Newtronika

Sleepy b&w

2012-01-15T19:26:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2012-01-10T16:08:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2012-01-09T15:49:00.001-05:00

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Allergen vials

2012-01-06T13:33:00.001-05:00

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Gokaiger x Space Sheriff Gavan?!?

2012-01-06T08:34:00.001-05:00

I admit I haven't been paying as close attention I could, so while this has been apparently known for a while, it's taken me by considerable surprise. It may have blown by me completely were it not for the opening of Toku Nation, the new website in the 2005 network (TFW2005, HissTank, etc).

Gavan was the first in the Metal Hero series produced by Toei and run from 1982 to 1983. The series has basically been in retirement since Tetsuwan Tantei Robotak finished in 1998. Needless to say, I considered the Metal Hero series to be dead, never to return again. And a crosover of the current sentai series with a 30 year old toku show featuring the original actor who played gavan in 1982? Unthinkable.

But amazing. Good time to be a tokusatsu fan.

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Nom nom nom.

2011-12-22T09:02:00.001-05:00

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PSP/Vita Passport Program Announced

2011-11-11T06:40:00.001-05:00

Use your UMDs to get downloadable versions on your Vita? I have to say I'm impressed, I guess they learned a valuable lesson from the PSP Go.

The news this morning comes our way via andriasang. The important notes are that the pubisher, of course, has to be on board, and there is still a fee, though it will be discounted from the game's full price. Prices announced so far range from 500Y to 1500Y.

No annoucements so far on a North American version of the program, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. While I don't have a ton of PSP games, there are a number that I'd like to revisit occassionally without pulling out the PSP once the Vita is released. I was only planning on purchasing the smallest of the memory cards, but this will likely sell me a larger version.

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5-5-5... Engage. (gearing up for a rewatch, it's been 8 years!)

2011-11-06T20:22:00.001-05:00

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Shattered Glass Pajamas?!! (not really)

2011-11-05T22:22:00.001-04:00

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Breakfast with Grandma Marion

2011-11-02T12:38:00.001-04:00

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This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

2011-10-31T10:24:00.001-04:00

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Disney October 2011 Photo Dump

2011-10-24T11:01:00.001-04:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Not as spooky in the daytime.

2011-10-21T13:59:00.001-04:00

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Pirates of the Caribbean chaser! :D

2011-10-20T18:02:00.001-04:00

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The temple model matches the profile of Everest behind it

2011-10-20T12:53:00.001-04:00

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Clearing up at the rope drop!

2011-10-19T08:39:00.001-04:00

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A wet and cloudy morning at the Studios

2011-10-19T08:19:00.001-04:00

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Morning on the balcony

2011-10-18T08:48:00.001-04:00

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Where in Disney World am I?

2011-10-17T16:09:00.001-04:00

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Short thoughts on a few new DC 52

2011-10-12T20:48:00.001-04:00

I haven't read as many of DC's New 52 as I'd like. At the current price of comics, it becomes almost impossible. But what I have read, I've (mostly) loved. Here are some mostly random, unstructured thoughts on a few of the books on my pull list.

To recap - the DC Universe has been rebooted (mostly). All issues started over at number 1. The idea is to provide as clean and fresh a beginning as possible to be accessible to new readers, without alienating the older readers. Lapsed comics reader? Been interested from afar but too scared of the C word (continuity)? There's never been a better time to try DC comics.

Justice League #1 - Surprisingly one of the few that didn't work particularly well for me. Not that it was bad, far from, but I expected a Justice League book, not part 1 of 6 on how the Justice League first got together, featuring Batman and Green Lantern. I think they could have done more in the space alloted. A big pitch behind the relaunch/redux/not-a-reboot/rejiggering was that books, even those part of a larger story, would be more complete single issues. JL #1 really didn't feel like that: structure wise it felt like the same 'writing for the trade' pattern that's been abused for years now. Sorry, Geoff Johns, I still love your work, this one just fell short for me.

Action #1 - Superman when he first comes to Metropolis! I was a little worried about some of the things I'd heard about the young Superman portrayed in the book. But it was a fun issue - this is the kind of Grant Morrison story that I love. Issue #2 was also fantastic, though I was disappointed Rags already needed a break giving us a fillin from the always brilliant Brent Anderson.

Superman #1 - I was a little saddened by the destruction of the old Daily Planet building, but it provided a metatextual touchstone that resonates. This story said it all about Superman in the DCnU; you know this Superman, but everything is new, modern, and relevant.

Batman #1 - I really think this was the single best Batman issue I've read in a long time. It's my firsteposure to Scott Snyder, but the strength of this issue has me interested in picking up his recent Detective run.

Batgirl #1 - My biggest concern here was that, even with Gail Simone writing, we'd get a Barbara that didn't feel like Barbara Gordon anymore. I worried she'd just be entirely someone new. But I should have trusted in Simone, because this basically the Barbara she's been writing so well for so many years, just maybe without all the baggage. This should be well liked by old fans of Barbara's time as Oracle in the old universe, and still be easily readable by new ans as well.

Firestorm #1 - Firestorm probably represents the biggest change to DC continuity of any of the books I've read so far. This truly is a reboot and issue number one gives us the new origin. Ronnie and Jason are both in High School together, neither have been Firestorm before, and the dangling plotline from Brightest Day is nowhere to be seen, making a good third of that series a bit of a waste, since the Firestorm thread was little more than setup for something to come later. Well, it's later, and everything is changed. It's also not clear if this is all in the past a la Justice League and Action. Regardless, it's a beautiful book, competently written, and I look forward to reading more.

Green Lantern #1 - Picks up where it left off from War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath, and as such may be a little confusing to new readers. But it's good, and anyone interested shouldn't stop here. Sinestro is a GL again, apparently against his will, and Hal is still ousted from the Corps. Nothing bad to say about it, but it does feel a little jarring that so much has changed around the DCnU, much is the same here.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 - Likely the most disappointing story of all. It leads with a too-long recap of how Kyle Rayner became a GL, followed by a fairly short story about members of the various power ring corps begin decommissioned and their ring inexplicably being drawn to Kyle. And that's it. This issue was all beginning, with too much space devoted to prologue.

Red Lanterns #1 #2 - I've generally loved Peter Milligan's work over the years. But I get the feeling he's still searching for what to do with this book, even after the second issue. I hope he finds it,and I hope it's got that trademark Milligan weirdness in it, because I think the Red Lanterns are ripe for that sort of treatment.

Aquaman #1 - A lot has been made about Johns' going on about what a joke Aquaman is, but these people have it all wrong. Johns isn't making the jokes, he's confronting the jokes head-on. He's been the butt of jokes for years in the larger media world, and it's obvious Johns is tired of it. He's out to show the world why Aquaman is a great character, and I think he's off to a fantastic beginning. Also Ivan Reis continues to prove why he's a superstar.

Animal Man #1, #2 - I swear it's like I'm reading the Animal Man from the 90's again... and this time I mean that in the best way possible. Travel Forman's art is going to prove difficult for some readers but it provides that eerie unsettled feeling that Lemire's story demands. I like where this is going. Could well rival Morrison and Milligan's runs.

Teen Titans #1 - We pretty much got what I expected to get. Which means soon, for the first time in about twenty years, I will not be reading Teen Titans. Tim Drake seems like mostly the same kid, with a bit of a twist, Cassie, Bart and Connor (barely featured) are entirely different. I feel like the characters have been ruined all over again, and right after we got them mostly fixed again at the end of Final Crisis.

So yeah, that's it. For now. There are some other titles I'm interested in if a few of my current books don't make the cut.

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Favorite root beer

2011-10-09T17:03:00.001-04:00

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Peanut butter banana pancake stack!

2011-10-08T09:40:00.003-04:00

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Peanut butter banana pancake stack!

2011-10-08T09:40:00.001-04:00

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Fourze FTW

2011-10-07T13:49:00.001-04:00

It took me a while, but I'm on board. Kamen Rider Fourze is great. Uchuu kitaaaaaa!

Toei has really been playing around with the formula on Kamen Rider, and Fourze is no different. At first, I thought they went a little too far. The design of Fourze himself was questionable enough. The staff mostly ditched the usual armor clad appearance opting instead for an aesthetic inspired by space suits. It's true that traditionally Kamen Riders are designed around a bug motif, but that's a theme which is visited less and less often as time goes by. In Fourze, the only remaining hint of traditional Rider design is the eyes.

Nont-traditional design doesn't scare me off, though. If it did, I never would have given Hibiki a chance. What nearly did scare me off was the setting. Fourze is set in a high school, with all the trappings that usually entails... for a western high school drama. Yeap. Cheerleaders and football (yes, American football, not soccer) players rule the school, geeks are cast to the side, hoods casts themselves to the side, and they all stay neatly within their little clicks.

Luckily Fourze has a secret weapon. Kazuki Nakashima, the writer of the greatest hot-blooded anime of the last five years, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. And it shows, particularly in the main hero, the user of Fourze himself, Gentaro Kisaragi. In this near parodic westernized setting, he is the image of the classic Japanese highschool punk, with a twist: his dream is to become friends with everyone in this school! And he's willing to bust heads to do it when necessary.

Gentaro's enthusiasm and dedication to the ideal of friendship is infectious, and his hot-blooded passion won me over easily, once I gave him a chance. He's far from the usual Rider hero, but I'm glad he's here.

Action-wise, the third and fourth episode had some of the best figth choreography and action cinematography I think I've ever seen in a toku show. Usually the kaijin in Kamen Rider tend to stumble around and throw stiff punches like thick-headed clods, but the fight sequences in Fourze are much closer to a Hong Kong action film than your average toku. I really hope they can keep this up.

As much fun as I'm having with the show, I'd still like to see a return to the more angst driven tone of older Rider shows. They started going down this lighter sentai-esque path after Kabuto, and most of them have not been my cup of tea. OOO, last season, was tolerable, and memorable at times, and Fourze looks like it might surpass that. But I'd still give anything to go back to Blade (this fan-made trailer really captures it for me) or 555 (official trailer for series and movie).

But until then...

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Yuke! Yuke! Yuusha Raideen, Raideen!

2011-10-07T09:16:00.001-04:00

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The Late Great iPhone vs Android Debate

2011-10-06T21:10:00.001-04:00

The last few days have been interesting. Millions of iPhone users waited with baited breath for an October 4 announcement of the iPhone 5. An announcement which never came. Instead we got the iPhone 4S which, despite the outer shell being exactly the same, is a new phone just not the phone we all wanted. What we wanted was the rumored 4" screen and Near Field Communication.

What was originally intended for this space was a lengthy dismantling of various articles giving a point by point breakdown on why the iPhone 4S is inferior to Android phones.

But really the whole thing is silly, even my initial response. Almost all of these statements in the iPhone vs. Android debate are full of arrogant, superiority complex driven positions that twist facts. I'd much rather just lay the whole thing to rest at this point, instead of feeding it.

If you love the iPhone, you probably do so because you feel the overall experience is always well designed and composed. No amount of spec comparing is going to break your confidence in the design of Apple products. Only Apple can do that themselves by failing to deliver on the overall experience in the future. .

If you love Android, you probably do so because you love to tinker with your phone. You love to customize the interface. You like to search out custom ROMs, and you love to make the phone *your own*. What other people find preferable doesn't enter into it... and neither should their preference for iPhone.

At this point, all the smartphones have mostly the same features. It all comes down to preference, and there is no wrong preference. All this fanboy posturing about which is better... it really has to stop. Please, just stop. Let it die.

For now, I'm still on board with iPhone. Not because I think the 4S is so amazing, but because I've been very happy with my 3GS and the 4S is a significant upgrade. Maybe the next two years will see changes to the respective ecosystems that lead me to jump on the Android train. I'm not dedicated to Apple as a brand, but I like the experience several of their products have provided for me and trust they will continue to do so. As long as that continues, I don't have much reason to switch.

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All that remains of my Jupiter of the Monkey pins :(

2011-10-06T16:33:00.001-04:00

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Buffalo Trace trails behind my office building

2011-10-03T11:30:00.003-04:00

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Buffalo Trace trails behind my office building

2011-10-03T11:30:00.001-04:00

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Naps on laps

2011-10-02T19:12:00.001-04:00

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A Draft Box of Shame

2011-09-29T21:13:00.001-04:00

Your pile of shame, in gaming circles, is the stack of games you've accumulated that you have yet to play - usually games you are embarrassed to admit you own but have not yet played. My blog draft box is my new pile of shame.

Among the unfinished topics are:

"Flashpoint Pre-event Jitters" where I discuss my concern over the direction of the mini and the upcoming reboot of the DC Universe. The series is now finished, and the DC Universe Rebooted. To sum up, I was nervous about where it was going, but glad Geoff Johns was driving.

"Anime Can be Good - Making Cuts": Here I found myself slightly overwhelmed with the number of shows I was attempting to keep up with by late spring/early summer, as expected. Many titles were dropped. The only three I stuck with through the whole season were Steins;Gate (which was challenging at times, but I really loved it in the end), Nichijou, and Blue Exorcist. Deadman Wonderland turned out to be only a half season and the story was decidely unfinished - I may look into the manga at some point in the future. I have intentions of going back for [C] and Tiger & Bunny when it's available in HD, but if that never happens, I'll live.

"Thoughts on the DC Relaunch" was a few quick looks at the right (Grant Morrison on Action featuring a just-starting off Superman) and wrong (JL Dark starring goth-hooker Zatanna) turns I thought DC was taking in the reboot of the DC Universe post-zero hour.

"Of Monorails and Maintenance" mulled over the news that monorail service would no longer continue more than one hour past normal closing time for the Magic Kingdom. This means anyone leaving from Extra Magic Hours, or ticketed late-night events such as Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, would have to rely on buses and ferries to make it back to the MK area resorts and the Ticket and Transportation center (MK parking lot). While we never stay at MK-area resorts, we often eat at the Contemporary or the Polynesian after park closing. In about three weeks we'll be eatting at Ohana on the night of a Halloween Party, and we'll be leaving well after monorail service has ended. Not looking forward to the added foot traffic on the boat launches.

"The New DC Universe" was a 'the morning after' episode looking at the ending of Flashpoint #5, and the first published glimpse of the new DC Universe in Justice League #1. While I wasn't incredibly impressed, and despite apologists opinions, it IS possible to introduce a complete team in twenty pages in a fun, interesting, and easily understood story. It was done all the up until about 2001. We can do it again. Otherwise, I've actually been pretty pleased with the New 52, as they are called. Batman #1 by Snyder and Capullo may have been the best Batman comic I've read in years. Animal Man had that creepy off-kilter feel of the "Suggested for Mature Readers" books from the late 80's to early 90's that eventually became Vertigo. Action made Superman a little too DIY-socialist for me, but I understand where Morrison is going and I don't hate it. Batgirl... well, this had me nervous, but Gail Simone is fantastic, and so is the new Barbara Gordon. There are still some questionables in the offing that I fear. Teen Titans, for example. Overall though, I think they are doing well.

Those were the most substantial posts that I flaked out on, and that really just scratched the surface. I'd like to say I'll do better int he future, but this draft and toss pattern is one that I've been returning to for years now in multiple media. Honestly, looking back at the beginning of the Anime Can be Good series, I'm surprised I made it through as many entries as I did before fading out.

