Love, the MMO

I first heard about this game about a year ago and thought the concept art looked amazing, and in fact it looks just like the actual game. It's made by one guy. Can you believe that? I suggest watching it in HD.

Mark's tracks to listen to

Ha! It worked. I used the same program as Gary and i have to say it's pretty cool. I'm not sure when or if i'll ever use it again, but like i said it's pretty neat. I tried to pick as many bands that i think most of you have never heard of, lots of European stuff basically. On with the songs.

Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters--MGMT: I've been listening to this album a lot since i've been over here and i really like it. This is my favorite song from the album, not sure why, just love it.

We Own the Sky--M83: I found this French band last year and really enjoy them. They've got a really 80s sound and remind me a little of Air.

Test Transmission--Kasabian: English band who Matt and i found through FIFA. My favorite song from a good band overall but shit live.

Only this Moment--Royksopp: Another Euro band from Norway who have a great electro sound. Their new album is dropping soon and sounds good. They also do that song on the Geico commericals, Remind me. This is from their live album.

The Laws have Changed--The New Pornographers: A band i'm just getting into that i really like so far. Pretty poppy but my early impressions of the band are good.

Why Are You Looking Grave?--Mew: One of my top 5 bands. From Denmark, awesome live, and getting a new album soon. If you like this song look them up cause they're the best.

Ophelia--Kashmir: A great song from a great band. I've listened to this album so many times and it's totally solid, this is my favorite song from said album.

Newjack--Justice: If you like Daft Punk, look this band up cause it has break neck beats that you can't help but nod to.

And I Was A Boy From School--Hot Chip: You've proly heard this one cause it's pretty popular but i really love this song and the band as well. I still haven't listened to thier new album(like a year old) much, but i will.

My Kingdom--Future Sound of London: I think Gareth would really love this band. I belive this band is done but it's great electro music.

If you want to get into Football, er soccer, now's the time

So as all of you are well aware, i like football, a lot(yes i'm using the european football cause i've lived over here long enough and no longer feel like a poser when using it). I just wanted to give you a few reasons why, if any of you are interested, now is the perfect time to follow the beautiful game as it nears the end of the season. A little side note: when i say football i mean soccer and when i mean soccer i just mean EPL or English soccer. There's so many arguments on the SPL and Serie A and all that but i focus on the EPL and that's where the bulk of my knowledge lies so just bare with me.

Anyway, I've been amazingly lucky this season to be over here. I'm getting more coverage than i ever have before. I haven't been to as many matches as i'd like to have been but work keeps me pretty busy so that i can't go every weekend or anything like that. However, it's like American football in that it takes up most of the sports coverage over here so on any day i get more news about the EPL than you do in a month in the States. I've been to 6 matches so far and hopefully can go to one more before i leave. The best part for me is that this season has been awesome. With that said, i encourage all of you to check soccernet and at least the tables at the end of the weekend to see how the league is shaking out. Some reasons to get into it now:

1. The title race is far from over. While only 2 weekends ago it seemed like Man United would be celebrating yet another title not only domestically but possibly in the Champions leage and FA cup. With the Carling Cup already in their trophy cabinet and the World Club Cup there as well, they're going for an unpresidented quad! That'd be 5 trophies in one season which would be nutty. However, they were beaten badly by Liverpool 2 weekends ago at Old Trafford which has revitalized the title race. That and the fact that Man U went to Fulham this weekend and got beat 2-0 against a team that hadn't beaten them since the 50s, well it seems like the unbeatable are certainly not that. So for the first time in a few years we're going to have a genuine title race with Man U., Liverpool only 1 point behind, and Chelsea 4 points behind Man U. Needless to say, the last few weeks of the prem should be interesting with 3 teams so close to each other at the top of the standings. On form alone i'd say that Liverpool could have a real chance of catching Man U. and ending their long drought without a domestic trophy. However, with 2 weeks off due to international fixtures the momentum that Stevie G. and the reds have built up is going to go away. It's not really fair but i think Man U. will come back resettled and refocused for the rest of the season. But who knows, i hope that Liverpool, even though i'm supposed to hate them as an Evertonian, comes back and takes the title.

