Mass Effect 3 (review)

Console: XBOX360/PC/PS3

Background: Space RPG/Shooter hybrid game, set in the future.  You are Commander Shepard. Your task is to prevent cosmic genocide of all organic life forms in the galaxy.  For the past three years, you’ve warned people the Reapers are coming.  A technologically advanced synthetic (robotic) race that appears every 50,000 years to wipe out all intelligent life forms, so they never advance to the point where they can challenge the Reapers.  Today, they are here.  The entire galaxy is under attack.  The galaxy’s life forms must unite, or be wiped out.

Story

This is the final part of a trilogy, the story of Commander Shepard concludes here.  In Mass Effect 1 you discovered the threat of the Reapers, and delayed their arrival.  In Mass Effect 2, you fought to weaken those that serve the Reapers, and expand your circle of allies.  Now Earth is the first target of the Reapers, and it’s burning.  Humans are being melted down for raw genetic material, this is an enemy with no emotion, no reasoning, and nothing but hate.  You meet old friends, and it’s all out war.  Other planets are under attack, the entire galaxy is burning.  Why should the Turians leave Palaven for Earth?  Your job is to take the forces of the galaxy, and make one unified response to the Reaper threat.  Last time they came, the Protheans were the only race capable of FTL travel.  Now, there are more.  “We fight or we die, that’s the plan!”

However if you are new to the series, it’s best you play the first two games before this, you might be overwhelmed by what’s going on and who’s who.  But this is better than any TV series, or any movie by far.

10/10

Graphics

Simply breathtaking.  The Citadel is amazing; you can sit and watch the water or the trees.  Mars is amazing, a desert and the sandstorms are lifelike.  Earth was amazing up until its fall.  Detailing is wonderful as well, the textures on each race make them look alive.  In battle you can see the level of detail when you zoom in with your sniper rifle, and watch as you pop their head off with a well placed shot.  Cloaked units also give a very faint blur, so you better pay attention.  However, there are small issues of anti aliasing, in that you might see some jagged edges.

10/10

Controls

Same as Mass Effect 2.  Works very well, and if you’ve played Mass Effect 2, you’re fine in 3.  However, in some multiplayer areas, the storm speed and camera turn make you run into walls.  And sometimes you’ll take cover against something that you don’t want to.  But this is only in multiplayer.

10/10

Gameplay

Amazing. Takes FPS/Gears style shooting and mixes in RPG elements as well.  You go around and appeal/argue/fight to get allies.  You need every race on your side.  As it progresses, your team expands, and you can pick different teammates for different missions.  You and your team level up as the game goes on, getting newer abilities.

All classes now have a new skill, for example vanguards get nova, which depletes your shield but adds an AoE ability.  Oh yes, grenades are back!  Each class gets their own type, for example an infiltrator gets a sticky grenade.  Oh yes, let’s talk weapons.  There are new weapons, and improved weapons.  Weapons can get mods like in Mass Effect 1; you can add a scope, or armor penetration.  One example of a new weapon is a pistol that fires a sticky grenade.  The Widow sniper rifle is now the second most powerful sniper, as there is now a Blackwidow sniper rifle.  Fire that at a guy hiding behind a shield, and it pierces through it.  It goes through inches of armor.  Oh yes, now you get weapons that can punch through armor.  Guy’s behind cover?  LOL what cover, you’re dead Vorcha.

Maximum level is now 60, imported level 30 characters from Mass Effect 2 arrive at level 30 with all their skill points unassigned.  Oh and you can change your appearance (there are new hairstyles) and class when you import.  Each class has a weapon that they prefer, and get a ‘mastery’ of that that either increases damage, or decreases their weight.  Yes, weapon weight, this affects how fast your abilities cool down.  So for an Adept or Vanguard, you’d want less weapons.  Soldier and infiltrator rely more on their weapons, so you can carry more.  Snipers, when you zoom in it’ll slow down time slightly so you get a better chance to aim.  Combine this with a soldiers Adrenaline burst, and you’re hitting things that don’t move.

You can now scan multiple worlds at once for more resources, so that is nicer.

10/10

Multiplayer

None cuz this is a single player WHAAAAAAAAAAA???

