Blog design updates and newses

Unless you're new to my blog, you may have noticed a few design changes recently. I figured it was time I update my blog decorations with images from new games.

In case there was any doubt, the images in my Life header and Seven Ages of Man sidebar were all thoughtfully chosen before being painstakingly screen shot by yours truly. When I first put them up, I did a post explaining their significance, but that was back before anyone actually read my blog, so my explanation was a bit more self-indulgent and long-winded than necessary. Plus, the post is now out of date.

The RPG Called Life header
These are RPG screen shots that I, for one reason or another, associate with Life. From left to right:
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard catches Miranda, just barely saving her life.
In Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, the PC replenishes her life with a heal potion.
In Diablo II, the full red life globe indicates the player is fully healthy and alive.
In Mass Effect, the new PC's paragon and renegade bars are empty, waiting to fill according to the choices she will make in her life.
In Baldur's Gate II, the party confronts Irenicus at the Tree of Life in Suldanessellar.
In Dragon Age: Origins, the PC kills the Archdemon, restoring hope for all life in Ferelden.

The Seven Ages of Man sidebar
As You Like It may not be one of Shakespeare's most famous titles, but it has a very famous monologue in it, beginning with the lines "All the world's a stage/And all the men and women merely players" then detailing what is sometimes referred to as the seven ages of man. If you don't know it, look it up. So who will represent each of these seven ages?
The infant: a baby Child of Bhaal from Baldur's Gate II. (This is my favorite of all the pictures. How creepy is that baby?)
The school-boy: Connor Guerrin, son of Arl Eamon Guerrin of Redcliffe in Dragon Age: Origins. The screen shot is from after the demon who possessed him has been vanquished, so he really is pure boy, not abomination anymore.
The lover: Kelly from the Normandy in Mass Effect 2. I haven't done her romance, but she is a very loving person, loving males, females, humans, and alien species all. What better lover is there to have on my list?
The soldier: Chief Ashley Williams from Mass Effect, a soldier for the Alliance and a soldier by "class".
The justice: Master Vrook of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. A wise Jedi master, he's around in both KotOR I and II, plus he's voiced by Ed Asner.
The pantaloon: Old Deckard Cain from Diablo II, of course. Stay awhile and listen.
Oblivion: Myrkul, dead former god of the dead in Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.


Now that I've done the full disclosure on my blog decorations, how about a couple entertainment news items?

First, Megan Fox will not be in Transformers 3. There has been some discrepancy as to whether this is because of her insults to director Michael Bay, or if the writers just wanted to go somewhere else with the story, or if she was the one who stepped out of the project. I don't particularly care, really. I can't say I'll miss her in it; she was never what made the good parts good, anyway. I do know a few teenage boys, however, who feel differently. In any case, I loved the first movie but was really disappointed by the second, so I hope they can turn it around and make the third one enjoyable again. Other interesting actors have signed on for the three-quel, including Alan Tudyk (yay!), Frances McDormand, Patrick Dempsey, John Malkovich, and Ken Jeong (Variety, IMDb).

Second, Morgan Spurlock (Super-Size Me) and Joss Whedon are planning to make a big-screen documentary about Comic-Con, called "Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope" (Variety). The documentary will follow seven fans from across America and around the globe as they make the trek to San Diego for the convention. I've never been to Comic-Con but I've long wanted to go, and I'd be interested in seeing the documentary. I wonder, though, who else might want to see it other than Comic-Con-type fanboys and fangirls themselves. Is this something non-geeks would be interested in? I guess we'll see.

That's all for now!