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Breadfan's Bread Basket #8: Video Game Music With A Side Of Bread

By breadfan 18 Comments

Following the trend that seems to be going on today, I decided I might as well throw out some of my favorite video game themes.    
 
Sure every game has music, but the music of the following video games have stuck with me for one reason or another.  Some music, it utilized in the right way, almost becomes its own character as a part of the game.  The following are some of my favorite video game related pieces of music, not a complete list, just some of the themes that have stuck with me long after completing each game.
 

 Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne

    
   
The Max Payne games are some of my favorite games of all time and so it would be fitting that the Max Payne themes are also some of my favorite video game related music.  Now both Max Payne themes are pretty much the same, but there is a certain degree of darkness that encompasses the Max Payne 2 theme over the first game.  The violins seem to capture Max Payne's dark and gritty overtone that is present though out the game.   Whenever this theme cued at some point in the game, you knew that something was going wrong in some way.
 

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 

   
  
Like the Max Payne games, the Metal Gear series is also host to some of my favorite games of all time.  There are many Metal Gear songs and themes that I could have included on this list, but the Metal Gear Solid 2 theme is by far my favorite in the series.  I can still remember playing Sons of Liberty for the first time, the intro video simply captivated me and I was eager to begin playing the game.  The Metal Gear games have some of the best, yes I said it, the best music that video games have ever had.  The music itself is almost like a character narrating a scene or setting the tone for whatever may be happening in the game. 
 

Half-Life 2

 
       
    
Half-Life 2 is one of those games that has great music, but doesn't over saturate the player with it.  As you progress through the game you are only given a small piece of astounding music that fits so well with the situation going on in the game.  You may only hear a few seconds of music, but when you do it feels like some sort of reward.  Like I said above, music can sometimes be its very own character of some sorts and I really believe that to be the case with Half-Life 2.  The track that I specifically think of when I think Half-Life 2 music is Triage at Dawn.  This piece of music stuck with me for some reason, just the mood it set with the game seemed to fit perfectly with the overall feel of the game. 
 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time

 
  
 
Enough about music playing an important narrative role in video games, let's get to the fun part.  Turtles in Time has some of my favorite old school music included in it.  Not only was the music just plain bad ass, it was just fun.  I mean how can someone not listen to Sewer Surfin' and instantly feel nostalgic?  I can remember coming home from school and playing Turtles in Time with my friends for hours on end, it is just one of my favorite games of my childhood.  Listening to it as I write this really takes me back.  I can remember all of us fighting over who got to be which turtle (Michelangelo was always the favorite) and then beating the game over and over. 
 

Pokemon: Red/Blue

 
  
   
Anyone who grew up in the 1990s will probably have this next theme engraved in their mind for the rest of their life.  The Pokemon Blue theme is on this list for the same reason that Sewer Surfin' is, it simply takes me back to my childhood.  Jeez, I can still remember going to the park with all my friends with our Game Boys and riding bikes, playing street hockey, and then playing Pokemon.  With that said we are all eagerly awaiting the remakes of Pokemon Gold and Silver.  I am not embarrassed to admit that I still play Pokemon every now and then.  They are just great games that seem to always be fresh, even though it has been the same game for about ten years now. 
  

The End


I'll end my Pokemon nostalgia there because this blog could drag on forever.  That was it, just a few of my favorite pieces of video game music.  
   
I will leave you with this totally unrelated music.         

  
 

  Thanks for reading.
18 Comments

Breadfan's Breadbasket #7: World of Breadcraft

By breadfan 5 Comments

Ah yes, World of Warcraft.   The defiler of souls and the destroyer of lives around the world.  I have always strayed away from MMO games, mainly because they never appealed to me.  A few weeks before Christmas I gave in and accepted a referral from a friend of mine, which allowed us to get triple experience whenever we played together.    

 As I began my adventure in the world of Azeroth, I was first tasked with creating my character.  Now I don't know about anyone else, but I can spend forever creating a character in any sort of role playing game.  So I spent a few minutes browsing through the various races and classes, finally settling on a Night Elf Hunter.  Once that was all done with, I was off to play the actual game. 
  
