tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135846962024-02-20T01:48:15.788-08:00A Game of MeSomewhere between fiction and reality, there's life. (And other horrible movie-tagline-esque sentiments.)Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-21639393988814521192010-06-20T22:14:00.000-07:002010-07-04T16:09:40.429-07:00Departures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBK4VpvAaT4Dx1oojGNOo4tGbtVz_YxmtqBiZLFGH1fB8l0XKv3vyDu_eWbq5huQ3OcFdUBURiaUyjCaOQK__eK0f2Mz321x3qEH8lxlLQ4mdrUpOeLYADS6ywZhaVXYu0fCd/s1600/departures.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485093113763596402" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 219px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBK4VpvAaT4Dx1oojGNOo4tGbtVz_YxmtqBiZLFGH1fB8l0XKv3vyDu_eWbq5huQ3OcFdUBURiaUyjCaOQK__eK0f2Mz321x3qEH8lxlLQ4mdrUpOeLYADS6ywZhaVXYu0fCd/s320/departures.jpg" border="0" /></a>My father died suddenly. I found out some days later via email, from a distant relative who had no other way of getting in contact with me. My father and I had not been close in recent years. I loved him, but he could be an impossible man, and we simply didn't know how to reach across the divide old wrongs had created and relate to each other. This made saying goodbye difficult.<br /><br />In the days and weeks following his death, memories I didn't know I had came to me like things dredged up from the depths of the ocean. Some of them were trash, some were treasures. Amidst these memories, I finally found my closure. But if I could have, I think I would have availed myself of the services of the NK Agency, whose work is at the core of the lyrical Japanese drama, Departures.<br /><br />I begin with these personal details not to elicit sympathy or to make this about me, but rather because I think Departures is a film that, more even than most, we see through the lens of our own experiences. It makes us reflect on our own feelings about death, and about life. I certainly couldn't help but see profound echoes of my own life in Daigo's experiences.<br /><br />Daigo has always dreamed of being a cellist. But after his orchestra in Tokyo is disbanded due to a lack of funding, he must put his dream aside and get a practical job to support himself and his wife. Responding to an ad in the paper for what he believes is a travel agency, he is greeted with the world's shortest job interview.<br /><br />“Will you work hard?”<br /><br />“Yes.”<br /><br />“You're hired.”<br /><br />What he doesn't know at that point is the boss's gift for sizing people up. The boss later tells him, “You were born to do this.” I had the feeling he'd known this since he'd first laid eyes on Daigo. When confronting people at their most vulnerable is a part of your job, it helps to be perceptive about them.<br /><br />For as it turns out, NK is not a travel agency. They are an “encoffinment” service. They perform the ritual of preparing the deceased for departure from this life. The ritual is a kind of performance, and it is of course not for the benefit of the dead, but for the living. We see Daigo and the boss perform the ritual for a number of families, each grieving in their own very different way. One man pushes his grief at his wife's death down deep inside him, and struggles to maintain a facade of stone. But during the ritual, Daigo and the boss add that perfect detail the man needed to recognize his wife, to grieve and to say goodbye. In another, the encoffinment ritual offers the parents of the deceased a last chance to make up for past wrongs to their departed child by finally acknowledging the identity they had always denied her. (Yes, this hit me pretty hard.)<br /><br />As Daigo and the boss went about their work, I was powerfully reminded of the pair of casualty notification service officers played by Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster in <a href="http://www.popcornreel.com/htm/messengerrev.html">The Messenger</a>. Their unenviable role is to deliver the shattering news that begins the grieving process, while the NK Agency offers a chance to start bringing it to a close, but both pairs see people at their most<br />vulnerable. Casualty notification is a terrible duty, but also, as Harrelson's character describes it, a sacred one. I think the same is true of the encoffinment service in Departures. Not everyone sees it that way, and much of the film's drama lies in Daigo's struggles to accept his new occupation, and in the ways he is shunned by some for what they view as shameful work.<br /><br />Of course they don't understand the dignity in what he does. They haven't seen it. We have. And crucially, during scenes of encoffinment and throughout the film, the camera is typically still, drinking in the events in long takes that transport us, without distraction, into the homes of the bereaved, and the film's other lovely locations. At the disused coffee shop that once belonged to Daigo's father, old records line the walls, and the stillness of the camera lets us absorb the place so completely, we can almost smell the musty air and feel the weight of memory.<br /><br />All of this may sound terribly serious, and in many ways it is. But just as in life, humor sometimes emerges from the most serious of circumstances, and I was repeatedly impressed by how deftly and naturally the film followed up its most heartbreaking moments with moments of quiet, honest humor.<br /><br />I was surprised, after viewing the film,to see it criticized by some for its sentimentality. I have a strong distaste for calculated sentimentality, for musical flourishes during sappy moments to create a pull on the heartstrings where none has been earned. Yes, Departures is a sentimental film, but it earns its sentimentality. Its tugs on the heartstrings—and they are numerous and powerful—are rooted in truth, and the musical flourishes that punctuate one of the film's most memorable scenes come straight from Daigo's heart.<br /><br /><br /><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -</style>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-3523041693545832772010-05-19T13:46:00.000-07:002010-05-19T13:50:35.834-07:00Undiscovered country: My early impressions of the world of Red Dead Redemption<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiR3G2V9pq8aqFz7p3eMKgRoozRKTxra2J2Z2xRCRSIZAUgU5zSGW2jNktFjDu-gCur7g9n4w2LhMHv4FspHwcKtypvjxdCTctWoLGHg5YxN8XdBKyBxQ6acNZnHkLy1auhEx/s1600/rdr.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiR3G2V9pq8aqFz7p3eMKgRoozRKTxra2J2Z2xRCRSIZAUgU5zSGW2jNktFjDu-gCur7g9n4w2LhMHv4FspHwcKtypvjxdCTctWoLGHg5YxN8XdBKyBxQ6acNZnHkLy1auhEx/s320/rdr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473085676710072626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />It’ll probably be a long time before I can comment on how Red Dead Redemption, the pioneering Western from Rockstar, ends, but I can say that it starts brilliantly. In the opening scene, your protagonist, John Marston, rides a train to the town of Armadillo, giving you not only a glimpse of the beautiful, untamed frontier country where the game takes place, but also a glimpse into the issues that loom large in this rapidly changing America of 1910. Two old biddies behind Marston bicker about the intersection of money and politics, while in front of him, a young lady expresses some bold new ideas about the nature of good and evil, only to be gently but firmly set straight by the traditional preacher who accompanies her. Indeed, Red Dead Redemption seems to be largely about the collision of the old and new, of shifting ideas about religion and politics, but also of the products of industry—cars and telephones both make early appearances--starting to dramatically change the way people live their lives. In the superb Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar demonstrated an earnest desire to explore the cultural forces that shape this country, and Red Dead Redemption seems poised to follow in that game’s footsteps.<br /><br />Of course, every great Western needs a great protagonist at its center, and Marston seems to be made from the same mold as some of the genre’s greatest. An early scene provides him with the motivation for revenge that drives him in at least the earliest part of the story, but reveals little about him, leaving him with that hint of a shady past and that aura of mystery that can be so alluring in a man on horseback. He’s not so reticent, though, that we can’t connect with him. On the contrary, he treats kind people with the warmth becoming of a gentleman, and has an invitingly self-deprecating sense of humor. Of course, to a large extent, who John Marston is is up to you. My John Marston, like the person controlling him, seems to be something of a ne’er-do-well, and has spent more time in the Armadillo saloon playing poker than exploring the frontier, doing good deeds for troubled strangers. Clearly, this country was built by harder-working people than me.<br /><br />But now that I’m sitting here at work on a lunch break, I’m positively desperate to get back to the world of Red Dead Redemption, to see what’s waiting for me out in that wild landscape. It’s clear, even at this very early stage, that this game is something special, a product of rare ambition and quality, and, if it delivers on the promise of its earliest moments, of rare meaning, too.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-40767203164287208322010-05-04T00:05:00.000-07:002010-05-06T23:03:39.404-07:00Memories of murders at the moviesLately, I've seen three films that I've found deeply absorbing, all dealing with the consequences of corruption in systems of justice. Seeing them in close proximity to each other has had a profound effect on me, and they've grown into a kind of trilogy inside me, the thematic relationships between them increasing their power in my subconscious. I can't find the words to do them justice by half, but I need to try to process them.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGprYTDWWvIsu3XgnwdZhx7GOf0b2mB1DlMpDcXZAJyLSDwzpIsaVSG6ps9c0QuZkgXpdR5_BcEWNqfaxAtflbNvO4EMg6Lfi_tvEWNFlifFR7wwhYpCvQ8A2zcp3Ju82cAMgS/s1600/memories_of_murder.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGprYTDWWvIsu3XgnwdZhx7GOf0b2mB1DlMpDcXZAJyLSDwzpIsaVSG6ps9c0QuZkgXpdR5_BcEWNqfaxAtflbNvO4EMg6Lfi_tvEWNFlifFR7wwhYpCvQ8A2zcp3Ju82cAMgS/s320/memories_of_murder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468387878433346546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Memories of Murder</span>, 2003, directed by Bong-joon Ho<br /><br />I'd not heard of this film until I saw it listed among Cinema Scope's <a href="http://cinema-scope.com/wordpress/category/reviews/" class="postlink">best films of the past decade</a>. Bong Joon-ho had also directed the great creature feature <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Host</span>, and I love a good crime film. I had to see it. I was not quite prepared for just how good it was.<br /><br />Memories of Murder is a police procedural inspired by the investigation of South Korea's first known serial killer. In the provincial area where the murders are taking place, police procedure often involves trying to coerce confessions out of suspects who may or may not be guilty. A cop from Seoul, Detective Seo Tae-Yoon (Kim Sang-Kyeong) shows up to help with the investigation and his determination to get it right and to not just wrap things up by squeezing a confession out of an innocent man leads to a lot of tension between him and the local cop at the forefront of the investigation (Song Kang-ho, at least as valuable here as in The Host). Also making things difficult is the lack of forensic technology available in South Korea at the time, requiring DNA evidence to be shipped off to the U.S. for processing. In this corrupt and deeply lacking environment, the standards of Detective Seo may prove unsustainable.<br /><br />Song Kang-ho's character initially seems like a sad and unredeemable excuse for a police officer. But there are situations in life that can change us. There's a final scene and a final image here that belong to Kang-ho, and that, for me, make up one of the most perfect and unforgettable conclusions to a film that I can recall seeing. It's a powerful evocation of how moments long gone can continue to haunt us forever, of how, as it's phrased in the film Magnolia, "We may be through with the past but the past ain't through with us."<br /><br />---<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWa8JOPYZTUugvSAAP4zNgG5gCIqWxRzmisdCpkn2hgkqeohC8rFKydk9lEiZo-L8V3XwJG_7cuo1IAMlc0s0ePyphwYuRy3Nf7IbV_KcF6vtrMEwj7o1DQ5WIYar_cQFS3GQz/s1600/The_Secret_in_Their_Eyes.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWa8JOPYZTUugvSAAP4zNgG5gCIqWxRzmisdCpkn2hgkqeohC8rFKydk9lEiZo-L8V3XwJG_7cuo1IAMlc0s0ePyphwYuRy3Nf7IbV_KcF6vtrMEwj7o1DQ5WIYar_cQFS3GQz/s320/The_Secret_in_Their_Eyes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468392130864749922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)</span>, 2009, directed by Juan José Campanella<br /><br />A very different film with a lot of very similar themes, this Argentinian movie won the Oscar for best foreign film. Some have criticized it for being too conventional, but I admit, I love its conventionality. It is a film in the classic tradition, deliberately paced, expertly directed, confident and beautiful.<br /><br />Jumping between the mid-1970s and the late-1990s, this is a story of a retired legal official (Ricardo Darin, whose eyes speak volumes) now writing a novel that's inspired by a murder case that continues to obsess him, some 20-plus years later. His efforts, and his long-burning feelings for his former superior, lead him to seek her out, and we are privileged to sit in on their intimate conversations.<br /><br />The film works both as an absorbing love story and as a compelling crime thriller, and like Memories of Murder, it's also a criticism of corrupt systems of justice. It finds humor in unexpected moments and is gorgeously photographed, cutting loose from its mannered confines for one exhilarating scene at a packed soccer stadium, strung together as one long take, a shot made no less ingenious by the certain use of computer effects.<br /><br />Some films with hefty political messages to convey can't balance their agendas with the human factor. This one absolutely does. I really feel I came to know the two central characters who, in the looks they share, say "I love you" again and again even when decorum prevents them from saying it aloud.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-uGWgYXs5pmdqlxlHytYYh00zMhYxs_4NykOggi9KmMWs56w6iCVmJKSTFroBVZyTYJJ9TIdP7imjBwh8-FKznl5jF28QEEUhqzYAZvtem7qogMHbq62lbbtQ5-n4fNcjLxr/s1600/Thin_Blue_Line.