Jim Rogers

So lately I’ve been playing the original two Monkey Island video games and I’m laughing like a hyena nonstop. These are probably the funniest games I’ve ever played, and are filled with so many great bits of dialogue. One of my favorite bits is a tombstone that says this line: 

Marco Largo LaGrande, Hell on sea or on land The Good news: He’s dead The Bad news: He’s bred

And of course there’s the classic Insult Swordfighting, where you defeat your opponents by dishing out sick burns like 

You fight like a dairy farmer!

How appropriate, YOU fight like a cow!

It’s a real shock to me that so many games have terrible writing when these LucasArts games from over 20 years ago are 10,000 times more witty and endearing. 

I also am really enjoying the artwork, particularly in Monkey Island 2. Although the artwork appears in pixel-form in the game (like the image above the paragraph), they actually come from a ton of lovely marker drawing scanned into a computer and translated into pixels. On the top of this post are a ton of great examples. 

2015 is going to be a pretty exciting year for our amazing city. 

Birmingham has kicked off one of its most important years in over a decade. Here is a list of exciting events and projects to look out for in 2015 and beyond: 

New Street Station and Grand Central opens, including the flagship John Lewis store.

The Mailbox £50M redevelopment will be completed in the Spring. The development includes a three screen Everyman Cinema which will open in February.

The £150M Resorts World, near the NEC, is also set to open in Spring. It will be will be one of the country’s largest entrainment and leisure venues.

Part of the £127M Midland Metro extension through the City Centre will be open later this year.

Birmingham’s accommodation sector to be boosted by 1,000 more room across.

Rugby World Cup 2015 matches at Villa Park

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary

Part of the £20million refurbishment of Selfridges store in the Bullring will be completed this year - It will be finished in 2017.

Cadbury World’s 25th Birthday - Opened on 14th August 1990, Cadbury World will celebrate its 25th Birthday in 2015. 

England v Australia Ashes Test match cricket at Edgbaston Stadium

Brindleyplace’s 20th Birthday - Opened in 1995, Brindleyplace will celebrate its 20th Birthday in 2015.

Birmingham’s iconic Rotunda building, which now includes 5 star apartment company Staying Cool, celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Contemporary art gallery Ikon celebrate its 50th anniversary - Ikon is one of Birmingham’s leading contemporary art galleries located in Brindleyplace. The gallery was first established in 1965 in a glass-walled kiosk in the city’s old Bullring shopping centre.