Plenty For All

I'd Like to Thank the Academy ...

2012-02-10T09:43:00.000-06:00

My feelings about awards shows in the video game industry are no secret. Couple that with the fact that every magazine and web site has their own "best of" list and it's no wonder you see 10 games with a "Game of the Year" edition on the shelves every year. As far as I'm concerned there is only one award that matters, the Interactive Achievement Award present at the DICE summit each year for the past 15 years.

I've worked as a professional game developer over the last 12 years (roughly 7 studio years and 5 years "between jobs") and while I've worked on games that had previously won DICE awards (my very brief stint on Asheron's Call) and I've worked for studios that have won DICE awards (Mythic, for Dark Age of Camelot), I've never worked on a game and then had it win a DICE award. That changed last night when Star Wars: The Old Republic took the Interactive Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay.

As the one award given out by my peers in the game development community it means a great deal to be recognized in this fashion, especially given competition like Battlefield 3, Call of Duty, Gears of War 3, and Little Big Planet 2. Even without this award, I've been proud to be a part of this project from the start and continue to be as we support the live game. Winning this award is just a bit of extra recognition for an amazing team of developers making an amazing game.

The views expressed on Plenty For All are not affiliated with BioWare, EA, it's shareholders, partners, or subsidiaries and are purely the opinions of Brian J. Audette.

You Don't Know Shit About Emo

2012-01-24T13:52:00.001-06:00

I'm sorry Andrew, but your post has allowed me to make one of my favorite points about the oft-maligned, always misunderstood genre we call "Emo"

It's important to note that even during what I consider to be the peak of "Emo" many bands never accepted the moniker, although I've found that a lot of bands (especially punks bands) tend to reject genre labels. Still, if you want my opinion on what's "Emo", this list is a good start:

You Don't Know Shit About Emo
Created by Brian Audette on Spotify

Rhode Island for Sale

2012-01-23T18:40:00.001-06:00

Last night I had a dream that I made a lot of money in the stock market. Granted this sounds about as exciting as a dream where you're filing paper work or collating documents, but add explosions and overblown CGI and it may as well have been a summer blockbuster. I'm talking "vivid" here. It was the kind of dream where you wake up and can't shake the feeling that it was true, but as you unravel the absurdities of your personal dream space it becomes apparent that you've just been punk'd by your own sub-conscious mind.

In the dream I apparently had about 20 shares in the state of Rhode Island (I'm assuming this was in some future world where the capitalization of the country has made the very states a traded commodity) and I was checking my portfolio online when all of a sudden the price jumped. I've never actually sold any stocks before so I wasn't quite sure how it all worked. In the dream it was very much like when you're buying tickets for a concert that you know is going to sell out from a vendor you've never used before. You end up getting tickets for the seats you want, but you only have 5 minutes to finish the purchase process and now you have to go through all this rigamarole to register yourself on the site as well as pay for the damn things. It was the same deal in the dream. The price of Rhode Island was fluctuating wildly and I had to jump through all these hoops: setting up a user profile, deciphering capcha codes, the whole nine yards. Eventually I was able to figure the whole process out and ended up selling my 20 shares in Rhode Island for about 100k. Not a bad return for such a small state, if you ask me.

I Came, I Saw, I Skyrimmed

2012-01-13T10:33:00.000-06:00

After over 200 hours split between 3 characters, I have completed all 50 Steam achievements for Skyrim and I think I may finally be ready to put the game to rest ... at least until there's some DLC.

There will be a much larger post about Skyrim in the near future, but for now I've decided to commemorate my adventures with these wallpapers:

Senric - Dark Elf Theif @ Bard's Leap Summit (my "main" character)

Steps-Into-The-Fire - Argonian Mage @ The College of Winterhold

Eowyn - Nord Warrior @ Bleak Falls Barrow

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 1

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000-06:00

Self Titled by Office of Future Plans

Twitter: @officeplans

Band Website: www.officeoffutureplans.com

Well, this was bound to happen. After letting thisalbum sit on “repeat” on my iPod for over a week straight when it was released thereis really no other album I can pick as my #1 for the year. To say that I was afan of this album before it ever arrived is probably a bit of an understatement.As a fan of J. Robbins work over the last 2 decades (even though I’ve only beenlistening for the last 6 years or so) I was eagerly awaiting this release, butnothing could have prepared me for what they served up.

Office of Future Plans full-length debut pulls nopunches and leaves no ground uncovered. This is an album by a group ofincredibly talented musicians at the top of their game and having a blast. Fromthe moment J’s guitar strums the first notes of Salamander I am hooked by this album and once Brooks’ bass andDerek’s drums join the procession, there’s no turning back. This album runs thegamut from full on punk, to mellow indie rock, and all the subtle gradation in-between.While J’s influence is unmistakable, this is definitely an ensemble album. There’sa little bit of every band member present here and the fact that it all gels soperfectly is what makes it shine. I could go on about this some more, but there’slittle I could say that Ihaven’t said already.

This album was both expected and surprising. Iknew I’d be a fan before I even heard it, but I had no idea how much. I have towish Office of Future Plans the best of luck with this release because it’struly brilliant and these guys deserve some major recognition. This is an accessible, fun, well-written,well-played album that I think can appeal to a broad range of listeners. Checkit out and judge for yourself. Maybe it will end up being your album of theyear too.

Key Tracks:Salamander, Abandon, FEMA Coffins

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 2

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000-06:00

No Composure by Be My Doppelganger

Spotify: Be My Doppelganger– No Composure

Twitter: @bmdoppelganger

Band Website: www.myspace.com/bemydoppelganger

First off, I have to qualify the followingstatements by saying that while this is NOT a 2011 album (it was released and Ipurchased it in 2010) I really didn’t give it a good listen until 2011 … andthen I continued to listen to it many, many times. Every year, when the weathergets warmer, I find my musical taste begins to shift very quickly towards allthings punk and hardcore. There seems to be a direct correlation between theair temperature, the amount which my car windows are opened, and the likelihoodof something loud and fast coming out of my speakers. This year, more oftenthan not, it was No Composure by BeMy Doppelganger.

There are few bands that, when people say “punk isdead”, I will hold up as evidence to the contrary. Certainly Ted Leo is on that list, along with Dead to Me, Hollowpoints and now Be My Doppelganger has joined the ranks. Witha sound reminiscent of both the fast and fun shredding of late 80’s/early 90’small/skate punk as well as the heavier melodic kick of mid/late 90’s hardcore, NoComposure is high-energy music for punks that just want to have a good time.The album leads off with Ignition On,a loud and fast warning shot across the bow of the listener to let them know it’sOK to get pumped for this record. Cha ChaChump follows soon after in what can best be described as a major labelpop-punk hit that someone has gone and done right by virtue of NOT adding 4extra verses, more reverb than the Grand Canyon, and a string section in thebackground. Turning Seventeen iseither the quickest ballad ever played, the most “punk” love song ever written,or both, while Peggy, Sue Me gives usthe obligatory “solo vocals and guitar” track for this album, but still managesto maintain some bravado and balls. What you end up with on No Composure is aperfect punk soundtrack for summer; it’s clean and uncomplicated, lo-fi anddeliberate, but without sounding low quality or under-produced. This isbasement punk rock for a new generation.

I don’t know what the future holds for Be MyDoppelganger, but with any luck they’ll record something new for 2012 and maybeeven do some touring. I think it would be great to see these guys at one of thepunk showcases at SXSW this year, both because I’d love to hear this stuff playedlive, but also because I know that with a little more visibility they couldcatch on with others the way they have with me.

Key Tracks:Ignition On, Cha Cha Chump, Maybe It WasYour Fault

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 3

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-06:00

The King is Dead by The Decemberists

Spotify: The Decemberists –The King Is Dead

Twitter: @TheDecemberists

Band Website: www.decemberists.com

How do you follow an album like The Hazards of Love? Talk about diggingyour own grave. What’s next after an epic 17 song narrative concept piece, moreof the same? The answer could make or break you. I would like to say that I feltbad for Colin Meloy of The Decemberists for having put himself in thatsituation, but he proved more than up to the task by managing to actually pulloff a decent (if not different) follow up this year.

For their 6^th LP, The Decemberists shirkedconcept entirely and released a palette cleanser of an album with The King is Dead. On this record we findThe Decemberists trading baroque pop-rock for a decidedly more folk-rock soundand succeeding in every possible way. Where previous records often conjuredimages of a decidedly more European flavor (Legionaires, Chimbley Sweeps, andthe like) The King is Dead’s stripped down yet masterfully played andwell-rounded songs feel more like classic Americana. While the themes,language, and musical virtuosity remain the same as ever, the intent is simplerand more relaxed; the songs themselves seem less self-conscious. The end resultis an incredible album that is honestly difficult for me to dissect because Ifind myself loving every minute of it, from the hoedown beat of Calamity Song, to the weeping guitar of Dear Avery.

The Decemberists may very well decide to return tothe more baroque sound of their previous albums in the future, but I’d like tothink that with The King is Dead they have discovered another dimension totheir music. I don’t expect future releases to sound like this one, just like Ididn’t expect this one to sound like The Hazards of Love, but I’d love to seethis aspect of the band show up again. When all is said and done it’s just great tosee this group continue to grow and challenge themselves.

Key Tracks:Calamity Song, Down by the Water, This isWhy We Fight

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 4

2012-01-03T11:00:00.000-06:00

Last Looks by The Sour Notes

Spotify: The Sour Notes –Last Looks

Twitter: @TheSourNotes

Band Website: www.thesournotes.com

The Sour Notes were one of the first local bandsthat I looked up after moving to Austin in 2009, based on what I believe was areview in the Chronicle that fall. At the time they had released The Meat of the Fruit EP and the Received in Bitterness LP. I ended up acquiringthe former and while I enjoyed it, didn’t think too much about them afterwards.Fast-forward to early 2011 and one night while browsing Waterloo Records forsomething else entirely I come across LastLooks, the latest release by The Sour Notes. Not having been offended bytheir debut EP and having come up empty handed in my primary record search, Idecided to pick it up. What followed was a month-long love affair with thisrecord and a desire to consume everything else the band had recorded in theinterim.

Last Looks is a featherweight powerhouse of analbum that all at once evokes thoughts of early Radiohead, a less European BlondeRedhead, a less pretentious Arcade Fire,Spoon without the swagger, and Death Cab for Cutie with bigger balls andlouder guitars. From Nothing MoreContagious Than Evil’s anxious and ominous opening through the subtle (butmassive) build of As Crude as Watercolor,and on to Particularly Shrill’s airy adieu,Last Looks is a collection of catchy and competent tunes that finishes all tooquickly, but begs to be replayed. The production and mix leave little to bedesired as subtle textures and delicate flourishes accent and enhance eachtrack and ultimately make for a homegrown recording that many bigger bandscould learn a thing or two from.

With three LPs in as many years, a split withAustin up-and-comers Marmalakesdropping later this month, and a fourth full-length planned for later thisyear, there is no stopping The Sour Notes and I couldn’t be more pleased forthat fact. The only thing I could hope for is that more people check out TheSour Notes and get these guys the recognition they deserve both in and outsideof Austin in 2012 and beyond.

KeyTracks: Hot Pink Flares, As Crude as Watercolor,Particularly Shrill

Related Info: For more great year-end lists featuring Austin musicians, head over to ovrld.com ... NOW!

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

2012-01-02T15:34:00.000-06:00

White Silence by Cave In

Spotify: Cave In – White Silence

Band Website: Hydra Head Shop - Cave In

For almost their entire career Cave In’s EPs havebeen harbingers of what’s to come for the band’s next full-length recordings. Creative Eclipse’s spaceyexperimentalism was followed by the supernova that was Jupiter, while Tides ofTomorrow’s more poppy leanings heralded the oft-maligned major labelrelease Antenna. It should be nosurprise then that after 2005’s almost retrospective sounding reunion album Perfect Pitch Black, 2010’s grinding Planets of Old EP would give way to 2011’sfull-length return to metalcore WhiteSilence.

Proving that you can always go home again, WhiteSilence bellows, chugs, and grinds its way through 35 minutes of classic-soundingCave In. This is a band that, despite taking some sonic detours in their time, hasmanaged to take the best of all possible worlds and combine them yet again.While tracks like the titular WhiteSilence and Vicious Circles soundmore like a return to Until Your HeartStops-era Cave In, the 8 minute space-metal monster Sing My Loves, Summit Fever’salmost progressive loftiness, and the comparatively quiet psychedelic strains ofHeartbreaks, Earthquakes all owesomething to the Jupiter era in some form and prove this is a band that hascome full circle.

Is this the last Cave In album? Who knows? I doubteven the band members themselves know for sure. Having seen them on a smalltour in support of White Silence however gives me hope. One thing is for sure:whether they keep making new albums or not, Cave In has risen from the ashes ofmajor label ruination louder, stronger, and better than ever before.

KeyTracks: White Silence, Sing My Loves, Summit Fever

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4

Music Review: Office of Future Plans

2011-11-20T11:58:00.001-06:00

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of J Robbin’s work both as amusician and a producer. Like so many things punk I came to his career later inlife (later being my mid 20’s) with Channels being my first introduction andthe tip of a very large iceberg of music I would later wish I had beenlistening to all along. My younger self certainly had thementality for punk, but I was never as into the style of music as I was other things. Itwasn’t until just after college that I finally woke up to punk in a big way.Since hearing Channels though I’ve worked my way backwards through J’s careerand continue to revisit his music frequently. As you can imagine, when I heardthat he had formed a new band with Office of Future Plans, I was excited to hear theresults. The official release is this Tuesday (11/22) but since I ordered thevinyl edition of the album I got to download the tracks as soon as my ordershipped this past week. Since adding those tracks to my iPod Wednesday, thisalbum has lived in my car on repeat. I’ve probably listened to OFP’sself-titled debut a good 5 or 6 times at this point and “no”, I’m not tired ofit yet.

This will easily be one of mytop ten albums of the year, but don't just take my word for it, you should definitely check it out over at Dischord Records’ site and hear some of it for yourself. Anyway, let’s start at the beginning:

Salamander
In describing this album to my friend Mark over Facebook I mentioned thatDarren Zentek’s drums were the first thing you heard and it really sets thetone. You see, Mark is a big Fahrenheit 454 fan from back in the day and thus abig fan of Darren’s. The mistake I made was in thinking that this song actuallystarted out with a drum intro, which it does not. Here’s the thing, while not afactual statement, it is at least somewhat “true”. The drums in this song havesuch an impact that it really does set the tone, not just for the song but foran entire album. Simply speaking, this song comes on like a freight train. Iexpected good things from this release, but Salamander blew me away in everyway possible. It’s an ensemble song that sees every element played to fulleffect from the aforementioned drums to J’s token minor key strumming.

Lorelei
Here’s what gets me about this band; it’s the intricacy of the arrangements onsome of these songs. Just listen to what’s going on here, especially during thechorus. This is a group of musicians at the top of their game and exhibitingvirtuosity that is unfortunately absent from more celebrated bands.

Harden Your Heart
As an introduction to OFP on the 7” of the same name this song was probably aperfect choice. If there is one song that sounds most like what we’ve come toexpect from J. Robbins it’s this one. There are shades of Jawbox, BurningAirlines, and Channels throughout this song. Gordon Withers being the sole outof place element, but to the point where it almost becomes a mission statement: Thisis J. Robbins doing what he does best, but it’s also something completely newand you’re going to love it!

Ambitious Wrists
This is the song I had stuck in my head this morning and another example (likeHarden Your Heart) of a song that definitely has those expected touches of J’sformer bands, but ultimately emerges as a venture unto itself. Thestaccato of the verse sections recall Channels for me in a big way, thanks inno small part to Darren’s drums of course. Once again, this song breaks from myinitial expectations with a driving, melodic chorus and a great bridgethat continues to express just how qualified these musicians are.

The Loyal Opposition
This song takes me back to the beginning of the album after a brief trip to J.Robbins nostalgia territory. This is a song that sounds uniquely OFP to me andit’s just catchy and fun.

Your Several Selves
I have to admit, I liked this song better acoustic. Having heard this recordedat an acoustic set by J and Gordon from a year or so ago I’m still getting used to this as a fullband song. The bridge just doesn’t work for me for some reason, but like thefull album version of Channel’s Chivaree vs the EP version I’m willing to bet Icome around to liking this newer recording more in the end.

Abandon
And this is the song I had stuck in my head as I was leaving the coffee shopthis morning. The album definitely takes a mellower turn at Your Several Selvesand continues with this wonderfully layered meandering stream of a track. Thisis a track that simply could not exist without Gordon Withers. The cello and J’svocals intertwine here in a beautiful way.

You’re Not Alone
“Your monkey mind/all “fight or flight” may be one of my favorite lyrics onthis album. There’s something clever, but deep about it.

The Beautiful Barricades
Still kinda mellow, but getting back into rocking territory with this song. Idon’t know if it’s just the lyrics or if it’s something happening in concertwith the music, but there’s a kind of anxiety or a sense of impending actiongoing on in this song. I think I need to lyrics for this one to really get thefull effect, because I feel like it’s more than just what I hear on thesurface.

FEMA Coffins
This is what really I mean about a return to rocking territory and it's probably the most punk of all the songs on the release. This is another onethat I really want the lyrics to. First off, the name “FEMA Coffins” hasto be the best track title I’ve heard all year, talk about “loaded”. This isdefinitely a song about the times we’re living in, there’s a defiant anxiety in this song that recalls the panicked frenzy of Channels’ “To the NewMandarins” for me.

Dumb it Down
This almost reminds me of late era Jawbox. Maybe it’s just J’s impassionedgrowls, maybe it’s the refrain of “Dumb it down for me”, but it feelsangst-y to me, but with that same punk defiance we just heard in FEMA Coffins.

Riddle Me This
I don’t what to say about this song at all. It’s not bad, but it’s differentthan everything else we’ve heard up to this point. Somehow it just feels like abonus track to me. This song would totally feel at home popping in randomlyafter 5 minutes of silence following Dumb it Down. A strange, but interestingend to a great album.

Smart. Phone.

2011-10-02T13:21:00.001-05:00


not my iphone ... yet

I hate my iPhone 3G, I absolutely hate it. There was a point in time when this wasn't the case. Two years ago when I first got the phone it was still pretty decent, in fact it remained pretty decent up until the OS4 update. At that point Apple basically decided that they no longer cared to support the 3G and 3GS and launched an update that was great for the iPhone 4, but caused the older phones to chug like an old Ford Model T. They released an update shortly after that alleviated some of the problems, but unless you had a 3GS, you weren't going to feel it. My phone instantly became a paper weight with minimal computing power. Opening most apps (even the phone settings) took forever, often long enough to make the process time-out on the first try. Forget about anything net related, I was going to have to wait extra long for those apps to work. My phone, which had once been quite adequate, was now a thorn in my side. It was obvious I needed an upgrade, but what to upgrade to?

Existentially speaking I am not a Mac, I'm a PC. I'm what some might call a power user. I build my own computers, I tweak settings, I like knowing what's going on and how to fix it. Apple doesn't want you to have to think about any of these things and they make you pay for the privilege. As my first smartphone, the iPhone was the right choice at the time, but the Android OS and phones have come a long way since then; enter the Samsung Galaxy S2. For all intents and purposes this phone took Europe by storm this past spring. If there was a phone that could rival Apple's best efforts, this was it. There was only one problem, no one knew when it was coming to the US. Regardless, I knew this was the phone I wanted to upgrade to and I was willing to wait. Rumor-filled months passed and the Galaxy S2 was always just around the corner until finally in September it launched for Sprint, with the AT&T released rumored to be right around the corner. A couple weeks later a date was finally announced: October 2nd. If my iPhone could sweat, it would have been drenched, its days were numbered.

