So the big news of the day is that Nintendo announced the official name of their new console. The code name was Revolution. The official name is Wii (pronounced we). You can hit the site for a brief video and description behind the name. I rather like the logo. The name will take a bit of getting used to. My wife's first thought was that it was stupid. The internet is buzzing with comments in a similar vein. But then the internet isn't really known for its kindness... It'll live.
Seems like there was something else I meant to mention here. I, of course, have no idea what it was. My memory certainly hasn't been all that spectacular lately.
PF Chang's has some sort of spicy wonton on their menu at the moment. It's quite nice. We had dinner there last night with my sister and her husband and some of his family. Good food. Good company.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Awards and intrigue
Community service award
Originally uploaded by dkun.
So, here's some photographic proof of the bit of news I mentioned the other day. Last night at the City Council meeting the mayor presented me with a community service award for the hours I've put in at the library for the last several weeks. Or is it months now? I honestly can't remember.
I got a call from the library director the other day asking my family and I to come to the meeting for the presentation. I was a bit shocked actually. My wife was amused and thought it was pretty neat. The girls of course were terribly impressed. Heh...
At any rate, the moment is gone and I can go back to relative anonymity now.
As for intrigue, we watched The Constant Gardener the other day. I found it quite compelling. My wife and the letter 'r' weren't as impressed, but I suspect that had more to do with a slight bit of misrepresentation. They were expecting James Bond/Jason Bourne spy movie and couldn't make the jump to political intrigue movie. There are a lot of nice little touches throughout the movie that reward careful attention though. As mentioned I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it readily.
I find it interesting that Le Carré was actually in the British Foreign Service for a while. I'm currently reading The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. I may have found a new author to enjoy.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Silent Horror
I posted, probably over a year ago, on the topic of horror. I covered a few movies, a few games, maybe a book or two. I've certainly mentioned it in the intervening time. Horror is a topic that I rarely grow tired of talking or thinking about. So I was pretty excited to go see the Silent Hill movie. I doubt too many of you will be terribly interested in the movie, but if you haven't seen it and you want to, I'll label this post as more than likely full of spoilers. So there you go, consider yourselves warned.
In the video game world there are really only a couple of camps when it comes to the horror genre (or survival horror for you purists). The Resident Evil side and the Silent Hill side. RE is famous for zombies, tense jump moments, lots of back-tracking, odd puzzles and a sense of tension often created by limited inventory just as much as creepy environs. If memory serves, RE pretty much fathered the genre. Most people appreciated the first one, cheesy dialogue and all. The subsequent sequels tended to find less and less favor until the RE 4 which is credited with breathing new life into the franchise much like Batman Begins saved the dark knight.
While Resident Evil was on the wane, a new franchise was born: Silent Hill. It featured a normal guy looking for his daughter in a town covered in fog. A town that was not safe. A town that every so often, after warning given by an air raid siren, turned into something darker. Deadlier. If RE was about visceral chills, Silent Hill went for a cerebral scare. Which isn't to say that it ignored jump moments or gore, it certainly featured both, but it focused on a sense of suspense and creating an air of "what the hell is happening here?"
Creatures born of nightmare (and possibly a Giger painting) roamed these worlds. Seemingly innocent places would turn sinister in the blink of an eye. Just the demo of the first game was enough to give me nightmares. Which cemented its place in my heart. Here was a game that I could enjoy - a game that would scare me. I've since played the first two and would really love to play three and four. Honestly the second is a much better game, but I have a little more nostalgia for the first one.
Which brings us to the movie. I honestly have a hard time deciding if I liked it or not. There was certainly potential to make an amazing horror film - a town that seems to draw cursed souls to it and dispense its own sense of justice. A town that is never quite the same for anyone that visits. A town that is home to pure evil. What's not to like? I think the movie would have fared better had it not tried to mirror the games so closely. It basically retells the first game, while allowing bits of the second to creep in. A good way to allow fans of the games to get some enjoyment as they see bits from the games made "real", but not a good way to draw in casual viewers.
And there were some really odd pacing choices. The first three quarters of the movie really only contain enough story for about the first act (if that) of a normal film. The time is instead spent walking viewers through sequences of the game. All the high points are hit - the school, the church, the hotel (2nd game), the hospital. It isn't until the end that the film actually starts explaning things and giving the viewer a sense of what's actually going on. Now to be fair there is some of that in the game as well, but in a game you're participating. Story telling tends to take a back seat to the experience. Film doesn't work that way.
So what to make of Silent Hill the film? First it looks amazing. The transition sequences as the town changes are inspired. Definitely the high point. The plot (such as it was) is a little on the lacking side. Which is at least partly due to the fact that it's following the first game. The second game had a much stronger plot and the world of Silent Hill really started to make sense. The first game was more an exercise in setting things up and creating something unique. The music was great if you played the games as most of it came from there. I've always liked the music in the games so that was a nice touch. The acting was fine. Nothing outstanding, but I've certainly seen worse. It gets quite gory at the end and actually starts to channel Hellraiser a little more than Silent Hill. There are some disturbing acts and images. Which certainly keeps with some of the themes of the game, but they made a couple odd character and plot choices that are jarring if you're a fan of the game. I suspect regular viewers were just plain shocked as opposed to shocked and confused. The ending was nicely done. The proper amount of head scratching and ambiguity. I'm glad they didn't Hollywood-ize it.
So, some good potential that wasn't completely realized, but wasn't completely wasted either. If you've played the games, you're going to get more out of the film. That much is a given. If you haven't you'll probably spend more time wondering why this was made and who plays this kind of stuff. Which is actually pretty normal, so that's not all that big a surprise. Admittedly, we gamers are a rather strange bunch on occasion. I guess the best thing that can be said is this is definitely not the worst video game adaptation out there. Unfortunately it's also not the video game movie we've all been waiting for either. The sequel (if there is one) could be though. If they are willing to spend the time creating something new for the world of Silent Hill. I'm certainly more than willing to visit again.
In the video game world there are really only a couple of camps when it comes to the horror genre (or survival horror for you purists). The Resident Evil side and the Silent Hill side. RE is famous for zombies, tense jump moments, lots of back-tracking, odd puzzles and a sense of tension often created by limited inventory just as much as creepy environs. If memory serves, RE pretty much fathered the genre. Most people appreciated the first one, cheesy dialogue and all. The subsequent sequels tended to find less and less favor until the RE 4 which is credited with breathing new life into the franchise much like Batman Begins saved the dark knight.
While Resident Evil was on the wane, a new franchise was born: Silent Hill. It featured a normal guy looking for his daughter in a town covered in fog. A town that was not safe. A town that every so often, after warning given by an air raid siren, turned into something darker. Deadlier. If RE was about visceral chills, Silent Hill went for a cerebral scare. Which isn't to say that it ignored jump moments or gore, it certainly featured both, but it focused on a sense of suspense and creating an air of "what the hell is happening here?"
Creatures born of nightmare (and possibly a Giger painting) roamed these worlds. Seemingly innocent places would turn sinister in the blink of an eye. Just the demo of the first game was enough to give me nightmares. Which cemented its place in my heart. Here was a game that I could enjoy - a game that would scare me. I've since played the first two and would really love to play three and four. Honestly the second is a much better game, but I have a little more nostalgia for the first one.
Which brings us to the movie. I honestly have a hard time deciding if I liked it or not. There was certainly potential to make an amazing horror film - a town that seems to draw cursed souls to it and dispense its own sense of justice. A town that is never quite the same for anyone that visits. A town that is home to pure evil. What's not to like? I think the movie would have fared better had it not tried to mirror the games so closely. It basically retells the first game, while allowing bits of the second to creep in. A good way to allow fans of the games to get some enjoyment as they see bits from the games made "real", but not a good way to draw in casual viewers.
And there were some really odd pacing choices. The first three quarters of the movie really only contain enough story for about the first act (if that) of a normal film. The time is instead spent walking viewers through sequences of the game. All the high points are hit - the school, the church, the hotel (2nd game), the hospital. It isn't until the end that the film actually starts explaning things and giving the viewer a sense of what's actually going on. Now to be fair there is some of that in the game as well, but in a game you're participating. Story telling tends to take a back seat to the experience. Film doesn't work that way.
So what to make of Silent Hill the film? First it looks amazing. The transition sequences as the town changes are inspired. Definitely the high point. The plot (such as it was) is a little on the lacking side. Which is at least partly due to the fact that it's following the first game. The second game had a much stronger plot and the world of Silent Hill really started to make sense. The first game was more an exercise in setting things up and creating something unique. The music was great if you played the games as most of it came from there. I've always liked the music in the games so that was a nice touch. The acting was fine. Nothing outstanding, but I've certainly seen worse. It gets quite gory at the end and actually starts to channel Hellraiser a little more than Silent Hill. There are some disturbing acts and images. Which certainly keeps with some of the themes of the game, but they made a couple odd character and plot choices that are jarring if you're a fan of the game. I suspect regular viewers were just plain shocked as opposed to shocked and confused. The ending was nicely done. The proper amount of head scratching and ambiguity. I'm glad they didn't Hollywood-ize it.
So, some good potential that wasn't completely realized, but wasn't completely wasted either. If you've played the games, you're going to get more out of the film. That much is a given. If you haven't you'll probably spend more time wondering why this was made and who plays this kind of stuff. Which is actually pretty normal, so that's not all that big a surprise. Admittedly, we gamers are a rather strange bunch on occasion. I guess the best thing that can be said is this is definitely not the worst video game adaptation out there. Unfortunately it's also not the video game movie we've all been waiting for either. The sequel (if there is one) could be though. If they are willing to spend the time creating something new for the world of Silent Hill. I'm certainly more than willing to visit again.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Mental exercise
Picked up Brain Age for the DS. Not so much a game as a set of mental exercises, Brain Age calculates your mental age and then helps you train up those flabby mental muscles through a series of timed, graded puzzles. My wife and I find it rather compelling. The cartridge allows you to store up to 4 user profiles and the game will let you know how you're doing against the other people stored there.
Just got a rather strange phone call that will probably result in a rather amusing photo for next week. You'll just have to wonder.
My wife is watching Smallville in the background and the only thing I can say is that someone has watched Saw a few too many times. Eeesh.
Well, here's to hoping I can get to Silent Hill tomorrow, work is doing its best to get in the way.
Just got a rather strange phone call that will probably result in a rather amusing photo for next week. You'll just have to wonder.
My wife is watching Smallville in the background and the only thing I can say is that someone has watched Saw a few too many times. Eeesh.
Well, here's to hoping I can get to Silent Hill tomorrow, work is doing its best to get in the way.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Catch up
Let's see, King Kong was far too long. I can appreciate that it was well done, and there were some good bits, but that movie needed to be cut in half. Three hours indeed...
Narnia is still excellent and McKenna was just a little excited that it was waiting by the Easter baskets on Sunday. I think the screams of glee were our first indication that the gift was appreciated.
Shut the Box is a fun little game based around numbers and chance. I picked it up to help McKenna some with her math and it turns out that my wife's family had a copy while she was growing up. Serendipitous...
There's an entire saga growing around our attempts to purchase a new stove, but I don't quite have the energy to go into that. Suffice to say, the stove has been purchased, after much frustration it should be showing up tomorrow and there were discounts truly earned. RC Willey lost some customer points from us this time around.
Hmm, I know there were other things I meant to mention here, but I seriously don't know what they were. Silent Hill comes out this weekend, and I don't care how bad it is, it will be great. I can't wait to go see that one. It's been an immensely long week already. This makes me truly sad. Oh well...
Oh, I know what the other things I meant to mention were. Oddly enough I've managed to get some reading in. Y The Last Man is a comic book series that started back in 2002. It comes out monthly I believe and is slated to run about 60 issues. They collect every five or so and release them as graphic novels. Our local library had the first three. It's an interesting take on the last man on Earth scenario. I've enjoyed it so far and would like to see more. Will have to track them down.
And I'm currently reading a collection of essays by Sarah Vowell. Pretty enjoyable. She's a good writer. Also recommended.
Narnia is still excellent and McKenna was just a little excited that it was waiting by the Easter baskets on Sunday. I think the screams of glee were our first indication that the gift was appreciated.
Shut the Box is a fun little game based around numbers and chance. I picked it up to help McKenna some with her math and it turns out that my wife's family had a copy while she was growing up. Serendipitous...
There's an entire saga growing around our attempts to purchase a new stove, but I don't quite have the energy to go into that. Suffice to say, the stove has been purchased, after much frustration it should be showing up tomorrow and there were discounts truly earned. RC Willey lost some customer points from us this time around.
Hmm, I know there were other things I meant to mention here, but I seriously don't know what they were. Silent Hill comes out this weekend, and I don't care how bad it is, it will be great. I can't wait to go see that one. It's been an immensely long week already. This makes me truly sad. Oh well...
Oh, I know what the other things I meant to mention were. Oddly enough I've managed to get some reading in. Y The Last Man is a comic book series that started back in 2002. It comes out monthly I believe and is slated to run about 60 issues. They collect every five or so and release them as graphic novels. Our local library had the first three. It's an interesting take on the last man on Earth scenario. I've enjoyed it so far and would like to see more. Will have to track them down.
And I'm currently reading a collection of essays by Sarah Vowell. Pretty enjoyable. She's a good writer. Also recommended.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Burn baby burn
So. I broke down and threw together a cd of Graeme. I leave it to my wife to send off or not. While it's certainly an amusing little movie, I'm not certain I have any real desire to see Graeme on national TV. It's more fun to leave it a pipe dream.
Anyway, the week is half over. This weekend will involve some serious shopping. I think it's finally time we get ourselves a new stove. I've pretty much had it with the one we've got. One burner only works when it's in the mood and a couple of the other burners are obviously thinking of following suit. It's pretty frustrating.
Anyway, the week is half over. This weekend will involve some serious shopping. I think it's finally time we get ourselves a new stove. I've pretty much had it with the one we've got. One burner only works when it's in the mood and a couple of the other burners are obviously thinking of following suit. It's pretty frustrating.
Monday, April 10, 2006
It's-a Monday
So, first things first, I totally rocked my way through Hard mode in Guitar Hero. Bark at the Moon? Oh yeah. And by rocked, I mean scraped through by the skin of my teeth. Let's just say that power bar you can build up comes in handy. I have managed to make it through the first ten songs on Expert though, so my shattered ego was placated a little.
Rumor has it that Coinstar machines are going to start spitting out e-credits for the iTunes music store. Loose change is no longer safe... Perfect Situations by Weezer and 99 Red Balloons by Goldfinger will be mine. I don't care how many couches I need to raid...
And the lawn mowing is imminent. I broke down and changed the oil this afternoon in that treacherous beast that is my lawn mower. I proceeded to start it up on the first pull. An ominous sign. It's taunting me. I can tell. The back yard at least looks presentable again. Fortunately the front really didn't need to be mowed.
Apparently America's Funniest Videos does take digital files. I still have the movie of Graeme dancing around on the desktop. I may have to burn it to cd and send it in.
And in fluff related news, I scored an Exceeds Expectations on the level 1 W.O.M.B.A.T.s over at Rowling's Harry Potter site. Ha! Err, I mean, not that I care or anything.
Rumor has it that Coinstar machines are going to start spitting out e-credits for the iTunes music store. Loose change is no longer safe... Perfect Situations by Weezer and 99 Red Balloons by Goldfinger will be mine. I don't care how many couches I need to raid...
And the lawn mowing is imminent. I broke down and changed the oil this afternoon in that treacherous beast that is my lawn mower. I proceeded to start it up on the first pull. An ominous sign. It's taunting me. I can tell. The back yard at least looks presentable again. Fortunately the front really didn't need to be mowed.
Apparently America's Funniest Videos does take digital files. I still have the movie of Graeme dancing around on the desktop. I may have to burn it to cd and send it in.
And in fluff related news, I scored an Exceeds Expectations on the level 1 W.O.M.B.A.T.s over at Rowling's Harry Potter site. Ha! Err, I mean, not that I care or anything.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Dancin' Fool
Graeme loves music. And loves to dance to it. We managed to get some video footage of him dancing around and it is quite awesome. If I had a way of posting it for you guys to see, I'd contemplate trying. Instead you'll just have to live with the partial knowledge that he's quite the dancer.
Which offers a bit of a segue into how nice iMovie is. I think the whole process of getting a few movie clips with the camera and then getting them onto the computer and turning it into a short movie with a couple titles took all of 10 minutes. Maybe. I love the Mac...
My wife is off torturing the kids by taking them to see the Easter Bunny. I expect shots of Graeme crying and the girls standing there looking bored. But I could be wrong.
Anyway, have a great weekend.
Oh, Guitar Hero update. I only have Bark at the Moon left on Hard. Some day I'll make it through!
Which offers a bit of a segue into how nice iMovie is. I think the whole process of getting a few movie clips with the camera and then getting them onto the computer and turning it into a short movie with a couple titles took all of 10 minutes. Maybe. I love the Mac...
My wife is off torturing the kids by taking them to see the Easter Bunny. I expect shots of Graeme crying and the girls standing there looking bored. But I could be wrong.
Anyway, have a great weekend.
Oh, Guitar Hero update. I only have Bark at the Moon left on Hard. Some day I'll make it through!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Technology
So we're going to join this technological age of ours by using the computer to take care of a few things. Such fun.
The weather can't make up its mind as to whether it should be raining or snowing. So it's (of course) doing both. Such lovely weather. And on top of that it's playing hell with my sinuses. Stupid rapid temperature changes.
The letter 'r' is off to see the cherry blossoms in D.C. That would be fun. Hopefully there will be some nice pictures at the end. I told him to try some Sakura Mochi. We'll see if he's brave enough.
Is it the weekend yet?
The weather can't make up its mind as to whether it should be raining or snowing. So it's (of course) doing both. Such lovely weather. And on top of that it's playing hell with my sinuses. Stupid rapid temperature changes.
The letter 'r' is off to see the cherry blossoms in D.C. That would be fun. Hopefully there will be some nice pictures at the end. I told him to try some Sakura Mochi. We'll see if he's brave enough.
Is it the weekend yet?
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Long day
Carpooling can be quite nice, but when your carpool partner has to stick around for a while, it can be pretty maddening as well. Managed to snag the fancy 2 disc Narnia set. It's a little disturbing that stores are starting to charge a bit more for those sets that initial week. Used to be you could pick them up pretty cheap. Maybe a touch more than the plain vanilla release (assuming one came out at the same time) but not as bad as about twice that price. Of course, I'm a sucker for the special edition so there wasn't really a question around whether I'd pick it up or not.
I forget where I left off yesterday. I think I was rambling about Montaigne and essays and blogs and English classes. Honestly I'm probably better off letting that particular train of thought derail. It is a bit interesting to muse on though.
Borrowed a copy of the Mac OS X Missing Manual by David Pogue. It looks to be a pretty good reference book. Will probably have to snag a copy for myself. I know I need to grab one for the iLife suite. I have no idea how you're supposed to puzzle through the workings of Garage Band. I don't remember too much difficulty with iMovie or iDVD, but it would be nice to get a bit more out of them.
At any rate, I'm home for the evening, there's some TV to be watched and some Tales of Symphonia to be played.
I forget where I left off yesterday. I think I was rambling about Montaigne and essays and blogs and English classes. Honestly I'm probably better off letting that particular train of thought derail. It is a bit interesting to muse on though.
Borrowed a copy of the Mac OS X Missing Manual by David Pogue. It looks to be a pretty good reference book. Will probably have to snag a copy for myself. I know I need to grab one for the iLife suite. I have no idea how you're supposed to puzzle through the workings of Garage Band. I don't remember too much difficulty with iMovie or iDVD, but it would be nice to get a bit more out of them.
At any rate, I'm home for the evening, there's some TV to be watched and some Tales of Symphonia to be played.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Beginning of the week
So the devil arrived in the form of Daylight Savings Time. There are occasions I wish it would go away. Any time during the summer in which we try o put a child to bed and it's still very bright out for instance.
Currently playing beat the clock against software update, so if this post seems oddly disjointed, I blame the update.
It was a pretty quiet weekend actually. Which is nice on occasion. Found out today that one of my favorite teachers from High School is getting ready to retire. That's a little crazy. I'll have to drop her a line and thank her for being a good influence. Or at least inspiring me to go for an English degree. Of course, the flip side to that is the complete impracticality of the English degree that doesn't lead to a teaching position, but we'll ignore that.
I wonder how blogging will impact English classes in the future. A guy I worked with for a while was going to use them (or at least make reference to them) in some of the English classes he was responsible for. They remind me (blogs that is) of the essay form. Montaigne was always a favorite of mine. Not that much of his influence makes itself known here. I should go back through some of his work again...
Currently playing beat the clock against software update, so if this post seems oddly disjointed, I blame the update.
It was a pretty quiet weekend actually. Which is nice on occasion. Found out today that one of my favorite teachers from High School is getting ready to retire. That's a little crazy. I'll have to drop her a line and thank her for being a good influence. Or at least inspiring me to go for an English degree. Of course, the flip side to that is the complete impracticality of the English degree that doesn't lead to a teaching position, but we'll ignore that.
I wonder how blogging will impact English classes in the future. A guy I worked with for a while was going to use them (or at least make reference to them) in some of the English classes he was responsible for. They remind me (blogs that is) of the essay form. Montaigne was always a favorite of mine. Not that much of his influence makes itself known here. I should go back through some of his work again...
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is rapidly becoming my favorite new musical artist. Last week's free mp3, RE: Your Brains was brilliant and this week's sounds like it might be pretty good as well. And I pushed Skullcrusher Mountain a couple weeks ago. At any rate, if you haven't listened to his stuff yet (I'm looking at you Kit) you really should. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)