There is multiplayer now.  A Horde/Firefight type survival mode, where 4 players take on waves of enemies.  It’s not easy, as even bronze is pretty hard to solo.  Get a team of 4 and survive different enemies, Geth, Cerberus or the Reapers.  You have access to all the classes of single player, but with different races thrown in.  And yes, they level up as well.

10/10

Overall

With over 30 perfect scores, do you even have to ask?

10/10

Mass Effect 3 finishes the story and has you on edge until it’s over.

Trailers:

Take Earth Back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBktyyaV9LY

The War Begins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VtSAWFlQMc&context=C43e944bADvjVQa1PpcFOT0cn7e-I1yCI5RoFn0qeoaqxV5f7GXUM%3D

Welcome Back Steve.

So, we’re a week late.  Looks like I’m also Out of Time, oh that was bad.  Anyway, onto the review/analysis.

 

As the book starts, we see the execution of the Red Guardian.  Much like Captain America is symbolic of his country, the Red Guardian is symbolic to him.  Back in the day, the Soviets were the main enemy or villain in just about everything.  But as times change, villains become less cut out, and Captain America’s enemies will not be as easy to point out.  Thus, the death of a Red Guardian (they have been many, they are disposable) signifies a new era for Captain America, the world is getting darker and his enemies will be harder to identify.

Who else do we meet, the Red Skull.  A personification of evil, the Skull is the opposite of Captain America.  Created to instill fear and terror, the Skull exists only to destroy.  He’s powerful, but his power comes from his mind.  And Lukin, a former Soviet that laments the fall of his country, and wants to see others fall as well.  We don’t see much of Lukin right now, as he is a new character.  These two meet, and are discussing their plans, and it is obvious neither have any love or respect for each other.  They are only there for business.  The Skull always has plans for his nemesis; we can see him observing Captain America.

As we progress, we are introduced to not Captain America, but Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter.  This helps humanize Captain America, that he has a life outside of his costume.  And it shows the nightmares that haunt him, that despite all he can do, he was never able to save Bucky.  Ah yes, Bucky.  The reason why you don’t get sidekicks, as the kid was killed in WWII.  His death is the one thing Steve was unable to prevent, and as that was his partner, he never got over it.

Keep in mind Ed Brubaker wants you to know this is a new world for Captain America, and with that thought in mind, the Red Skull is shot and killed.  And a shadowy assassin kills Captain America’s oldest foe, we realize that things are turning grey in the life of Steve Rogers.

As many will not want to believe it is the Skull who got killed (an imposter, an fake, a body double), Brubaker confirms the Skull’s death to make readers realize that the Red Skull, Johann Schmidt is dead.  We are also introduced to S.H.I.E.L.D., a taskforce created to protect the world.  However, its head is Nick Fury, who is shown to be an incorruptible figure.  For any organization as large as S.H.I.E.L.D., you have to avoid corruption, and special interest groups that would have a strong say in your actions.  Nick Fury is that man.

Next, we meet Crossbones, a deranged lunatic who follows the Red Skull.  Even though the Skull is dead, that does not mean his followers will give up.   Crossbones begins his own plans for revenge on Captain America.  Unlike the German born Red Skull, Crossbones is American born, a fact that does not please Rogers.

London and France are shown, as to show Steve’s past during WWII.  He fought to protect these cities decades ago.

We meet Jack Monroe, only to have him killed.  A man who followed in Bucky’s footsteps, and is now also dead, much like Bucky.

Lukin is now shown to be rising in power.  Already rich, he wants more power, but unlike the Skull, he wants it in different forms.  He is a corporate man, not a super-villain.  He starts his empire by taking over other companies, in this case, an energy conglomerate.  One has to wonder whose side these companies are, as Brubaker wants to make a note that these companies are not headed by loveable characters, but headed by those could care for nothing beyond money and power.

We see William Naslund and Jeff Mace, and the legacy that Steve left behind.  When he was presumed dead, he was still able to inspire others to take up the mantle of Captain America.  No matter what, the world needs Captain America.

As we move forward, we see Rogers and Fury discuss WWII.  And specifically, one impact a super soldier had on a different country.  Whereas the western front had its share, the Soviet front did not go so well.  As Karpov sees the Invaders, he realizes the USSR needs its own secret weapon.

