The First Ramble

Blogging.  It's sort of like an online diary, correct?  I'm wondering what makes all of this any different than the livejournal account that I had years and years ago, or the "blog" tab that facebook offers us all that nobody seems to use.  Well, after watching my partner in crime (and life in general) excel at putting her interests and adventures in the world of cooking into written word I figured maybe my life could use a similar place to output my adventures into my favorite things in life.  Sadly, there's already one about my favorite thing (my wife's cooking), so my other interests will have to do.  Don't want to flood the interwebs, as it were.

So, I suppose an introduction is in order.  I do believe I shall go by "Miles", as that's what everyone calls me anyways.  Every time I've tried to go as my first name (Brandon), eventually everyone begins calling me by my last name anyways.  It's just a matter of time.

So yes, I'm Miles.  I'm a pretty easy going guy, with some noticable quirks and flaws.  I'm prone to getting very quickly worked up over things that other people would just brush off or ignore.  It leads me to dwell and become aggrivated over time.  I can't do one thing for extended periods of time, I always need to get involved in something new to keep my interest.  That's why this blog will be devoted to the 3 things I tend to devote most of my time to.  I can't just write about one topic! 

A warning that I must give to you if you plan on reading further; I am an incredibly rambly writer.  I have no regard for pacing, or for proper paragraph building or even making any points.  You're basically getting exactly what I would say to you if I were talking to you face to face.  And as anyone who knows me personally would tell you, it's always a struggle for me to get my words out correctly when it' something I'm passionate about.  Or even when it's something I'm not passionate about.  It's a curse.

My 3 main interests are:

Beer
Heavy Metal
Video Games

No particular order of course. 

GAME TALK.

I've been a gamer since I first watched my dad play Zelda on our brand spanking new NES when I was 4 years old.  I've always been a Nintendo guy, and while you could make the argument that I'm a fanboy, I would disagree.  I'm not in denial about the silly mistakes or bad games the big N has made in the past, their games just appeal to me most.  I suppose my favorite genres are platformers, fighting games, and rpgs, but I like 'em all when done right.  First Person Shooters are fun in single player, but I hate online multiplayer so I don't bother with that particular aspect of FPS play.  Beginning to feel that way about fighters too.  It's just not worth it to play games non-locally (people in the same room).  My favorite console ever is the SNES, for it has the most epic library of platformers and rpgs in history.  Delish. 

LIST TIME.  I love lists.  I love ranking things, so I do believe I'll do so.  Since we are on the topic of games, we'll start there.

My top 10 games of all fookin' time.  The rankings change depending on my mood though, so this is a rough list, with Earthbound almost assuredly forever locked in the top spot.

1.  Earthbound - SNES
2.  Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Wii
3.  Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES
4.  Phantasy Star Online - Dreamcast/Gamecube
5.  Age of Empires II - PC
6.  Final Fantasy VI - SNES
7.  Super Castlevania IV - SNES
8.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
9.  Super Paper Mario - Wii
10.  Donkey Kong Country 2 - SNES

So that should give you some idea as to where my gaming tastes tend to veer.  I didn't put any fighters in there, as they don't tend to mean as much to me dispite the enjoyment I get from them.  My favorites in that genre are Guilty Gear: XX and Street Fighter Alpha 3. 

METAL TALK

So, onto what I would probably consider the thing I'm most passionate about overall.  Heavy Metal has probably been the one interest I have that defines me most as a person.  There is no event that I look forward to more than a good concert, and there is no release that gets me more excited than a new album by my favorite bands.  I've been a metalhead for a long time, but I would say that I was around 15 when I officially made the jump into full blown headbanger status.  I liked Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, and all the mainstream band well enough before then, but when I started getting into Iced Earth, the ball offically started rolling.  The internet helped point out more and more new bands and I jumped headfirst into this whole world of music i never knew existed, but could have sworn was created for my ears only.  That's really all I could think as I was listening to this stuff, particularly power metal, which basically sounded like god himself was whispering sweet, sweet nothings into my ears directly. 

So, as far as my taste in metal goes, I do like almost all of it to some extent.  I don't particularly like a lot of the more extreme stuff, such as grindcore or technical death metal.  I can get into a bit of anything as long as it's well done though.  For example, I like early Cryptopsy and Morbid Angel.  My real bread and butter is Power Metal.  It's been my favorite sub-genre for years, and probably will remain thus.  My tastes to lean towards the melodic, old school end of metal in general.  A good sense of melody trumps all.  And with that...

LIST TIME.  Top 10 metal bands.

1.  Blind Guardian
2.  Manowar
3.  Iron Maiden
4.  Sonata Arctica
5.  Megadeth
6.  Running Wild
7.  Judas Priest
8.  Helloween
9.  Moonsorrow
10.  Edguy

As always, subject to change.

BEER TALK

I love beer.  Beer is the most recent passion of mine to develop, as age limits in all of their draconian glory have kept me from this glorious nectar for too long.  I've just started brewing my own over the past 2 years or so, and it's becoming my personal obsession since.

I don't think there is anything about beer i dislike.  It tastes, smells, and looks great.  I do, however, greatly dislike beer snobbery.  It's a pretty big issue in the craft beer community.  A lot of people seem to be unable to appreciate beers for what they are, as opposed to comparing beers of completely different style and price range to each other.  No shit Budweiser doesn't taste like Dark Lord Imperial Stout, it's not supposed to.  One is brewed specifically for crisp drinkability and economic pricing, while the other is brewed with 7 billion pounds of malt to clobber you over the head and cost 12 bucks per bottle.  Both are great for what they are.  Remember folks, you are drinking to relax, so relax and drink!

Also, I hate how the community is trying too hard to be like the wine community.  Beer is cooler than wine (I like wine too, don't hit me), and thus should be appreciated as it was meant to be.  Be honest with yourself, you love to get drunk.  It's awesome.  It's fun.  You are allowed to drink and enjoy the taste and aroma and the effects all at once.  If I ever see you spitting out beer after tasting it because you don't want to get intoxicated, I'm going to kick you right in the balls.  Just don't sip it at all if you are going to do that.  As a species, we've been drinking for the fun effects for thousands of years.  It's a lovely time.  And when you couple beer with metal?  Dear god nothing is better! 

Reminder:  Drink responsibly kiddies.  Just because I like to get tipsy doesn't mean I'll go fly a plane afterwards. 

I would greatly struggle to come up with a list for this particular topic, because unlike the other 2 passions of mine, It's more of a time of the year thing as to what I drink.  I will say that my favorite style of beers is probably porter or IPA.  Two extremes, but hey, I like every style of beer really.  It just has to be well made.  I'm super laid back with it, and nowhere near as demanding with it as I am with metal.  A mediocre band has no business on my ipod, but a mediocre beer will still find it's way to my belly.  It just won't be purchased again.  :)

So, with this blog I basically plan on bringing you reviews of games, albums, and beers.  Basically whatever I consume, listen to, or play at the moment shall be brought up.  I'll also do plenty of retro reviews, as most of my favorite albums and games in particular are retro-ish.  I don't think I should drink retro beer though, that seems like it could lead to me vomiting.  They have expiration dates for a reason.

HAIL AND KILL.