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Empty and abandoned?

2011-09-29T16:13:00.001-04:00

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Anime can be good: SKET Dance

2011-05-02T19:01:00.001-04:00

I've been slacking a little on early impressions, but this will be an easy one to knock out. I really don't have a lot to say about SKET Dance so far.

Honestly, it's rather middle of the road. It's certainly not bad, but it doesn't stand out in any particular way either. In some respects it reminds me a great deal of the fantastic Full Metal Panic- Fumoffu?! without the paramilitary themes, unique personalities and relationships between characters, and any sort of Bonta-kun equivalent. Group leader Bossun is enthusiastic and sometimes naive, very typical qualities of the young shonen manga hero, but also gains an intense level of concentration when wearing his goggles. Onihime is the muscle - a former delinquent who now uses her abilities to help people, instead of terrorize them. Switch is the information specialist and communicates only through text to voice software on his ever present laptop. Together they solve the problems of the student body. It's entertaining and fun, but it still feels very formulaic and fails to develop a unique voice, failing to deliver on the energy and colorful cast promised in the opening.

SKET Dance may be the first show that I drop this season. I'm already falling behind. As of today I'm an episode behind on Hanasaku Iroha, Blue Exorcist, [C], and Tiger & Bunny. It's good enough that I may come back to it during a slower season, but it may not be good enough to keep it in the current rotation.

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Anime can be good: Steins;Gate

2011-05-01T09:27:00.001-04:00

Several series this season were given poor plot descriptions in early promotion, and Steins; Gate was one of the worst offenders. Inaccurate though the pitch appears to be I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

Steins;Gate is an animated retelling of the story from the Japanese visual novel of the same name. The game was the second collaboration between 5pb and Nitroplus, a spritual seuccessor to their first game Chaos;Head, which was also adapted to animation. Steins;Gate takes place in the same world as Chaos;Head but besides the obvious similarity in odd naming structure they bear no other real connection.

Steins;Gate follows a delusional self-proclaimed mad scientist who goes by the alias Hououin Kyouma (real name Okabe Rintaro, called Okarin by his friends) who believes he is at odds with a mysterious Organization who controls the world. In this effort he established the Future Gadget Lab for the creation of experimental devices to use against the Organization. He often suspects people he meets of being Organization members sent to interfere with him in some way, and makes emergency phone calls to no one on his cell-phone. Though his devices are generally useless and perform no abnormal function, he has managed to tinker with a microwave (which operates by receiving cellphone signals) to the point that instead of cooking food it transforms it into a gel-like substance.

Gel bananas from the Future Gadget Lab's phone-microwave

When mysterious events begin to occur around Okarin we start questioning just how mad he truly is. Clearly speaking to no one through a cellphone is not normal behaviour, but when he learns that a conference on time travel theory that he attends in the first episode was actually cancelled, and that a researcher he found dead the same day is still alive and has no recollection of their earlier meeting, we know there is more happening under the surface and it ties into real-world legends phenomenally.

In late 2000 a man calling himself John Titor began to appear on the internet claiming to be a time traveller. He shared photos and schematics of his time machine as well as information concerning the state of the world in his future. He disappeared in early 2001. Early in the series Okarin makes contact with a man claiming to be John Titor in the present (2010) and discovers that his own recollections of Titor's exploits in 2000 did not occur and are only now coming to pass. After making contact with Titor, Okarin begins an investigation into Titor's claims of research activities by SERN (the fictional equivalent of CERN) and for an IBN 5100 (the story's analog for the IBM 5100 which Titor claimed he was sent to the past to obtain).

The pacing may be slow for some viewers as there is no action to speak of. Those averse to talking-heads may quickly become bored, but for fans who enjoy modern-day science fiction intrigue should find the series compelling. My main concern is that this is a two-cour series, and I'm not sure the story has the legs to keep up the drama for 24 episodes. For now I am enjoying the ride and the tie-in to the real life story of John Titor.

Steins;Gate is available for free streaming from Crunchyroll.

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Anime can be good: HanaSaku Iroha first impressions

2011-04-24T07:59:00.001-04:00

I knew I was going out on a limb with Hanasaku Iroha. What did I find? I'm still not entirely sure.

PA Works is clearly doing their best to make this 10th Anniversary show, visually, one they can be proud of. The scenic land scapes of the Japanese countryside are beautifully rendered with lush greenery and traditional architecture as appropriate. The cast is mostly focused on a small handful of girls. Usually this is a recipe for bishoujo pandering but it is an original work (not based on an eroge or ecchi manga, for example) and early word indicated a different focus.

Many have described this show as being "slice-of-life" but that's really not accurate. While the setting and the characters are generally realistic, the show isn't focused on a description or representation of every day events any more than general fiction. Hanasaku Iroha is really a long-form character drama. The emphasis is squarely on the characters and their relationships.

Hanasaku Iroha follows sixteen year old Ohana as she moves to the country side to live in the hot spring resort run by her estranged grandmother. She imagines a romantic and idyllic setting where the dramatic story of her life willl unfold.

The first two episodes were beautiful and engaging. Ohana struggles to reconcile her expectations of a storybook existence with the reality of a chef's apprentice (Minko) who irrationally hates her, a softspoken housekeeper (Nako) who can't assert herself enough to tell Ohana what not to do on the job, and a Grandmother with the extremely strict values and customs of traditional japanese management. Similarly, the viewer struggles with their expectations of how Ohana will deal with the shattering of her world view. It was truly an excellent start.

The third episode, however, has given me pause for concern over the direction of the story. In the opening scene we find Ohana tied up by one of the resort's guests (an aspiring author of trashy novels) in an attempted bondage pattern. It's played for laughs, and it is indeed a bit funny. The viewer is shorly treated to a scene from the author's book, featuring yuri innuendo involving Ohana, Nako, and Minko in a bath house or perhaps a hot spring given the setting of the show. Later in the episode, Nako (the aforementioned housekeeper) removes her kimono and jumps into the ocean to save a drowning man. She emerges and is displayed kneeling, soaken white undershirt clining tightly to her skin, exhausted, breasts protruding, and appearing quite helpless in a rather provocative pose. The scene was story-appropriate, but the specific portrayal of the character felt pandering.

Image found at Danbooru

As eye-roll inducing as this episode was, I'm not completely put off yet. I hope this was a one-off, because I really don't think that overall this is PA Works' style. I'm bracing myself for the eventual (inevitable?) day at the beach episode.

Hanasaku Iroha is available for free streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Anime can be good: Nichijou first impressions

2011-04-22T08:21:00.001-04:00

I often pass over anime titles on perception of genre. I nearly did so with Nichijou, and thank goodness I gave it a chance.

I've spoken before about my disdain for moe. My general dislike for the genre (to which some will protest and say there's no such thing as a "moe genre") is predicated upon the moe-lolicon tendencies in the audience that too many content producers willingly play to. Deny it all they like, this is the category all too many moe fans fall in to. The prevalence of moe as a trend through anime has led many people, myself included, to dismiss anything cute as moe, which is falacious. I'm not so simpleminded as to really believe that anything cute is moe, rather that I've become so accustomed to the overabundance of moe-loli in anime that I've started making assumptions. I'm not sure what made me decide to give Nichijou a chance, but I want to make this clear, this show is not merely a moe show.

First I'd like to clearly define exactly what moe is. Moe is a Japanese slang term used to refer to the innocent and child-like charm of young (usually female) characters. Technically moe describes not a quality of the character, but a feeling that the character inspires in the viewer. When a viewer is filled with the desire to protect and nurture a young character, as they would a younger sister or daughter, that is the true expression of moe.

All of which sounds quite benevolent, right? Unfortunately many shows which play to moe are driven by the lolicon segment of the viewership. When popular portrayals of a character features, for example, swim wear, this is not the innocent moe described above. No older brother or father takes pleasure in their siblings and children posing in revealing clothing. The only thing at play here is lascivious and lecherous desire, even if the target demographic is in denial about it.

So normally, even the hint of moe focus in an anime will turn me away. So it nearly was with Nichijou.

Yes, the show is extremely cute. One might even say it's adorable. It's also filled with absurdist humour and references to tropes of the anime industry as a whole. Witness the following epic weiner chase:

All the characters in Nichijou are rendered in a simplistic style which conveys a cute sensibility to the entire world - from the eight-year-old mad scientist to the as-of-yet unnamed mohawk wearing bad-boy highschool student. And yes, there are moments that are quite moe, but not a bit of it panders to the base elements of fandom. So far, at least. I expect that to continue.

The only hiccup is the rare occasion of cultural references failing to deliver a punchline. Crunchyroll could really take this as an opportunity to deliver some liner notes for the episode providing cultural context for sequences that western viewers may otherwise be confused by. Many fansubbers have been providing on-screen liner notes for years, and there's no reason Crunchyroll, with their streaming interface, couldn't improve upon that.

Overall, the first three episodes of Nichijou have been a complete delight. As long as the cute laughs continue, I'll continue to watch.

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Anime can be good: Tiger and Bunny first impressions

2011-04-17T08:27:00.001-04:00

We're a couple weeks along in the season now and it's time to start discussing first impressions. Up first today is super-hero action show Tiger and Bunny from Sunrise.

If Tiger and Bunny has one huge problem it's the title. Worse than an untranslated Japanese name for American viewers, it conjures specific images in the potential viewer's mind. Use of the word bunny creates an initial impression of a light and silly tone suitable for kindergarten girls similar to shows such as My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite. Don't succumb to the book-cover misdirection; this is not unicorn and rainbows fare. That isn't to say the title is wholly inappropriate.

When taken in context the title slightly mirrors the differences between the two main characters, Kotetsu (aka Wild Tiger) and Barnaby (no alias). While Kotetsu understands and works within the NASCAR-like sponsored hero system, he isn't driven by ratings, points, or corporate sponsorships - he is an old-fashioned cowl-and-cape wearing hero whose priority is protecting the citizens of his city. Barnaby, on the other hand, clearly sees helping people as secondary to wealth and fame. This relationship between the title and the main characters will only ever be completely apparent to the viewer until completion of the first episode or two, which they may never see after dismissing the show out of hand which would be a shame.

Mildly disappointing at times is the over reliance on CGI to render characters in their hero suits. The Iron Man style armor of the main characters are of course the most obtrusive, and offend some modern sensibilities by employing slow and unnatural movements reminiscent of early work in the medium. It's possible that what I name flaws are in fact stylistic choices, but I can't find merit in the choice if that's the case.

All that said, there's lots of fun action on a very large scale. Giant robots, enormous moving statues on a rampage, and chase scenes crossing the city over sky-scrapers and monorail trains. There's nothing to really hate here so far and I look forward to seeing where this partnership between Wild Tiger and Barnaby goes.

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Anime Can Be Good, Part 1

2011-04-05T19:11:00.001-04:00

I'd like to start off this series with a quick run down of Spring 2011 anime programs that I at least intend to sample. Looks can be deceiving, though, and I make no claims to quality or contents - those are reserved for later followup. All but two shows on this list are available for free legal streaming - and the other two will likely get license announcements soon.

Tiger and Bunny - [sci-fi, superhero, mecha, action] In Schternbilt City, super heroes have corporate sponsors and compete for the the yearly King of Heroes title through a system of points awarded for heroic deeds. The series follows veteran hero Kotetsu Kaburagi (Wild Tiger) as sponsorship changes force a switch from his traditional cowl and cape costume to a modern suit of armor, and also teaming up with newcomer Barnaby Brooks, Jr. This Sunrise produced show is available for free viewing from vizanime.com (through Hulu, though it is not licensed for streaming to home theater and mobile devices).

Nichijou - [slice of life, absurdist humor] Adapted from a mixed-form (both long form comic pages and 4-panel strips) gag manga running in Shonen Ace, Nichijou follows the bizarre lives of several high school students, a robot girl with a giant turn key in her back, and the five ear old mad scientist who created her. Produced by Kyoto Animation (Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Nichijou looks to be an amazing blend of Yotsuba& and Chromartie High School. The first episode is already available for streaming from Crunchyroll.

Hanasaku Iroha - [slice of life] Sixteen year old Ohana Matsumae is abandoned by her mother to live with her grandmother who runs a ryokan in the Japanese country side. Unfortunately, this is not a happy reunion, as the grandmother disowned Ohana's mother due to past impropriety, and apparently harbors no particular love for her grandchild. Due to the mostly female cast, I am approaching this series with some skepticism. It appears to be a somewhat innocent slice-of-life story with little to none of the tropes of most female character centered anime. At least it's not based on an eroge. Hanasaku Iroha is available for streaming from Crunchyroll.

Sket Dance - [school comedy] the Campus Support Group of Kaimei Gakuen has a poor reputation on campus. Still, the three members of the suketo-dan (helper group) do their best to solve any and all problems of the faculty or student body. The original manga, Weekly Shonen Jump, has received numerous awards and ranks well on the sales charts. A well liked series adapted from Shonen Jump always warrants at least a look from me. Sket Dance will begin streaming on Crunchyroll on April 7, 2011.

Deadman Wonderland - [sci-fi, horror, action] An unfortunately timed adaptation which follows Ganta Igarashi, a survivor of an earth quake which destroyed most of Tokyo ten years before the story begins. One day a mysterious man appears, covered in blood and crimson armor, and murders Ganta's entire class. Ganta becomes the only suspect and is given a death sentence - to live out the rest of his life in the horrific prison known as Deadman Wonderland where inmates are subjected to deadly contests and accumulate "cast points" to spend on a medicine which will counteract the daily poison that is administered through collars as part of their sentence. Deadman Wonderland begins airing on April 17, 2011, and will be available for streaming on Crunchyroll.

Blue Excorcist - [action, supernatural] Demons can only interact with the world of humans through possession. Unfortunately for Satan (and fortunately for the rest of us) there is no human which can perform as a strong enough vessel to contain him. To this end he creates a son through a human mother (how he manages that I'm not sure, since the whole point is he can't interact with the human world) to serve as his vessel. However, when Rin Okumura discovers his lineage he sets out to become an exorcist and ultimately defeat his father. I have reservations - the subject matter could be handled poorly leaving me too uncomfortable to continue. I like the idea of the son of Satan rebelling against his father to destroy him, but it could go awry for viewers with strong religious convictions. Blue Exorcist has not been announced as a license for streaming yet, but it's believed Crunchyroll will announce it soon. Blue Exorcist begins airing April 17, 2011.

Steins;Gate - [sci-fi thriller] A group of friends living in Akihabara have customized their microwave into a device that can send text messages into the past. After a number of experiments, the group draws the attention of another organization which researches time travel. Steins;Gate is based on a highly respected visual novel that has been praised for it's intricate plot. It is available for streaming now on Crunchyroll.