2. Maybe better than the fight at the top of the table is the fight at the bottom. All season long there has been a nearly 10 team pile up to see who will get religated. At this point, no one can really say who's going down, except for West Brom, but the other 2 spots for religation are wide open between about 7 or 8 squads. There are only 7 points that separate 19th place from 12th place leaving everyone in between these spots as serious and realistic canidates for religation to the Coca-Cola Championship. This is going to leave a serious fight for all these teams to stay up and bring with it some great 6 pointers between religation threatened sides. Another great thing about this bottom of the table pile-up is that there are some big and well established premier league clubs in the mire. Bigger teams with large payrolls like Newcastle and Portsmouth are still in danger of going down making it that much more intersting. Unlike with other American sports, the bad teams in the league still have something to play for rather than trying to tank to get a better draft position. The end of the season race to see who goes down and who stays up should be a close one.

3. I know most of you don't really watch football and don't have a good outlet to watch the matches, but there are some good websites with highlights on them if you wanna catch up on the weekends action. The one i mostly use is http://www.footytube.com/. The best part about highlights is that it cuts out what most people consider boring parts of the game, just giving you all the best chances, yellow card offenses, and of course goals.

Anyway this season has been extremely satisfying for me and i feel really lucky to have been over here for most of it and to actually be immersed in it rather than scraping the internet for information and trying to find matches to watch at 8 in the morning. If you wanna get into football, now is the perfect time.

Conventional Economic Bull

A recent comment by a friend of mine regarding John Stossel's recent 20/20 special 'Bailouts and Bull' got me thinking about this subject.  In his special, Stossel (though in his sometimes annoying way) questions the imperative tone government is taking on the economy - as in 'we must' do so and so.  And my friend considered his idea, that market corrections and a little pain are good things, as the epitome of rude.  So I wanted to examine some of the statements and assumptions commonly made by the government and media with you guys and in a Socratic way come to the truth as it were.  Here we go:

Worst financial crisis since Great Depression - Right now I understand we have 0% inflation and 8% unemployment.  The entire 70's and 80's were worse than that so I think that assertion is out off the bat.

Stimulus packages work - I have never heard of a stimulus package that has.  FDR's was debunked by Friedman and Japan's is a walking cautionary tale

Government action helps - I don't see how this could be.  How can a bureaucracy allocate capital more efficiently that a market system? And it takes at least a year for fiscal policy to enter the system, much too late to help.  It is more likely to overcorrect like what happens when pilots get caught in a resonance wave in a thunder storm.

Reduced regulation caused this - Glass Seagal was repealed during Clinton years and as far as I understand that was the only major regulation reduction in recent history.  The federal register has ballooned instead.  The bank crises of the late 1800's usually were corrected by individual banks with months when there was a complete lack of regulation too.

Deflation is bad - Who says?  It was the way of the world for the past couple thousand years before fiat monetary systems right?  The only positives about inflation are that it reduces the national debt and allows companies to cut wages without anyone knowing.

Falling house prices are bad - They rise and fall all the time in Hong Kong according to a friend of mine and thats a pretty healthy economy.  Ta boot homes are a terrible investment return wise anyways I would think (i'm guessing 5% annually).  Better to put extra capital in a higher returning company (S&P averaged 12% before this debacle)

More government education is needed.  We're spending over 11k a student on average for k-12 kids in public education according to stossel.  I know kids who went to preppy private schools for 3k a year.  Sounds like we're over paying for public school.

Gov can help right businesses too big to fail - They want GM and Chrysler to lead the world in fuel economy in order to become solvent again.  Uh that makes no sense.  As oil prices (except for 2007-2008) are the lowest they've been this century, that would be a stupid business decision.  The House as I write this also just voted to impose punitive taxes on AIG bonuses. If the company hadn't been nationalized it wouldn't matter and furthermore if they don't pay top level people they'll quit and then where is the company?  Better to just stay out of it.

I know I've probably been rambling here, but I'm seriously wondering what I'm missing.  Either all the knowledge and modes of thinking I have are flawed or we're being bamboozled by someone or something.  

So please let me know where I'm wrong here

Trailer for new game by The Behemoth

The Behemoth - Game #3 Trailer from The Behemoth on Vimeo.

What the H is going on there? Is it a co-op platformer or a Smash Bros. fighter? Or an opera. It's supposed to come out in '10 but Castle Crashers was delayed a ton so I'll take that with a grain of salt. I hope online play isn't as glitchy as the other.

