I really don't know what is up with my inability to post anything. Any time I try it's just drawing blanks because I have nothing to say, especially when I've been as busy as I've been. However, watching this space for coming news on my new project which will hopefully be more of a success: The Amazing Travels of Warren and His Flying Chair.
Watch for it!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Blogs: The Third Movie That Should Not Have Been Created
Last, but certainly not least, on my list is Grumpy Gamer. This is a blog run by Ron Gilbert, a video game designer and writer. His posts are usually short and full of opinions on the state of the industry, which means we're looking once again at the "blog" type described by Blood. I'd also say this is a pundit blog since you have to care about what Ron Gilbert thinks in order to care about this blog, because otherwise there isn't much point. If the number of comments that get left on his (fairly infrequent) posts is any indication, this is a good number of people. His latest post, for instance, has about 21 comments as of this writing. It's also a good example of his short and opinionated style.
Personally, I respect the man as being someone who got into the industry young in the early 80s and rode it through some tough times while making some of the most memorable games in my experience. It seems to be a rare thing these days to have your hands in the computer programming and be very focused on writing and story. For anyone interested in interactive storytelling like I am, this is a man that should be watched.
From his perspective, I'm sure he's hoping to express himself to the world at large. There is also, I think, that element of wanting to raise awareness of himself because he hasn't really been on the scene for many years since he went into children's games and then has been on hiatus for a long period of time. Even the few people that might have played his games at this point probably don't know who he is, since game designers are usually forgotten faster than movie directors or book authors.
He describes his blog as having "bitter ramblings" and I'd have to agree with that. He's got ideas for a gaming industry that has more focus on story, which is something I'd totally agree with. As things are now I don't think anyone has really been exploring the narrative possibilities in the medium. Most games are too caught up in processing the physics of bullets to care about plot. This post by a fellow class blogger has many of the same sentiments.
I'd have to say this is a blog for a very specific set of people. In a way it's a celebrity blog, because you have to be interested in the person writing it as a fan or as a professional. He's got links all down the right side to what he's doing on the internet, in games, in books, and in movies for those that care about such things. It's personal, it's opinionated, it's relevant, and it's a blog. That's about all there is to it.
Personally, I respect the man as being someone who got into the industry young in the early 80s and rode it through some tough times while making some of the most memorable games in my experience. It seems to be a rare thing these days to have your hands in the computer programming and be very focused on writing and story. For anyone interested in interactive storytelling like I am, this is a man that should be watched.
From his perspective, I'm sure he's hoping to express himself to the world at large. There is also, I think, that element of wanting to raise awareness of himself because he hasn't really been on the scene for many years since he went into children's games and then has been on hiatus for a long period of time. Even the few people that might have played his games at this point probably don't know who he is, since game designers are usually forgotten faster than movie directors or book authors.
He describes his blog as having "bitter ramblings" and I'd have to agree with that. He's got ideas for a gaming industry that has more focus on story, which is something I'd totally agree with. As things are now I don't think anyone has really been exploring the narrative possibilities in the medium. Most games are too caught up in processing the physics of bullets to care about plot. This post by a fellow class blogger has many of the same sentiments.
I'd have to say this is a blog for a very specific set of people. In a way it's a celebrity blog, because you have to be interested in the person writing it as a fan or as a professional. He's got links all down the right side to what he's doing on the internet, in games, in books, and in movies for those that care about such things. It's personal, it's opinionated, it's relevant, and it's a blog. That's about all there is to it.
Blogs: The Sequel
The second in my vast internet round-up is Kotaku. Here we're dealing with another Notebook/Journalism blog trying to get information to the masses, but this time it's specifically related to video games and some general Japanese culture. I'd also say it sometimes slips into more "Blog" territory on the Blood scale, but I'll talk about that a bit later.
The realm of video game blogs seems pretty congested at times. Anything to really set apart a gaming blog tends to be more important, then. The little twist of including Japanese culture and actually have some of the writers living in Japan gives rise to little stories that you don't find anywhere else. Anyone can cover the big name stories in the gaming world. All the effort that takes is waiting for the press releases to be e-mailed in and writing up a report on it. I know this from experience; I worked on a site for video game news at one time. But to have little stories like this takes that little bit of extra zing to put it ahead of the pack. It doesn't have that much significance in the big picture, but to people who are really into the culture as well as the industry (me) it's that bit of charm that really sells it.
I'd also like to point out that there is a degree of professionalism that goes into Kotaku. The editor, Brian Crecente, writes professionally for Rocky Mountain News. In addition, it's a member of Gawker Media, a professional company based around blogs.
I think it's great to get that professional, world-wide touch and still hit the little things that matter like Mario towels. You get the news and a little flavor to go with it, which makes it stand out from the crowd. It also seems to be one of the most linked gaming blogs in my experience, so it must be doing something right.