[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control - [sci-fi thriller] [C] takes place in a Japan where the country was saved from financial ruin by the Sovereign Wealth Fund. While the government managed to avoid economic collapse, the people still suffer from high unemployment, crime, and suicide rates. Kimimaro, orphaned at a young age and raised by his grandmother, is a scholarship student who dreams of escaping the harsh realities of life in his Japan and living a life of stability. After accepting a large sum of money from a stranger, who gives it to him only on the promise that he will pay it back, his life takes on a drastically different course as he becomes involved in the mysterious "Financial District". [C] hasn't been announced officially for streaming, but I believe Funimation retains a standing license to simulcast noitaminA shows as they air in Japan. [C] begins airing on April 15, 2011. It has a good buzz, but the trailer tells you absolutely nothing...

It's almost unbelievable for me that there are eight series that I'm interested in from a single season. It's somewhat unprecedented. There are even a few possibles waiting in the wings to take the place of any taht should not pan out. Chances are good I'll whittle down to three or four eventually, regardless. I probably don't have time to keep up with eight shows simultaneously anyway!

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Anime makes me mad...

2011-04-04T19:31:00.001-04:00

The last decade or so has been incredibly difficult for many anime fans. A number of slightly ominous and derogatory statements regarding anime as an industry and an art form confront me on a regular basis; some of which with I'm, frankly, hard pressed to argue.

Ten years ago an anime store or a convention dealers room presented a wondrous mix of genres and products. Walls were plastered with scrolls depicting Ranma, Space Battle Ship Yamato, Goku, and the Eva-01. Martial arts heroes, space ships, giant robots. Figures, model kits, stationary, trading cards, and many other products crowded the shelves. The same stores and cons still exist. The same products still exist. Though what you actually see has changed dramatically.

Pop culture is certainly prone to turnover. Music, games, television shows - that which stagnates dies. Anime is no different. But in 2011, entering the venues discussed above, you may think you were instead in a porn shop. The emphasis is now on character figures and artwork which go out of their way to display provocative poses providing the viewer ample cleavage and up-skirt shots at it's most moderate. Many figures include cast-off options (removable clothes) allowing the owner to bask in plastic anime nudity from any desired angle. To make matters worse, there's also a tendency for characters to be underage as well. Unsettling, to say the least.

I acknowledge that cheesecake and fan-service elements have long been a part of the anime industry, but they were hardly the focus in mainstream productions or among fandom. I recently visited an old on-line haunt of mine which focuses on discussion of anime and the vast majority of conversation regarding the anime themselves centered on the qualities of the female characters - how they are cute, annoying, moe, tsundere, how they dress, wear their hair, and speak. Indeed the main driving force for many current fans is to crush on cute, or lust after large busts. The Spring 2011 line-up shows a preponderance of shows to suit their tastes. I both fear and fear for those looking forward to shows such as Seikon no Qwaser season 2 (about a young boy who gains his power through the consumption of holy breast milk) and Astarotte no Omocha (no desire to describe this atrocity - read the link at your own risk).

These shows (and, make no mistake, their fans) have run many people off from anime and it's hard to blame them. Where did my giant robots and martial arts heroes go? They're still out there, it's just harder to find. There are still some really great films and television programs in production, and I volunteer to wade through the cesspools and bring those quality shows to the surface for any friends who may look in here from time to time. Coming soon - Anime is Still Good, a multipart blog post that hopefully won't be abandoned before I'm done sifting through this season's new shows at least.

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Trimming the List Part 5 - Justice

2010-07-11T19:53:00.001-04:00

There were two books which got me to start following comics on a regular basis in the late 80's. Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League International, condescendingly referred to as the Joke League by all too many fans, and Mark Gruenwald's Captain America. I've bought few Captain America books since before Gruenwald left and none since Mark Waid's turn during/following Heroes Return. Justice League International, however, lead to a life long love of DC's legacy from the Justice Society of the 1940's to the most current incarnation of both teams.

First and foremost among these books currently is Justice League: Generation Lost, the recently begun bi-weekly series reuniting five former members of the Justice League International, and plotted by JLI co-creator Keith Giffen. The downside - Judd Winnick on scripts. I honestly have nothing against the former Real World cast member as a person, but his comics work is always problematic for me. However there is no way I can say no to the concept of the book, or to Giffen, so it stays.

Sadly I haven't read the flagship Justice League of America in a long time. I enjoyed some of what Brad Meltzer did on the initial run but I had a hard time connecting to some of the events, for whatever reason and walked away. I'm only picking it up now for the Brightest Day tie-ins. Once those end, I may well be done again for a while. But James Robinson is a fantastic writer, and I've been a fan of Mark Bagley since New Warriors started in 1990 - together they may well be able to pull me back in.

The Justice Society of America may have been the JLA's forerunner, but the recent past demonstrated just how strong it can be today. The JSA was written by Geoff Johns for much of it's current incarnation and with few rough spots it was a very well crafted run. With his departure the main book was taken over by Bill Willingham of Fables, and the younger members of the team were spun-off into their own book, JSA All-Stars when they decided the methods of the older generation were too passive. Results have been mixed for me. For one, I detest the split as it eats at what I believe is a fundamental characteristic of the JSA - preservation of the generational legacy. I don't like the idea of a split on basic generational lines. From an economic point of view, two titles is too much for the JSA. Historically the title struggled to maintain even a single monthly until Johns came along, so creating a spinoff shortly after he leaves seems an ill-considered move. I think once the JLA crossover is done I'll be taking a break for a while and likely will not miss it.

Two books stay, two eliminated. Next up, a smattering of miscellaneous titles that don't fit neatly into a broader category to close out this little exercise.

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Trimming the List Part 4 - Green Lantern

2010-06-15T11:25:00.001-04:00

Ok, I know I said that no title was safe, but getting down to today's subject(s), I can admit that was a lie (though mostly to myself which is a bit more forgivable). The Green Lantern books are currently the gold standard for tightly plotted epic storylines in comics.

Things didn't look so great for a few months in 2006 with Geoff Johns concentrating on Infinite Crisis, though. While the Hal Jordan revival began amazingly well with 2004's Green Lantern: Rebirth, the following Green Lantern monthly began to falter in the late single digits. I worried that perhaps Johns was preparing to move on as he had with Teen Titans. At this point though it's obvious to any comic reader paying attention that I was wrong. Following Infinite Crisis, Johns began laying the groundwork that lead us to the recently concluded Blackest Night and the recently begun Brightest Day.

Green Lantern continues to be a very strong book in the wake of Blackest Night. Clearly Johns' vision for Green Lantern did not end with Blackest Night, and I have my doubts that it's going to end with Brightest Day. I'm a little iffy on picking up Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, starring Guy Gardner and Ganthet, when it begins in August. As much as I love both GL and GLC, I don't really feel like I need a third monthly Green Lantern title on top Brightest Day which is bimonthly.

While not specifically a Green Lantern book, Brightest Day is inextricably bound to that corner of the DC Universe. The story deals as much with the characters resurrected at the end of Blackest Night as it does any Lantern. Why would I even consider not continuing with it? Granted it's a bimonthly, but it only lasts for twelve months, and it's helmed by Johns and builds on everything he's done with Green Lantern since Rebirth. Brightest Day is a lock.

Obviously had I thought about my statement in the first post in this series, I never would have said nothing was safe. Johns has never let me down (except for when he's left comics), and his Green Lantern books have been exemplary. I look forward to this saga continuing for a long time.

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Trimming the List Part 3 - Teen Titans

2010-06-13T08:14:00.001-04:00

In terms of personal meaning, the Teen Titans franchise falls closer to Batman than Superman in the spectrum. I wasn't around for the beginning of the Wolfman-Perez revival but came to love it years later during the "A Lonely Place of Dying" storyline that introduced the recently dismissed Robin, Tim Drake. I stuck with it through the short lived Dan Jurgens Teen Titan series which wasn't as great as the Wolfman-Perez run, but he managed to make me care about an entirely new cast, and there's something to be said for that.

The current run of Teen Titans began as a smashing success. Geoff Johns did an amazing job of transforming the former Young Justice stars into the new generation of Teen Titans, as they likely should have been from the beginning. I understand many didn't care for the updates to Wonder Girl and Impulse transitioning to the Kid Flash identity, but they made a lot of sense to me. I remember standing in line for a sketch from Mike McKone in 2003, just days after the new #1 hit the stands. George Perez himself walked up to the table to tell McKone what a wonderful job he though Johns and McKone were doing - high praise indeed from the artist of the most beloved Titans runs ever.

Unfortunately DC undid much of what made this title great by killing off Superboy and aging Bart Allen into an adult with Infinite Crisis. Thankfully Johns was able to undo this mess with Legion of Three Worlds. However, the writers that followed Johns on Teen Titans have been unable to find a way to keep me caring about the team. While Superboy and Kid Flash are back in the DCU, they are still not the central characters they were, and Tim Drake continues wasting time as Red Robin without appearing in Teen Titans at all. So many new characters were added at once that it felt like a brand new team, and I've never found much reason to care for many of the people hanging around Titans Tower these days. There were two I didn't mind - Ravager for her long running connection to the Titans, and Kid Devil, a revamp of Blue Devil's former wannabe sidekick. Unfortunately Ravager was turned into a junky (adrenaline inhalers which act to boost her precognition ability) and removed from the team, relegated to a gerbil wheel of a back-up story. Kid Devil was de-powered and killed. I'm left with Static (never cared for him), Aquagirl (a bit of a cipher), the new Blue Beetle (I tried, really I tried), and Bombshell (an entirely one dimensional female version of Captain Atom - you would think he'd have something to say on this subject). Another new writer is coming on soon... maybe he can turn things around? Or maybe not... he also wrote Rise of Arsenal, but he's probably not entirely to blame for that.

I'll keep hope alive here for a while I think. I never want to give up on the Titans, but man it feels like I've been hanging on by a thread here for so long. It seems as though it's destined to get the axe, but at least the right characters are starting to come back into place. I think I'll at least give J.T. Krul a chance, and revisit the subject at the end of the year.

Posted via email from Newtronika

Trimming the List Part 2

2010-06-10T16:22:00.001-04:00

Today I continue my attempt to whittle down my monthly list of comics. Last week I took a look at the current state of Superman books and decided it was time for me to once again move on from those waters. At the rate prices are increasing, I may never see them again. This week I move on to Gotham's Caped Crusader. I've rarely not purchased some Batman book or another since around the time of the first Keaton movie. Is his place on the list secure?

In contrast to Superman, Batman has been with me more often than he has not. However, I'm really only buying Morrison's Batman and Robin, his Return of Bruce Wayne, and the eponymous Batman. I'm honestly not crazy about the current Bruce Wayne-less Batman paradigm. I like Dick Grayson well enough, but I liked him better as his own man. Clearly that's coming to an end though, as we are already underway with the Return storyline. Still, Batman and Robin remains an excellent title, slightly more coherent than Morrison's own RIP storyline, so I'll stick with it for now. Batman, while less impressive than B&R, is readable.

The real question here is Return of Bruce Wayne. It's one of those Morrison books that reads less like a story and more like a series of glimpses into a story. We're rapidly thrust into a sequence of events that feels as though it supposes we already know exactly what is going on (Darkseid made Bruce a living weapon?), and shows us aspects of the DC Universe that do not mesh with previous depictions (Vanishing Point). However, on occassion, these mental meanderings of Morrison's do pay off. Heck, I'm already two issues in to a six issue mini, might as well stick with it.

Ok, three books examined, three books remain. Honestly I'm tempted to add in a couple of other Bat-books, such as Red Robin, though I detest that direction for the character, and Batgirl, which actually is the direction they should have gone a long time ago imo. We'll see where I end up at the conclusion of this excersize and make a decision then.

Posted via email from Newtronika

Trimming the List

2010-06-04T08:35:00.001-04:00

I'm facing some tough decisions. Comic prices are outpacing inflation, by a large margin, which is also outpacing my salary. It's time to start taking a look at my pull list because something HAS to go; but I'm setting no requirements, and no limits - everything will be judged. The looming new standard of four dollars for the standard 22 page comicbook story is prompting me to carefully consider my pull list and make some cuts.

The first defendants are the Superman books for the simple reason that it's the largest group of books on my list.

My history with the world's most famous superhero is fraught with periods of intense devotion and unapologetic scorn. One of my favorite comic runs of all time remains the "Panic in the Sky" storyline running through the Superman titles for three months in the early 90's. As much as I continue to love that run, I dropped the books the month after it ended and barely touched the line until the Death of Superman story several years later. Recently Geoff Johns' shepherding of the Superman books prompted their return to my monthly purchases. The introduction of a more classic version of the Legion of Super-heroes and the reincorporation of Superman into their mythos was appealing on many levels... but since his departure the books have again become stale.

Why am I hanging on to them now? Likely out of the dangling plot lines continuing to run from Johns' tenure. The New Krypton plot is past its expiration date, and the LOSH angle appears to be resolved finally in the latest issues with Mon-el going to the 31st Century (more on that later) following Brainiac's assault on New Krypton. OK, no need to keep them around. With the end of War of the Supermen, I'm out. There goes Action, Superman, Supergirl and the rotating mini series that have come to account for another monthly or two in the budget. I think I can honestly say I'm not going to miss it for a while.

That was liberating. Up next is a slightly tougher bit of jerky - Batman...

Posted via email from Newtronika

Disney May 2010 day 4 - Turkey Leg Demolition and Fair well to Toon Town Fair

2010-05-20T17:53:00.001-04:00

See the full gallery on posterous

There are actually a lot more Toon Town photos, but it took long enough to upload these! Bye bye Toon Town, you were great, but you overstayed your welcome.

Posted via web from Newtronika

Disney May 2010 day 3 - More Kidani and Animal Kingdom

2010-05-18T17:40:00.001-04:00

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via web from Newtronika

Disney May 2010 day 1 - Kidani and Flower and Garden Festival

2010-05-16T20:53:00.001-04:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via web from Newtronika

My Vinyl Love Affair: Part 1

2010-05-06T15:44:00.001-04:00

It's no secret that I love toys. In high school and college my bedroom shelves over flowed with action figures and playsets, and even a few die cast cars. What drew me in for years was a possessing love for the characters represented and I pursued the collection for years with multiple stops at Wal-mart, Target, and Toys R Us nearly every day. In the early 2000's a new type of toy began entered my realm of awareness - the designer vinyl.

Designer toys are created by artists and intended to be appreciated as a work of art in their own right. The piece may take the form of a completely original design (starting with the sculpt) or it may be a redecorated existing figure. Some of the most popular lines, such as Dunny and Qee, are based a basic figure used by multiple artists to create a character within the confines of that canvas. For years I was intrigued enough to keep abreast of various designer toy lines if not enough to know a wide variety of artists and recognize their styles. Frequently a Dunny or a Qee caught my eye but I was held back from purchase by financial commitment to toy lines derived completely from licensed properties. As my devotion to the Star Wars line waned with the prequel trilogy, Justice League Unlimited took it's place with the occasional Transformer filling in the gaps all along the way. Recently JLU distribution problems resulted in a significant decline in interest there as well.

There was a vacancy in my heart and Vinylmation, Disney's take on the Dunny/Qee trend, took it's place. On our annual post-Thanksgiving trip to Walt Disney World in 2009, I finally saw Vinylmation first hand and fell in love. My deep love for the Disney Parks and history coalesced with my long dormant interest in designer toys. What began as six 3" figures purchased in the Coronado Springs giftshop has turned into around forty 3" figures and six 9" figures in about 6 months time. We leave for WDW again soon, and I've already planned significant additions to the Vinylmation village growing in my study. This is a collection which will never be "complete" and for once that feels ok. Unlike with licensed character lines, most of the figures are only loosely connected to each other. Still, there are quite a few past releases that I really feel should be part of my collection - some of which are possible, others are much less likely.