Fallout 3: The Pitt: The Trailer

Click through the title for the HD version. Hopefully this is more like the regular game than the more combat oriented Operation Anchorage. Shooting two enemy types over and over again gets a little tiring. But Lorddamnit, what I really want is the level cap raised!

Muzak: Drew's Track Pack

Here's my list of 10 songs, with a Jared-like description next to each one.

Moth by Ours - This is probably my favorite band and favorite song of theirs at the moment. The lead singer has a crazy range, probably comparable to Matt Bellamy.

Needle in the Hay by Elliott Smith - Just a great acoustic and depressing song about a junkie needing his fix. It's also the song in the Royal Tenenbaums when Luke Wilson tries to commit suicide.

Sunshine by John Murphy - This is the main theme song in the movie Sunshine. It really is epic and I want it played when/if I ever die.

Soldier's Poem by Muse - I think everybody here knows Muse, but just had have them on here. This song rules and I'm in the process of making a music video for it.

Timebomb by Old 97's - Finally an upbeat song on my list! I think they are technically a country band, so I guess they are my only exception thus far of "all country sucks."

Kill Monsters in the Rain by Steel Train - Really weird how I found them. I was on wikipedia looking at Arrested Development, which lead me to look at the actors and their upcoming projects, which lead me to Maebe (whatever her real name is), which led me to find out she's dating some dude from the band Steel Train, which I found out was about to play on Conan after a commercial break. Boom.

The Day the World Went Away by Nine Inch Nails - This is the song from the Terminator Salvation trailer. It's an alright song, but in context of the movie, it rules. Notice how any NiN song in any trailer = completely badass trailer.

Four Winds by Bright Eyes - My fried got me to listen to this band a couple days ago. They kinda sound like Modest Mouse, so I thought I'd put em up here.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley - After watching Watchmen, I started listening to this song again. It is a much more personal version of it and way better than the original, in my opinion.

A new frontier for video games in the media: Jimmy Fallon!?

So, this story about how Jimmy Fallon, who recently took over for Conan's old time slot on NBC, is going to quote "treat game debuts like movie premiers" has really piqued my interest. There was some talk about it on last week's ListenUP podcast, and their big question was who were they going to have on the show to talk about these games? Are they going to show a trailer for the game? Demo the game for a few minutes on the show? There are so many possibilities here. Everybody on ListenUP seemed very skeptical to the idea of having some of the people from the development side of things on the show simply because there aren't many big name developers out there who you could put on a show like that.

You know what though? I think that's something the gaming industry is missing, and something that this Jimmy Fallon show could help fill in. First off, I think there are plenty of compelling developers to have on the show to talk about their games...guys like Cliff Blezinski, David Jaffe, Dylan Cuthbert, and so on, not to mention all the amazing Japanese developers who I've seen have fascinating discussions about their games. I mean, could you imagine how awesome it would be have Hideo Kojima on a US talk show talking about Metal Gear? Suda 51? The arrogant and lecherous Itagaki? This isn't even mentioning having people on who we could then start hearing more from because they were on the show, because they got exposure. I just hope they don't take the easy way out, as one of the guys on the podcast suggested, and have like the cover athlete from the new Madden on the show, or something like that...that's a total cop-out. If they're going to have this guy on and other geeky types, which it sounds like they're going to and I think is fantastic, then why not some of the men and women behind these games that millions of people love?

It's time for the gaming industry to have the luminaries who work behind the scenes recognized for their achievements and creative visions, just like directors of movies have been enjoying for decades.

(Also, um...the Jimmy Fallon Show house band is...The Roots!?!? What!? That's awesome! Questlove in the house! Is that going to be a permanent thing?)

Gareth's Song Picks

I’m trying this alternative to the playlist app Jared is using currently. It seems to have a better library of music and it definitely has a better search and UI. I don’t listen to much new music so it wasn’t easy making a list of songs I really liked, that were representative of my tastes as a whole and at the same time were fresh or unknown enough to be interesting to other people.

Oxygene 2 – Jean Michel Jarre
Nothing new, but listening to Oxygene 4 on GTA IV the other day reminded me of this which I like just as much if not more.

