Good Monday everyone!
Okay, Mondays are generally not good, but it’s here so one might as well roll with it, right? Otherwise you’re just dropping a few Valium, calling in “incapacitated” and waiting for Tuesday to show-up. Awesome.
So I’m kicking off this second week of blogs with a bit about what’s being watched in the BSer house these days. Naturally, I’ve got to break it down quickly, as this could go on forever.
Oh yeah, none of the shows for the kids. I know that Zoboomafoo is a cool show for my kids, but you shouldn’t be that excited about that.
Also, we do use the DVR extensively. With kids there would be no chance to watch any show that started before 8 PM, and those later starts would be in doubt, too. If there has been any device that has enabled my television watching, the DVR has been the big one.
So, here are the 30 minute shows Sasha and I watch together. They make us smile and laugh, generally leaving the world a little brighter for their existence. (Only a little though.)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS – Monday)
This is a comedy for those of us who are geeks at heart. Because, for once, the writers don’t try and stick a machete into that heart over and over again. The show uses multiple characters to cover all the stereotypes of geeks, instead of the typical lump-them-all-into-one mentality when these type of characters appear.
And maybe, just maybe people who don’t consider themselves geeks can watch and see that they too have a little bit of geek within. (Hey, fantasy sport players, I’m talking to you.)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS – Monday)
If the writers of Friends found out that a narrative doesn’t have to be linear, and that a story can be told with a beginning, middle and end, this show could have been the result. HIMYM tells a story with consequences, changes and a little playing with time. Worth watching for Neil Patrick Harris (yes, that’s Dougie Hauser) alone, but the others do a fine job keeping the show interesting. Best Monday night CBS show.
Two and a Half Men (CBS – Monday)
If any of these shows I list could be called a guilty pleasure, Two and a Half Men would get top guilt honors. The characters are Seinfeld-esqe in that you wouldn’t want any of them as your friend, but the situations are so amusing that one cannot help but laugh. That is, if you aren’t offended by mean humor without the sharp wit of early Frasier.
Honestly, if it wasn’t for Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, this show wouldn’t be worth the time. Sheen plays a version of himself and Cryer hits spineless perfectly to make the show worth watching. It is a shame that the “half” portion of the show has very little impact any more. The price of having a good run, I guess.
The Office (NBC – Thursday)
We watch this. It’s very funny. Many people watch it. They think it’s funny, too. My only complaint is that the device of the documentary is the show’s weakness. But most other television shows have not sent me to the floor in laughter.
If you work in any kind of corporate environment, this show hits home far too often. Fortunately, it’s the kind of hit that makes one laugh with that tear of sadness, because you know it’s true.
30 Rock (NBC – Thursday)
The show 30 Rock hit the same season as Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Both shows had the number of minutes in the title. Both featured behind the scenes of a comedy variety show being produced. One featured a lot of cast members from West Wing along with the producer. The other had SNL cast and Alec Baldwin. Both were good.
But Studio 60 was a show we wanted to watch but never got around to actually viewing. 30 Rock was top of the list in shows to view. Fortune smiled on 30 Rock’s absurd sensibility and thus it remains on the air, winning several Emmys along the way and remains one of our favorite shows to watch.
So I’m stopping here for now. Next post may be the longer shows or might be something completely different. But I will return to television later this week.
Be seeing you,
Jon
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
A Beautiful Whuppin'
Ah the weekly Playstation Network update. Always a few things worth downloading there, but this week is actually worth writing about.
First off, I snagged the demo for the nostalgia fueled game, Mega Man 9. For those of you not familiar with the "blue bomber" the Mega Man series began years ago on the first Nintendo system - the NES - here in the US. (It's called the Famicom in Japan, for "Family Computer".) Known for high difficulty and massive amounts of sequels, the series has evolved somewhat over the years. Now Mega Man 9 is pretty much a throw back to the original NES version.
When it launched on my PS3, I was greeted with the bleeps and bloops associated with that first Nintendo system. The graphics matched that quality as well - except it lacked the classic flicker of NES games.
