It's on

I just got my grubby mitts on a copy of Modern Warfare 2, the biggest newest way to get your fix of n00b fragging and being called a litany of foul words by a bunch of 12 year old kids, without even having to leave the couch.

So is it worth the hype? Yes. Does it have the best online deathmatch setup ever? Possibly.

It's a really kickass game. It's got cool graphics, tons of customization, great gameplay, and a bazillion unlocks to get to keep you busy. Some of the gun customizing and unlocking stuff might be a bit much for a new player, but I love it.

Now it's time to win the lottery so I can lock myself in my apartment for a year or 2 playing this constantly.

Rudeness by Inaction

You know, sometimes a failure to act, or notice something, can be just as rude as an annoying or impolite gesture or comment. People complain about loud talkers on trains here in Japan, but what about the douchebag walking slowly in front of you when you're in a hurry? Or the co-worker who stands too close to your desk when talking to someone else? Or the pedestrian who crosses the street slowly while a line of cars waits to turn?

IMO the biggest sources of unnecessary aggrivation in everyday life come not from open acts of impoliteness, but from a lack of observation of the world around you.

Pay attention! If you're confused about which road to take, at least pull to the side and let people pass you.

Look the fuck around! If you're a slow walker, that's ok. Just get into the habit of glancing around from time to time to see if you're in someone's way.

Letting someone in a hurry go past you is just as much of a sign of politeness as holding the door for them, and in many cases I think they'll appreciate it more. And maybe if people notice each other more and pay attention to how their actions (or lack of) affect others, then other forms of politeness and interaction can develop as well.

Blogger Tools

Heh, he just said tools. I just picked up a blog editing tool for the iPhone, so I wanted to test it out to see how it works.


And here's a pic of the sun shining, for no real reason.

CG BJ Lips still = fail

Ah Avatar, the product of James Cameron's 10 year journey of disaster. I have seen a few good CG-heavy movies - Starship Troopers or Star Wars Episode 3 come to mind - but they both worked because the level of computerization didn't overpower the acting. Whether it's Rico's journey of survival and camaraderie fighting against computer generated bugs, or we're watching Anakin descend into the depths of evil to become Darth Vader, both shows drew you in because the CGI stuff never took over (unlike in SW Episode 1, or a lot of all-CG animated movies).

Avatar screams to me it's gonna be more like Episode 1, and less like Episode 3. Go to Gawker for their take on this.

My mission to show how Avatar will be the biggest Fail in movie history continues.

Tocho Tilt Shift

A pic from the top of the Tokyo Metro Government office tilt-shifted. Not bad, but not my best shot either.

Assassin's Creed 2 = Super Awesome

Saw this nice ad in Akihabara today for Assassin's Creed 2. The ad for Left For Dead 2 above it is nice, but the hooded Ezio looking through the trees is a nice touch.

Abiko - beauty in the mundane

The sun was so nice I had to bust out my camera (a Ricoh CX2). Here are 2 pics I took into the sunlight. I like how both turned out.

Urban Poverty

I just finished reading David Hilfiker's book Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen. For me the book contained info I sort of knew already or suspected, but Hilfiker gives good insight into the facts surrounding urban poverty, especially as it relates to conditions in mostly black ghettos. He has a good way of explaining facts in a simple, concise way that doesn't beat around the bush at all.

At first I was surprised at the open way he expresses himself, but candor and directness are needed when dealing with an issue such as this that leads itself to a lot of political ideologizing (usually based on suppositions and misinformed ideas about people those politicians have never bothered to meet).

The simple fact is that most poor people aren't lazy. They're thrust into a situation they did nothing to create and forced to live on less than others. Even as the government offers aid, it does it in a shallow, browbeating way that tries to guilt people into thinking asking for help is a sign of failure or weakness.

He talks a lot about this idea - how the media and politicians of both parties have created the concept of "undeserving poor" - that a certain group of lazy people leech off the system. But if you look at reality the truth is often far from that. The truth is a story of hard working people barely scraping by on jobs that don't come even close enough to providing a living wage. The government wants to scrape them off its heels and walk on, and most people watching from rich suburbia only assume laziness, a criminal upbringing or lack of education are the causes for everything. Why help the poor (or uninsured) when they could help themselves if they really tried?

Read this book. Think about it. And take a hard look at the world as it really is, and not how pundits on TV have taught you to think how it is.

Kindle Savings

Wow. I knew prices for ebooks were discounted but I had no idea. I've had my Kindle for a week now, and in that time I've saved $140 just by buying the ebook version of a few books.

I'm sure my savings will peter out as time goes on and my reading pace goes back to normal. But I can say easily that my Kindle will have paid for itself within a month of me getting it, and will probably save me at least $500 in the first year.

Not bad at all.

No Nooks for Me

Wired magazine has an article up about how the new Barnes and Noble Nook is going to kill the Kindle. Yeah, it has a nice touchscreen for web browsing and maybe even some sweet Android action. But for me, there are 2 reasons why I think the Kindle still isn't out of the fight (besides the obvious huge customer base for Amazon).