Magellan – Mike Oldfield
I recently discovered this guy. This track is from the album The Songs of Distant Earth which he composed to be a score of sorts to Arthur C. Clarke’s novel of the same name. I love Electronica like this that gives a feeling of exploring a distant planet or coasting through a nebula in a spacesuit. Another artist like this is Mark Dwane who I could not find in this or any library. All his music is composed entirely on MIDI guitar and his first album, titled The Monuments of Mars, was inspired by the first photos of the planet taken by the Viking probe.

Endless Wire [Extended Version] – The Who
Their recent album of the same name was pretty good. This is the best song on it.

Mohammed’s Radio – Warren Zevon
This one is from the late 70s but I really like Warren Zevon and I’m not sure if many are familiar with him.

Code Monkey – Jonathan Coulton
The darling of internet music, he’s pretty darn popular but I’m curious as to how much of his music you’ve heard. He has many recognizable and funny songs, this is one of the best. Also of note: Re Your Brains, Still Alive, and Chiron Beta Prime.

Above – Blue Man Group
Not only do they put on a good show, but they make really cool music with weird objects. Plus they did a techno mix of the X-Files theme.

It’s a Dream – Neil Young
In the album Prairie Wind, the third album in a trio along with Harvest and Harvest Moon, it’s a call back to his quite country sound. And that voice… Fried knows what I’m talking about.

Beautiful World – Colin Hay
The lead singer of Men at Work. An upbeat song from Going Somewhere. The alternate version on Man at Work is even more upbeat.

Copperline – James Taylor
A great James Taylor song you don’t hear on the radio all the time. Awesome road music.

Kaneda – Geinoh Yamashirogumi
From Akira, a primal, energetic, evocative number that works to embody the power of a god. This is up there along with all the movie score greats. Also, it’s good for kicking the shit out of a rival biker gang.

Is Battlestar Galactica Sexist?

My favorite Science Fiction blog io9.com has an insightful article discussing the roles of gender in BSG and whether or not Feminist ideals are represented. I thought it noteworthy enough to recommend here.

Watchmen

I went to the midnight showing at Century and got there an hour early which I guess wasn't early enough because apparently they let people into the theater long before I got there. As a result I sat down in the bottom few rows. I was in the center so the viewing angle wasn't that bad, I just wasn't at the optimum distance. And of course we got the usual dregs of society as theater mates, it being the debut of the latest Hollywood spectacle and all.

I thought the movie was good. Not great. Not anywhere near as great as the book. How could it be? Being confined to under three hours makes that basically impossible. But even the three hour ten minute director's cut probably won't satisfy either. Even putting aside the elements unique to graphic novels that are impossible to transplant, you still have the problem of the shear length and breadth of story and information vital to the work. Truncated, this story is a shadow of what it once was. A shadow that gets part of the point across in an entertaining way, but a shadow nonetheless. I think it would have done better as a miniseries on HBO or something.

Warning! Thar be spoilers in the comments...

Trailers! (or, in space no one can hear you shoot a Thompson)

I'm not sure how excited I should be about this first one. Called Pandorum, it's a horror movie in space--the best kind--with something about saving mankind. There's nothing special about the director or writer as far as I can tell, but Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid are in it so I'll probably give it a look.


Here's the important trailer release this week. Public Enemies. 1930s gangster John Dillinger played by Johnny Depp, pursued by Christian Bale, Directed by Michael Mann. Also, guns. What more does a human need?

The Return of the Yard Dog

I've been watching basketball for some time now. Everyone knows I'm a fan of the Lakers, and a large reason I became such fervent fan was The Diesel. Shaq. The Big Catcus. Superman (you can't just steal that name from Shaq Daddy, Dwight!). Man of Steel. On and on the nicknames go. He was an act of God in the paint. Even the "hack-a-Shaq" defense didn't phase him. He was just so damn powerful and big that centers across the league simply became a prison yard bitch for-- at the time-- number 34. In addition, when he started his career, Shaq dominated and humilated even future legends like Hakeem, Robinson, and Ewing.

But the past couple of years... well, Shaq has become semi-geriatric on the court. Slow to get up. Slow to rebounds. No spring in his step. No dynamite in his legs. It's depressing to watch Shaq decline. I never really realized how much I like Shaq until after watching a game last year where he struggled to take care of business. I saddened. I almost couldn't watch an idol and defining player like Shaq just not play like he should be. I missed him just barrelling through the lane to dunk on some tool... or not because everyone got the fuck out of the way. But that seems to be changing some.