While I do own a NES now, I never had one during the heyday so there were no stirring of emotions there.
So I hit start and went into the demo level, "Cement Man". (All Mega Man bosses are named the same with Yogurt Man* being my favorite.) The controls were simple - left, right, jump, shoot. But the gameplay went - right, right, get-damaged, jump, get-damaged, shoot, die.
Okay, maybe I'm a little rusty.
Right, right, jump, get-damaged, shoot, jump, right, jump, fall-down-pit-and-die.
Now I've played bullet-hell shooters, but this is something else.
Right, right, jump, get-damaged, shoot, jump, right, die, "Quit Mega Man 9?", yes.
Wow, that was painful and humbling. Glad I didn't drop the ten buck to buy the full game as I know it would just end up gathering virtual dust on my PS3's hard drive. Some flashes to the past are not worth the price of admission. Especially the cost in ego-damage alone.
So instead I put $20 up to download WipEout HD.
While the Wipeout series is newer than Mega Man, it still has a history. As one of the marquee titles on the orginal Playstation, the concept of futuristic racing sleds had major appeal to me. Released in 1995 for the Sony Playstation it had a techno sound track, weird in game ads (Red Bull billboards were present, although the product did not hit the US until 1997.) and speed, speed, speed. This was my kind of racing game.
Thirteen years later, I kicked off the install, cranked the volume and waited for what was rumored to be one of the most graphically intense Playstation 3 experiences yet.
First off, I had to accept the three page warning about the potential for siesures - which I had read was a reason for it's delay in release. Next I selected a vehicle. Finally, my retinas melted into a pile of fanboy goo as the race was about to begin.
My first race did not go well. Part of the time I was running into walls trying to remember how to play the game. The other portion of my brain was repeating, "My god it's full of stars." over and over again. The game played fast, looked amazing, and did not let up until I finished that third lap in 5th place.
I wiped the drool from chin and sat back amazed. This was quite possibly the game that all others had to go up against from here on out.
There may be a few later nights this weekend as my reflexes are put to the Wipeout HD test. Well worth the price of admission, even though I suspect there are a few blows to the ego ahead of me.
Be seeing you.
* Actually, as far as I'm aware there isn't a Yogurt Man in the Mega Man series. However, they do have Plug Man who is "A line inspection robot at a television set factory. He carries out the final check on the products with a sharp eye." Just as weird in my book.
Wipeout HD - www.wipeouthd.com
Mega Man - http://megaman.capcom.com/index.php
First off, I snagged the demo for the nostalgia fueled game, Mega Man 9. For those of you not familiar with the "blue bomber" the Mega Man series began years ago on the first Nintendo system - the NES - here in the US. (It's called the Famicom in Japan, for "Family Computer".) Known for high difficulty and massive amounts of sequels, the series has evolved somewhat over the years. Now Mega Man 9 is pretty much a throw back to the original NES version.
When it launched on my PS3, I was greeted with the bleeps and bloops associated with that first Nintendo system. The graphics matched that quality as well - except it lacked the classic flicker of NES games.
While I do own a NES now, I never had one during the heyday so there were no stirring of emotions there.
So I hit start and went into the demo level, "Cement Man". (All Mega Man bosses are named the same with Yogurt Man* being my favorite.) The controls were simple - left, right, jump, shoot. But the gameplay went - right, right, get-damaged, jump, get-damaged, shoot, die.
Okay, maybe I'm a little rusty.
Right, right, jump, get-damaged, shoot, jump, right, jump, fall-down-pit-and-die.
Now I've played bullet-hell shooters, but this is something else.
Right, right, jump, get-damaged, shoot, jump, right, die, "Quit Mega Man 9?", yes.
Wow, that was painful and humbling. Glad I didn't drop the ten buck to buy the full game as I know it would just end up gathering virtual dust on my PS3's hard drive. Some flashes to the past are not worth the price of admission. Especially the cost in ego-damage alone.
