November 2007

Those Writer's Guild Guys
Submitted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 4:22:33 PM by Klaitu

Here's my perspective on the whole strike thing:

One group of rich people is fighting with another group of rich people over the level of comfort afforded to them while they are unemployed.

The writers want more money.. heck, who doesn't? The Film guys don't want to give it to them. Who can blame them? It's a deadlock.

The writer guys are at a disadvantage. They don't have money, that's their problem. The film guys DO have money and want to keep it.. and they don't even have to pay people on the strike.

The writer guys want more money for internet media. Hey, Writers! Know what? The film guys will just stop developing internet media and you won't get squat for it anyway. You should have waited until internet media became indispensable from their business model and THEN put the kabash on them. You guys are totally going to kick yourselves in 10 years.

What about pride in your work? I dunno, if it were me I'd feel torn. Isn't there any sense of accomplishment that comes from providing a story that is successful? Doesn't the strike mean the cancellation of zillions of shows that might have otherwise made it, but now can't?

I can't really blame anyone for wanting a bigger slice of pie, we all want a bigger slice of pie, but it's hard for me to get really worked up when you already have 30 pies, and you want another 5 from the guy that has 150 pies.

Meanwhile, the rest of the nation is working harder than you are, doing less popular work for the chance of saving one entire pie to use for retirement.

Film guys, Writer guys.. you're both lame.

We all know where this is going. The film guys will hold on until the writers guys are crushed into accepting a less extravagant offer, and in 20 years or so, we'll have another strike over holograms or some crap.

You know Just like the last 3 times this has happened.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Submitted Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 12:35:22 PM by Klaitu

Awesome.

You guys remember Gears of War? Running, gunning, taking cover. Uncharted is a great deal like that, except it's not dark, and there are no chainsaw guns. You're fighting pirates and mercenaries in the jungle.

The graphics are amazing, the animations in particular. everything moves realistically. When you get wet, the clothes actually look wet, and they move like they're wet. The main character runs differently depending on the slope of the surface, or the material it's made of.

The music is most excellent, composed by the same guy that did the music for Firefly.

The only complaint I have is that this game does not run in 1080p. It runs in 720p. for all the 1080p hype they put on the PS3, the only thing I have that uses it is the blu-ray player. This was one of Sony's high profile games, you'd think it would get the full treatment.

Anyways, if you own a PS3, go buy Uncharted. You won't be disappointed.

Overall Score: 9 of 10

The Ratings Controversy
Submitted Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - 3:04:57 PM by Klaitu

Rockstar is at it again! More controversy!

Last time we heard about this one, it was last year, and the name of the game was "Bully". Bully turned out to be not nearly so evil as everyone thought, and was actually a pretty decent game.

This time around, it's Manhunt 2. This is the kind of game where you kill people in an insane asylum. The game is, by any account, pretty gruesome. The videos I have seen of it are chock full of "shocking violence".

So, when Rockstar tried to release this thing, it got banned in the UK and Ireland for content, and the ESRB gave it an AO rating.

See, now you know where this is all going.

Anyways, Rockstar then edited their game and resubmitted it for rating. It was banned again in the UK and Ireland, and the ESRB gave it an M.

This is pretty much your standard stuff, at least for Rockstar.. who seems to make a name for themselves by pushing it to the limit.

The thing that I find most fascinating about all this is people's reactions, and how few people actually get how this whole thing works, or even why it happened. For you kids out there, here's why all this is going down:

Long ago, in a time called the 90's, technology progressed to the point where games weren't just colored blobs on top of other colored blobs. People realized "hey, you can make some pretty realistic stuff with this technology!" The Government realized this too, and with a little help from Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, the video game industry had a choice: self-regulation or government regulation.

Which one would you choose? They picked self-regulation. So, they formed the ESRB, it's a ratings board configured and arranged by the video game industry. It's mission is a lot like the MPAA, give ratings to game so parents can make informed decisions on letting their kids play certain games.. and it works.

Some people in the Government, however, would rather see this as a function of government. They want to bureaucratize what the ESRB does so that the government can control the content available to consumers.

The main complaint that some gamers have is "It's too bad the ESRB is so weak and had to give Manhunt 2 an AO rating, and now
Rockstar has to censor itself."

The truth of it is, the ESRB has done the correct thing. With content like that in Manhunt 2, they would have been stupid not to give it an AO rating. If Rockstar's first draft had been given an M rating, those senators in the government would have used it as an example of how the ESRB is incapabie of regulating the industry.

Lots of people think it's a shame that Rockstar had to doctor their stuff, but think of how restrictive things would be if the industry were governmentally regulated.

Remember that whole Janet Jackson thing? Regulated by the FCC, a government organization.

So, choose, would you like more blood in your Manhunt 2, or an entire industry of bureaucratized games?

That's what I thought.

Eat Like Snake
Submitted Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - 6:26:37 PM by Klaitu

Seriously.

Awesome.

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Submitted Sunday, November 11, 2007 - 12:40:15 PM by Klaitu

Young Indy was a TV show that Speilburg and Lucas made which was produced in the early 90's, riding the wave of the success of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

It's a sort of edutainment show, Young Indiana Jones has adventures all over the world doing all sorts of things. It's designed to introduce the viewers to different cultures and events in history.

The show was made in the era where Lucasfilm didn't make a whole lot of films. In fact, Last Crusade was their last big outing until the big Star Wars re-release in the late 90's. The show was somewhat experimental from a filmmakers standpoint.

