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The dreamhack festival this winter has really stepped it up a notch when it comes to the live music (and the music in general too actually).

Detektivbyrån

Detektivbyrån

One of my newer favourits “Detektivbyrån” just had a well appreciated small and intimate performance on the big stage. The only band in the history of Dreamhack to be prompted for an encore by the audience. Very interesting consert indeed!

There has been around 8-12 bands so far and pretty much all of the bands in my genre are really great! Some heavy metal, some rock and alternative rock. Has been some nice surprizes.

JulieHally, strange and awesome.

JulieHally

Live drum concert – Super Mario Theme =)

Super Mario Drummer

SCAR SYMMETRY, which were new to me.

Scar Symmetry

This year at Dreamhack should take all kinds of records, both for my personal list of records but also the usual Guiness world records (most people connected to the same local area network simultaneously).

As for my own record list I tend to keep log of certain thing; this year will be nominated for:

• Best musicians on stage
• Worst weather
• Highest EMO count per square meter

Hug an EMO, they are warm and cuddly!

Preparing for his departure from the online game in which we met, a friend of mine announced his plans for a dramatic “exitbang” which had me rolling on the floor in fits of laughter.

While he quite innocently was trying to sum up the act of slamming a door on one’s way out a room in a single appropriate English word, the use of exitbang in relation to a female player named Marge took my not-so-innocent mind to some very interesting PG-rated places indeed.

As a result I have added this smile-inducing word to my vocabulary: exitbang – the act of making a dramatic exit OR a quick farewell of a more physical and intimate nature just before parting.

Douglas Adams and John Lloyd in their book “The Meaning of Liff” have come up with a few new words of their own.  Here are three of my favourites:

• duntish (adj.) - mentally incapacitated by a severe hangover.
• fring (n.) – the noise made by a light bulb which has just shone its last.
• wike (vb.) - to rip a piece of sticky plaster off your skin as fast as possible in the hope that it will (a) show how brave you are, and (b) not hurt.

I’m a real girl – apparently a rare commodity in the fantastical land of Evony. There are some who try to fake it with ladylike names and pretty profile pictures but in the way they walk and the way they talk it soon becomes apparent that their feminine features are mere deceptions.

Now, being a real girl has certain advantages, hence the motivation for faking it I think (that and the chance to finally dress up in a socially appropriate way):

• it brings out the protective instincts of my alliance mates no matter whether or not I am ranked more highly than them – resources and reinforcements are readily available when a damsel cries out in distress;
• I can stop an impending attack with fluttering eyelashes and a few simple words like “can’t we talk about this over dinner” or “don’t you know it’s rude to look up a girl’s skirt without permission;”
• and, of course, I always seem to have company at hand whenever I need a little amusement.

There are downsides too, of course, like:

• trying to manage 7 whispers at once without confusing the guy or the topic at hand in order to continue the above-mentioned support and attention;
• opening and closing lines like “so what are you wearing?” and “I’ll come wash your back in the shower” tend to get real old real soon;
• increased chances of acquiring a stalker;
• and, my personal worst, breaking a nail on the keyboard while trying to keep up with the flurry of flirting.

At the end of the day, I have to admit that being a real girl really enhances the fun and the strategy behind on-line play.  But in admitting my utter shamelessness in using my gender to my advantage in every possible way, I think it becomes apparent that in the land of Evony I’m not such a real girl after all.