The realm of video game blogs seems pretty congested at times. Anything to really set apart a gaming blog tends to be more important, then. The little twist of including Japanese culture and actually have some of the writers living in Japan gives rise to little stories that you don't find anywhere else. Anyone can cover the big name stories in the gaming world. All the effort that takes is waiting for the press releases to be e-mailed in and writing up a report on it. I know this from experience; I worked on a site for video game news at one time. But to have little stories like this takes that little bit of extra zing to put it ahead of the pack. It doesn't have that much significance in the big picture, but to people who are really into the culture as well as the industry (me) it's that bit of charm that really sells it.
I'd also like to point out that there is a degree of professionalism that goes into Kotaku. The editor, Brian Crecente, writes professionally for Rocky Mountain News. In addition, it's a member of Gawker Media, a professional company based around blogs.
I think it's great to get that professional, world-wide touch and still hit the little things that matter like Mario towels. You get the news and a little flavor to go with it, which makes it stand out from the crowd. It also seems to be one of the most linked gaming blogs in my experience, so it must be doing something right.
Blogs: The Beginning
For my first trick, I shall present you with Ars Technica, my tech blog of choice. They've been around for about six years now, and in addition to just being a website I'd count it as a blog. I've linked to the news section which has posts going down a line commenting on bits of news in chronological order with a bunch of links heading out. Sure sounds like a blog to me.
So let's get to the analysis, I suppose. Well I'll start with the question of the Big Three categories. Of all the options available to me, I'd have to label this one as a Notebook. The posts are long and can often deal with personal opinion, even though they're focused on reporting the news. I'd also have to say this is a journalism-type blog reporting on the realms of technology, though none of the writers seem to have formal training in journalism. Now to talk about the content itself.
The world of tech is usually terribly divided. No matter what OS you use, there's a good chance you hate some other operating system out there (this applies to the tech nerd sect, specifically). Everyone hates Windows, but Windows users hate Macs. Linux users think anyone not using their OS is a capitalist dog. I could go on and on. Ars Technica says, "Hey wait, we're here for everyone. Tech is tech, and we love it all." In their own words: "As you may have already gathered, Ars Technica is not about "Us vs. Them" approaches to technology and computing." (Ars Technica About Us Page) This entire attitude just jives with me.
They're also dedicated to a wide audience. It doesn't matter if you care about games or Linux, as long as it's tech-related you can have your one-stop shop. This is very nice considering how many different combinations of interests in this field a person can have, and to have most of the really important topics in all areas covered in one place is a real time saver. Personally, surfing the internet already takes too much of my time as it is.
I also like that it's from a consumer standpoint--a picky consumer standpoint at that. This isn't some giant ad for tech companies, this is based around giving consumers information about products and the industry. So I'd say the main point here is to get the facts out there to people like me that want to know.
So basically, it's a good overview guide to the tech industry to a whole lot of different fields, with the added bonus of having a policy against elitism. And believe me, that last part can be a godsend. Listening to the mocking and superior voice of a Linux disciple telling you how wrong you are to be using Windows instead of helping with a problem is one of the most annoying things one can experience.
So let's get to the analysis, I suppose. Well I'll start with the question of the Big Three categories. Of all the options available to me, I'd have to label this one as a Notebook. The posts are long and can often deal with personal opinion, even though they're focused on reporting the news. I'd also have to say this is a journalism-type blog reporting on the realms of technology, though none of the writers seem to have formal training in journalism. Now to talk about the content itself.
The world of tech is usually terribly divided. No matter what OS you use, there's a good chance you hate some other operating system out there (this applies to the tech nerd sect, specifically). Everyone hates Windows, but Windows users hate Macs. Linux users think anyone not using their OS is a capitalist dog. I could go on and on. Ars Technica says, "Hey wait, we're here for everyone. Tech is tech, and we love it all." In their own words: "As you may have already gathered, Ars Technica is not about "Us vs. Them" approaches to technology and computing." (Ars Technica About Us Page) This entire attitude just jives with me.
They're also dedicated to a wide audience. It doesn't matter if you care about games or Linux, as long as it's tech-related you can have your one-stop shop. This is very nice considering how many different combinations of interests in this field a person can have, and to have most of the really important topics in all areas covered in one place is a real time saver. Personally, surfing the internet already takes too much of my time as it is.
I also like that it's from a consumer standpoint--a picky consumer standpoint at that. This isn't some giant ad for tech companies, this is based around giving consumers information about products and the industry. So I'd say the main point here is to get the facts out there to people like me that want to know.