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-uGWgYXs5pmdqlxlHytYYh00zMhYxs_4NykOggi9KmMWs56w6iCVmJKSTFroBVZyTYJJ9TIdP7imjBwh8-FKznl5jF28QEEUhqzYAZvtem7qogMHbq62lbbtQ5-n4fNcjLxr/s320/Thin_Blue_Line.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468394724612687762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Thin Blue Line</span>, 1998, directed by Errol Morris<br /><br />And lastly, a non-fiction film that explores a miscarriage of justice in the United States. This documentary is about the murder of a police officer in 1976 and how an overzealous district attorney, obsessed with maintaining his conviction/death penalty rate, had an innocent man put on death row for the crime. It's been described as the first film that actually solves a real-life murder mystery. It's also credited as the film that popularized the use of dramatic reenactments, but what I love about Morris' recreations is that they're impressionistic and dreamlike, much more haunting than the typical straightforward crime reenactments you often see on television. They confuse the actual event more than clarify it, which is only appropriate, as we hear wildly differing eyewitness accounts and interpretations of the moments just prior to the murder. While the facts of the case are compelling in and of themselves, Morris turns them here into something deeply cinematic.<br /><br />---<br /><br />When systems of justice fail the people they are meant to serve, when they persecute the innocent and let the guilty go free, everyone suffers.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-1473952364479461582010-03-28T22:26:00.001-07:002010-03-28T22:29:07.109-07:00High Hopes for Game Room<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EGYyHJCnCG0lF3hDPHVluC8yUxH4cVgXfS_YTNTGUXbfuzEPI5rK5j66HROMYV9z68zrNYWOpObWYqTZ8bxxvOONCWrmQKpIVYtDf_BzmZHLJwomeeFJLzFffH1xg-U9EFMw/s1600/asteroids.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EGYyHJCnCG0lF3hDPHVluC8yUxH4cVgXfS_YTNTGUXbfuzEPI5rK5j66HROMYV9z68zrNYWOpObWYqTZ8bxxvOONCWrmQKpIVYtDf_BzmZHLJwomeeFJLzFffH1xg-U9EFMw/s320/asteroids.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453923089886048946" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Wanna come over and play Asteroids?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5H1SQCxAljci7fQ6BqNR_PMT7rkUaD-cgZ5PxIiAu47Hij4u7HZaUR2WFwV14eJPbQqnAkgcs7yAtIXUmnO9P7R6tgKBHvsx6qRWzKmlpZbxMavBPR0Qc_HmDHyb1j3qOSMDW/s1600/outlaw.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5H1SQCxAljci7fQ6BqNR_PMT7rkUaD-cgZ5PxIiAu47Hij4u7HZaUR2WFwV14eJPbQqnAkgcs7yAtIXUmnO9P7R6tgKBHvsx6qRWzKmlpZbxMavBPR0Qc_HmDHyb1j3qOSMDW/s320/outlaw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453923229448665426" border="0" /></a>The reactions I've seen to Game Room have been pretty divided. A lot of people just don't see the appeal of using a powerful modern console to play ugly, thirty-year-old games. And I can understand this, especially if you're not old enough to remember these games in their heyday. It can be hard, after playing visually stunning games like God of War III, to see beyond the simple graphics and one-button gameplay of Outlaw and understand that this is what once passed for thrilling multiplayer competition.<br /><br />For me, the appeal of Game Room is clear. But then, I grew up with the Atari 2600 and with smoky, neon-lit arcades in which you couldn't hear yourself think over the noise of all the machines. What wonderful times those were.<br /><br />People say that games today are better. In many cases, that's true. But I also think that games today are different in a crucial way. Most games today are story-driven, and most of those games establish a difficulty that makes it possible for just about anyone to complete that story and have a satisfying experience. That's all well and good, and I adore many games that fit this description. But I think there remains something to be said for games that are pure, unforgiving tests of skill, just you vs. the machine, where your only goal is to earn as high a score as possible. The appeal of this philosophy lives on in newer games like Geometry Wars and Pac-Man: Championship Edition, but the best early examples of this are timeless. Asteroids Deluxe, probably my favorite Game Room launch title, is a game that remains a thoroughly captivating test of skill. Most games in the Game Room launch may not hold up quite so well, but I've sunk over 45 minutes into Asteroids Deluxe, with much of that time spent trying to surpass a friend on the leaderboards. (Game Room encourages this by having banners above each machine that display the name and score of the highest-ranked person on your friends' leaderboard.) When I finally did it, the result was a sense of accomplishment of the sort the mostly relatively easy games of today seldom deliver. The faithfully recreated cabinet, so detailed that I can read the fine text on the front as I'm playing (selecting Cabinet view in the Graphics options) is icing on the cake.<br /><br />There are definitely some serious, frustrating bugs and performance issues in Game Room that need to be ironed out. And it's disappointing that, while the cabinets for the Atari arcade games have the authentic artwork, the Konami ones are utterly featureless. But in addition to Asteroids Deluxe, I find Centipede and Gravitar to be so pure and simple that they're as compelling to me today as they ever were, and I've even been introduced to Shao-lin's Road, a fun game I'd somehow never heard of before that's a follow-up to Yie Ar Kung-Fu, an arcade cIassic I once loved. And the versatility of the Challenge feature means I can test my skills against those of my friends in ways that were never possible in the good old days, when all I could hope for was to enter my initials on a machine's high score screen. Now I can get creative, establishing challenges that start at any point in a game, based on score or survival. It's awesome, when it's working properly.<br /><br />I look forward to more games like these, old favorites that have stood the test of time as well as cIassics I've never played before, hitting Game Room. With my own arcade, I can finally fulfill my childhood dream of being like Ricky on "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp-cMpUACjs">Silver Spoons</a>."<br /><br />We all had that dream, right?Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-16411062674804518632010-03-27T17:52:00.000-07:002010-03-28T00:09:45.738-07:00Greenberg: "Hurt people hurt people."I expect that some people will come away from the new Noah Baumbach film Greenberg disliking the movie because they dislike the main character. Disliking Ben Stiller's Roger Greenberg is understandable. He doesn't earn our admiration and he doesn't deserve our sympathy. He's really quite an asshole. He lashes out at everyone and everything, penning vitriolic letters to American Airlines over seating conditions and to Starbucks for the Starbucksification of culture. Mostly, he lashes out at the person who deserves it the least: Florence, his brother's family's 25-year-old assistant, who is far more patient with Roger than he deserves. <br /><br />But Florence understands what many others don't. She knows that not everyone has the skills necessary to function like a normal person in society, that what is absolutely effortless for most is downright impossible for others. “Normal things are hard for him,” she says in Roger's defense to a girlfriend who wonders why she puts up with him at all. At times, we can see that she asks herself that, too. But she must understand that in some way, it's not really her he's tearing to shreds when he launches into rant after rant, but himself. <br /><br />He certainly has reasons to be angry at himself. At 25, he was in an up-and-coming band. With characteristic self-absorption, he made a decision on his own that affected the fate of everyone in the group. Though one of his former bandmates, Ivan (Rhys Ifans), makes an effort to maintain a friendship with Roger, they've never really forgiven him for it. They (and we) are flabbergasted by how, for so long, he still fails to outwardly take responsibility for his actions. A conversation late in the film is fascinating for the way in which this finally shifts for Roger, and for how, even in the midst of acknowledging that he behaved poorly, he still directs his anger outward at Ivan, who has made peace with the normal family life that replaced the rock stardom he once dreamed of, the sort of normal life that would be so impossible for Roger.<br /><br />Greta Gerwig is great as Florence. It's a natural performance that conveys the complexity of her feelings about Roger and about herself in subtleties. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, which perhaps is why she gravitates to the 40-year-old Roger, who, after a nervous breakdown, is just “trying to do nothing for a while.” I still found it hard to accept that this rather wonderful young woman would get involved with such a neurotic misanthrope as Roger, but he certainly has no chance with a responsible woman his own age, at least not yet. Perhaps his relationship with Florence will help him grow into a man who does. At the very least, he should come away from it being a bit less of an asshole.<br /><br />I didn't like Roger. But as someone who sometimes feels like I'm fumbling my way through life while everyone else has all the answers, I did see a bit of myself in him, and I did like this film. <br /><br />7/10Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-8889908671888328112010-03-12T22:34:00.000-08:002010-03-12T22:54:42.183-08:00Green Zone: Perhaps a bit too satisfyingNote: This commentary contains "spoilers." It won't spoil anything if you've seen the trailer for the film (which, like most trailers, gives away way too much) or if you've been paying any attention to news for the past seven years, but if you want to go into the film knowing as little as possible, see the movie before reading this.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Green Zone, the new Greengrass-Damon collaboration, feels like a natural extension of the Bourne films they made together. Damon's hero is a smidge less far-fetched, though he still gets his Bourne-like action movie moment, and the political concerns are a bit more prominent, though they're still couched in a movie that is concerned first and foremost with being entertaining. And it is entertaining, even when the guns aren't blazing. Greengrass creates a sense of heightened activity and unrest in Baghdad, demonstrating again, as he did in the Bourne films and United 93, his talent for immersing us in locations that feel real. When action does break out, it's thrilling and visceral. But it was the political concerns that drew me to the film. I expect that some comparisons to The Hurt Locker may be made, but the two films actually have little in common in my view. Locker is set during the Iraq war, but it is about the psychology of its central character. Green Zone is about the war. Damon's character is just the tool the film uses to raise its questions.<br /><br />Green Zone takes place in 2003, and Matt Damon's Roy Miller is on the ground in Baghdad to search for the WMDs that were Bush's excuse for sending us there. In location after location, Miller and his team come up empty. Miller starts to get frustrated, and to ask unpleasant questions about the source and quality of their intel. In doing so, he's clearly standing in for many of us who remember the frustration of those months, the sense that we as a nation had let ourselves be duped. He raises the questions with his superiors, with government officials and with Lawrie Dayne (the always excellent Amy Ryan), a Wall Street Journal reporter whose stories have supported the administration's claims about WMDs. Her stories make repeated reference to an Iraqi informant named Magellan. Miller's pursuit of Magellan leads both to the film's biggest and best action chase sequence, and to Miller discovering the truth we now all know about the existence of WMDs in Iraq. <br /><br />The film smartly takes its title from the heavily protected zone in the heart of Baghdad that is depicted here as a luxurious area of babes and beer. It's appropriate because life in that zone betrays none of the tumult going on just outside, because the administration's policies were foolhardy and hopelessly out of touch with reality. It may be that in years to come, this will be one of the films that helps define our view of the war. But it's just a bit too ham-fisted in its handling of the questions that drive it to be the film the Bush administration's manipulation of the American people deserves. At one point, Miller confronts the smarmy government official who, in the film's version of events, seems to be single-handedly responsible for engineering the WMD deception, and yells, “The reasons we go to war always matter!” It's too precise in its confrontation of an issue that made many of us feel misled and deeply unsatisfied. Trying to vicariously deliver the satisfaction we'll never get from that situation feels a bit like cheating here. <br /><br />7/10Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-86257312342930151202010-01-23T17:41:00.000-08:002010-01-23T17:44:30.292-08:00Regarding raindropsRegarding raindrops-<br /><br />I remember watching raindrops roll<br />And skitter<br />On the windshield of my father's car<br />Speeding under the stormy all-swallowing sky<br />of Colorado<br />Watching them weave<br />Between their brethren<br />I would pick one<br />Whose journey seemed promising<br />I was absorbed in the outcome<br />Would it work its way to the window's edge and escape alone<br />And whole<br />Or would it touch another<br />Become something other<br />Larger than itself<br />And be absorbed?Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-91001225933880084962010-01-10T16:20:00.000-08:002010-01-10T16:46:15.196-08:00A detective, a drug dealer, and a man who fires people for a living walk into a bar...Reviews of three movies: Up in the Air, Sherlock Holmes, and 25th Hour.
<br /><meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { so-language: zxx } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: bold;">Up in the Air</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Bird in a flying cage, you'll never get to know me well” </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> -The Police, “Man in a Suitcase”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There's a great scene early in Up in the Air that reminded me of those scenes in action movies where the hero suits up for battle. (Here's the quintessential example of that.)