So instead I put $20 up to download WipEout HD.
While the Wipeout series is newer than Mega Man, it still has a history. As one of the marquee titles on the orginal Playstation, the concept of futuristic racing sleds had major appeal to me. Released in 1995 for the Sony Playstation it had a techno sound track, weird in game ads (Red Bull billboards were present, although the product did not hit the US until 1997.) and speed, speed, speed. This was my kind of racing game.
Thirteen years later, I kicked off the install, cranked the volume and waited for what was rumored to be one of the most graphically intense Playstation 3 experiences yet.
First off, I had to accept the three page warning about the potential for siesures - which I had read was a reason for it's delay in release. Next I selected a vehicle. Finally, my retinas melted into a pile of fanboy goo as the race was about to begin.
My first race did not go well. Part of the time I was running into walls trying to remember how to play the game. The other portion of my brain was repeating, "My god it's full of stars." over and over again. The game played fast, looked amazing, and did not let up until I finished that third lap in 5th place.
I wiped the drool from chin and sat back amazed. This was quite possibly the game that all others had to go up against from here on out.
There may be a few later nights this weekend as my reflexes are put to the Wipeout HD test. Well worth the price of admission, even though I suspect there are a few blows to the ego ahead of me.
Be seeing you.
* Actually, as far as I'm aware there isn't a Yogurt Man in the Mega Man series. However, they do have Plug Man who is "A line inspection robot at a television set factory. He carries out the final check on the products with a sharp eye." Just as weird in my book.
Wipeout HD - www.wipeouthd.com
Mega Man - http://megaman.capcom.com/index.php
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Critics and Genre Movies - Grrr
As many of you know, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to games, movies, video games, books, tv shows... well a lot of things.
So I'm at home with my feverish son (new virus going around, very not kosher and much snuggling needed) and put on The Ultimate Trailer Show (found on HDNet). Once upon a time, I found that movie trailers were almost the best reason for going to the movies. They were action filled, intense, and got me excited for more movies beyond the one I was about to see. Like I said, I'm a geek.
Well, the show begins and I realized I recorded the wrong show. This one features movie critic Robert Wilonsky and he talks about the various trailers he's going to show, both new and old. He opens up with Max Payne starring Mark Wahlburg and before showing it proceeds to rip into all video game movies as pretty much not worth the effort or watching for that matter.
And while I think Wilonsky was a little too harsh, it's true that most video game movies are not good. One paticular german movie director seems to have made sure to drag every title he could through the mud. (If you see the name Uwe Boll on a piece of film, run as fast as you can.) However, if you leave the desire to see the next Schindler's List or Citizen Kane at the door, they can be a lot of fun.
So I cut Wilonsky some slack.
The next trailer shown is the new Harry Potter movie. And Wilonsky proceeds to rip away again, possibly believing he's playing the "mean is funny" card. It's not cool in my eyes, showing - to me - he's another genre hating film critic.
This is not an uncommon occurrence in the movie review business. If the movie has fantasy or sci-fi elements - making it a genre movie - it immediately loses a star/point/onion/etc. Oh, and no respect at all. (Sorry, Rodney.)
What is needed are genre critics. Those people who are either open-minded enough to accept that a sci-fi movie can be good, or at least provide criticism from the point of view of people who like those kind of movies. Spewing hate is annoying and does nothing for anyone's credibility except for staining it.
The worst part about Robert Wilonsky, he's ripping into movies that he has not seen yet. While I do not believe that Max Payne will be an excellent movie, it could end up being an intense, highly-stylized action movie. The next Harry Potter movie will be fun in the franchise. Great film? Probably not. But it should be some good stuff.
The moral of the story? Don't trust anyone who puts In Good Company on any top movie list.