In the present, Steve finally recalls the last moments of Bucky’s life.  Originally it was thought that Bucky held onto the drone trying to defuse it, and was too smart for his own good.  Now we realize it was a trap for Steve, one that Bucky fell into.

As Steve is shown parachuting into Philadelphia, it is a very heroic scene.  Captain America dropping out of the sky to save someone, but in reality, he’s walking right into a trap.  He was sent here to save Sharon, but also to watch the city burn.  And we find out who this mysterious assassin is.

Ah yes, Bucky Barnes.  Long considered dead, he’s shown to be alive.  And completely loyal to Lukin to boot, and revealed to be the Winter Soldier who killed both Jack Monroe and the Red Skull.  Make note that we see him for the first time in a clear shot, he’s aiming down the sight of a sniper rifle, and we can see him aimed directly at Cap’s head.  In case it’s not obvious, he has a red Star on his left arm, which is prosthetic.  He is older than he was, perhaps in his mid 20’s as opposed to being 18 at the end of WWII.  And he knows about Rogers, and feels it is a good idea to take him out, but Lukin says no, and to activate the device.  And Bucky Barnes, Steve’s best friend, and first ever partner, activates the device and kills thousands without a second thought.

Overall, this book was met with huge controversy.  Bucky was dead for more than 50 years, and why is he being brought back?  Also, the Red Skull, now who is Steve going to fight.  But Brubaker said to wait and stick around, he has just begun.  It’s a new era, and Brubaker is going to give it his best.  Having written for books such as No Man’s Land, he knows how to work with characters.  Unlike say, Jeph Loeb, he understands a character and that someone as well known and sometimes overly heroic as Captain America needs depth, which he provides.  He’s setting down the framework, and in the first arc, he’s introduced just about everyone that will be in this book.

Personally, I came across this book bored at a Borders bookstore.  I had the mindset that Captain America was a character that lacked any depth or personality, and figured I’d read it as I was bored.  I was blown away, as it shattered my opinion of the character.  Do note I am not going over the fight scenes, as Epting does an amazing job on those.  Don’t think for a minute the art is bad, as every fight flows and the characters emotions are visible on their faces.

What next?  Book 2, Winter Soldier.

The Sentinel of Liberty.

I think I’ll start first by introducing each character (without spoilers) as they are introduced in the story.  One post will be a story summary, the following post will be a review.

 

Introductions

Aleksander Lukin – Head of the Kronas Corporation, which deals in oil.  Extremely wealthy, and powerful in that he inherited many Soviet secrets.  Also has a grudge against everyone who helped the USSR fall.

Red Skull – A creation of Hitler, a Nazi bogeyman to instill fear to the world.  Outliving Hitler, the Skull moved away from Nazi ideas to pure anarchism, hoping to destroy the world.

Red Guardian – Soviet super soldier, a copy or knockoff of Captain America.

Steve Rogers – The first and original Captain America.  Created as a symbol of hope in hopes to give Allied soldiers a positive symbol, as opposed to the Red Skull.  Towards the end of WWII, he fell into the arctic and was preserved, the cold and super-soldier serum kept him alive in a suspended state.  After being found decades later, he resumed the mantle and fights alongside the Avengers as the sentinel of liberty, Captain America.

Sharon Carter – S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Agent 13, and Steve’s ex girlfriend.  A top ranking agent, she is well trained in combat and espionage.  She grew up around her Aunt Peggy Carter, who fought alongside Steve during WWII.

Bucky – James Buchanan Barnes, Steve’s partner in WWII.  Where Captain America was the face of US operations in WWII, Bucky was his shadow, performing covert ops.  Bucky died toward the end of WWII, and his death has haunted Steve.

Nick Fury – A soldier who fought alongside Captain America during WWII and is now the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Completely incorruptible, and stubborn, Fury will do whatever needs done. Not shy of espionage or getting his hands dirty, he’s a jerk, but he’s the damn best jerk there is.  He has not aged due to taking a different serum (Infinity Serum), which slows/stops aging.

Crossbones – Brock Rumlow, a crazed and deranged killer, trained by a few of the world’s best hit men.  A loyal servant to the Red Skull, there is nothing more he enjoys than causing chaos.