The morning of October 2nd comes and I head over to the AT&T store when they open at noon. Immediately I ask about the Galaxy S2.

"The Galaxy S2 isn't available in the South region yet. We don't expect it to be available till the end of the quarter."

The end of the quarter? Really? The quarter that just started? I realize that large swaths of the South might not be what us New England ex-pats might consider to be tech savvy and thus not as interested in an iPhone killing smartphone, but can't we at least make an exception for Austin, the Northeast of the deep south?

The answer (by the way) is apparently no, but you can order the Galaxy S2 online. Given the alternative of waiting until the end of the quarter, waiting for shipping on an online order doesn't seem so bad. Let me just fire up the old PC here and see what we can see. Oh well this looks easy, there's a link to upgrade my phone. Oh and the S2 is one of the options, perfect.

Type type ... Click click

What's that? You need my work email in order to carry over my discount? No problem.

Type type ... Click click

Wait ... the next step is to click on the link in the email you sent me and verify the address? The email you sent to my work address? The work address I won't be able to check until I go in to work tomorrow? Well then ...

So now I can't complete the order for my new phone until tomorrow and I still don't know how long it will take to get here once I do. Whatever it is, it will be quicker than THE END OF THE QUARTER! I just can't win. Curse you Steve Jobs, you've won again! Seriously though, this whole experience with the Galaxy S2 launching in the US has been absurd and I guarantee you that when the iPhone 5 is released, they won't be telling people "The iPhone 5 isn't available in the South region yet." There's a lesson here:

AT&T hates you if you're not Apple. And Apple sucks, except when they don't. And the South ... you're on notice ...

Human Revolution

2011-09-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS FOR DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION

Anyone who knows me knows that the original Deus Ex is oneof my two favorite video games of all time, the other being the original Legendof Zelda. In the last 11 years I have played Deus Ex from start to finish atleast 9 times and each time I’ve discovered something new about the game. Neverbefore and never since have I played a game that so perfectly matched anintelligently written and poignant science fiction story that introducedconcepts worthy of philosophical and social discussion beyond the bounds of thegame world with the kind of guided (yet still open ended) game play thatrewards player’s decisions through more than just trinkets and score increases.Deus Ex should not only be considered a model for modern game development andhow to provide players with a wealth of choices while still managing narrative directionand overall scope, but also a model for how to tell a smart science fictionstory in the digital age.

I won’t get into details here, but as most who are familiarwith Deus Ex know, the sequel (Deus Ex: Invisible War) failed to even comeclose to the greatness of the original title. While it wasn’t a total loss froma sales standpoint, the perception of Deus Ex as a property had been soured andif the world had ended without another title in the series, there would be fewregrets. Enter Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a prequel to the series underdevelopment by an entirely different team, nearly a decade removed from theoriginal and in a gaming landscape that had all but left games with the depthof the original Deux Ex behind.

Initially I was skeptical, we all were, but as I saw more ofthe game and heard more from the developers it seemed that the crew at EidosMontreal might just be able to pull off a title worthy of the Deus Ex moniker. Havingrecently completed my first play through of the game, I have to say that theysucceeded on almost all fronts and even the parts that I have complaints aboutare still far in advance of Invisible War.

The first and easiest thing to talk about when examiningHuman Revolution is the game play. On this front, the developers absolutelynailed it to such a degree that if you were to remake the original Deus Exusing Human Revolution’s systems (mod makers: hint, hint), there would be verylittle you’d have to excuse. Playing the game on the PC I had few complaints(after a mouse lag patch and adjusting my FOV from 70 to 90) and the additionof cover mechanics and 3^rd person camera cutaway take downs (consolegaming staples for the current generation) both felt completely natural. Infact the cover system turned out to be a much more welcome addition than I hadanticipated and in addition to fitting in well with the combat, I felt it addeda LOT to the stealth game. Missing is the skill system and health managementfrom the original Deus Ex, the former having been removed complete and thelatter replaced by a more modern wait-and-heal system. To be fair, I missneither system. Sure, the skill system made the original Deus Ex more of anRPG, but curtailing my shooting skills based on skill points always felt oddfor an FPS. Granted they could have found more ways to convert the old skillsystem over to options in the augmentation system, but really … it’s a small complaint.As far as the health system goes, I can take it or leave it. The debate hereactually has nothing to do with Deus Ex and more to do with old health bars vs.new health bars. These days I just expect to heal up if I can stand still longenough. It doesn’t phase me at all in Human Revolution, but I’m a quick save whoreanyway so when push comes to shove, I just reload. Beyond these minor differences I feel like Iget virtually the same amount of depth from the game play of Human Revolutionas I did from the original title. My only complaint might be with some of thelevel design. The city areas in general are fantastic, with tons of secrets touncover for the industrious explorer, but the actual mission areas almost madeit too easy for me to get around. I felt like the various stealth, hacking, andrun-and-gun options were usually rather obvious. If you want to stealth past anarea, look for a vent, if you want to hack, find a computer. I feel like theoriginal game had a little more variety. Still this is a minor complaint.

If I have one major complaint with Human Revolution (and inthe grand scheme it’s still minor compared to Invisible War) it’s the story.The main storyline never really managed to hook me as a player and I feel likethis is a failure on two fronts. The first failure is in attaching me to the storyand the characters. I never feel there is any reason to care about any of thecharacters I run across and it’s not for the game’s lack of trying. Theyimmediately try to get you to care about the character of Megan Reed bymentioning the player character (Adam Jensen)’s relationship with her, but thisis not a relationship the player takes part in at all. Almost as soon as wemeet Dr. Reed, she’s taken out of the picture and when she shows up againlater, Jensen’s reaction makes sense, but I don’t feel it as a player. I feellike the original Deus Ex did a much better job of endearing me to variouscharacters. The very first conversation in the game with the player character(JC Denton)’s brother Paul allows you to play out a big brother/little brotherdynamic and forces you to either take Paul’s non-violent posture or activelyside against it. This dymanic plays out several times over with othercharacters as well. The original Deus Ex is always subtly asking you to makechoices based on other character’s personal agendas and motivations. The mostinteresting character in Human Revolution is Frank Pritchard, the asshole ITguy who you find talking in your ear most of the game, but who you onlyphysically interact with once. Had they enhanced the relationship with some ofthe other characters (specifically David Sarif, Hugh Darrow, Ben Taggart, andMegan Reed) to make those characters more than just exposition devices, thestory decisions I had to make late in the game may have held more weight.Another HUGE missed opportunity exists with the 3 mercenaries you encounter atthe very beginning of the game and who show up successively throughout. Theseare your core rivals from the start, the object of either your justice orrevenge. Then only time you ever hear from them however is right before youkick their asses. Granted the situation is somewhat different in that these 3are antagonists from the start, but the original Deus Ex’s Gunter Schultz andAnna Navarre are much better developed villains and because of this, the interactionswith them as Deus Ex’s story unfolds carry much more weight.

The second failing of the story is that it throws too manylinks at you without fully developing them. The original Deus Ex unfolds verynaturally with the Grey Death plague initially taking center stage andeventually implicating FEMA, MJ12, the Illuminati, and ultimately Bob Page asthe ultimate villain. Human Revolution throws information your way, but rarelyasks you to comment on it. When Human Revolution does ask for your opinion, theresulting comments feel more like flavor text than character building. In theend, the story of Human Revolution is almost a comedy of errors that more orless culminates with you cleaning up one man’s misguided mistake as opposed tothwarting an international conspiracy. The real problem, is that theinternational conspiracy angle is present, but largely undeveloped. It’s to thepoint where the final boss of the game is a key player in this conspiracy, butuntil that final battle you have little idea of her ambitions leading up to it.When I got to Area 51 in the original Deus Ex I knew what Bob Page wanted to doand I was there to stop him. In the process of doing so I was given severaloptions for exactly how to accomplish this by various characters I hadconnected with earlier in the game. These connections along with the fact thatthe story had been preaching to me in regards to these various viewpointsthroughout the game and that the options were physical paths for me to take andnot simply and button to press, all contributed to the weight of that finaldecision. While I am prepared for the choices at the end of Human Revolution toa certain degree, they feel weak not only because I have little connection withthe people involved, but also because the game doesn’t make me do anythingdifferent to achieve these objectives. You get to the end of the game and pushone of four buttons after which you see a bunch of stock footage with some vaguelyphilosophical voiceover.

I suppose one of the difficulties of making a prequel,especially as (and for) a game that relies so heavily on player choice to determinethe outcome of it’s narrative, is ending it in a way that is both interestingand yet doesn’t encroach upon the sanctity of the pre-existing property and it’sworld. It’s actually because of this that I feel Human Revolution reallydropped the story ball at the end. The Illuminati are the one major thread(besides augmentations themselves) that carries between both games. Throughoutthe game we are treated to notes, and broadcasts speaking about characters fromthe first game that we know to be involved with the Illuminati. At this pointin time, these people are very much pulling the strings, but by the time we getto the original Deus Ex there has been a schism within their ranks thatultimately creates the situation whereby Bob Page becomes the core villain.While I can see that they didn’t want to associate the two games too closely inorder to avoid certain pitfalls, I think this is an aspect they could haveplayed with a bit more, especially considering how much the Illuminati figuresinto Human Revolution’s end game.

Regardless of these concerns, Deus Ex: Human Revolution isnot only an excellent game, but a worthy successor to the original title andone that I hope gets expanded upon with future DLC and hopefully does a bitmore to bridge the gap between the world of 2027 and 2052.

ACL 2011 - Worst Year Ever?

2011-09-05T11:45:00.003-05:00

I bought my tickets for ACL 2011 hoping that the schedule would fill out a bit and that we'd get some bigger or at least more recognizable indie and or rock acts to fill out the middle hours of each day. This did not happen and for the most part I find myself staring at a roster of acts that I don't recognize and (after some cursory investigation) generally seem to play the kind of music I stopped listening to the radio over a decade ago in order to avoid. I may be wrong however and there may be some gems in there that I'm not aware of. Since I have the tickets for Friday and Sunday and since I'm still going to show up to see the few anchor acts I was initially interested in to begin with, I've decided to see if I can find anything else in this mix to get excited about. To this end I've created a few Spotify play lists, one for each day (even Saturday, because while I'm not going ... I'm a nice guy like that) and with any luck I'll hear something interesting that doesn't conflict with my existing (albeit thin) schedule.

ACL 2011 Friday
ACL 2011 Saturday
ACL 2011 Sunday

Honestly, there's no way to look at this and not realize that this is the worst ACL line up at least since I've been in Austin. I have to wonder if this has anything to do with the expansion of FunFunFunFest this year, because their lineup is spectacular. We'll see if my playlists don't change my mind, but as it stands right now (if it wasn't for the few acts I know I want to see), I'd be unloading my two ACL tickets to recoup the cost of my already purchased FunFunFunFest 3-Day Pass.

The Ballad of the Jelly Donut

2011-08-05T09:25:00.001-05:00

Yet again I have missed my chance at a Jelly donut. This is the third week in a row. To give a little background: my job gets a bunch of donuts and a bunch of breakfast tacos every Friday morning for the studio. Breakfast tacos (while tasty) are an oxymoron for reasons I won't get into at the moment and when given the option to grab something sweet I'm going to go for it. I like jelly donuts for reasons that I will get into later, but they always seem to be the first to go and for the past three weeks the only filled donuts left have been creme or what appears to be some kind of lemon concoction. I am left with no choice but to grab a regular frosted or sprinkle donut instead.

I know I shouldn't complain about free donuts, but when your world has involved free donuts one day a week for years, you start to feel a certain privilege. I think I understand the reason why the jelly donuts disappear quicker than the other though and it's probably the same reason that I'm drawn to them. There are several factors at work that make a jelly donut more appealing than a regular frosted or sprinkle donut. First off, there's no hole in it. Yeah, I know. Donuts have holes. No big surprise there, but when you compare a jelly donut to a regular donut, it's hard not to feel like you're getting ripped off with the regular donut. Secondly, the jelly donut is filled with jelly. My regular donut is just filled with ... more donut. I mean sure it's still delicious, but when given the choice between added jelly and no added jelly I'm going to choose jelly every time. Finally, a jelly donut is just more donut. Yes this is a recap of point one and two in a way, but when you have mentally prepared yourself and your diet to allow for just one donut you want that donut to be all that it can be. The jelly donut is like cheating. It still counts as a donut, but you're getting much more out of the deal.

Anyway, I'll enjoy my chocolate frosted donut just fine while pining away for jelly instead. Maybe someday I'll arrive early enough to catch the donuts as they arrive or maybe my other favorite, the coffee roll, will show up. Mmmm ... coffee roll. Don't even get me started. It's a donut and it describes the golden section, the mystical and mathematical significance cannot be denied.

Stumbles

2011-07-25T08:33:00.000-05:00

I know, I am behind two blog posts now after having missed the last two weekends. I'll make it up somehow. Hell, let's count this as one! Seriously though, This weekend and last were a little atypical in that I was busy for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday was rushed by a) being completely worn out by Saturday and b) having to line up at Alamo for movies by 6pm. To compound all that, I just haven't had that narrative inspiration to write like I did with those first summer posts. It was all I could do to keep myself from writing several posts in a row a few weeks back and now (while I have a list of great topics) I can't seem to muster the will. I suppose that was sort of the impetus for the "summer project" anyway, to force myself to write something while also getting out and seeing some new places around Austin. Technically I'm only behind by one coffee shop as the last post was written in a week where I visited two, but I still need to get out there. Anyway, we'll see what next week brings.

The Zero of Time

2011-07-09T20:04:00.002-05:00

I’ve recently started playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time some 10+ years out of sync with the rest of the world. This isn’t the first time I’ve attempted to play Ocarina, but it’s the first time I intend to finish. When The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker launched back in 2003 I attempted to play the GC version of Ocarina that I got as a promotional item. What I discovered, much to my shock was that Ocarina of Time was a frustrating mess. I got maybe a third of the way through the game and stopped, not for any specific reason, but because it didn’t captivate me enough to continue despite being a core Zelda game.

For years I’ve heard nothing but praises for Ocarina of Time. There are many that herald it as their favorite Zelda game and my only explanation for this is the same I give for the preponderance of people who claim Final Fantasy 7 as their favorite of that series: Ocarina was the first Zelda game for an entire generation of gamers. Having been alive and playing through most of the commercial history of gaming, I don’t really experience this effect so much with games. I’ve certainly had it happen with music, where my first exposure to a band is one of their later albums and it ends up being my favorite. Regardless of that effect, if Ocarina is the favorite Zelda game of an entire generation, they’ve really lowered their expectations compared to mine.

Now let’s be frank, the basics of Ocarina are the same as any other Zelda game and at that level there is nothing out of sync in this title with other games in the series. The general thrust of any Zelda game is that you explore a large overworld area and delve into a series of puzzling dungeons that require you to unlock access to a special item in order to be find and defeat the end boss. It’s the very model of a purely item-based progression. The more you put into a Zelda game, the more you get out of it. Feeling a little weak? Go exploring and find new ways to get more hearts on your life bar. Stuck as to how to get ahead? Find new ways to use the last item you received from a dungeon and explore the new areas that open up. It’s a great format that has stood the test of time and almost never gets old in any permutation. So why am I so unimpressed with Ocarina?

The first problem may just be a problem for me. I grew up a console gamer in the days of D-Pads and two-button controls. Just before the N64 and PS1 came to prominence, I made the switch to being primarily a PC Gamer. The first real 3D games I played were on a PC and therefore, my mind is wired for mouse controls … smooth, reactive mouse controls. If you put me anywhere near an analog stick I’m going to have trouble, but I’ve learned to manage it. For 3^rd person games I don’t tend to have much trouble these days, but I’ve learned that controlling a 1^st person game with anything but a keyboard and mouse will lead to broken controllers and endless rage. That being said, Ocarina shouldn’t be a huge problem for me as it’s mainly a 3^rd person game. Sadly this is not the case. I’ll chalk it up to the newness of the system for which Ocarina was developed and the lack of consideration in the controller for proper camera control (as displayed among most Japanese developers in my experience) but controlling Link in Ocarina makes me want to hurt someone. First off, there is no such thing as precise movement in the game. Every twitch of my controller sends Link careening in one direction or another and often way off whatever mark I want him to hit. Secondly, the camera fails to follow where I’m looking, which would be almost forgivable except that it does so in such an extreme manner. I understand that I’m not always going to want to be looking where my character is looking, but the camera in Ocarina lags so far behind that I’m constantly hitting the target button to face it forwards again. At the very least the designers should have realized that when I’m moving forward I’m going to want to see where I’m going and that the camera should behave with less elasticity in that situation. Granted, I eventually got used to the controls, but I was a good 1/3 to ½ of the way through the game when I did.

My second problem is the tone of much of the game and the way it keeps butting in to “help” me. Yes, a lot of this is just hate for Navi, a useful but ultimately intrusive game system/plot device that’s constantly interrupting me with inane tidbits and hints about things I’ve already figured out. Beyond that though the tone of the early game especially is far too childish for my liking; or rather it’s childish without being fleshed out. There’s a definite appreciation for and attempt to emulate the works of Hiyao Miyazaki in the early sections of the game. The character design, the themes, everything is owed to Miyazaki’s masterful animations, but there’s just not enough meat here to bring it to life in the way a Miyazaki film does. I get these boring fragments of clichéd and all-to-obvious exposition from almost everyone I speak to. I feel as if every sentence should culminate with “wink, wink” in acknowledgement of the overly cartoonish way that the story is being handed to me on a plate. This isn’t to say that I need a grim and gritty Zelda game with tons of prose or extended cut scenes, but either say less or say more in a better way. Additionally, the overall story has never thrilled me. Ocarina is essentially a rehashing of Link to the Past, which rehashed, but greatly expanded upon the original Legend of Zelda. I realize that Zelda games and their stories are formulaic, but as someone who has been exploring Hyrule for 25 years, I like it when things are changed up a bit. This is likely why I thoroughly enjoyed Link’s Awakening and The Wind Waker especially so taking the time-tested formula and giving it an interesting spin; at least geographically.

I suppose my final gripe about the game is how confined the overworld feels. Without any exaggeration, the overworld in Ocarina of Time is composed primarily of several linear levels with various secrets that can be uncovered. Compared to the original Zelda, which throws you to the wolves in a completely open world, Link to the Past which does a similar thing albeit with more story, and Wind Waker with its vast ocean, Ocarina may as well be on rails.

It may pain me to say it, but as I’m nearly done with the game now, I have to admit that Ocarina isn’t all bad. The expected item based progression (while dulled due to the linear nature of the world building) is as compelling as it’s been for 25 years. I find it confusing how other open world and sandbox games don’t try to emulate this. The Zelda style of item progression (also on display in the Metroid-Vania style of games) is incredibly compelling as it only requires very little of the player, but baits them with so much more should they choose to put in the extra effort. Typical open world games just give you more missions for playing the game, a Zelda game does that while also enticing you with abilities and tools that will make that added game play more interesting and fun. Additionally many of the dungeons in Ocarina of Time are (once you get past the control issues) as thoughtful as ever, with boss fights that are both familiar and innovative at the same time. And once you get past the early sections of the game, there’s far less hand-holding and frolicking and while the story is nowhere near as powerful as it tries to be, it’s still marginally compelling.