Be seeing you
Max Payne trailer - http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/maxpayne/
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince/
In Good Company - http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/in_good_company/
So I'm at home with my feverish son (new virus going around, very not kosher and much snuggling needed) and put on The Ultimate Trailer Show (found on HDNet). Once upon a time, I found that movie trailers were almost the best reason for going to the movies. They were action filled, intense, and got me excited for more movies beyond the one I was about to see. Like I said, I'm a geek.
Well, the show begins and I realized I recorded the wrong show. This one features movie critic Robert Wilonsky and he talks about the various trailers he's going to show, both new and old. He opens up with Max Payne starring Mark Wahlburg and before showing it proceeds to rip into all video game movies as pretty much not worth the effort or watching for that matter.
And while I think Wilonsky was a little too harsh, it's true that most video game movies are not good. One paticular german movie director seems to have made sure to drag every title he could through the mud. (If you see the name Uwe Boll on a piece of film, run as fast as you can.) However, if you leave the desire to see the next Schindler's List or Citizen Kane at the door, they can be a lot of fun.
So I cut Wilonsky some slack.
The next trailer shown is the new Harry Potter movie. And Wilonsky proceeds to rip away again, possibly believing he's playing the "mean is funny" card. It's not cool in my eyes, showing - to me - he's another genre hating film critic.
This is not an uncommon occurrence in the movie review business. If the movie has fantasy or sci-fi elements - making it a genre movie - it immediately loses a star/point/onion/etc. Oh, and no respect at all. (Sorry, Rodney.)
What is needed are genre critics. Those people who are either open-minded enough to accept that a sci-fi movie can be good, or at least provide criticism from the point of view of people who like those kind of movies. Spewing hate is annoying and does nothing for anyone's credibility except for staining it.
The worst part about Robert Wilonsky, he's ripping into movies that he has not seen yet. While I do not believe that Max Payne will be an excellent movie, it could end up being an intense, highly-stylized action movie. The next Harry Potter movie will be fun in the franchise. Great film? Probably not. But it should be some good stuff.
The moral of the story? Don't trust anyone who puts In Good Company on any top movie list.
Be seeing you
Max Payne trailer - http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/maxpayne/
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince/
In Good Company - http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/in_good_company/
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
360? No thank you.
Why doesn't this BSer own a Xbox360?
Easy answer - I hate bullies. Especially rich bullies.
Let's start with the original Xbox. Microsoft came out of the gate with the Xbox, a huge system with a controller that doubles as a wheel block for Lockheed aircraft and a hard drive that failed often enough to be frustrating for some owners. The titles they had were of minimal appeal to me, but what got my goat was the manner Microsoft approached the market.
Win with money.
Lose money on every console sale - sure thing. Lock down titles to be Xbox exclusive - no problem. Live the shooter lifestyle - we've got your back.
Microsoft lost over a billion on the first Xbox, but that didn't stop them. When your company is being criticized by share holders for having excess cash, losing money is a good thing. It means the company is attempting to create growth opportunities.
Stupid shareholders.
So with all that going on and the fact I already owned the PS2 meant I kept away from the Xbox. Not even tempted.
When the Xbox 360 started coming around, it was still that fanboy within who said, "Don't even bother."
Then I started hearing about games like Geometry Wars - a freakin' cool shooter that was like Robotron on acid. Now they had my attention.
The PS3 was still a year away and was looking really expensive. Meanwhile, Microsoft was putting out a nice online service that was putting more small games out. Although it did have an annual fee. However, there was some temptation for the Sonylovin' dude.
Until the 360s started dying.
The Red Ring of Death (close friend of the Blue Screen of Death) started appearing in homes with Xbox 360s. One moment you're playing and the next a red led light is shining from your 360 telling you, "Game over." And it wasn't isolated, it was widespread.
[for a good and current detailed account, read: http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/05/xbox-360-defects-an-inside-history-of-microsofts-video-game-console-woes/ ]
My favorite accounting of the process was listening to the podcast Player One. The three members of the podcast all were bigger fans of the 360 than the PS3 because of the game selection. And that's a very good reason to have a preference. However, all three of them also had their 360 die. It was a bit of a joke to me. How can something be so good, yet have to be replaced? When I stopped tuning into Player One, one of the members was suspecting that his secondXbox 360 was going to give up the ghost. But it was still better than the PS3.
