| MOAR POLLS PLZ |
[Nov. 16th, 2006|11:55 pm] |
I'm totally going to keep putting polls up until my paid account runs out. It's two seconds out of your day, right?
Poll #869576 What's in a name?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10In Japan, Nissan's top sports car model is called the Fairlady Z (or Zed, if you're one of those types). This is a: |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 15th, 2005|03:10 pm] |
Probably my favorite from the Photoshop contest =)
Greg Rucka's ending Gotham Central and his next solicited issue of Wonder Woman is listed as being the last one (!). Something's got to be up there, since they aren't allowed to cancel Wonder Woman due to licensing issues. Still, it's too bad Gotham Central is ending, that book was great. It's very telling that DC was willing to continue the book despite consistent bad sales, and Rucka himself is the one who's ending it. I'm not sure what Rucka's going to be doing in the meantime if someone's going to replace him on whatever follows up Wonder Woman, and if Queen and Country isn't coming out anymore (anyone know?).
Quote from a Judd Winick interview about the whole Red Hood thing:
A lot of readers fall into the category of wanting a story, but hating conflict. They love the characters, but hate when things happen to them. But that’s what these stories are about – we create these obstacles and put them through these terrible things, and they’re supposed to survive. It’s never about ‘Batman would never allow this to happen.’ Things happen, and that’s what this is about. Jason’s return is one of the best impediments that we could come up with. It’s one of Batman’s living nightmares.
I thought it was hokey and stupid at first; very few comic characters stay dead, after all. But after reading the trade, I can actually recommend it to people who read Batman. Winick is a great superhero writer, unlike, say, Grayson or Willingham. Winick brings up a great point that often comic readers want a story, but don't want conflict, which obviously doesn't work. I think the real challenge of being a comics writer is making your conflict make sense within the fictional context of the universe, and having characters do things that are interesting and believable without making them act out of character.
It's slightly bad form to hate on stuff, but I can't keep quiet: Supergirl stinks. Or as I like to think of it Mary Sue, Elongated Torso Girl Pointless Smackdown Monthly. Every issue thus far has been her fighting some hero for little to no reason, pretty much beating them, then they talk about something that has little to no relevance. Every one. This is Jeph Loeb, the supposedly highly-sought-after writer. He's put out outstanding work before (Long Halloween, anyone?) so I'm not sure what this Mary Sue punch-a-thon garbage is. He'll be off the title soon enough, but I think it'll take a real talented writer to turn this around.
Some Feb. solicits for DC are out, I'm looking to pick up the next Birds of Prey trade (about damn time!) |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 17th, 2005|01:52 am] |
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Nintendo's new Revolution controller has just been unveiled, and though my first thought was "...WTF?" the video sold me on its potential. Nintendo doesn't just use the word "innovation" as a buzzword like the other gaming companies (Xbox360 and PS3 aren't innovative... They're just the PC equivalent to buying a new CPU and graphics card). If you've never played Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (The bongo controller platform game, not the music/rhythm game) you're missing out. The only obstacle to something that fun and cool is that I don't own the bongo controllers. Things like that tell me Nintendo knows what they're doing when they set out to make games fun again. If they had just made a port of Donkey Kong Country to the GC, I wouldn't even have looked up. Nintendo is understandably worried about getting developers on board, but Gamecube has shown the best titles tend to be first-party anyway. Assuming Nintendo's lineup for it is reasonably good, I can easily see this as the first next-gen system I pick up as soon as it's affordable. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 17th, 2005|01:27 am] |
Updated my entire Linux system for the first time. Everything went without a major hitch... There was a moment of horror when I realized I'd auto-merged all the config files when I shouldn't have, but there was only one change I needed to make for everything to work again.