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<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But instead of preparing to combat an overpowering enemy force and emerge unscathed, Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is preparing to speed through the airport and get on his flight faster than mere mortals like you and me can even dream of. He is a travel commando. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Getting through airport security quickly is just a manifestation of his philosophy: moving is living. He preaches a no-strings-attached aloneness as a way of life. “We are not swans,” he says. “We're sharks.” He gives seminars to other traveling workers in which he instructs them on how to lighten the backpack of life, reducing the burden of all those unnecessary things so many people carry, like a home. And family. Clearly, this is a movie figure who, like Jerry Maguire and any number of other freewheeling men before him, must reassess his priorities and learn some valuable life lessons about connection and family before the credits roll. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But while I was a bit disappointed that the underlying meaning of the film is so predictable in that regard, the path it takes toward Ryan's change is unpredictable and delightful. It's a change that's set in motion by a chance meeting at an airport bar with Alex, who seems to be the perfect candidate for the occasional motel hook-up, appearing to be as committed to a lack of commitment as he is. Their first meeting evokes the famous scar comparison scene from Jaws, only Ryan and Alex show off the various accoutrements of a life committed to traveling for work. Alex is played with irresistible charm by Vera Farmiga, and it's easy to see why she has such a dramatic effect on the normally unwavering forward trajectory of Clooney's Bingham. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Equally vital to Bingham's journey, in its own way, is the connection he develops with young go-getter Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who plans to save Ryan's firm tons of money by enabling them to do their jobs over the internet. But Bingham fights this, trying to demonstrate that face-to-face interaction is a necessary component of the job. Perhaps it is, or perhaps it's just that constant travel is a necessary part of his identity. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Clooney is exceptional here, playing Bingham as a man with depths he isn't even aware of, or has made a deliberate effort to deny. Perhaps that's necessary, given his line of work. Companies hire him to come into their offices and fire their employees. Clooney's glossy sheen is invaluable, helping him come across as both sympathetic and implacable in response to the emotional outpourings of the terminated employees.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Director Jason Reitman nails the tone, finding humor in sadness and sadness in funny situations so that the film never feels less than honest. And maybe it's just that I know so many people who have lost their jobs over the past year, but this film seems to come at just the right time, to reflect something important about where we are as a country right now, about the uncertainty of what's ahead. When Bingham fires people, he presents it as the opening of a door, the first step of the next great chapter of their lives. Perhaps he even believes it a little. And perhaps there is no harm in that.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rating: 9/10
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<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Double feature suggestions: </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In Good Company (The evolving workplace of the 21<sup>st</sup> century)
<br />Lost in Translation (Connections between older men and younger women that don't involve sex)
<br />Jerry Maguire (No matter how committed they are to being single, all men secretly want to settle down)</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: bold;">Sherlock Holmes</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This movie has about as much in common with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories as the Tom Hanks-Dan Aykroyd Dragnet movie had in common with its source material, but this is at least a spirited reinvention. The production design is great, creating an alluringly grimy and gray vision of turn-of-the-century London. And like its protagonist, the whole movie is an awkward but interesting mix of brains and brawn. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Like most Guy Ritchie films, it's brawly and feels a little pleasantly drunk. Sherlock Holmes isn't as ideal a fit for Downey's tremendous charisma as Tony Stark, and so this film is not the truly terrific entertainment that Iron Man is, but he's still fun to watch, and he and Jude Law (as sidekick/live-in companion Dr. Watson) are surely one of the great gay couples in the history of the cinema. Also, it has Eddie Marsan, the crazy driving instructor from Happy-Go-Lucky! You all remember him, right? Right?! And hey, there's a great Dubliners track that plays over the end credits. So there ya go.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rating: 7/10 </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: bold;">
<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: bold;">25<sup>th</sup> Hour</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">"Be on the lookout for the amber waves of grain
<br />The green lady moved away and changed her name"</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> -Greenskeepers, “Vagabond”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Here's my timely review of this 2002 Spike Lee film.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's a masterpiece. One of the very best films of the last decade. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monty Brogan is spending his last night of freedom with friends, before being jailed for seven years. As played by Edward Norton, he comes across as affable, like a friend who was too clever by half in high school, saw a way to start earning some very good money dealing drugs, and quickly found himself in over his head. He is not without blame, and yet if we knew someone in his position, we'd probably feel a bit sorry for them.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We all commit transgressions, large and small, yet Monty is singled out while most of us enjoy impunity. In his own, perfectly legal way, Monty's friend Frank (Barry Pepper) makes huge amounts of money off of the misfortune of others. And English teacher Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in yet another incredible performance) finds himself on that line no teacher should cross with his student Mary (Anna Paquin). He's not unprincipled, you see. It's just that the drinks are strong, and she's oh so lovely...</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzC4gYCYPxr0-DqLSxU6a0LvDHCaoSpZ_Fys_gbYTUj7BggAsTntXYaPoC9YR74x5LYE6OB75GKotzhEdSyA6hKXiwTLcaHGfVTWkuEk4TMlz48xZPw_kpiaYVB7C4BYYPb_xB/s1600-h/tribute+in+light.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzC4gYCYPxr0-DqLSxU6a0LvDHCaoSpZ_Fys_gbYTUj7BggAsTntXYaPoC9YR74x5LYE6OB75GKotzhEdSyA6hKXiwTLcaHGfVTWkuEk4TMlz48xZPw_kpiaYVB7C4BYYPb_xB/s320/tribute+in+light.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425274425727597330" border="0" /></a>The events of September 11<sup>th</sup> are a constant undercurrent here, as the film opens with stunning images of the Tribute in Light, and Frank's apartment is on the very edge of Ground Zero. It's a time when perhaps as a nation we felt we were being punished and didn't know why, or felt that we as individuals had escaped punishment while others had not, and what had separated them from us, really?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm not sure what I was expecting going in to 25<sup>th</sup> Hour, but I sure wasn't expecting a film that is so entertaining, a film so powerful and so rich with meaning that is nonetheless funny and simply a joy to watch. But it is, thanks to the screenplay, which takes its time with these characters, letting us just observe them and listen in on their conversations rather than forcing the machinations of a plot on every moment, and thanks to the fully realized performances, which make these characters so fascinating to observe.
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I need to give special attention to the film's ending. It's a transcendent and unforgettable ten-minute sequence in which Lee's indelible images and the poetic lilt of Brian Cox's voice (as Monty's father, driving him to prison the day after most of the film's events) combine to create an impression of a life lived. I watched it over and over again, trying to absorb every ounce of its beauty, but came away with only the ability to imitate Brian Cox saying “My bar?” (“My bah? Jesus, my bah?”) Which is still pretty cool. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last year, Monty Brogan would have been released, if he'd survived his time in prison. I hope he emerged unbroken, able to enjoy the rich promise of America that the film's ending suggests. But I doubt it.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rating: 10/10</p> Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-69328073184049184542009-12-28T17:24:00.000-08:002009-12-28T18:43:18.155-08:00The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection: My Top Ten Games of 2009<a style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9hyotsMwiHxD8SxW6LgvF0p62DpeIzdjNEjYyLgJNYarZT0Z3RJ_dzeAxGe39mIc3oNO6k_3wf1g9OnKzSKyzdbUrVJaAM4HOsFP3h6HN0_J7iaqkT32NGqd3mULMEmBMyDN/s1600-h/sfiv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9hyotsMwiHxD8SxW6LgvF0p62DpeIzdjNEjYyLgJNYarZT0Z3RJ_dzeAxGe39mIc3oNO6k_3wf1g9OnKzSKyzdbUrVJaAM4HOsFP3h6HN0_J7iaqkT32NGqd3mULMEmBMyDN/s320/sfiv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420463350970740178" border="0" /></a><br />The best games of 2009, for me, were marked not by innovation, but rather by doing the very same things that games have been doing for a long time, but doing them better than they've ever been done before. (That's not to say that this was a year without innovation. On the contrary, GameSpot's pick for Game of the Year, Demon's Souls, is boldly innovative and utterly uncompromising, and I respect the hell out of it. I just didn't personally enjoy it all that much.) The two best games of the year for me were particularly exceptional in this regard. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Forza Motorsport 3</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Street Fighter IV</span> are like well-oiled, nearly flawless high-performance machines in their respective genres.<br /><br />Forza 3 is a game of such elegance that I feel like I should be eating excellent French cheeses and sipping fine wine whenever I play it. But not in a stuffy, oppressive way. No, it's an elegance that's perfectly befitting of the beautiful, fine-tuned automobiles it celebrates. And the experience of playing it is about as close as a game has ever gotten for me to being transportive. The handling, the sounds, the visuals are all so convincing that I could almost swear I can feel my car soaring down the Sebring Raceway. I'm such a devoted fan of over-the-top arcade racers over simulation racers that I often catch myself wanting to press A to trigger a vehicle boost, Burnout-style. But where so many other simulation racers have left me cold, Forza 3 is one I can't stop admiring. In addition to the absolutely top-notch driving, the way the game rewards you for each victory, constantly opening up new cars, new events, and new benefits as you earn experience makes playing "just one more race" nearly irresistible.<br /><br />What Forza 3 is for driving games, Street Fighter IV is for fighters. It hits the sweet spot between pick-up-and-play accessibility and tremendous depth. The incredibly tight controls and exceptionally balanced combat ensure that fights are always exciting and intense for me, and even losses feel rewarding as a chance to observe the techniques of more skillful players and very slowly get better. And the better I get, the more I appreciate how incredible this game is, as I slowly come to grips with things like the focus attack system that adds layers of depth onto the core, tried-and-true Street Fighter II model. If I could stop time for a while and spend unlimited hours playing any one game from this year, this is the one I'd play, because as much as I enjoy it now, I know that being a truly competitive, outstanding player would only deepen my appreciation and enjoyment of it still more.<br /><br />The quest to capture big, Hollywood-style adventure movie thrills in game form is certainly nothing new. Naughty Dog's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Uncharted 2</span> pulls it off more effectively than any game has before. Expertly paced, with one terrific setpiece moment after another, and an excellent cast of characters whose relationships make you feel invested in the story.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Modern Warfare 2</span> was far and away the year's best shooter for me. Sure, you can rightly criticize the brevity of its campaign, but its whirlwind globehopping adventure packs more terrific locations and more memorable moments into its five hours than most games four times as long can manage. Add in the exciting and challenging cooperative Spec Ops missions and the highly addictive competitive multiplayer and you've got a well-rounded and consistently outstanding shooter.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBE4Q6g068O7OBEFtBSZVfTHAyyVFGrZI8-QUnCo73kPjzaaHLLfzQTpeTvmH_97e2vCqFXi_4sGL9xr_SbEHhcH0aDD8Z0O8o4dSpRYrP6ZGYWIM67rYk4cU1u3XDsgG31PO/s1600-h/batman4.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBE4Q6g068O7OBEFtBSZVfTHAyyVFGrZI8-QUnCo73kPjzaaHLLfzQTpeTvmH_97e2vCqFXi_4sGL9xr_SbEHhcH0aDD8Z0O8o4dSpRYrP6ZGYWIM67rYk4cU1u3XDsgG31PO/s320/batman4.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420467326455327058" border="0" /></a>While I have a soft spot for the moody Burton-influenced visuals and catchy tunes of Sunsoft's excellent 1989 NES game based on the first Michael Keaton Batman film, I have to admit that A<span style="font-weight: bold;">rkham Asylum</span> represents far and away the most compelling and effective representation of the Caped Crusader in a game. Everything you love about Batman--his gadgets, his detective skills, his use of stealth and shadow, his scarred psyche--is manifested here to terrific effect. It's so effective, in fact, that even if you go into the game not knowing or caring much about Batman, Commissioner Gordon and the other characters who populate Gotham City, you'll probably come away from it with a real appreciation for what Rocksteady has done with them here.<br /><br />There was very little doubt that <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Beatles: Rock Band</span> was going to be good, but I was nonetheless surprised at just how superb it turned out. Harmonix could have taken the lazy route with this one and still sold a bazillion copies on the strength of the Fab Four's catalog of timeless and incredible songs. But instead, they went all-out, creating a rich Beatles experience jam-packed with the kinds of little details that imbue the game with the warmth and reverence the material deserves. Time spent playing this with friends was perhaps the greatest source of pure joy I got from any game this year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars</span> was perhaps the biggest WOW of the year for me. No other game revealed previously untapped potential in a platform as dramatically as Chinatown Wars did with the DS. No compromises here, this is GTA reimagined from the ground up for Nintendo's handheld, and it is fantastic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwggm9luyawmPwrm_u2dUs2FOiuqv5iotU6JAxk9Y9E6up_bX66lGwjDro9zAxOk0hkAOMqb9jMmtE1ToMbbJzQWPf-r3cdfaObaV6d7G1MrmklXjA-T6TviqyQy8n63Dm_W0Z/s1600-h/marioandluigi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwggm9luyawmPwrm_u2dUs2FOiuqv5iotU6JAxk9Y9E6up_bX66lGwjDro9zAxOk0hkAOMqb9jMmtE1ToMbbJzQWPf-r3cdfaObaV6d7G1MrmklXjA-T6TviqyQy8n63Dm_W0Z/s320/marioandluigi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420467606648508306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story </span>is the latest and greatest entry in AlphaDream's consistently excellent series of RPGs starring the Brothers Mario. Endlessly inventive, irresistibly charming and completely hilarious.