Valve Bursts Pipe on Steam for Mac

Remember how Steam was coming out for Mac? It happened. Right now, as long as you have a computer and don’t use Linux, you can use Steam.

The Steam application runs well, although downloads are a little slow right now, probably because a lot of people are downloading games right now. Thanks to Steam Play, there are already 57 games available for Macintosh consumption. That includes hits like Torchlight and Civilization IV.

Also, Valve’s first game on Mac, Portal, is free right now until the 24th. As far as I know, that’s for Mac and Windows gamers. Portal, as you might remember, is pretty much the best game ever. You really should get it. I’m looking at you, Colin and John. It’s free. You’ve got no excuse. Give it a shot.

Go. Now.

Langerhans>Griffey

I’ve often enjoyed the Game Day screen shots you see around the M’s blogosphere, so here’s my first attempt.

First let’s look at Ryan Langerhans’, greatest Mariner of all time, triumphant home run last night.

That is one fat sunova bitch fastball. Langerhans is extremely patient. Yes, he is only batting .143, but that is only based on 14 at bats. He’s walked eight times already in his brief time up here, getting on base at a .455 clip. His patience allows him to punish pitches like this one. Yeah he’s not going to hit 30 bombs, but he’s also not going to get himself out like Mr. Sweeney. He’s going to wait for that sweet pitch even if it means striking out looking every once in a while. These are reasons I love Langerhans so very very much.

On to Griffey. Junior is extremely patient as well. He is also looking for that one fastball he can still handle.

The problem is, he can’t handle it any longer. Here’s his juicy fastball:

These are both very similar pitches. Junior’s was around 94 MPH while Langerhans’ was around 92. They both arrived at the plate around 85 MPH. Juniors broke about 2.2″ while Langerhans’ broke 3.8″. Junior’s is a bit higher in the strike zone, which is usually what they tell pitchers NOT to do while they are pitching to future HOFers.

The point I’m trying to make is, yes Griffey is done. I hate saying it. It saddens me greatly. But we are at the point where Griffey is really dragging the team down. Sure this comparison is based on 2 isolated at bats, but we’ve seen this all year. Griffey has to guess, and even when he guesses right, he’s incapable of doing anything with it. At this point in his career he is WORSE than Langerhans. He is WORSE than Josh Wilson. If Wak batting him 7th behind those two says anything, it says “Hey Junior, we really appreciate all you’ve done, but go home to Orlando and be with your family.”

Heart of Iron

Iron Man 2

There is a definite pattern to super hero movies. First comes the origin film, the exciting and interesting tale of how an unlikely individual becomes someone greater than they ever thought they could be. Then comes the sequel, which ups the action and forces our hero to face a greater foe than they ever imagined. After that, usually the series spins out of control into less good franchise cash-ins. That’s how Superman did it, Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman did it, and that seems to be the path the Iron Man franchise has committed itself to.

But Iron Man 2 is at a disadvantage. I’m no expert on the comics, but I’ve always gotten the impression that Tony Stark’s greatest foe was himself. He’s a narcissistic alcoholic first, super hero second. At the same time, the Stark we got in the first Iron Man was so likable, audiences don’t want to see him self-destruct.

So how do you make an Iron Man 2? You go with what worked in the first movie: lots of dialogue-heavy comedy, sleek special effects, and some neat action. And that’s exactly what director Jon Favreau did.

Just like the previous film, Robert Downey, Jr. is the main attraction here, as his Tony Stark is just as great as the last time. Stark is struggling with a lot this time around, it turns out having a super battery embedded in your chest is not healthy. The government wants him to hand over the Iron Man suit and at the same time his chief business rival, Justin Hammer (played by the terrific Sam Rockwell) is trying to steal Stark’s idea. And the evil Russian version of Tony wants revenge for his father. Also, Stark is alienating his friends Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard). And Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson are bothering him too.

Yeah, there’s a lot going on in Iron Man 2. The movie really wants you to know that Captain America and Thor movies are coming out next summer, and The Avengers will be out in 2012. Loading so much into one movie probably did end up making it a little longer than it should have been, but I did not really have any problem with the length or trouble keeping track of what was going on.