I don't think I'd ever want to write a comic like Captain America. There was an interview with Ed Brubaker on Fanboy Radio, and he was saying that he tries to avoid making Cap too conservative or too liberal, because then you tend to alienate half your readers one way or the other. Interestingly enough, I read some conservative column that was bitching about how Captain America is now unpatriotic because in the storyline, some members of the government are portrayed as "untrustworthy" or "sinister." *audible gasp* What nonsense are they indoctrinating our children with?? Politicians should be held accountable for their actions? And if I had a nickel for every cliched evil government operative in comics, I'd be Tony Stark. In Previews, I also saw an ad for a comic that was supposed to be a conservative view of a liberal pacifist dystopia. I admit the premise certainly has the potential to be interesting, but the description of the story (by the author) quoted made it sound like laughable conservative jackoff material-- he compared it to the popular conservative talk radio shows.
One thing that did interest me is in the Ultimates, Thor is basically a liberal hippie, which I thought was a really interesting take on the character. In my favorite scene, Nick Fury asks him to join the team he's forming, The Ultimates, and Thor declines, saying that maybe today its mission will be to fight supervillains, but tomorrow it'll be wars for oil and "WMDs".
Nick Fury: What about that interview you gave on 60 Minutes, Thor? I thought you were here to save the world.
Thor: Oh, I am here to save the world, General Fury. Save it from people like you.
To me, this is a far more interesting conflict than the forced shallow liberal vs. conservative morality plays that some comics have tried to present. I haven't read any Hawk and Dove, but they're just not compelling enough heroes by themselves to warrant reading, I think (because they haven't had great writers, I think).
Oh, just watched Advent Children, which is a real treat for FF7 fans. Nomura can't really direct a movie, but he has made some pretty sweet FMVs, and this is basically a movie-length game FMV. The plot is essentially irrelevant, but the fights and other scenes are just flashy and cool. I mean, think of the first time you saw The Matrix or something, and you'll see the appeal of this movie. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 14th, 2005|02:29 pm] |
I read a message board post that was so off topic and incoherent, it was nearly poetry:
what a chance while I'm thinking returne the windows but now I don't ii love linux it gives me
every thing
like my self more personel
more beatiuful I sorry for windows users(slaves)
link (credit where credit is due)
Started reading Henry IV, but I have quite a bit of work/studying/research to get through, so we'll see how that goes. Reading before bed doesn't work that well since I'm sleepy to begin with, and reading something that requires thought will make me more sleepy.
Got over a mild cold fairly quickly, but I think my stomach isn't happy now. Was cutting corners with food and rest earlier, but it's best not to get in arguments with your body... it always wins. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 13th, 2005|08:11 pm] |
Watching Babylon 5 Season 3. It's somewhat frightening in its depiction of jingoism, the depiction of governments taking away civil liberties inch by inch, political machinations manipulating the populace and keeping them in the dark. The media made the puppet of the administration. Battlestar Galactica is a far darker, grittier picture of the future, but one can't really relate to it. What I really like about B5 is that it respects continuity, so often interesting climactic things are happening every episode, so unlike DS9, you don't have to dig through a lot of throwaway episodic stories.
I can't say I agree with the frequent use of "intellectual property" as a blanket term for things that are copyrighted, trademarked, or patented. One need only read Slashdot (I don't anymore) to see another completely asinine device patented like scroll bars or something. I'm not sure if I've ranted here about Disney being evil, but there is a clear need for copyright reform. Patents are stifling innovation instead of protecting it. Copyrights are devices corporations are using to ensure eternal ownership of works so that said organizations can maximize profits, even at the expense of the public good. As I understand it, copyrights were originally developed with the purpose of protecting individuals so that artists can benefit from their own work. It would seem that now it is used by corporations to form a massive legal shield, an umbrella should they need to deploy their legions of lawyers in defense of profitability and the stockholders' dividends. I think 'intellectual property' is a misnomer. When you write a book or a song, ultimately, that belongs to the human race... copyright is granted so you can make a living as an artist for the rest of your life, but it is not a belonging for you or anyone to hoard for ever. When someone wants to read Shakespeare, they do not have to go hat in hand to some his estate and purchase it at a price which reflects a monopoly on the works. If copyright was envisioned as an artistic lease, then maybe it should go back to being that. It is a shame that books and such are being lost because of copyright extension, and I wish more people would see how harmful it is for everyone. Disney should understand that better than anyone, having borrowed almost all of their stories from the public domain. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 10th, 2005|12:42 pm] |
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I have to really justify buying single issues before I do because I hate having to store them somehow. With Grant Morrison's JLA: Classified run, I figured it's only 3 issues they won't put into a trade, and it'll be in like a year if DC ever gets around to it. The story is excellent though (an excellent JLA story, that is) and Morrison proves that the 3-issue story is not dead. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 6th, 2005|06:55 pm] |
I've been sick recently, so I'm re-watching all my animated Batman (ahh, nostalgia). Some great episodes and great lines, too. Seeing a Batman that smiles occaisionally and sometimes makes a joke (gasp) is a nice breath of fresh air compared to the current comics angst/broodfest.
