For those readers who happen to be my mother, please move to the next item.
After my linking to The Mii Lebowski, Mikey points out that the best Wii-related comic thus far was VGcats' take on Wario Ware, Smooth Moves. But he failed to link to it. So, for your rather dirty viewing pleasure, here it is.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Are Wii Having Fun Yet?
This is a great article about the rise of the Nintendo Wii, the Greatest Thing to happen to video games since, well, the last Greatest Thing.
I am struck by the fact that I could now go to Best Buy and pick up a PS3, no problem (if you consider laying down $700 'no problem'), whereas you still have to do the whole 'wait outside the store Sunday morning' thing to get a Wii in most places. Sony certainly won the pre-release hype battle, but Nintendo dominated the post-release, 'wow this is pretty damn fun' war.
Which is something I have been saying for a while; better graphics is enough, for a while. But eventually, you have to actually make an entertaining experience. This holds true in movies as well as video games; it is a long time past that I would consider a well-done series of special effects sufficiently interesting for me to call a movie good on that basis alone. Call it the 'Jurassic Park' effect. The first time you saw that damn brontosaurus, I know it sent shivers down your spine. By the time J.P.3 rolled around, it was all 'yawn okay, it's a dinosaur, blah blah blah, if you want me to be interested you better start busting out some boobs soon.'
So Sony and Microsoft miscalculated in thinking that, just by making the graphics better and the games bigger, they could make them more fun. Nintendo has always figured out how to do things that were new and cool and interesting (remember, the thumbpad was an amazing development to those of us born and raised on Atari joysticks). Especially if it keeps the consoles down under $300, I say 'rock on, Nintendo.'
Completely incidentally, 'The Mii Lebowski' is pretty damn funny.
I am struck by the fact that I could now go to Best Buy and pick up a PS3, no problem (if you consider laying down $700 'no problem'), whereas you still have to do the whole 'wait outside the store Sunday morning' thing to get a Wii in most places. Sony certainly won the pre-release hype battle, but Nintendo dominated the post-release, 'wow this is pretty damn fun' war.
Which is something I have been saying for a while; better graphics is enough, for a while. But eventually, you have to actually make an entertaining experience. This holds true in movies as well as video games; it is a long time past that I would consider a well-done series of special effects sufficiently interesting for me to call a movie good on that basis alone. Call it the 'Jurassic Park' effect. The first time you saw that damn brontosaurus, I know it sent shivers down your spine. By the time J.P.3 rolled around, it was all 'yawn okay, it's a dinosaur, blah blah blah, if you want me to be interested you better start busting out some boobs soon.'
So Sony and Microsoft miscalculated in thinking that, just by making the graphics better and the games bigger, they could make them more fun. Nintendo has always figured out how to do things that were new and cool and interesting (remember, the thumbpad was an amazing development to those of us born and raised on Atari joysticks). Especially if it keeps the consoles down under $300, I say 'rock on, Nintendo.'
Completely incidentally, 'The Mii Lebowski' is pretty damn funny.
Rough Afternoon
I know that I am going to draw serious sympathy from the 9-to-5ers out there amongst my Faithful Readers, but between the 7 AM conference call this morning, the 2 hour lunch that we held to celebrate hitting all of our milestones this week, and the extra beer (which of course was the Pumphouse's Kiltlifter, an incredibly tasty 7.8% Alcohol By Volume brew) that I had to drink just so the pitcher didn't go unfinished, I have the distinct feeling that it's going to be a very unproductive afternoon...
My Man-Crushes Collide
Ezra Klein deconstructs Obama's announced health care plan in the pages of The American Prospect. His review of Obama's plan, and also his personality, is less than favorable. Since Ezra is my personal hero on the subject of health care, and the only guy whose opinion I might respect more than Jon Cohn of The New Republic (who incidentally gave the plan a more positive review, although still declaring it to be overcautious), I am forced into taking a pause as well.
This is one of those points where I think Obama's inherent caution is a drawback. One of the ways in which conservatives have been very effective on the legislative stage, since '94, is that they come to the table with completely over-the-top proposals (eliminate the estate tax! and the department of education!) so that, when they meet the liberals' less extreme proposal halfway, the conservatives end up getting much more of what they want in the eventual compromise bill.
Once again, Obama, like so many Democrats before him, is ceding too much ground in his initial proposal, which means that come time to negotiate with the nutjobs in the House, he will have to yield too far to get something passed in a 'bipartisan fashion.'
As Ezra points out, it's early in the campaign, and there's still lots of time for movement. And as Jon points out, this proposal is a massive improvement over the system that is in place right now. I think it's more a political problem than a policy problem. I'm very much still an Obamanian, for the reasons I outlined earlier. I just hope that he manages to live up to his promise, rather than failing to meet his lofty goals.