<br /><br />I'm still inching my way through <span style="font-weight: bold;">Assassin's Creed II</span>, one kill at a time. While I find the gameplay a smidge too easy to be completely gripping, the varied, richly detailed and atmospheric cities make this breezy ride a very enjoyable one, and pulling off a stealthy kill in broad daylight, then walking away and leaving no one the wiser is immensely satisfying. I recall the negative reactions of some to the concept of the animus when the first game was released, but here, I find that all the crazy conspiracy theory elements woven into the game make it feel all the more epic and compelling, creating a sense of high stakes and of an age-old conflict that extends far beyond Altair, Ezio or Desmond as individuals.<br /><br />What <span style="font-weight: bold;">Borderlands</span> lacks in story, it more than makes up for in sheer addictive playability. It brilliantly merges the loot-finding and character-building that makes games like Diablo II so habit-forming, with...guns.<br /><br />An honorable mention goes to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dragon Age: Origins</span>, another title I haven't found the time to conclude yet. In fact, I've still got a long way to go on this epic journey. The pace lagged for me in the early stages, but now that I'm starting to make some serious progress on the main quest, I'm finding myself becoming more absorbed in the fully realized fantasy realm of Ferelden. Bioware's signature talents for creating richly detailed worlds and compelling moral dilemmas are in full effect here, and I'm determined to see this quest through to its blood-spattery end.<br /><br /><br />In my opinion, the year's best downloadable content was <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Ballad of Gay Tony</span>. Rockstar continues to challenge notions of who and what games can be about. Terrific nightclub atmosphere brings a previously unseen side of Liberty City to life, and the outrageous missions help bring GTA IV to an explosive conclusion.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCv11-ijPLs-CRlOC9YLfZxl5AUDrtL-ZhIqodEW4k0r-w3nV74Qk-6secwNgpe-0NPknVKZfDpqy7_4cKV-QQHqy1BLKLylgmRON83rz5l5YCYeysoE3DdGzeOepWOmtznqUV/s1600-h/GTA-The-Ballad-of-Gay-Tony.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCv11-ijPLs-CRlOC9YLfZxl5AUDrtL-ZhIqodEW4k0r-w3nV74Qk-6secwNgpe-0NPknVKZfDpqy7_4cKV-QQHqy1BLKLylgmRON83rz5l5YCYeysoE3DdGzeOepWOmtznqUV/s320/GTA-The-Ballad-of-Gay-Tony.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420469259508370738" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And since I'm listening to it right now, I'll add that my favorite original soundtrack this year belongs to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Shatter</span>. It's a catchy and gorgeous collection of electronic compositions that are as incredible on their own as they are in the game.<p style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"></p>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-66014942161732503062009-12-25T15:40:00.000-08:002009-12-25T20:15:29.485-08:00Going BIG: My favorite games of the decadeThis is a quick personal reflection on the ten games (well, nine games and one series of games) I found the most meaningful and memorable over the past ten years.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTWZNW8x8xhXqwBHJMTI7SIZ4K6gXDiie5q_LfW-qL_CBhsfYwMxNa9zLcL8M_UG3j-hgqM-LzH1a6-xMa-FEfI4ILmwlTY5zSRyx97gSAjiETXxKgf_Ifzprl8UxbMEP-nCc/s1600-h/ssx.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTWZNW8x8xhXqwBHJMTI7SIZ4K6gXDiie5q_LfW-qL_CBhsfYwMxNa9zLcL8M_UG3j-hgqM-LzH1a6-xMa-FEfI4ILmwlTY5zSRyx97gSAjiETXxKgf_Ifzprl8UxbMEP-nCc/s400/ssx.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419387629878117666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">SSX</span>: I start here not because this is the least of all the games on this list, but because it's the first. It was very early indeed in this decade when I stepped into a GameStop...it may even have still been a Software Etc...and saw a PS2 demo kiosk showing off SSX. I was sold. With one glance, it seemed clear that the power of the PlayStation 2 was going to enable games to deliver bigger thrills than any console before it. How apt that the development studio for this game was called EA Sports BIG. The PS2 was the first new console of the decade, and SSX was its glorious herald, a speedy, stylish, adrenaline-drenched snowboarding game for the new era. It's certainly true that SSX 2 and 3 improved on the original in some respects, but when I think of SSX, it's that first glimpse of Snowdream that I remember most, the voice of Rahzel mocking and praising me as I boosted my way down the slopes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Halo</span>: Some of the very best gaming moments I had this decade were spent with friends crowded around my modest television, the screen split four ways as we assault-rifled and pistol-sniped each other endlessly. Halo 2 and 3 took the multiplayer online in a big way, but the best Halo times of all for me were those early days on Hang 'em High.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYB2EIIG84WXWorgf2yGg1d3Oed9o08SDGDh8jmC0wWmQKqjyJVET6MdJP1At5SsnBoUnvRp3Le0jay1oc0nPfYUO-T5xW7r7HAkHa-khnf6jLiSsb1ccsz4sfWcy1nPTu_NS/s1600-h/burnout.htm"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYB2EIIG84WXWorgf2yGg1d3Oed9o08SDGDh8jmC0wWmQKqjyJVET6MdJP1At5SsnBoUnvRp3Le0jay1oc0nPfYUO-T5xW7r7HAkHa-khnf6jLiSsb1ccsz4sfWcy1nPTu_NS/s320/burnout.htm" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419393601750292066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Burnout 3</span>: What an exciting innovation this game was, building on existing arcade racing game conventions but making crashing and running your competitors off the road a spectacular, visceral part of the gameplay. I consider this the original Xbox's ultimate Xbox Live title. For several months, some friends and I ritually played this on an almost-daily basis,while games these days are unlikely to see consistent online play from us for more than a few weeks. It was also, for me, the first game in which custom soundtracks were an essential feature. I still can't hear certain Death Cab for Cutie songs without them conjuring up images of Burnout 3's environments.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ninja Gaiden (Black)</span>: My favorite skill-based, challenging action game of the decade. When Ninja Gaiden first came out, I rented it and found it difficult to a fault. It was frustrating, not fun. Then the bargain-priced Black came out and I decided to give it another chance. I hit the same wall I had before but kept pressing on and somehow, at a certain point, something clicked, and I just naturally found myself getting better at the game. That sense of just feeling my skills improve, and the results of it--being able to effortlessly slice enemies to pieces (and look awesome doing it) who had previously made mincemeat out of me--was incredibly rewarding.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Metal Gear Solid 4</span>: It's goofy and messy and totally absurd, and I admire the hell out of it. I think it's an inspired conclusion to this totally crazy series, and for all its flaws, I love the fact that it is so clearly Kojima's uncompromised vision. He may be the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur">auteur</a> of games, and I think the series would have been far less interesting if it was made by committee and some of Kojima's crazier, more self-indulgent impulses had been reined in. It somehow creates a thoroughly satisfying conclusion that ties up all the loose ends, and it unforgettably pits the hero and villain against each other in a climactic fistfight that's also a brilliant summation of the entire series. Masterful.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-Phvz7i7FPLPXRuEsTGY7sRiDTg1W4H3EKk8bJx91UF106K8PASZ_Yc8kaEzk3O9Jk19A0zxqlR_7fPonQg4QEqPOPp9qXgnsbBr1Fs21CFGsoq3KnnbcREIkoNgphf0GJtx/s1600-h/liberty+city.htm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-Phvz7i7FPLPXRuEsTGY7sRiDTg1W4H3EKk8bJx91UF106K8PASZ_Yc8kaEzk3O9Jk19A0zxqlR_7fPonQg4QEqPOPp9qXgnsbBr1Fs21CFGsoq3KnnbcREIkoNgphf0GJtx/s400/liberty+city.htm" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419391253394543410" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grand Theft Auto IV</span>: I Heart Liberty City. Moral choice was a fun gimmick in a lot of games over the past ten years, but many of those games presented those choices in such extreme black and white terms. Grand Theft Auto IV was the first game in which I felt legitimately troubled by some of the choices I had to make, the first game in which pulling a trigger and taking a life often felt impactful and irrevocable. The writing is far superior to what you find in most games, with complex, damaged characters who, for all their flaws, are often trying their best to make a go of it in this ugly world. The cutscenes feature terrific subtlety and are willing to take their time to just observe the characters. For me, its themes of culture, cIass and consequences really work. It ain't The Wire, but for my money it's far and away the best crime story, and the best story of any kind, I've encountered in a game. The downloadable stories released this year, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, have kept the party going in style, adding exciting new gameplay elements and continuing to challenge our notions of who and what a game can be about. The Ballad of Gay Tony also features the most gorgeous menu music I've ever heard in a game.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/atha8XPhkuQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/atha8XPhkuQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />"I keep on walkin'..."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqu7QoxzwDTbWmTbBzbJU9KautCajRM6TXSUw3pzMfJZjD8vg9CqgCm6h97GLZpHr_HBvXwlEzfLArfGvVioMLESJm4-teFDe00TBBsREnGvYKMaxjbV6BFy-mTO3eGxz5CUpn/s1600-h/paper+mario.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqu7QoxzwDTbWmTbBzbJU9KautCajRM6TXSUw3pzMfJZjD8vg9CqgCm6h97GLZpHr_HBvXwlEzfLArfGvVioMLESJm4-teFDe00TBBsREnGvYKMaxjbV6BFy-mTO3eGxz5CUpn/s400/paper+mario.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419392700376504242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door</span>: Mario has starred in many exceptional RPGs throughout the past ten years. This is the absolute best of the bunch. It's charming, inventive, humorous, and even oddly poignant. I don't mind telling you that I got a bit choked up at the end of this tale of goombas and koopas. An absolute delight from start to finish.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Rock Band series</span>: When I was younger, I was an enthusiastic air guitarist, desk drummer, and sing-along-er. But these are all private, slightly embarrassing expressions of the emotions a song might conjure up in me. One of the biggest, most important innovations in games of this decade is the way that the music peripheral games have taken those private expressions and made them a shared experience. Performing songs with friends in a game like this is an absolute joy, and a totally valid and new way for people to experience music together. In the Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero battle, the Rock Band games are the clear winner for me. The atmosphere and the song lists deliver just want I want in my fantasy fulfillment, and the Guitar Hero games feel a bit crass and soulless by comparison.<br /><br />And now, my two favorite games of the decade. I can't choose between them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Super Mario Galaxy</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdp-eey3m8wnspYOFA-BZwid6YUQsMjxBRPjpkxZxZ4lvuLAmFIVDTgG1DpvSc5Kurou22p7KBMe5K61SCeEHHCp2gHJroy4rc8lvCXHmd8o4TVLEvKpoeW3VMetdBHIId079/s1600-h/galaxy.htm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdp-eey3m8wnspYOFA-BZwid6YUQsMjxBRPjpkxZxZ4lvuLAmFIVDTgG1DpvSc5Kurou22p7KBMe5K61SCeEHHCp2gHJroy4rc8lvCXHmd8o4TVLEvKpoeW3VMetdBHIId079/s400/galaxy.htm" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419388444072305282" border="0" /></a><br />Super Mario Galaxy is as close as any game has come to perfection for me this decade. It's an absolutely incredible achievement, feeling both like a natural extension of the series' roots, and a totally fresh, at times exhilaratingly innovative experience. The level designs are nothing short of brilliant, and the music, visuals and gameplay frequently combined to foster a sense of ebullient joy in me akin to what I might feel at the most inspired moments of a great Pixar or Miyazaki film.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXiHchDzGxCJbh6StMNopM4EfDkARaJrDRVjiQ09lo3F0cggAcx4VrJP-r59zGKfLA0BeVahiDynOtLxdzQeqyQD-f5EHKCecRf4Ov8xN01OXBwBGctGwPqv7rEbXAPlU0xr6/s1600-h/san+andreas.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXiHchDzGxCJbh6StMNopM4EfDkARaJrDRVjiQ09lo3F0cggAcx4VrJP-r59zGKfLA0BeVahiDynOtLxdzQeqyQD-f5EHKCecRf4Ov8xN01OXBwBGctGwPqv7rEbXAPlU0xr6/s400/san+andreas.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419388990063905506" border="0" /></a>Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, by contrast, does not quite approach perfection. Instead, it's a sprawling, audacious, flawed but utterly incredible game. The story is not the serious tale of revenge or forgiveness that you find in GTA IV, but a fever dream of West Coast culture and styIe. The plot lacks focus, but the cast of characters is memorable, and the outstanding voice work (JAMES WOODS!) helps tremendously. And while the story is messy, the setting is unforgettable. I love it all, from the ghetto where CJ begins to the mansions in the hills. I love the small towns and the beaches. I love the huge bridges and the airplane graveyards. It understands Los Angeles hip-hop culture in the mid-90s, and its climax rings true in echoing some of the rage that fueled the Los Angeles riots of 1992.<br /><br />I can't separate the fact that I've lived in LA for many years from my feelings for this game. Standing in the cul-de-sac where CJ's house is located, I can almost feel the warm Santa Ana winds. But the reason I rank it above GTA IV as one of the absolute best of the decade is not just that its setting is more personally resonant for me. It's also that I simply think it's a bit more fun. For me, this is the best entry overall in what I consider the definitive game series of the decade.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-52182630855186795142009-12-10T23:28:00.000-08:002009-12-11T00:15:08.416-08:00Natural Police and Other Characters--My Favorite TV of the 2000s<title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I suppose strong arguments could be made either that this was the best decade of television, with cable TV coming into its own and providing us with richer, more complex dramas than anything we'd seen in the past, or that it was the worst, with reality TV's rise to popularity signifying a low point in our culture. Well, I actually happen to think there's such a thing as good “reality TV,” but for now, as the decade comes to a close, I want to take a moment to focus on the earlier argument and look back on what were the standouts for me in TV drama in the 2000s.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></p> <ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Wire</span>—Quite possibly the best television show of all time. This is the poetry of real life in America in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century. Over the course of five seasons, it turned its piercing gaze on the drug war, labor unions, big city politics, public schools, and the print media, opening our eyes to the world we live in. At the same time, it's a riveting and powerful human drama, with complex characters on both sides of the law that we come to love and to despise, to root for and to fear.</p> </li></ol> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></p> <ol start="2"><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Shield</span>—If The Wire is the television equivalent of the Great American Novel, The Shield is like a modern-day, extended take on a Shakespearian tragedy, about the way one man's gargantuan ambitions can inhale and destroy the lives of many. For my money, it's pound-for-pound the most exciting drama of the decade, rarely taking a false step from its shocking first episode until its pitch-perfect, devastating finale. Perhaps the most fascinating thing for me about The Shield is the way it so often made me feel so conflicted. Vic Mackey is absolutely, unquestionably immoral, and yet I often found myself cheering him on as he brought his own brand of justice to the criminals of LA's fictional (but thoroughly believable) Farmington district. Mackey (played by Michael Chiklis) pulls focus with his massive persona and his shiny bald head, but this is absolutely an ensemble show, and although I have much love for Vincent D'Onofrio's enigmatic and disturbed detective Robert Goren from Law & Order: Criminal Intent, my favorite TV detective is The Shield's slightly awkward, dogged, brilliant Holland “Dutch” Wagenbach.