(Batman driving in Batmobile)
Police Scanner: "--disturbance reported at Top of the Crown restaurant. Suspect is a male costumed extremist armed with what appears to be a... ketchup gun.
Batman: It's gonna be one of those nights...
Slight spoilers ahead, but again, I only spoil plot twists I think are stupid and not worth reading:
( Rant about writing, comics )
( Some comic reviews ) |
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| THE FAULT LIES NOT IN TEH STARS BUT IN OURSLEVES |
[Sep. 4th, 2005|07:50 pm] |
1) Bought a print cartridge that would have fit in my old printer, but not my new one by accident. Fail.
2) Found out the reserved textbook I needed to do my homework is in the special Physics library... which is CLOSED Saturday and Sunday! Good job, assholes! Fail.
3) Disregarded everything and watched Babylon 5 while drinking tea... I WIN
You know, only now do I recognize all the Lord of the Rings references in B5... |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 2nd, 2005|01:20 pm] |
Had a dream last night where Karen and I went to some anime/comic/gaming con that was at this Opera-house type building. It was on an island just big enough for the building with beach on all sides, and the picturesque light blue water you always see in postcards. Don't remember much except accidentally almost stealing some Warhammer figures and finding out the dealers wouldn't sell me anything because it was the Thursday before the con (must have been a comic con? Nothing happens at anime cons the day before) Oh, and I saw Nathan Fillion show up, so I guess he must have been a guest. I pointed him out to Karen, who was like ZOOOMG, which must have got his attention, because he smiled and waved in a "fans are so silly sometimes" kind of way. Oddly enough, he was in full costume. Some other stuff happened when I was standing in line at the burger place (which is clearly supposed to be the Burger King across from the Baltimore Convention Center we all know and love). Also, there was some customer service problem (I guess inspired by my IRL problem mentioned in an earlier post). I told some jerk cashier that he was wrong, etc. and the nice manager came and fixed it, whereupon the clerk jumped out the window/low roof straight into the ocean. Though everything looked so sunny and tropical, it seemed like it could be pretty nice.
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 1st, 2005|07:37 pm] |
I hate it when retailers get uppity. I made an order to an online store that was never filled, and they give me the "cancelled orders require a restocking fee" bullshit. They never even told me it was backordered, or gave me the chance to confirm. I emailed them back saying they can either waive a 2.50 restocking fee, or I never buy shit from them again. Given that I've spent $200 there in the past two months, hopefully they'll come to their senses. They should've learned a long time ago that hiding behind store policy doesn't cover for shitty customer service.
Along the same lines, I pre-ordered the Mobile Police Patlabor DVD Collection 1 now that it's being re-released at $40 retail instead of $90 or whatever it was before. I pre-ordered from bestprices.com, since they're normally good with orders... I remember Brendan saying that if they say they're back-ordered, it's the kiss of death, and sure enough, they listed as back-ordered on release day (isn't that what pre-ordering is supposed to PREVENT?) Anyway, I cancelled that in no time, and I'm probably going to pricegrabber to get it.