Yeah, sure it is.
Other techniques that Microsoft has used which have raised my ire include shelling out advertising money to make games either exclusive to the 360 or release early on the 360. Rock Band 2 came out for the 360 about three weeks ahead the PS3 andWii . Grand Theft Auto IV will have exclusive download content only on the 360. It's using money instead of quality to win, and that amounts to being a cash heavy bully in my eyes.
Eventually I bought my Playstation 3 post-Christmas 2007. I loved it. It was a way cool system. The familiar Sony style controller, sleek looks, a few free Blu-ray DVDs on the way, and backward compatibility to the PS2 games. (Which is no longer in the current PS3 models.) And eventually, Rock Band, which is another topic that carries a similar theme.
Oh yeah, and I had to return my PS3 to Best Buy within days due to a manufacturing defect on the plastic shell. Meanwhile, Xbox Live has seen the arrival of a fair number of cool board games to be played online.
Bugger.
Be seeing you.
Easy answer - I hate bullies. Especially rich bullies.
Let's start with the original Xbox. Microsoft came out of the gate with the Xbox, a huge system with a controller that doubles as a wheel block for Lockheed aircraft and a hard drive that failed often enough to be frustrating for some owners. The titles they had were of minimal appeal to me, but what got my goat was the manner Microsoft approached the market.
Win with money.
Lose money on every console sale - sure thing. Lock down titles to be Xbox exclusive - no problem. Live the shooter lifestyle - we've got your back.
Microsoft lost over a billion on the first Xbox, but that didn't stop them. When your company is being criticized by share holders for having excess cash, losing money is a good thing. It means the company is attempting to create growth opportunities.
Stupid shareholders.
So with all that going on and the fact I already owned the PS2 meant I kept away from the Xbox. Not even tempted.
When the Xbox 360 started coming around, it was still that fanboy within who said, "Don't even bother."
Then I started hearing about games like Geometry Wars - a freakin' cool shooter that was like Robotron on acid. Now they had my attention.
The PS3 was still a year away and was looking really expensive. Meanwhile, Microsoft was putting out a nice online service that was putting more small games out. Although it did have an annual fee. However, there was some temptation for the Sonylovin' dude.
Until the 360s started dying.
The Red Ring of Death (close friend of the Blue Screen of Death) started appearing in homes with Xbox 360s. One moment you're playing and the next a red led light is shining from your 360 telling you, "Game over." And it wasn't isolated, it was widespread.
[for a good and current detailed account, read: http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/05/xbox-360-defects-an-inside-history-of-microsofts-video-game-console-woes/ ]
My favorite accounting of the process was listening to the podcast Player One. The three members of the podcast all were bigger fans of the 360 than the PS3 because of the game selection. And that's a very good reason to have a preference. However, all three of them also had their 360 die. It was a bit of a joke to me. How can something be so good, yet have to be replaced? When I stopped tuning into Player One, one of the members was suspecting that his secondXbox 360 was going to give up the ghost. But it was still better than the PS3.
Yeah, sure it is.
Other techniques that Microsoft has used which have raised my ire include shelling out advertising money to make games either exclusive to the 360 or release early on the 360. Rock Band 2 came out for the 360 about three weeks ahead the PS3 andWii . Grand Theft Auto IV will have exclusive download content only on the 360. It's using money instead of quality to win, and that amounts to being a cash heavy bully in my eyes.
Eventually I bought my Playstation 3 post-Christmas 2007. I loved it. It was a way cool system. The familiar Sony style controller, sleek looks, a few free Blu-ray DVDs on the way, and backward compatibility to the PS2 games. (Which is no longer in the current PS3 models.) And eventually, Rock Band, which is another topic that carries a similar theme.