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<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JKLIeWEM_2k&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JKLIeWEM_2k&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
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<br />Watching this montage from The Shield finale still gives me goosebumps. If you haven't watched the show, this won't spoil anything. The snippets are too brief to give anything away. But to me and fans of the show, they speak volumes.
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<br /></p></li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Six Feet Under</span>—Forget Touched by an Angel. This is deeply spiritual television, at least for this agnostic.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p> </li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The West Wing</span> (The Sorkin Years)--I stopped watching when Sorkin was dropped, but in those early years of the Bush presidency, when it all still felt like some sort of bad dream, I know I wasn't alone in taking solace and inspiration in the imaginary presidency of Jed Bartlet. Sorkin's excellent “let's-have-snappy-conversations-while-walking-briskly-down-hallways” writing style and the top-notch work by Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and others made this show a delightful entertainment. (Yes, I know, it actually started airing in the final months of the 90s. Sue me.)<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></p></li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Law & Order</span>—Because after 20 years, there are still few things on TV as reliably satisfying as an episode of Law & Order.</p> </li></ol> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In a category of its own:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">24</span>--While The Wire is the show people in the future should look at if they want to understand what our world was actually like in this decade, the show they should look at if they want to psychoanalyze us is 24. The pilot was actually delayed and edited because of the attacks of September 11<sup>th</sup>, 2001, but the entire show almost feels like a reaction to that day. Jack Bauer is absolutely a hero our society gravitated to in the wake of that attack. Like its hero, the show is ruthless and exceptionally effective. It's also the most video-game-like show ever (though the actual 24 game is pretty lousy), and I'm convinced that it has heavily influenced the outstanding campaigns of the Modern Warfare games, which do things with game narrative that previously just weren't done.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Honorable mentions: </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Deadwood</span>—Gorgeously vulgar dialogue and towering performances by a great cast.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Battlestar Galactica</span>—I found the last set of episodes deeply disappointing. Still, it had a lot of great moments, and was the best sci-fi that TV of the 00's had to offer.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dexter</span>—Wickedly entertaining. Dexter (the show and the character) is still a work in progress, but it may deserve a place on a list like this in ten years' time.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Law & Order: Criminal Intent</span>—Vincent D'Onofrio's Robert Goren is what has made this show so watchable, though it achieved heights with regularity in the earlier seasons that it has rarely been able to recapture in more recent ones, and I was crushed when Goren's rivalry with archnemesis Nicole Wallace, which was the source of some of the show's best moments, was brought to an end last season in the most unsatisfying way possible. Goren and Eames will be leaving the show at the start of next season as it becomes Monk 2: Jeff Goldblum's Kooky Crime-Solving Hour full-time. But I'll still watch it.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></p> Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-71773842706455246242009-11-19T21:25:00.001-08:002009-11-19T21:26:33.892-08:00More Russian: Modern Warfare 2 and Games in a Post-24 World (Spoilers)<div class="blog_post"> <p>Much is being said about the campaign for Modern Warfare 2, and in particular, a level called No Russian. Personally, I thought the level was effective and the campaign as a whole was nothing short of spectacular. It's easily earned a place as one of my favorite shooter campaigns of all time.</p><p>One of the criticisms I've read levelled at the campaign is that the writing is poor and the story is ludicrous. I agree completely that the story is ludicrous. I think that most video game stories are ludicrous. But so what? The important thing in a game like Modern Warfare 2 is to cram as many intense moments into its five-hour campaign as it can. I can't think of a game that sustained such an unrelenting pace, and since the story does its job of providing a vehicle to string all these things together, in my mind, it's a success. I won't argue that it's great writing for a second. But it's writing with a very specific purpose, and I think it does a great job of accomplishing that purpose.</p><p>There may have been a time where I would have enjoyed it less, where I would have spent half my time stepping outside of the absurd action of the story and yelling at the screen, "Oh, come on! That would never happen!" Perhaps it's all that 24 I watched, but at a certain point, my outlook changed, and I realized that I was willing to sacrifice a certain amount of plausibility if, and only if, something succeeds in delivering over-the-top thrills so incredible as to make my suspension of disbelief worthwhile. Most of the time, 24 succeeded here for me. In the end, it's not the overall story of a 24 season that matters, but the moment-to-moment thrills that story allowed the season to deliver, and seriously, if you think Modern Warfare 2 is implausible, watch a season of 24. I don't know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that 24 has been a direct influence on the Modern Warfare games.</p><p>24 ushered in an era of television where viewers could no longer be sure, one week to next, that any character (wiith the possible exception of Jack Bauer) was safe. Audience favorites are routinely killed suddenly and unflinchingly. The Modern Warfare games certainly followed in the series' footsteps here. The death of a player character in the first Modern Warfare, like the death of lovable Edgar on 24, was shocking. Perhaps in Modern Warfare 2 they go a tad overboard with this and it starts to lose its impact a bit, but I still found most of the twists and character deaths surprising and impactful.</p><p>And then there's No Russian, in which, as an undercover CIA agent embedded in a terrorist cell, you must stand by, or even participate, while your fellow terrorists slaughter hundreds of civilians at an airport. Many of the arguments I've read about this level are rooted in the illusion of choice. There you are, holding a gun, but you must stand idly by as this massacre takes place. You are unable to turn the gun on the terrorists and attempt to stop this atrocity, which is something that any moral person would surely at least consider doing in that situation. Anthony Burch, in this <a href="http://www.destructoid.com/rev-rant-modern-warfare-2-154784.phtml">Rev Rant</a> at Destructoid, argues that as the player, your feelings of revulsion about what's happening totally pull you out of the moment. (At least that was what I took away from his argument, but I'm paraphrasing, and I encourage you to watch it for yourself.) And maybe that's true. He contrasts this, though, with the player's relationship with Alyx in Half-Life 2. In Half-Life 2, he says, you like Alyx. Because the game reinforces your positive feelings about the character, Gordon's choice to not just use the gravity gun to fling her into the nearest bunch of headcrabs and run jibes with your own feelings, creating a seamless relationship between you and the character you're playing. But to me, that's an arbitrary distinction. Another player may totally loathe Alyx and actually wish to kill her. In both Modern Warfare 2 and Half-Life 2, you have no choice. Choice is a complete illusion.<br /></p><p>Some may feel that games are more enjoyable when we always feel a positive connection with the character we're playing and the actions of that character. I'm fine with that not being the case, with sometimes being cast in an unsavory role. If Modern Warfare 2 were a film, could the actor cast in the role the player plays in the No Russian level say to the director, "You know, if it were really me in this situation, I think I'd say to myself, 'To hell with this undercover thing, I'm turning my gun on these monsters!' So is it okay if I do that in this scene?" Of course not. It's essentially the same thing here. We are cast in this role. We have a part to carry out, and we must carry it out, whether we like it or not. If you're playing Metal Gear Solid, you must stop Liquid Snake. Trying to join forces with him is not an option. If you're playing Ocarina of Time, you cannot shirk your responsibility to defeat Ganon and just go live on a farm somewhere, no matter how much you might rather do that. In games, almost always, choice is an illusion.</p><p>The other criticism I've heard about No Russian is that some feel such a horrific scene of violence is inappropriate in something that's essentially just trying to be a piece of pure entertainment, that it's exploitative to use something so terrible in the context of something that, let's face it, doesn't really deal with the consequences in a serious, meaningful way. Maybe I'm just callous, but I didn't mind. Again, perhaps it's all that 24, which doesn't shy away from crashing commuter jets, releasing chemical weapons in hotels, and detonating nukes in densely populated areas, killing anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands at a time. Nor is it reluctant to try to make you feel the loss of a single human life.</p><p>And always, not long after one of these moments transpires, Jack Bauer is back to kicking ass and walking away from unsurvivable situations unscathed, all in the name of delivering pure entertainment.</p> </div>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-54286994274148159602009-08-23T15:44:00.000-07:002009-08-23T17:12:19.004-07:00Orson's GameThere's a little burger stand near my place that I positively love. Juiciest burgers I've ever tasted, and I am a fiend for a nice juicy burger. <p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One day, the owners of the restaurant started telling me about how they get their tomatoes from this wonderful tomato farm. Now, I'm not a huge tomato person. Really, I could take or leave the tomato on my burger. It's just not an important part of the experience for me. But the owner was so excited about this tomato farm that I decided to look it up online, and I was dismayed by what I found out.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Oh, not about the tomatoes they produce. In fact, they do have a reputation for growing some tasty tomatoes.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">No. You see, I was dismayed to find that these tomato farmers are white supremacists, and they're quite vocal about it, too. They serve on boards of organizations that seek to oppress minorities and strip them of their rights.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After that, I was really torn about going back to that burger stand. Some other patrons decided that they were going to boycott the stand. When the boycott was announced, the people who grow the lettuce for the stand spoke out, saying, “Hey, we're not white supremacists! In fact, we actively support all kinds of human rights measures. If you boycott the stand, we will suffer, too!” I appreciate the plight of the lettuce farmer. Still, I can respect the position of the boycotters. The restaurateurs didn't publicize the lettuce as being an important part of what makes their burgers so incredible. No, they talked up the tomatoes. Its the tomato farm whose name is now known far and wide in association with those juicy burgers. Not, alas, the lettuce farm. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As for me, I did go back to the stand, and I still enjoyed the burger, though I had to rationalize to myself that it was okay because I don't care for the tomatoes much one way or the other. If the restaurant owners themselves, the people who put all the work into grilling those patties and making those burgers so tasty, the people I actually hand my money over to, were the white supremacists, I never could have gone back.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">However, I really wish that they would get their tomatoes from somewhere else. Surely there are excellent tomatoes on the market that aren't grown by vocal white supremacists, and I'm of the mind that the tomato farm of white supremacy does not deserve our support.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">None of this is true, of course. (Well, I am a fiend for a nice juicy burger. This cannot be denied.) This is simply my analogy for the controversy around <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_scott_card">Orson Scott Card</a>'s involvement in the new Xbox Live Arcade release, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/shadowcomplex/index.html">Shadow Complex</a>. Card is a science fiction author and vocal opponent of equal rights for gays and lesbians, who currently serves on the board for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Organization_for_Marriage">National Organization for Marriage</a>.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The game is set in the “universe” of his Empire series. While playing the game, I didn't feel that his contributions could possibly have had too significant an impact on the overall experience. If I hadn't been aware of the association as a result of publicity given to his involvement, I never would have suspected. The game's setting and plot seem generic enough that I would have just assumed the creators were riffing on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid">Metal Gear Solid</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Some have <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24627">boycotted Shadow Complex</a> due to Card's involvement. I did not. I purchased the game and I enjoyed it, recognizing that it's the work of a great many people, many of whom don't agree with Card's views. Still, as a member of the queer community and an ardent opponent of discrimination based on sexual orientation, Card's highly publicized involvement in the project doesn't sit well with me, and I really wish that Chair Entertainment had found someone else to get their tomatoes from.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">(And I'm fully aware that those who oppose marriage equality will object to being likened to those who discriminate on the basis of race, but I have yet to come across a compelling argument that there is any appreciable difference. Denying someone rights on the basis of sexual orientation is no less reprehensible than doing so on the basis of race or religion. It is a sad commentary on just how far we still have to go with this issue that, while almost all of us are quick to condemn the views of those who discriminate based on race, discrimination against gays and lesbians can still hold such widespread approval.)<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">----</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">On a more uplifting note, check out these awesome Courage Campaign volunteers, including "straight Mormon feminist" Joanna Brooks. They're an inspiration. Please help make marriage equality a reality.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-lE9izJFGfs&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-lE9izJFGfs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-66321244222792309412009-06-13T23:17:00.000-07:002009-06-14T14:59:14.153-07:00Greetings from Big Surf Island!<p>I've been off from work this past week, taking a mandatory furlough, like many people are having to do in these harsh economic times. While I am hoping to go on an exciting trip or two in the not-too-distant future, as I wasn't being paid this week, I didn't want to spend too much money, so I stayed in town. That doesn't mean I didn't have a kind of vacation, though. I've visited the following exotic and exciting destinations during my time off:</p><p><br /><strong>Big Surf Island</strong>: I was absolutely mad about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/burnout5/index.html">Burnout Paradise</a> when it first came out, and Big Surf Island has gotten me pumped about it all over again. The island is a bit smaller than I imagined it would be, but it's positively packed with outrageous jumps and all the other stuff that makes Paradise such an exhilarating game. The dune buggies you find there are a blast to drive, too, with a great rough-and-ready feel to their handling. I've already completed 40/45 billboards, 13/15 mega jumps and 74/75 smashes. I just know that finding that last one is going to be a real pain. I also have just one event left to complete: a stunt run. Those are the bane of my existence. I'm not generally a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">completionist</span>, but Paradise compelled me to get 100%, and I know I won't stop until I've jumped every jump, smashed every smash and every billboard, won every event and ruled every road in both the Time Road Rules and Showtime (AKA Katamari CarCrashy AKA Michael Bay Directs a Car Wreck) modes on Big Surf Island. It's good to be back in Paradise.