This is one of those points where I think Obama's inherent caution is a drawback. One of the ways in which conservatives have been very effective on the legislative stage, since '94, is that they come to the table with completely over-the-top proposals (eliminate the estate tax! and the department of education!) so that, when they meet the liberals' less extreme proposal halfway, the conservatives end up getting much more of what they want in the eventual compromise bill.
Once again, Obama, like so many Democrats before him, is ceding too much ground in his initial proposal, which means that come time to negotiate with the nutjobs in the House, he will have to yield too far to get something passed in a 'bipartisan fashion.'
As Ezra points out, it's early in the campaign, and there's still lots of time for movement. And as Jon points out, this proposal is a massive improvement over the system that is in place right now. I think it's more a political problem than a policy problem. I'm very much still an Obamanian, for the reasons I outlined earlier. I just hope that he manages to live up to his promise, rather than failing to meet his lofty goals.
Strained Metaphors
A trip to Costco yesterday ended up with me leaving with a box full of mangoes. What can I say? Some guys dig electronics. Me? I'm an impulse-buyer when it comes to fruit.
As I was savoring one of those succulent treats this morning, jotting over the sports section, it occurred to me that mangoes are the Phoenix Suns of fruit. They are exotic and interesting. I would never get tired of them. And, while they are soft and squishy on the outside, they have a hard core at the center which could, in a pinch, be used in a barfight.
The San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, are like strawberries. They're a bit omnipresent, and after you've had them for a while you get a little bored of them. But after a few weeks, you take another look at them, and realize again 'damn, those things are pretty freaking good!' Plus, if you give me Eva Longoria and a basket of strawberries...well, let's just say anything I'm thinking right now is immensely inappropriate for this mostly family-friendly blog.
Which means that the Detroit Pistons are like bananas. They're pretty good, and always in the mix. They're a bit dull, but a good standby when you just need something to eat. But they're starting to get a bit old, which means that they're getting those little brown spots all over them, and a few flies buzzing around, and by tomorrow they're simply not going to taste nearly as good as they used to.
And clearly (this one's for Shane) this leaves the Denver Nuggets as papaya. You hear everyone talking about it, and how good it's supposed to be on paper. It's full of good things (Allen Iverson, papayene, etc.) But then you actually have one, and it tastes like crap, plus it makes you have to poo. But somehow, by the beginning of next season, you're thinking 'yeah, a papaya sounds like a good idea...'
As I was savoring one of those succulent treats this morning, jotting over the sports section, it occurred to me that mangoes are the Phoenix Suns of fruit. They are exotic and interesting. I would never get tired of them. And, while they are soft and squishy on the outside, they have a hard core at the center which could, in a pinch, be used in a barfight.
The San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, are like strawberries. They're a bit omnipresent, and after you've had them for a while you get a little bored of them. But after a few weeks, you take another look at them, and realize again 'damn, those things are pretty freaking good!' Plus, if you give me Eva Longoria and a basket of strawberries...well, let's just say anything I'm thinking right now is immensely inappropriate for this mostly family-friendly blog.
Which means that the Detroit Pistons are like bananas. They're pretty good, and always in the mix. They're a bit dull, but a good standby when you just need something to eat. But they're starting to get a bit old, which means that they're getting those little brown spots all over them, and a few flies buzzing around, and by tomorrow they're simply not going to taste nearly as good as they used to.
And clearly (this one's for Shane) this leaves the Denver Nuggets as papaya. You hear everyone talking about it, and how good it's supposed to be on paper. It's full of good things (Allen Iverson, papayene, etc.) But then you actually have one, and it tastes like crap, plus it makes you have to poo. But somehow, by the beginning of next season, you're thinking 'yeah, a papaya sounds like a good idea...'
Peace Offering
Okay, you won't see me doing this all too often, but give credit where credit is due: it's a wonderful use of the bully pulpit for President Bush to call for a $30B expenditure to fight AIDS in the developing world. The NYTimes article makes this move out to be a bit of a power play, to distract the rest of the G8 countries from the fact that we are the major recalcitrant on climate change by highlighting our work on alleviating poverty, hunger, etc. worldwide. Which may or may not be true, but the fact is that this is money extremely well-spent, in terms of human capital returns, and I don't give a rat's ass why he's doing it.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Weekend Roundup
So, three days too late, a brief roundup of a few activities pursued over the weekend.
Friday night, I went to see the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. It was not the finest performance that I've ever seen, but probably the most interesting. It was a mostly jazz-inspired evening (you can see the program details here). Undoubtedly the most fascinating part of the evening was the performance of Edgar Meyer's 2nd Concerto for Double Bass. Really cool stuff. Apparently, Meyer is the world's preeminent double bassist, which was pretty apparent. He rocked the living crap out of that music, which is not surprising, since he wrote it pretty much for himself. But still; while the music itself was only so-so (he's a good composer, but not great), his technique is fantastic and his playing was very exciting.