Anyway, that’s my take on the game at ¾ of the way through. It could change in the final couple dungeons of the game, but I doubt it. Maybe it isn’t the worst Zelda game of all time (and “bad” for Zelda is still miles ahead of most game) but if Ocarina was your first exposure to Zelda, you really owe it to yourself to play the original game, Link to the Past, and Link’s Awakening. Despite 25 years and numerous technological improvements, the original Legend of Zelda still remains one of my two favorite games of all time and unlike many older games it still holds up in my mind as both fun and challenging.

Summer project update: Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about my summer project. In fact most of this post was written at Houndstooth this past 4^th of July and while I finished writing it at home today, I did spend some time at Dolce Vita earlier.

Welcome Back True Believers!

2011-07-03T17:15:00.000-05:00

Week two and I’m sitting at the New World Deli on Guadalupe and 41^st. This place is mostly new to me, although not totally. I’ve been here once before to grab a coffee after dropping my car off at the Midas down the street and waiting for Chris and Ann to pick me up for the Google Places Austin “BBQ Bus” event a couple months ago. I’m not here to talk about the New World Deli though. If you want to read my thoughts on that then check out my Google Places review. No, it’s time for another blog entry, as promised and the subject this week is: comic books. Yeah, I’m saving the heavy stuff for later. Believe me, I’ve got blogs about my unique perspective on relationships at the moment, Socialism, hipsters, and the middling of America all in the wings waiting to be written, but right now we’re going to talk about comics. Why? Comics are awesome!

It was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that first got me into comics. Sadly it wasn't the original Eastman and Laird indie comics that I'm talking about. No, it was the Archie Comics version, initially based off the cartoon series, that I first started collecting back during the TMNT craze of the late 80’s/early 90’s. In its defense, the series (while originally just a panel by panel retelling of the cartoon series) quickly developed into something much more, to the point where the Turtles adventures were virtually indistinguishable from those of any other superhero group from the time, although maybe a little less gritty. TMNT were the gateway drug, but it was a combination of the X-Men cartoon and Hero Illustrated magazine (which I became aware of as the sister publication of Electronic Gaming Monthly) that sucked me into the world of comics beyond TMNT. I don’t recall all the comics I was reading back then, but I know that the series that I chose as my starting point was X-Men 2099. For those that don’t know or don’t remember, Marvel launched an ill-fated line of comics under the 2099 moniker in the early/mid 90’s that attempted to recreate characters such as the X-Men, Spiderman, Dr. Doom, and Ghost Rider 100+ years into the future. It certainly wasn’t their greatest moment, but I didn’t know any better and I wanted to get in on the ground floor of an X-Men book so I made 2099 my own. It wasn't a bad series, all things considered, but there was more to be had and I was eager to explore.

X-Men 2099 eventually led to other things, mainly more X-Men stuff specifically Jim Lee’s run on the title and eventually his inaugural Image title WildC.A.Ts. Image comics was a HUGE deal at the time. Marvel’s top talent, deciding that they were through with the work-for-hire model and not being able to own their own work, struck off on their own to start a creator owned imprint that ended up being wildly successful. For all that it did to change the industry and champion creator's rights, these days Image is just another publisher in a sea of assorted indies, but back then it was a revolution. I consumed a ton of Image books in the 90's, mainly the stuff coming out of Jim Lee’s Homage/Wildstorm studio, but a few other titles as well, chief among these other being Sam Kieth’s The Maxx.

Earlier this week I finished reading the novel Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, a book that I highly recommend if you’re even mildly into the steampunk genre. With book 5 of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga coming out next week I didn’t want to start another novel in the interim, but having recently reorganized my comic book collection for the first time in 10+ years, I decided that I could probably get through the entirety of The Maxx’s 30+ issue run. I didn’t realize until I started rereading those comics just how much The Maxx inspired my own efforts at writing and drawing comics back in high school and early college. You might even say that my stuff was practically a blatant rip off.

I’ve never been the kind of person who stands idly by when he likes something; I like to get involved, to give back to the community that has entertained me. This is the reason why I own a guitar and a bass that I’m not very good at playing. It’s why I majored in film in college. It’s how I got into game development. And it’s why in high school I started drawing comics. Now make no mistake, my early stuff was very much X-Men/WildC.A.Ts inspired; Jim Lee figured very prominently in my personal pantheon of gods at the time and I still have folders of various superhero designs that are embarrassing if not ambitious . I never really did anything narrative with those superheroes though and by the time I had worked up the discipline to even attempt something sequential, I had moved on from X-Men, WildC.A.Ts and superheroes in general. It was titles like Sin City, Strangers in Paradise, Transmetropolitan, and of course The Maxx that had my rapt attention at that time and it was the influence of those books and my brooding, anti-authoritarian teenage mind that led to the development of my comic Shadow of the City.

I “published” 3 issues of Shadow between the end of my junior year of high school and my freshman year of college. The story followed a homeless, amnesiac drifter named Robert Shadow who was befriended by a woman and given a second chance at life. Oh, he attempted to fight crime and he had developing telepathic powers as well. If the premise wasn’t an almost total rip off of The Maxx (albeit bereft of subtleties) my page work was very inspired by Sam Kieth. Even now, rereading The Maxx, I’m impressed by Kieth’s panel work and while I think he let his desire to design a beautiful page get in the way of storytelling sometimes, when it worked it was fantastic.

I eventually gave up on drawing comics when I started film in college, but I never stopped reading. There was Cerebus and Sandman, Preacher, and a bunch of others either monthly or collected in trades. I loved to support the indie comics: Brian Wood’s early work with Channel Zero, Drew Hayes’ Poison Elves, and others, many of which came and went in the blink of any eye. It was an easy habit to feed as living in Boston put me in close proximity to two of the best comic book stores in the country: Comicopia on Comm Ave, and The Million Year Picnic in Harvard Square. Eventually, as series’ ended or I just lost track of late books or those that I never really cared about much to begin with, I was reading fewer and fewer comics each month. I think for a period of time between the end of 2001 and sometime in 2006 or so, I was maybe maintaining fewer than 4 monthly books and that basically included whatever Warren Ellis or Brian Wood were working on at the moment, The Walking Dead, and random purchases here and there. When I moved to Virginia I started looking for new series’ to read again, thankfully stumbling on Unwritten (the new Sandman as far as I’m concerned), Chew, Rasl, and The Stuff of Legend … with a little help from BleedingCool.com. When I moved to Austin (just around the corner from the amazing Austin Books and Comics) this renaissance continued and has recently found me back where I started, with the X-Men.

The thing I’ve always loved about comics is that they really are one of the last narrative mediums left unspoiled by the masses. Sure, you’ve got big publishers like Marvel and DC where you’re likely to find the same stories you’ve read your entire life repackaged and put back on the shelves, but there are so many other books out there and the barrier for publication is tiny compared with other media. It’s no wonder you find so many mainstream writers either coming from or ending up in comics at some point. Guys like J. Michael Stracynski, Kevin Smith, and Joss Whedon all turned to comics at some point and wrote stories they would never get away with on the big or small screen. It’s really one of the few places where a creator can still reach an audience and maintain total creative control. That was always so much of the allure to me when I was younger. As an idealistic youth with a need to rebel against “The Man” and do my own thing and amidst the revolution of Image, comics were the ultimate medium. If you had the vision and a story to tell, you could get it out there in front of people and while there were maybe a couple dozen people who read my Shadow of the City and I never finished issue 4, let alone the series, I was a part of that world in some way and still am, if only as a spectator.

I still think about writing for comics every now and then, but along with everything else I have going with work and life in general I just don’t know where I’d find the time, let alone a genius artist. Maybe someday I’ll be struck with the perfect idea that can only be expressed via sequential art, but until then I’m content just to read others' works. There’s just an endless sea of story out there in comics, unhindered and unabridged from the author’s mind to your hands and there really is something for everyone. I feel bad for people who write off comics as being childish or unrefined; they really are missing out. As much as I read traditional prose and as much as I enjoy novels, some of the greatest stories I’ve ever read are in comics and I hope that never changes.

Through the Wormhole

2011-06-26T16:29:00.000-05:00

And so “to be continued” becomes a reality as I sit outside at Spiderhouse, half in the shade, with an Iced Toddy and a strong breeze. So what’s this summer blogging project about anyway? I forget when I came up with the idea, but it was sometime this week, very likely after Wednesday’s episode of “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman”. If you didn’t watch last season or haven’t watched this season at all, you’re missing one of the most interesting programs about physics I’ve ever seen. The first season mainly dealt with the kinds of physics questions we’re generally used to hearing about: black holes, worm holes, time travel, quantum mechanics, etc. This season, having gotten the basics out of the way, is delving into areas one might more readily attribute to “meta” physics or even philosophy. We’ve already had an episode about the possibility of “life” after death and the nature of time. In fact it was the episode about the nature of time that was partially the impetus for this very project.

There’s an interesting thing I learned about people and the perception of the passage of time. The older we get, the quicker we perceive the passage of time. There’s some formula or other that describes it in detail, but the gist of it is that at 10 years of age you experience time precisely as we measure it, one second at a time. By your 60’s you perceive everything twice as fast. This is not to say that you see the world around you moving any faster, but at the end of any given day a 60 year old will “feel” as if the day went by twice as fast as the 10 year old. This sensation (it would seem) comes from the way the brain stores information. To boil it down to simple terms: when we do something new, the brain catalogues as much of that experience as possible, when we do something we’ve done before, it’s not a vigilant. This is why when people get into car crashes they remember the event as if it were in slow motion and in excruciating detail. As a new (and in this case traumatic) experience, the brain has taken detailed notes on everything going on. It’s like if you film a movie in 60 frames per second and play it back in 30. It runs slow because they was more information captured to begin with. When the brain receives sensory information based on things that are routine or that is has prior experience with, it doesn’t take as much note of what’s going on.

Now maybe I’m reading this all the wrong way, but that really struck me as “if you want to live longer (or at least feel like you are) then you need to constantly be doing new things”. Now since I’ve always had as a life goal to live forever, I figured it might be a good start to go out and do something new as a regular experience and while doing so, get some writing done. Now, I’ve done plenty of new things since coming to Austin nearly 2 years ago and there are always new places to go and things to do, but I am nothing if not a creature of habit and I tend to fall into routines very easily. My weekend mornings are a perfect example. On Saturdays I’m almost always at the Waterloo Icehouse for breakfast and on Sundays I’ll be at Epoch Coffee with a bagel and a double mocha, reading the Austin Chronicle. I don’t have any problem with this, in fact the routine exists primarily because I enjoy going to these places, but there’s more out there and in the interest of prolonging my life, I think I owe it to myself to get out there and experience it, which brings us to the summer project.

I’ve decided that every weekend this summer I’m going to try to find a new place to get a cup of coffee and write a blog post. It’s not incredibly ambitious, I know, but for me it means at least going to someplace new on a fairly regular basis and writing, which I don’t do nearly enough of. I have chosen to inaugurate this project here at Spiderhouse, technically not someplace new for me, but I haven’t been here in a while and certainly not since school let out, meaning it’s much less crowded. And did I mention the breeze? After yesterday’s weather nonsense, it’s nice to be out enjoying the heat without the exaggerated humidity. As a start to a project like this, it’s as good a place as any. And so it goes.

Fuck This Weather!

2011-06-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

Fuck this weather! Fuck it sideways with a rusty hook. There's nothing I hate more than humidity and living here in Austin I've mostly been able to avoid it, at least coupled with high temperatures anyway. Today is one of those lovely anomalies however where we started out with a large amount of cloud cover (the kind where you're like "just fucking rain already!") and progressed to a sort of 50/50 cover of giant fluffy clouds wafting by. It's nice to look at, but given that the starting point for this was +80% humidity this morning, it's made for a sticky unpleasant day.

You see usually what happens is that there's next to no clouds in the sky and whatever humidity has crept in overnight burns off by late morning, giving us 90+ temps with 40- humidity. When you get a situation like today, the humidity hardly burns off at all and you're left with 90+ temps and 60+ humidity.

Right now we're actually looking at 94 degrees and 49% humidity ... reaching the comfortable range, for me anyway. But at this point I'm already resigned to stay inside. I attempted to go out, find a cafe, grab an iced coffee, and do some writing, but fuck if it wasn't unbearable outside. So I did the next best thing. I grabbed a cookie over at Upper Crust (where I would have stayed, but it's really more of a bakery and not great for coffee ... also no wifi) and headed back home where I'm currently making my own iced coffee. Ideal? No, because I very much like not to be in my apartment for as much of the weekend as possible, but given that I'm going out later and the weather hates me, I think I can justify it. With any luck tomorrow will be better and I can get that cafe time I've been looking for and begin my summer blogging project.

PS. That last sentence there is sort of a hook ... a "to be continued" if you will.

PPS. That "to be continued" is (as always) using the Back to the Future font.

E3 2011 - Part 2

2011-06-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

Rage

Wasn't this a driving game a few years back? Apparently Id has decided to go back to what they're best at and make an FPS. While I'm looking forward to this game, don't mind me if I'm a little underwhelmed. It's not that anything about it looks bad, it's just that conceptually and even technically there's nothing ground breaking from what I've seen of Rage. What I have seen looks like an incredibly tight FPS, very much in the style of play I expect from Id. What does that mean though "style of play"? For Id the style is a throwback to the genre they adopted as a zygote and raised to maturity, where variety of weapons, waves of baddies, and a bit of creeping horror were par for the course. From everything I've seen of Rage it seems to be progressing in this direction, which is a nice break from the quick time event laden cover shooters we're being exposed to non-stop from every other direction. I'm looking forward to a thoroughly modern experience that at it's core adheres to the gameplay tropes I've come to revere from Id games for the last 15 years.

Bastion

I'm not going to talk much about Bastion except to say that it looks like it's finally coming out. All told, the game that got everyone talking about the gimmick of the on-the-fly narrator seems to have become something more than just that and I'm looking forward to exploring what appears to be a visually interesting game world with enough unique narrative touches to create a compelling experience beyond graphics and gimmicks.

Batman: Arkham City

The first game (Batman: Arkham Asylum) was simply amazing, a 3rd person action adventure title with excellent, uncomplicated controls that had just enough arcade brawler and just enough Splinter Cell to leave me feeling like I was Batman after each session. Arkham City looks to continue in that vein with a host of improvements, a larger, more open world, and a playable Catwoman. These guys can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, so they might as well already have my money.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

There hasn't been a really good Aliens game since Monolith's Aliens vs. Predator 2 in 2001. The one thing anyone who grew up watching and re-watching Aliens in the 90's has ever wanted to do is to simulate being a colonial space marine. James Cameron's sci-fi action film gave us just enough reference to feel what this would be like and subsequent games made it real, while sharing play time with Aliens and Predators of course. This time around we get to be the Marines 100% of the time and as a project that's been cooking for a while I can only hope it's been time well spent. This could be the game to revitalize a franchise from the slow, painful death brought upon it by progressively worse AvP films.

Sonic Generations

I haven't been a fan of Sonic since the game moved away from 2D as it's primary view and as most will tell you, there hasn't been much recently to be a fan of. With last years Sonic 4 however and the upcoming Sonic Generations it appears as if Sega is rebooting everyone's favorite speed demon in a way that everyone can enjoy. So far what I've seen of Sonic Generations is reassuring. There's no narrative fluff clogging up this game, no crazy powers, no dumb sidekicks, just Sonic in 2D and 3D doing what he does best: go fast!

Tomb Raider

Looks like they're rebooting Tomb Raider and I may actually be interested for the first time ever. I never got into the Tomb Raider games mainly because the thing I was best at in them was dying due to shitty controls. Add to that experience a save/continue system that made me want to throw controllers across the room, and I never did more than casually play a friend's copy here and there. This new game looks interesting though. At the very least, controls and save mechanics have evolved and standardized to a point where I'm less likely to be hindered by them. What I've seen so far has promise, but one thing needs to go ... Lara Croft needs to shut the hell up. The videos they showed at E3 were rife with unneeded gasps, grunts, and comments by the player character. This is all great for a demo video, but in a game where I may have to redo sections of a level, it's going to get old fast. Leave the gasps to the player and keep Lara's input to a minimum. Main characters in action games are better off seen than heard.

BioShock: Infinite

I remember distinctly playing the demo for the original BioShock. I did so on the Xbox 360 because there wasn't a PC demo (or the Xbox one was out first, I don't remember) and the combination of gameplay, art direction, and narrative sucked me in instantly. I remember posting some sort of amazing praise online immediately afterwards begging my other game dev friends to check it out and that this was what "good" looked like. The footage of Infinite brings back the same memories. I am simply blow away by the style of their game world and the pace of their game play. It is going to be a treat to delve into another BioShock world again for the first time. Columbia is the new Rapture.

Elder Scrolls VI: Skyrim

Just give me system requirements already. I built the PC previous to this one to meet the requirements of Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion and I'll alter this one for Skyrim most certainly. Something the crew at Bethesda has been fantastic at since Morrowind is simulating worlds and while one can certainly argue about the repetitive core game play of Oblivion and some "lifelike" systems that weren't quite there, you have to agree that there is something wonderful about an open world that's ripe to explore. I think they really got it right in Fallout 3, a game that I logged 60+ hours on and that had me scouring the wastes on and off for several years. Skyrim looks like it's seeking to combine the lessons learned from Oblivion and Fallout 3 and make a better game all around, at least that's what I hope.

Quick Shots:

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
I mentioned being interested in this one last year and it looks like it's finally on it's way out. For all intents and purposes this has all the earmarks of a fun, stylistic indie game and I'm always a fan of that.

Modern Warfare 3
At this point I may not even get MW3. Let's face facts. BF3 comes out a month earlier and gives me all features for free. Unless it turns out to be less than what it appears to be (which is "awesome") then I may not even consider picking up MW3, BF3 will be "the game".

Journey
There's nothing much to say about this game except it's curiously moving and I haven't even played it. There's just something about the presentation that evokes a sense of loss, but also a sense of wonder and adventure. Thatgamecompany has made a name for themselves by being atmospheric and Journey looks to be taking that a step further and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

Mass Effect 3
I won't say much about Mass Effect 3 being that I work for BioWare and I'm not going to say anything bad. I've been a fan of the series since the start and I'm very much looking forward to how this space epic is going to end. I honestly don't know anymore than anyone else out there right now and I wouldn't want to. I'm very much looking forward to completing my Shepherd's adventure next year though.

Overstrike
Not having been a big console gamer for a long time I never developed the same affinity for developers like Insomniac that others have. I will say this though, I'm aware of Insomniac's resume and Overstrike looks like good fun. All I've seen so far is pre-rendered though, so time will tell how it all actually plays. I expect to be pleasantly surprised.

From Dust
It looked good last year and it looks even better this year. The "god" game has really been dormant for some time (Black and White aside) and this looks like the kind of resurrection that I can really get behind.

E3 2011 - Part 1

2011-06-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

The blog was prophesied and inevitable and so here I am writing about E3 2011. I haven't physically attended an E3 in roughly 9 years, but with the right internet resources it's possible to actually get more out of not being at the show than getting lost in the crazed cacophony of lights and sounds that is the floor at E3. This year as with last I relied heavily on E3feed.com as an aggregate for everything coming out of this years convention. The overall takeaway compared to last year is that this is the year that everyone is making good on the promises made last summer. The vast majority of games being spoken of were projects that I had seen revealed this time last year, so while there wasn't a lot of "new" this time around, it was nice to see so many projects coming to fruition and ultimately leading to what is going to be a very competitive holiday season across all platforms. But that's enough introduction, we're here to talk about games so let's get to it.