Made an archer character on Freedom in City of Heroes... I'm only like level 2, but they seem like woah good o_O I wouldn't be at all surprised if they have to nerf them down a notch or two. Oh, and by the way, I got CoH working in Linux... with sound! Yes, I do rock that hard.
Now for more Babylon 5~~~ |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 30th, 2005|05:15 pm] |
This entry turned somewhat political, but let me preface it by saying that I think it is very important to protect the environment and the balances and ecosystems that support life on this planet, I just think that there's a lot of unquestioned tenets of the eco-friendly lifestyle that people take for granted. There's also a dangerous sense of self-gratification and civic duty for people who do what "everyone knows" to be the environmentally friendly thing... I think it's much more worthwhile to scientifically examine whether or not a given action has actual real-world value.
I'm taking some exciting electives this semester, exciting meaning not having to do with either of my majors. The first is ASTR211, which is General Astronomy, the quantitative version. I doubt the math will be that hard, I just hope it's not painful. I'm probably long overdue for an astro course, seeing as how most people I know have already taken one. The syllabus looks really interesting, and there's no observation, just a discussion section for homework questions.
My other elective is EVSC350, Atmosphere and Weather. So far, hasn't been too exciting, though I'm sure we'll get to better things than just the composition of the atmosphere. I had a moment of panic when I saw that there was a lab I wasn't signed up for, but (I'm pretty sure) the lab is a separate class only for EVSC majors. The professor gave a whole bit about the heating/cooling trends of the Earth, and how the current press for global warming is alarmist (which isn't the first time I've heard that). Another professor here at UVA is also an opponent of the global warming theory, Patrick Michaels. I'm not sure if there is a conflict of interest there, but I do think there is a lot of work to be done in this area. The basic idea I heard in class was that on geological time scales, Earth goes into an ice age every 50,000 years or so, and undergoes rapid temperature fluctuations between glaciations, and we're about due for one. So not only are wild variations in temperature natural, but global cooling is an equally serious, if not more serious concern. The CO2 levels have risen (minutely) since the industrial revolution, but the argument is that it cannot be said conclusively that this is the result of man-made devices, and at the current rate, the temperature will be X degrees, and the sea level Y feet higher. Given the complex relationships between the atmosphere and biosphere, and the natural heating/cooling trends of the Earth, I think it's a case where someone who can speak with absolute certainty about it is ignorant, and someone who admits things are inconclusive is relatively wise. Also, it seems like the political atmosphere is such that if you were to try to prove scientifically that global warming is a myth, you'd be Incidentally, >99.9% of the Earth's atmosphere is N2, O2, and Argon.
I used to take everything I heard about the environment for granted, since kids are basically indoctrinated with Green propaganda from elementary school. Like most people, I assumed the logging industry was responsible for deforestation, which is false (logging companies that clearcut lots have a vested interest in restoring those lots so they can be cut again), and that the Amazon rainforest is valuable because it introduces large amounts of oxygen into the biosphere, which is also false (plant and animal decay consumes as much oxygen as is produced). Deforestation is bad, but for other reasons. Also, I'm fairly certain the deforestation in the Amazon isn't caused by large corporations, but poor people in the region who need to make a living.