<br /><br /><strong>The Ring</strong>: When I was a kid, I could beat Mike Tyson without breaking a sweat. It seems my reflexes aren't what they used to be. My current record in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/punchoutwii/index.html">Punch-Out!!</a> is an embarrassing 20-67, and I'm currently facing Don Flamenco in the title defense section of the game. But I don't mind. On the contrary, I'm very pleased that the game is so challenging. It goes easy on you for a while, but once you get to defending your belt, Punch-Out!! is no joke. At this point, the bouts are tough enough to quite literally get my pulse racing, and each victory feels like an accomplishment. It's hard in much the same way that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">NES</span> game was hard,but I think it's harder, thanks to more complex attack patterns from your opponents, which you need to learn during the first phase of your career and then completely re-learn during title defense. If the game had ended when I'd won the world championship, I would have felt like I could have better spent that $50, as fun as the experience was up to that point. But this game has proven to have lasting value and to keep the excitement <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">comin</span>'. I'm thrilled to see this franchise get reinvigorated like this.If only the game shouted "BODY BLOW! BODY BLOW!" like the arcade games did, it would be just about perfect.</p><p><br /><strong>Unnamed Middle Eastern Country</strong>: In the past I've never really been one to spend much time with online shooters, but I've gotten back into <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/callofduty4modernwarfare/index.html">Modern Warfare</a>'s online <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">multiplayer</span> in a big way this week. I don't consider myself to be all that great at shooters so I generally shy away from exclusively team-based games like Gears of War 2's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">multiplayer</span> (that way I can't let any other players down) but free-for-all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">deathmatch</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">CoD</span>4 is so exceptional, I keep coming back to it again and again.It's easily the online shooter I've enjoyed the most. Here's a question for anyone here who might play this game online: If I play exclusively free-for-all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">deathmatch</span>, is it worth it for me to spring for the map pack that contains Creek, Broadcast, Chinatown and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Killhouse</span>?<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Temeria</span>:</strong> This compelling land is the setting of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/thewitcherenhancededition/index.html">The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Witcher</span></a>, which I downloaded off of Steam this week. I'm utterly taken with the setting, which is rather unlike the setting of any other fantasy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">RPG</span> I've played, It feels rougher, more lived-in and worn, bleaker, and more believable. I haven't yet been able to spend as much time as I would like with the mysterious <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Geralt</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Rivia</span>, but you can bet I'm eager to do so.<br /><br /><strong>The Sprint Studio</strong>: Lastly, I've been enjoying the beta season of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/1vs100/index.html">1 vs. 100</a> on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Xbox</span> Live. The game itself couldn't be simpler, but I'm excited about the way it's being implemented. I think the opportunity to join a live game that's being played by tens of thousands of other players, that involves answering trivia questions rather than, say, killing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">orcs</span> and earning loot, is really exciting. (It helps that I am a huge sucker for trivia questions.) I also like the fact that up to four people can play from a single console, as it just feels like a party game that would be way more fun when shared with friend. In fact, I think I'm gonna invite some friends over for some pizza and beer and 1 vs. 100 one of these weekends.<br /><br />I also want to say just a few things about E3.<br /><br />When I was a kid, it really bothered me if someone abused a stuffed animal, even though I was well aware that the thing had no feelings of its own. Apparently there's still part of me that harbors that irrational perspective, as the first thing I imagined after seeing the Milo demonstration was thousands of people unleashing verbal abuse at their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Milos</span>. It made me sad. Apparently Milo won't respond to abuse, though, so that's good. Maybe if it's utterly pointless, people won't bother to engage in it. Of course, I'm assuming that Milo is actually going to be as amazing as it appeared in the demo, but then, I have no reason to doubt that it will be. After all, it was presented by Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Molyneux</span> of all people.<br /><br />There are too many games I'm excited about to mention, but one announcement I'm particularly intrigued by is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Metroid</span> Other M. As a huge fan of most of the 2D <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Metroid</span> games, I always felt that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Metroid</span> Prime games really missed one hugely important aspect of what makes <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Samus</span> so much fun to play: she's quick and agile. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Metroid</span> Other M looks primed to rectify this issue in a big way, so I'll be keeping my eyes on that one.<br /><br />So, how 'bout you? What are you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">playin</span>'? Any E3 announcements strike you as particularly promising or exciting?</p>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-68210706671634954252009-03-06T23:29:00.000-08:002009-03-06T23:42:34.376-08:00WatchmenWatchmen is a very good film, if not an outstanding one. The film adeptly adapts the epic graphic novel into a comprehensible 2-hour-and-40-minute film, and there are enough delightful little touches (Lee Iacocca! Pat Buchanan! Robert Palmer videos!) to make its chilling alternate-reality 1985 feel like a possible extrapolation of our own. Strong casting helps considerably, particularly in the cases of Patrick Wilson, who is so extraordinarily ordinary as Nite Owl, and Jackie Earle Haley as the simmering Rorschach. And perhaps it helps that I'm old enough to remember the Cold War and had, at one point in my childhood, a very real sense of terror about the possibility of global thermonuclear war (Thanks, WarGames!), but the constant sense of dread over the possibility of just such a crisis in the film resonated with me pretty deeply.<br /><br />There are times where the film, despite all this good stuff, feels constrained. There's a section in the graphic novel that deals not only with the origins of Dr. Manhattan, but also with the unique way in which he perceives time, with every moment existing concurrently. I consider it one of the most remarkable things I've ever read, comic or otherwise. I think much of what helps drive its power and helps the reader relate to and understand Dr. Manhattan's existence is the fact that the panels for each moment do exist concurrently, and so we exist outside of them and can behold several of them simultaneously. The film, of course, is by necessity linear, and so I was a bit disappointed with this aspect, and never felt a very strong connection to the nude blue superdude, though I don't think the film could have possibly measured up to the comic here. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed change to the story's climax for the film is, I think, an improvement.<br /><br />Watchmen has moments of inspiration, such as its terrifically theatrical opening credits sequence. On the whole, however, it lacks the spark of passion required to make a cinematic adaptation truly take on a life of its own (I'm thinking particularly of The Lord of the Rings films there), and ends up feeling like more of a companion piece to the graphic novel than something worthy of deep consideration in its own right. But regardless, it's a fascinating, goofy, often thrilling film that's true to the spirit and the ideas of the graphic novel. 8/10Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-69558597843649504692009-01-03T02:04:00.000-08:002009-01-03T09:50:25.129-08:00Gamers in a Dangerous TimeOne day you're waiting for the sky to fall<br />And next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all<br />When you're lovers in a dangerous time<br />--Bruce Cockburn, Lovers in a Dangerous Time<br /><br />And make no mistake, these are dangerous times we're living in. Economically, things are already pretty bad. There's a good chance you or someone you know has lost his or her job as a result of cutbacks, and things will, according to many people who know a lot more about this stuff than I do, get worse before they get better. I'm very thankful for my job and fully aware that at any point, someone could decide that my company could save a whole lot of money by paying people in Mexico or India or elsewhere to do my job. This is a time for belt-tightening and saving, not for spending.<br /><br />Beyond our economic woes, long-simmering tensions in other parts of the world are building up to dangerous levels, and it's possible that the human race may blow itself to hell in the relatively near future. Is ths really a time when we should be playing games?<br /><br />Heck yeah, it is. Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight, and being able to relax and enjoy life is absolutely worth having. Here are the things I'm playing in these precarious days.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Prince of Persia</span>--It's beautiful, I'll give it that. The visual design is striking, evoking ancient Persia not as it ever was but as it is in our imaginations. But the gameplay all feels a bit rote to me, and not very engaging. This one may be on the next GameFlight back home.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Fallout 3</span>--I know I said that these are not times for spending, and GameFly seems like a good way to save money and still play the games I want to play, but after a certain point having a game from GameFly must stop being cost-effective. I think I might be reaching that point with Fallout 3. I play it in fits and starts, and I like it well enough, but more often than not there's something I'd rather be playing. Still, I have to play it through to the end. I think it might just be in very small pieces over the course of the coming months.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Lumines Supernova</span>--Ohh, how I love/hate Lumines! Its design is so flawless, so compelling, and I want so badly to be really good at it. But Lumines greatness eludes me. Still, I keep trying. Maybe someday I'll get past the sixth skin in the basic challenge mode.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">LittleBigPlanet</span>--When I wrote up my favorite games of 2008, I called this my odd game out, because the perplexing moderation of so many wonderful user-created levels just seemed to fly in the face of the game's good-natured, Fun shall overcome philosophy. But things seem to have recovered nicely, and I still regularly encounter user-created levels that charm, thrill, and genuinely surprise me with their inventiveness.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts</span>--I spent about an hour and a half playing Nuts & Bolts tonight, and my first impressions of the game are extremely positive. It's very funny in a way that both mocks video game conventions in general and the Banjo-Kazooie games in particular. It's gorgeous. And the gameplay is purely, tremendously fun. I haven't yet had to design any of my own vehicles, which is a good thing. The game has an excellent learning curve that lets you use pre-designed vehicles successfully in many early challenges. And the challenges themselves are varied and fun. I'm already hooked and can't wait to collect more jiggies.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Chrono Trigger</span>--I'd never played Chrono Trigger before. I was in college when it hit the SNES and I didn't make much time for games during those four years. It's probably for the best. Without my degree in Theater with a minor in English, it's doubtful I'd have the lucrative career in tech support and customer service that I have today. But I'm making up for lost time by playing it now.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Life with PlayStation</span>--Folding molecules for the benefit of humankind. Gee, that planet of ours sure is pretty, isn't it?<br /><br />Yeah, that's the thing, isn't it? Even as things get uncertain and scary, there's still so much to be hopeful for and so much to be thankful for. Play what you love and do what you love, and when things get tough, remember that nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight. Or, as the late, great Harvey Milk said, "There is hope for a better world. There is hope for a better tomorrow."<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pvfexvihri8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pvfexvihri8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Happy 2009, everyone!Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-30169107255121452732008-12-14T00:48:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:53:23.635-08:00Mis juegos favoritos de 2008!Greetings from Tijuana, Mexico, where the thing to do on a Saturday night is stay in your room writing entries in your blog! This is not a list in which I'm arguing that these are the very best games of the year. There were too many games I didn't get to play for me to make those kinds of arguments (I've barely scratched the surface in Fallout 3--PUN INTENDED!) and anyway I'm not interested in making them. This is a quick and dirty, off-the-top-of-my-head celebration of the games I personally enjoyed the most.<br /><br />For me, the area where games saw the most dramatic advancement in 2008 was narrative. My two favorite games each, in their own way, set a new standard for the kinds of stories games can tell, and how those stories can be told, while also delivering outstanding gameplay.<br /><br />My favorite game of the year is <strong>Grand Theft Auto IV</strong>. Games have faced me with choices before, but never have the choices been so difficult, troubling and impactful as they are in Rockstar's masterpiece. In its stylized, thrillingly alive depiction of contemporary New York City, complex protagonist Niko Bellic's journey is not just a shootout-filled crime epic, though it certainly is that. It's also a story about class, culture, loss, revenge, forgiveness, and that most elusive of all concepts: the American dream. I'm not saying this game is The Wire. I am saying it cuts deeper and truer than any other game into the America we live in now, and I was mesmerized from start to finish by nearly every aspect of the game, and how they all came together to create an experience that was as thought-provoking and emotionally affecting as it was viscerally thrilling.