I'm just gonna come out and confess right away, I love christmas. Yup I love it, the foolish wish of a snowy christmas, the christmas popsongs (not the carols), the trees, the decorations, the who-gives-a-lark-about-the-environment lights outside, inside and topside! And hell, I even like watching Home Alone each year again. So step aside christmas-hating and let the jolly and merry loving commence!
Monday December 22, 2008 -- #61
For those who missed the entire F1 championship, or just wish for a quick and flashy recap of the season, check out this little clip:
Sunday December 14, 2008 -- #60
I didn't get the title for the Coens' latest because I didn't know the context it was meant to be seen in. Having now seen the movie though it makes so much sense and it's quite the fitting title, nothing could be more fitting actually. Just to help out it should be read as "burn this document after reading, so those damn commies! (or cappies, depending on your view) don't get their hands on it". Having gotten that out of the way I can only say the movie is superb. I hadn't heard much about it other than the standard "from the makers of No Country For Old Men!" entwinted into the commercials, but when I wanted to see it it appeared to be only in one theater and even at a single timeslot of 1pm! Ridiculous.
Lately however the movie had been getting more TV exposure and love, and thus the mainstream Pathe theaters have seen fit to give it more theaters and timeslots. So, after a miraculous event in which my girfriend (without subtle hints even!) picked it herself we decided to strut to the movies and watch it together. I can only describe the movie as a lot of Fargo with a pinch of Big Lebowski thrown in for good measure, and that's one hell of a receipe! I can't quite say if it's the cast (and quite the cast it is) that make the movie work so well or whether the script is just that good, but most likely it's a mix of. I won't spoil anything, but if you haven't seen it: go and see it now! And if you have seen it: would you ever build such a machine and dare show it to anyone with such a smile on your face? Tut tut George, hope you didn't take it home with you.
This movie felt more like a Coen than their No Country For Old Men, even if I liked that one too, and should, eventually, be in anyones movie library if they liked Fargo and/or The Big Lebowski... or consider themselves a fan of good movies at all. Three thumbs up!
Thursday December 11, 2008 -- #59
Isn't she pretty?
The 24" widescreen LCD monitor has probably been my best buy in the last five years, but the new TV comes in as a close second. And when I move out of the house it will do nicely. Till I get a 46"er.
Tuesday December 09, 2008 -- #58
Woei! For I am now HD-ready as my TV tells me. Took some time finding a store that actually sold the TV of my desire, but I have the Sony 32V4500 now. And so far it hasn't disappointed. Uncharted looks amazing in 720P and I am sure MetalGearSolid4 will be the same.
Speaking of Uncharted: there's a new teaser for the sequel out. Can't wait to try some HD movies on my setup, but for now upscaling will have to do.
Wednesday December 03, 2008 -- #57
I'm on a roll! Not with the ladies, but with buying and finishing PlayStation games! Maybe not by pr0-gam0r standards, but then I do a lot of things which aren't by their standard, or anyone's. I've currently got Uncharted, Gran Turismo5:prologue, GTAIV and MGS4 lying about and I'm sure it won't be long before my little big room becomes a planet... hahahahaha ...haha ...hah ..ha? I tried.
I finished Uncharted yesterday, dumping that hideous El Dorado statue along with it's zombiebreath and all in the big blue, though surely someone will come up with the smart idea to use a submarine and *HELLO* a sequel is born. I've also got all the trophies in GT5, but some are of mere silver so there's still a challenge there. And besides you can't really finish a race. Well you can, over and over, which is the whole bag of fun.
Am still waiting with my first baby-steps into GTAIV and MGS4 until I finally get that damn HDTV, but it appears my TV is in want, and thus in need by the internetshops. Hopefully I will have one waiting for me tomorrow, but it's best not to hope and just to take the old wait-and-see approach. And if they don't get my TV in tomorrow it'll be the get-frustrated-and-BURN-THEM-ALL approach of old. I'm telling you the flames speak to me, SPEAKETH TO MEH!
Thursday November 20, 2008 -- #56
Well as everybody already knows Obama made it into, no joke here, White House, and I'm glad really. Not as much for him, because I think presidency is one of those jobs at the end the loser should be forced to take up, but I'm happy for "us". You know, us "Joe the programmer". I think for the world right now it's a very positive thing and definately the best choice, whether Obama will be able to continue to roll through his term on his cloud of "change" and positivism remains to be seen, but I think he is what the world can use right now. I doubt religic fanatics will think the same (since when have they though), but then they also wouldn't have cared 2 cents for McCain and his gang. At least this man seems to bring something new to the table most of us are sitting at, and that table can use some new cutlery, and damn fast too.