Battlefield 3

Going into this show there wasn't really much we knew about Battlefield 3 save that is was being developed by DICE and it looked as if EA wasn't going to be playing nice anymore when it came to the multiplayer military shooter genre. You see, Activision has owned this segment of the gaming population since the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game came out several years ago. Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops only cemented this position. EA wants in on this territory though and while last year's Medal of Honor fell flat, DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 showed promise. Indeed, the Battlefield franchise has always been a force to reckon with and despite some bumps along the road, DICE has been consistent in producing quality games. Having them helm an initiative to unseat Activision is a no-brainer, especially after Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward more or less walked off the job en-masse after allegations of unpaid bonus dividends from the studio heads to Activision. If ever there were a time to strike it was now and strike EA did. We had seen a bunch of footage from Modern Warfare 3 leading up to E3, but nary a peep from Battlefield 3 except for the months old teaser. During the EA press conference, Battlefield 3 was revealed in all it's glory, garnering a much deserved outpouring of praise from the gaming press and fans. Planing to launch a full month before MW3, with an open beta a month before that, and completely free to play online (a shot across the bow to MW3's "elite" program") BF3 is poised to storm PC's and consoles this fall and take dominance over Modern Warfare. Is it a lock? It's still to early to tell. BF3 certainly looks like the better game, leveraging DICE's new frostbyte engine, but is the game play going to resonate with the players? Part of Modern Warfare's appeal is the easy of entry. It's a delicate formula that we've seen before with games like Unreal Tournament, Counter Strike, and the original Quake. In order to gain multiplayer dominance you have to look good, play good, and get people engrossed in the game experience from the word go, while still providing a incentives and challenge for the expert players. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was a great game, but it wasn't approachable. Can DICE repeat history and make Battlefield 3 every bit the approachable game that Battlefield 1942 was? I guess we'll find out when the beta goes live in September.

Prey 2

When we first saw Prey 2 several months back, we were treated to a single image that looked nothing like what we had experienced from the series' progenitor. Prey's reluctant Native American hero had been replaced with someone who looked more like Sam Fischer from the Splinter Cell games. We were told that the game was still in the same overall universe as Prey 1, but that instead of being on Earth and dealing with the alien invasion, Prey 2 would take us to an alien world with a human protagonist only marginally related to the first game. Human Head released a proper trailer about a week out from the start of E3 that if anything, assuaged any fears about what Prey 2 may or may not be. Yes, the game is going to be different, but if that trailer is any proof of concept, they're barking up the right tree. Think Blade Runner meets Grand Theft Auto on an alien world. I don't know what they have in store and while it isn't Prey 1, it isn't Splinter Cell either. Whatever the case, I'm interested to see how it pans out.

The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword

Anyone who knows me knows that while I love the Zelda games (the first installment is one of my two all-time favorites) I am not a huge fan of Ocarina of Time. Chalk it up to never having had an N64 and thus never having played the game until the Game Cube port, or the fact that Ocarina is the first Zelda game for an entire generation (the damn kids these days and their lack of historical context), but I just never got into the game. I appreciate a lot of the things it tried to do, but as the first 3D Zelda I feel it stumbles along the way. I am much more enamored of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In fact, my love of Wind Waker makes me dislike Ocarina that much more due to the prejudice levied at the game by so-called fans wanting a more mature Zelda game. I'm sorry kids, but just because you were little when Ocarina came out and now you're an angst ridden youth, doesn't mean Link should be too. You know why? 2 reasons: a) There were 4 Zelda games before Ocarina (counting Link's Awakening) and b) every game retells the legend of the Hero of Hyrule, no matter what age he is. The other fact at play here is that Wind Waker was beautiful and I loved the game play. Personally I found the open world sailing to be an excellent spin on the type of open world game play we were already accustomed to in the Zelda series. Anyway, the short take away from all this is that I'm a Zelda fan, but at this point in time I'm a picky Zelda fan. Wind Waker showed me two things about my affection for the series that I hadn't before realized. The first is that I prefer I stylized rendition of Hyrule; for me it fits the tone and my own nostalgia of pixelized Links and the very cartoonish renderings in the game manuals. The second is that I really like when liberties are taken with Hyrule and the Zelda world itself. Ocarina was nothing but a bunch of locales I had been adventuring in for 20 years, but Wind Waker changed all that by flooding everything.

Now, take all this into consideration and then take a look at The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword. That's right, they are making a Zelda game just for me. I honestly don't have anything to say after watching these videos. I think I've summed it up well enough above that anyone can plainly see this game has no weaknesses from my perspective. I never finished Ocarina, I probably won't finish Twilight Princess, but I am itching to get my hands on Skyward Sword as soon as humanly possible.

As Good As It Gets

2011-06-11T19:34:00.000-05:00

I am not actively looking to date, but I peruse the dating sites from time to time to see what I may or may not be missing out on. Having done this in 3 different regions of the United States it's interesting the trends you find among people. New England for instance certainly lives up to it's reputation as a haven for liberals and beyond that it tends to simply be a melting pot. There's virtually no indigenous population in NE, there are so many people from somewhere else or just passing through. The DC area was full of women with jobs that had no possible description. Seriously, almost everyone I dated was a "consultant", a role that varied wildly depending on which political group or non-profit they were part of. Beyond that I found that everyone was just too damn motivated or self righteous. Still, there were a lot of transplants from other locales. Here in Austin I run across what I deem to be an inordinately large amount of women who are either from Austin or from Texas. I suppose when you take into account the fact that this state is so big and the places where I've lived before are very small, it kind of makes sense.

The thing I find concerning are the number of people who blatantly put in their profiles that they'd like to live somewhere else sometime soon. Number 1, I've always felt like shit dating people when I know I'm planning on moving sometime soon and I don't understand why anyone would advertise this. I'm a weird sort though. I like the illusion or promise of permanence even if you know it won't pan out. Number 2, why would you want to leave here? I really feel sorry for people who grow up with Austin as their baseline experience of the country. This really is as good as it gets. Ok, maybe it's as good as it gets "for me", but really there are very few places this cool in the country and most of those other places are much more expensive. I guess these people will have to learn on their own though. Maybe when you grow up with this as your baseline you can appreciate someplace like Fairfax Virginia. I certainly couldn't.

In the face of fear and adversity

2011-04-12T21:16:00.000-05:00

50 years ago today, Yuri Gagarin slipped the surly bonds of Earth and became the first human being in space. On that day in 1961 it seemed like space was a future looming bright and mysterious ahead of us, now 5 decades later it's as if space is something we've left behind. With the future of manned space flight in doubt with the retirement of NASA's shuttle fleet and constant de-funding of the space program, it would seem that space has once again become an unattainable goal or at least for those holding the purse strings, an undesirable one. It's at times like this that I'm reminded of this excerpt from the foreword Warren Ellis wrote for his and Colleen Doran's graphic novel "Orbiter":

"This is a book about returning to space in the face of fear and adversity. It's a book about glory. About going back to space, because it's waiting for us and it's where we're meant to be. We can't allow human space exploration to become our history."

Choose Your Own Adventure

2011-04-09T23:29:00.000-05:00

I just spent the last couple of hours reviewing local Austin businesses on Google Hotpot in an effort to win a contest and as I was doing so I decided I needed an appropriately awesome, but mellow selection of background music. I started off with Radiohead's latest "The King of Limbs"; still enigmatic, but growing on me like all Radiohead albums do. I then moved on to The Octopus Project's latest "Hexadecagon"; synth heavy post rock for the win. And ultimately was moved to put on some tracks from what appears to be the 2011-acquired album I've listened to the most so far this year "Choose Your Own Adventure" by Torgo!.

I bought this album on a whim a few months ago after hearing a couple tracks on the listening station at Waterloo Records. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, but it sounded different and fairly progressive, so I decided to give it a try. "Abandonware" the album's first track immediately calls to mind hipster darlings Vampire Weekend, but as the album progresses it's clear that while there may be some similar influences (Peter Gabriel?) these bands have taken totally different directions. Abandonware is followed by a couple of fairly weak tracks and the instrumental "The Dig" before the 10 minute "The Archaeologist" (a song about the Indiana Jones movies) comes on and Choose Your Own Adventure really gets rolling. Lyrically the album is full of these really geeky, but adorable references to things like the aforementioned Dr. Jones and video gaming. Instrumentally there is really a lot of skill present in these recordings, with a lot of layering and a very professional sound throughout. The end result is definitely something progressive, but come at from a new angle by a new generation. While I tend to skip the first third or half of the album when listening, the experience has overall grown from simply being this quirky album about video games that I bought to a genuinely engaging audio experience. I'm interested to see what these guys do going forward.

If you're looking for something different, definitely check them out. I believe they put out their own album and they're local to Texas so you probably won't find it in your local store (unless that happens to be Waterloo), but you can hear and buy their tracks from their site, so go give them a listen.

83rd Oscar Awards Predictions

2011-02-26T17:14:00.000-06:00

It's that time again and since there really isn't any reason to complain about the fact that there was a dearth of good films this year (since it just seems to be the status quo now), let's get right to my predictions.

Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

I guess I can't blame The Academy for expanding this category, after all the Golden Globes have two Best Picture categories with 5 nominees each, why not broaden the field. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint) the Oscars are not the Golden Gloves so several of these films (while it's nice to be nominated) never had a chance of winning to begin with. Toy Story 3, 127 Hours, The Kids Are Alright ... sorry, you never had a chance. That leaves us with 7 possible nominees.

First things first, let's eliminate Winter's Bone. I really liked this movie, but it's too obscure and too subdued to win an Oscar. This is a film for the critics awards and definitely worth watching. Inception may be this year's anomaly in that it was both popular and very well made, but it's not Oscar material in this category, not with this competition. The Fighter somehow generated Oscar buzz around the time of it's release, but let's get something straight: the only thing this movie has going for it are two stellar performances by Amy Adams and Christian Bale. Everything else about this film was boilerplate from start to finish. True Grit was a great film, well written, well directed, and well acted, but it's a remake and I don't see a remake, no matter how good winning this category. Similar to Inception, it's just not going to happen against this competition. That leave us with 3 actual contenders.

While The Social Network will live on as a true modern period piece, artfully accomplished against great odds by both cast and crew, I don't see it winning this category despite some of the recent buzz and a Golden Globe win. Black Swan is my personal pick for Best Picture of the year, but I think this bird flies just a little too high over Oscar's head to win. Certainly one of Aronofsky's best films to date and a must see for this year, but it's just too artsy to win here. The King's Speech is going to take this category for one simple reason, it's well rounded. The film is well made, well, acted, well written, and well directed, artsy in a classic Hollywood style, approachable by a broad audience, and quite simply endearing. Add in the fact that it's been getting Oscar Buzz for a couple months now and you're got my pick.

Pick: The King's Speech.

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
James Franco (127 Hours)

You couldn't ask for a more difficult choice this year. These are all brilliant performances. I've got to go with Colin Firth in The King's Speech though. Momentum has to be considered when picking the Oscars and I think this film has it, especially after he won the Golden Globe in this category. Honestly though, if any one of these actors won this category I would not be surprised.

Pick: Colin Firth

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are Alright)
Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

This is between Geoffrey Rush and Christian Bale and having seen both performances, I have to give this to Bale. Rush was good, but Bale was brilliant. I was seriously reminded of DeNiro or Pachino in their prime, simply remarkable.

Pick: Christian Bale

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening (The Kids Are Alright)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

This was a shitty year for Women in film. All you have to do is take a look at the Men's roles vs. the Women's and try to avoid the gaping chasm between them. First off, why was The Kids Are Alright nominated for anything? This film played out like a bad Lifetime movie and before anyone says I'm being unfair to a Women's film, any defense of this film as some kind of standard bearer of Women's or lesbian rights or viewpoints is simply patronizing. I didn't see Rabbit Hole, although I heard it was good. Neither did I see Blue Valentine, but you can blame the awful, touchy-feely, date movie trailer for that. Jennifer Lawrence was excellent in Winter's Bone. Conveying emotion in a loud, raucous movie is easy, doing so in a subdued film like Winter's Bone takes talent. When it all comes down to it though, if this award doesn't go to Natalie Portman, I'm going to riot. Portman owned her role in Black Swan in a way I have seen few actors do before. Not only did she succeed in overcoming the challenges of the script, but also of the production. The camera is rarely not on Portman throughout the course of the film and when it is on here it is primarily in close up. If Portman hadn't so nailed this performance it would have been relevant immediately on screen and I saw nothing but perfection.

Pick: Natalie Portman

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

This is a category I usually count on getting wrong, usually because the nominees are from movies I haven't seen. This year, with the exception of Animal Kingdom, I've seen all these performances. Still, this is a tough one. The Golden Globe went to Melissa Leo, but I personally think that Amy Adams was better in The Fighter, although this could be bias because I have a huge crush on Amy Adams. Helen Bonham Carter was good as usual, but she really didn't do anything in The King's Speech except be British and regal. I think this is between Melissa Leo and Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit and I'm going with Steinfeld. There are two reasons for this 1) she did a really good job and 2) I think The Academy likes giving awards to kids when they can. Remember when Anna Paquin won for The Piano. Best. Acceptance. Speech. Ever.

Pick: Hailee Steinfeld

Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Maybe I'll be surprised this year, but usually there is a pretty reliable way to win this category: don't bet against Pixar.

Pick: Toy Story 3

Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit

This is one of those categories where it's usually a bad idea to vote against the period piece and we kind of have two here in The King's Speech and True Grit. I've got to go with The King's Speech though.

Pick: The King's Speech

Cinematography
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

I have to believe this is between Black Swan and Inception. While they both had their own unique challenges in shooting, I have to go with Black Swan. There are technical awards for Inception to win, Black Swan should get one for old fashioned camera work and for really using the frame as a story telling device.

Pick: Black Swan

Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King's Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

You almost always have to vote for the Victorian era period piece, since we don't have one this year (and Alice in Wonderland doesn't count) we go with the closest approximation, that being The King's Speech.

Pick: The King's Speech

Directing
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)

For my money, this is between Aronofsky, Fincher, and the Coen Brothers. Fincher won the Golden Globe, and the Coen Brothers were in rare form on True Grit, but I have to vote my conscience here and give it to Aronofsky. I may lose this category, but if they aren't going to give Aronofsky best picture they should give him director. Now ... all this goes out the window if I'm wrong about Best Picture. The directing in The King's Speech was impressive to the degree where Hooper would get this award, even though Picture and Director Oscars almost always go hand in hand. If The Social Network wins instead then this may very well go to Fincher.

Pick: Darren Aronofsky

Documentary Feature
Documentary Short Subject

I didn't see any of these so it would be a crap shoot to pick here, therefore I abstain.

Film Editing
Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

Editing is such a nuanced art and I've never really been able to discern a pattern in this category, therefore I've got to go with my gut. I'm picking Black Swan in this category.

Pick: Black Swan

Foreign Language Film

Having not seen any of these I abstain

Makeup
Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

In the absence of a Victorian era period piece, go for the monster movie.

Pick: The Wolfman

Music (original score)
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

No ... Inception isn't going to win because the "BWONG!" track playing over the trailer became an internet meme. This is often a difficult category to pick, but based on the Golden Globe winner and some careful thought I really think The Social Network has a chance here. I also think it will be amazing to see Trent Reznor accept an Academy Award.

Pick: The Social Network

Music (original song)
Coming Home (Country Strong)
I See the Light (Tangled)
If I Rise (127 Hours)
We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

I think the only time I was ever sure of a choice in this category was in 2008 when "Jai Ho" was nominated from Slumdog Millionaire. I didn't see any of the movies here, but I'm going to go with Toy Story 3 because hey ... it's Randy Newman, why not?

Pick: We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

Short Film (animated)
Short Film (live action)

I'm abstaining from these categories as well since I didn't see any of these, not that I didn't have a chance to, I just didn't.

Sound Editing
Sound Mixing

I'm skipping these as well. I just don't know enough about sound or how the Academy tends to vote in these categories to make any sort of educated guess.

Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

I would be really surprised if Inception didn't win this, I mean seriously.

Pick: Inception

Writing (adapted screenplay)
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

This is a three horse race between Winter's Bone, True Grit, and The Social Network. With the fact that The Social Network won the Golden Globe and Aaron Sorkin being an amazing writer, I have to give him the award here.

Pick: The Social Network

Writing (original screenplay)
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King's Speech

Ok, I don't see The Fighter winning because it should be considered an adaptation if you ask me, since it's based on a true story. I've already expressed my confusion regarding The Kids Are Alright, so that leaves 3 choices, none of which are written by first timers who tend to get recognized by this award more often than not. I'm really kind of stuck on this one, but I'm going to go with The King's Speech simply because I'm giving it recognition elsewhere.

Pick: The King's Speech

I did pretty bad last year in my predictions, less than 60%, but traditionally I'm usually up around 80% accuracy. This year I'm really not sure. It really comes down to whether or not The Social Network's Golden Globe win carries over or not. If it does, then I'm sunk. If it doesn't then things will likely go my away across the board for the most part.

Rift: Because I've Seen It All Before

2011-02-24T20:28:00.000-06:00

A new MMO came out today called Rift. Nothing I've seen of this game has not made me yawn. It's not that I think the game is bad, but I've seen it before under many different names and I'm tired of it. As usual however, the MMO-hungry masses seem to have flocked to this game in hopes that it may inject some ingenuity into a genre still shell-shocked by WoW. I like MMO's, but let's face facts: there's nothing incredibly new here.

I've been playing MMO's since Ultima Online and I've been involved in making them for nearly as long. You can't beat WoW by being WoW, just like WoW didn't beat EverQuest by being EverQuest. I know we've all accepted this sort of revisionist history where WoW was always meant to dethrone EQ and EQ wasn't really that big a game anyway, but that was never the case. WoW was a HUGE risk for Blizzard, but they did what they always do, they took all the best ideas out there, threw in some unique twists and improvements, and a TON of polish, and it worked. I haven't seen anyone else do this since, not to the same degree at least.

MMO's currently find themselves much in the same place that FPS games were in the late 90's. Id Software with their Doom and Quake games simply dominated and it wasn't until Valve came along with Half-Life - a game that took all the best ideas out there, threw in some unique twists and improvements, and a TON of polish - that things started to change and Id was dethroned.

When you're making games at this level, you have to realize that you're making pop music. At the core it's always the same damn song, but when someone comes along with just the right tweaks and at just the right time, it makes major waves and a new paradigm is created. Rift is not this game, but I know I'm going to be hearing about how "this is the one" and how it's "so different" at least for about a month until everyone gets tired of it. I know this because I've seen it all before. I sincerely hope that Rift has the staying power to remain profitable for Trion Worlds, but this is not a game that's going to shift any paradigms. Is there a game that can do this? Hell yes and I think we'll be seeing it soon, but understand this: WoW is not going to die some grand movie monster death. The game has peaked and what follows will be a slow decline, hastened perhaps by the arrival of the next paradigm. And what will the future bring after that? God, I hope it doesn't bring anymore larger than life MMO's designed to work for all players at all times. I think there's much more ground to be covered with niche games, but that's a subject for another time.

Bulletstorm - First Impression

2011-02-22T22:31:00.000-06:00

Ok, so the first 15-20 minutes of Bulletstorm are fantastically, utterly, unbearably awful, but 5 minutes after that you completely forget about it. Why is it awful?

First, it features the same, tired, tutorial-shoehorned-into-the-story device as just about every game these days, but I can overlook that.

Second, there's way too much talking in an attempt to interest me in a group of 2-dimensional characters and their back story. Talk is cheap, let's start blowing things up.