Today I present the top 5 Vinylmations not in my collection that should be:

5. Test Track Dummy set, Park 3, by Randy Noble

Why I should have it: This vinyl represents Test Track at Epcot, a favorite attraction at Epcot.

Why I don't: I saw this piece several times at retail during our trip - it had only released the week prior. My interest in Vinylmation was still growing and I wasn't keen on the $75 asking price for 9"/3" sets. That apprehension has since faded somewhat...

4. Yeti, Park 1, By Kyle Price

Why I should have: I truly believe that Expedition Everest is one of the best themed rides Disney has ever done, and the Yeti is a huge part of that. When it was working (more on that in a later post, perhaps), the Yeti was the most impressive audioanamatronic ever created.

Why I don't: The Park 1 Series was released two weeks after our trip in 2008. It was a truly limited release, as Disney Merchandise was unsure of how popular this new product would prove to be and under ordered. Sadly, I missed out completely. The Yeti now demands a hefty bounty.

3. Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, by Jeff Ebersohl

Why I should have it: Christmas is our favorite time of the year at Disney World. Last November when I became interested in Vinylmation, WDW produced three vinylmations, each in their own tin, representing the holidays at three of the four major parks at the resort. The Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights, hosted at Disney's Hollywood Studios, is the most amazing display of Christmas lights I've ever seen and this figure really should be present alongside the other two in my display.

Why I don't: I had planned to purchase the Osbourne Lights figure on the last day of our trip, when we expected to return to Disney's Hollywood Studios for an early morning go at Toy Story Midway Mania before returning to catch the bus to the airport. Unfortunately the rain dampened our Disney spirit: we hung out in the hotel instead. As it happens, the Osbourne Lights vinyl became the most popular of the three Holiday tins, sold out shortly after Christmas, and has been on a meteoric rise in price on eBay.

2. Carnotaurus, Park 3, by Maria Clapsis

Why I should have it: Carnotaurus is the antagonist of the ride DINOSAUR, themed after the 2000 cgi film of the same name, in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Some criticize the ride for being jerky, loud, and frightening for children and adults alike. We love it.

Why I don't: I have no real excuse. I had the chance to purchase it when we were there in November and I should have. Unfortunately I still wasn't quite feeling the love for the 9" figures, and passed. Asking prices are often somewhat reasonable online, so this one is still in the realm of possibility for me.

1. Kermit the Frog, Park 1, by Monty Moldovan

Why I should have it: I love the Muppets, and pretty much everything Henson has ever done. In the early 90's when bow-biters were in for teenagers, Kermit smiled happily up from my feet. This is the first, and likely to be only standard, representation of Kermit in the Vinylmation pantheon and is one of the most creative uses of the Vinylmation canvas to date.

Why I don't have it: This figure, like Yeti above, is part of the Park 1 series - and like Yeti, has reached prices far beyond what I am willing to pay. They are both amazingly well designed pieces, but they are destined to elude me forever, I fear. I'll have to be satisfied with Kermit in his 55th Anniversary Tuxedo from Muppets Series 1.

Unfortunately it doesn't stop there, of course. Rarely will a new interest take hold in modest fashion. Disney lead me to finally take the first step into the world of designer toys, and a crisis is underway. Within the next few days I'll return with an exploration of my tastes in art toys outside of the world of Disney Vinylmation in My Vinyl Love Affair: Part 2.

Posted via email from Newtronika

Flood

2010-05-04T11:09:00.001-04:00

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0002.mov (1904 KB)

Posted via web from fignewton's posterous

A Look Back at Treasure: Balancing the Commercial with Personal

2010-04-27T16:30:00.001-04:00

Few of us are fortunate enough... make that brave enough, to follow the path of the auteur. Under the ever present weight of fiscal responsibility and the societal lesson that gainful employment is at the core of a life well lived, we seek occupations in which a large faceless entity exchanges their money for our time and expertise. We justify this choice by convincing ourselves that we really do care about the widgets we make, the gizmos we sell, or the laws we uphold. Sometimes we truly do, but make no mistake, we work for the man.

Eighteen years ago a group of developers from Konami decided they'd had enough. After critical and commercial success with such titles as Contra III and Axelay they simply walked away from their corporate masters and began their own development studio, Treasure Video Games. They didn't want to be stuck making the inevitable Contra sequels full of the same game mechanics growing more and more stale with each iteration. They didn't care about the money involved, they just wanted to make games that they cared about.

In 1993 Treasure released their first game, Gunstar Heroes for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Again the developers had a critical success on their hands. But critical successes don't pay bills. In a move that some would say indicate the group sold out their ideals immediately, in the same year they produced McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure. Yes, as in Ronald McDonald, the worlds most successful burger shilling clown. Even now this seems like crass commercialism might appear to be the early echoes of a dying venture.

Thankfully for the gaming industry, that appearance could not have been more deceptive. 1994 saw the release of Dynamite Heady, an offbeat platform adventure game where the title character destroyed enemies by launching his head as a projectile, and propelled himself aloft using his head a a grappling device. Beloved by retro game historians, the game is rarely remembered by the masses but to this day is a shining example of the unique vision held by Treasure studio designers. In 1994 Treasure also provided the public with YuYu Hakusho: Makyou Touitsusen. While not as recognizable to westerners as Ronald McDonald, rest assured that YuYu Hakusho was a massive license in it's day - a shonen manga as popular as it's modern day Weekly Shonen Jump brethren, Bleach and Naruto and was the eleventh YuYu Hakusho game released in a period of two years that certainly garnered the studio a decent sum as the next several years of the studio's output is a laundry list of classics completely devoid of licensed work for hire product and some of their most memorable games to date, beginning with Alien Soldier in 1995 and culminating with Ikaruga in 2001, before returning to major licenses with Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream in 2002.

Unfortunately recent years have seen little in the way of original material from Treasure, but they do continue to pursue their own goals. While continuing to pursue contracts for license holders and large publishers (such as Bleach games for the DS and Wii) most of Treasure's own products have consisted of GBA and DS sequels to older favorites Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes, and Bangai-O. Last year also saw the Japanese release of Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, a Wii sequel to the N64 original which was never published in the United States (though is available on Wii Virtual Console). Star Successor is currently set for publication in North America this coming June.

My personal experience with Treasure games has been fairly narrow. I never owned a Genesis, which was the platform for most of their classics. Thankfully many friends did. While I did have a Saturn, Radiant Silvergun was import-only and though it was all the rage among associates online, it was also squarely out of my price range. Every intention was present to acquire Ikaruga, the spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun, when it was published in NA for the GameCube but for unknown reasons the event never occurred. The HD release of Ikaruga on XBLA was, however, a day one purchase.

Several days ago while shopping on Amazon for part of Anna's birthday gift I needed something else to bump the order over the twenty-five dollar requirement for free shipping and stumbled across Bangai-O Spirits for the paltry sum of $10.77. The original Bangai-O was released on the Dreamcast in 1999 was also on the "why didn't I buy this game when it was published" list, and the serendipitous discovery sent me on the path of remembering Treasure's rich history. I think once I've finished with Bangai-O Spirits, I may grab a few of their gems I missed out on over VC. While my experience with Treasure is limited, they've never let me down.

((tag:video games))

Posted via email from Newtronika

My name is Aaron, and I'm half Mac

2010-04-25T15:28:00.001-04:00

Throughout my high school and college years, I was adamantly in favor of PCs over Macs. PCs, after all, allowed you more control, more flexibility and a much greater software selection, particularly for games. Macs obscured the inner workings from the user. The engineer in me scoffed loudly and frequently. I never expected that at some point in the future I wouldn't go anywhere without a miniature Apple computer in my pocket.

I'm certain I'm not unique in saying that my first apple device was an iPod. By 2001 my mp3 collection easily eclipsed my CD collection and the massive album of CDs I carted around in college was a burden I was unwilling to continue bearing. Early mp3 players such as the Rio were tempting but spending several hundred dollars on a device that would at most hold a couple CDs worth of music was out of the question. With the introduction of the iPod that all changed. I avoided early adoption thanks largely to the aforementioned financial concerns but by 2003 my resolve had worn and with the aid of several timely gift cards from Christmas, in January of 2004 I bought a 3rd generation 20 gigabyte iPod, and my world changed forever. I similarly resisted the allures of the iPhone until late last year, but the eventual (some would say inevitable) adoption was a revelation.

Recently we decided that we needed a new laptop. Our previous experience with a Dell taught us a few lessons. The first and most important was that no we really do not want to travel with a 17" desktop replacement. At the time I thought a nearly 10 lb laptop was nothing, and surely there was no way such a small weight would become a nuisance. Four and a half years later it's barely been used - I think we've left it home during vacations as much as we've taken it with us. The other lesson was that, when on vacation, I really don't want to tinker with my laptop to get it to do what I need it to do. At home, with my desktop, I have little issue with this practice. Sometimes it's almost theraputic. "Oh, Windows, you don't want to render this video in the correct aspect ratio with synced sound? I'll make you and I will feel victorious in overcoming your resistance." On vacation, I have neither time nor patience to engage in a contest of wills with Microsoft's operating system and the hodgepodge of nearly random components that Dell has decided to offer for my selection in an effort to make them cooperate. We wanted a laptop that was relatively lightweight, didn't have the battery life of the TurboExpress, and most importantly just worked.

Yes, that's right, we bought a Mac. Last weekend we went to the Apple store and purchased a new 13" MacBook Pro. And much to my pleasure it's been a very painless transition to make. Every task I've requested of it has been performed painlessly and without question. The only problem I experienced so far was network sharing drives between the Mac and the PC and, of course, resolving the problem involved fiddling with the PC, not the Mac. I'm shocked to find myself already considering a Mac Mini for an HTPC in the future, though I'm currently quite satisfied to maintain PCs as our primary desktop computers.

I'm sure many of my PC friends are preparing rebuttals for how silly this purchase was, and many of my Mac friends are cheering my (admittedly partial) conversion. Ever shall the war rage between the two sides, but here my advocacy dies a very happy death.

Posted via email from Newtronika

last post didn't show, testing again

2010-04-22T12:17:00.001-04:00

testing

grar

Posted via email from Newtronika

Greetings and Solicitations: Marvel for July

2010-04-22T12:09:00.001-04:00

I've become increasingly frustrated with comics publishers milking properties by expanding the number of titles published in a given month for those characters or teams. While both Marvel and DC have a long history with this practice it's only become worse in recent years. Looking through the July Marvel solicitations I see how harsh this reality truly is.

The Avengers, once supported two books a month - the Avengers, and Avengers West coast. That seemed reasonable. Two branches of the same team seperated by an entire continent. In July we have Avengers, Avengers Academy, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Avengers: The Children's Crusade, and Avengers: The Origin plus eight or nine more if you include the Captain American, Thor, and Iron Man books. X-men books account for 14 current continuity books, more if you add alternate reality / ancillary books. It also doesn't include Deadpool who gets seven (yes 7) books in July. Does this seem like madness to you?

For an excercize let's say I'm being selective. Say I've decided that I will be following Captain America. What books would I be buying this month if I wanted to buy books related to Cap?

Captain America #608
Captain America: The 1940's Newspaper Strip #2 (not an actual strip from the 40's, it's a new retcon tale by Karl Kesel - I'm tempted to get this and I DON'T follow Cap these days)
World War Hulks: Wolverine versus Captain America (which now puts me on the hook for World War Hulks most likely)
Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #1 (the original Cap and he's back, how can any Cap fan NOT purchase this?)
Avengers #3
Avengers Academy #2
New Avengers #2
Secret Avengers #3
Avengers, Thor and Captain America: Official Index to the Marvel Universe #3. At this point I might as well throw that in.

Granted, Cap and Steve are only featured in TWO Avengers books, but if I'm following Avengers, it'd probably be nice to get the whole story. They might be seperate for now but in 6 months when the next big event happens, and everything that happened in every Avengers book comes into play, I'm gonna be missing out. Can't have that. So there's nine books, following Captain America pretty conservatively. A lot of those books have strong ties to other events and characters so chances are I wouldn't be able to stop there.

Since I have a World War Hulks book on there that could easily lead me to another 4 books. Avengers could easily pressure me into getting the Iron Man books. Wolverine's involvement in the WWH book and the Avengers means I'll probably want the context of Wolverine's current circumstances, which are detailed in seven or eight other books and that turns into an even bigger mess with the X-men family. All because I wanted to follow Captain America. I've been reading comics religious for twenty years and even to me this seems like an impenetrable mess. My solution?

For now I'm sticking to Marvel's cosmic books, which in most months means Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy, maybe a mini-series or two. And there's a LOT of diversity among that small handful of books. This month that happens to mean one book: The Thanos Imperative #2.

Posted via email from Newtronika

Testing, testing, nothing to see here.

2010-04-21T11:52:00.001-04:00

Testing

This concludes the test. ^^

Posted via email from Newtronika

Plaid vinylmation custom concept

2010-02-26T10:34:00.001-05:00

Posted via web from Newtronika

Posterous

2010-02-23T20:12:00.001-05:00

Testing out a Posterous site with auto-updating to Blogger for now. Trailed off on blogger because I got tired of the interface, we'll see how Posterous does.

Posted via web from Newtronika

Meanwhile on Earth-N...

2009-06-08T17:34:00.003-04:00

A new regular feature, in which I tell the world how the comic industry is running on Earth-Newton.

Recently on Earth-N:

Andy Kubert got it together and started turning out a consistent 22 pages a month again. Shortly after proving his commitment to timely production of work he returned to work on Batman, this time working with writer Alan Grant. This team produced a two year run on Batman that is largely considered to be the definitive Batman story.

Dan Didio went back to working in television, Geoff Johns took over as Editor in Chief, while maintaining writing chores on two books a month.

DC and Marvel, seeing a future where current comics formats would require a $4 cover price to continue, adopted a number of cost cutting initiatives including;

Single issues have largely become a thing of the past. Japanese style anthologies are now the norm. 300 pages for around $10 each issue, covering 10-11 different titles.
Coloring practices no longer allow for extreme embellishment on the part of computer colorists. Coloring jobs are simple and complimentary to the art, instead of complex and dominating the art.
DC and Marvel each secured a news stand distribution agreement that placed the monthly comics anthologies at point of sale locations next to Archie Digests, and celebrity gossip rags
The mature readers lines, Vertigo and Max, were transitioned into OGN business, with releases ranging from 48 page one shots on nice paperstock with cardstock covers, to 200 page hardcover over-sized graphic albums.

John Romita Sr., Joe Kubert, and George Perez now provide a certification for comic book artists for entry into the CBAG - the Comic Book Artists Guild. Certification can be obtained by portfolio review or by successful completion of a three month intensive study course in sequential storytelling. DC and Marvel hire ONLY members of the guild. While many independent studios hire non-guilded artists, they often work with new artists to help them obtain membership.