I have finally seen my chance fit for a PlayStation3 purchase. Yup, after well over a year of doubting and maybe'ing I cut my mind and made up the cord, and now it's here. And it's gorgeous. Well the thing itself may not, but everything it stands for is. "Current gen console gaming" is that little thing what I feel it stands for, and boy is it good. I've spend a great deal of hours gaming with Gran Turismo 5:Prologue and Uncharted, but I've spend nearly the same amount of time just looking for demo's, watching trailers, trying new theme's/skin and reading up on everything PlayStation using the build in browser, PS store and other interactive hocus pocus. I love how someone can literally spend hours on the machine doing this and that without having bought a single game, truly wunderbar the way consoles have gone.
It's still a waitinggame for my HDTV as a shipment of TV's have gone bad apparently, yup just like peaches can go bad, and it'll be at least a week for HD lovileness to enter my realm. Until then I'm experiencing modern gaming the way it wasn't meant to be, but at least I'll be able to truly appreciate that step into HD'nes from the low pits of no-D'ness now. These are good times for a western gamer, not so much for an Afghan gamer trying to find Little Big Planet in Kabhul. But than he has whole different bag of problems to deal with.
Wednesday November 12, 2008 -- #55
In my quest for a new thingy (PlayStation3) I have once again strayed off the path and found myself on a buying spree. I have set my eyes upon the upcoming LittleBigPlanet PS3 pack, but to insure myself of the best of the best of the best of the shittiest way to play it I asked and looked at the best way to connect the PS3 to my old CRT-TV. And you know what? I figured the hell with that TV, lets buy a new one! And that's where it all went wrong of course. I have caved in for a Sony LCD TV. Not quite full HD, but very quite HDready and sure as all readier for me then my current no-Definition TV. And I'm also looking for some new furniture to bring the best out of the TV, you know, to make it look snazzy!
To pay for this hunger I have decided to sell off some of my statues (Lord of the Rings WETA and Marvel Bowen Designs). But things aren't that easy. I once again fell in love with some of them and I feel new statues yelling out for my love, my need, my gdmn money! So I decided to keep some statues, but sell the rest. And no, no new statues right now. On top of that I'm selling my old TV, DVDplayer, TV-furniture, a bunch of R1 DVD's and my soul! That last thing being worthless. And so my room is in shambles and I'm off auctioning everything everywhere all damn day.
I'm off to Ikea (don't you just love swedes) on thursday to hunt down that missing piece in the puzzle that is my life... And from there it's just waiting for the TV. And the PS3. And GTAIV. And the remote. And HDMI cable. And GT5:P. See the pattern? I really shouldn't be allowed to have any money.
Wednesday October 29, 2008 -- #54
Interesting article on the bloodhound, the "world's first 1,000mph car". And I thought the Veyron was pretty spectacular! Go forth and read.
Friday October 24, 2008 -- #53
Ah how I loved to watch this little clip! Just for the unknown: this was an intro you would see on anime tapes by the Manga company at the very start of any of their tapes. Or were they called "manga movies" instead of anime? I never quite figured what the Manga logo stood for or meant, but aaaaaaaaaaaanyhow this is the intro you would see on watching an old fashioned VHS tape filled with goody Japanese animation. I think there was at least another version with other clips in it, but this is definatly the most common version, "everyone" watching anime back then probably remembers this, enjoy!
Rests of course the question, which movies are we looking at? Damned if I know really, but I'll give it a little shot (in order of showing):
Akira, (New?)Dominion Tank Police, Fist of the Northstar, Project A-Ko(?), something with planets no idea, Fist of the Northstar, spacethingy again no idea, Dominion Tank Police, something with spacebikes no idea, Project A-Ko again?, Dominion Tank Police, Fist of the Northstar, Akira, A-Ko?, spacething again!, Dominion Tank Police, Fist of the Northstar, Akira, A-Ko?, Akira, Fist of the Northstar, Akira, Fist of the Northstar, Dominion Tank Police, something with a magic blue dragon (RayEarth?), Fist of the Northstar, Akira, something with the spacebikes again, something else could resemble Dominion Tank Police, explosion... that's not Appleseed is it?, Fist of the Northstar, some psychodelic girl no idea, Fist of the Northstar, Project A-Ko, Akira, space stuff once more what is it?!?!?!, Fist, A-Ko, spacestuff stop that already!, Akira, Black Jack?, Fist, A-Ko, Fist, Battle of the Planets lol dunno what that is, white haired chick in the outro again no idea, and the clip finishes with Tetsuo finding out he can teleport and seriously who doesn't scream the first time.
Aaaaaaaaaaaah so many memories brought back by this. Gotta love the internet and the good people behind Youtube. And people in general for uploading this stuff. I love people.
Thursday October 16, 2008 -- #52