The starter quests for the game are quite boring and require you to collect x and bring it to this dude over here.  It would have been a lot more boring if I was not gaining three times the usual experience for running to some guy, talking to him, then running back to someone else.  I tried not to make a judgement on the game at this point, you can't judge this sort of game from the early stages.   
  
  
 I like turtles.
 I like turtles.


Anyway, as I began to leave the lower level areas and set off for some exploring I began to get a grasp on the game.  I must admit that I was fairly overwhelmed when I began, but I soon found my footing.  I got the same kind of feeling when playing Oblivion, 'I'm gonna run over there and see what's around.'  A lot of my early experience with the game was just that, running around saying 'I wonder what's over that hill' (this was intensified once I got a mount and was able to travel that much quicker). 
  
This is where I should probably mention that I ended up buying the World of Warcraft Battle Chest, which included the Burning Crusade.  I still don't really know what the differences were between the original game and the expansion, since I have no prior knowledge of the game, aside that it added two new playable races.  Along with the expansion, I was given a free month of play which is set to expire in a few weeks. 
  
 
 I had to do it.
 I had to do it.


At the moment I am level 43 and I finally feel like I have a grip on how the  game works and I don't feel like such a newcomer.  The only problem that I have with the game is that it well, doesn't end.  I can't really see myself playing World of Warcraft months from now, mainly because I like games that give you an objective rather than casting you out into a persistent world that never really ends.  So my goal is to try and hit level 60 or 70 by the end of my trial and call it quits there.
 
Aside from being banned on the third day of actually owning the game, thanks to these kind fellows who thought it would be fun to flag the new guy for spamming, I have had some fun with World of Warcraft.  I can definitely see why it has amassed over 12 million players, but honestly I cannot see how many people can play it for as long as they do.
5 Comments

Breadfan's Bread Basket #6: Game of the Year

By breadfan 17 Comments

Breadfan's Top Ten Games of 2009

Well it's that time again Giant Bombers.  The time to take stock of the year that has been and look forward to 2010.  This year has been ripe with great games, many of which took me by complete surprise.  Now, I have been mixing around and interchanging this list for a while, but I have finally settled on a list that I am comfortable supporting.  

1. Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age is a game that was low on my radar for a long time. All I needed to know was that it was being made by Bioware, but I wasn't too excited about it up until it actually came out. I am going to be honest here and admit that I have not finished the game yet, but I can definitely say that this is my game of the year. Though I have not completed the game, I have put in a hefty amount of time into playing the game. There is just so much to do and see in Dragon Age, whether it be doing side quests for random villagers or making strides with the almost everlasting main quest. Dragon Age has become one of my favorite role playing games of all time and I can see myself playing the game over and over even into next year.

2. Modern Warfare 2

Everyone knows about the massive amount of hype put behind Modern Warfare 2 and I was a little weary of the game because of this. However I was not let down at all. Modern Warfare 2's story, though bordering on the fringes of a Tom Clancy novel, is one of the most intense experiences I have ever had in a video game this year. I just could not put down the controller because I wanted to get to the next 'oh my god!' moment that was in store. Along with the superb single player campaign, the online multiplayer is where this game really shines. Infinity Ward made great improvements over Call of Duty 4's multiplayer and is one of the best multiplayer shooters I have ever played.

3. Torchlight

A game made by the same dudes who made Diablo, one of my favorite games of all time? Count me in. Everything about this game is excellent and for the price there is a whole lot of value to be had. I had never even heard of Torchlight up until I saw Giant Bomb's Quick Look and I instantly went onto Steam and purchased it. As I mentioned previously, I love me some Diablo. I do not even want to think about the amount of time Diablo II has stolen from my life as I collected loot, loot, and more loot. Torchlight may not boast any robust multiplayer, but who needs it really. Sure dungeon crawling with a group of friends is great, but there is a purity to Torchlight.

4. Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead was one of my top games of 2008 and Left 4 Dead 2 being an improvement on the original, is by far one of my top games of 2009. There has been some frustration and 'controversy' about Valve releasing Left 4 Dead 2 so soon, but anyone who is still harping on that fact needs to play the game first. Whether it be the simple addition of melee weapons, better campaigns, or new infected, Left 4 Dead 2 delivers. Aside from the game's five new campaigns the new mode, Scavenge,offers a shorter experience than the usual Left 4 Dead versus mode, but what an intense few minutes those rounds can be. Grabbing a gasoline can and rushing back to the generator, constantly looking behind you for a swarm of zombies is a form of masochistic fun that only Left 4 Dead can produce.

5. Shadow Complex

I have never been a big classic Metroid fan, so when I first heard of Shadow Complex I was barely interested. However once I actually played the demo on Xbox Live I knew I had to get it. There was something about exploring in Shadow Complex that offered a great amount of value for the game's low price. Over the year I have played more Shadow Complex, a $15 arcade game, than some full priced retail games. Even after I beat the game for the first time, I immediately jumped into a new game and began the adventure all over again.

6. Resident Evil 5

Okay, okay I can hear some people now. "What! How is this game on your list?" Resident Evil 5 may not have expanded much on Resident Evil 4's formula of run, aim, and shoot style of gameplay, but it was a damned good game. I played through the game's campaign at least three times cooperatively and it was a blast every single time. Unlocking and upgrading guns was one of the things that kept me coming back, but overall I just had some great moments playing Resident Evil 5 this year.
7. Street Fighter IV

I've always been somewhat of a casual fighting game fan. I grew up during the decline of the arcade era and had few proper experiences with Street Fighter, aside from popping in some quarters at the movie theater, but Street Fighter IV is one of the best fighters I have ever played. Even being something of a fighting game scrub, I had a great deal of fun learning the basics of the game and getting my ass handed to me online. I've somewhat fallen out of my Street Fighter playing, but looking back I can say that I enjoyed my time getting destroyed by Street Fighter veterans.
8. Fallout 3

Fallout 3 was my game of the year for 2008 and deserves another spot on this list. Sure it was a game from last year, but thanks to a constant feed of downloadable content, I kept going back to the wasteland. More games need to get the same treatment as Fallout and by that I mean extending the game through well made new content. The new expansions may not have been the longest downloadable add ons, but they offered a taste of something new, while retaining the great Fallout 3 experience.
9. Grand Theft Auto IV

Again, another game from 2008. Like the previously listed Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV's downloadable content was a great addition to the original game. The first expansions pack, The Lost & Damned, was a change of pace from Niko Bellic's journey of revenge. The typical Grand Theft Auto cast of great characters is present and small additions improved on the original gameplay.

10. Borderlands

Some may be surprised to see Borderlands so far down the list, but I was somewhat let down by Borderlands. Obviously not too let down, as it is featured on this list, but I had higher expectations. Borderlands' mix of first person shooter and role playing game is a great hybrid and does what many games have failed to achieve. This balance offers great gameplay that can be enjoyed whether you choose to play alone or with a group. A bazillion guns and scaled enemies in additional playtrhoughs makes Borderlands one of the longest lasting games of 2009.
 
I am aware that this list is missing a few great titles from this year, but currently only having an Xbox 360 somewhat limits the games I have access to.
17 Comments

Breadfan's Bread Basket #5: Bread Dragons

By breadfan 19 Comments


    
No Caption Provided


Dragon Age: Origins 

 
Out of all of the great games that have come out during the last few months, Dragon Age: Origins was something of a surprise hit for me.  Don't get me wrong, I had an interest in the game for a while, but I just wasn't expecting it to be so good.  I was expecting Modern Warfare 2 to be occupying most of my time on the video game front, but it seems Dragon Age has come as a pleasant surprise. 
  
I picked Dragon Age up about two weeks ago and at first I was a little hesitant about getting into the game.  As many have said, Dragon Age's length is a daunting time commitment and I was debating whether or not I should wait until the semester was over with before jumping in.  However that was not the case and I began my adventure with Dragon Age.  In retrospect maybe I should have waited, I would be lying if I said my grades have not taken a slight drop due to Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2. 
 
As I was faced with my first decision in Dragon Age, the character selection, I decided to play it rather straight and just start out as a human warrior.  After completing the Human Nobel's origin story I quickly realized just how dramatically different each play through of Dragon Age is going to be.  I can see myself playing this game multiple times in the future and getting a new experience every single time.  Anyway, as I began my quest as a Grey Warden and had my first encounter with the dark spawn I was fully immersed in the game's universe.   
 