The Miracle on Lambert

2009-04-11T07:49:00.005-04:00

So about 4 weeks back I sat down to play some HD Remix with my friend Nick, to discover that the mic jack and 2 buttons on my primary Tournament Ed. fight stick were not working. Due to collision between operating hours of the MadCatz support line and my normal work schedule, I couldn't do anything about it till yesterday when I took a day off to sit with Anna while she was home sick.

So I called up MadCatz, heard the recording that I needed the product serial number, and plugged in a stick to see which one was the bad one (both sitting on the shelf next to each other). First one worked fine, plugged in the second one. It worked fine too. Couldn't test the mic as I don't have an active gold sub right now, but that's not a big issue anyway.

For now, I'm back in business with two working fightsticks. Yay! Hope it doesn't go out for good later on. Looking forward to KOFXII and BlazBlue later this year.

New Year in Games Part III (or: Revenge of the Indies)

2009-04-08T19:59:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know it's April, and I assure you this is the final "New Year in Games" post. This was meant to be the 'new years resolution' subject for this series, which was to have originally concluded in January. In truth I may have never even got around to it, had it not been for this week's episode of Co-Op (the totally awesome internet show about games by gamers that anyone who likes gaming as a whole should check out).

In short, over the years, I've made a habit out of ignoring indy game development. Which is odd given that whatever I'm into at a given time, I'm usually at least paying attention to independent artisans. In high school and college it was music, film, and comics. Post-marriage it's restaurants; truly, independent restaurants make up at least 90% of our dining out. But, for some reason I've always been carelessly ignorant of independent game design. Two of my favorite games published in 2008 were games from independent developers (Braid and World of Goo, for those wondering). This has finally made me sit up and take note.

Independent developers are a real treasure. Completely unhampered by the demands of bean counters and publishing house executives who crave another COD or Gears clone, talented game designers are creating new ways to play in the electronic medium. In recent years, online distribution channels for the sale of digital downloads has afforded these free-thinkers the ability to expose their work to us all, and not starve. I'm paying attention now, and if you care about games, you should to.

Check out the newest episode of Co-op, below. Some choice links do follow.

Tag: The Power of Paint - developed as a student project at Digi-pen
Cortex Command - not done yet, but buy now and you are entitled to all future updates
Zeit2 - Definitely a game I want to see make it to XBLA
Fez - not featured on this episode, but the creator is featured on this episode throughout.
TIGSource - independent gaming news

The New Year in Games Part II.b.

2009-03-08T12:03:00.002-04:00

Indeed, the inevitable has happened. The previously mentioned BlazBlue has been announced for a summer release in North America. Kotaku posted a load of nice screens with their bit on it this morning, so check them out. KOFXII vs BlazBlue this summer for most beautiful 2-d game ever. FIGHT!!!

The New Year in Games part II (or ROUND 2... FIGHT!!!)

2009-03-05T18:14:00.003-05:00

[take 2 because blogger for some reason time stamps something the day the post is made, not the day it is first published...O_o]

This post is late and having started the original version WEEKS ago, it has been completely rewritten. Initially it was a description of my on again off again love affair with fighting games, and in particular the role that Street Fighter II played in my youth. Now we take a slightly different, but related turn: the rebirth of the fighting game.

Ken and Ryu face off in Steet Fighter IV

As many know by now, Street Fighter IV has taken the world by storm. It has created an unprecedented level of demand for home arcade sticks, leading to sell outs of every stick of measurable quality currently available in the western market. Many have criticized MadCatz for a perceived intentional shortage of product with their Tournament Edition Fightsticks (my facebook friends can see all about my experience with that subject) in order to create demand. While that is an understandable position to take, it doesn't account for the sellouts and aftermarket price gouging also underway on places such as eBay and Amazon Marketplace for Hori's Real Arcade Pro line of sticks. Gamers have spoken and the message is clear: we still love two dimensional fighting games.

Street Fighter IV is a beautiful and complex game that remains accessible to those without the time and inclination to devote themselves to mastery of every character. While Street Fighter III and its revisions incorporated a parry system which could only be utilized if the player knew exact timing and placement of opponents' combos, SFIV uses a focus attack which will block one attack while held and will retaliate with a strong attack when released. Somewhat controversial was the dev team's decision to relinquish the traditional 2D sprites, in favor of 3D character models with textures sporting a hand painted aesthetic complete with ink splashes thrown around when completing certain specials. The effect makes for a wonderfully modern take on the classic genre.

But the fun doesn't end there. Just announced this week are two more console releases which are sure to attract the attention of all fighting fans, both new and old. First in July (previously announced with the vague "summer 'o9" date), we'll be treated to the fifteenth anniversary celebration of the King of Fighters, the seminal team based fighter from SNK in the lovingly crafted King of Fighters XII.

The most beautiful King of Fighters ever

The developers entered into this project with the intention of recreating each character and presenting them in fully hand drawn traditional sprites in high definition. Many were astonished at the look, initially mistaking the sprites for 3D cell shaded models. This is a point of pride for the devs and the publishers here as well. 1up alum and New Business Development Director for Ingintion Entertainment is quoted on Kotaku as saying, "While other fighting games have abandoned the time-consuming process of creating beautiful 2D art, KOFXII fully embraces the refined aesthetic beauty that only human hands can produce." Glove thrown down, folks! Old school fans may be a bit disappointed at the relatively low number of characters on the roster (only twenty - half the number in the previous KOF) but all are sure to find favorites returning while the smaller roster makes for a group of fighters easier to manage for initiates.

BlazBlue - new from Ark System Works (click the pic for a very nice high res version)

And finally, there's BlazBlue. A completely new franchise from Ark Systems Works, the creators of Guilty Gear. Given the game's pedigree, it should surprise no one that the combat system is incredibly complex, perhaps even impenetrable for relative newcomers to the genre. This game will make a wonderful addition to the library of any hardcore fighting game fan, and could make a wonderful transition for newer players who have cut their teeth on SFIV and are seeking something with a little more tooth. For now BlazBlue is only confirmed for release to consoles in Japan, but in the current climate it would be very surprising to not make it's way to North America by the end of the year.

These are exciting times for fighting fans. Hopefully manufacturers will be able to continue filling demand for quality arcade sticks. Games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have opened consumers wallets to spending large sums for specialized controllers, and arcade sticks are just as important to full appreciation of fighting games as a plastic guitar is to the mock instrument genre.

The New Year in Games part I.b

2009-01-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

Not quite part II yet, but a few followups to the previous post.

1) The former 1up show crew has their new company setup at http://www.area5.tv (named after the final, and all important, level of Rez). There you will find the first episode of their new show, Co-Op, available through download and their Youtube channel (please support the Youtube channel).

2) James Mielke is returning to 1up.com, and with him comes the return of cover stories. I think that's fantastic news, and really shows the the UGO guys appreciate former 1up staffers. And Mielke's not the only former 1uper to return to the site, but he's probably the most high profile.

3) I neglected to also mention Ryan Scott has, in the wake of the 1up layoffs, also set up his own site at http://www.geekbox.net, and is producing a weekly podcast as well, available through the usual sources.

The New Year in Games

2009-01-19T14:57:00.005-05:00

A lot's been going on for me in gaming since the beginning of the year, other than World of Warcraft completely recapturing my soul. The first thing I need to talk about is the collapse of 1up.com.

Ok, collapse isn't the correct term and does a severe disservice to those who remain, though it certainly represent my perception of the transition. But before I get to that, some background is in order: When I was in eighth grade I bought my first non-Nintendo Power gaming mag, and it was an early issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). I'm not sure whether it was the first issue or not, but it was easily in the first six months. For the next ten years it was a primary source of gaming information in my life. Until the internet came along.

With the advent of on-line publishing, print media began to slowly die. Many gaming sites popped up in the mid to late 90s but none of them clicked for me. None of them until 1up was begun in 2003. It should come as a surprise to no one that 1up was the online presence of Ziff-Davis' games publishing arm. The same group that made EGM. A huge part of the success of 1up should be attributed to the podcasts and the 1up Show. Those podcasts and the video podcast provided a lot of coverage of the gaming industry and community from such a natural perspective. It was the only online general gaming coverage that felt like it was really presented by people who knew, loved, and lived games - at least to me. Others may cite CAGcast and the like, and that's fine. But for me it was all about the guys and girls at 1up.

After a string of print cancellations in the ZD games publishing wing and a number of the old guard leaving the organization, it all came crashing down. In early January it was announced that ZD had sold the games publishing division to UGO. With that sale, ZD shuttered EGM and layed off a massive number of staff members, notably many who were involved with the podcasts, and the 1up Show staff was completely let go. At one time EGM alone had something like 15 editors... and now there's that many in all of the 1up offices. Sad times.

But all is not lost. Garnett Lee is going to be able to continue the podcast he hosts, though the 1up Yours name will be leaving in a nod to new beginnings. The guys from 1up FM podcast are now putting out their own material under the name Rebel FM, and can be found at eat-sleep-game.com. And best of all Ryan O'donnel and Matt Chandronait, along with a bunch of the other 1up Show guys, are working on their own video project, the first episode of which is due soon. You can read all their updates at Matt's personal site talkingorange.com. I wish them all the best and I'll be there for whatever they produce. Shane Bettenhausen is moving on to work for Ignition Entertainment, the company that's bringing KOFXII to our shores, and that sounds like a great fit for him. Haven't heard a thing about what James Milkman Mielke is moving on to, but I hope it's something that I'll be able to follow.

The 1up glory days will forever be remembered. Good luck to all who have moved on by choice or by force. Keep producing, and I'll keep listening, reading, and watching. UGO may not be completely responsible for the lay offs (or they might, you never know) but there's no way they can possibly realize what they lost in the aqcuisition.

Hopefully in the next few days I can return with the other gaming issue taking up my mind currently: Street Fighter IV, and those beautiful Tournament Edition arcade sticks.

Disney 2008 is Done

2008-12-07T10:53:00.004-05:00

It's always a bittersweet occasion upon leaving Walt Disney World to return home. It never last long enough, but after a week I'm also ready to sleep in my own overly comfortable bed, and pet my cats. This year was certainly no exception.

We stayed at Coronado Springs Resort for the second time this year. We miss Animal Kingdom Lodge a little, and having outdoor-entry rooms at Coronado isn't as comforting/private as it could be, the convenience of travel to the parks is really unequaled at CSR. Ten minute or less bus rides from Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios (yes, the MGM name is no more), and Epcot makes mid-day rests or swimming (weather permitted) much easier. Just don't bother eatting there.

The Weather this year was certainly an improvement. Though a large overcast and low visibility ceiling in Atlanta resulted in flight delays leading to an Orlando arrival hours after scheduled on Sunday, Monday through Saturday provided the sunniest days we've ever had in a week at WDW. There was an almost negligibly fine mist Saturday morning that dissipated by 10 am, leading to a reasonable warm, partly cloudy day.

The highlight of the trip was, by far, Toy Story Midway Mania. When we first arrived at DHS on Wednesday a mere 20 minutes after the park opened, the standby line was already up to 50 minutes, and Fast Pass distribution had already worked it's way in to the 12 o'clock hour. Obviously we grabbed Fast Passes and ran for the other side of the park where we were treated to walk-ons at Tower of Terror, and a surprisingly long 30 minute wait for Rock'n Roller Coaster. After several turns on each ride, we made our way back to use our Fast Passes for Toy Story.

The standby line was now up to 80 minutes, and Fast Passes were completely distributed for the day. By 11:30. Sorry Soarin', but it was looking pretty bad for your reign as most popular ride at Disney World. After riding, the case was closed.

Toy Story Midway Mania is the most fun I've had on a ride at Disney World. Instead of the slow meandering tour of it's cousin, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom, TSMM zips you along on a quick run through of a number of stationary midway styled games enhanced by 3d glasses. You'll stop for a short time at each game before being whisked quickly along to the next one. Instead of firing visible spectrum lasers in a mess of blinking lights where you can't tell your dot from the guy 10 cars down, the 3D screens provide the virtual projectiles launched from your spring action shooter attached to the front of your car. And you are only competing with the person in your car. It's a fast paced 3D video game ride that appears to appeal to almost EVERYONE. Disney Imagineering really outdid themselves on this ride and with it's addition to DHS really increased the appeal of that park.

Since we only got to ride one time on our main DHS day, we went back Saturday morning for Extra Magic Hour after checking in for our flight at the resort. We were one of the first 50 people in the park and when the rope finally dropped letting us in, I looked back and discovered that nearly the WHOLE crowd that arrived after us was following the leaders back to Toy Story. We walked on for the first ride, and by the time we got off, Fast Pass distribution was again already three hours into the day, and the standby line was up to 60 minutes. I'd call it a hit. We only ended up getting to ride it three times while we were there - my top score was only 195,500, a little shy of the 291,000 posted record of the month. But given such little practice I think I did ok. Most people I watched around us were posting scores under 100,000.

No trip to WDW is complete for us without a lot of pin trading. This November saw the release of what is likely to be the most popular series of Hidden Mickey cast lanyard exclusive pins (pins which you can't buy in the parks, they begin their lives on cast trading lanyards and you have to trade with cast members to obtain them) - each pin in the series represents a letter of the alphabet and a character whose name begins with that letter. All week we were only able to find 6 letters. Six. Hopefully by next year they'll be in better circulation and we'll be able to find the other 20. We also managed to complete a number of sets from last year including the princess eyes, the muppets, the fast passes, the villain crystal balls, and the feet. Out of last year's sets, the ones that we want but are still missing are Figaro (the black cat), Uncle Sam Donald, the Pineapple, and Goofy and Donald driving. From this year's set (October releases, November releases) we still need the Pie, the Tomato, the DDP symbol, and 20 (cry) of the letters (shown on page 2 of the November releases).

It was, as always, a wonderful time. We're pretty sure we're going back again next year, but you never know what the future will bring, especially with the economy in the sad state it's in now. It's always a long year, but it's always worth the wait.

We were pretty bad about getting pictures this year. Truth to tell there wasn't a lot to photograph. It seemed like the Christmas decoration was a little on the light side this year. I did get some decent pics outside of Toy Story, which I should have online sometimes soon.

Timewaster of the day - Hoshi Saga 3

2008-09-27T21:17:00.003-04:00

Every stage has it's own mechanics, part of the fun is trying to figure out how exactly it works. The goal is to find the star(s). Please to enjoy. Just be patient, it's a small japanese site, so the loads can be rather slow.

Hoshi Saga 3

Also found Hoshi Saga 1, and Hoshi Saga 2.

Yes, I got a PS3

2008-06-05T18:20:00.003-04:00

So yeah, I finally got a PS3, on Wal-mart's free $100 giftcard deal. Not quite as good a deal as the credit card deal when the 5 free blu-ray disc deal was going, but I'm not down with opening new credit cards just for a special deal

So no games yet, mainly got it for a blu-ray player. Now let's see those Supernatural and Battlestar Galactica seasons out on BD already.

If anyone has any games they'd like to play multiplayer online, I'm open to suggestions.

