26 March, 2007 | No comments

One-Line Movie Review: 300

Read it here.

26 March, 2007 | No comments

One-Line Movie Reviews

Finally decided to do my One-Line Movie Reviews again after seeing the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. Someday, I may post up all my old ones, too, if I get around to it. Comments are welcome.

25 March, 2007 | No comments

Video Game Rant

OK. So I play video games. A lot of video games. I’m a sucker for first-person shooters for a number of reasons, but the biggest reason is that they don’t piss me off nearly as much as other types of games. Here’s why:

I can look around at what I want to see and I have control. If someone sneaks up on me and shoots me in the back of the head, that’s because I’m a dumbass and didn’t bother looking behind me. If, on the other hand, I can’t see behind me, can see only what the limited perspective shows me, then it’s the game’s fault when I get shot in the back of the head.

This came into play again today playing Genji: Days of the Blade. It’s a third-person perspective but you don’t have camera controls. You can’t see what’s behind you, and sometimes what’s in front of you - it depends on what the game wants you to see. That irritates me to no end. If there is to be any semblance of reality in games, this kind of thing should go away. Now.

It’s the same thing with shooting/swordplay/movement that’s just plain stupid. If you had a sword in real life, and swung it at a seven foot tall golem, and missed, you’d probably not swing again at the same point, three or four times. But game characters often keep on hitting, completing a complex series of movements that you can’t interrupt. Dumb.

Dumb.

I guess I just want my games to allow me full control. Many are getting closer. Resistance: Fall of Man was awesome. And I still miss the gameplay (and story) in Deus Ex. Sigh.

22 March, 2007 | No comments

Federal Judge Blocks Online Pornography Law

This New York Times article made me very happy. Which is rare.

Love this the most: Judge Lowell Reed Jr. says, “Despite my personal regret at having to set aside yet another attempt to protect our children from harmful material, perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection.”

Judge Lowell rocks.

22 March, 2007 | No comments

Here Comes Dr. Tran

I love this messed up flash:

22 March, 2007 | No comments

Second Life, Darker Matter

A few things to yak about. I’m working in Second Life tonight (Neko Longduk in-world) and running on little sleep, so my brain is fried. Sorry.

Actually, lots about Second Life happening right now. Centric (where I work) does a lot of projects in SL, and there are a million proposals (and requests for same) floating around right now. Big things are happening Jason Stoddard and I are heading to New York for the Virtual Worlds conference next week. Jason and I are also heading to Portland, Oregon (where I went to grad school!) for a Portland Advertising Federation seminar about virtual world marketing. And we’re stirring up shit about creating a Science Fiction Commons in the virtual world. Check out Jason’s blog and Tobias Buckell’s as well for more about that.

We’re also doing a MeetUp in Hollywood for our virtual worlds developers group. Come join the group — Virtual Hollywood — if you’re into it. And come by the MeetUp if you’re in L.A.

Also shooting more Wineass episodes, editing a short film called “9″ that I shot for a friend, writing, playing video games. Mostly Genji: Days of the Blade for PS3 right now.

My latest publication is called Tagging, and you can find it at Darker Matter. Other fun stories and interviews there as well.

21 March, 2007 | No comments

Asia Redux

Heading back to Asia in May. Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Maybe Kobe. Los Angeles to Singapore = 18 hours and 45 minutes on a plane, non-stop. It’s the second-longest flight segment in the world, I’m told - New York to Singapore being the longest. Add that to something like a 14 hour time difference, and what I get is leaving L.A. Tuesday afternoon and arriving in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Wow. I hope Singapore Airlines is all it’s reported to be, and more.

21 March, 2007 | No comments

Back on the Horse

I used to be really good at keeping things up-to-date online. Then grad school hit, and I lost the ability (waking hours) to keep things current. But I’ve been out of grad school for quite a while now, and there’s no more excuses. I promise to get back to blogging regularly. I’ll reprise my role as the One-Line Movie Reviewer. I think I may take on the One-Line Game Reviewer title as well. I’ll tell you about my writing life, my traveling life, my film and theatre life, my work life, my Second Life. Trust me, they’re all tied together. No, really, they are.

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