Link to Wikipedia article on global warming controversy
Given that there are so many myths surrounding the subject, I can't help but question everything I hear. I also recommend everyone watch that episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit on environmentalism/recycling, though this is no substitute for a class/research. It's telling that Patrick Moore, a founding member of Greenpeace, left due to the fact that the organization was becoming more concerned with activism and anti-corporatism as an end in and of itself, rather than actually doing good for the environment. On this issue, I won't take a specific partisan side for or against recycling, for or against the Kyoto Protocols... Like a Mentat, I NEED MORE DATA. In any case, Environmental Science class is going to be interesting, now if only it weren't at 9:30.... |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 28th, 2005|07:57 pm] |
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I remember the idea for a Babylon 5 marathon getting tossed around a while back, but it never materialized. Considering a lot of us are now re-fragmented for the school year, it's looking less and less likely, but I downloaded and am re-watching Season 1 again for myself. I was worried everything would seem campy and/or low-budget in retrospect, but it hasn't at all... It's easy to see where the Hugos they won came from. I also really like J. Michael Straczynski's writing... Even in the first season, they're planting so many seeds for things that won't get revealed for 2 or 3 seasons to come. The dialogue is similarly enjoyable, and the plots are refreshingly consistent (JMS has written all of these, I think). Compared to DS9, which has lots of single-character focused episodes, heavy-handed messages and outright crap episodes, all by different writers and directors. Also, I noticed Harlan Ellison was the conceptual consultant, which is pretty cool... I need to read more sci-fi =3 |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 24th, 2005|03:45 pm] |
Went on a long wikipedia run, somehow going from Dyson Spheres to Da Vinci Code to Last Supper to Judas Iscariot. The whole deal raises some interesting philosophical questions I'd thought about before, but not really in detail. I've also wondered about the details of what Judas actually betrayed. I mean, it's very poetic and all (Shakespeare did it better), but it's a bit sketchy as to what happened.
Judas apparently died by hanging himself, or by falling, but the latter is clearly more totally sweet:
"Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." (Acts 1:15-18, KJV)
Quick, get Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell together for Passion of the Christ 2.
Also, I don't remember how (radio? podcast?) but I want to sometime see this documentary that questions whether or not Jesus actually existed. I remember the guy talking about how in the case of Jesus, the number of texts written about his life and teachings increase as time goes on, not the other way around, as is usually the case with historical events and people. I also remember hearing about some other guy who claimed to be the son of God, and was crucified, and whose followers claim he came back to life, but I can't seem to remember his name. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 19th, 2005|08:19 pm] |
Boo: The Battlefield 2 demo crashes on my Windows XP machine, so I can't even try it out. Maybe the full version would work, but I fail to see any reason to pay money when even the free version is a buggy piece of shit.
Yay: Enemy Territory works on Linux basically out of the box (apt-get enemy-territory). I just need to change a setting in ALSA and sound should work as well. Sweet!'
Some 2nd year at ITC training noticed my Katsucon shirt and commented on it, and I found out he's going to Otakon (almost spelled it Otacon).
Christ... Stopped by O-Hill to find it closed (at 6:30) and now I come back and someone's parked me in... There are open parallel parking spots in front, but I guess that means nothing to you if you have a HUGE PICKUP TRUCK. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 18th, 2005|08:58 pm] |
This is an interesting blog by a doctor who reads comics. Does reviews of medical terminology and portrayals of injuries/treatments in various comics. Recently there was a post about the whole psychic powers<->nosebleeds thing, which I had noticed. Pretty interesting.
Stopped by the comics store yesterday and picked up Birds of Prey 85 and Marvel Team Up 11. BoP 85 has the resolution to two long running subplots, and a plot twist I predicted a while back, but I'm still pleasantly surprised Simone actually went through and did it... I can't wait to see where it'll lead. Marvel Team Up is a very silly book, and it's worth the price of admission for the dialogue alone. I was chuckling to myself while reading the entire thing. I'm a trades-only kind of person, but there are some comics that are good enough that I won't hesitate to spend $2-3 a month to pick up, just to skip the waiting (the price is about the same, regardless).
Also, Alpha is some sort of international man of mystery, which is pretty sweet if you ask me. |
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| This ended up more sounding more bitter than I expected |
[Aug. 12th, 2005|03:31 pm] |
McDonalds stops serving breakfast at 10, which is retarded. People seriously go in to a McDonalds at 10:30 expecting lunch? Christ. This is a college town, FFS.
