Archive for the 'Lifestyle' Category

Strong Kids, Frightened Kids

Published on May 19, 2007 in Movies & TV. Closed Tags: , , , , .

[Updated]
How odd. This post was hijacked by spam full of spurious links to various prescription medications. I guess that’s what happens when you let a blog lay fallow for over a year.

It should have been a link to the classic “Strong Kids, Safe Kids”.

Strong Kids Safe Kids

My sister and I were subjected to this edutaining video when we were kids. I think it was borrowed from a dark corner of the public library, while the VCR was rented from the grocery store, which was also a warehouse.

Anyway, I hope that order has been restored to the universe now.

The 7 Habits of Something or Other

Published on April 29, 2007 in Video Games. 0 Comments

Tighten up the graphcis on Level 3Through [tag]Netscape[/tag]‘s usually abominable news aggregator, I stumbled across this article: Seven Creative Tips for Amateur Video Game Makers.

Though it’s targeted at [tag]amateur designers[/tag], there’s a lot of solid advice that could be applied to professionals as well. Most notably: design on paper, continually reward players for playing, and broaden your horizons beyond [tag]video games[/tag] to come up with really interesting ideas.

There are other good articles on the site as well. Most are game related, but then there’s also one about how to spot [tag]abusive men[/tag]. I’m not sure how the two topics are related, but I suppose it’s good advice all the same. The cycle of abuse ends with you.

Sanjanakin Skywalker

Published on April 28, 2007 in Movies & TV. 2 Comments

Sanjanakin SkywalkerThe other day somebody pointed out to me that [tag]Sanjaya Malakar[/tag] from [tag]American Idol[/tag] has the same haircut as [tag]Anakin Skywalker[/tag] from [tag]Star Wars: Episode III[/tag]. And as it turns out, it’s totally true.

Now I understand that during his rendition of Bésame Mucho he wasn’t trying to seduce me into the bedroom, he was trying to seduce me to the dark side of the the Force. Hard to see the dark side is.

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This is not a Moblin

Published on February 4, 2007 in Video Games. 0 Comments

Duck HunterSnakeWesker at the Worst. Blog. Ever. has taken a look at how game graphics have evolved in the last 20 years. The two examples used are The Legend of Zelda and the Metal Gear series. Both are pretty dramatic examples of franchises that started in the early 80′s as a loose jumble of pixels, and today offer fully realized worlds richly populated with 3D characters and interactive environments.

The question SankeWesker asks is where game art will go in the next 20 years. Have we hit the wall of diminishing returns? Do developers really want to plow through the Uncanny Valley and create game characters and worlds that are indistinguishable from the real world? Would that even be fun or interesting to the player?

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Wario Moves in Mysterious Ways

Published on January 31, 2007 in Video Games. 0 Comments

WarioWare Smooth MovesI got Warioware: Smooth Moves for the Wii yesterday.

It’s a great example of how creative developers can get with the Wii remote. The game employs a number of unique stances, known as “forms”, that instruct you to hold the remote a particular way. Often these forms require you to move your entire body to complete a microgame. Sure, you can easily fake out the Wii’s robotic brain by doing tiny movements with the remote. But in so doing, you idnetify yourself a douche bag worthy of derision and beneath pity.

Speaking of which, I suspect that this is game is a dish best served multiplayer. The single player is fun. But, after awhile you might feel somewhat douchey holding the remote up to your nose like an elephant trunk. So I guess you’re a douche if you do, and a douche if you don’t. It’s a tough position to be in, but a sanitary one.

The single player game looks like it’s shorter than Warioware Twisted, which had a truly obscene amount of content. I’m okay with what Smooth Moves has to offer, but I’d have liked a few more unlockable toys and mini-games like there were on the handhelds.

What I find most exciting about Smooth Moves are all the nuggests of potential Wii gameplay that the package suggests. Yes, there are duds in the bunch. But, surprisingly few. I could see entire Wii games being built around some of the mechanics that Smooth Moves has introduced.

As a game to introduce people to the Wii remote, Smooth Moves isn’t quite as accessible as Wii Sports. In Wii Sports, the metaphors are extremely clear — The remote might be a tennis racket, a baseball bat, a golf club, and so on. Smooth Moves asks you to make some leaps — Hold the remote like a Mohawk, a Samurai, a Waiter, etc. But if you’re willing to meet the game half way, its humor and fast pace carry the day and deliver a great experience.