There are very few games that actually allow the player to experience a fictional world like Dragon Age, you feel as if every action you make affects the surroundings.  Something as simple as helping a refugee complete a common task can impact how certain members of your party view you.  Depending on these actions they may scold you, praise you, make a witty remark, and even leave your party forever.  Never has a game created this sort of complexity in which consequences play a major role as in Dragon Age.  One bad choice can leave you at a major disadvantage for the rest of the game. 
 
So far my current play through has clocked in about fourteen hours and it is a safe bet that the game will last for another thirty or so more.  The story is excellent and keeps you interested and offers a wide variety of side quests and adventures to be had.  Aside from completing some important main quests, I delved into some secondary tasks such as killing a group of bandits raiding refugees on their way into the city and even went looking for a blacksmith's daughter who managed to get herself into some trouble of the demonic sorts.   
 
The sheer scale of Dragon Age's main plot is an astounding feature of the game.  Once you have made strides in completing a number of quests you realized just how much more is in store for you before the final conclusion.  Looking back on my time with the game I really feel as if I have accomplished a great deal.  You really feel as if you have come along way as you continue forth onto the game's journey. 
 
For anyone wondering which platform I am playing Dragon Age on, it is the Xbox 360 version.  I had heard some negative things about the console versions of the game, and though I can see where many people are coming from, it is not as bad as many make it to seem.  Sure this sort of game has a degree of comfort playing on a PC (by this I mean hot keys and the such), but the game is perfectly fine being played with a controller. 
 
I have nothing but praise to offer BioWare for creating such a rich game universe that is possibly one of the best role playing experiences I have ever had.  There is still much for me to see and do in Dragon Age, but it is safe to say that this is my game of the year for 2009.  For anyone on the ropes about Dragon Age, whether it be which platform to play it on or otherwise, I highly recommend it. 
  
   
I leave you with this. 
 
  
   
Thanks for reading
19 Comments

Bob Dylan Concert (11/13)

By breadfan 21 Comments

Friday night I went to see Bob Dylan in concert.  For those of you that don't know I am a huge Bob Dylan fan and it's safe to say that Friday night was one of the greatest nights of my life.  Before the show some friends and I caught the train into Boston and got a quick bite to eat at a pizza joint located near the train station.  We actually ended up getting their at the perfect time, as a Celtics game was taking place the same night and green clad fans poured their way right after we found our seats. 
 
Once we killed some time eating pizza and traversed our way through the gathering lines of people, we began to walk to the subway for another short trip to get within walking distance of the theater of the concert.  As we walked the theater came into view and I immediately became like a  little kid on Christmas morning.  I was filled with anticipation of seeing one of my favorite musicians live for the first time in my life.     
 

 The ceiling above us.
 The ceiling above us.

 As we walked through the entrance of the theater I was stunned at how elegant the theater looked.  There were grand ceiling portraits and stone statues projecting in and out of the walls.  After admiring the appearance of the theater we worked out way up the stairs to our seats.  I ordered the tickets online and got balcony seating and as soon as we got to our seats I had no worries what so ever.  Our seats were fairly close to the edge of the balcony and overlooked the stage at the perfect angle.  Next came to waiting game.  Since we arrived about fifteen minutes early to make sure we had no seating problems we eagerly awaited Dylan to come on stage.   
 
 The show begins.
 The show begins.

After a few minutes of waiting the lights dimmed and the announcer introduced Bob Dylan.  When he walked on stage roaring applause erupted throughout the theater and then the show began.  He kicked off the show with a song off of my favorite Dylan album, Blonde on Blonde, Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat.  As the night went on I had goosebumps throughout the entire show.  The harmonics of the theater was excellent and the band sounded great and Dylan was spot on.    
  