Jack Thompson sinks to new low, still accomplishes nothing

2008-04-26T22:13:00.005-04:00

Having failed in both courts of law and the court of public opinion, Jack Thompson has chosen a new tactic. He's telling your mommy.

Thompson wrote a finger-shaking letter to the mother of Rockstar games exec Strauss Zelnick shaming her, among other things, for raising her boy to sell murder simulators to teen boys. No doubt these instructional sessions took the place of Sunday school classes and summer bible camp. This would make Zelnick a victim of his own upbringing, right? Jack, I thought you were a victims' advocate! Well, so long as you are now after the one who's REALLY responsible.

My Current Problems with World of Warcraft

2008-04-26T20:52:00.004-04:00

My first MMO was Everquest. It was a pretty hardcore environment in the endgame; character death resulted in experience losses making it possible to lose entire levels, and every raid boss in the game was a timed spawn shared by the entire server. When the Avatar of War was up, it was a race between the top guilds to get to him. You always had to be ready to grab your gear and get to the spawn if you wanted your guild to get the kill.

When World of Warcraft started up, their answer to raid targets sounded like a dream - all encounters would be instanced, there would be no competition for big bosses, every guild/raid group would get it's own shot at it on their own time, when they wanted. The only catch being that once you killed it, you had to wait a set amount of time before going after it again. Sounded PERFECT. No more competition with people who had less of a life than me. And for a time, it was.

Now I'm experiencing the flip side. I've started playing again, and back in a guild consisting of old RL friends, and people from my old guild on Alleria (Aftermath/Tolerance). The guild's time, as it turns out, isn't really my time. The main raids are started at 8pm eastern, and typically last until midnight... on Tuesday and Thursday. I go to bed at 10pm. Gruul/Mag are done on Sunday night, starting at 10pm so those are right out. So needless to say, I'm missing out on most of the good stuff. Tuesday I got in on two boss kills, Thursday I got in on one. Out of 7 killed between the two nights.

I'm not angry at the people in the guild, this was their schedule long before I started playing again. I wish I could be there for more, but I understand that's the schedule that works for them. In Everquest, I played whenever I could, and whatever bosses came up while I was playing I made the most of it. Those that spawned while I wasn't around, I didn't worry about much, because you just can't be around for everything all the time. In WoW... I could be around for everything, but the ability to schedule your raids are actually making me miss a lot.

So this is what I did.

2008-04-19T16:54:00.008-04:00

I ended up ganking a 2 GB stick from Anna's computer till my RMA goes through.

So after a few days of grappling with faulty hardware and a screwy Windows install, I've finally gone from this...

to this...

So for now I'm satisfied. Yaaaaaaay.

Computer Build Fail

2008-04-16T21:45:00.002-04:00

Not completely though. One of the memory modules is bad, so it has to be RMAd. Unfortunately both were in a kit together so all the memory has to go back, so I'm SOL for probably a week. BAH!

New Computer Incoming!

2008-04-14T21:31:00.006-04:00

So I started playing World of Warcraft again recently. And for some reason my computer starts hating life at the worst possible moments. When I was playing last year it was still ok, but now, not so much. At seemingly random times frame rates will drop, graphics will completely disappear... and worse case is that the graphics card completely stops feeding a signal to my monitor. I could probably fix it with a new graphcis card, but the machine is already three years old. It's time to move on. Plus I was already craving a new machine after building Anna's last month. The components I ordered for mine are mostly the same as hers just with a better processor. I got the one I originally wanted for Anna, but which was OOS everywhere at the time; demand was much higher than initial supply on the recently released CPU but it's fairly easy to come by now.

So here's what we have coming.

Ultra Black Aluminus tower case - I love this case. It's not as accessible as my old one which featured latches and a hinged side panel. But this one has a lot more space inside, and has a double hinged front door allowing easy access to drive bays or control panels. One of my biggest frustrations in building a new machine is usually working the front panel off without breaking anything. No longer an issue!

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3l - A no frills Intel P35 motherboard. Don't need SLI or anything fancy. I'll be sticking with the onboard sound as well, as long as it isn't complete crap.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor (3.0 Ghz) - It's really the current sweet spot for gaming PCs. Quad cores are overrated for gaming, and the new E8000 line of Duos features 45nm chips (uses less power and runs cooler than earlier lines) and a cache bumped up to 16MB. Supposed to be fantastic for overclocking, with many users breaking 4 Ghz. I'll be leaving it at stock speed for the forseeable future though. On a sort of sidenote I'm a little uneasy on this purchase just because I ordered through a new (for me) company. But Newegg was OOS again, and TigerDirect was overpriced by about $26. Hopefully FuturePowerPC comes through and gets it to me soon - both the Dell (monitor) and Newegg (everything else) orders have already shipped. FuturePowerPC lists the order as "To be shipped." Here's hoping it ships soon. From the looks of things everything will arrive on Wednesday but the proc is up in the air. And now that I look up a link for the item on Newegg... it's back in stock. *sigh*

EVGA GeForce 8800GT, 512MB of DDR3 RAM - Another sweet spot, at least to me.

4GB (2x 2GB) Corsair XMS2 RAM - RAM is so inexpensive right now (only about $85 after rebate), I was tempted to get 2, and go up to 8GB. Reined myself in a little as that would be overkill.

Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 250 GB SATA3 drive - No need for a billion drives and terabytes of storage. Cool and quiet, all I need.

Samsung SATA DVD+/-RW drive - was going to use the old one, but why hang on to an IDE device when the new drive is only $27?

Corsair 450W PSU - Not filling up the box with a lot of power consuming extras. 1 drive, 1 low power consumption processor, 1 graphic card. 450W is plenty. It's quiet and runs cool.

Dell 2208WFP - 22" widescreen monitor. It's a TN panel which makes many people cry ("Oh noez lightbleed!") but my current Samsung is a TN and the bleed doesn't bother me much. Same monitor we got for Anna and I couldn't be more pleased.

Hardware is rounded out by a couple of quiet 120mm fans, and that's that. I'll be installing Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition - so far I've not had the issues with Vista that I'd feared. It runs smoothly, and hasn't caused any problems with any older games we've played on it so far, and WoW runs beautifully.

Looking forward to all the parts coming in. We've been very happy with Anna's computer in both power and noise level. Her old PC often sounded like a jet airplane under load. Next to her new one, my current machine now has taken on the jet airplane role. My new one is basically the same with a little more oomph in the processor, so the computer room should soon taken on a peaceful atmosphere.

Hers was also far easier of a build than my last machine was, so I'm hoping this one goes as smoothly. The only problem I experienced with Anna's was that on the first boot the CPU fan didn't want to spin up, but that problem magically disappeared. I freaked out, but I expect it this time. Hopefully no other bizarre problems will present themselves.

Ikaruga is totally awesome...

2008-04-10T19:49:00.005-04:00

... and I totally turned my wife on playing it this evening. Not kidding.

God I love my wife.

(image stolen from Kotaku, who probably stole it from somewhere else, but they at least deserve the link back)

KOTOR II: Oh what could have been....

2008-04-06T19:43:00.004-04:00

I've put off playing Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords for several years now. I finally purchased a copy about a month ago, almost exactly three years to the day after the game was released. This was no normal lazy delay. No, from the minute the game was released, it's been the target of complaints ranging from rampant bugs to incomplete content. And so I decided to bide my time and wait. I still hold the first Knights of the Old Republic to be one of the best RPGs I've ever played, and one of the most significant pieces of work in the entire Expanded Universe canon. At the time I was confident that bugs would be fixed, and content patches would eventually appear to correct the mistakes made by an overly-eager publisher (LucasArts) wanting to get their product on the store shelves in time for Christmas. I was willing to wait for a perfected experience in the follow-up to the game that renewed my love for Star Wars which had largely been killed by the Phantom Menace four years earlier.

Some bugs were fixed, many were not. LucasArts outright denied a request by the developer, Obsidian Entertainment, to reintroduce the deleted content. There was much crying and gnashing of teeth. However, there was some hope given in the form of a fan effort to restore the missing content. Unfortunately that project is still underway to this day and has yet to release anything (but I'm still cheering for them).

Why now? Mass Effect. BioWare's (BioWare developed the first KOTOR) latest epic lovingly caressed many of the KOTOR buttons in my brain, without ever pressing them - after Anna played Mass Effect and listening to my endless litany of comparisons between the two she decided it was time for her to play KOTOR for the first time as well. She played it first (and agreed that as good as Mass Effect is, KOTOR is far superior), then I replayed... for the tenth time.

I decided it was finally time to stop waiting on KOTORII. Fresh off the original, I ordered the sequel and dove right in. And it was buggy, oh yes it was buggy. Pathing errors, problematic scene changes, equipped items disappearing in the middle of cut scenes (only once, but that was enough), poorly implemented transparencies, buggy cameras in cut scenes... and I stopped counting the number of times it locked up - both in the game, and while loading an old save.

Even with all that though the game was playable. And it was an entirely serviceable sequel to the original. What hurts so much is how obvious it is that the game was gutted. Plotlines removed, endings excised, a whole planet no longer playable, and on and on. The worst part of it all is that after reading about exactly what was removed... I think KOTORII could have been a much deeper experience than what was offered in the original which, as I said, I hold in very high regard.

I can also say that it leaves me wanting a KOTORIII more than I would have thought possible, and that's a real accomplishment. Perhaps we'll get one eventually. Maybe even developed by BioWare. I can only hope, it would be a shame to leave it where it stands.

Phew... it's over

2008-02-20T19:53:00.002-05:00

As we've all heard by now, the format war is over. Even NPR covered it. Absolutely the best situation possible, and a much earlier conclusion than anyone thought possible. As I said at the time, the Warner Bros exclusivity was really what got the ball rolling... it just got to the bottom of the hill about 5 months earlier than I thought it would. I would have been fine with combo players becoming the norm, but this is obviously much better.

SO. Now I have some things to contemplate. Obviously a PS3 is going to be on the to buy list soon. Before that happens though, I need to decide on a receiver. Which is going to be difficult... the one I want (see Alan's post about his Denon 3808CI) just isn't going to happen right now. Or in the forseeable future, with Anna going back to school soon. I've considered a few models from Onkyo, but I've read of lip-synch issues on the models I was considering; most of which are correctable, but apparently with the PS3 video games are fine but BluRay playback needs an adjustment (which throws off video games once changed). It's a frustrating situation, but basically... I HAVE to get a receiver sometime soon. Our current set only has one HDMI input, so I'm going to need a receiver with at least three, and I'm not looking to break the bank - I don't need monstrous sound either, just something with decent volume and good clarity. I'm sure this will be an issue that will puzzle me for months until I make a decision compromising.

Mo Betta @ Mojito

2008-02-16T19:03:00.004-05:00

Tonight we made our second visit to Mojito, second establishment of chef Fernando Martinez of Havana Rumba, in the Holiday Manor shopping center. I'm actually amazed that it took us this long to make it back - our first visit was in mid-October of last year. On that first trip we shared about eight tapas, three sandwiches, and a vegetarian paella between six people. Every single dish was a delight, from the guacamole served with fried plantain chips to the paella prepared with walnuts and raisins (which I admit I was highly skeptical of). And the bill was an obscenely low $106 before tip, and we left horribly stuffed with a sizable portion of the paella left over.

Previously we'd made the selection of the vegetarian paella out of consideration for the actual vegetarians dining with us that night, and we promised ourselves when we returned on our own that we would try the carnivore's variety. So when our drink orders were taken, we immediately put in an order for the Paella Valenciano (order the paella immediately, it takes up to 45 minutes to prepare). Shortly thereafter we ordered a Plata de Chimichurri (grilled skirt steak with a chimichurri sauce and bits of fried onion), some sweet potato fries (served with a smoked honey), and a pair of empanadas.

The chimichurri and the sweet potato fries were carry-over favorites from the last visit and again did not disappoint, but the winner from our trio of tapas this time was clearly the empanadas. I was doubtful at first - my favorite empanadas in the past have been those filled with pork and/or chorizo, and ground beef did not sound like an appetizing option to me. But they hadn't let me down on any of the previous 12 dishes I'd tried, so I gave it a shot. Thank God I did; it was a real treat. I wouldn't have thought the blend of seasoned beef, pearl onions and raisins could have been so perfect. This one is definitely going down in our favorites for next time.

Somewhat disappointing was the meat filled paella, featuring large portions of chicken, some chorizo, fish, shrimp, and mussels. There wasn't anything wrong with any of it, though I could have done without the large pieces of chicken completely. The meats were all perfectly cooked and well seasoned. But astonishingly, I found myself missing the very non-traditional combination of walnuts and raisins found in the vegetarian version of the dish. I think we'll be going back to that on subsequent visits. This one came out to a bill of $55 plus tip, owing to a larger ratio of food ordered to diners in the party this time out - we just couldn't say no to a paella tonight (which incidentally must be ordered for two or four people, at $16 per person for the traditional version, and $14 per person for the vegetarian).

As much as we love the food at Mojito, there are some criticisms that I feel like I have to levy at the restaurant. In several places of the restaurant it is ridiculously crowded. The initial two-top where we were seated was next to a 4 top that had a gentleman placed on the end in the small aisleway between our table and his. That's not an unacceptable solution in many cases, but this gentleman's back was approximately 4 inches from our table. It was very awkward for us, and thankfully the waitress seated us at another two-top which was open only two spaces down, but she was clearly put out at having to do so; and the request was phrased very politely by Anna, so this wasn't a case of my occasionally gruff personality tainting the exchange.

A problem which unfortunately persists is the crowding around the bar during busy hours (which is most of them). The bar is placed directly along the path leading to the kitchen, which creates a severe traffic problem; it's a bad situation for both guests and servers. On our last visit, we were given the table directly next to the bar and my dad spent fifteen to twenty minutes trying to avoid another gentleman's rear end directly in his face.

Fortunately for Mojito, the food is excellent, and many are willing to put up with these at-times-ridiculous space issues. I only hope the discomfort of forced sardine impersonations won't end up overriding the pure joy we get from the food, because it's one of the tastiest spots in town, and it can be a heck of a value.

They don't take reservations but will do call-ahead seating if you call 30 minutes before arriving. I'm told this system works well, but both times we've gone it's been early enough (less than thirty minutes after dinner hours begin) that we are seated very quickly. By the time we leave though, the number of people standing by for a table is astronomical so be warned. The food is excellent and can be very reasonable if you stick to just tapas, but the paella is something special.

Brand New Day, Brand New Opinion

2008-02-11T12:47:00.002-05:00

Ok, it's been one month now. One month since Marvel decided to toss out twenty years of stories rewriting the entire Spider-man mythos with little to no explanation other than "It's Magic! (*jazz hands*) We don't have to explain it." at the end of the One More Day storyline . My reaction to the story was tempered greatly by the fact that I hadn't really read a run of 616 Spider-man comics in years. Ultimate Spider-man has been the best Spider-title published in the last decade, owing much to the talents and dedication of Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley... who together set a new record in American comics by putting out an uninterrupted run on USM for 111 issues. ( Yes, that's right, 111 issues. Many of them produced much more frequently than monthly.) It's by far one of the best runs of comics of all time. It features a teen-aged Peter Parker much as he was when he was created in the 60's; a teen aged hero with nothing but problems.