So basically, it's a good overview guide to the tech industry to a whole lot of different fields, with the added bonus of having a policy against elitism. And believe me, that last part can be a godsend. Listening to the mocking and superior voice of a Linux disciple telling you how wrong you are to be using Windows instead of helping with a problem is one of the most annoying things one can experience.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Granada Screws Up Big Time/Pun For Everyone
Well, Granada, I would not want to be you on the day THIS happened. I'm sure this is horrifying for the parties involved, but to me it seems pretty hilarious. Of all the screwed up things that you could let happen, this has to be somewhere near the top. I started wondering what the anthems sounded like, and if they sounded at all the same. I don't have the ability to listen to them at the moment, but I've managed to round up the national anthem of China and the national anthem of Taiwan from The National Anthems.net. They don't really sound at all the same to me.
China Anthem
Taiwan Anthem
(Please note that the above files are being hosted on my own server, and if you're reading this a good while after I posted it they could have been deleted on one of my whims. If the other site is still up you should be able to find them at the source.)
So, now that I've been talking about things sounding the same...
Color Time:
I love puns. It doesn't matter if they're terrible or clever, I just love them all. Now some of these you may have heard, and some you may not. Just bear with me here. One of these is one I made up myself so unless I just happened to come up with the same idea as someone else I hope you haven't heard it. It's bad enough that I don't think anyone got to it before me. Here we go.
1. "Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him a footsore callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis!" (I still think that was clever.)
2. This comes from me watching Abbott and Costello, though I don't think they originated it:
"Man: Excuse me, but I ordered a strawberry sundae. When am I going to get it?
Costello: Well what day is it today?
Man: Friday...
Costello: Then you got two more days to wait."
3. "There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did."
4. "A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat. He came across two men. One was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other was typing away on his typewriter. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writers cramp." (I didn't think that one was very good, but I included it because it was somewhat English-related.)
5. "Some people think that when you go from high school to college you stop riding a bus. Well, that's just not true. You just move to the silly bus." (Yeah, that was mine. I told you it was bad.)
I'm going to stop now before I hurt someone.
China Anthem
Taiwan Anthem
(Please note that the above files are being hosted on my own server, and if you're reading this a good while after I posted it they could have been deleted on one of my whims. If the other site is still up you should be able to find them at the source.)
So, now that I've been talking about things sounding the same...
Color Time:
I love puns. It doesn't matter if they're terrible or clever, I just love them all. Now some of these you may have heard, and some you may not. Just bear with me here. One of these is one I made up myself so unless I just happened to come up with the same idea as someone else I hope you haven't heard it. It's bad enough that I don't think anyone got to it before me. Here we go.
1. "Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him a footsore callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis!" (I still think that was clever.)
2. This comes from me watching Abbott and Costello, though I don't think they originated it:
"Man: Excuse me, but I ordered a strawberry sundae. When am I going to get it?
Costello: Well what day is it today?
Man: Friday...
Costello: Then you got two more days to wait."
3. "There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did."
4. "A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat. He came across two men. One was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other was typing away on his typewriter. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writers cramp." (I didn't think that one was very good, but I included it because it was somewhat English-related.)
5. "Some people think that when you go from high school to college you stop riding a bus. Well, that's just not true. You just move to the silly bus." (Yeah, that was mine. I told you it was bad.)
I'm going to stop now before I hurt someone.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Everybody Loves Vista/Computer Nerds Aren't Gods
All this talk of Vista these past few days has really got me thinking. This in conjunction with the fact that, apparently, all blogs need to talk about Windows Vista at some point has led me towards making this post. A post that is depressingly late in coming, I will admit.
I've been mucking about with computers for a very long time. I consider myself fortunate to have had the chance to get my hands dirty before there was even really such a thing as the Windows we know today. It started a lifelong interest and somewhat of a hobby, but it's far from my main interest. I'll get to that later, we're supposed to be talking about Vista right now.
Personally I'm staying away from the entire mess. I have no incentive to get this shiny new operating system. My old one is working just fine, thanks. I've been offered some of the "shiny" kinds of things that Vista adds to the look and feel. Already in XP I find myself annoyed by such things, and have to turn them off as soon as possible. All I see Vista adding to my experience is more headaches.
There's also this: Windows Vista Thinks You're a Criminal
Them's harsh words, but it sure seems like there could be some terrible firey hoops to jump through in this new Windows. I can't begin to understand all the implications or just what in fact it all means, but it seems like I'd be upgrading to a downgrade. Digital Rights Management is an entirely different subject that I can't begin to cover right now, but suffice to say I don't think it should be integrated into the operating system this way.
Color Time:
All right, so I started talking earlier about how computers and the like have been a hobby. This is all fine and dandy, but it has led to some problems over the years. There seems to be this odd tendency for people to regard anyone that knows anything about computers as an absolute expert on the subject. They come to you begging for help, and when the time inevitably comes that you have no idea what to do they act all betrayed. At the end of the day, more problems are solved by skill in Google search than skill with computers.
