A is for albatross. B is for blue jay. C is for cardinal. D is for dodo. E is for emu. F is for finch. G is for goldfinch. H is for hawk. I is for ibis. J is for jay. K is for kite. L is for long-tailed antbird. M is for magpie. N is for nightjar. O is for oriole. P is for parrot. Q is for quail. R is for raven. S is for sparrow. T is for titmouse. U is for… for…
Damn it! Damn you, Reginald! You said there was one! You promised me there was a bird for every letter of the alphabet! You lied to me, Reginald! You lied to me and now you’ve let me down, and all the people who turn to What Are You Playing!
Reginald? Why do you have a gun? Oh, it’s going to be like that, is it?! You can’t stop me from speaking truth to power! Everyone’s going to know, Reginald, everyone’s going to know that you are very handsome and eloquent and did not take over this article after shooting me. Reginald is really cool. Let’s sing about the elocution of birds and give them power of attorney!
Bonus question: Do you remember the first music album you ever owned?
​Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): Pokemon Go Charizard week, woo! Hoping to get a perfect Shiny because I love me that black dragon, even if it’s not great. Though megas in general still bum me out as a feature. Animal Crossing will get some attention too. I think my town’s looking good, but I’m worried what I’m gonna do with all the decorations after the holiday, ha ha.
I think my first music album was either a Doors greatest hits or the soundtrack to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Ben Griggs (@braxwolf): I’ll be mostly continuing to play random matches in World of Warships. I have a pretty decent arsenal of higher-level premium ships now (Massachusetts, Georgia, Alaska, Anchorage) which are all very enjoyable to play. I’ll also pop into Red Dead Redemption 2 if I have some time.
The first album I ever owned was Not of this World by Petra on cassette.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I’ll be working on house things, but I’m also planning to carve out some time for Torchlight III this weekend too, wheee.
For the bonus – I’m honestly not sure! I had access to a lot of my parents’ albums, and they had so many (and I’m grateful because it exposed me to a lot of weird genres), but we also made so many endless mix tapes and bootleg copies of friends’ stuff that I just don’t remember.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes, blog): I’m knocking on the door of Stormterror’s Lair in Genshin Impact, so that will be a primary objective this weekend. Otherwise, I’ll be dipping into Remnant: From the Ashes a bit more and continue casual doinking about in City of Heroes.
The first album I had ever owned was a birthday gift of Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” but that doesn’t count since I wasn’t a fan. The one that does count for me personally was R.E.M.’s “Monster,” since that was the first disc I bought that myself with my own cash.
Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): There’s a lot to do in Final Fantasy XIV at the moment. World of Warcraft… eh, not as much beyond leveling. Also I have a couple other projects to work on in my spare time.
The first album I actually owned and didn’t borrowed was still an older one, a tape of REM’s “Green.” For whatever reason as a kid I didn’t really own many albums of my own.
Mia DeSanzo (@neschria): It’s going to be a working weekend for me. I may play Among Us with my kids and/or grandkids in the evenings. That has been fun.
I am drawing a blank on what my first vinyl album and cassette were, but the first CD I owned was On the Threshold of a Dream by the Moody Blues. My dad got it for me when I got my first CD player. I loved it.
Sam Kash (@thesamkash): I’m still playing some Vendetta Online, but I’ve been really busy this week with couch co-op in Children of Morta.
Bonus: I went in for a double purchase. Eagle Eye Cherry and Third Eye Blind’s “Blue.” I was so excited. Listen to those hours on end.
Tyler Edwards (blog): I’m overwhelmed with choice when it comes to games right now. I’m working on finishing off Call of Cthulhu, but I’m also doing some prestige leveling in StarCraft 2, and I want to jump into the newly released Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. On top of all that, I also want to explore the newly expanded Starter Edition in WoW. Plus, y’know, maybe trying to squeeze in some time for work, food, and sleep.
Bonus question: I’m a millennial. We don’t buy whole albums. I just buy the songs I like (I don’t see the appeal of streaming). I think the closest I’ve come to owning a full album is Fantasies by Metric. I have nearly every song off that album, missing only Twilight Galaxy and a bunch of covers and remixes from various special editions. The funny thing is I actually rate Fantasies as one of Metric’s weaker albums; my reasoning being that while Fantasies has a great many good songs, it has no great songs. When I think of all-time great Metric songs, none of them are from Fantasies, whereas nearly every other album has at least one track that seriously blew my mind. I guess you could make an argument for Help, I’m Alive, but even as much as I like that one, it’s still definitely not a song I would rank among the likes of Too Little Too Late, London Halflife, Combat Baby, or The Governess.
Pierre, patron: I’m going to visit my family this weekend and will be away from my gaming platforms, so no real gaming for me. Maybe it’s for the best as I’m in some sort of hiatus these days; I’m not really tempted nor convinced to play by any game, probably because the The Last of Us Part II experience was so exceptional that every other game seems tasteless in comparison.
Bonus question: My first music album was also the first CD I owned, Suzanne Vega’s Solitude Standing album from 1987 (yes I’m quite old). And you know what, I still enjoy listening to it today. And you MOP readers, WRUP this weekend?
Every Saturday, join the Massively OP community and staff for What Are You Playing, our roundup of what MMORPGs and other games we’re hoping to play this weekend (with a bonus question or two for our amusement). Tell us what you’re up to! Go off-topic! And don’t forget to have fun!
