphic.