Apr 13, 2008
Apr 11, 2008
Apr 10, 2008
Apr 9, 2008
Book Reviews @ The Temple
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card - Third book in the Ender Quartet, oh man did I like it! About halfway through it really got going and I sped through it. It's at the point in the series (any series) where you really have to give a crap about the characters or the universe for the ever more complicated details of the plot to matter. But I totally do and they totally did. And these books are just fantastic at presenting you with horrible moral questions that are plain old not simple. It's really great. I'm not sure where Children of the Mind is going to go, because I feel like the important questions were answered. I'm afraid what's left is a less interesting second coming of Peter. But we'll see! And I probably wont' post this until I've read a couple mroe books, including that one, so you'll find out what I think soon enough!
Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty - This is a podcast novel, which I love in theory. I think maybe I'll buy this one when money returns to my life just to support the theory. This is a story that isn't super well written, I'm afraid it feels just a little juvenile or immature to me. Not like, juvenile humor, just not super advanced writing. Not sure why, it just feels young to me. However, I love the world she's created. The idea is basically 3 "waves" or generations of super heroes. The 2nd one is powerful and what we think of for superheroes. The 1st and 3rd are small powers, mostly useless, like the ability to carry a bar tray perfectly steadily, or the ability to shoot shit out of your hands. I love the dynamic it creates with "powers" and "second class" powers, it's fantastic. So for the world and the story alone, I really liked this. I would be excited to see more done in this world.
Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card - Okay, I have three things about this to say, which were running through my mind as I read the last 20 pages, hopefully I can get them all out. First, most mundanely, I was worried about this book, I thought the really interesting questions had been asked and answered in the last 3 books (mostly the first, secondly the 3rd, less so the 2nd). The plot stretches, in true scifi or fantasy fashion, to encompass more fantastic things, because that's the only place it has to go. We see this everywhere w/ almost all fantastical fiction, the longer you go the more "out of this world" it has to become. Just to get out of the situation he had developed (even if he planned it from the beginning) requires a lot of faith in the consistency of the universe. Of course, the other side effect of a long running narrative is you (if it is good) completely buy into it and have no problem w/ that next big leap. So the first point is that really, it does what a lot of scifi/fantasy does, which isn't really great, but is ok. Second main point is that it's awesome. He is just a good damn writer, despite the necessary problems I associate w/ long running series and the lack if "big" questions left (except for a very etheric one which exists only within the framework of his own universe, i.e. he asks a question he made up and provides an answer he made up as well). As I say, despite this, it is gripping, awesome, I love it, it was great. Very deus ex machina (literally), but still fantastic. The third point, though, is all about his afteword. He talks about literature, what he thinks it should be, accomplish, represent, etc. How literature relates to his idea of "center" and "edge" nations, or more appropriately, cultures. What he aspires to, how he thinks he gets there, and how others do it. I find it all very fascinating. My biggest problem is I'm just not smart enough to parse it myself. I find myself the type of person who can be very smart in a conversation, with just a little bit of back and forth or input I can say smart things. But left to myself, I hit a wall very quickly and can't develop those thoughts. I feel that way about this afterword. Like there's a fantastic conversation to be had about what he says, how it relates to this series, and to larger issues. Unfortunately, I don't have any way to have that conversation. I think the one person with whom I had those conversations, who was probably the smartest person I've ever met (in this analytical respect), isn't available for such conversations anymore, which is kind of sad. So anyway, I'm not sure where to go with it, I hope sometime to find a way or a conversation that helps me understand what I know is right there to be understood.
Apr 8, 2008
Apr 3, 2008
Jake and Amir
Pretty funny, mostly about Amir being really obnoxious. I predict I will be sick of it before anyone reads this post, oh well.
Apr 2, 2008
Mar 28, 2008
How to Speak Hip
Heh, kinda funny. Tell ya the truth, I didn't listen to the whole thing. Has a classic Carlin vibe to it, though, kinda cool.
Mar 27, 2008
How big is a 2x4?
Okay, this isn't a link, or a video, or a review, or a comment. It's a question.
Is it JUST ME who didn't know that a 2 x 4 is actually 1.5" by 3.5"?!?!?! What the fuck?! a 2 by 4 is named for its saw mill size, it is then dried and finished, thus shrinking it to 1.5" by 3.5" WHO THE HELL NAMES SOMETHING FOR ITS PREPRODUCTION SIZE?! If I buy a gallon of water, I give no shits how many gallons of water went into making that gallon, there better be a god damned gallon of water in the jug!
I feel like the world just broke.
Mar 26, 2008
Urban Edibles
This is totally slick. People in Portland pin google maps to say where you can find edible plants, citrus and berries and stuff. Someone should do that here!
Mar 25, 2008
Mar 23, 2008
Video Game Reviews @ The Temple
As if you cared about what I thought about movies. As if you cared what I thought about books. Now I'll talk about video games! I realize this serving entirely as a journal for me to remember what I thought of these things, but oh well, here it is anyway. Plus I got a gamefly subscription, so I'll be going through more.
Stuntman: Ignition - The idea here is a car game, where you have to run through these stunt courses to make scenes for movies (or commercials), and then when you are done you get to see the "trailer" for your movie. I played the first one of this on PS2 (I think), and I loved it. This is more of the same. It's a certain type of game, for a certain type of person. You do the same thing, over and over, until you do it exactly right (or close enough) to pass. There's one path, one right way, and you don't get to be creative. That said, you create really cool scenes when you are done. I had a lot of fun, but I ran through it in two days and was glad to be done with it.
Odin Sphere - This is a PS2 game, a throwback to the 2D side scroller brawlers of yore. It is very fun, nice art style, nice combat system. But I only got part way through the second chapter (there are 4 or 5) and sent it back. It just got super old super quick. I had heard only great things about this, so I was sort of disappointed.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - Wow, this game is awesome. It's like indiana jones made into a game. funny, well acted & animated, charming, good story, good everything. Plays great too, you get to do lots of cool things. It looks beautiful, all islandy and green. It's really a movie you get to play, the characters are really great and enjoyable.
Heavenly Sword - Holy wow!! I had heard middling things about this game, fun but not great. I thought it was awesome. It's real short, beat it in two days, so I guess I'd be grumpy if I paid $50. But as part of gamefly it is beautiful. The graphics aren't amazing, things are a bit shiny (everything is these days), hair moves in clumbs, not strands, some textures look a little weird. The world isn't as pretty as Uncharted, and it certainly doesn't have the same movie length story. But it is amazingly well acted, I was totally into it. The voice sync is a little off, but the facial animations are great, you really get emotion from these people. The game itself is kind of a button masher with the tiniest bit of combo awareness. There's "styles" that determine how you attack (quick, strong, long range, etc) which is a nice addiction. Overall, this was a brilliant way to spend a few hours. Some good extras too, the animation series includes is amazing. It's a cartoon, very short, done in a sort of sin city shadows, rotoscope simple colors simple style. I don't know how to describe it, I don't know these things, but it was super cool and well narrated.
Finaly Fantasy VII: Dirge of the Cerberus - Umm.... at least it's FFVII, right? This game takes Vincent Valentine, the badassest of the people from FFVII and gives him a shooter game. I guess his story should be interesting, but I guess I'm too far removed from FFVII to care. And the game it self pretty much sucks. Bad aiming, bad controls, horrendous homicidal camera. It had a little bit of fun with it, but I couldn't convince myself it was worth going all the way through just to find out more about Vincent.
Devil May Cry 4 - Pretty dang fun! Nothing mind blowing, but fun to beat up some demons for sure. Certainly better than what I remember from the previous ones. It's pretty over the top, the showboating from Dante is kinda ridiculous, but it's fun. One big complaint, fighting the same minibosses THREE TIMES. Think up some new ones, dammit!
Burnout Paradise = I dunno, totally disappointing for me. I loved the old burnouts so much. This is fun to be sure, and I'm fine with the open city thing. But it doesn't bring anything else to the table, and it LOSES the amazing hte crash mode. The crash mode in this is stupid and boring. I guess online is supposed to be fun w/ your friends driving around in the same city, but I don't care about online much, so meh.
Mar 21, 2008
USPS Mail Back Recycling
This is awesome! You go to a post office, pick up a prepaid envelope, and mail your old electronics device (mp3 player, camera, inkjet cartridge) to a recycling center. That's great! Can't imagine Tucson counts as one of the 10 initial cities, but I hope it comes here soon.
Mar 18, 2008
Mar 17, 2008
Mar 16, 2008
Here Comes Dr. Tran
Okay, this is way old, but holy crap its hilarious. There are many spin offs, I haven't gone through any except one that was just ok. But this one is the awesome.