Third, they keep taking control of the camera away from me. There's no reason that nearly all those cinematic sequences couldn't be done with me still in control. It's just jarring (especially on a PC where there is no controller rumble to occupy my grip) to be in the middle of controlling the game and then suddenly not.

That being said, Bulletstorm does away with this pretty quickly and once you start the game proper it's all standard dumb fire FPS action. So far I'm loving it.

Link: Open the Future - Fears of Teratocracy

2011-02-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

Open the Future - Fears of Teratocracy
"The real test of whether a society that uses a plebiscite to determine leadership is really a democracy is whether the losing party accepts the loss and the legitimacy of their opponent's victory. This is especially true for when the losing party previously held power. Do they give up power willingly, confident that they'll have a chance to regain power again in the next election? Or do they take up arms against the winners, refuse to relinquish power, and/or do everything they can to undermine the legitimacy of the opposition's rule?"

Interesting read

The Funny Papers

2011-02-13T20:08:00.003-06:00

Every week for the past month I've gone to Austin Books & Comics and there's only be one of my regular books new on the shelf, or one new book I've decided to pick up. This could only mean one thing: some week soon, I'd end up with a shit load of books all out at once. This was that week.

I came away from the store with no less than 6 new books today, all of them more or less regulars with the exception of one impulse buy. So what did I get?

Wasteland #30 - Antony Johnston / Christopher Mitten / Remington Veteto
It is a bittersweet circumstance that this comic has been coming out less and less frequently since it first hit the scene several years ago. I've been on board since issue 1 and I'm always eager to consume a new issue. The fact is simply that the book's writer, Antony Johnston, has been in high demand and while Wasteland is his labor of love, I get the feeling it doesn't quite pay the bills. Luckily he's got work at Marvel and oh ... he wrote the script for the first Dead Space game as well. Still, it's nice to get a new issue of Wasteland. As a story he's had in his head since he was a teenager, I don't think he'll be letting it go anytime soon. It would be nice to see more than a few new issues a year, but whatever he and Chris need to do in order to put out a quality book is fine by me.

Incognito: Bad Influences #3 - Ed Brubaker / Sean Phillips
This is the second series for Incognito, a sort of noir/hard boiled take on the anti-superhero genre. It's rare that I get into superhero stuff these days, but as Incognito is self-contained and takes a nice twist with it's crime drama edge, I've been into it.

The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 #8 - Claudio Sanchez / Peter David / Aaron Kuder
Yes, this is the comic book adaptation of the story in the Coheed & Cambria albums. I understand that there is limited appeal here, but as a huge Coheed fan this falls squarely in my wheelhouse. Honestly, since Claudio paired up with veteran scribe Peter David, the books have gotten a lot better. I think David imposes an improved sense of pacing and fleshed out detail in the dialog that Claudio was missing in the previous series. As the album we know the least about (in terms of official story explanations) it's been a treat for me to see the tales behind the songs illustrated for the first time with In Keeping Secrets.

Unwritten #22 - Mike Carey / Peter Gross / Vince Locke
I don't remember why I first picked this book up several years ago, but I did and what at first seemed like a Harry Potter satire with a real world twist, turned into something much more. Tom Taylor is a real world adult. Tommy Taylor is the boy wizard in his estranged father's best-selling novels. Tom wants as little to do with Tommy as possible, even though fans of the book revere him as much as his namesake. But what if Tom and Tommy are the same person? What if the story became a real person? That seems to be the initial concept behind the whole plot and we still don't know for sure that Tommy and Tom are one and the same. All we do know is that in Unwritten, stories are much more than they seem and there are those who may have been using the power of stories to manipulate the real world for a very long time. Is Tom the key to unraveling the mystery or is he a pawn in a bigger game? This is what keeps me coming back every month. This is DC/Vertigo quality in the tradition of Sandman and Trensmetropolitan. Go read it ... now!

Northlanders #37 - Brian Wood / Simon Gane
When this book started it seemed like Brian Wood writing DMZ except set in medieval Norway. I think he's since grown with the series and now feels much more at home in this time period. Northlanders isn't one big story, but rather multiple stories all set in roughly the same time and place: medieval Europe. It's got a definite pulp feel to it and I think that's something Wood has really embraced as the series has grown. What initially seemed like another set of stories about angst-y teens and 20-somethings fighting against "the man" has turned into a varied collection of tales running the gamut from action to drama, with even a little comedy sprinkled therein. It's just good, brutal fun, and who doesn't like vikings?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution #1 - Robbie Morrison / Trevor Hairsine
I usually don't by movie, TV, or video game tie in comics. Usually these books end up being nothing more than advertisement, typically handed off the the new guys to rush out the door. I don't know that this book is the same deal, but it looked decent enough (good art, not too wordy ... as is often the case with these types of books)
and I hunger for any information I can get about the world of the new Deus Ex game. It's a great fiction that was created in that universe and any reason to go back there is worth the price of admission.

Coming Soon

2011-02-13T16:29:00.000-06:00

I swear, good media comes in waves. More specifically these waves seem to skip years. Whether it's music, movies, or games it seems that while one year you get a bunch of duds, the next you get non-stop hits. 2010 was very much a year of duds or at the very least it was a year of mediocrity. In music and film to be sure and to a lesser degree games, I found myself being underwhelmed more often than not in 2010. 2011 so far is giving a lot more to get excited about. Sure, movies are still unfortunately not meeting anyone's expectations, but I find myself less anticipatory in general of upcoming films. Half the time I'm not aware until just before release that there is something I'm going to want to see in the theater. Such is the nature of my relationship to film and the marketing reality of the films I tend of get excited about. Music is another thing altogether, with 2011 already having produced a couple fairly high profile (in indie circles at least) successes with The Decemberists' latest release The King is Dead and Bright Eyes up coming The People's Key. Both albums are incredibly solid efforts from bands that have both thrilled and disappointed me in the past. Still to come is the 2nd full-length from Rival Schools, 7 years removed from their debut United by Fate. Protest the Hero will be releasing their 3rd full-length in a couple months as well and it looks like there is a new Mountain Goats LP on the horizon too. Altogether it's not a bad start to the year, but what about games.

I tend to get less excited about upcoming games than one might think. Since games are not just my hobby, but my livelihood, my tastes tend to be not so much refined as picky. I'm a great deal more critical of games then I am other forms of media and even with sequels to franchises I already enjoy, I tend to be reserved in my enthusiasm before I actually get my hands on a game. Contrary to this behavior There are several upcoming titles that I am very much looking forward to:

Bulletstorm
If Paul Verhoeven made a video game, this would be it. Why? For all intents and purposes this looks to be an FPS satire that (like Verhoeven's films) is also a damn good game in it's own right. Developed by Epic, everything I've seen of this game since first laying eyes on it in an EA marketing meeting last year, just screams tongue in cheek, un-adulterated, over the top action that is both parody and homage to modern action gaming. It should be a fun ride.

Crysis 2
The first Crysis game is exactly the type of experience that Bulletstorm looks to parody and the second shows no signs of backing down from the hollywood-style action of the first. The first game was kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Like a good summer blockbuster, Crysis was a thrill ride from start to finish. The story is nothing special and neither is the voice (and in game character) acting, but the game play is solid and it does a great job of keeping you glued to the screen. By constantly building the narrative tension, by introducing new elements just on the edge of what you expect, Crysis keeps you moving forward until you're caught up in the whirlwind experience of the game's climax. Crysis 2 looks to provide the same cinematic action at much the same high quality level I've come to expect from Cevat Yerli's crew.

Dragon Age 2
Sure, I get a free copy for working at BioWare, but even if I didn't I'd be eagerly anticipating this title. I know people were initially concerned about the shift towards a more action-oriented combat and a static (as opposed to player-created) main character and I can't blame them, but what has evolved looks like an exciting hybrid of Mass Effect and the first Dragon Age and I can't wait to get my hands on it. The Dragon Age universe is an interesting place to play and with Dragon Age 2's story spanning 10 years and multiple protagonists, I'm very much looking forward to diving into that realm again.

Portal 2
I didn't think Valve could outdo Portal 1, in fact I have a note somewhere from last year to write a blog about how Portal 2 will never be as good as Portal 1. The first game relied so much on the unexpected in creating the mythos that made Portal not just a fun game, but an incredibly compelling experience that took the industry by storm. How can Portal 2, with the secrets of Aperture Science having already been laid bare still manage to create as compelling an experience? Well I can't speak for the "story", but everything I've seen of the game play for Portal 2 certainly has me compelled. If Valve have upped (or at least found a way) to maintain the compelling nature of the story in Portal 2 as much as it seems to have done with the game play, then this is an experience I'm very much looking forward to.

And that's just the beginning of the year. Dead Space 2 is already out and amazing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is looming somewhere on the horizon, Elder Scrolls V and Mass Effect 3 are slated for the end of the year, and there's still The Last Guardian, L.A. Noire and a bunch of indie releases still to come as well. Of course this can only mean one thing: next year is going to be pretty mediocre as far as games go, but right about now I don't care. It's been a while since I've had games who's releases I crave and in addition to everything else coming in movies, music, and elsewhere, I'm looking forward to a great time with some hot games in 2011.

Posted from my laptop @ Spiderhouse

Opposition Research: Layoffs

2011-02-13T11:22:00.002-06:00

Question for the opposition: why is it better (or at least ethical) to lay off thousands of low and mid level workers as opposed to having some few on the topmost levels retain their jobs but take temporary pay or bonus cuts?

It would seem to me that any action that takes money away from a large group of active consumers (minimum wage earners and those still within a low or middle income bracket) and thus out of the economic picture, does more harm than good. While on the flip side, taking money from those on top (who I may argue are usually more responsible for a companies short comings than hourly workers in these situations) will likely see little to no impact on the economy as a whole as doing so is not likely to put that upper echelon executive into such dire straights. Granted this may just be a "trickle-down" vs "trickle-up" economic theory debate, but why is Socialized failure acceptible, when Socializing everything else is demonized?

PS. I'm serious about this. Can any one give me a reasoned debate on this?

Posted from my iPhone @ Quack's

The World That Can't See You

2011-02-11T10:31:00.001-06:00

I just read an article about pop music and the Grammy's and for whatever reason it got me thinking. I'm fairly vocal about my love of sincere music and while that's a difficult concept to explain, for me it's easily quantifiable when listening to music. Because of this I often find people who like to challenge me, especially when I release a new mix tape.

"This band sounds just like (insert mainstream artist here), I don't understand why you think (insert indie band here) is better" is a popular refrain to my reply usually ends up being that "(insert indie band here) wants it more, they're more sincere." which usually draws a blank stare or a frustrated sigh because I'm obviously being unreasonable.

When it comes down to it, if I had to choose between listening to a mainstream punk band that I am not already a fan of, but sounds very much like The Menzingers or listening to The Menzingers, I'm going to choose The Menzingers because they want it more. The indie bands have more on the line, they're more involved with their music and the process and to me that comes through in the sound. At the very least it makes me feel better about supporting them, like eating at local restaurants as opposed to national chains.

Anyway, I was thinking of that this morning and it called to mind (as it often does) the lyrics of the Kid Dynamite punk anthem "Shiner"

Where do you get off wanting the royal treatment?
Who put you on your pedestal? I'll tell you who, the kids did!
They created you, and how do you repay them?
With your snotty looks and your catchy hooks and your rock star image.
They created you, and how do you repay them?
With some words of truth to guide them trough your mind manipulation.

But when the time comes to back up what you say, will you run away?
I'd bet all I had on it. That's what I said, I'd bet it all.
We're all singing along to the same tune (just like you.)
Big deal, you wrote it, but you don't promote it. (YOU DON'T PROMOTE IT!)

It may sound cliche. I don't care. I've seen the way you cheat at all the games you play.
Misuse trust to get what you want it's so easy to believe you.
Cause you're in a band with a mic in your hand and everybody wants to be you.
Well I won't try to. because I don't want to.

When the time comes to back up what I say. I won't run away.
Run away from you, run away from this, Because it means more to me.
We're all singing along to the same tune, (just like you.)
Big deal, we wrote it....Now it's time to promote it. Remember, we're all in this together.

I gotta know!
What could it be that makes you unhappy?
Is it the world that you see, or the world that can't see you?

Link: Robots to Get Their Own Internet

2011-02-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Robots to Get Their Own Internet
"European scientists have embarked on a project to let robots share and store what they discover about the world.

Called RoboEarth it will be a place that robots can upload data to when they master a task, and ask for help in carrying out new ones.

Researchers behind it hope it will allow robots to come into service more quickly, armed with a growing library of knowledge about their human masters."

One more step towards Skynet. I, for one, welcome our future robot overlords.

Lo-Fi Generation

2011-02-05T21:36:00.005-06:00

Hand held devices and easily compressible formats have turned our consumption of media into a strictly lo-fi affair whether we want it or not. I just happened upon this link off of Warren Ellis' blog and I find the data to be rather disappointing, but not surprising in the least. Don't get me wrong, I think the proliferation of music by any means is fantastic and anything that get more exposure for obscure bands is great, but to think that there is a whole generation out there getting their music primarily through YouTube fills me with dread.

Lo-fi for lo-fi's sake is one thing, but when you take any recording and compress it to the level of YouTube or many other sites, you lose so much. Even your legitimately lo-fi music ends up sounding shite. It's bad enough you can't get any decent bootleg recordings anymore because the only devices people are using are their smart phones, but I'm horrified to think of a whole generation willingly subjecting themselves to sub par recordings.

I suppose it's happened before though, my generation grew up on cassettes that rose in popularity due to their portability, but were vastly inferior to almost everything else at the time. I can only hope that the youth of today are taking advantage of the the resurgence of vinyl and when they do purchase physical media, at least it's high quality.

The King is Dead

2011-02-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

I've listened to The Decemberists latest album The King is Dead several times now and find that it's been growing on me each time. What at first I mistook for a return to a pre Crane Wife sound has actually turned out to be something else. Certainly the foibles of The Crane Wife are not to be found here much in the same way as they were absent from 2008's The Hazards of Love, but there is something else going on here as well, something new, but familiar.

Much had been said about this album before it released about the band moving to a more stripped down sound, but in comparison to the intricacy of The Hazards of Love almost anything else by The Decemberists might be considered "stripped down". Still there is a sense of a return to basics here, maybe not so much in the music (this is very much a multi-instrument album), but perhaps in the presentation of the album itself. I think what's struck me most about the album however is a certain maturity in the songs.

The Decemberists have always been a band with it's tongue set firmly in their collective cheeks much of the time, whether singing songs about whoring mothers, whalers, or chimney sweeps. While it is very much the aesthetic of the band and certainly within Colin Meloy's purview to be writing about subjects that would have been considered fodder for pop music standards in the early 1900's, there is still a certain silliness that came with earlier Decemberists releases. With The King is Dead I feel as if they've momentarily shirked the silliness for a bit of folksy maturity. This is not to say that this is an overly serious album and it's obvious they're still having fun, but it's almost as if they've taken a break from the cheekiness of the past to write and play an album of folk rock standards.

Personally I find the end result to be just as satisfying as any of their other albums, but somehow much more accessible. The Decemberists have very much been a band of geeks for geeks, with SAT words aplenty and subjects only an English major could love. And while The King is Dead certainly feels like a Decemberists album, it's the one you'll probably let your friends listen to first before unleashing the awesome power of The Whaler's Revenge Song. With this band however, one can't help but assume this is merely a rest stop on the way to bigger, better, and perhaps sillier/geekier things to come.

Link : Open-World Zombie Survival Shambles Slowly Towards Xbox Live Arcade [Microsoft Game Studios]

2011-02-03T19:00:00.000-06:00

Open-World Zombie Survival Shambles Slowly Towards Xbox Live Arcade [Microsoft Game Studios]:

"Code name Class3 is not an action game with zombie targets. It's an open-world zombie survival game, and it's coming to the Xbox Live Arcade courtesy of Undead Labs and Microsoft Game Studios."

This looks promising.

The People's Key

2011-02-01T15:14:00.002-06:00

I'm just listening to the NPR stream of the forthcoming new Bright Eyes album and it's actually sounding pretty good. The thing that occurs to me now that I'm hearing it is that since Casadega in 2007, Connor Oberst has essentially made the same folk album 4 times with 3 different bands and honestly ... I got tired of that really quick. It's nice to hear him trying something different again.

NPR First Listen - Hear "The People's Key" in its entirety

Throatpunch!!!

2011-01-15T20:47:00.000-06:00

If I were a character in a game like Street Fighter, this would be my signature move:

Link: How Pixar Bosses Saved Their Employees from Layoffs

2011-01-14T00:26:00.000-06:00

How Pixar Bosses Saved Their Employees from Layoffs
"Today, Pixar may be a multibillion dollar company seemingly capable of doing no wrong in the box office, but in its early days as Lucasfilm’s computer animation division, its future was far from certain. Indeed, in the mid-’80s, some at Lucasfilm doubted the value of computer animation, and the division faced deep layoffs. Then, its two heads, Alvy Ray Smith and Ed Catmull, saved it in a positively Pixaresque way."

Now that's what I call leadership.

Link: Godzilla Movie Gets Monsters Director Gareth Edwards

2011-01-05T08:03:00.000-06:00

Godzilla Movie Gets Monsters Director Gareth Edwards: "

"It’s back to the drawing board for Tokyo’s greatest thunder lizard as the upcoming Godzilla reboot gets a new director, Monsters‘ Gareth Edwards, and a new writer, as yet still unrevealed."

As a kid my Dad instilled two things in me above all else

1. A love of music
2. A love of Godzilla

By the time high school rolled around I had seen every Godzilla movie ever made available in the states and while my interest began to wane at that time and I've since lost track of the franchise, the big green guy still has a special place in my heart. Having seen Gareth Edwards film Monsters and having been very impressed with it not only because of its effects, but also its writing and directing, I am looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the king of movie monsters. Certainly he can do better than that Ferris Bueller vs Godzilla nonsense we got in the late 90's.

The Year Ender 2011

2011-01-03T21:13:00.001-06:00

I've been stuck on starting my year end music mix for weeks now and it's mainly been because I didn't know what track to put first. Without a good first track a mix goes nowhere, but once I find it everything starts to pull together. I think I just found my first track.

Update (20 minutes later): I'm 7 tracks in already. Crafting a mix for me is like carving a statue. I start with a solid block of tracks I think I want to use and then I chip away anything that doesn't sound like it belongs. Since what I'm crafting is a linear experience however, the starting point is incredibly important. It's amazing how the path of the mix just starts to become apparent though, like it was always there and I just had to locate it.

Review: Machinarium

2011-01-02T18:08:00.000-06:00

There wasn't much I was interested in purchasing (or hadn't already purchased this summer) in the recent Steam sale, but the indie point and click adventure game Machinarium caught my eye so I gave it a chance. Having just finished the game I would have to highly recommend it. The stylized sound and visuals are incredibly well done and made the game a delight to keep coming back to. The game has no text so the majority of the interaction is between the main character, the world, and the character's inventory. Any story movement or exposition is handled via animated thought balloons over characters head when you interact with them. Functionally the game employs the classic adventure game mechanic of picking up items and combining them either with other items or objects in the world to solve puzzles. The variety of puzzles goes beyond that though, with a number more traditional single board-style puzzles or games and there are even a couple more modern arcade like puzzles/games as well. The difficulty ramps up fairly steadily and for the most part the game does a good job of giving the player enough cues to figure out what to do next. As with any adventure game, observation is key, but for those who fail to observe or who try and still can't get past a given puzzle, there are two layers of hints built into the game. The first is a simple one panel image for each area that illustrates the key goal or solution the player should be looking for. The second is a flat out walk through. The hints are accessed by pressing a button on the top right of the screen as is the walk through. The catch with the walk through however is that in order to unlock them, you need to play a quick side scrolling shooter game. The game is easy enough, to the point where you start to lament having to play it again when you get stuck, but I applaud the developers attempt to put a little game play into cheating. Somehow it doesn't make it feel so bad. My only regret with Machinarium is that there isn't more of it. I'd love to get lost in that world again for a much longer period of time.