Union Jack – A title possessed by many men, and a precursor to Captain America.  The first Union Jack was a WWI figure, and is currently the UK’s top soldier.  A WWII version fought alongside Captain America in the Invaders.

Jack Monroe – The third man to pose as Bucky, and took an unfinished super soldier serum.  The serum was not stable, and caused him to go crazy, but he later on turned to a more normal life, and ran around as Nomad after being granted that identity from Steve Rogers.

William Naslund – After Steve was considered dead, William Naslund was approached by the President to take on the mantle of Captain America, so the world does not know Captain America died.  He fought till the end of the war, and continued until his death in battle.

Jeffery Mace – The third man to take on the mantle of Captain America.  Originally the Patriot, he came across Naslund’s body and took on the outfit to finish Naslund’s last mission, and then kept it to carry on as Captain America.  As it came to the 50’s, he retired and passed away of old age.

Fred Davis – The second Bucky, who served alongside both Naslund and Mace while they were Captain America.

The Invaders – A WWII team of super powered individuals that fought alongside of the Allied forces.  Comprising of Namor (of Atlantis), Union Jack and Spitfire (from the UK), the Torch, Toro, Captain America and Bucky, and some other individuals that fought alongside them.

Winter Soldier – The top Soviet assassin, kept in cryostorage.  Used only for top priority assignments, his identity is known only by a few, and even Nick Fury is not too sure on who he is.

S.H.I.E.L.D. – Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.  UN sanctioned task-force to keep the world safe, headed by Nick Fury.

Cosmic Cube – Cube shaped device that can alter reality.  Immensely powerful, and has a tendency to be abused.  All it needs to activate is contact by any living thing.  Can be used once when charged, but then requires energy to be recharged.  Energy, such as the life force of people.

Helicarrier – S.H.I.E.L.D.’s base of operations, a flying fortress.

 

 

On to the story!

Captain America:   Out of Time

The book begins with a flashback, to the fall of the USSR.  Soviet secrets are up for trade, and a man by the name of Alexander Lukin selling some tech.  This interests one particular villain, Nazi war criminal and now anarchist, Johann Schmidt, better known as the Red Skull.  The Soviets however had a countermeasure, as this vault was guarded by the Red Guardian (a Soviet version of Captain America).   Unfortunately, the Red Guardian is dispatched with a bullet to the head.  The Skull enjoys it, while Lukin remarks he took no pleasure in what he did.  As the Skull browses the collection, he is impressed by a man in a cryostasis tank, and wonders if that is for sale, but it is not.  Lukin has other plans, and is only interested in a Cosmic Cube which the Skull has, but the Skull is not interested in trading.  The Skull does however; take a look at some exceptional weaponry, including a gun that can displace its victim.

In the present day, Steve Rogers is being drilled on how he is doing by his ex-girlfriend, Sharon Carter (Agent 13).  Rogers has not been doing well, and has become slightly more aggressive since the Red Skull escaped from prison.  She questions if he is ok, but he tells her that his nightmares are back, all the people he could not save during the war still haunt him to this day.  And of course, Bucky.  The past of Steve Rogers is the one thing he cannot put behind him.  He can’t shake the feeling something bad is going to happen.

As the Red Skull prepares to make his move, with the Cube in hand, he receives a call from Lukin, and they taunt each other.  The Skull is ready to shake the world, but is suddenly unable to do so.  He falls, and there is a gaping wound through his chest.  A man picks up the phone, and tells Lukin that he accomplished his mission, the Red Skull is dead.

The following day, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America arrive after a tip off, to find the Red Skull dead.  Steve thinks it’s a trick, but DNA samples confirm that it is the Red Skull, minus a big hole in the chest.  The Cube is also missing.

Cap and Agent 13 check in the sewers, and find a terrorist group known as AID (Advanced Ideas in Destruction) working for the Skull.  They were waiting for a signal from him, one that never came.  Cap and Agent 13 defuse the firebomb that was set, but are observed from the shadows by Crossbones.  As Crossbones finds out the Red Skull is dead, he begins a plan that he hopes will cause the world to burn in the Red Skull’s memory.