Sid Meier's Pirates! is a really shitty game. I think the rationale for renting it was "Oooh, Pirates are cool!" But this game is godawful. It's probably fun for the 10 minutes it takes to see everything the game has to offer, and then you repeat stupid baroque dancing minigame after idiotic dueling system for hours trying to get married to the governor's daughter, or promoted to Admiral, or some other inane goal. The rank system is a little odd-- whenever you dock at a port, the governor will give you a rank based on your serving his interests. For example, I sank nothing but Spanish Trade Galleons and Warships, and became a French Baron, an English Admiral, and a Spanish Major. The conversation trees for that were sad and funny with the Governor congratulating me for eliminating pirates, then stating that he was very disappointed in me for sinking all those Spanish ships, and then promoting me and giving me land. The game is full of goals, and minigames, and little management details the creators clearly thought would be cool, but it's like no one ever tested to see if these things made the game FUN. For example, I really started to suck in the late game, I could sink ships and such, but I couldn't win a duel to save my life-- turns out it's because I got OLD. I wasted so much time getting captured and such that I would never again have good health. I also defeated a lot of pirates in my time and took their sweet ships, but then lost them one way or another.. which sucks when you're too old and crappy to defeat any more pirates. My flagships got steadily better, then worse. The Little Batman, HMS Batman, and the Santa Batmaño were massive juggernauts to be feared, but in my old age, I was sailing in a tiny, 4-cannon sloop.
Killer 7 is a really screwed-up, trippy game. It's worth checking out, since it has a really interesting, if incomprehensible story. The gameplay does get old really fast, which is unfortunate. It kind of reminded me of a techno-noir Neuromancer or something. It's just so out there, one reviewer said, it's almost like you can hear the developers saying, "I don't give a fuck whether or not you like this game, this is how it is." At the end of the day, I respect them more for having tried something new than rehashing an old series that's been done to death. RE4 is still a much, much better game, though.
I've hear the FEAR demo described as amazing, so I'll give that a shot and see how it turns out. |
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| Music Meme |
[Aug. 12th, 2005|02:47 pm] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tailsy tagged me with this meme, and I'm participating because I'm always open to music suggestions and recommendations from other people. So read this and list your own songs:
Songs:
Final Doom 'Quick Fix' - DJ Redlight
Hyperblast (Redux) - Unreal Tournament 2k4 OST
Mysterious Eyes - Garnet Crow (is it just me, or are there a lot of Japanese songs with this name?)
Sora Kara Futte Kita Shoujo - Laputa OST
Policenauts Endtitle - Snatcher/Policenauts Black Disc Collection
Airing Out the Books - Shenmue II (Ripped) OST
The Best is Yet to Come - Metal Gear Solid OST
People:
kej, jimboomega, leuconoe, angel0fmusic, whitewinged, yatenkou, and honestly, anyone on my friends list. I'm just naming names because people will probably be more likely to do it if I name names, but I'd be interested in reading anyone's list. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 10th, 2005|03:51 pm] |
I have an itch that I'm in the process of scratching, we'll see if anything ever comes of it. Partly, I'm doing it to learn the ropes with Ruby.
The new covers for Serenity are also great. Issue #2 features "Zoe" by Joe Quesada, "Book" by Tim Bradstreet, and "Kaylee" by Jo Chen. I'd honestly be happy with any of them, which is just as well, since I won't get to choose, if I can even find a copy at all.
Book
Kaylee
Zoe
Nintendo's warranty repair service lives up to their rather high reputation. I sent off my DS for a dead pixel on the touch screen last Wednesday or Thursday, and it was delivered today. Honestly, that's pretty amazing. Next thing to do is use the FlashMe process to load a new firmware so I can run homebrew to my heart's content. In other news, the SCUMMVM-DS (now there's a long acronym) guy isn't ready to release the code because he needs to "clean it up" and so forth. On one hand, with the work this guy's done, I feel like he really deserves the benefit of the doubt. On the other, it's not fair or proper to hold off releasing GPL'd code indefinitely and do things on your own schedule. If this ends up taking a while, he should probably just set up a CVS and make the changes through that. For the moment, I'm enjoying instant homebrew on my DS. |
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