Anyway, Joe Quesada (Marvel EIC) didn't like the Parker marriage. He, as do many other writers, to be fair, feels that a married Peter Parker loses much of what makes Spider-man an interesting character. So he decided to chuck it. By having the Parkers make a deal with the Devil (ok, Mephisto, but same thing in the Marvel Universe). Yes, that's right, in the world where no one smokes because that's bad, it's ok for the hero to make a deal with the Devil. Mephisto saved Aunt May's life in exchange for the Parkers never having been married. But they don't remember it either, so it's not like they know any different, right? Oh, and Harry Osbourne is back alive. And Peter never had organic web shooters now. How did the deal to break the marriage affect those two completely independent things as well? You want an explanation? "It's magic! (*jazz hands*)" There ya go. Count me among the eye-rollers.

Now, however terrible that plot device to destroy the Parker marriage may have been, at least the results aren't that bad. I just finished reading Brand New Day, the first storyline in the new Spider-man status quo. And I admit, it feels kinda right. Peter can't get a job, isn't a registered hero, lives with Aunt May, and apparently the only people who actively like him now is the mob. That certainly sounds like Spider-man, even though my entire comic reading life has taken place during the marriage (it originally happened in the early 80's). My initial reaction to the decision was that we already had a perfectly good book about an unmarried Spider-man in USM. I see now that the result is different enough such that it doesn't matter; each maintains a separate identity still, and I can live with that.

I do somewhat miss the marriage from an idealistic stand-point; Peter Parker was a true nerd hero, he married the super-model! Of course, I haven't needed that kind of inspiration for a long time, but the 14 year old inside me is screaming.

Star Wars: The Force Undone?

2008-01-25T19:46:00.000-05:00

I've been looking forward to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for quite some time, but with reservations. In certain respects the game appears to be more fanboy circle jerk than an earnest attempt at expanding the Star Wars universe in a manner consistent with what has come before. Witness the character features to the side wielding Lightsaber tonfa. Let that sit in for a second. Lightsaber tonfa. Placing a three foot glowing blade that will cut through pretty much anything severely hampers the versatility for which a tonfa is usually appreciated.

Lately these doubts in the games worth have been contributed to by the unending discussion coming out of the developers about all their efforts to make the physics and AI technologies work together. Most of the promo material we've seen has droned on and on about Havok this, DMM that, and Euphoria the other. I have no real issues with promoting the software technology behind the game. But with such an emphasis being given to the technology I'm starting to wonder if we are getting a game, or a glorified tech demo.

However cautious my enthusiasm for this game is it would be nothing but deception on my part to imply that it isn't enthusiasm which drives my concern. The game does look great, there's no arguing that. And I certainly look forward to playing it. But I haven't played a truly great Star Wars game since Knights of the Old Republic; and the potential is there for Force Unleashed to be the action RPG equivalent to KOTOR. That's what I WANT it to be. But the doubts continue to mount.

I had this plan

2007-12-11T16:01:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago we went on vacation. Our usual one week in Walt Disney World, this time at Coronado Springs instead of Animal Kingdom Lodge because of the construction going on at AKL on the new Disney Vacation Club building. I was going to update the blog daily with the days happenings, the dining experiences, and the park conditions. That didn't happen, mainly because when I got back to the hotel at the end of the day I found myself, not tired exactly, but fulfilled to the point that I didn't even feel the need to pull out the laptop. So no daily updates, no daily pictures, just some photos of about half the days on the memory card, still needing to be uploaded to picasa.

Which is what I was going to do when I got home, but that monday was a little busy with unpacking, and I never got around to it. The following morning, I got a call on the way in to work that my grandfather was back in the hospital and was looking really bad. Anna said she'd come pick me up at work as soon as I got there (because I was in the carpool). Ten minutes later, I got another call saying that he'd passed away. The last week has been one of the saddest times of my life.

This week we're starting to get things back on track a little. We got a tree yesterday but weren't able to get it inside and into the stand until today. Christmas shopping is halfway done, those who remain are problem children who need to learn to embrace online wish lists. Not to mention all the late falling leaves which I haven't been able to get to yet. But things are coming back together. Maybe soon I'll get the pictures up, and I can write up a small over view of the vacation.

Laugh along @ Jack Thompson

2007-11-08T23:33:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I screwed with the embed code so it would fit my blog column size, and it messes with the buttons. But it still plays, so please enjoy.

Louisville has a new home for Breakfast

2007-11-04T20:30:00.001-05:00

Wild Eggs on Dutchman's Lane, in the building where Tumbleweed used to be. Best breakfast I've had since Key Lime Bistro on our honeymoon on Captiva Island. Anyone in or visiting Louisville really should give it a try. On our initial visit, I had the Stuffed French Toast (two slices of sourdough bread filled with cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and fresh blue berries, with a healthy portion of whipped cream) and Anna had the Surfer Girl Omelet (filled with avocado, cream cheese, mushrooms, green onions, tomatoes, and topped with alfalfa sprouts) with a side of their grits of the day.

Now, I hate grits. I've never met a grit that I liked. Yesterday morning, I kept stealing bites of Anna's. They were awesome... fresh grits (what a difference that makes) with lots of cheddar, bacon, and tomatoes.

Wild Eggs is definitely going into our rotation. Anna rarely is up early enough for eatting out at breakfast, but after we finished she remarked that she may now have a reason to get up before noon on Saturday....

Disappointment: Kenshin Big Edition volume 1

2007-10-22T06:50:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note before I go into work this morning... major disappointment stemming from a much looked forward to manga release. In January Viz are beginning their new Big Edition line of omnibuses containing three volumes in one, restored color pages, and larger trim size. Much like the japanese kanzenban, but with more pages in each volume. I was really looking forward to this line of books for fairly obvious reasons. This morning the cover art for the first volume of the Rurouni Kenshin Big Edition Volume 1 was found on Amazon. Behold:

Glory in the mediocrity... for comparison's sake, please see the cover art from Kanzenban volume 1.

Why Viz? WHY?

Playing Catchup

2007-10-19T18:21:00.000-04:00

It's been about a month since I've posted, but I'm pretty sure Alan is the only person reading anyway. Regardless, lots of stuff to catch up on.

When last I posted I'd started going back to the gym. Gym has been replaced by physical therapy sessions for the last three weeks. The ankle joint is feeling largely fine but aches are persisting in my Achilles tendon. Only 38 days from our trip to Disney World now, so I really need to get this cleared up. It's making me quite nervous. Some progress has been made, but not as much as I would have liked. I still have another week of PT, and then it's back into the orthopedists office on 11/5 for what will likely be my final check up with him since the ankle joint itself is pretty much healed up.

The last month has seen a dirth of game purchases. I went a little crazy on Xbox Live Arcade; having added four or five games easily. The biggest surprise for us has been Puzzle Quest. I'd resisted the game on handhelds for quite some time, knowing that it was coming to XBLA in beautiful high definition. Plus, the DS game didn't support multicard play so Anna and I would both need a copy, and we only have one PSP. Clearly XBLA was the only choice for a satisfying multiplayer experience, and this assumption has proven correct.

I'd been under the impression that Puzzle Quest was merely a puzzle game with a thin veneer of RPG elements taped over the interface to provide a new dynamic to the proven Bejewelled style puzzle mechanic. Oh how mistaken I was! The RPG elements are far more robust than I would have expected. You move your character from location to location over a simple Final Fantasy Tactics-styled map. Along the way you fight orcs, trolls, undead, and various mythical beasts. You recruit companions to aid in your fight, capture enemies, and lay siege to neighboring cities. You must invest in the construction of your private citadel by building a dungeon to keep prisoners, a mage tower to research spells, a forge to fashion new items, and much more. And everything is accomplished by completion of puzzles and in competition with NPCs. Puzzle Quest is so much more robust than I could have hoped, and it's proven a real surprise hit with the both of us.

Last Friday I picked up WarTech: Senko no Ronde for 360. It's a fairly niche Japanese title that combines shmup with 1-0n-1 fighter. I was shocked when Ubisoft brought it here. Even MORE shocked that they debuted it at full retail. These niche Japanese games have typically been brought over at a modest $40. I wasn't having it for $60, especially with the busted americanized cover art and horrible new moniker of WarTech (the original title was simply Senko no Ronde, at least they had the decency to leave it as a subtitle). It was reduced to $30 eventually, but I still couldn't part with the cash. Last week saw EB/Gamestop reduce the game to $10, so it became a no brainer.

In the TRU B2G1 sale last weekend, I also picked up skate., Eternal Sonata, and Halo 3. Even though I've never cared much for Halo, I realize this is something people will be playing for the next 5 years easily, so I might as well get some play time in with friends online. I'll get to them when I get finished with Blue Dragon, which I've returned to and managed to finish the first disc, finally. The rest of the game should go faster, I'm giving up on inspecting every last bread box and shrub in the hopes of gaining a tiny fraction of increase in abilities and resources.

That's about all I can stomach wrestling with blogger's poor interface. More updates on the last month tomorrow, perhaps.

back to the gym

2007-09-17T08:49:00.001-04:00

I haven't been in the gym since around the end of July last year. That's when I had my odd ankle injury that had me limping around for two months last year, which finally culminated in arthroscopic surgery about a month ago. In the mean time I've gained somewhere around 12 lbs, all around the mid-section. I am not a happy cookie.

Thankfully on my last visit to the orthopedist, he suggested that getting on an excericise bike a couple times a week would help regain strength and flexability in my ankle. I didn't actually go until today. Why? After more than a year away it's just difficult to go back. It's hard to get up those extra thirty minutes in the morning to get in to the gym. But once you do, you settle right in.

Twenty minutes this morning of relatively light intervals on the excersize bike. Tomorrow night I'll go back to restart the weight training. Hopefully by this time next month I'll progress back up to the elliptical with my old pattern of high intensity interval training. With any luck, I'll be back down to about 155 by the time vacation comes right after Thanksgiving.

$400 PS3?

2007-09-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

From Ars Techinica.

This is exactly the direction that Sony SHOULD be headed in. Which could be it's bogus.

If it's real, it could be the move which finally results in a PS3 in my living room. Anna gave the thumbs up to the Sony Credit Card deal if I wanted to do it, but I wasn't really comfortable with that. I don't like the idea of opening a credit card just for a purchase discount... especially when it's not so much a discount, it's a credit issued to your card sometime after the purchase. Maybe it wasn't so bad... I'm just uncomfortable with it.

But $400 retail? We'll likely have a 10% off card for Target floating around, bringing it to only $360, plus a free copy of Spider-man 3 on Blu Ray. Good enough for me.

I know, if the report is correct, it'll only be a 40GB HD. I'm not much fussed over that. I've barely used the 20 gigs on my 360 after 4-5 months, and by all accounts it's very easy to switch out a drive on the PS3. And yeah, it'll be an emotion engine-less unit, but again it matters very little to me.

In response to a response: HD Format War

2007-09-08T14:37:00.001-04:00

Contrary to what a friend's reponse to my post on HD media says, I did not indicate that things might be looking up. Rather, I posed a question. Last I checked posing a question does not equate to indicating anything is. However, I will certainly endeavor to explain my rationale for acceptance of combo players, especially in light of the extremely sparse nature of my original comments which elicited a fairly impassioned and detailed response.

The main flaw I find in Alan's argument is that he apparently believes that there's only one way for the format war to end: for one format to be taken off the market. Would I rather have a single format? Certainly. Which one would I prefer? Blu-ray, hands down. But at this point, I want the war over by any means necessary. If HD players migrate to being by and large combo players then the end result is the same. Why? Because consumers want to buy one player and know they aren't screwed out of material only found on a competing format.

Is there some branding confusion? Sure. I hate to tell him though, HD in general presents a number of confusion issues to the general consumer. An alarming number think anything on an HDTV is automatically in HD - this has been documented in numerous customer surveys and articles as insane as it sounds to us. Thankfully recent studies have demonstrated an understanding of the need for special programming to have risen from somewhere around 50% last year to apparently about 86% this year. Also, all too many think regular DVDs are already HD. And even many of those who understand the difference don't feel like HD discs are enough of an upgrade over DVD to care. And therein lies the only real problem.

People don't care. It's not customer confusion creating problems, it's customer apathy. Alan mentions consumer apathy, but he directs only towards combo players when it really should be directed at HD disc formats in general. Alan cites the failure of SACD and DVD-Audio as an example of consumer confusion killing two competing formats, but it's a bad analogy. It's hard to be confused about something when no one even knows what the bloody hell your talking about. Take a poll on the street, take a poll of your family. Unless they're audiophiles (and audiophiles make up a very very small part of the consumer base), they aren't going to know what SACD or DVD-Audio is. I know what they are and I never cared. That's why those formats failed. Not confusion, apathy. For the vast majority of people CD quality is good enough. Hell, for most people lossy MP3s are good enough.

However, HD media have at least two big advantages over both SACD and DVD-Audio. One, it's much easier for the average consumer to see a difference in picture quality than it is for them to hear the difference in audio quality of a music recording over what is currently available. Two, it has an entry route that is finding it's way into consumer's homes whether they like it or not. While many people still don't have a reasonable understanding of HD, the numbers of sets sold are increasing all the time, simply by virtue of the fact that very few standard def sets are even sold now. As the technology becomes more universal, understanding too will come with time, and as discussed above, we're already seeing improvements from even a year ago. With that level of understanding, so comes a proliferation of HD programming entering people's homes through cable and satellite. And after they get used to watching a season of Lost or Heroes in HD... they have a hard time going back to standard def DVDs and at that point they start to care. The hook has been set. Now they are ready for HD disc formats, when before they didn't see it as big of a deal.

And that is a BIG key here. The whole HD migration is taking time, but it is happening. It's bound to take time, and the HD disc adoption isn't going to be a nearly over-night revolution like DVD was. The expense to change over isn't minimal, but it's coming down all the time, as technology is want to do. But we're still in the early adopter phase here.

Which, bewilderingly, is why Alan feels screwed now. Yes yes, he has a Blu-Ray player in the form of a PS3, and he feels like he's getting screwed by recent deals such as that made between Toshiba and several studios. This shouldn't really surprise him, though - we all know early adopters always get screwed. Just ask iPhone owners. But Alan's the kind of guy who already understands this, even if he is not outwardly accepting of it. Again, this is even something he touches on early in his article, but by the end he's brushing it off when it affects him directly. I'm sorry if he has to end up buying another player. I would have thought he would be expecting to in the next couple of years anyway.

When we move OUT of early adopter phase, and people start caring as discussed above, then the market needs to be ready with a winner. If that means combo players are the norm, and people walk into a showroom and the dealer says, "this plays all HD media available" then that's good enough.

Again, I certainly agree a single format would be the best outcome, and my personal choice would be Blu-Ray. But pragmatically, that may not be in the cards. The next best solution is for dual format players to become the norm. I ask you, how do we all lose if multi-format players become the norm? We don't. When dual format players are the norm, we are completely unrestricted in our choices. I don't call complete freedom of choice being screwed.

Things looking up for HD formats?