<br /><br />In my number two spot is a game that tells an altogether different kind of story. While one could imagine the tale of GTA IV working as a novel or film--albeit without those difficult, all-important choices, the Metal Gear Solid games, and <strong>MGS4</strong> in particular, are uniquely gamey in the tales they tell and the techniques they employ to tell them. MGS 4 is such a monumental success, such a powerhouse conclusion to this series that for me it redeems even the weakest moments of the previous MGS games. MGS 4 is somewhat accessible to even first-time players of the series, but it really shines as a tremendous piece of fan service for those who have been fascinated with every aspect of Solid Snake's long, labyrinthine odyssey. My favorite example of both the gamey storytelling and the deeply interwoven fan service are the X-button flashbacks that frequently pop up during the game's cutscenes. I was frequently surprised and even oddly moved by the connections that were woven throughout this game to past games in the series in the form of brief visual and aural flashbacks. It gave the storytelling a rather stream-of-consciousness feel, as if we were inside Snake's mind, remembering aspects of the past along with him as his journey draws toward what he knows, as his body starts to give out on him, are his final days. Of course, all of this virtuosic storytelling would be for naught if the gameplay wasn't any good, but it is absolutely excellent. Unforgettable setpieces abound, and the final brutal fistfight is a near-perfect sendoff of one of the greatest heroes and one of the greatest villains in video game history, that brilliantly evokes all of the games in this landmark series.<br /><br />Of course, games are still, first and foremost, about the gameplay, and one of my favorite games of the year has no narrative at all to speak of, save what my imagination conjures up. <strong>Rock Band 2</strong> is an endlessly exhilarating fantasy fulfillment machine. I understand that it's not a huge advancement over its predecessor, but the whole Rock Band experience was new to me the day I brought home my RB2 bundle. I've already spent many hours getting lost in the music while playing drums for The Intellivisions, and I hope to spend many more. The people behind this game really understand the culture of rock, and everything about it feels right, from the ambiance of the gigs to the iconic images on loading screens of your band, and your band's name on lunchboxes, bumper stickers and the like.<br /><br />And then there's the chilling <strong>Dead Space</strong>, which builds on the framework of Resident Evil 4 by adding some uniquely sci-fi elements like vacuums and zero-g environments, and takes place on a ship so richly detailed and haunting, it feels like you've stepped into a really, really good Ridley Scott movie.<br /><br />I also want to give special recognition to <strong>Fable II</strong>. It's a thoroughly enjoyable game whose storybook vibe is very charming, and whose various elements--questing, developing your character's combat and magic attributes, shaping your character's moral role in the world, and buying and selling property, come together to make for a surprisingly compelling, addictive experience. On a personal note, I also love the tacit implication in the game that gay people should be treated as equals in society and granted the same freedom to express their commitment to each other with a bond of marriage that straight people enjoy. Ah, what a ridiculous fantasy world Albion is.<br /><br />My odd game out for the year is <strong>Little Big Planet</strong>, which I found absolutely enchanting in the days after its release and would not have hesitated to place on this list. Many user-created levels knocked my socks off with their beauty and inventiveness. Then things got unpleasant as many of the very best levels were nuked by Sony, in many cases for no clear reason. This left a pretty nasty taste in my mouth about the whole experience. I've heard that things have improved since then, but I haven't yet found the time to hop back into my pod and see what's new in the LBP.<br /><br />I'm giving honorable mention to <strong>No More Heroes</strong>, Suda51's exhilaratingly original, audacious Wii action game. Fascinating characters, stylish lo-fi graphics, a dizzying story, excellent use of the Wii remote, and tons of fun, ludicrously bloody action. Brilliant.<br /><br />And <strong>Gears of War 2 </strong>also deserves recognition. As dumb as Cliff Bleszinski's "Bigger, better and more bad-ass" phrase sounds, it's nonetheless accurate. Gears of War 2 improves upon its predecessor in just about every way, featuring action on a larger scale and a story that's nice and ignorable rather than one whose in-your-face stupidity actually hurts the experience of playing the game. Heck, there was even a cutscene in this game I found rather moving. With a slew of terrific cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, Gears 2 is an outstanding package.<br /><br />This was also an amazing year for downloadable games, both in terms of remakes of classics and original titles. My favorite update is <strong>Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix</strong>, which improves the visuals of the 14-year-old classic so that they look spectacular in high definition, and polishes up the gameplay, but also demonstrates just how well the fundamental game still holds up.<br /><br />My favorite original downloadable game, and one of my favorite games of the year in any category, is <strong>Braid</strong>. It's a brilliant, beautiful puzzler that's not quite like anything I've played before. It's challenging but consistently, unfailingly logical, and each time I thought I might have to break down and look at a FAQ, I instead put the game aside for a day, and when I returned to it, looking at the situation with fresh eyes, the solution was immediately apparent. To bring us full circle, it's also one of the most challenging and rewarding narratives I've encountered in a game, dealing with regrets on both a personal and historic scale, with a jaw-dropping climax that gave me goosebumps and left me feeling utterly amazed.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-58308029859880248792008-11-09T23:38:00.000-08:002008-11-09T23:49:55.286-08:00In space, no one can hear you say, "Hot diggity, this game is awesome!"I'm positively overwhelmed by great games at the moment, some purchased, some GameFlown. I still need to spend a lot more time with Little Big Planet, and I've barely scratched the surface of Fallout 3. Tonight, I spent some time fending off waves of Locust with friends in Gears of War 2's terrific Horde mode, but the campaign remains mostly untouched.<p>The game that keeps pulling me away from all the others is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/deadspace/index.html?tag=result;title;1" mce_href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/deadspace/index.html?tag=result;title;1">Dead Space</a>. I know this is common knowledge, but man, is this game outstanding. It doesn't reinvent the survival horror genre--you can feel the influence of Resident Evil 4 throughout--but it provides an absolutely remarkable setting and tosses in enough pure sci-fi elements to set it squarely apart from RE4 or any other game. Fighting enemies in zero-gravity environments is deliciously disorienting, and the way the sound effects contribute to the experience of running through a vacuum as your oxygen rapidly depletes has to be heard to be appreciated. Putting enemies in stasis and then blasting their appendages off and seeing them slowly twist through the air is strangely beautiful. </p><p>In fact, nearly everything about the game is strangely beautiful. The Ishimura actually feels like a once-functional spaceship, and the level of detail makes me feel like I've stepped into a Ridley Scott movie. The sound design equals the visuals in every way, with the ship clanging convincingly and the eerie echo of once-important PA announcements haunting the halls. And although the story seems like pure Event Horizon stuff, it's still told in a way that has me wanting to find out how it's all going to end, with the slick, insane Dr. Mercer giving the gruesome evil a compelling human face, and enough eerie hallucinations to give the game's horror a psychological edge. </p><p>Most of all, the game's action is what has me so hooked right now. It's difficult and satisfying, it's constantly introducing new enemies and new elements, and it always has me feeling like I'm fighting for my life. </p><p>This is one of my favorite games of the year.<br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioioNll0dMFZujYY4173cHIw48qNFu3_sannFIUNqrLQ_Fc2MnwbNJ-ufB43OSBSSMIWKe6BySkSChYBi_CkeOzHBfusb1kqPsb3dCH09XdogkdmWuMwrfJR3oBLVQeMWr3Hlo/s1600-h/dead+space.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioioNll0dMFZujYY4173cHIw48qNFu3_sannFIUNqrLQ_Fc2MnwbNJ-ufB43OSBSSMIWKe6BySkSChYBi_CkeOzHBfusb1kqPsb3dCH09XdogkdmWuMwrfJR3oBLVQeMWr3Hlo/s400/dead+space.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266932864319088290" border="0" /></a></p>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-7226828814293696792008-11-05T12:30:00.000-08:002008-11-05T14:54:30.471-08:00A step forward, a step back<p>I was an ardent supporter of President Obama's campaign, not because he was black, not even a little bit, but because I strongly believe that his ideas about how to run this country are exactly what we need right now. Yet that historic aspect of his victory cannot be ignored, and it is cause for celebration, an inspiring sign of how far we as a nation of come since Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech some 45 years ago. But as I watched the reactions to this monumental moment in our history on television with friends, many politicians and pundits echoed the same sentiment: Now, when a parent tells their child, "Someday, you can grow up to be president of this great nation, that is indeed the truth regardless of who they are." And that is not yet the case. </p><p>In his moving endorsement of Barack Obama, Colin Powell said the following:</p><p><i>I'm also troubled by. . .what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America. </i></p><p>Powell is absolutely right. The America I love is not the one represented by those who object to the notion of a Muslim president. But we are not yet at the point where a Muslim or a Hindu, an agnostic or an atheist, a gay man or a lesbian could be president of this nation. True equality is still a long, long way off. </p><p>Never have I felt joy so commingled with grief as I did last night, for even as my bus ride home took me through throngs of people cheering in the streets, celebrating this hopeful new day in America, Proposition 8 here in California, and similar measures in other states, painfully reminded me that we as a society still have so far to go.</p><p>In some states, bans on gay marriage passed in yesterday's election. Here in California, a particularly hateful proposition, propelled by a campaign that used shameful scare tactics, passed which will amend the constitution of our state to strip the right to marry away from gay couples who have already enjoyed it, making their unions invalid and unrecognized. The <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-prop8-2-2008nov02,0,5926932.story" mce_href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-prop8-2-2008nov02,0,5926932.story" target="_blank">L.A. Times endorsement</a> of a no vote explains just how misleading and downright false the campaign used to support this proposition was, and how unnecessary and backwards the amendment will be, far better than I ever could.</p><p>This is not a religious issue. This is a civil rights issue. No religious institution would be forced to perform or recognize gay marriages. Marriage is a social institution, not exclusively a religious one. Will we pass a law preventing atheist heterosexual couples from going to the courthouse and getting married?</p><p>Supporters of this proposition appealed to peoples' fears about their children growing up in a world where gay marriage is accepted. What's to be scared of, unless you hold on to this archaic, absurd notion that homosexuality is a "lifestyle choice"? Because, right, the social alienation that goes with being gay is so tempting that lots of people are making that choice, and many straight people--who, of course, <i>chose </i>at some point in their lives to be straight, because it is a choice after all--struggle with the urge to give in to being gay constantly, because being gay just looks like such a good option. No. Ridiculous. I am not gay but I am transgendered, and I can no more change that about myself than I can change the color of my eyes. And believe me, I spent many long, hard, painful years trying. For our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, this is part of who they are, and it should be celebrated as just another weave in the beautiful fabric of human diversity. Instead, we continue to discriminate against them, to put them on a lower platform in our society. This is every bit as hateful as denying someone a right because of the color of their skin, and those who supported Proposition 8 ought to be deeply ashamed of themselves. Your children are not going to be more likely to "turn gay" if they grow up in a world where gay marriage is accepted. Believe me, your children will be straight or gay because they are straight or gay. Giving them a world that is more accepting of this diversity would be a gift.</p><p>But even as I grieve for this setback, I know that it is temporary, and the efforts to impede progress will inevitably prove futile. With each passing generation, more and more of our young people grow up understanding that homosexuality is nothing to revile or fear. They grow up, not with the grating, reluctant tolerance expressed by Sarah Palin in her debate with Joe Biden, but a full-hearted acceptance of their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as their equals in every aspect, deserving of all the same rights. That we will get to the point where gay marriage is allowed, where future generations will look back on this decision with all the disbelief and disappointment in us that I felt as a child looking back on the idea that at one point certain citizens had been forced to sit in the back of the bus, I have no doubt whatsoever. This is the slow but sure path of progress that has characterized the history of this great nation.</p><p>I was so happy to be alive to see this great moment in America's history. God willing, I will live to see that one as well. </p>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-46603274327449522662008-05-20T15:04:00.001-07:002008-05-20T16:09:37.179-07:00Niko and Caro, American Dreamers<span style="font-weight: bold;">Warning: This post contains spoilers for the plot of Grand Theft Auto IV.</span><br /><br />It's been ten years now since I graduated from college, and that fact put me in a bit of a reflective mood for much of the past few weeks. Thinking of what I've done with the past ten years, and where I hope to be when another ten years have gone by.<br /><br />When I graduated, in May of 1998, the future was anything but certain. I mean, a degree in theater from a small liberal arts college is not exactly a license to print money, and at that point, I still didn't really know what I wanted to do professionally. But I had a dream for my life. Not a big dream at all, really. It's quite simple, but it's mine. Maybe it's yours, too.<br /><br />It's a dream that was expressed pretty well in this exchange on Showtime's entertaining <a href="http://www.tv.com/dexter/love-american-****episode/849524/summary.html">Dexter</a>:<br /><br /><strong>Dexter</strong>: Do you have a dream for your life? Your future? Yes?<br /><strong>Rita</strong>: Of course. Do you?<br /><strong>Dexter</strong>: It might sound weird. I want to someday be content. Just feel comfortable, like everyone else. I want...<br /><strong>Rita</strong>: ...a normal life?<br /><strong>Dexter</strong>: Yeah, a normal life.<br /><strong>Rita</strong>: That's all I want. Just that.<br /><br />Dexter, in case you don't know, is a sympathetic character who kills people, and he has the same dream for his life that I have for mine. That seems appropriate here, as I've been spending a lot of time lately with another sympathetic character who kills people: Niko Bellic, the protagonist of Rockstar's truly superb Grand Theft Auto IV.<br /><br />Yes, as I was playing GTA IV, I was also thinking a good deal about my life, and my dreams for my life. My life since college has had its ups and downs. After graduating, I fell into teaching. That was a job that I think I knew immediately, as a transgendered person, I wasn't going to stay in, because it was neither safe nor, some might argue, appropriate, for me to attempt to transition while teaching high school students. Some people may have been brave enough to attempt that path. I am not one of them. And I suspect that, even were it not for my gender issues, I would have wanted to seek out other professional experiences. Teaching is simply not my calling. Since then, I've worked in coffee shops and customer service call centers, trying to inch my way closer to my dream, and also to work towards getting a job doing something that I'll find truly satisfying.