1: The Kindle does exactly what you want it to do. With a Kindle you get a great ebook reader with great battery life. It can download books from a computer or over 3G, and is a real treat to hold and read on. With a 2nd screen the Nook adds a lot of cool features, but it's kind of drifting away from being an ebook reader into something else. With each new feature you lose battery life, but moreso you add unnecessary destractions. When I pull up my ebook reader I want to read a book, not start surfing the web.

2: I (personally) can use the Kindle. The Kindle has a huge advantage over the Nook, and any of the other readers I've seen so far. You can use the Kindle to access Amazon's store and download books from anywhere. I'm in Japan but can still use it. The other ebook online stores give me a "not available in your region" message. I don't know what strings Amazon had to pull to get licensing for books in other countries, but it was worth it. With a Kindle I can get books often for a third of the cost of what I'd normally pay in Japan and start reading immediately. With any of the other readers out there I'd have to do all my online shopping back in the States.

For me that is a dealbraker, but it could also be upsetting for people who live in the US but travel abroad a lot.

My new Ricoh!!

I just picked up a Ricoh CX2 - a 9 Megapixel camera with a really nice 10x optical zoom. Here's a pic I took near my apartment at night. Yes, I'm satisfied, especially I got the camera for around $150 off.

Favela Chic and Gothic High-Tech

At the recent Reboot11, Bruce Sterling (Cyberpunk author, blogger, cool guy) had a lot to say about his vision of the next 11 years. Basically his idea is that in the 2010s, besides a few "Gothic High-Tech" leaders - like Steve Jobs and Obama, leaders of a movement but heading to nowhere, "Cheerleaders, not leaders." - the vast majority of people will be stuck in "Favela chic."

This is when you've "lost everything, but you're wired to the gills and big on Facebook." You have a cool cellphone, video games and online interactions, maybe a nice car and all that, but you don't really meet people. You don't have any real connections, no family and no kids. You work at a pointless job that doesn't make or change anything and you leave no lasting impact on the world.

It's an interesting idea, and a nice take on the techno-dystopic future featured in his and other writers in the Cyberpunk genre. And it feels more relevant to what's really happening.

Cyberpunk, at its heart, is a hopeful view of the future. Yes, the world is bleak. Yes, we have corporate strike teams assassinating rival CEOs, brainwashed masses watching their soaps on full-wall vidboards, and people addicted to the virtual world. But at the center of any Cyberpunk story is the idea of trying to make it despite the world you've been thrown into. I categorize Cyberpunk as being almost the same as Post-Apocalypse fiction, because both types of stories are essentially about a new kind of hero (either Mad Max or Neo, or William Gibson's Case the netrunner) trying to survive but in the end working to change the world.

But Sterling's new dystopia is a frozen, stagnant world. You don't make new cars, you just make new models to fit into people's lifestyles. So you can find the perfect phone for you, the perfect clothes, custom sites to watch the TV you want, and all that, but nothing really changes.

Hmm, I was always hoping for a more Cyberpunk 2020 kind of future, but this seems more likely.

The world is safe for Hackintoshes, again

As reported in engadget, the latest beta build of Snow Leopard brings back support of Atom processors. So you crazy reckless fools with your Hackintosh Dells can rest easy... for a while. I think re-allowing Atom support could be 1 of three things. Either 1: Apple realizes that a purchased copy of Snow Leopard is still money in the bank, and since most Hackintosh users probably have full-fledged Macs at home keeping them happy is a nice way to keep them in the Apple loop.

Or 2: Apple is toying with the idea of an Atom-powered Mac, either the oft-rumored Mac Tablet, or a Mac netbook that's even more of a netbook than the Macbook Air.

Or 3: It's just a random slip.

I guess only time will tell, but to be honest, I've always thought the Apple way of addressing Hackintoshes was the right way to go about it: squash people trying to sell them, while ignoring the hackers who do it themselves, because that's the way to make the most money out of a situation that would otherwise lead to open piracy if they push too hard.

Yes, she's 8ft tall

Just got Bayonetta last night. Yes, it's very gratuitous, with in-game fatalities that fit seamlessly into attack sequences, tons of partial nudity as Bayonetta's clothes fade away the longer your... combo gets, and massive bosses every few minutes.

But it's a damn good game. It uses a very Tekken-esque style of making combos, but timing rather than simple button mashing is the key. Avoiding damage is also uber important, so timing of dodges and your ability to control your position on the battlefield is a must. Combine that with good visuals and a nice music track and you have a killer game. I would recommend it to almost anyone, especially if you dig fighting games.

Oh, and Bayonetta herself is freakin huge. Some Japanese bloggers pointed out that a comparison of her younger version to the adult version would make her seem like 8' tall. Ha ha ha...

Yeah, when you see her towering over a mobster in the 1st cut scene, 8 feet seems about right. She's tall, sexy, and kicks some serious ass.

Mass Effect

I just beat Mass Effect. Wow, that was a great game. The last level and action leading up to it was easily as good as the best sci-fi movies that've come out in the past few years. I think Peter Jackson was right when he said video games are the future of entertainment.