Oh yeah, and I had to return my PS3 to Best Buy within days due to a manufacturing defect on the plastic shell. Meanwhile, Xbox Live has seen the arrival of a fair number of cool board games to be played online.
Bugger.
Be seeing you.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Intro and Turning Two
So my little girl turned two this past weekend.
Her birthday proper was a busy day for us. Install of new phone and ISP from AT&T; lawn mowing; work annual event; block party to stop by; and get things ready for her party on Sunday. We managed to get all that done and get the kids proper naps, a bath and in bed on-time. Parenting is crazy, mad, busy stuff. And no, I won't trade it away.
But every now and then I plan on putting up a little of my life and time here on this blog. Sometimes it will be about the parenting life. Other times it will be about my geek life - games, movies, etc. Nothing about work life, though. Not much about politics either.
So who am I? A person who has had fortune smile much more often that frown. My wife Sasha is the organizational force of the family and yet also the party person, too. She kicks major keister and is a fantastic woman that I love very much.
The kids are Alya and Marcus. Alya just turned two and is an energetic little squirrel that enjoys puzzles and animals. I know I'll be the bad guy when she starts wanting more pets in the house. Although I suspect that she would take good care of them, since she is such a good help around the house already.
Marcus is ten and a half months old and will not be content in the shadow of his sister. He's getting ready to walk and already crawls around the house looking for where the action is happening. He doesn't have the patience for reading that Alya has, but we're working on that more and more.
Then we have the three cats BSersox, Bushido and Shinobi. All Burmese and each one different in attitude and personality. Unfortunately, they are not engaged with the kids as of yet. I don't think they've realized that the kids will be their best source of fun in the coming years. However, once the kids are in bed the cats are happy to snuggle up with us while we watch a little tv or play a game before going to sleep ourselves.
So Alya's two and she's just the joy. One of the best things about this girl is her ability to share. While opening her presents yesterday, she was happy to let little Adam J. help with the opening process. And when Kaede R. came to check out some of the books, Alya handed her one of the new ones for Kaede to look at and read while Alya continued opening. Such a good little one and I'm very proud of her.
Well that's it for now and I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes forward.
Be seeing you,
Jon
Her birthday proper was a busy day for us. Install of new phone and ISP from AT&T; lawn mowing; work annual event; block party to stop by; and get things ready for her party on Sunday. We managed to get all that done and get the kids proper naps, a bath and in bed on-time. Parenting is crazy, mad, busy stuff. And no, I won't trade it away.
But every now and then I plan on putting up a little of my life and time here on this blog. Sometimes it will be about the parenting life. Other times it will be about my geek life - games, movies, etc. Nothing about work life, though. Not much about politics either.
So who am I? A person who has had fortune smile much more often that frown. My wife Sasha is the organizational force of the family and yet also the party person, too. She kicks major keister and is a fantastic woman that I love very much.
The kids are Alya and Marcus. Alya just turned two and is an energetic little squirrel that enjoys puzzles and animals. I know I'll be the bad guy when she starts wanting more pets in the house. Although I suspect that she would take good care of them, since she is such a good help around the house already.
Marcus is ten and a half months old and will not be content in the shadow of his sister. He's getting ready to walk and already crawls around the house looking for where the action is happening. He doesn't have the patience for reading that Alya has, but we're working on that more and more.
Then we have the three cats BSersox, Bushido and Shinobi. All Burmese and each one different in attitude and personality. Unfortunately, they are not engaged with the kids as of yet. I don't think they've realized that the kids will be their best source of fun in the coming years. However, once the kids are in bed the cats are happy to snuggle up with us while we watch a little tv or play a game before going to sleep ourselves.
So Alya's two and she's just the joy. One of the best things about this girl is her ability to share. While opening her presents yesterday, she was happy to let little Adam J. help with the opening process. And when Kaede R. came to check out some of the books, Alya handed her one of the new ones for Kaede to look at and read while Alya continued opening. Such a good little one and I'm very proud of her.
Well that's it for now and I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes forward.
Be seeing you,
Jon
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