Q&A Meme

• Leave me a comment saying “Resistance is Futile.”
• I’ll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions

(Questions from )

1. Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, or Michelle Yeoh?

Gotta go with Michelle Yeoh on this one. Not only has she done great period work (Tai Chi Master, Butterfly Sword, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), but she’s also done modern action (Police Story 3, Heroic Trio). Plus, and here’s the kicker that puts her over the top: She was a Bond girl. Lin fell into the rut of playing too many witches/magical eunuchs/oddities, and Cheung never really was more than the “adorable girlfriend” in many of her roles — although I did like her in Heroic Trio.

2. United looked kind of shaky last weekend against Liverpool. Momentary hiccup or sign of deeper problems?

Deeper Problem. Sir Alex needed to spend more money in the off-season. He lost perhaps the best midfielder in the world, and hasn’t really brought in a worthy replacement. Plus, the back line needs bolstering (Ferdinand is not what he used to be), and I still can’t understand why he’s even bothering to put Berbatov in the squad (whose playing style doesn’t match United’s game at all).

3. What’s your favorite “Indie” game?

As you know, I reject the label, because 90% of the industry is “Indie” by any reasonable definition of the word. That said, I would go with Starblazer Adventures: perhaps the best SF game I own, a toolbox capable of handling any setting, and it uses the FATE rules, which must mean it’s “Indie”, even if the self-defined “Indie” crowd don’t recognize it as such, since it’s put out by a “mainstream” publisher.

4. Have you gotten to play “Ghost Stories” yet? Because I haven’t and I’m getting cranky about it.

No, I haven’t, and I too am getting cranky. I have poured over the rules and punched out all of the pieces, though. I’m dying to play.

5. Pizza or sushi?

Pizza. Unless the only pizza option is generic American franchise, or deep-dish — in which case, I’ll go with the sushi. I’m quite particular about my pizza.

Daaaaaaaaamn. (Things to Love about Hip Hop)

BET has released Youtube videos of the cypher sessions from their Hip Hop Awards. For folks who don’t know, “cypher” refers to freestyle rapping, in a non-battle context. I often prefer it to battles, because it’s focused more on lyrical and improvisational skill, rather than the take-down of an opponent with insults.

A pure display of talent — check this out, for example. Three of the top MCs in the business — Mos Def, Black Thought and Eminem — off the top of their heads. Fucking brilliant.

EDIT: Youtube took the vid down, here is another version:

(Here’s the link for when this copies over to Facebook and they miss the embed, as usual.)