10.31.2009
10.19.2009
The new greatest web site ever
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/
Here's how it works: Can't load this one page? Don't know if it's down, or if it's just your connection? Open up the above link, type the URL of the site into that message block and click "is it just me?"; a page will load telling you if the URL is down or not.
This may be the niftiest thing since "Google".
Here's how it works: Can't load this one page? Don't know if it's down, or if it's just your connection? Open up the above link, type the URL of the site into that message block and click "is it just me?"; a page will load telling you if the URL is down or not.
This may be the niftiest thing since "Google".
10.16.2009
A quote to remember
"There are people who tell jokes. There are people who collect jokes and tell jokes. And there are people who collect people who tell jokes."
From a recent blog on Reason Magazine's web site, this quote originated from East Germany during the time when the Berlin Wall was still erect. East Germans liked to crack jokes about the regime that unfortunately dominated their lives, and this was one of many humorous observations about their state's behavior. Like other communist regimes, the East German government locked up dissenting voices; that included wise-crackers.
Some more period anti-regime humor here, as the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall approaches.
10.10.2009
10.09.2009
In case you ever wondered...
In "Die Hard 3", how did McClane and Zeus get precisely four gallons into a 5-gallon jug? Here's how:
BONUS: Solution to the 21/42 Riddle
IT'S ALL A DIVERSION. FOLLOW SIMON TO CANADA BEFORE HE RUNS AWAY WITH THE FEDERAL RESERVE MONEY.
BONUS: Solution to the 21/42 Riddle
IT'S ALL A DIVERSION. FOLLOW SIMON TO CANADA BEFORE HE RUNS AWAY WITH THE FEDERAL RESERVE MONEY.
This cat is an inspiration to us all
Link: http://chasenoface.blogspot.com/
Chase is a cat who is both macabre and yet,... strangely adorable. Hang in there, kitty!
Chase is a cat who is both macabre and yet,... strangely adorable. Hang in there, kitty!
10.07.2009
The race card
Hand #1: Implication through Demographic
(AKA "The Kanye West Play")
Person A opposes welfare.
Person B supports welfare.
Person B says Person A is racist. Reasoning: A racial demographic relies on government handouts, therefore Person A has something against said demographic.
------------
Hand #2: Dissent Against Race
(AKA "The Obama Defense")
Person A disagrees with Person C.
Person C is black.
Person B says Person A's dissent is rooted in racism.
------------
Hand #3: Denial is Confirmation
(AKA "The White Guilt Gambit")
Person A has the race card played against him and denies he's a racist.
Person B asks Person A why he's so quick to deny the accusation.
Person C, who agrees with Person B, thinks Person A is afraid to confront race issues, perhaps because he *is* racist. (The latter is sometimes implied rather than said.)
------------
Those are the most common ones I can come up with; maybe I'll post more later.
(AKA "The Kanye West Play")
Person A opposes welfare.
Person B supports welfare.
Person B says Person A is racist. Reasoning: A racial demographic relies on government handouts, therefore Person A has something against said demographic.
------------
Hand #2: Dissent Against Race
(AKA "The Obama Defense")
Person A disagrees with Person C.
Person C is black.
Person B says Person A's dissent is rooted in racism.
------------
Hand #3: Denial is Confirmation
(AKA "The White Guilt Gambit")
Person A has the race card played against him and denies he's a racist.
Person B asks Person A why he's so quick to deny the accusation.
Person C, who agrees with Person B, thinks Person A is afraid to confront race issues, perhaps because he *is* racist. (The latter is sometimes implied rather than said.)
------------
Those are the most common ones I can come up with; maybe I'll post more later.
10.06.2009
Blogging about video games is tough
I've noticed that very few (original) entries on this blog have been about video games, which is unusual considering that I have Sonic the Hedgehog on my banner. What gives, gamer blogger guy? The answer is,... it's just hard to find something interesting to write about video games; or to be more precise, I can't find a satisfactory approach to pump out game-related blog entries. Here are some ways you might approach a game blog, and why they may not work:
1) The Kotaklone: Basically, scour the web for other people's stories/accomplishments and link to them; don't forget to make an "ironic", snarky observation. I hate this approach because it requires no effort on the blogger's part; it's really about making money off ads anyways, and the pie's already been sliced up and divided rather thoroughly. The web has too many of these.
2) The "Game Journal": Play a game and update your blog, kind of like a "Let's Play" but transcribed. Doesn't make for an engaging read, unless you post screenshots or videos. Who really wants to read about someone playing a game anyways? I find watching gameplay in person or in videos to be rather difficult myself, much less reading a transcription of said experience.
3) "Analysis" of "The Medium": Yeeeaaah,... I've tried this in the past, but it just doesn't float my boat. A lot of these entries have a silly kind of pretension, like you're saying: "Hey, I take games *seriously*. This is some hardcore commentary on a *serious* artistic medium, man." Video games don't really lend themselves to in-depth, "auteur" analysis anyways. "Is Miyamoto the John Ford of our medium?" "When will we have our Citizen Kane?" "Can a game comment on domestic abuse without employing violence?" It's rather dumb, don't you think?