After watching him light up the Lake Show, calling Chris Bosh the RuPaul of basketball, and playing better than Dwight Howard, an emerging force in his own right; my faith is being restored. It feels good to know the rightful order of the universe is slowing returning for Shaq. I love seeing the fear in centers return because they know they are going home bruised after the game. I like that analysists are back to talking about how teams will handle O'Neal. Now, I want to see him perform. The All-Star game showed he still has some in the tank, but the last week or so has proven it.

I only hope the amazing Phoenix staff (see links below) can keep Shaqtus moving at this pace. It's funny that Shaq said he never wanted to stay passed his welcome in the NBA. It's hard for me to imagine basketball without the Diesel. Even if his movies never were that good (same for the albums-- which I have by the way hehe), he's always been an amazing entertainer. I just don't see anyone picking up the torch of being the whole package like he is. Maybe, some new rookie will appear and shock the NBA back to life after Shaq retires. Maybe. But in the mean time...

I missed you big guy-- even if you aren't on my team anymore.

Here's some articles for more detail on this:

http://slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/01/shaqs-revival/

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/03/03/thomas.shaq.20090303/index.html

T4 Trailer

Click the title link for a slightly crisper version. Here's the new sweetness from Terminator Salvation. An interesting little twist I was unaware of with the beginning of the machines' use of [engage Ahnud voice] CYBERNETIC ORGANISMS [disengage] and the ramifications of such a tactic. This and the new Trek trailer are playing in front of Watchmen this weekend. I'm going to the midnight showing on Thursday with a bunch of REI people. I hope no one dresses up as Dr. Manhattan...

Muzak: Week 3

Back with another addition!

Green Eyes by Discover America: I actually discovered this band at the same concert I fell in love with MuteMath. Funny, they drove over 24 hrs straight from Seattle to make the show, and the lead singer was so tired he forgot the words to a song. He just apologized and asked for a beer. Good times.

End of the World by Armor For Sleep: So, I've known about these guys forever. Seen them. Talked with them. Good guys. This is off their latest album, but their other stuff is definitely good if you enjoy that style.

Minerva by Deftones: Yeah, yeah. This has been out for long time, and everyone has probably heard it. It just popped in my head the other day and would not go away! Still good...

Rainbow by G. Love & Jack Johnson: Typical style of these two. Just a damn happy song. I can't help but feel better after listening to this song.

Leave by Glen Hansard: Easily one of the most emotional songs I've ever heard. If you haven't seen Once, I recommend you check it out. A very... subtle movie with a great soundtrack.

Anhedonia by The Graduate: These guys are kinda dance/pop rock. I wanted to put up Interlude but couldn't find it. Oh, well. Lyrics are kinda blah, but I enjoy the music.

Paris by Groove Armada: This song isn't necessarily typical of them. They really push more into club soundtrack, but this song has a nice feel to it.

Lately by Helio Sequence: Again, this song just popped into my head the other day. Nice, chill band in the vein of indie rock and Coldplay.

It's Always Better by I Hate Kate: I know this band is pretty popular in the Midwest (from what I hear), so I don't know if you've heard of them. A fun, fun song. Like I said in a comment: sometimes I just need to hear a fun song!

Waves by Jay Dilla/Jay Dee: Undoubtedly, you've probably heard this song on an AdultSwim buffer. He's a DJ by trade and does some occasional rapping. Beforewarned: Jay Dee has some awesome instrumental albums with great samples, but his albums with rapping are TERRIBLE. Just warning you not to judge him on these albums.

Questions? Comments? Good.

A Terrifying Vision of the Future

Do you guys really think that the things Simmons is predicting here will come true?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090227

I really want to just dismiss many of his bold predictions as untrue, but as Simmons often does, he backs up his points with extensive research and convincing anecdotes and sources and historical precedence. Do you think some NBA teams are going to go under? Do you think that, as he claims, 2 or 3 or more teams will be forced to relocate? What about the claim that 15 NHL teams will go under? Most importantly, do you think we have an unavoidable lockout coming in a couple years?

I hope he's wrong, I really do.