The Queue: Caught in a trap

I must be stuck in a trap. That’s the only reason I can think of for still being here.

Look, that cheese was so appealing and delicious looking… Is it any wonder that I took just a small nibble? It’s not like I ate a bunch of pomegranate seeds or ate at a table in the Fae Court. That would be silly. I certainly haven’t been pushing on a door that’s clearly marked “Pull,” I haven’t made that mistake in so long.

While I contemplate gnawing off my own foot, it’s time for our daily question and answer column — The Queue!

I’ve only gleaned the highest level of knowledge about this, as I don’t tend to pay the most attention to non-Oiler news, but it looks like the Ducks have been gambling for a while and just lost. I guess good for Carlsson, who has a sweetheart of a deal right now. I just hope for his long-term NHL prospects that he plays like he’s getting paid. It’s also so wild to think of how many players out there are getting paid more than Connor McDavid, who is by many metrics considered the best player in the league. Sure, he might not have a Gold Medal or Stanley Cup ring, but he’s got so many other shiny trophies! He’s also got some really fast hands and feet and knows how to use them to make the puck go where he wants it to go.

Rogers is making lots of people upset in Canada right now, and shutting down your city’s only sports talk radio station is just the icing on the cake. Surely, in one of the largest Canadian cities, there was enough of a sports fan audience to support just one little station. That this is coming on the heels of the CBC announcement to no longer be running Hockey Night in Canada for free on the public broadcaster, which many people assume is because of Rogers being greedy — is just extra salt in the wound. We all just wanna have good local and national options for our Hockey, and it’s wild that that’s not the given we thought it was.

Both my favorite person and Bacardi seem to, if not enjoy, at least tolerate my singing voice. I know I’m terrible at staying on key, so that they haven’t run screaming to the hills is a good sign. Especially if I’m scream singing Run to the Hills.

I’ve even done karaoke a couple of times, and I didn’t get booed, so I’ve got that going for me. I learned that I can mostly do Land Down Under by Men at Work, and there are a lot more lyrics in Seal’s Kiss From a Rose than you remember. I also find it so odd that in a Canadian province full of workers from the Maritimes, I can’t get any Great Big Sea songs at most karaoke bars. They’re so fun, and fun to sing along with, and the more people sing, the better we all sound. That’s just science.

It’s always just a matter of focusing on the things you are finding fun. If they’re not bringing you joy at the moment, definitely take a step back and either limit your time to a night or two — or take a break entirely. I know that Blizzard has been good at throwing a lot of things that can trigger FOMO, and that’s by design. Don’t let some pixels in a cute shape keep you locked in when you could be spending your time doing better things. For me, it was always the people I played with that kept me playing, even if I was a little burned out. There were nights that I’d log on for raid, because I was the tank and I had to, more than any sense of enjoyment for the content we were doing at the time. Which was part of the deal of getting to have one of the big, important roles. I don’t resent that in the long term, there were just a couple of nights where I had the music louder than the voice chat.

The same goes for playing in M+. I’d have a few people that I ran with pretty frequently, and that was often the highlight of the week. It wasn’t about putting the biggest number key into the lock; it was about the fun we had along the way. I know, I know, it’s an old cliché, but the friendships really were the best treasure!

So to sum up, play if you’re having fun, cut back on time if you’re not. There are always other books/games/TV show/movies/concerts to read/see/experience out there, and Warcraft doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon, so you can always come back if you get that hankering again.

If you like spooky/funny TV shows and have Apple TV, might I recommend Widow’s Bay? I’m halfway through and writing this Queue instead of watching more of it, and it’s so very good. It’s atmospheric, spooky, well-acted, well-shot, and just an overall great time. It’s about the mayor of a small fishing town on an island trying to get more tourists to come to his quaint and sleepy little village — only the island might have some terrible secrets that are going to carve a bloody trail through all those prospective tourists. I wouldn’t say it’s been a gory show so far, but it has made the little hairs on my arms stand up a few times. It’s also kind of funny. In an absurd situation sort of way, not sitcom things and laugh tracks kind of way. There’s a great bit involving some vintage creepy board games that had me laughing at just how awful and potentially real they could’ve been. We’ve all seen some truly dated games from the 60s and 70s, and the one from the show Daddy’s Home, featuring an angry-looking dad on the box and so many tragic and traumatic game tokens about him having a bad day and taking it out on his family — is such a good funny example of things from yesteryear.

You should watch Widow’s Bay. You should alllllll watch Widow’s Bay. All ten episodes in its first season are out now, and it’s been renewed for season two already!

1. If I’m going to use any title in Diablo 4, it’s going to be Bear or Trash. Most of the time, though, I’ll forget to even use one. It’s three menus deep from my character sheet, and that’s a lot of work for something that only other people really see. I even just scrolled past the letter O in the list for the first time today after you asked this to see what was there. I had so many markers for titles never before seen, because I never got that far before getting bored and returning to the demon slaying. There are also a ton of possible options, maybe too many? It’s some real choice paralysis out there.
2. It was a Dwarf Hunter with a bear because of the original Warcraft cinematic. I saw that, and it spoke to me, so I made it. I never even got him to 60, though. He’s still sitting in the 50s after all these years. I quickly learned that the Horde was the best, and when they could be Paladins in Burning Crusade, I went red and never went back.
3. A million years ago, I heard some apocryphal thing that cats and dogs can learn their names better if they end in an -ee sound. Something about that sound sticks out in their head, and they’ll respond better and faster. I have no idea if that’s the case, and I still have never gone and checked to see if that’s true. I like believing it is, even if it’s something that someone else made up. Also, I like dark rum, and he’s a black cat, so it makes sense to me.

He knows that he’s a fancy lad, and thus is deserving of all of this attention. Most cats believe this. It’s just a marker of being a cat.

After all, the old joke goes thusly: A dog sees their owner feeding them, giving them a warm place to sleep, and showering it with love and attention, and thinks “They must be a god.” A cat sees the same situation with the feeding, the shelter, and the love and affection, and thinks, “I must be a god.”

Today’s Bacardi isn’t quite sure why he’s here either. He’s going to bask in your attention all the same, though.

Would you rather

Once a day have a bird wearing a tie bring you a crisp five dollar bill

Or

Once a week have a racoon with an eyepatch will bring you a $60 gift card to a random restaurant

Today’s Anna Liz Earworm: Suspicious Minds

Have a great rest of your week! Maybe you’ll see me tomorrow, and maybe you won’t. Who knows! At this point, anything could happen. Just in case, though, make sure you leave lots of questions for your writer tomorrow.