2007-09-05T23:26:00.001-04:00

Took a quick peak into a few blogs before going to bed. EngadgetHD is running stories today about new combo players from both LG and Samsung, and will debut at CEDIA this week. As much as I would prefer to have one prevailing format, I'll be reasonably satisfied with dual format players becoming the norm. It's looking more and more like the eventual outcome. Will the two formats be eventually be merged in the minds of consumers if not in specifications? I wouldn't be at all surprised. Then we can get rid of those ridiculous Blu-Ray and HD-DVD cases.

Teen Titans #50: Back in the list

2007-09-04T18:43:00.001-04:00

I've made no secret of my opinion that Teen Titans has lost it's way. Johns and McKone's issues are some of my favorite Titans books ever, but it really got off track during Infinite Crisis, and simply couldn't recover with the Death of Conner (Superboy) and the removal of Bart (Kid Flash) for the artificial aging to adulthood and subsequent death barely more than a year later.

Sean McKeever appears to have a solid grounding for the characters. Issue #50 gives me hope that this run of Titans isn't going to die. I've been on and off with the Titans since the A Lonely Place of Dying crossover arc with Batman in the late 80's. A lot of Titans teams have come and gone since then and the four who graduated from Young Justice were one of my favorites. It's been a sad slow decline in enthusiasm for me since the afore-mentioned sundering of that team but in #50 McKeever makes me think I could come to love these newer characters as much as those we've lost. It's always been about the interpersonal relationships for the Titans. If he can concentrate on that aspect of the book while keeping firmly within superhero adventure, then he'll have me for a long time.

The only doubt I have is the chosen artist for the new run. Ale Garza is a very talented artist, don't get me wrong. But I have a firm belief that even supremely talented artists are not the right fit for any story merely based on their talent. Art style has to match well to the tone of the story. Comics are a blending of two halves which only work when one dissolves into another and makes a whole. Personally I don't feel Garza's style works well on superheros. A fantastic artist, but in my opinion, the wrong artist for the job.

Dennou Coil

2007-09-01T14:27:00.001-04:00

I started doing some catchup work on some spring anime series. My new favorite is Dennou Coil. The show is incredibly refreshing. There was a time when nearly every anime show had a distinct look but for much of the 2000's there has been a trend towards homogenization of styles in TV anime. Dennou Coil is at the forefront of a number of programs bucking that trend. It seems to draw more from Studio Ghibli than anything from television, and manages to evoke that feeling without copying styles outright.

It takes place in a future world, sometime in the 2020's, where humans use a special system of cybernetic glasses to interact with a world of data around them - it's a world of augmented reality where virtual object exist as overlays in the real world. The exact nature of this world of virtual objects is unclear, but I'm only up to episode three myself - fortunately the mysteries feel less like mystery for mystery's sake and is more a natural evolution of the story introducing the viewer into the strange world in which humans now live. The main character is an 11 year old girl who moves with her family to the town of Daikoku where the government has, as of late, been introducing upgrades and new technology to the spaces (short for cyberspaces, the virtual 3-d areas overlaid onto the real world and seen only through visors/glasses). Shortly after arriving in town, her cyberpet dog Densuke is infected with an Illegal (a virtual organism comparable to a computer virus) and this begins her decent into an underground youth culture of Daikoku and membership in a children's detective agency armed with powerful virtual objects and metatags (bits of virtual world code given form as long post-it like notes which bestow abilities, properties, and markers to both virtual and real objects).

Dennou Coil is a real keeper. Interesting concepts mixed with a fantastically fun and original style that breaks away from the rest. Check it out if you get the chance.

On a more general note, I've added a list of the anime I'm currently watching on the side. It's a short list right now, as I've lost interest in a lot of the shows I was watching earlier in the year. Bleach and Naruto came back strong from fillers, but both went back to old tricks far too soon. As interesting stylisticly Moonlight Mile was, it just didn't hold my attention. I might try it again as the show has finished it's run and is available in whole. Given that it's getting a second season already, it probably deserves a second shot. Gurren Lagann, while a favorite, was licensed very quickly, and so I've just decided to wait for the domestic release. Claymore was always a treat, but for some reason I always dreaded starting to watch a new episode, and eventually let it fall by the way side. My mind is an odd one.

There are very few shows coming up in the fall season that I'm looking forward to. Gundam 00 is the main one, but it's a new Gundam show so that's a given. I'd probably be REALLY into seeing Genshiken Season 2, if I'd ever got around to seeing Season 1. A few others here and there I might look into, but nothing worth really mentioning till I see them....

skate.Reel finally works for me

2007-08-28T19:44:00.000-04:00

And here's my first skate video.

I thought I'd editted the first half out... it was only supposed to be the last long grind. Oh well, it's Beta right?

Catching up with the Gaijin

2007-08-24T10:53:00.000-04:00

With all this extra time sitting on my butt at home this last week, I've been catching up on a few things. Some anime I'd not watched, som comics I'd not read, some games I'd not played much lately (set new high scores in Pac-man CE and Geometry Wars, woohoo!) and today, thanks to an offhand comment from Erich, I thought to get caught up on Gaijin Smash. This week's stories about the train and the $1200 Cell Phone Porn bill are classics.

If you're not familiar with it, start reading now. You'd benefit from reading some of the early posts. Especially the first one. It really sets the tone for whole blog.

The Inevitable

2007-08-24T10:18:00.000-04:00

VGChartz announces the Wii has finally surpassed the Xbox 360 in total sales.

After next year I fear a drought of epic games. Why should anyone bother but for the love? If casual gaming pulls in these kinds of numbers for such ridiculously low development costs, where's the benefit to the company? *shrug* I love the Wii but in some ways I fear for the future.

What a week

2007-08-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday at work I started receiving files for a big project that warrant speedy attention. I'd been anticipating their arrival for some time. They are part of a larger issue that has been going on for years before I was even in this position and there's some pressure to get it resolved.

But, of course, last Thursday I had ankle surgery. Off Friday and Monday for recovery, back on Tuesday. By which point MORE files on the project had arrived, also needing review. Fine fine, I got some work done Tuesday, but was still a little bit behind.

Wednesday morning I get up and my car won't start. Quick clicking sounds emanate from the dash... I figure it's the batter, alternator, or starter. Nothing much I can do while I'm still on crutches, though, so back in a go and wait for Anna to get home from work. The car is parked in the carport with no good access to the front though, and there's no way we're moving it out on our own. Any normal day would be fine, but while still recovering from ankle surgery? No, I think not. So she goes to bed, and that night we go out and buy one of those portable jump starters so we can get it moving. That done, I get the battery replaced and the charging system tested the next morning (Thursday) and all is well.

But Thursday I also had another Doctor's appointment so, between the battery and that, it's another day off. Only the Doctor's office disagreed. They didn't have me down for an appointment that day. In fact they didn't have me down for any upcoming appointments at all. Thankfully the physician's assistant is sweet and saw me anyway.

This morning I planned on returning to work... lots to do ya know? Get in my car and realize it's been broken in to. My fault, I left it unlocked, but now the car is full of the out turned contents of my glove boxes. I don't think there was anything in there particularly worth stealing, but I called all of my financial institutions anyway. Got new CC numbers, put a credit alert on file with credit bureaus, and file a report with the police. If I were to leave for work now I wouldn't arrive until almost 11 o'clock, half the day wasted, vacation leave taken for the morning. The heck with that, I'm staying home.

And I have another doctor's appointment on Monday. What a week.

Chibi Block Dropping Salvation: SPFIITHDR Dated

2007-08-23T12:19:00.001-04:00

Thanks to my friend Nick for pointing out Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has finally been dated. And it's coming next Wednesday! For what will most assuredly be the best XBLA release ever. I really can't wait.

2k, really?

2007-08-22T14:28:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you have one of the hottest selling games of the year?

First, allow direct2drive downloads with a preloader from IGN, then start threatening to sue customers who discover you put the authentication server up early.

Second, implement widescreen incorrectly, making it show LESS than the 4:3 mode.

Third, implement draconian DRM requiring an internet connection to register and play, and only allowing 2 installs of the game, ever.

Fourth, explain to all your customers why they are wrong, and widescreen really shouldn't give them more picture.

O_o

skate.

2007-08-22T14:26:00.001-04:00

The demo finally was released yesterday and it's great. Really everything I wanted it to be. It's such a pleasant departure from the Tony Hawk trick chain fest bs. It was awesome to grind on telephone wires at first. But really, telephone lines? Ridiculous. EA's skate. feels like skating, and I couldn't be happier.

Out of surgery.

2007-08-17T17:19:00.000-04:00

I've been out of surgery for 26 hours, and my leg is still numb from the nerve block. Apparently I'm a complete lightweight because I was out way before they expected me to be. They gave me a light sedative to get me loose for doing the nerve block on my ankle because they said I couldn't be completely under when they did it. Yeah, well, I remember rolling on my side for them to start the block, the next thing I know I'm waking up in the recovery room.

The numbness is wearing off, but all that means is the pain is setting in.

Countdown to Cancellation

2007-08-15T08:26:00.001-04:00

Countdown just isn't working out for me. For all that I enjoyed 52, I certainly wanted it to. I've given it 14 issues now, however, and it still isn't clicking, so I think that's enough. I've actually removed it from my weekly lists in various discussion forums, but have failed to make the change to my pull list at the comic shop. That changes today, however, as the book is officially pulled from my list.

The biggest problem for me is that too much of the book is given over to fleeting glimpses of events occurring around the DC Universe. I understand the logic behind device: in the stated goal of the series to serve as a spine for the DCU books for the coming year, it gives readers a look around at events important to the eventual 2008 big crossover. However, these glimpses often glaringly contradict the events in the books for which they are considered home. Ostensibly they are shown in Countdown to round out the important events for readers not following the "home" titles, but at times they never receive closure in Countdown leading to narrative discontinuity. It would be far better if Countdown formed a backbone storyline for the DC Universe with everything tied up neatly in Countdown, allowing the monthlies to tie into events when it makes sense to demonstrate the far reaching implications.

One of the most problematic storylines running through Countdown is the search for Ray Palmer, which involves Donna Troy, Jason Todd (who I guess at this point has dropped the hood from his "Red Hood" disguise so I guess he's just the "Red Mask" now?), and current Atom Ryan Choi. The story is billed as an important one, developmentally, for the DCU. The problem is that it's occurring in both Countdown and All-New Atom. With entirely different events. At a completely different pace. Maybe it's working for some, but it isn't for me. So as of now Countdown is dropped and I'm officially adding Booster Gold, Brave and the Bold, and Flash to my pull list.

Booster Gold is a welcome return. Booster was a favorite of mine as a kid and well into my teens as part of the Giffen Justice League. He was mishandled terribly in the 90's, but after a rough ride last year in 52 through some dubious moments, I think it's time for the Goldstar to shine again under the guidance of Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens, Booster's creator.

As excited as I am for Booster to be back in the spotlight, I'm also ecstatic by the creative team leading it. Geoff Johns rarely goes astray. His DC books of the last few years have been some of my favorites of all time. His run on Justice Society is unmatched, his Teen Titans were as definitive as the Wolfman/Perez years, and his work on Green Lantern has been a renaissance. I have no doubt in my mind that his Booster will be of similar quality.

By contrast, Dan Jurgens has been something of an unknown quantity over the last few years, at least for me. The highest profile work he's done has been the History of the DCU back in 52, and the History of the Multiverse backup in Countdown. I do count this as a negative against him… only by virtue of the fact that I hold him in high regard as an artist. Jurgens is a remarkable representation of the superhero illustration classicist. His figure work is dramatic, his lines are clean, his anatomy is solid, and his backgrounds are anything but neglected. I'm very happy he's not only on a monthly book, not only on a monthly book that I want to read, but he's on a monthly book that I want to read about a favorite character which he created, written by a man I consider to be, perhaps, the best new comics writer of the last decade. I really couldn't ask for much more.

Rounding out the additions: Brave and the Bold I've been buying since it first started four or five months back and for some reason never got around to putting it in the list. Waid and Perez's BATB feels like every good DC comic I've ever read rolled into one. Classic comics in a modern format. Love love love. However, Waid's return to Flash in #231 has me a little on the cautious side.

The basic concept is that Wally West, the third man to bear the Flash name, returns with his family to the DCU after what was apparently about 10 years in some alternate dimension. Does anyone see the immediate problem readers might have? Many people hold the aging of previous Kid Flash Bart Allen to the twenty year old Flash (only to then kill him off at the end of a year when it wasn't working) as the biggest mistake DC comics has made recently. When last we saw Wally the kids were infants, now they are preteens. The implementation of the son's abilities has me the most doubtful – he can temporarily accelerate myofibril hypertrophy in his body (his muscles get big). It can look a tad ridiculous. Still though, Waid has a proven track record, so I remain optimistic. Acuna is definitely a rising star as well, but I think his style is better suited to special projects than a monthly periodical. I look forward to this continuation of the Flash, though, and if nothing else it will be interesting.

XBL Download Assortment

2007-08-14T22:26:00.000-04:00

Bioshock Demo - Thankfully it completed over night, I had my doubts for a while. It's an impressive effort in world design but it plays much like a dozen other FPS games played over the last ten years. It looks to be worth a play through, but not the hype being built around it in fan circles, both amature and professional, across the internet. A pretty game, a moody game, but a game I've played a hundred times over without any real new mechanics.

Beautiful Katamari Demo - It's three minutes of the game you've already played on PS2. Fun, and prettier, but the same game. And only three minutes. Not that it was a masterwork of coherent story telling, but I doubt someone unfamiliar with previous versions would walk away with any clue as to what was going on.

Guitar Hero II download packs - I've said before I'd never buy one of their download packs. This conviction was built upon a strong foundation of pathetic and random groupings of songs, and the exorbitant pricing of 500 points per three-song pack. The new pack is a My Chemical Romance song, and I do like the MCR. It's still over priced at 500 points, but I have a feeling this is a concern that will never be addressed, so I might as well enjoy the result of one adjustment to the norm. (And yeah I know blah blah blah emo sucks... tell it to someone who buys into the emo-hate bs).

A New Direction... and a few words for the passing of a great

2007-08-14T22:04:00.000-04:00

Sometimes there are things I want to say that have nothing to do with gaming, and sometimes I have nothing to really say on gaming for months at a time. Witness the two month gap in postings when I first began. So why define the blog so rigidly? From now on it'll be a general blog... probably with mostly video game content for the time being, but lots on comics, toys, anime, and other subjects wondering in and out.

Yesterday afternoon I learned that comic book artist Mike Wieringo passed away on Sunday August 12 of a massive heart attack. He was only 44. He maintained a healthy diet and exercised every day. He didn't register in any risk group. But he's gone from the world, when he still had so much to give. By all accounts, he was the best this industry of prima donnas has to offer. He was kind, humble and generous, constantly denying his own importance and artistic brilliance. He lived and breathed comics and his death is a loss for anyone who loves comics, whether they knew him, knew of him, or had never heard of him. He is already greatly missed.

Bioshock Demo

2007-08-13T21:44:00.001-04:00

It was my intention tonight to play the Bioshock demo.

Since it's been going for almost four hours and is barely past 25%, I think I'll pass on that tonight.

Very frustrating, though it did force me to finally sit and finish out the achievements on Pac-Man CE.