Multi-touch

"Bi-manual, multi-point, and multi-user interactions on a graphical interaction surface."

I'm not even going to try to use words. Just go here and watch the video.

-J

The CW

Today it was announced that CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment have decided to combine the powers of UPN and the WB and form a new network. The CW (not sure what it stands for) will premiere in Fall 2006 while the other two networks will cease to exist. Read more about it here.

Also, Chris Penn, brother of Sean Penn, collapsed today and died. He was only 43.

-J

Pre-buyer Buyer's Remorse

I have this problem with buying things for myself, or in this case, choosing something I want "Santa" to get for me. You see, I have a tendency to go to the store with something in mind, and then when I get there and pick up said item, in my uncertainty about spending the money, I realize that I don't need to buy it. I've gotten along just fine without it for years now, and there's a chance I might get it, use it for a couple weeks, and then completely forget about it, making it a waste.

This time I'm having a slightly different problem. I really, truly want a portable digital media player, but I just don't know which device to get anymore. I was getting a iPod without question a few weeks ago, but then my brother's friend from California, one of the more musically inclined people I've ever met, said that getting an iPod would be a huge mistake. A Korean company called Cowon has a new player called the iAudio X5 that has superior sound quality, plus a 5-channel equalizer, bass/treble boosters, and simulated 3D audio. All this in addition to the ability to play video, just like the newest generation of iPod.

By the way, what is it with the "i" devices? Some believe it to be "i"Tunes, "i"Pod, and "i"Mac because they are personal devices for I...for me. I think that's lame. And now, even though Apple keeps dominating the nomenclature through the evolution of technology (i.e. podcasts are called podcasts even when played on a Creative Zen Mp3 player) this Korean developer thinks it can call its device "i"Audio? Come on, sure the Creative player has the word "creative" in the name, but at least it isn't the iZen or something like that.

In conclusion, based on a lot of contemplation, the fact that I am used to and love the iTunes/iPod interface, and the reviews that I've read, the winner is.......60GB iPod Video Black.



Read the CNET reviews on the iPod and the iAudio X5, and any other research you might want to do, and decide if I made the right decision.

-J

I'm not that far behind

I should have mentioned "Silent Hill 4: The Room" in the last post. I probably would have it I had played it, but like everything else, if I haven't played it then it's not worth talking about. Actually, I do want to play it, I just haven't gotten around to it. And playing it alone doesn't seem like it would be that fun, or mentally healthy. So, I do in fact know about that game, even though it seemed like I was way far behind.

Well, thank you for your time. I had a lovely evening at work tonight, so I'm a little out of it.

Oh, and by lovely I mean absolutely hellish. Be prepared for a more in depth report. It may be arriving shortly, or maybe not at all. I hope everyone else enjoyed a nice frosty beverage tonight for me. Happy Margarita Friday!

-J

Fog, Balance, Freedom, and a Red Bow Tie

I’m not sure how I didn’t know about this until now, but what is one of the best horror games ever created in my opinion, “Silent Hill,” is being translated into film. Of course, just the fact that it is a movie made from a game should frighten everyone, but we can still hope that even more fear will be induced by the story and the effects. “Silent Hill,” the game, for those who haven’t played/watched it, is quite a departure from most other “survival-horror” games pioneered by “Resident Evil.” As I said before, it’s more of just a horror game in that the combat is simple and sparse. “Silent Hill” is much more about atmosphere, and it fulfills its goal of using sound and the unknown everything that hides within the immense fog to its advantage. If you haven’t played the game, try to find the first one. Of the three it is still my favorite, with the third installment a close second. Stay away from number 2, though, as it’s too short and not even that scary.

This weeks edition of DVDuesday brought us the latest chapter in the Star Wars universe, “Revenge of the Sith.” As avid a Star Wars fan as I am, my investment into the new trilogy was severely beaten down by George Lucas’ love for the digital, and was delivered its final crushing blow with the emotionless negative exclamation by a brilliantly terrible Hayden Christiansen at the end of the third film. Looking at the story from a somewhat scholarly standpoint, however, does reveal the value of the six-part saga's completion. If your down-trodden opinion of the Star Wars film needs a little resuscitation, read this article.

My family and I are currently looking into portable media devices for ourselves. My perfectly legal CD collection reached its peak months ago, and now it is a struggle to fit everything I want in my case that holds 92 discs. Sure I should just be able to choose what I want and minimize the clutter of albums, but what if I feel like listening to that music inspired by Lord of the Rings? Best to keep it on hand, just in case. Since I use iTunes already, it seemed like the easiest thing would be to just get an iPod, and now with the iPod Video I could even watch “Lost” on the go. An open source media player is in the works, however, and now I just don’t know what to do. I have advocated other open source projects before, Firefox being the most noted, and I’ve often thought about the switch to the Windows alternative, Linux (and not just because I like penguins.) I don’t know much about this one yet, and I also don’t know how much messing around with hardware it will take, but it’s worth looking into. Check out an article here.