Spokeo - Imminent Identity Theft Alert

2010-12-30T11:20:00.000-06:00

This status update appears to be making the rounds on Facebook:

There's a site called Spokeo.com that's a new online USA phone book w/personal information: everything from pics you've posted on FB or web, your approx credit score, home value, income, age, etc. You can remove yourself by first searching for yourself on their site to find the URL of your page, then going to the Privacy button on the bottom of their page to remove yourself. (Copy & repost so people are aware)

It seems like there is a new one of these every year and I'm tired of having to remove myself from them all the time. There should be a national privacy registry like the "do not call" registry that you can opt into so that your private information can't legally be used without your permission first. We had phone books for decades without the need to post pictures or speculate on someone's wealth, hobbies, age, etc. I realize this information is apparently out there already to be grabbed and that's another issue altogether, but there's no reason it should be made easily available to potential identity thieves via a single simple search. If I don't want this information made available at the push of a button there should be some easy way for me to make this known instead of having to hear about such sites through Facebook status updates.

More ... Faster

2010-12-27T15:41:00.000-06:00

I had a high school history teacher who used to say that “cutting corners was the American way”. He’d say this whenever we’d try to get away with something in class like taking a shortcut on an assignment, but he meant it in the broader sense as well. As a music fan (and sometimes snob) I’ve been known to lament so-called “mainstream” music versus lesser known, often independent alternatives. In this day and age however, even the indie bands are mainstream and the distinction between what I like and don’t like can’t be so obviously classified by pop or not.

When I was in high school I used to listen to what we then called “Modern Rock”. In retrospect this was a term that could have been applied to anything produced roughly between Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Radiohead’s “OK Computer” in the 90’s. My particular pickiness at the time was with the” authenticity” of the music I was listening to. Synth’s made me want to vomit, drum machines filled me with rage. If you couldn’t reproduce it faithfully without machines, I didn’t want to hear it. It was my first act of music snobbery. This all changed however as I entered college and I was opened up to Industrial music. Suddenly those synths weren’t so bad, a drum machine had its place and as long as they were put to use making dark and/or heavy beats, I was fine. These were personal tastes for the most part; it wasn’t until after college that I truly began to move into the realm of pure music snobbery.

I think it was an album by The Vines that first turned me on to the fact that mainstream music was just a watered down approximation of lesser known independent bands or older, forgotten bands. I remember distinctly hearing what sounded a lot like riffs inspired by the band Failure in that Vines album and it annoyed me. Here was this band that had come out of nowhere and was making headlines and appearing on the cover of magazines, while Failure had barely even gotten radio play during their stint in the 90’s. It annoyed me because Failure was an excellent band, better than The Vines for sure, and if people were willing to give The Vines so much of their time then why hadn’t Failure shared the same success? For sure most of the answer lies in marketing, but it wasn’t as if Failure were on a no-name label. Granted Slash Records was never Warner’s top pick for sinking money into, but that wouldn’t have stopped them from giving Failure a top-notch media blitz had they felt it worthwhile. If not the label then what, what was the reason why a band like The Vines got promoted in its day over a band like Failure from the 90’s when everything seemed up for grabs?

It all comes back to cutting corners and the collective unconscious of the American consumer. Americans always want more and they always want it faster. Call it capitalism, call it nationalism, call it consumerism, whatever, Americans don’t have time to wait; they want it all and they want it yesterday. To this end, anything that stands in the way of obtaining these goals is viewed as a hindrance.

So how does this apply to music? How does this explain why seemingly mediocre bands make it big while technically better bands never get noticed? If we take as a given that Americans want more … faster and we assume that musical entertainment is one of the things they want more of, then we can start to paint a picture that makes sense. Using the (regrettably imperfect) example of The Vines vs. Failure, we will assume that The Vines allow the music listening public to get their entertainment easier than Failure and are therefore easier to market. Why are they easier to market? Why do they appeal to people in less time than Failure, therefore making them the path of least resistance? The answer is that they’ve allowed their sound to be what I called “watered down”. If we assume that a watering down of one’s sound is the prime requisite for making it big (or at least a contributing factor in being marketable) then what exactly does it mean to be watered down?

Watering down means providing the fewest barriers to entry and thus allowing people to access more of your music faster. What is a barrier to entry when it comes to music? The simplest way to describe it would be to say that a barrier to entry is anything out of the ordinary that might cause someone to pause and consider their thoughts or feelings regarding said piece of music. If we work from the assumption that people like things that they are familiar with then we can assume that something that provides the fewest barriers will be easily recognizable. In music, this is why (for me at least) it seems as if most mainstream bands sounds the same, usually within their own genre, but often between them as well. The average person picking up that album by The Vines is going to instantly be in touch with what they’re hearing. They aren’t going to have to consider whether they like it, they aren’t going to have to listen to it repeatedly in order to pick up on the nuance. They’re going to find something they like immediately, be entertained, and move on; more … faster. On the reverse, if they listen to the Failure album (let’s take something really accessible like “Magnified”) they are going to like most of it, but when a song like Small Crimes comes on, they’re going to be challenged by its meandering down tempo, it’s longer than average length, it’s use of a fade out/in two thirds of the way into the song, and it’s general sonic uniqueness. Anything challenging is going to keep the average listener from getting more entertainment faster. Because of this, the things we hear most often in the mainstream are going to be the least challenging.

Does this mean that music that isn’t challenging isn’t good? If you had asked me just after college, back in the heyday of my exploration of punk and hardcore, I would have said “yes”. I’ve since changed my point of view a bit. It’s not that music that isn’t challenging isn’t good, it can be good, it just isn’t challenging and I tend to prefer challenging music. Recently I’ve come to accept a larger portion of the musical spectrum than I ever have before and lot of this is because I’ve allowed myself to accept music that isn’t challenging, but is still good and most of all is sincere. Well what is sincerity in music then?

When Coheed & Cambria’s latest album “Year of the Black Rainbow” came out I didn’t like it very much, it’s still my least favorite Coheed album, though I’ve warmed to it a bit. The sound just didn’t appeal to me. At first listen, it didn’t sound like they were being themselves and this to me came off as insincere. I eventually came to understand that while they took steps on the album to redefine their sound away from what I prefer for them, they were doing so not because of marketing research, not because they were told to do so by some record label executive, but because they wanted to try something new on their own. That to me was sincere, even if I didn’t like the results. A band like Muse that produces a number of songs that are very approachable and have even been featured in such mainstream train wrecks as the Twilight films is still sincere to me. Are they pop music, are they mainstream? Hell yes, but in the way that they make their music one can tell they are sincere about what they do. They’re not being told to make music that appeals to people watching Twilight, but there is a crossover in their chosen sound that makes that possible. Is the label, happy? Sure, but I don’t think that’s Muse’s primary concern.

So why do “good” bands get screwed? It’s because the average listener cuts corners. In the constant pursuit of more … faster the more challenging, oft time’s better acts get left by the wayside. It’s not uniquely an American problem, it’s a human problem. I believe that the concept has been so magnified by the American collective psyche that like everything else we strive for, it’s become bigger, badder, and better, though our desire not to be challenged is hardly something we should be proud of or encourage in others. On the flip side, it’s easy to dismiss music that is obviously part of the mainstream and as someone who has acted in this manner for a number of years I suppose I’m just as guilty as those who seek not to be challenged. I suppose for my part some could say that I was seeking not to be challenged to find the good, sincere art in mainstream music and recently it’s a challenge I’ve taken up and with much success. Oh I’m still a music snob and it’s still going to be likely that I was listening to bands “before they were cool”, but my horizons have broadened and while it may not be faster, it definitely gives me more.

Link: LIKE/UNLIKE: The BBM Discourses

2010-12-26T09:57:00.001-06:00

LIKE/UNLIKE: The BBM Discourses:
"Blake Schwarzenbach: This is some of the best robot fiction I've ever written. I'm self-publishing the decline of Mid-Atlantic civilization."

Taken from Blake's Facebook status updates. About a quarter of the way down he begins writing what may be the most poignant and unfortunate novel of the early 21st century. Hipsters beware, he's got your number.

What's that? You haven't bought the forgetters 7" yet? Correct this now!

Review: Black Swan

2010-12-24T18:41:00.000-06:00

I'm bad at reviews, specifically the part where you summarize the movie without giving everything away and still make it interesting to read. That being said, I'm not going to review Darren Aronofsky's latest film Black Swan, I will however comment on several aspects of it.

Let's get one thing straight right from the start here, Black Swan isn't a film about Ballet. It's a film where ballet figures heavily, but Black Swan is as much about ballet as Kubrick's 2001 is about space. This is a film about identity, obsession, and madness, themes Aronofsky has proven himself adept at depicting in the past to great effect. Unlike his previous effort, the character portrait piece The Wrestler, Black Swan sees Aronofsky concentrating less on the physicality of the character and more on the metaphysical and succeeds with almost Bergman-esque precision. Black Swan is ultimately a unique thriller where the protagonist's ultimate rival is herself. Aronofsky deftly ramps up the tension throughout the film primarily through the constant use of close-ups, creating not only a claustrophobic effect in the viewer, but also affixing our gaze almost interminably to the character of Nina's face. Natalie Portman deserves all the praise she gets for this role as she completely owns the broken creature that is Nina and succeeds in the challenging task of making us feel both compassionate and uncomfortable as she loses her grip on her own sense of self in pursuit of perfection as the titular Black Swan. In addition to the close ups and the stellar performances from Portman, Kunis, and the entire cast, Aronofsky's use of score and deft editing techniques feels more at home here than in any of his previous films. The last 20 minutes alone were a tangle of quick edits reminiscent of Aronofsky's oft-times difficult to watch Requiem for a Dream.

In the end, Black Swan was a film that left me with a grin on my face and a lot to analyze in my head and was one of only a handful of films I've seen this year that I would consider to be truly Oscar worthy. It's better late then never I presume, but I suppose this year we're going for caliber over quantity. There are still a few awards nominees for me to check out yet this year, but if Black Swan is any indication, the studios saved the best for last in 2010.

Del.icio.us Link Dump

2010-12-16T18:34:00.000-06:00

Well delicious.com is apparently shutting down so now I need somewhere to cache a ton of old links. This be it:

Now a "Switch" to Reverse Biological Clock

For the first time, scientists have pinpointed a chemical ‘switch’ that can reverse the "biological clock" by making human muscles younger and stronger .

The Flag of Earth

Welcome to the web home of the Flag of Earth.

Abandoned Polar Nuclear Lighthouses

Christian Animal Racing HELL
Religious fronting aside, this game is amazingly bad. It's so bad that we're not sure if it's actually real or a very funny joke.

Garbage Palin Kids

Armor Games: Ignite People on Fire

Virginia is for Kid Lovers

She Has a Boyfriend

Lol Metal

Animator vs. Animation

What Will Life be Like in 2008

The Worst Album Covers Ever Created

The Big Bang Wasn't The Beginning

Eurogamer: Warren Specter Interview
... we picked his brains on the current state of gaming, BioShock, Deus Ex 3 and his expectations on people's reaction when his new game is finally released ...

Mario Twins

Australian Senator Discusses Oil Spill
The front fell off

Toddler Kung Fu

From Present to Past
The approach acknowledges that the universe did not have just one unique beginning and history but a multitude of different beginnings and histories, and that it has experienced them all. But because most of these other alternative histories disappeared very early after the Big Bang to leave behind the universe we observe today, the best way to understand the past, they say, is to trace our knowledge back from the present

Shoot Up to Cool Down
Injecting sulfur into the atmosphere to slow down global warming is worthy of serious consideration, according to Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen

Chicken and Egg Debate Unscrambled
Egg came first, "eggsperts" agree

Could Cyclic Universe Explain Mystery?
Theorists suggest Big Bangs and Crunches lead to cosmic balance

Walk a Quarter Mile or Die
If you can walk a quarter-mile, odds are you have at least six years of life left in you, scientists announced today.

Antimatter Space Ship for Mars?

High Efficiency Flat Light Source Invented
Tired of fluorescent tubes? Imagine your ceiling -- or any surface -- as a giant light panel, thanks to OLED research from the University of Southern California and Princeton University.

Link: Ico remastered preview: Not too little, definitely not too late

2010-12-14T20:16:00.001-06:00

Ico remastered preview: Not too little, definitely not too late

This is one of two games that will finally get me to buy a PS3. The other is Legendary Guardian, the third game in this discreet series.

Link: Why Do The Spike VGAs Even Bother With "Awards" Part? [Spike]

2010-12-13T07:44:00.002-06:00

Why Do The Spike VGAs Even Bother With "Awards" Part? [Spike]
I can't agree more. I have no problem with the Spike VGAs as a media event, in fact it comes along at a time when the hype machine has slowed due to the holidays and serves to get people interested in what's next while they're currently purchasing what's current. My real problem is the masquerade that is the awards. Ditch the awards and you've still got 75% of the content and probably 90% of the reason people show up to begin with. Also, you wouldn't be pissing people like me off: professional game developers who prefer a real awards show to the "me too" antics of the VGAs.

That Time Again

2010-12-12T10:49:00.003-06:00

Another year, another Spike Video Game Awards show, another win for BioWare, and I still don't care. Oh it's nice to win anything, but a VGA means nothing to me. A VGA win is the equivalent of one of those exuberant film endorsements solicited from people coming out of free viewings and added to the front of a trailer. The VGAs are a media event, a showcase for new game trailers, an addendum to the year's convention season. It's not a show about the artistic and technical achievements of game developers, it's a chance for Spike to generate ratings by promising celebrities and new game footage. The show is nothing more than marketing and as such is very effective, but ask me if I care about winning a VGA and I'm going to shrug. My company paid to have some trailers shown and that means more people are going to be aware of our games, if Spike decided to tack an award onto the proceeding in order to legitimize the experience then great, but that's not the point. If someone wants to televise the AIAS Dice awards then I'd watch, those are awards that matter to me; everything else is marketing and pandering. The value of awards such as the VGAs amount to about as much as ad copy on the back of a box or the front page of a company website. It's nice to be recognized, but there is no prestige in the prize for me. The public can support us by buying our games, that's what will help us the most and in the case of BioWare, they have. When I want awards I'll go to my peers and serious analysts, sorry Spike.

Sent from my iPhone @ Epoch Coffee

Link: Chinatown Bus Dispatch: Philly and Back

2010-12-11T10:43:00.001-06:00

Chinatown Bus Dispatch: Philly and Back:
"It is not the individual I lament, it is the collective enterprise of unique minds in dialogue, in clashing strife. Now it seems more about consensus: a tacit, arguably commercial, assumption that when enough people like something it is significant."

Link: Journey's latest trailer keeps us believing

2010-12-10T11:12:00.003-06:00

Journey's latest trailer keeps us believing

Mr Ebert? I have a game for you to play.

Link: This Amazing Deus Ex Trailer Will Need Some Popcorn [Video]

2010-12-10T11:01:00.004-06:00

This Amazing Deus Ex Trailer Will Need Some Popcorn [Video]:

Anyone who knows me, knows that the original Deus Ex was one of my favorite games of all time, but the sequel was kind of a let down. This prequel is looking to be anything but.

Link: Cosmos May Show Echoes of Events before Big Bang

2010-11-28T17:51:00.002-06:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11837869

"Evidence of events that happened before the Big Bang can be seen in the glow of microwave radiation that fills the Universe, scientists have asserted."

Sent from my iPhone

Link: Early Universe Was a Liquid

2010-11-26T12:29:00.001-06:00

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-early-universe-liquid-results-large.html

"(PhysOrg.com) — In an experiment to collide lead nuclei together at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider physicists from the ALICE detector team including researchers from the University of Birmingham have discovered that the very early Universe was not only very hot and dense but behaved like a hot liquid."

Sent from my iPhone

Right-Wing Extremists?

2010-11-13T11:26:00.001-06:00

I just saw this bumper sticker:

"America was founded by right-wing extremists" ... Really? Adopting a system of government that seeks to dissolve power among the masses and provide equal representation vs a monarchy seems rather liberal to me, at least in the context of the era.

Sent from my iPhone

eMusic: The Final Nail

2010-10-11T21:44:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, my eMusic subscription renews for the month, giving me 37 credits that I may use to download music from the site. When the rollover happens tonight, I plan on using these credits and then immediately cancelling my subscription.

Nearly 7 years ago, I was sitting in my friend Scott’s apartment and we were talking about music (as we often did) and he told me about something called eMusic. This was an MP3 download site, but unlike iTunes it was less than $1 per track, there was no DRM, and it catered almost exclusively to independent labels. The next day I signed up. I think the first albums I downloaded must have been The Get Up Kids and Stephen Malkmus’ most recent offerings. For the next few years eMusic would be not only my primary method of acquiring new music, but also my primary method of discovering new music. Amy Kuney, Andrew Bird, Cinemechanica, Faraquet, The Mountain Goats, The Paper Chase, Tom Waits, and Unwound are all acts that I may never have discovered or listened to had there not been such easy access and promotion of their work through eMusic.

eMusic made it easy to take a chance on something new with a pricing plan that cut out the bloat of the middleman so often heaped on records by labels, distributors, and retailers. For $15 a month I got 65 tracks worth of music. Over time the 65 tracks became 50 as eMusic changed their pricing plans, an understandable move. I was still getting great music at a great price though and since I had moved from Boston to Virginia (where my options for physical media were diminished) I was still glad to have the service. When 50 tracks became 37, and certain albums began not to allow single track downloads, I took notice however.

Last June, eMusic formalized a deal with Sony to put their tracks in the library. Along with this deal came a change in the pricing plans. eMusic would say that the change had little to nothing to do with the new arrangement, however it was hard to divorce the two after the fact. The big 4 know how much they can get per track from iTunes and Amazon and while it may be tough to say who needed who more, it’s certain that deals and concessions were made. In the end eMusic got a much larger, much more mainstream friendly portfolio of music and longtime subscribers and supporters of independent music got fewer tracks per month and more restrictions on how to use them. Despite my anger at what I perceived as the “selling out” of eMusic, I remained a subscriber. In the end, not enough changed to make the new situation so unpalatable as not to continue. One thing was clear however, eMusic no longer cared about people like me.

