Blog Archives
Curse of the Blizzcon Host
YUS.
I know what you’re thinking. Maybe I’m jumping the gun a little. Blizzcon 2017 was just announced a couple days ago. Tickets aren’t even on sale yet. Why would I even mention something as silly as the Saturday Blizzcon hosting gig?
Well, after last year’s fiasco, it probably wouldn’t hurt for Blizzard to start giving this a bit of early consideration. Assuming they haven’t already, of course. If they were smart, they would have started flipping through their rolladeck to see if there was anyone willing to return their calls before the body of Thomas Middleditch got cold after Blizzcon 2016.
You remember him, right? He’s the guy from the HBO TV show Silicon Valley that drew question marks when he stepped onstage at Blizzcon 2016. His schtick ticked all the boxes – he was a nerd, a gamer, a bit awkward. Someone that Blizzard fans were supposed to relate to. Unfortunately, his comedy routine fell flat, and the fans shat on him for it. I’m not going to say bullied, but he was ridden hard. He was smashed to the point that, not only did former host Jay Mohr tweet his support for Middleditch, but Thomas felt the need to defend himself on his Instagram.
The man knows a thing or two about being shit on by Blizzard fans.
So what’s the move then? I had a couple of ideas in my post that I made just after Blizzcon 2016, and I’ll just touch on them again here:
- Blizzard seems to like having some kind of celebrity in that hosting spot. Why? Is it to attract more people to buy the stream? Fine, but stop getting comedians. Or at least comedians who don’t play any Blizzard games, or aren’t familiar with the product. Do you really need someone to make jokes at the contestants of the dance or cosplay contests? Do you need someone to do five minutes of stand-up to warm up the crowd before the contests? If ever there was a crowd that was already filled with HYPE, it’s a Blizzcon crowd. They don’t need a warm up act to set the mood. So if you just want someone with some mainstream celebrity status to slap on ads, there’s plenty of celebrities who have admitted that they play WoW – Warcraft’s own Rob Kazinsky, Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill, Fast and Furious’s Vin Diesel and former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey. And that’s just for starters.
- Saturday’s hosting gig is mostly to cover competitions, so have a contest for the hosting gig! There is no shortage of people putting out video and audio content as it relates to Blizzard games – podcasts, Youtube channels, Twitch streams. Give them a chance to compete to star on the biggest stage a Blizzard content creator can appear on – CENTER STAGE AT BLIZZCON, BABY!
There are about 230 days before Blizzcon 2017. It probably wouldn’t hurt to start looking now. I doubt Blizz will find a former host actively willing to volunteer for the gig. Why not change things up this year?
Fingers crossed, I’ll be there to see it unfold LIVE.
Do you have a favorite host from a past Blizzcon? Who do you think would be a good host for Blizzcon 2017?
The 2017 Pushup Challenge
Get Stronger in 2017
This is not a resolution thing for me. This is more of a “get off your ass again” kind of thing. It’s also a “your birthday is coming up and you want to get better as you get older” kind of thing.
It’s also a Goku thing. Specifically Gokuflex.
Ironically, the man is built like an Anime powerhouse.
I started watching Gokuflex (aka Matt Kido) videos about a month ago, and he has definitely motivated me. It was a mix of his DBZ angle connecting with my inner (and not so inner) nerd, and his practical approach to nutrition and fitness, that appealed to me. In any case, I saw his New Year’s video and it gave me an idea. A goal.
That goal: 2017 pushups in 2017.
Now there’s no way I’m doing two thousand pushups in five hours. I’m just not at that point physically. I don’t think I’ll even do them in five days. But I plan on working out a little more regularly than I currently am. With that, I’ll incorporate pushups into the workout. I’ll also do them when I’m not working out. If I’m at home playing World of Warcraft and I’m taking a flight path, I’ll knock out five or ten pushups while my toon is in the air. If I’m in a BG and I’m waiting for the start timer to tick down, I’ll bang out another quick few.
What’s the point, you might ask? It’s about two things really: getting stronger, and getting active. It’s something anyone can do. If you started today and did six pushups a day – we’re talking two when you wake up, two at lunch, and two before bed – you’ll Achievement Ding your 2017 pushup goal by December. And you’ll be 2017 pushups stronger than you were in 2016.
As gamers, that’s what we do – we build up our avatars by gaining experience points and improve their weapons and gear. We make them stronger. I plan on doing the same thing with myself.
That’s the bottom line, whether it’s in WoW or RL – Get Stronger.
I’m planning on doing the challenge this year. I will succeed. I will get this achievement. How about you?
Rokk Talk 