The set list was comprised of a good mix of older and newer songs, with classics like Just Like A Woman and new songs off of his most recent album, like Beyond Here Lies Nothin'.  For those interested check below for the complete selection of songs played.  My favorite song of the show had to be either Just Like A Woman or Ballad Of A Thin Man.  His rendition of Just Like A Woman was so different than the album and it was very good, that's what makes a Dylan concert so great, you will never hear the same version of a song.  Ballad Of A Thin Man was eerily dark and elegant at the same time with Dylan standing at the microphone enchanting the audience with each lyric sung.  
 
 Dylan at the keyboard.
 Dylan at the keyboard.

As the night winded down I was left utterly shocked at how amazing the performance was overall.   I had a great time out in the city with my friends and got to see my musical idol in person for the first time in my life.  If there are any other Bob Dylan fans on Giant Bomb (I know there are a few of you out there) I highly recommend getting out and seeing him in concert.
  

 Set List

  •  Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
  • Girl From the North Country
  • Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
  • Just Like A Woman
  • High Water (for Charlie Patton)
  • I Feel A Change Comin' On
  • Cold Irons Bound
  • Spirit on the Water
  • Honest With Me
  • Workingman's Blues #2
  • Highway 61 Revisited
  • Ain't Talkin'
  • Thunder on the Mountain
  • Ballad Of A Thin Man
  • Like A Rolling Stone
  • Jolene
  • All Along The Watchtower
  

 Goodnight!
 Goodnight!


 
Thanks for reading.  
  
Edit: Someone was also at this concert uploaded audio of the entire concert onto Youtube. 
 
 
 
21 Comments

Breadfan's Quick Look Thingy: Killing Floor

By breadfan 28 Comments

I decided I would at least attempt recording my own Quick Look ripoff, see how it has thingy at the end.  Yeah totally different. 
 
Anyway this week's game is Killing Floor, the zombie survival game that took me by surprise. 
 
So I had to cut the videos in half due to length issues and I kind of skip around on the second video in order to show off some of end round content, if you will.  
 

Part I

 
        

Part II

 
  
  
    
  
 
Any feedback would be appreciated.  This is my first shot at making one of these videos and hopefully I will make more if people watch them. 
 
Thanks for reading/viewing! 
28 Comments

Breadfan's Bread Basket #4

By breadfan 15 Comments

 

No Caption Provided
So it's been a while since I wrote one of these up so I gotta play a little catch up with this one. 
  

What I've Been Playing 

   
 
Thanks to Steam and the wonders of community mods I have been playing Zombie Master on and off with a friend of mine.  Think Left 4 Dead meets real time strategy.  One dude is the zombie master and spawns zombies around the map from a RTS viewpoint while the survivors playing (playing in the familiar FPS standpoint) must complete a series of objectives and survive in the process.    
 
So far the maps I have played on are pretty different and unique.  For example one map involves the survivors being stuck in a small desert area where they must scrounge for ammo and weapons from an overturned truck then make their way into an abandoned building, all while random tornadoes threaten both the survivors and the zombies themselves.   
 
Anyway this game is pretty fun and offers some good ol' shoot zombies in the face fun and the best part, it's free!   
 
 
Aside from my favorite past time of capping zombies in the face with a various assortment of weapons, I have been playing the League of Legends beta.  Thanks to KnifeySpoony who was kind enough to send me a beta key, I have been having a pretty good time with this game.  Now I never played Warcraft III or Defense of the Ancients so I have little experience with this sort of game, but I am slowly finding my way.   My first few games online were met with my hero's demise many a times while only getting one or two kills for myself, but it was fun the entire time.  I will most likely buy the game once it is officially released and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre of games. 
 
 
If you check back to the previous Bread Basket you may notice that I had a section entitled 'Games I should Have Been Playing' with Garry's Mod listed there.  Basically I bought Garry's Mod on Steam a few weeks ago and it would crash upon running it, so I emailed Steam support and they were oh so helpful and told me to check their support page (which was obviously the first thing I did before sending the email, duh).  So that helpful email took about a week just to get a reply so I just emailed the Garry's Mod support team instead and they told me that adding a simple string of text to the command line may fix it and what do you know it did.   
 
Now that I am finally able to actually play Garry's Mod a friend and I have been messing around making all sorts of crazy creations, all of which were either blown up or used to squash a bunch of zombies below.  I downloaded some mods and new content to play with, so now I am able to spawn hundreds of Master Chiefs and Jawas, launch a nuke, and sit back and watch from the sky. 
  