Finally, our grey-suited childhood friend wants to make a comeback. Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-wee Herman, recently revealed two scripts that he has written as continuations of the Pee-wee saga. We last saw him in a semi-disturbingly romantic circus atmosphere, or maybe it was in that little house where he cohabitated with chairs, clocks, maps, and ugly puppets that talked. Actually, come to think of it, he didn’t live there. It was just his playhouse, and he used to ride that weird scooter thing off a cliff at the end of each episode. Well anyway, the two scripts take different directions, and it will be interesting to see if either of them are picked up. Something tells me that the success of “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” was at least partially due to Tim Burton. So unless he’s involved, and even if he is, I expect to be very wary of this potential movie.

-J

.............

You almost got a real post out of me today. And despite my rampant indignation I still feel the desire to continue a little bit of what I was trying to do before.

Kuffs almost died. Why didn't he? He's friends with Paris, gropes people, and is a bad actor. Read the full story here.

Halloween was fun for me still, despite the lack of "sexy nurses," "sexy cats," "sexy devils," and "sexy angels." It would have been nice, however, if a "sexy pirate cat" had showed up at my door. College chicks really need to get more creative than just slapping a tail or some wings on their underwear-clad bodies.

Cool make-up artist Robert Hall has a website at AlmostHuman.net. He was on one of my favorite daily television programs yesterday, "Attack of the Show." Check it out to see his cool stuff. He also did the make-up effects for the last few seasons of "Buffy" and "Angel." Check out the Uber-vamp, infamous minion of The First, to the left.

Lastly, we all know that clowns are a terrifying, inhuman lot. Now, not only do they mask their evil with a poor excuse of a "happy face," but they are becoming stronger. Don't take my word for it....look here.

Well, that was fun. I hope Firefox doesn't act like a MORON next time I actually get the time to write here. Hopefully I'll be able to give you the gift of more interesting writing next time. I just don't have the patience.

I hope all your browsers work perfectly well today.

-J

Apocalypse is coming!

It’s no secret that I’m a big X-Men fan. Well, not so big as to follow the comics religiously or anything like that, but since I was about 12 (when the animated series began on Fox) I have been mildly obsessed with the franchise. Especially since the arcade game was so great back in the days of The Machine in Crystal Point Mall. Now that the movies have been out I am loving X-Men even more, and I find myself spending quite a bit of time studying characters’ backgrounds online. Last year, right around this time, a game called X-Men Legends came out. Most of the time games featuring the X-Men have been sub-par or worse. I was still interested, however, hoping that this action-RPG version of an X-Men video game might be kind of okay. It turned out it was awesome, and I’ve played through it three times since I finally found it to rent on Xbox, and I now own it.

X-Men Legends II ships out tomorrow and will be on shelves Wednesday the 21^st. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a game. Maybe Final Fantasy X. I seriously feel like I used to feel on Christmas morning when I was about 10 years old. I just wanted to share this excitement with the 2 whole people that might check this thing. And if anyone wants some high-intensity co-op action, I’d love to play with a friend or two or three. Check out the official website to see pictures, videos, and some limited character info (they’re being very tight-lipped about it for some reason). I do know that you can be Professor Xavier, and he has a wheelchair rolling special move. Well…I think we’ll have to wait and see if I’m right about that one until Wednesday.

If you like games like Gauntlet or RPGs or the X-Men, I wouldn’t even recommend renting this one. Just go get it on Wednesday. Or buy the first one for less than $20 first if you aren’t sure. I know for sure that one is good.

-J

PANDORA

Something called the Music Genome Project was started back in 2000 and it has brought forth something amazing. Pandora is a subscription service (a very inexpensive one) that creates an internet radio station based on music you like. Now, Yahoo has something similar with its Launchcast service, and while I'm not sure exactly how that chooses new music for you to hear, Pandora actually tells you about the music you like and how it chooses the next song. It's brilliant, really.

If you are ever looking for some new music you haven't heard before this is a great way to do it. Just type in one of your favorite bands/songs and then you can direct it by saying whether you like the songs it chooses or not. You can listen for 10 hours for free, and then after that it's a mere $36 a year to subscribe. If you spend long hours in front of a computer and can listen to music, this is something great. And even if you don't use it as a radio station but as a way to find new and hard to find music, $36 is really a bargain for any music lover. Have fun with it.

-J

DREDG!!!!!!

I'll be at a place with quite a questionable name called The Bottom Lounge tonight for a concert featuring one of my new favorite bands. I'm excited and nervous.....I hope, like the Muse concert I went to, this gives me a new appreciation for their music.

We live like penguins in the desert...

-J

Top 5s

I know it's been a long time, and these lists were not thought-out to the absolute best of my ability, but here they are, for now:

Top 5 movies:

Batman Returns
Donnie Darko
Meet Joe Black
The Dark Crystal
The Goonies

Top 5 albums:

OK Computer by Radiohead
Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds by Codeseven
Phantom Moon by Duncan Sheik
Holes in the Wall by Electric Soft Parade
The Rising Tide by Sunny Day Real Estate

I'm slightly more sure about the movies than I am the albums. I love all the things listed, a lot, but I'm not sure if they are actually the top 5. Pretty close, though. I love so much music, it's hard to pick just five things. So now let's actually see what everyone else likes, eh?

-J