Ultimately the story is not as satisfying or interesting as the original movie. I think that’s less the fault of this film and more the problem with super hero sequels not be as engaging as origin stories. Stark’s arc is justifiably frustrating, with a somewhat rushed conclusion. They really just tried their best to put everything together for a big action sequence at the end. I liked that action fine, certainly a lot more than the first movie, but I think in a post-Avatar world you have to do more than just CG action.

Speaking of Avatar, I’m so glad this movie is not in 3D. Just saying.

There probably will be a third Iron Man. Despite Stark possibly appearing in future Marvel movies as well as Avengers, I think they will want to get Favreau behind the camera again (Joss Whedon is said to be directing Avengers – awesome). So who goes head-to-head with the Iron Knight next time? It can’t be more robots / dudes in suits, I think that well is tapped. It’s got to be monsters or something. I’m not sure that can work in this movie’s universe. I guess we’ll find out in 2013.

C.A.T: Hotel California

Eagles – Hotel California (1976)
The Eagles are playing at Key Arena this week and although I’m not going I’ve definitely had them on the brain. I feel like the Eagles don’t get a lot of respect on this blog so I’l go ahead and personally honor them with the first “Classic Album Tuesday” since August.

Easily the most defining work of one of the great American rock bands. Hotel California saw the Eagles at their commercial and creative peak. Coming off the release of the most successful greatest hits album of all time, the Eagles surprised everyone with even more hits including what is now considered their signature song.

With the departure of founding member Bearnie Leadon, Hotel California would see the addition of guitarist/vocalist Joe Walsh, formerly of The James Gang. This would provide the Eagles with an even harder edge on heavy rockers like “Victim of Love” and popular radio staple “Life in the Fast Lane”. Though you can never count out the Eagles ability to weave a heartfelt ballad. The Joe Walsh penned “Pretty Maids All in a Row” is pleasant easy listening and the same can be said for bassist Randy Meisner’s country flavored “Try and Love Again”. Hotel California also contains what maybe my all time favorite Eagles’ song in “New Kid in Town” the album’s leadoff #1 single sung by Glenn Frey.

And then there’s the album’s title track, one of the greatest rock songs of the seventies. Based off of a chord progression by guitarist Don Felder “Hotel California” is a rock masterpiece with it’s inter-playing guitars and picturesque lyrics. Don Henley belts it out with his rough around the edge vocal style and it’s simply the perfect rock song, nuff said.

Favorite Tracks: “Hotel California”, “New Kid in Town”, “Victim of Love”

Da Podcasket Episode 01

In this first episode of da Podcasket, da morticians discuss the Mariners, movies, TV shows, video games and more. A real smorgasbord.

This is our very first attempt at the whole podcasting thing. We’d really appreciate some feedback on what you guys want to hear discussed in future shows.

Download the episode here.

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Still Going Steady

The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever

The Hold Steady have always been one of those bands who have never quite been able to take hold of one huge particular fanbase. They rock just a little too hard and have a little too much fun to appeal to the “sniffling indie kids”, and their approach to songwriting is just a little too quirky for the mainstream rock audience. However, this latest album seems to show them reaching for that broader fanbase, and for the most part pulling it off.

First off, I forgot to mention in my Hold Steady retrospecticus that keyboardist Franz Nicolay left The Hold Steady prior to the recording of Heaven Is Whenever. Nicolay not only had a sweet mustache, but also added a nice musical complexity to The Hold Steady’s hard-rockin’ sound and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I miss his presence on this album. In his place is a return to a somewhat more heavy guitar-driven sound and this leads to a few moments on the album that have a bit of a “been-there-done-that” feel to them.

However, the album is also filled with plenty of moments that see the band branching out musically such as the uncharacteristically laid-back album-opening “Sweet Part Of The City”, or the aching ballad “We Can Get Together”. But the most enjoyable songs on the album are the ones that see the band taking their joyous riff-based rock sound in a huge, almost cinematic direction on songs like “Rock Problems” and “Hurricane J”. “The Weekenders” even finds The Hold Steady exploring almost U2-esque territory, and surprisingly they actually make it work.

When I think about it, this album kind of reminds me of Pleased To Meet Me, the 1987 album by fellow Minnesotans and one of The Hold Steady’s biggest influences, The Replacements. That album showed The Replacements trying to reach a more mainstream audience, but not quite being able to make that transition despite the fact that there’s some great material on that album. However, on that album The ‘Mats seemed like they were sort of at the end of their rope, while on this album The Hold Steady seem like they’ve still got plenty of good rockin’ left in the tank.