New Releases

 
The latest installment in the Halo universe was released this week and I must say that my original take on the game has been changed somewhat.  I had little interest in this game at all before its release, but after reading Jeff's review and watching the Quick Look I will probably end up picking the game up.  Now I am not a huge Halo fan, so I cannot totally get behind spending full retail price for an expansion pack.  I do not own any of the Halo 3 map packs, but the addition of Firefight and getting all the maps in one package does make the logic for buying it a little more understandable.   
  

Most Wanted 


 
I shouldn't really have to explain my reasoning for being pumped for the sequel to one of my most played games of all time.  All the additional multi player content seems awesome and all, but I am even more excited for the game's campaign.  Call of Duty 4's single player has to be one of my favorite campaigns in a long time, although short it covers a lot more than most shooters.  Yeah so basically, Modern Warfare 2 is going to be rad. 
 

As mentioned above, I love to kill zombies and what better game is there to kill zombies than Left 4 Dead.  Left 4 Dead was one of my favorite games of 2008 mainly because of its great online cooperative play and immersive game play.  Getting online and running through campaigns on expert was so punishing, yet awesome in a weird sort of way.  Everyone would manage to scrape by the level and just as the safe house was in sight...you hear it.  A tank.  You can hear everyone sigh into their microphones as they make a mad dash to the safe house, but most of the time never make it.   
 
 
One of my favorite things in gaming is loot.  Yes I am a loot addict and not afraid to admit it.  I have sunk a ton of time into Diablo II and managed to find Too Human to be alright thanks to the addition of mad loot, as the kids would say.  So when I first heard of Borderlands' combination of first person shooter and role playing, I immediately was stoked.  Since then there have been a ton of game play videos released that show off the game's great visual style as well as some sweet action shots. Plus like a bazillion guns doesn't hurt things either.  
 

Music to Blog By 

 
     

Baking with Breadfan 

       
 Little Caesar's Crazy Bread 

 Ingredients 

 
  Bread
  • 10 ounces of pizza dough
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic salt 
 Sauce 
  •  15 ounces of tomato sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4  teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried ground thyme 
 

Directions 

  •  Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
  • Unroll dough from tube onto cutting board.
  • Cut dough into 8 even strips.
  • Place each strip on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes until just golden brown.
  • While the dough is baking, melt the butter add the garlic salt, stirring until dissolved.
  • Remove the baked dough strips from the oven and brush with garlic butter.
  • Sprinkle each strip with Parmesan cheese.
  • Serve with sauce.
  • For sauce: all the ingredients in an uncovered saucepan over medium heat.
  • When the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often.
  • Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool.
 
Thanks for reading!
15 Comments

Giant Bomb: The Song

By breadfan 11 Comments

Here is the song I wrote for this week's question of the week. 
 
I know my mic sucks and not all of the words are clear so I posted the lyrics below the video 
    
 
 
 
 
 

  
  
  
  
 

Giant bomb you right all the world's wrongs 

Giant Bomb I wrote you this song
You review all the games
and tell us which ones are lame
Ryan watches movies
because that aint no game

Giant Bomb you are awesome
Giant Bomb keep rollin' on
every Tuesday means the Bombcast
where we hear the latest news
and Vinny's love of Fallout and Fable 2

Giant Bomb hasn't been around long
Giant Bomb keep on goin' strong
Jeff and Dave make crazy bets
on which game will do best
Brad plays quick looks
and tries not to die
though we wonder why
he always dies 

   


11 Comments

The Beatles and Me: A Blog

By breadfan 7 Comments

In response to  Ververdan0226's next topic for his weekly blogs about blogs, I have written a blog about what the Beatles mean to me and how they have impacted my life.  The topic is fitting since the Beatles Rock Band is being released tomorrow and I hope that more people take the opportunity to help out with this new 'community spotlight' section, if you will.  
 