Harry Potter got way hotter

Published on January 30, 2007 in Movies & TV. 0 Comments

Harry HotterWith the help of some flattering lighting and a dark and mysterious pubus area, the producers of Equus have managed to make Daniel Radcliffe crazy hot.

You can see the sexy horse mutilator in all his well-lit glory on the Broadway World site.

It looks like all the writers of Harry Potter slash fiction toiling away with their capes, pointy hats, and hand lotions have been vindicated.

[tags]Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter, Equus, Naked, Hot[/tags]

I Dream of Frankenberries

Published on January 23, 2007 in Lifestyle. 0 Comments

Frankenberry CostumeLast night I dreamed a dream.

In this dream FrankenBerry, Count Chocula, and Michael Clark Duncan came over to my house. My house was a cave, but it was decorated like a palace.

They wanted refreshments, so I made them the following cocktail:

  • 1 cup frankenberries, ground in a blender
  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered espresso beans, ground in a blender
  • 1 part strawberry schnapps
  • 1 part banana liqueur
  • 1 part vodka
  • A splash of vanilla extract
  • 2 cups of iced milk
  • Whipped cream aplenty

I called it the Lanky Franky, and served it to my guests from a pitcher resembling the Kool-Aid man. It was impossibly delicious, and it saved me from a beating at the hands of Michael Clark Duncan.

I do not have all of the ingredients to create my dream beverage. But, perhaps you do. If so, please, go forth and live my dream. And tell me how it tastes.

[tags]Cocktail, Dream, Frankenberry, Recipe[/tags]

Wii FPS’s – How to do it right

Published on January 21, 2007 in Video Games. 3 Comments

Call of Duty WiiVideo Game Vs. has an interesting argument about how First Person Shooter games should play on the Wii: Wii FPS’s – How to do it right

So far I haven’t been too impressed with any of the FPS games on offer. Red Steel and Call of Duty both felt clumsy. I haven’t played Far Cry: Vengence, but from what I understand it doesn’t really improve the situation.

Back when I first heard about the Wii controller, It seemed like a perfect fit for FPS gaming. The Nunchuk and remote sounded like great surrogates for a mouse and keyboard interface. Even better, it seemed like gameplay would be more intuitive, since you can literally can point and shoot at things on the screen.

But in practice, navigating the world and aiming with the wiimote can prove to be very frustrating. And since FPS is such an established genre, the Wii gestures that have been incorporated into the current batch of games feel like afterthoughts.

I’m eager to see how Metroid plays. But as it stands, my gut feeling is that the FPS genre needs to be completely rethought for the Wii, or thrown out altogether. The argument on Video Game Vs. sounds like a good place to start the rethink.

[tags]Wii, FPS, First Person Shooter, Video Game Vs., Video Games[/tags]

Urban Princess Boutique

Published on January 21, 2007 in Lifestyle and Video Games. 0 Comments

Urban PrincessCheck out the Urban Princess before she moves on to another castle: Urban Princess Boutique

She has a number of cool handmade Video Game inspired designs. I love the pacman scarf and hat combination. And the princess herself is too cute.

The Urban Princess certainly gives Miss Ivy and her Odd Couture a run for its money.

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The Thief and the Cobbler Recobbled

Published on January 18, 2007 in Movies & TV. 0 Comments

Tack, The CobblerToday I just stumbled across a pretty remarkable bit of animation called The Thief and the Cobbler. Apparently it was released in some form or another in 1993, but the cut wasn’t very good.

It feels like a Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin movie set against works of art like Gustav Klimt’s the Kiss, or an Escher drawing. The movie includes some great sequences that hearken back to Popeye cartoons like Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp, and Ali Baba’s 40 Thieves. You’ll probably recognize some of the character designs and plot points from Disney’s Aladdin, which this film inspired.

Vincent Price delivers a wonderfully playful performance as an evil Vizier. And though the Thief and the Cobbler are silent, both convey a great deal of character and emotion through their body language and great facial expressions.

The movie is delightfully anachronistic. It recalls a time when animation captured the joy of movement, and payed off on fantastically choreographed physical comedy. If you’re a fan of the very early stuff from Disney, Warner Brothers, and Max Fleischer, you’ll definitely get a kick out of it.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see a completed version of this cut. But thanks to Garrett Gilchrist’s fan restoration, we can all enjoy this remarkable piece of animation history.

Links you might like:

[tags]The Thief and the Cobbler, Richard Williams, YouTube, Animation, Restoration[/tags]