Across the pond in London, Union Jack scours the underground for the Skull’s agents, and finds them all slaughtered.  Whoever went after the Skull, is not content with killing him and ending it there, and wants everything the Skull planned to fail.

The nightmares are getting worse, Steve beings to remember the last memories he had of Bucky, and how they were captured towards the end of the war.

Back in the US, in a small town bar, Jack Monroe watches the news of Captain America.  Though drunk, no one believes that he was Captain America’s partner, being the third person to take on the role of Bucky.  As he gives up trying to convince the bartender, he leaves, only to be met by a shadowy figure asking if he is Jack Monroe.  As he says yes, he is shot and killed.

Lukin prepares to expand his empire, and is revealed to be the one behind the assassinations of both Jack Monroe and the Red Skull.  His first stop, energy conglomerate, and goes off to a stockholder meeting.  Lukin desires power in a social stance, and not physical.  Though Captain America can beat him in a fight, how will he stand up against a corporation?

At S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent 13 and Fury discuss the weapon that killed the Red Skull, as it turned up with the prints of Jack Monroe.  He was crazy, but a good man in the end.  This doesn’t make any sense.  But Monroe would have the motivation to kill the Skull, and so Sharon is off to investigate Monroe.

Steve is en route to Arlington National cemetery, where the tombstones of William Naslund and Jeffery Mace have been defaced.  These two men followed in Steve’s footsteps, and whoever did this, was calling him out.  Cap talks with a worker there, how he would have liked to have seen the civil rights movement, and the moon landing.

Steve has another flashback, again of Bucky.  But while his mind is elsewhere, he’s ambushed by Crossbones, thinking Steve killed the Red Skull.  The flashbacks however, hinder Steve as he is unable to fight back, though Steve quips at him about destroying tombstones, to which Crossbones denies, he was told by a Russian that Steve killed the Skull.  Steve denies killing the Skull, and even Crossbones knows that Captain America is not a liar.  Crossbones abandons the fight, saying he’s not the Russian’s pawn.  Now Steve realizes it has to be someone Russian who took down the Skull.

In Philadelphia, Sharon investigates the area S.H.I.E.L.D. got a tip off about, regarding Jack Monroe.  As she wanders the premises, she meets up with a somewhat familiar face, that causes her to hesitate, and gets knocked out.

On board the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, Steve and Fury discuss the Russian, and come to realize it is Aleksander Lukin who is behind this.  But he is a rich corporate man, not a villain, so why would he do all this?  Fury says Lukin has been under wraps as he was KGB, a protégé of a high ranking official by the name of Karpov.  Steve has met Karpov… at the village of Kronas.  Fury hasn’t heard of that place, and Steve explains it was wiped off the map by the Nazis during WWII.

Steve explains that the city was under attack by the Nazis in WWII, and he led the Invaders there.  Karpov was a Soviet soldier fighting alongside Cap, but did not share his views.  Torture and execution were fine in his eyes, to which both Cap and Bucky did not agree with.  In the battle for the village, Karpov noted both the Invaders and Nazis had their own super soldiers, but the USSR had nothing but loss.  What Steve did not know, is that among the ruins of that village, Karpov met a small boy just orphaned by the fighting.  His name was Aleksander Lukin.  As Steve leaves Fury, it is revealed that Fury is holding back on some classified Intel.  A dossier, labeled ‘Winter Soldier’.

Back in Philadelphia, the shadowy figure that killed both the Skull and Monroe is setting up a bomb.  One that will cause enough chaos to fuel the Cosmic Cube, which somehow ran out of power after being fully charged by the Skull.  Also with him is Sharon Carter, tied up and locked in a car, and Jack Monroe’s body, as a scapegoat.

Fury sends an agent off to investigate where Sharon is, as she has gone missing.  Meanwhile Steve visits an area in Europe where he last saw Bucky alive, to provide some clues and fill in the gaps in his memory.  As he explores the island, he comes to a runway, and recalls the last moments of Bucky.  The two of them chase down a drone, and try to defuse it before it reaches its target.  Bucky being smaller, grabs hold of it first, while Steve catches only the tail end of it.  Steve loses his grip and yells to Bucky to let go, but Bucky yells that he’s stuck to it by his left arm.  It wasn’t aiming for a city; it was a trap for Steve, one that Bucky fell into.  The drone explodes, and Steve falls into the arctic.  In the present, he realizes now that Bucky could not let go, he was stuck.