 

 
 

  

While My guitar Gently Weeps:  My Take on the Beatles



The Beatles and their music have touched the lives of millions of people all over the world.   Crossing borders, languages, nationalities , and race in some ways uniting the world even just for a few minutes through one of their classic songs.    Their music has lasted the test of time and will last for many more years  to come, as new listeners discover the Beatles for the first time every day and what an experience that can be.  

I can still remember the first time I heard the Beatles when I was about twelve or thirteen years old, hearing the opening piano playing on Let It Be brought shivers down my spine and still does to this day.   It felt as if my mind had been unlocked and for the first time in my life, everything seemed to make sense.   Then came the rest of the Beatles catalog with songs like Here Comes the Sun, Octopus's Garden, Hey Jude, All You Need Is Love, and so many more that have become some of my favorite songs of all time.  

Every album seemed to be a new experience, opening your mind for the first time as if the sun was breaking through a cloudy day's sky.   I can still remember vividly where I was the first time I heard every album,   whether it be that rainy day while listening to the White Album on repeat during my early teens walking home from school or the time I learned to play my first guitar solo ever on George Harrison's Something off of the album Abbey Road, while practicing for hours in my room until I had it down perfectly. 

 
   

It seemed that the Beatles had a song for any mood you were in whether you were angry, sad, content, or cheerful there was always a song to either cheer you up or fit your feelings at the moment.   The Beatles have been there for me during some rough times in my life and could always make me forget about whatever problem was going on with the press of a button.  Now music has always been an important part of my life ever since I was a child and I have many artists and bands that have played a huge role in who I am today, but there is just something about the Beatles that make them one of the biggest influence in this way.

Each member of the Beatles brought their own style to the group with John Lennon and Paul McCartney's creativity that produced countless songs that became classics, George Harrison's guitar playing that has influenced many guitar players around today, and Ringo Starr's unique style of drumming that to the untrained ear may sound average, contains precise and tasteful fills that add to every song of the group's catalog.

The Beatles have sung about many things, but the most important being love.   All you need is love is such a positive statement that the world needed to hear during the time it was written, maybe even more so today.   The Beatles brought many people peace of mind and their music has played the role as the soundtrack to millions of peoples' lives for decades.   My friends are Beatles fans, my teachers were Beatles fans, my parents are Beatles fans, and almost everyone I know has at least one Beatles song that they love, they just had that impact on peoples' lives.

Now the Beatles are getting their own video game and possibly opening their music to a whole new group of people who may have never heard them before or are just getting into them for the first time. Personally I am not a big fan of rhythm games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, but in the case of the Beatles the more the merrier.  If the game can get young kids into the works of the George, John, Paul, and Ringo than that is fine by me.   The world would be a much better place if everyone listened to the Beatles and what their songs had to say and take something from them, especially these days when tensions seem to be high all around the world.       

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Well that's it, I know some people are not big fans of the Beatles, but I at least hope that some people will be able to restrain themselves from the usual bickering that comes with a music thread on the internet.  Anyway I am going to end this blog post with my all time favorite Beatles song:  
            

     

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Breadfan's Bread Basket #3

By breadfan 13 Comments


 
 
 This week's Bread Basket is the last of my summer vacation as my first year of college starts on Wednesday.  This summer has been pretty good, but I am excited to start college, though I am sure it is going to be a lot of hard work and I will hopefully have enough free time to kick around Giant Bomb between classes.
 

What I've Been Playing 

 
 
It's been a while since I have played through the original Knights of the Old Republic and with Bioware's MMO The Old Republic on it's way I decided that I would bust out some lightsaber action on some dudes.  This play through I decided to play along with the light side of the force since I have already experienced how it was to be the baddest Jedi in the galaxy.  This game still holds up to this day and is one of the best role playing games that I have ever played as well as one of my favorite games of all time.  The choices that you encounter throughout the game are great whether it be being good or bad, what kind of fighter your going to be, or the force powers you decide to use are great and can make each experience with the game vastly difference from the last. 
 