Interesting in theory, but lacking somewhat in living up to its potential, was an as-of-yet unnamed instrument which resembles nothing so much as a huge xylophone, only with the keys made of lengths of PVC pipe which are 3 to 6 or 7 feet long. We are told that the pipes are tuned to quarter-tones, instead of halves (imagine an extra key in between each key on a piano). And it did sound interesting. But because PVC carries vibrations so poorly, the instrument had no reverberation at all, so it was mostly drowned out by the rest of the orchestra, or even Meyer himself on the double bass. Still, cool idea.
Saturday morning there was a painting party at Shane's house, followed by a belly dancing performance by Daisy at the Boulder Creek Festival. The painting party was, well, much like a lot of people hanging out and painting. Not especially exciting, but not bad, plus I'm pretty sure I got at least a bit high on paint fumes, always a good thing. Daisy's performance was quite impressive; hopefully I will have pictures up soon.
Sunday night was Jess and Nate's wedding in Estes Park. The wedding was quite fantastic. It was the first time I've ever been to a Quaker wedding, and I really enjoyed it. In particular, the fact that the wedding ceremony is performed by the community, rather than by any special officiant. This gave plenty of opportunities for laughs and fun during the ceremony, which makes it more enjoyable, in my opinion, and also is completely appropriate for Jess and Nate, who are both wonderful and wonderfully silly.
Dancing into the wee hours (okay, not really, since the hotel mandated that the DJ shut it down at 10 PM), and then further celebrations at the 'party cabin' at the YMCA in Estes, all very fun. Not at all surprising to find that Jess and Nate had a really spectacular group of friends back in DC and generally on the East Coast, and I felt very fortunate to be at the wedding.
Then, on Monday, I managed to drag my ass out of bed and down into Boulder in time to meet Geir at the base of Flagstaff mountain for a refreshing little trail run. This was my primary long-term goal after my ACL surgery; since I have no plans to play Ultimate again, I had to come up with something specific to be working towards, and it was very satisfying to make it all the way to the top just 6 months after the surgery. There's still plenty far to go until the knee is completely healed, but so far this recovery has been scads easier than the first one, for which I am thankful. Plenty painful enough that I have absolutely no desire or intention to go through a third, but still...
Friday night, I went to see the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. It was not the finest performance that I've ever seen, but probably the most interesting. It was a mostly jazz-inspired evening (you can see the program details here). Undoubtedly the most fascinating part of the evening was the performance of Edgar Meyer's 2nd Concerto for Double Bass. Really cool stuff. Apparently, Meyer is the world's preeminent double bassist, which was pretty apparent. He rocked the living crap out of that music, which is not surprising, since he wrote it pretty much for himself. But still; while the music itself was only so-so (he's a good composer, but not great), his technique is fantastic and his playing was very exciting.
Interesting in theory, but lacking somewhat in living up to its potential, was an as-of-yet unnamed instrument which resembles nothing so much as a huge xylophone, only with the keys made of lengths of PVC pipe which are 3 to 6 or 7 feet long. We are told that the pipes are tuned to quarter-tones, instead of halves (imagine an extra key in between each key on a piano). And it did sound interesting. But because PVC carries vibrations so poorly, the instrument had no reverberation at all, so it was mostly drowned out by the rest of the orchestra, or even Meyer himself on the double bass. Still, cool idea.
Saturday morning there was a painting party at Shane's house, followed by a belly dancing performance by Daisy at the Boulder Creek Festival. The painting party was, well, much like a lot of people hanging out and painting. Not especially exciting, but not bad, plus I'm pretty sure I got at least a bit high on paint fumes, always a good thing. Daisy's performance was quite impressive; hopefully I will have pictures up soon.
Sunday night was Jess and Nate's wedding in Estes Park. The wedding was quite fantastic. It was the first time I've ever been to a Quaker wedding, and I really enjoyed it. In particular, the fact that the wedding ceremony is performed by the community, rather than by any special officiant. This gave plenty of opportunities for laughs and fun during the ceremony, which makes it more enjoyable, in my opinion, and also is completely appropriate for Jess and Nate, who are both wonderful and wonderfully silly.
Dancing into the wee hours (okay, not really, since the hotel mandated that the DJ shut it down at 10 PM), and then further celebrations at the 'party cabin' at the YMCA in Estes, all very fun. Not at all surprising to find that Jess and Nate had a really spectacular group of friends back in DC and generally on the East Coast, and I felt very fortunate to be at the wedding.
Then, on Monday, I managed to drag my ass out of bed and down into Boulder in time to meet Geir at the base of Flagstaff mountain for a refreshing little trail run. This was my primary long-term goal after my ACL surgery; since I have no plans to play Ultimate again, I had to come up with something specific to be working towards, and it was very satisfying to make it all the way to the top just 6 months after the surgery. There's still plenty far to go until the knee is completely healed, but so far this recovery has been scads easier than the first one, for which I am thankful. Plenty painful enough that I have absolutely no desire or intention to go through a third, but still...
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