Most of the people in the world like the things that are presented to them, they see what they are given and they accept it, especially with proof that it is accepted by others. The rest of us may do the same most of the time, but we’re also driven to find those things that aren’t being presented to us and to challenge ourselves to find and appreciate things that are new. eMusic used to seem to embody that principle and stood in my mind as an alternative to services like iTunes that got by giving people what they expected and what they knew would be accepted, instead of championing the more obscure, less generic, more targeted music often found on independent labels. When eMusic made their deal with Sony, later Warner Brothers, and now Universal, they made it clear that they had no intention of catering to the independents anymore. eMusic made the choice that so many have made before, they would rather make their money by selling easily digestible, unchallenging music to the masses than standing for up for art, diversity, and the general advancement of taste by continuing to support independent music uber alles.

eMusic has put the final nail in the coffin for me. While I can accept higher prices as a necessity, my loyalty toward eMusic as an ideal is gone. Their latest pricing change (seemingly made to satisfy the coming inclusion of Universal Music Group) will see eMusic move away from credits and toward a more mainstream monetary system, where the lowest amount any track will sell for shall be $0.49, effectively reducing my 37 guaranteed downloads a month to a possible maximum of 30. Add to this the fact that there will likely still be “album only” tracks that require an entire album’s download in order to acquire and “premium” tracks that will sell for up $0.79 and we’ve come a long way from the 65 tracks a month I enjoyed nearly 7 years ago. When all is said and done, there is virtually no difference between eMusic and iTunes now, except that on eMusic one gets a small discount for being a member. Given the choice between membership or not, I’d rather spend my $15 a month locally and support a brick and mortar independent record store. Sure they may have the same mainstream stock as the big box stores, but they also have what I’m looking for and at the very least I know I’m supporting the ideal of local business if not independent music.

My personal taste for independent music aside, what eMusic once represented was an easy, DRM-free, and inexpensive way to take a chance on something outside the constraints of the mainstream. There was a chance of getting people to try new things by making it a bargain and I know I’m not the only one whose music collection is the richer for it. With the mainstreaming not only of eMusic’s library, but also their business practices, that’s all but gone now and that to me is the real and lasting tragedy.

Comprehensive

2010-10-03T11:52:00.000-05:00

There are currently 4 directions the "Comprehensive Plan" for Austin's future development could go in and the city is asking for public feedback. I tweeted this morning that Plan C might as well be called the "Burbclave" plan, referring to my distaste for prefab neighborhoods vs. a more organic approach as detailed here. To be clear, the intention of Plan C is organic, to direct development toward multiple centers and coax multi-use neighborhoods. My fear is that in this century there is virtually no chance that these "centers" as their being referred to, won't be anchored by Domain-style burbclaves run by corporate interests. If not, then this is probably the ideal plan, retaining the existing urban center, but ensuring that it's possible to live and play in the outlying areas as well. The key is in letting these areas develop naturally and in regulating the involvement of large corporate entities. The outlying areas are already inundated with national chains compared to those neighborhoods closer to the city that take local business and keeping Austin "Weird" to heart. If Plan C can be used to spur local growth further out and create organic, sincere, neighborhoods that aren't just cookie cutter corporate conclaves of some bland "real American" ideal, then it will be a good way to go. If not then just image the Domain expanded and copy-pasted throughout the cap metro area. Burbclaves of conformity, run by corporate interests, stifling locality and originality with money and power.

New England Mating Season

2010-09-27T10:12:00.000-05:00

It felt like Fall this morning in Austin, so much so that I wished I'd not left my hoodie at work when I left the apartment this morning. I know it won't last (the real, consistent, Fall weather still being a few weeks off here) but, as a someone who grew up in New England the cooler weather stirred some pleasant memories.

I believe it was my friend Mark Wood who once described Fall as "mating season" for New England kids. The reasons for this ranging from the increased likelihood of sharing hot chocolate whilst cuddling to remain warm with members of the opposite sex (or same ... if that's your deal) to the preponderance of Fall related activities that the northeastern United States revel in, hokey shit like hay rides and what have you. In all honesty though the Fall is really the only consistently "nice", so it's when people tend to get together and go out to do things. Winter is pretty consistently awful. Spring is wet and depressing for all but a couple weeks towards the end. Summer has spurts of niceness, but in large is too humid to really enjoy. Fall is entirely bearable though and what with the changing leaves, largely consistent weather, and the aforementioned hay rides, it's downright romantic.

At any rate, it felt like Fall in Austin this morning and while it's "nice" for much more of the year here than it ever was in New England, I still have a soft spot for that cooler weather. For New England kids past, present, and future, it's mating season again.

Links 09-13-2010

2010-09-13T21:18:00.002-05:00

PunkNews.org - Dismemberment Plan to reunite

"The Washington Post is reporting that seminal late 90s/early 00s post-punk outfit Dismemberment Plan will reunite early next year for five shows in support of the vinyl reissue of their 1999 full-length Emergency & I."

> And here I thought Travis Morrison had quit music forever. Not that I'm complaining. While I won't be able to see the shows, it will be nice to have Emergency & I on vinyl.

PunkNews.org - Cave In to release 'Anomalies Vol. 1'

"Cave In have announced plans to release a new odds and ends collection entitled Anomalies Vol. 1. It's due out December 14, 2010 via Hydra Head Records."

> This plus the recent announcement of a new full-length in the works are definitely a good sign

Kotaku - Psychonauts Meets Inception (And It Works)

"Double Fine Productions' Psychonauts, the classic psychic adventure, when cut to ape Christopher Nolan's Inception scene-by-scene works shockingly well. Either consider this fan-made mash-up a dose of clever nostalgia or a reminder that, yes, you really should play some Psychonauts."

> Which just serves to remind me that I need to play Psychonauts again sometime.

Sub-Zero Fun

2010-09-11T12:57:00.001-05:00

“10pm show on a Thursday? I guess I need to go because I bought a ticket. It’s not like I don’t dig Autolux, but the new album wasn’t anything remarkably transcendent and besides, how is shoegaze space rock going to play live? I don’t want to go to a show that’s going to put me to sleep. I’m tired enough already and they’re not going to hit the stage until at least 11:30, but I bought a ticket and I haven’t been to a show in a while. It’s Thursday, at least I’ll find a place to park for free. I just won’t get there for doors. In fact I’ll get there a little after 10. It’s not going to fill up until after the second opener anyway so if I show up a little late I’ll still have a good place in the crowd.”

This was my thought process going into the Autolux show at Emo’s outdoor stage this past Thursday. Not really enthusiastic, but not quite reluctant. By the end of the night the band and the crowd would have changed my tune in a way that’s only possible with great live music.

I began following Autolux 10 years ago when they dropped their first direct purchase self-titled EP. I had just finished college at the time and was still living in Boston. As a fan of Failure (the most influential band you’ve never heard of) I had been following both Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards careers since the band broke up in the late 90’s. Ken Andrews had just released his first solo effort as “On” while Greg had previously been involved with the band “Lusk”. I had heard about Autolux through the Failure network grapevine as it turned out this was Greg’s new thing. “Autolux” was a great EP reminiscent of the spacier aspects of Failure, with distinctive shoegazey element. It was a low key assault; unassuming, unaffected, self-aware, but not pretentious, and incredibly tight. The opener “Turnstile Blues” grabs you immediately with its distinctive drum line and the rest of the EP doesn’t let go until the feedback fade out of “Future Perfect”.

4 years later it was 2004 and in the interim I had moved away from and then back to Boston as Autolux’s first full-length (and commercial release) “Future Perfect” came out. It featured a couple tracks from the self-titled EP and a host of new songs including spacier songs like “Great Days for the Passenger Element” and “Plantlife”. I recall being very much into this album at the time, listening to it on the bus that winter while on the way to and from work. If ever my interest in seeing this band live had been piqued, now was the time, but Autolux rarely seemed to tour ... at least not outside of their native California. In fact it seemed that Autolux was as anti-commercial as a band could get; art rock to the extreme. In either case the album came and went in my rotation, occasionally coming out for replays of my more favored tracks, but like everything else it eventually faded into the background of my music collection and I eventually gave up on ever seeing Autolux perform live. In fact I pretty much gave up on ever hearing anything new from Autolux again; such seemed their indifference to putting out any new product.

For 6 years as I moved from Boston to Virginia to Austin, nary a peep was heard from Autolux with the exception of a couple tracks produced for James Lavelle’s UNKLE project on the industrial-themed “War Stories” album of 2007 and 2010’s more trip-hoppy “Where Did the Night Fall”. Then in the beginning of August of this year, Autolux’s second full length “Transit Transit” dropped almost out of nowhere.

Seemingly defying all logic, Autolux presented an almost unbroken thread between this release and their previous effort 6 years prior. The sound was less spacey, but retained the same identity as both the first full-length and EP. Perhaps the only thing that changed is the music scene itself. In many ways, today’s scene is much more interested in a release like Transit Transit than they would have been even a few years ago. Autolux had always had a niche, only now upon returning to the public with new material they found the field broader and perhaps more accepting. Whether that had anything to do with the small-venue headlining tour I can’t say, but if the crowd at Emo’s on Thursday night was any indication, it was a good move.

Back to Thursday night: I arrived at Emo’s outdoor stage around quarter after 10. The first opening act was just about finishing as a purchased an Autolux t-shirt (my wardrobe of T’s being primarily band and game related) and found myself a good place to stand for the rest of the show. The second opening act “Gold Panda” was decent, but a little too hipster for my tastes: hip-hop infused techno noise by a white guy with a beard on a Mac. Hate the scene … not the scenester. Eventually Autolux went on shortly after 11:40 and started off with “The Science of Imaginary Solutions”, an unassuming track from their new album, then launched into what was (I didn’t realize until I heard it live) one of the more rocking tunes on the new album. The real kicker for this second song and several others throughout the night was that they didn’t just play it out, they jammed on it, something I was not expecting from this band. It was a great energy builder for what I feared would have ended up being a night of swaying rather than rocking and everything just built from there.

The rest of the show followed in similar fashion, with a decent mix of old and new material, all amplified and enhanced by a performance that was as unaffected and unassuming as the band’s image, but just as enthralling. Even better than the band themselves was the crowd. I know why I’m at the show; I’m a former Failure fan who will always religiously follow the works of Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards. The enthusiasm (and relative age) of the crowd spoke to something much bigger however. These were people who were Autolux fans before (or if) they ever heard of Failure or these were people who checked out a random show on suggestion and found something they totally dug. In either case, the band picked up on that energy and ran with it, coming back for a 3 song encore that was both unexpected and appreciated.

All told, it was a great evening despite the late hour, and as always it was amazing to get out and hear something live. I don’t care what it is, but music always sounds better live and while I tend to forget that when I’m on my way out the door, I remember immediately when the first sounds start coming out of the stage amps. My thanks go out to Autolux and the excellent fans at Emo’s Thursday night for a seriously rocking show. I hope it’s not another 6 years before I get to hear new tracks or see them live again.

Links 09-09-2010

2010-09-09T21:15:00.003-05:00

WWdN: In Exile - bumper stickers for proud gamermoms and gamerdads

"I wonder if the current generation of about-to-be-born geeklings will appreciate how awesome it is to have geekmoms and geekdads?"

> Anyone else remember those "trophy" statues you could get at the Nintendo Store at Toys R Us? Anyone remember the Nintendo Store at Toys R Us?

TIGSource - PAX 2010: Solace

"So, I just got back from my day at PAX. There was all sorts of delightful stuff on display, fun things to do, and some very impressive demos in the expo hall. The one game that I was utterly blown away by, however, was not LittleBigPlanet 2 or Duke Nukem Forever or Final Fantasy XIV, but a student game in the PAX 10 called Solace."

> I think I could win Indie Game Bingo with this one.

Kotaku - Bastion Was The Other Buzz Game Of Penny Arcade Expo, For Good Reasons

"'He gets up.' That's the line I can't forget from Penny Arcade Expo last week. Duke Nukem had some good one-liners, sure. But Bastion is the other game people couldn't stop buzzing about. To understand it, you needed to listen to it."

> Sometimes a single gimmick is all the hook you need.

Show Calendar

2010-09-08T22:16:00.001-05:00

This is my calendar of shows I'm going to over the next 2 months:

Gonna be busy in a good way.

Film Review - The American

2010-09-05T00:15:00.000-05:00

I just got back from seeing the American and it was startlingly good. I must admit I didn't expect much going into it other than that the idea of George Clooney as an assassin couldn't be bad. What could have been another fast-paced, Bourne-style shoot-em-up, ended up being something else entirely: a slow-paced, deliberate thriller; practically bereft of dialogue, yet mesmerizing.

This type of assassin film like Leon (aka The Professional) isn't about a man who kills for a living, it's about an artist, a master. These films are about a man who has honed his craft so well that it has swallowed him whole, such that he has no life beyond the work except perhaps a single antithetical hobby (with Leon it was old movies, with The American it was butterflies). The assassin/artist remains locked in this life of endless mastery of craft until he is snapped out of it by an outside force, a woman.

The American follows the old tropes well, but it does so in such a deliberate manner. There is nothing wasted in this film. Every line of dialogue, every shot, is loaded, but subtly so. This is not a film for those with wandering attention spans, The American demands your attention just as much when it is saying nothing as it does during the few true action sequences. In the end this is a movie for critics and film students though. The average moviegoer is unlikely to appreciate the artistry of a film like this. Even when Tarrantino does "deliberate" and "methodical" he's usually doing it while cramming a ton of dialogue in the scene. Watching The American is at times like reading a comic book without words, it's the same art form, but it requires more from the audience and the filmmaker.

I don't know quite what to compare this movie to. It reminds me of Leon in the basic theme of the assassin, but has far less outright action. I suppose it invoked images of The Third Man, yet even that's not 100% correct although as far as correlations go it's likely more apt. At any rate, if you're looking for something different and you like this brand of assassin fiction as I do, then you owe it to yourself to see The American.

PAX Links

2010-09-03T12:20:00.009-05:00

I'm going to be grabbing links here and there for things that catch my eye from this year's PAX Prime coverage and throwing them in here throughout the weekend ... or however long the decent coverage lasts. My comments will be in red:

12:20pm - Kotaku: New Platformer Is Ikaruga Without The Spaceships

"Ubisoft, when you show a game that is essentially Ikaruga reimagined as a platformer, congratulations, you have our undivided attention."

I want to see this in motion.

12:20pm - Kotaku: Duke Nukem Forever Spotted At PAX 2010

"As this year's PAX convention is just about to start, photos from the Penny Arcade Expo show floor confirm that Duke Nukem Forever—now with more Gearbox Software—will have a strong presence at the show."

1:26pm - Kotaku: Your First Look at Duke Nukem Forever in Action

"Yes, Gearbox Software really is turning the perpetual vaporware Duke Nukem Forever into a real live video game bound for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360."

Do we really consider this to be DNF though? Is this the game that's been done and redone for the last decade or is this just the game that Gearbox made to satisfy Take Two's need to continue the franchise?

1:36pm - Joystiq: First Mega Man Universe gameplay footage revealed

"The Mega Man Universe teaser trailer hinted at all sorts of cross-game franchise madness when it debuted earlier this year, and the first gameplay trailers do little more than stoke our curiosity all the more. Three teasers (courtesy of 1UP, GameSpot and IGN) each begin with an introduction from creator Keiji Inafune, and then launch into gameplay footage of this prettied up side-scrolling Mega Man title."

Yeah ... still not sure what to expect from this. That initial trailer a couple weeks ago was AMAZING though.

Can Apple Maintain the iPod's Relevance?

2010-08-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

CNN - Can Apple Maintain the iPod's Relevance?

I certainly hope so. I realize I'm not the core demographic, but the iPod allows me to carry my entire music collection with me at all times and easily play it almost anywhere. As someone who's music collection nearly fills an 80gb iPod it would be a real pain to have to downgrade to something smaller like my iPhone. Once again, I know I'm in the minority, but the whole reason to own a device that large for me is so I can listen to anything on a whim. What's the point of owning a vast music collection in the digital age if you can't immediately access it in it's entirety when every you want? As it is, I'm getting the point where I need to upgrade to a bigger iPod (if such a thing exists) or start picking and choosing what I carry with me. The problem with that is of course if I'm driving down the road some night and get the urge to listen to Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" (because who hasn't?) and were I to fill my iPod based on what I'm likely to listen to, this might not be on there simply because I've probably only listened to it three times in the last 10 years.

Culling down to a smaller device just isn't worth it for me and the idea of an Apple run cloud vault of my own music terrifies me. On the the one hand, I'm still sore from the days of Apple's strict adherence to DRM and an Apple run cloud sounds like another way to regulate how I can and can't use the music I own. The other problem is connectivity. I want to access my music on the road, wherever that may be and at the best quality possible. If the future means downloading my music from a cloud server I'm picturing poor streaming quality, drop outs, and (for those who use AT&T) giant gaps in coverage.

I'm a dinosaur, I know. I just hope that myself and people like me are a large enough niche for someone to continue to cater to. Not everyone is satisfied with carrying around only 100 or so tracks at a time. Some of us want more variety and choice than that.

Monday Mornings

2010-08-23T09:41:00.002-05:00

I get a LOT of email at work, so while I pretty religiously clean my inbox on a daily basis, Monday morning tends to be the time when I clean up any remainders from the previous week. My logic is that if it's been sitting around for a week it either needs to get filed away or deleted because it wasn't important enough for me to act on right away. Why I don't delete some of this stuff right off the bat, I have no idea.

Example (our security guard warning us about rain in case people left their car windows open ... because it's friggin' hot in Austin):

Hi,

Just thought I’d mention that radar shows rain approaching from the north.

Pete,

Security/Weatherman

Why did I not delete this right away?

Sunday Rhetoric - Burbclaves

2010-08-15T11:07:00.004-05:00

Urban developments these days always seem to be of this "contemporary" community ideal. Developers buy tracts of land and don't just put up retail space or housing, they create the conglomerated nightmare hybrids that ape the true feel of well worn neighborhoods. These burbclaves are popping up everywhere, especially in the underdeveloped outskirts of urban centers. I live near one in Austin called the Triangle that isn't so bad, but I also work in one further north called the Domain that's simply soul-sucking. These developments are nothing but outdoor malls with housing, complete with directories, security, and sometimes even it's own internal transportation.

It's not the development itself that bothers me though, it's the nature of what's being developed. Normal urban development happens over time where residential and commercial zones crop up and feed off of and into each other. The resulting interconnectivity becomes a neighborhood, the key being that the development is completely organic and evolves naturally. These burbclaves don't develop organically at all, they're cut from whole cloth and plopped down as a fully realized prefab neighborhood and despite the convenience, there is zero sincerity in this type of space.

I don't like being corralled or over sold, I like to choose my life experience organically. I don't want the packaged goods, I want the freedom to pick and choose. I may still end up with 99% of the same experience as someone else, but that remaining 1% is unique and of my choosing.

Austin is a developing area and I fear the future is locked within these burbclaves. My fear is that, as independent as this city is, that people won't associate the concept of "keep Austin weird" and supporting local business with the construction and use of these burbclaves. Even if the businesses within are all local, these are still packaged experiences meant to provide and inadvertently breed uniformity of thought and action. I want the world I choose, not the world that's given to me and I fear that the future may abscond with this freedom of choice before anyone even notices.

Sent from my iPhone @ Epoch Coffee

Adaptation vs. Translation

2010-08-15T00:48:00.002-05:00

I just saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and loved it. As a fan of the comic since the first book dropped 6 years ago I couldn't be happier with how the film adaptation came out. Even with all the liberties taken in the film, especially in a few of the fight scenes, I thought it was excellent. In fact you might say that it was because of the liberties that were taken that I liked the film so much. Allow me to explain:

Watchmen was a comic book work held dear by many and though it had been spoken of in the past, until Zack Snyder came along, no attempt to adapt it for the screen had ever succeeded. Such adaptations are often met with apprehension by fans of the original work and for good reason. People have an attachment to Watchmen and other non-mainstream properties and if that property is going to be brought to a larger audience, they want it to retain it's integrity. They don't want the thing they're passionate about sullied in the eyes of the masses by an inferior adaptation. With Watchmen it was a simple choice, either do it as faithfully as possible or don't do it at all. The fans were too rabid, the backlash would have been devastating. An adaptation wouldn't do, only a big screen translation.