 
As I mentioned last week, I have been playing the king of all MMO games World of Warcraft on and off with the help of a free trial disk that I had.  I haven't gotten too far in the game (I am only level 10) I and do not think that I am going to go on to purchase the full retail version, mainly because I could not get into the g ame and I cannot see myself paying $15 a month for one game.  The monthly cost of World of Warcraft made me seek out another trial version of another MMO game, Guild Wars.  Being a massively multiplayer game free of monthly subscriptions I put a little bit of time into it, so far I am only level four.  I don't know maybe these MMO games are not for me because I cannot get into them, which may be a good thing since I sunk a huge amount of time into Diablo II over the years. 
 
 
Last night I had a sudden urge to play the original Max Payne and upon trying to install it onto my new laptop it would not work.  So I logged onto Steam for something to buy and I came across the Max Payne bundle, where I could buy Max Payne and Max Payne 2 for only $14.99.  I figured the price could not be beat and ended up buying it and what do you know Max Payne works.  I was kinda annoyed that I had to rebuy Max Payne on Steam when I had the disk right next to me, but I got Max Payne 2 out of it which I used to have a few years ago on Playstation 2.  The game is just as great as I remember it being and the story telling in that series has always been a favorite of mine with the film noir feel and the graphic novel style of telling the game's story.   
 

What I Should Have Been Playing  

 
 
After playing Counter-Strike Source for a little while last week I decided to try out Garry's Mod and bought it off of Steam.  So once it was installed I booted it up and guess what, it doesn't work.  The game loads up and then immediately crashes to my desktop before even reaching the main menu.  I contacted steam earlier this week (I bought Garry's Mod before buying Max Payne) and the finally replied earlier this morning and their response was totally useless.  They told me to check out their support section which I had obviously already checked before even sending in a question.  I am pretty annoyed with their lack of support since I payed money for something that should be working properly.  
 

 Question of the Week

 
I have never submitted a video for the question of the week, but now that my laptop includes a built in webcam and the question of the week seems something that I think would be fun to make I may give it a go. 
 
   
 
 
  

Music to Blog By  

 
This week's music to blog by doesn't actually include music, however it does include the classic Hotspot.  I have all of the classic episodes of the Hotspot on my iPod and every few months I listen to a few episodes and remember how great the original show used to be. 
 

 
 

Baking with Breadfan

 
 

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Raisin Bread:

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups buttermilk

  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 egg ( beaten )
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1 cup raisins    
  
  • Add the buttermilk to a saucepan and heat just to a scald.
  • Pour into a large bowl. Add in brown sugar, salt and butter. 
  • Mix till well blended and cool down. 
  • Add in beaten egg. 
  • Add in rolled oats, whole wheat flour, cinnamon and yeast. 
  • Mix for a few minutes till well mixed. 
  • Allow to rest uncovered for 10 minutes. 
  • Start to add in bread flour. 
  • When it becomes to hard to mix, pour out onto a flat surface and continue slowly adding more flour. 
  • Knead for 8 minutes till the dough become smooth and elastic. 
  • Allow to rest again for 5 minutes. 
  • Knead in raisins. Add a little oil into a bowl and flip dough few times to lightly coat all sides. 
  • Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest till double in bulk; about 1 hour Cut in half. 
  • Take one piece of dough and roll out to a 16 x 7 rectangle. 
  • In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon. 
  • Brush half of the melted butter onto the dough. 
  • And sprinkle half the sugar cinnamon mixture on op of the butter. 
  • Roll the dough like a jelly roll and pinch the seam closed. 
  • Place onto a piece of parchment paper that is sprinkles with cornmeal. 
  • Repeat other piece. 
  • Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in bulk, about 1 hour. 
  • After that, take a wooden spoon and press down the middle of the dough.
  •  All the way to the bottom of the dough. 
  • Cover with plastic wrap again and allow to rest for 15 minutes. 
  • Now, place into a preheated 375 degree oven with a baking stone and a cast iron pan to create steam. 
  • To create some steam by placing a cast iron pan on the bottom of the oven the same time that you turn on the oven. 
  • Once you place the breads onto the baking stone pour about a cup of boiling water into the hot pan and close the door. 
  • Bake for 30 -35 minutes or till golden brown. 
  • You can allow to cool on a wire rack or brush some more butter on the sides of the bread and sprinkle some more sugar and cinnamon. 
  • Then allow to cool on a wire rack.
    
(Sheesh those directions are long) 
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