Favorite Tracks: “The Weekenders”, “Rock Problems”, “Our Whole Lives”

T3: Guilty Pleasures Part Deux

I remember back in October when Colin did a post of his musical “Guilty Pleasures”. Artists we like but with arguable artistic credibility. I was inspired to post my picks but it took me awhile to figure out who’d make the cut. Then I forgot, until now so I’ve dusted it off and posted it here for your pleasure. Artists I like but don’t like to admit to.

10. Bachman-Turner Overdrive
: Sure it was acceptable for drunk frat guys in the 70s and now drunk middle aged men but I don’t think you’d find a lot of folks these days that would consider it “cool” to like Bachman-Turner Overdrive. With a catalogue primarily of formulaic blues/rock tunes like; “Roll On Down the Highway”, “Let it Ride”, or the blue collar anthem “Takin’ Care of Business” they were hardly cutting edge. Even Randy Bachman thought “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” was an embarrassing song but I like em. It’s good ol’ hard drinking party rock.

9. Keane
: What makes wimpy balladeers Keane uncool? Is it their innocent image? Tom Chaplin’s vocals? The fact they play “Piano Rock”? Yeah, those all seem about right. Anyhow I still love their lush melodies and their debut album was one of my favorites of 2004.

8. Ricky Nelson
: A 50s teen dream and for awhile 70s folk singer, Ricky Nelson has had great influence on musicians like John Fogerty but he never could escape his squeaky clean image. Nonetheless I’m a fan of his non offensive 50s pop hits such as “Poor Little Fool”, “Hello Mary Lou” and “Travelin’ Man” a song for whatever reason I know all the words to. Plus if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have pop duo Nelson.

7. Rod Stewart
: I’m just talking about 70s Rod Stewart but I guess that’s still pretty embarrassing. A popular sex symbol about 100 years ago, I prefer Rod for his raspy vocals as the frontman of Faces. Not to mention Rod’s critically acclaimed solo album Every Picture Tells Story, you gotta love “Maggie May.”

6. Herman’s Hermits
: More or less another 60s British import trying to cash in on the British Invasion. Herman’s Hermit’s laid the roots for bubble-gum with their clean cut sound and image and that’s nothing to really be proud of. Though I’m surprised how many songs they have that I’m all about; “I’m Into Something Good”, “Mrs Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”, “Listen People”, “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, “There’s a Kind of Hush” not to mention the silly but infectious “I’m Henry VIII, I Am”. For all those entertaining tunes I’ll always be behind Peter Noone and company.

5. Tom Jones
Swinging 60s/70s pop crooner can still pack em in, well middle aged women that is. It was so hard to find a picture of him without his shirt off so I just gave up. I don’t think I’m the target audience but if anyone ever asked me to go to a Tom Jones concert, I’d probably go.

4. The Association
An ensemble pop group that although talented vocalists had some pretty corny hits in the sixties. I think most know them best for their cheery #1 hit “Windy” which is a perfect example of their cheesy sound. “Cherish” is another lovey dubby tune for whatever reason I enjoy and “Along Comes Mary” always gets my head bobbing.

3. The Four Seasons
In the early 60s doo-wop/blue-eyed soul was as hot as ever and no one could belt em out quite like The Four Seasons. With ear splitting falsetto it’s not hard to see why these guys have become the epitome of cheesy doo-wop music. Though I can’t deny my fondness for such hits as; “Sherry”, “Walk Like a Man” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. Hey they even have a musical Jersey Boys about them, what’s cooler than a musical?

2. The Bay City Rollers
Little separates a bubble-gum pop group like this from The Osmonds but these guys can be catchy. Even I shudder looking at those tartan-trimmed suspenders but they did have some nice arrangements of some notable pop songs and I’ll always be a fan of Scottish anthem “Saturday Night.”

1. Bee Gees
Liking Disco is basically the most uncool genre of music to be a fan. Making it a little more than embarrassing to be a fan of the group that was at the forefront of the movement. I don’t consider myself a disco fan but I’ve always really liked the Bee Gees. A Bee Gees cd was the second cd I ever bought, a purchase I do not regret…. Though I don’t often bring it up either.