Watchmen the film recreated the comic with at least 90% accuracy and while others were thrilled at the chance to see their beloved story so faithfully recreated in a new medium, I left the theater with really no opinion at all other than that it was a very faithful translation. Scott Pilgrim on the other hand, while it had faithfully translated scenes, was more of an adaptation and I was much more excited after having seen it. The difference for me between an adaptation and a translation is that while a translation is attempting to faithfully recreate the language of one medium in another medium while losing as little fidelity as possible, an adaptation takes liberties in order to do things in the destination medium that cannot be done in the source medium thus making both valid. Watchmen the book is a great book while Watchmen the movie is a great translation of that book. Scott Pilgrim the book is a great book while Scott Pilgrim the movie is a great movie based on that book. See what I'm getting at?

Watchmen the movie didn't take any real liberties with the source material, it didn't do anything in order to make the story a better movie, it just translated what was already there onto the screen. Honestly there was no choice. Watchmen was too big and too tight a narrative to take liberties with. The choice was make the movie or don't and having seen the movie I don't see the point, I'd rather read the book. It's the same for me with Sin City or The Road. Scott Pilgrim remains very faithful not only in theme but in characters, setting, and even certain scenes, but it takes liberties that make it a better movie and that makes the movie not just an image of the source material, but an entity in and of itself.

There's a bunch of material not present in the Scott Pilgrim movie due both to time and pacing concerns, but you don't miss it and its absence is to be expected anyway. Certain liberties that were taken however (like the completely changed fights with the twins and Gideon and certain smaller liberties taken with other scenes) did nothing to detract from the intent of the source material and helped make the film autonomous. If you like the Scott Pilgrim movie you'll like the comics and if you like the comics you'll like the movie. The best part is that there are different things to like about both and that makes them both valid. Liking either the book or the movie can be completely autonomous, but if you like both you're not just getting one original product and another shadow of that product, you're getting two complete things.

I don't need the Hollywood or the mainstream or whoever to like comics. I don't need comics made into movies to show "them" that we're a valid medium. It's not going to work anyway. If you're going to make a movie of a comic and you can only make a Watchmen-style translation then just don't do it, you're not adding anything to it. If you have a property like Scott Pilgrim and you can make a movie that is as valid as a movie as the comic is valid as a comic then be my guest, I look forward to it.

Testing Posterous

2010-08-10T09:54:00.001-05:00

Look at that

Sent from my iPhone

Links: Space Cadets

2010-08-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Via Warren Ellis:

"Charlie Stross on why "space colonization is implicitly incompatible with both libertarian ideology and the myth of the American frontier."

Heeey Yooou Guuuys!

2010-07-22T23:17:00.001-05:00

I just got back from The Goonies quote-along at the Alamo Ritz in downtown Austin. If you've never been to a quote along, imagine karaoke for movies. Take a movie everyone knows and that everyone has watched dozens of times, add some quote-along text at key moments, and encourage people to talk during the movie. As someone who has seen The Goonies more times than I can count and who can recite much of the script unaided, this was a "can't miss" experience.

There were a lot of great movies around when I grew up: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters; movies full of adventure, humor and excitement. While those of us who were born in the final years of what is generally considered Generation X watched and loved these movies, they were mostly geared towards our older siblings and cousins. This didn't stop us from pretending to be Jedi, adventuring archaeologists, time travelers, or paranormal investigators though, but we were always removed by age from ever actually being those things. When The Goonies came along in 1985 the tables turned, it was our time ... it was our time for an adventure movie of our own with kids roughly our own age. And while I love Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the rest, The Goonies will always be the greatest adventure movie of all time for me.

I grew up in what was more or less nowhere Connecticut, in a neighborhood not too conducive to adventure. My parents were fairly protective and I was somewhat timid as well, so my excursions mostly involved my backyard. Compared to my street, my friends lived in much more interesting neighborhoods, with interconnected backyards, small wooded areas, and overall less concrete and traffic. It wasn't until we saw The Goonies that we really realized the full potential for adventure that lurked there however.

Here was a movie about working class kids in anytown, USA that go on a grand adventure virtually in their backyards. The Goonies didn't talk down to us, it didn't hold our hands, it even sweared at us several times, and it gave us an adventure where kids like us (not archaeologists or warrior space monks) were the central characters. These were kids who talked like us dressed like us, and acted like us to the point where it wasn't hard to see a little bit of Mouth, Data, Chunk, and Mikey in our own circle of friends. In our young minds at the time it didn't seem too far outside the realm of possibility that one of our parent's attics might hide a map to buried treasure and that the woods behind my friends houses might sit atop a vast tunnel network filled with booty traps ... I mean booby traps. Adventure wasn't just something for grown ups anymore, adventure was something we could live in our own backyards and live it we did. Sure our group name was different (and changed every week), our nicknames weren't the same, and we didn't need to save our parent's houses from a country club developer, but we felt the call for adventure. And while there was probably a great deal more mischief, and a great deal less danger than The Goonies experienced, it influenced and inspired us nonetheless.

I've run into people later in life who have never seen The Goonies and while there are movies that when I hear this I make that person go out and watch it, this isn't one. For me The Goonies was all about the time and place of being 8 years old in suburbia and my love for the film was only enhanced by mine and my friends attempts to emulate it. Someone who's 32 and watching the movie for the first time just isn't going to get that. For me the Goonies became a part of my life, a part of my world, a part of my DNA, and when I watch it now, from the moment Jake Fratelli breaks out of jail to the moment we see The Inferno sailing off into the distance, I'm 8 years old again traipsing through backyards and thickets of trees in search of adventure (and maybe buried treasure) in my own backyard.

Action Film Making 101

2010-07-11T11:37:00.001-05:00

Action movies (especially creature flicks) are about creating tension and then releasing it through the course of an action sequence. If you look at any of the great creature action flicks from the 70's, 80's, and even the 90's you're likely to see at most a 60/40 distribution between "action" and "non-action" sequences and perhaps as low as 30/70. A movie like James Cameron's "Aliens" spends the entire first act building towards the doomed mission to the atmosphere processing plant and then makes us wait another while before the next action sequence with Ripley and Newt evading the face hugger. The original Predator makes us watch Arnold prepare his trap for the eponymous alien near the end of the film for what seems like an almost excruciating amount of time, but that tension is relived in the prolonged action sequence that results.

This is what so many of the post-Matrix film makers don't seem to get, so wowed by camera and fx choreography are they that they fill their films with pointless action. At best this type of action film making becomes exhausting for the audience due to lack of rests, at worst it's boring due to lack of tension. The sad part is that for all of the Matrix's fancy camera and fx work, it displays a classic understanding of tension building and release, but some people can't seem to look beyond the obvious in-your-face elements and it seems these are the people getting most of the action scripts in Hollywood these days. These modern action films have all the tension of a Home Run Derby. Yeah it's nice to see a guy hit a home run in the majors; as a display of athleticism it's an impressive feat. When that's all that's happening though, when that is in fact all that is on display, you can't expect it to be very exciting. And that's what happens in so many action films these days. There is a whole crop of film makers pulling off camera moves and fx sequences like tricks at a skate park, but I personally don't watch films for the fx, I'm after a fuller experience.

I recently saw the latest installment in the Predator franchise. Predators suffers from a "works on paper, but not on the screen" premise and has far too many characters for any one to develop, but it doesn't substitute camera and fx choreography for old fashioned in-your-face action. While I can't say it was perfectly executed, the director obviously understands the language of action film making, even if he doesn't speak it fluently. So while I can't praise it as the resurrection of a franchise, it does make me forget about those lame AvP movies, a perfect example of flash over substance film making.

You don't know what you got till it's gone

2010-07-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

My old TV was a Westinghouse 32" SK-32H240S. I didn't think this was a very fancy TV at the time I bought it, I mean for one thing it was a Westinghouse, I didn't even know Westinghouse made TV's. It was on sale though and I wanted to upgrade from my old school 19" standard def TV to something more modern.

I had the TV for about 3 years before the Audio output (that I had my speakers hooked up to) decided to quit working. Taking advantage of the 4 year service plan I had paid for when I bought the TV at Best Buy, I brought the TV in and they sent it out for service.

In addition to the audio problem, the screen had developed a small shadow on the top center and because of the cost to fix this being more than the cost of allowing me to just get a new TV of comparable value, Best Buy decided not to fix it and gave me a credit. Initially I thought I would get credited the full amount of my original purchase. Visions of a magnificent new TV danced through my head as I envisioned what $600 might buy me today. This was not the case however and had I actually bothered to read the service agreement I would have seen that I would only get credit for a TV with "comparable" features currently on the market. The comparable TV was about $330. No problem, I wasn't looking to get a bigger TV anyway, just upgrade from 720p to 1080p ... not that I would be likely to notice the difference. The salesman at Best Buy showed me my options, I picked one that looked like it would fit my needs, paid the difference and brought it home.

The thing you need to know about my old TV before I continue is that it had a lot of inputs: 2 component, 2 HDMI, 1 VGA, 2 RCA, and it had RCA audio out with volume that was controlled through the set and thus not requiring external management. For someone using an extra set of PC speakers (because I'm cheap like that and my hearing's so shot I can't tell the different anyway) this was an ideal set up. I didn't know until I brought home my new TV that this was apparently not the norm.

First off the new TV hardly had any inputs. Ok, it had 4 HDMI ports, which is great except I only have one device connected via HDMI and that's my cable box. It only had one component input; also fine because my only component device is my Xbox 360, but for the sake of argument let's call this strike 1. It did not however have an RCA input. Actually that's a lie, it did, but it shared audio input with the component, so technically it didn't have a "dedicated" RCA input. This was a problem because if I wanted to use my Wii or PS2 I would need to disconnect my 360 and plug them in manually. Strike 2. Upon plugging in my speakers and changing the audio setting to "external" I learned that I could not (unlike my previous TV) control the volume of the audio output jack by adjusting the set volume, meaning I would have to manually go up to the speakers and adjust the volume instead of using a remote. Strike 3.

Obviously the TV needed to go back and I needed to get something closer to what my old set was capable of, so today I went back with the lackluster set in tow and exchanged it for the original "comparable" set, the one that was only 720p (not that I can tell the difference). I checked this set out extensively before exchanging. I was specifically looking at the menu options to see if there was any external/internal speaker switch and if so, could I not alter the volume in external mode. There wasn't such a feature, so I figured I was all set. Add to all this the fact that all of the other 32" sets had a remarkable lack of inputs and in some cases a lack of external audio output, and I really had no option.

I get the new new set home and thankfully can plug ALL my devices into it without switchers or arcane rituals. I plug the speakers in and I have the same problem. Well not exactly the same, with this one I CAN alter the volume when an external device is present, it just doesn't alter the volume of the external device. What the what?!

I'm not going to bring this one back, with the exception of the external speaker thing, this IS my old set and all I had to pay for was a new 4 year service plan. I'm going to have to make do with manual speakers I guess. It's not a huge deal since I don't often have to change the volume once I start watching something and technically if I wasn't a cheap bastard with my speakers I'd probably have a receiver with a remote to handle all this anyway and likely will in the future. Still, I never thought of my old TV as being "advanced" and maybe (technically) it wasn't, but for me it was perfect and I kinda miss it.

E3 2010

2010-06-15T21:19:00.003-05:00

With the hype machine for video games active so far in advance of releases it's not rare for me to get interested in a title and then completely forget about it by the time it launches. When I was younger and I used to subscribe to several game magazines at a time I used to follow the PR progress of games I was interested in. These days (especially as part of the industry myself) I don't partake of the hype buffet, rich and bountiful though it may be. Still, it's hard not to notice some of these titles around E3 times, especially when they're on display. It would be like going to the beach to get some sun and failing to notice that you're also surrounded by gorgeous women.

So in an effort to catalogue the beauty I see before me and to hopefully remember them later, I'm going to use this post to grab links to various E3 items of interest. I guess it's my way of saying to these games "I'd hit that."

Metroid: Other M's E3 Trailer - The Prime games weren't bad, but console FPS isn't my thing. This looks like a good compromise and from a talented development team as well. No Ninja Gaiden dial-a-combos though please.

Portal 2 Trailer: The Bitch Is Back - Portal 2 has a long way to go to even get close to the original, but it doesn't mean I'm any less interested.

Medal Of Honor's Singleplayer Trailer: Quadbikes At War - If the new MoH can do what the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games did for game play without being as vapid then they've already made an improvement.

Zelda: Skyward Sword's Debut Trailer - While some are undoubtedly better than others, Zelda games are always well executed and fun. Being the first one specifically designed for the Wii should make this a good one to bet on.

Epic Mickey -Warren Specter is a very prominent figure in my personal pantheon on gods. The fact that he's able to take something as routine as Mickey Mouse and put a new and interesting spin on it is testament to his genius.

Dead Rising 2 - The only thing that sullied the first game was the whole time limit mechanic. If that's gone then let the zombie smashing begin.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - I probably won't play this due to it's being on a handheld, but the first Kid Icarus game in 25 years bears mentioning.

Bulletstorm - Ok, so the game sounds like it was written by a 13 year old boy, but you cannoy deny the sheer unadulterated fun present in the action here.

Crysis 2 - Many shooters strive to feel like big budget action movies that you play, the first Crysis delivered ... right down to the bad dialog and acting. The point is that the game play and the cinematic experience were solid. I don't use the term "rollercoaster ride" lightly, but it certainly was and I'm hoping for more of the same in the sequel. That and a reason to upgrade my PC.

Xbox Live: Summer of Arcade - Mainly interested in Limbo and Monday Night Combat here. Unfortunately the Castelvania doesn't thrill me, although nothing short of a new Symphony of the night is likley to.

Hydrophobia - It's gotten some good press. Looks like a decent action/adventure title with a gameplay twist.

Journey - I never played Flower, but flOw was good and these guys are seriously on the cutting edge of the "Games as Art" debate.

Dust - I don't know that Eric Chahi has done anything notable since Another World (aka Out of This World), but he's a visionary to be sure and this looks very interesting.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet - I think it must only be before or after something becomes popular that it can be truly artistic. When one is concerned with being pleasing to the broadest audience possible the results feel homogenized. That indie game developers are resurrecting nearly dead 2D game types and using the technology of today to put such amazing artistic and game play spins on them is exactly what I hoped would happen to gaming. Sure they do it partly out of necessity with smaller budgets and teams meaning less cutting edge graphics, etc., but they make up for it by being daring in other ways and since they aren't on the cutting edge they're already in a niche and can therefore get away with it. Sorry ... bit of a diatribe there, but this is one of those games like World of Goo, Limbo, and Canabalt that does so much while being simple by comparison to big budget gaming.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my own game. Let me just say that as cool as it looks, it's way cooler in person :)

Summer Reading

2010-06-14T23:43:00.000-05:00

I haven't been a very good reader this year or at least not as good as last year. I think so far this year I've managed to get through two Chuck Klostermans (leaving only his latest "Eating the Dinosaur" to be read), one David Sedaris, the eponymous companion novel to Coheed and Cambria's "Year of the Black Rainvow" album, and then I can't remember if I read one or both of those Dan Kennedy books last year. I've got Norman Spinrad's "Bug Jack Barron" on deck. I came across it via a sort of sideways recommendation by Warren Ellis when he mentioned this novel as an influence for his seminal "Transmetropolitan" comic series. It remains sitting on my side table though as I force myself to plow through my stack of unread graphic novels.

I seem to have a rather bad habit of acquiring graphic novels that I either never read or take months, sometimes years to read. This usually happens when I go to the comic shop and find nothing new to buy or that one time I visited New York a year and a half ago and didn't have any montly titles I wanted out at the time. I can't leave the comic ship without a purchase, so I'll often look for some interesting GN to pick up. This has served me well in the past, but has also left me with books I don't need to read right away.

As of last week my stack included the fourth volume of "100 Bullets", the second volume of the "Flight" anthology, the "Ace Trucking Co." collection I bought in New York, the third volume of "Batman: Black and White" that I also bought in New York, the second volume of "Berlin" (which will require to re-read the first volume thanks to the half-decade it too Lutes to finish it), "Batman: Year 100" (which I started, but never finished), volume 4 of "Freakangels", and "I Kill Giants". I was able to get through 100 Bullets, I Kill Giants, and Freakangels, and start Flight volume 2, but there's still a lot to go. This is a stack built up over the course of at least a year and a half though.

My goal is to deplete the pile before starting another traditional book and then to be sure that I get to any GN's between regular books or during my normal comics reading time in the future. The ultimate goal of this being to buy more comics. If I read everything I have then I can justify buying more and not only do I still need to finish 100 Bullets before I can satisfy my desire to collect the Hellboy GN's, but I know there are other fantastic stories like I Kill Giants out there waiting for me. In the end though, if having too much to read is a problem, it's a problme I'm glad to have.

Alpha Protocol: First Impressions

2010-06-02T01:15:00.002-05:00

Let's get one thing straight: I really want to love everything Obsidian Entertainment does. The reason for this is simply pedigree. Obsidian was founded by one half of the remnants of Black Isle, makers of such 90's CRPG classics as Fallout 1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, and the Icewind Dale games. Black Isle also helped give BioWare their start with Baldur's Gate. They haven't done too bad for themselves so far. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 both meant well and had a lot going for them, but they launched in a buggy and more or less unfinished state and in the case of KoTOR 2, never recovered through patching. Still the spark was there and I've been looking forward to their original IP espionage RPG offering with Alpha Protocol.

I haven't spent much time with the game yet, having only played through the tutorial and one of the first missions, but I'm getting sense of what to expect. First things first, the tutorial is grueling. While granted, there are things I need to learn, the in-story start up to the game did more to confuse me than anything else. When you get through the initial jump and you get the option to run through a few obstacle courses - with bonus missions unlocked by excellent performance - things get better. Still, the story from the beginning suffers from a bad case of "that's for me to know and for you to find out." All I know right now is that some bad people in the desert blew up a plane and this warrants a super secret US spy agency to recruit me and send me abroad with a fancy safe house to hole up in. My handlers fall into the predictable categories of: coquettish genius analyst chick, jealous hot shot gadgeteer, surly misanthropic old guy, and non-nonsense in-charge CO. Conversation options so far have made the old guy dislike me, the hot shot neutral, and the CO and the chick like me. What effect this will have remains to be seen.

The RPG elements are almost the same as Mass Effect 1, in fact the skill tree might as well be the same. Loading out your character is somewhat interesting, allowing you to mod your weapons, armor, and gadgets to suit the upcoming operation. The conversation system is even similar, except instead of choosing paraphrases, you choose the general tone of your response. In a typical conversation I'll often be offered choices like: aggressive. professional, or suave, with each one having a different effect on the person I'm talking to based on their own personality. While I prefer the paraphrase system, I don't really mind this lighter approach except that they've saddled it with a timer, so whatever your cursor is on then the NPC is done speaking is the response you give. This is often a hassle when the last thing the NPC says may change how you want to respond.

Where the game seems to shine so far is in the openness of the missions. I'm reminded of Deus Ex in that there are specific objective and story points that I'm going to hit no matter what, but (in the map I played anyway) there are numerous options for achieving those objectives. The obvious options are: stealth or guns blazing, but it's never just one choice. I found myself bouncing between total stealth and avoidance, to sneaky take downs, to outright assaults several times during my mission.

Overall the game is what I think I tend to expect from Obsidian, which is probably best described as: entertaining, but clunky. If the rest of the missions play out with the same breadth of choice my first one did, then I think I'll find a lot to like about Alpha Protocol. Right now I won't say to just run out and buy it, but you could do much worse and it's either this or Splinter Cell for the espionage genre these days.