A-Z Day 5

Copyright ©2015 Mark Kelly.

E is for Entertainment.

Thought I'd share one or two of the things I do for entertainment and see how they compare with your choice of relaxing pasttime/s.

I am, without question, an iPad convert. Bought initially 2 years ago as a surprise Christmas present I wasn't too fussed - strangely I have the slight distrust/dislike of Mac products. Strange merely for the fact I use three of them (life can be strange indeed).

So now I use my iPad for music when training, web browsing in snatches, but most of all, watching Netflix. This is my media drug of choice for the present.

So, aside from various films, I do find the box set genre totally absorbing. When I've had a crummy day I escape into Netflix and my tv series of choice. Breaking Bad was amazing, I have to admit. Initially sceptical as I didn't want to 'follow the crowd', but the crowd were not wrong.And now my fix of choice is the US comedy series, 'That 70s Show', something I once caught when shown on terrestrial tv, I now have the complete series at my finger tips. The cast are great and the interaction is so funny at times.


I do have to say though, I am noticing some similarities between the characters and story lines of 'That 70s Show' and those of 'The Big Bang Theory' (another favourite of mine). For instance, both use foreign characters, Fez (70s), and Raj (TBBT). And also there is that hint of something boardering on a bromance between Fez & Kelso (70s (Ashton Kutcher's character)), and Raj and Wallowitz in (TBBT). Then you have the remaining friends and main cast: Donna & Eric (70s) the main boyfriend/girlfriend, and Leonard & Penny (TBBT). So maybe 'The Big Bang Theory' owes something to 'That 70s Show'?

Gaming:
Presently my gaming distraction is that of 'The Elder Scrolls Online' now it has gone into a 'free-to-play' model, although the game still needs to be purchased first. But it keeps me connected with several of my closer online gaming buddies, and when there is no-one from the guild we formed online, then I turn up the in-game music to full and wander the landscapes collecting various resources (plants for Alchemy, metals for Smithing, wood for Carpentry and rune stones for Enchanting).

Strange as it may seem, I've broken away from creating hulking male characters and this time round my main character is a female Woodelf Sorcerer. She does have a very fetching skinhead inside of the awful in-game flowing locks, and is of deminuative height, but pack one heck of a punch. Her primary role is party healer, so when we're in a guild group raiding some dungeon or other, mycharacter satys in the background healing the party and keeping everyone on their toes. But should things get sticky, she has great crowd control and area of effect skills, being able to harness the destructive power of electricity.

Forgot to mention - she is also a Werewolf, and this is her transformation.

 It's fun getting involved in the PvP (Player vs Player) side of the game also. To date, though, we have lost more than we have won - early days.

One thing I do miss and that is the ability for a character to make a camp fire as they can in 'World of Warcraft'. I always felt it added a sense of atmosphere to plonk your character in front of a roaring camp fire as darkness fell. I miss those moments.

As for other stuff, there is my training which has expanded from my rehab regime into something broader in order to help and encompass flexibility, strength and endurance. But I have to be honest, endurance-wise it is a struggle, but then it wouldn't be fun if it was easy, and we all love a challenge now, don't we?

To close here is a cinematic video promoting the above game: The Elder Scrolls Online - I hope you enjoy it, if nothing more than from a fantasy animation perspective. I love these cinematics - just wish they'd produce feature legnth films like this.