Steve gets a premonition, that Sharon is in trouble (sent from the Cube, or whoever has it), and rushes off to Philadelphia.  Like a knight in armor, he drops down and saves Sharon, but then is told by Sharon it’s a trap.  She has seen the guy who killed the Skull, and the killer is none other than Bucky.  And it’s a trap set for Steve, as he would be off saving Sharon, while Bucky (revealed to be the Winter Soldier) detonates a device that causes Philadelphia to go up in flames.  And from afar, Lukin smiles as the Cube is now charged…

 

One Man’s Worth.

So I was asked to go and review each arc of the current Captain America series (Volume 5 and 6).  With the upcoming Avengers movie (uniting the Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America movies), I figured why not.

The first thing, is to understand the character.  Who is Captain America?  This is a question that will come up later one as well.  To understand who Captain America is, we have to realize what he is.  The shield, which is one of the most iconic symbols, is nothing.  The outfit, which is recognizable, is nothing.  The serum which gave him his abilities has no effect on what he is.  What Captain America is, is an idea.  An idea that a single individual who has the right heart and the right mind that is consumed with a single purpose, that one man can change the world.

His strength lies primarily in his character, a person who stands up time again for what he believes in.  No matter what he must face, or how bad the odds are, he won’t give up.  He understands how to use his talents, as he understands the value of strength.  This is why Steve Rogers was able to succeed, unlike anyone else; he has the unyielding resolve and determination to carry on.  And to inspire others, as a leader he stands at the front, and does not give orders blindly.  Is he invincible?  No, but he doesn’t let anything stop him from doing his best.

I found this line to be very helpful, as this helps understand who Captain America is.  “It’s not the people we should revere so much, it’s their serving as a portal into something much, much greater. They, as individuals as human as we are, cannot do for us what their teachings do for our souls.”  Aptly put, what Captain America stands for, is something that everyone can learn from.

For me personally, Captain America has been a source of inspiration.  A man who at one point had nothing, but didn’t give up on the world.  No matter how many times people said his case was hopeless, he kept trying, and did not let anyone tell him he wasn’t good enough.  And that is what got him through it all, it was never a test of physical ability, it was to find the right person for Project: Rebirth.  And as the first tragedy struck, the hopes of the world fell upon him, and he never faltered.  He never gave up, and stood up for what he believed in.  He once tried to give up, but returned, saying that Captain America is representative of the American Ideal, and is not a symbol for its government.  No matter who, or what he faced, he stood strong.  And despite loss and anguish, he never faltered.

The most inspirational line I have ever read, was this:

“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world – “No, you move.””

When this line was said will be covered later on in the series.  But it spoke to me, that there is no such thing as Captain America, it is a concept.  But it is not a concept that is impossible; it’s just doing the right thing and standing up for what you believe in.

What will we see in this series?  A nightmare come to life, a country divided, a question of identity, a death, a man trying to atone for his past, and a rise and fall of an era.  Stay tuned as we will begin with the first book, Out of Time.  With Ed Brubaker on the pencils, let’s see where we go.

And finally, a fitting wallpaper for the week.

SR-2 Normandy Wallpaper

Click for the full size image.

As seen here

http://rvdm88.deviantart.com/art/SR-2-Normandy-s-Decent-191074032

The name…

If you are wondering what the name is about, picture this scenario.  You are winning, and think it’s all over for your opponent.  Everything is in your favor.  You are the constant underdog, a foreigner, and with a somewhat negative image due to your short temper.  You’re going to win, when suddenly… Carriers arrive and decimate your entire army, and its GG (good game) for you.  This is what happened to Greg ‘IdrA’ Fields, who was so enraged, that he could not, and would not GG with grace.  Instead, he typed the lines “you’re really good at making carriers”, and as his opponent (and the winner of that match) replied “thanks” (perhaps not understanding sarcasm), IdrA responded with “very useful talent toi have” and left the game without a GG.

Vintage IdrA at his finest.

What does that have to do with this blog?  Hopefully we can find other useful talents toi have!