<br /><br />Niko Bellic comes to Liberty City with dreams of his own, dreams that have been fueled by letters from his cousin Roman, who wrote of living a life filled with cars, women and money in the land of opportunity. When Niko arrives, he finds that Roman has overstated his success just a tad, and that in fact Roman is deeply in debt, and in trouble with just the sort of unsavory characters Niko came to Liberty City hoping to get away from. What's Niko gonna do when he arrives in LC and needs to make some money, get a job at the local <a href="http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/#?page=beanMachine&content=interactive0">Bean Machine</a>? No, that's what suckers like me do. Niko is not the latte-slingin' type. He's been through a little too much. He's a little too broken. Early on, a character named Dimitri Rascalov (Niko should have known better than to ever trust someone with that name) says to Niko, "We can choose the game, Niko Bellic, but we cannot choose the rules of the game." Niko has, for better or worse, chosen his game.<br /><br />It's not unusual for a good film or book or television show to make me think about my own life in some way, or about the world around me, but a video game? That's pretty much unheard of. GTA IV, though, did just that. I'm not saying that the characters could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those on The Wire, but I am saying that while <a href="http://agameofme.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-all-in-game.html">The Wire</a> is, in my opinion, the best television show in recent years about the America we're living in today, GTA IV is the best videogame ever about the America we're living in today, and that, like all truly good crime fiction, it is not the immoral or amoral product so many right-wing crusaders would have you believe it is, but it is, in fact, deeply moral, a story of choices and consequences.<br /><br />There's a moment near the end of GTA IV where I really believed that Niko might end up with a simple, honest life, that he might fly off into the sunset, heading for the American Midwest with a nice woman at his side, leaving the crime network of Liberty City that he's fallen into behind. Of course, I realize that I was naive to think this, but it's just that I'd come to feel really attached to Niko as a character, and that I really wanted it for him, wanted him to have his own little American dream, and when it was all taken away from him in an instant, it was genuinely upsetting. Money is the closest thing you have in Grand Theft Auto to a score, and by the end I'd racked up well over a half million dollars, but as another character declared, "You won!", it all felt so hollow to me, and, I suspect, to Niko as well. Yes, Niko wound up with tons of money, and had established for himself a seemingly pretty safe and secure place in Liberty City's underworld, but at what cost?<br /><br />It would take forever for me to list all the reasons I love this game so much. I love the razor-sharp satire of things like the Republican Space Rangers cartoon, Weazel News and the Bastion's Buddies right-wing radio talk show. I love the huge, diverse, vibrant soundtrack, filled as it is with wonderful details like jazz great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Haynes">Roy Haynes</a> DJing the jazz station and sharing poignant, heartfelt anecdotes about the musicians he's featuring, but, in a nice touch, referring to events as taking place "here in Liberty City" instead of New York. I love the exhilarating beauty of unplannable moments like finding yourself flying over the city by helicopter on a rainy night as Pruit Igoe by Philip Glass swells up on the radio. I love the living, breathing city, where people walk down the street talking on their cellphones, or wash shop windows, or do tai chi in the park. But most of all, I love the characters who populate it, and the story it tells. When Niko finally comes face-to-face with the man who betrayed him so many years ago, a moment he has built up in his mind, been obsessed with, for years, he finds that the man is an utterly pathetic figure. This is one of the moments where the game gives the player a crucial choice. You can kill him, as Niko has intended to do for so long, or you can walk away. GTA IV certainly isn't the first game to offer choices of this kind, but it sure does it better than any game before in my opinion. Your choices in games are frequently between the most saintly of goodness and the most diabolical of evil, and so they never feel quite real to me. I'll do one to see what happens, then play again to make the other choice, but I never feel any real investment in it. It's just a game, after all. But so well-drawn are the characters in GTA IV, and Niko in particular, that I really felt personally invested in these choices. In this case, I chose to walk away. In the moments that followed, on a quiet car drive back home, Roman said some things to Niko about forgiveness, about letting go of the past. Things that were simple and true. That was beautiful. And while Niko's victory against the predatory forces of the underworld may seem hollow, there are other victories, smaller but more meaningful. Niko meets a young woman who had, like so many, come to Liberty City from the Midwest with big dreams of making it as a star, but had fallen into drug addiction and prostitution. Niko helped her get on a train back home to her parents, and she sent a nice email to thank him and let him know she was doing all right. That meant something.<br /><br />Of course, like so many, I'm already wondering what's next for Grand Theft Auto. How do you follow this game? Will Rockstar continue along this more serious, contemplative path for the next few games in the series, or will we see things veer back towards the more cartoonish violence of earlier games? Will we return to the neon-drenched streets of Vice City, or visit someplace entirely new? And, I can't help but wonder, when the next game rolls around, will I be any closer to my own little dream? In any case, I won't stop trying, and that's what matters. I'll just keep on cranking up the LCD Soundsystem and walking through this world like the badass superstar I am.<br /><br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L8p1ol01dW8&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L8p1ol01dW8&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-4843220859414427212008-05-20T00:32:00.000-07:002008-05-20T00:51:37.901-07:00Berkeley Coffee Voodoo Magick!I currently work at a coffee shop in historic downtown Berkeley, California. Our clientele always features a significant number of crazy people, homeless people, and crazy homeless people. We had a few remarkably hot days last week. This heat only made things much, much crazier.<br /><br />At one point, after a particularly lengthy, stressful, exhausting rush, a customer, who was clearly gifted with some sort of cosmic ability to peer deep into my soul because somehow she could tell that I was a bit stressed and a bit exhausted, looked deep into my eyes and said, "There is so much trouble there." She then took a few ice cubes from out of the iced tea I had just handed her, grabbed my hand, and squeezed tightly. Her face contorted in a look of powerful concentration as she bent her will on purging this trouble from my soul. She began to shake as she fought an epic battle with the demons of stress and exhaustion that were inhabiting me, as I stood there wondering if I was supposed to be shaking too, or if she was doing all the work and I was supposed to appear increasingly serene. Finally I settled for focusing my effort on just trying not to look like I thought she was crazy.<br /><br />When it was over, I made a half-hearted attempt to appear grateful for her efforts and to indicate that I was feeling better. A few minutes later, I realized that I actually was feeling better. The sheer unusualness of the experience, and her desire to help, oddly expressed as it was, had helped me relax and laugh a bit and forget the stress brought on by the mobs of irritable high school kids demanding free cups of ice water.<br /><br />I love Berkeley.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-81520646505748598302008-04-28T20:24:00.000-07:002008-04-28T22:28:41.799-07:00AmericaffeIn Rockstar Games' hugely anticipated release Grand Theft Auto IV, which comes out tomorrow, the Statue of Liberty has been rechristened the Statue of Happiness, and she holds aloft not a torch, but a cup of coffee. "Give me your tired," indeed.<br /><br />I think this is a brilliant little detail. I've spent my fair share of time working in coffee shops, and I'm of the opinion that while many people come in because they genuinely appreciate coffee as coffee, plenty of others have made Starbucks and other coffee shops part of their daily routine not because of any particular appreciation of espresso, but because the act of drinking a grande vanilla soy latte or a caramel Frappuccino each morning is a way of saying to others and to themselves, "Yes, I am someone in our consumer society! Behold, I can afford to spend four dollars each day on a cup of coffee! And with every precious sip, I keep the voices of doubt at bay, and restore meaning and value to my life! Doesn't this branded coffee cup in my hand go great with my iPod and my RAZR?" Meanwhile, despite the tremendous success and proliferation of such shops, the people who work them can often barely afford to shop them. From Naomi Klein's blistering 2000 book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Logo">No Logo</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>"They expect us to look like a Gap ad, professional, clean and neat all the time, and I can't even pay to do laundry," says Laurie Bonang of Starbucks. "You can buy two grande mocha cappuccinos with my hourly salary." Like millions of her demographic coevals on the payrolls of all-star brands like the Gap, Nike and Barnes & Noble, Bonang is living inside a stunning corporate success story -- though you'd never know it from the resignation and anger in her voice. All the brand-name retail workers I spoke with expressed their frustration at helping their stores rake in, to them, unimaginable profits, and then having to watch that profit get funneled into compulsive expansion. Employee wages, meanwhile, stagnate or even decline. At Starbucks in British Columbia new workers faced an actual wage decrease -- from Can$7.50 to $7 an hour -- during a period when the chain was doubling its profits and opening 350 new stores a year. "I do the banking. I know how much the store pulls in a week," Laurie Bonang says. "They just take all that revenue and open up new stores."</blockquote><br />Anyway, enough quoting of left-wing text on my part. I just want to say that to me, in addition to everything else that they were, the earlier GTA games were also truly incisive satire of American culture, and that I'm really looking forward, not only to wreaking havoc in Liberty City and getting into plenty of shootouts and high-speed car chases (though I am most definitely looking forward to that stuff -- A LOT!), but also to discovering the game's humor, to cruising around and listening to Fox...er, sorry, <a href="http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/#?page=weazelNews&content=interactive0"><span style="font-style: italic;">Weazel</span> News</a>, and to seeing what GTA IV has to say about the America we're living in now.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-48911104000051887542008-04-22T22:41:00.000-07:002008-04-22T23:22:56.092-07:00Get a haircut and get a real job.Yesterday, I had my hair cut for the first time in years. I liked having it long, and I was scared to trust it to anyone new, but I was also starting to feel like maybe my hair was a factor in me not getting the jobs I was interviewing for--maybe potential employers were inferring that I was one of those pot-smoking ne'er-do-wells or something.<br /><br />Naturally, after deciding to get it cut, rather than doing research and making an informed decision about where to go, I decided to just go any old place, so long as it didn't look too expensive. I walked to a shop that obviously caters to the Spanish-speaking population in my area.<br /><br />At one point the woman who was about to cut my hair asked me, "Do you want letters?" "What?!" I said. "Small letters in your hair?" I was just about to run screaming, but then I decided she was actually saying "lattice." This, I understood perfectly. "Uhm." I said. "A little?"<br /><br />I didn't really know exactly what I wanted, except for it to be shorter, and I probably wouldn't have been able to communicate what I wanted to her that well regardless, so I sort of just let her do her thing. I thought about telling her not to do anything too "boyish" with it, but I was, as usual, too much of a wuss to try to communicate this sentiment.<br /><br />It's a pretty drastic change and is shorter than I went in wanting. My first horrifying thought was that it looks sort of like a Sawyer-on-Lost haircut (<img style="width: 16px; height: 16px;" src="http://www.kittiesandrainbows.com/images/smilies/custom_smilies/icon_down.gif" alt=":why:" title="Why" />!!!) but it's not that bad, nor quite so boyish. Now that I've had a bit of time to adjust, I kind of like it, and anyway, it'll grow out again.<br /><br />Today, I had a job interview. It's hard for me to say how it went. I felt a bit iffy when I walked out, like I stumbled over a few of my answers, and didn't give the best responses to those kinds of dumb, generic job interview questions like "What's the one quality that's most important to you in a co-worker?" ("Ummm...hardworking? Hardworking is good, right? Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with hardworking on this one. Next question!") But I've learned that how I feel about something isn't necessarily the best gauge of how it went. This dates back to college, when frequently the papers I felt the least confident about would be the ones on which I got the highest marks. In this case, who knows? Things I make a big deal of in my head may not have been a big deal to them. On the whole, I think it went fine. Now it's just a matter of waiting to hear back from them. I'm also sending a thank-you letter in the mail tomorrow, since that seems to be customary these days if you want a job.<br /><br />Wish me luck!Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-67544922885866517382008-04-21T01:07:00.000-07:002008-04-21T02:01:43.116-07:00"Watch this"I was walking to work the other day. It was a truly glorious spring morning. Obama signs abound on the lawns and in the windows of many a house along my way, but one in particular caught my eye, homemade, with rays of sunlight emanating from the O. It seemed a genuine sign of hope. And right around that moment, "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits got shuffled up on my iPod. That's not a song I ever thought was especially great, until I saw the finale of season two of The West Wing. And now, every time I hear it, I see that scene again in my mind. A storm is raging against the president in both a literal and figurative sense. A question is asked. Jed Bartlet, great showman that he is, lets it hang in the air for a moment. The flashbulbs crackle, the air is electric, and Leo says "Watch this," and the president's hands go into his pockets, and he fixes his gaze, and I get chills. It's almost enough to make me proud to be an American.<br /><br />Barack Obama, like Jed Bartlet, understands that a large part of politics is theater, and that's just fine with me.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-EgLiPvhV-Y&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-EgLiPvhV-Y&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13584696.post-75249136837272829732008-04-19T16:15:00.000-07:002008-04-19T18:07:07.404-07:00World War II, now in convenient beverage form!Sure, World War II may be played out as a setting for video games, but what about as a setting for...that's right...energy drinks! I was perusing the aisles at my local Grocery Outlet here in Berkeley when I found all three varieties of ACE Energy Drink available for just $.50 a can, so naturally I grabbed one of each.<br /><br />The cans have a pin-up girl/bullet-riddled airplane motif that's actually kinda cool. They also helpfully remind us, "It's a dog fight out there! To win, you need to stay sharp. Crack open an ACE Energy for an immediate physical and mental lift. Ace will get you flying high and keep you in control. THROW DOWN AN ACE!"<br /><br />The drink's <a href="http://www.aceenergydrink.com/aboutus.html">official website</a> says, "The can design strongly communicates the brand’s core values. ACE Energy’s bullet riddled cockpit with alluring imagery directly connects with the danger, excitement and honor of military fascination." Why yes, it <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> a tremendous honor to be fascinated by the military. It's also extremely dangerous.<br /><br />If ACE Energy is any indication, WWII tasted like somewhat flat orange soda cut with cough syrup, and noticeably hit you with its jolt of caffeine and taurine and stuff within just a few moments of your first sip.<br /><br />Yeah, I think five sips of ACE is about enough for me. I'm gonna switch to the Thomas Kemper Vanilla Cream Soda which I also scored at the Grocery Outlet. That's delicious, and it doesn't carry with it any of the dangers of military fascination.Carohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13327065368858978514noreply@blogger.com1