I guess my message is simple: Don't expect me, or anyone else in the same boat, to know everything about them little boxes with the blinky lights.
I've been mucking about with computers for a very long time. I consider myself fortunate to have had the chance to get my hands dirty before there was even really such a thing as the Windows we know today. It started a lifelong interest and somewhat of a hobby, but it's far from my main interest. I'll get to that later, we're supposed to be talking about Vista right now.
Personally I'm staying away from the entire mess. I have no incentive to get this shiny new operating system. My old one is working just fine, thanks. I've been offered some of the "shiny" kinds of things that Vista adds to the look and feel. Already in XP I find myself annoyed by such things, and have to turn them off as soon as possible. All I see Vista adding to my experience is more headaches.
There's also this: Windows Vista Thinks You're a Criminal
Them's harsh words, but it sure seems like there could be some terrible firey hoops to jump through in this new Windows. I can't begin to understand all the implications or just what in fact it all means, but it seems like I'd be upgrading to a downgrade. Digital Rights Management is an entirely different subject that I can't begin to cover right now, but suffice to say I don't think it should be integrated into the operating system this way.
Color Time:
All right, so I started talking earlier about how computers and the like have been a hobby. This is all fine and dandy, but it has led to some problems over the years. There seems to be this odd tendency for people to regard anyone that knows anything about computers as an absolute expert on the subject. They come to you begging for help, and when the time inevitably comes that you have no idea what to do they act all betrayed. At the end of the day, more problems are solved by skill in Google search than skill with computers.
I guess my message is simple: Don't expect me, or anyone else in the same boat, to know everything about them little boxes with the blinky lights.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Hong Kong and Used Books
Too Many Mainland China Mothers Coming to Hong Kong
This does seem a bit harsh, but I can't blame Hong Kong in the least. They have no room whatsoever. Hong Kong is probably the most dense place I've ever been (or probably ever will be). Something like this could seriously ruin them. It's probably a terribly tempting opportunity for mothers on the mainland, but there just comes that point I guess. Don't quite know how I feel about it. Onwards.
Color Time:
I like to read books; it's no secret. I managed ten over Christmas vacation, and I'm still behind terribly. So what do I do when I get back to college and lose my ludicrous amounts of free time? I go online and buy books, of course! (I mean, of course, in addition to ones for courses.) I love the internet for this. I seem to have acquired some small reputation at the Oak Hall reception desk for being "that guy with all the packages." This is easy when each of those packages cost me four bucks. I like buying used books, and the best place for that is the wide interweb. I just bought a series of four paperbacks this way. It would seem logical to get them all from one place and save on the shipping, but that's not how the world actually works.
I scour at least three different "marketplace" type sites and find the book that's selling for like two cents. With shipping pretty much any book can be found for four dollars. When these books retail for eight dollars, the savings might seem small, but on that series of four books I saved a total of sixteen dollars. That's four more books for free, basically. It's the little victories in life that keep me going, after all.
I should also mention that the internet gives you the best selection you can get. It's amazing that there are books I can't find at our local shop in the mall. I mean, they stock a Star Trek and X-Men Crossover Novel. I know. My head exploded too.
This does seem a bit harsh, but I can't blame Hong Kong in the least. They have no room whatsoever. Hong Kong is probably the most dense place I've ever been (or probably ever will be). Something like this could seriously ruin them. It's probably a terribly tempting opportunity for mothers on the mainland, but there just comes that point I guess. Don't quite know how I feel about it. Onwards.
Color Time:
I like to read books; it's no secret. I managed ten over Christmas vacation, and I'm still behind terribly. So what do I do when I get back to college and lose my ludicrous amounts of free time? I go online and buy books, of course! (I mean, of course, in addition to ones for courses.) I love the internet for this. I seem to have acquired some small reputation at the Oak Hall reception desk for being "that guy with all the packages." This is easy when each of those packages cost me four bucks. I like buying used books, and the best place for that is the wide interweb. I just bought a series of four paperbacks this way. It would seem logical to get them all from one place and save on the shipping, but that's not how the world actually works.
I scour at least three different "marketplace" type sites and find the book that's selling for like two cents. With shipping pretty much any book can be found for four dollars. When these books retail for eight dollars, the savings might seem small, but on that series of four books I saved a total of sixteen dollars. That's four more books for free, basically. It's the little victories in life that keep me going, after all.
I should also mention that the internet gives you the best selection you can get. It's amazing that there are books I can't find at our local shop in the mall. I mean, they stock a Star Trek and X-Men Crossover Novel. I know. My head exploded too.
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