4) The Consumer Diary: Talk about your latest purchase. Due to a lack of money, I don't actually but a lot of games; my diary would consist of non-stop entries about how I replayed "Shinobi" or "Dragon Quest" again.
5) Tips-N-Codez: Hey reader, want to know the best control setup in "Resident Evil 2"? How about an entry on how you can sequence break in "Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past"? Or better yet, you can just go to GameFAQs.
6) Reviews & Previews: The problem with reviews is I would just be dumping links to my Honest Gamers submissions. The problem with previews is the entire concept's dumb; no one cares about canned write-ups about how "promising" some game looks or how the reader will have to wait until the launch date to learn if "[Upcoming Game] lives up to the promise shown in the demo build". It's all about the screenshots and videos, and small-time bloggers can't provide any.
Look, it isn't easy to comment on video games or to think of something original and non-silly to say on the subject. The best I can really do is write the occasional bit about how much modern Resident Evil games suck or how badly the action genre needs another Shinobi or my fond memories of the Sega CD. Actually, an entry on the action genre would be nice...
[To Be Continued?...]
1) The Kotaklone: Basically, scour the web for other people's stories/accomplishments and link to them; don't forget to make an "ironic", snarky observation. I hate this approach because it requires no effort on the blogger's part; it's really about making money off ads anyways, and the pie's already been sliced up and divided rather thoroughly. The web has too many of these.
2) The "Game Journal": Play a game and update your blog, kind of like a "Let's Play" but transcribed. Doesn't make for an engaging read, unless you post screenshots or videos. Who really wants to read about someone playing a game anyways? I find watching gameplay in person or in videos to be rather difficult myself, much less reading a transcription of said experience.
3) "Analysis" of "The Medium": Yeeeaaah,... I've tried this in the past, but it just doesn't float my boat. A lot of these entries have a silly kind of pretension, like you're saying: "Hey, I take games *seriously*. This is some hardcore commentary on a *serious* artistic medium, man." Video games don't really lend themselves to in-depth, "auteur" analysis anyways. "Is Miyamoto the John Ford of our medium?" "When will we have our Citizen Kane?" "Can a game comment on domestic abuse without employing violence?" It's rather dumb, don't you think?
4) The Consumer Diary: Talk about your latest purchase. Due to a lack of money, I don't actually but a lot of games; my diary would consist of non-stop entries about how I replayed "Shinobi" or "Dragon Quest" again.
5) Tips-N-Codez: Hey reader, want to know the best control setup in "Resident Evil 2"? How about an entry on how you can sequence break in "Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past"? Or better yet, you can just go to GameFAQs.
6) Reviews & Previews: The problem with reviews is I would just be dumping links to my Honest Gamers submissions. The problem with previews is the entire concept's dumb; no one cares about canned write-ups about how "promising" some game looks or how the reader will have to wait until the launch date to learn if "[Upcoming Game] lives up to the promise shown in the demo build". It's all about the screenshots and videos, and small-time bloggers can't provide any.
Look, it isn't easy to comment on video games or to think of something original and non-silly to say on the subject. The best I can really do is write the occasional bit about how much modern Resident Evil games suck or how badly the action genre needs another Shinobi or my fond memories of the Sega CD. Actually, an entry on the action genre would be nice...
[To Be Continued?...]
9.29.2009
On second thought...
“If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… f—ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f— young girls. Juries want to f— young girls. Everyone wants to f— young girls!”Okay, he's a scum bag. A scum bag that made one brilliant movie and maybe others, but a scum bag nonetheless. Lock that smug, vile fucker up and throw away the key.
-Roman Polanski, 1979
Ha ha...
The rights for the "Terminator" franchise are up for sale again. Gee, I guess the rest of the world was as bored with "Salvation" as I was. I didn't think anything could be worse than T3, but in retrospect that was a decent movie compared to this year's bomb. No one could come up with a more cynical production:
A sequel/prequel to two movies that didn't need another sequel/prequel...
...a director who's "best" work was a sequel to an awful movie based on an awful retro TV show...
...an actor who was signed on in a desperate attempt by the producers to capitalize off a recent success...
...a script touched by a zillion hands...
...and a cameo "appearance" from the franchise figurehead, in the form of a CG character with no dialogue.
It's hardly a wonder that Salvation made less money than T3, even when the numbers aren't adjusted for inflation. The best thing to happen to this dead franchise in years was the "Sarah Connor Chronicles" on Fox, and like all good television programs it got cancelled. A smart investor would pass on this franchise, unless owning the movie rights also means owning the home video rights. I don't think it works like that, though.
A sequel/prequel to two movies that didn't need another sequel/prequel...
...a director who's "best" work was a sequel to an awful movie based on an awful retro TV show...
...an actor who was signed on in a desperate attempt by the producers to capitalize off a recent success...
...a script touched by a zillion hands...
...and a cameo "appearance" from the franchise figurehead, in the form of a CG character with no dialogue.
It's hardly a wonder that Salvation made less money than T3, even when the numbers aren't adjusted for inflation. The best thing to happen to this dead franchise in years was the "Sarah Connor Chronicles" on Fox, and like all good television programs it got cancelled. A smart investor would pass on this franchise, unless owning the movie rights also means owning the home video rights. I don't think it works like that, though.
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