So, why am I telling you all this?

It's because the show was shot on 16mm film. That's small. Most shows are shot on 35mm.. even some movies. The grandiose movies get the 70mm treatment. The size of the film determines the quality of the picture. You've heard of the IMAX theatres? Those use 70mm film.

My point is 16mm film is crap, but it was used to do Young Indy because it's small, easy to transport, and cheap. young Indy was filmed on location in places like Egypt, China, and India. This worked out well to save costs.. but how does it look?

For the DVD release of Young Indy, Lucasfilm digitally remastered the entire show giving it a surround soundtrack and cleaning up the film. The result is a beautiful picture, you'd never know it was on 16mm.

This perhaps explains why the first season alone costs $70. Each one of the episodes has corresponding documentaries which cover the people and places that Young Indy was involved with in the episode.

Doesn't sound like a big deal? There are 97 of them... ninety-seven. Holy crap.

Yeah, so that's why it has like 20 discs I guess.

Anyways, If you're an indy fan, or you have kids that are older than say.. 8 or so, this one is a worthy purchase. Oh, and Harrison Ford is in one episode.. with a beard!

Overall Score: 9 of 10

Rocky Balboa
Submitted Sunday, November 11, 2007 - 12:25:36 PM by Klaitu

I'm not a big sports movie fan, but the Rocky series has always fascinated me (except Rocky 5 which wasn't so good). I don't exactly know what I like so much about Rocky, but I've always been compelled by the story.

Rocky Balboa is a worthy successor to the Rocky series. It's not as slow as Rocky 1, and not as grandiose as Rocky 4.. it's somewhere in the middle.

Sports commentators run a computer simulation to see who would win in a battle between Rocky in his prime and the current boxing champion. According to the simulation, Rocky would win.

The managers of the current champion are trying to bolster their client's image, and engineer a charity event where the two actually do square off. Everyone expects the champ to plow Rocky, but Rocky has other ideas.

The boxing match is done in true Rocky style, and is certainly the best edited of all the matches in the Rocky series. I highly recommend the film!

Overall Score: 9 of 10

Battlestar Galactica Razor
Submitted Sunday, November 11, 2007 - 11:53:32 AM by Klaitu

I managed to get my hands on a prerelease copy of BSG's Razor, but I don't want to spoil it for all of you who haven't seen it.

Razor is all about the Pegasus. It covers the escape of the Pegasus from the colonies, their discovery of the civilian fleet, and the stuff that went on in those "between moments" we didn't see in the show.

The story isn't just a history lesson, it ties into the current BSG plot.

It's a worthy episode of Battlestar Galactica.

Overall Score: 7 of 10.

Boldly Go
Submitted Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 12:16:32 PM by Klaitu

Star Trek is all about exploring and exploration, going into the unknown and unravelling the mysteries of the universe. Answering the questions of the cosmos, and bringing humanity to a better understanding of extraordinary things.

I suppose that's why the Star Trek Wiki has en entry about breasts!

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Breast

Awesome!

WoW, that sucks!
Submitted Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 11:45:45 AM by Klaitu

I've been exploring some new areas in LOTRO released just this month. One of them is the Misty Mountains High Pass, home of Goblin Town and Gollum's Cave.

Seriously, I don't know how WoW players can put up with their graphics. They were bad even when WoW was new. There is an alternative:

Utterz?
Submitted Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - 8:34:39 PM by Klaitu

See that thing over there to the right?

That blue thing with the play controls on it?

That thing is called Utterz. It's basically an automated panel where you can call a certain number and leave a message on the internetz. It's a really fast way to update your site with crap that nobody wants to listen to!

Well, Goldberry made me put it on here. I dunno how much I will use it, but there you go. You want to hear me say stupid things? There's your chance.

Is That Weird?
Submitted Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - 7:49:43 PM by Klaitu

So, there's this woman that I really like, but she doesn't really like me back in the same way. I've learned through experience that messing with the ladies is trouble. Somehow, I can't resist.

But this post isn't about that.

This post about the strangeness by which I find myself in this situation.

You see, due to distance I don't have a lot to do with the daily life of this woman, what happens is that by my experiences with other women I become more entranced by the one that I am interested in.

Specifically the women who are at my work.

I don't want to get into specifics, my purpose is not to judge these ladies, but here's the basica: They talk about shoes and purses. They gossip about other women, trying to determine if boobs are fake. They have mirrors on their desks and constantly check themselves out. They argue on issues where neither side has any facts and then fight about it. Many of them exhibit signs of extreme insecurity.

I've come to the conclusion that most women just turn me off. It doesn't even matter what they look like. I think that my brains are just incompatible with benign and useless conversation.

So, when I interact with this other woman, it's like a breath of fresh air. I can have a conversation about something more than shoes and Britney Spears.. and that seems to be the biggest turnon of all.

A woman should be confident in herself and her abilities. She should know her limitations and not be bothered by them. She should have a constant desire to improve herself. She should have a great sense of humor, be intelligent and well educated.

At least, that's what I think. I know a woman who fits the description, but she's strictly off limits. Look, but don't touch. Sometimes it feels like torture.

Is it the way things were meant to be? Who knows. Just got to keep plugging along, step by step. Maybe one day the barrier will collapse.

Either way, the alternative is certainly no alternative at all.