This is sort of cool - a dedicated online player for Chinese indie music.
http://www.neocha.com/-/music_next.html
There is some good stuff on here; although it's certainly not all rock all the time.
Currently listening to a band that seems to have never learned how to tune a guitar (not the first time I've encountered that issue, but a little surprising that they bothered to record it that way, especially on an acoustic track).
Regardless, seeing this site and hearing some of the non-crappy stuff here makes me happy - reminds me of my days in China and I'm thrilled to hear that there are some cool bands making their own original music here!
Was alerted to this via Lostlaowai or danwei.org.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The spice must flow
Just wrapped up viewing the "Children of Dune" miniseries (and I had watched the 2000 miniseries version of Dune prior to that).
Wow...pretty decent adaptation of the books. I am glad that I read the series (Frank Herbert books anyway) prior to watching the adaptation, but I was pretty satisfied with it - they did a good job, and even Marsha got into watching it.
I had been waiting a long time to see the series, since I had heard about it while I was in China but it proved very difficult to obtain.
So yeah, well over half a year after moving back to the US, I'm still catching up on things.
________
Caught a bit of the news while flipping through channels at the gym as I had finished my workout...ever get the feeling that CNN is for children?
Wow...pretty decent adaptation of the books. I am glad that I read the series (Frank Herbert books anyway) prior to watching the adaptation, but I was pretty satisfied with it - they did a good job, and even Marsha got into watching it.
I had been waiting a long time to see the series, since I had heard about it while I was in China but it proved very difficult to obtain.
So yeah, well over half a year after moving back to the US, I'm still catching up on things.
________
Caught a bit of the news while flipping through channels at the gym as I had finished my workout...ever get the feeling that CNN is for children?
Firefox 3 Beta - Yay!
Have installed Firefox 3 beta on my Mac - not too shabby!
Only complaints so far (which are relatively minor) - the scribefire extension doesn't work yet, and my system hasn't yet totally adjusted yet.
Webpage rendering is much faster compared to firefox 2.
Seems pretty good so far. Considering that outside of gaming (at home) and excel sheets (at work), nearly everything I do is based out of a browser now*, it's good to see that things are developing quickly and working robustly.
The extensions on Firefox are also still pretty useful to me; I've started to use del.ico.us (it's blocked in China so I was late in ever trying it out) in addition to Foxmarks, scribefire, and download status bar.
*It's interesting noting really to what extent this is coming true. My company runs their official email application and groupware suite via a web-based client, and most of our internal systems are web-based as well. While I'm running a Vista laptop at present, to me there really isn't a compelling reason for why I'd ever need a windows OS at work (I guess Office for running Excel...that's really about it). At home, I'm running most of my personal stuff on my laptop, which runs OS X but 95% of the time is used for web browsing, which is most often done with Firefox. Anyway, I guess my point is that I have no compelling reason to use Vista, and given the performance hit it tends to require + the need to upgrade to significantly beefier hardware in order to use it for gaming, I do not see any reason to upgrade anytime soon.
Only complaints so far (which are relatively minor) - the scribefire extension doesn't work yet, and my system hasn't yet totally adjusted yet.
Webpage rendering is much faster compared to firefox 2.
Seems pretty good so far. Considering that outside of gaming (at home) and excel sheets (at work), nearly everything I do is based out of a browser now*, it's good to see that things are developing quickly and working robustly.
The extensions on Firefox are also still pretty useful to me; I've started to use del.ico.us (it's blocked in China so I was late in ever trying it out) in addition to Foxmarks, scribefire, and download status bar.
*It's interesting noting really to what extent this is coming true. My company runs their official email application and groupware suite via a web-based client, and most of our internal systems are web-based as well. While I'm running a Vista laptop at present, to me there really isn't a compelling reason for why I'd ever need a windows OS at work (I guess Office for running Excel...that's really about it). At home, I'm running most of my personal stuff on my laptop, which runs OS X but 95% of the time is used for web browsing, which is most often done with Firefox. Anyway, I guess my point is that I have no compelling reason to use Vista, and given the performance hit it tends to require + the need to upgrade to significantly beefier hardware in order to use it for gaming, I do not see any reason to upgrade anytime soon.
Monday, March 10, 2008
seeing the wife off
Well, Marsha has started her new job and since her work start time is earlier than mine, now I'm the one seeing her off to the door in the morning.
Interesting reversal from the status quo for the past 6 months or so - but it's okay.
She was a little nervous before heading out; readjusting and checking one of the professional outfits we had put together earlier in the weekend.
Maybe this is a little bit what it feels like when one first sends their kids to school?
We'll see how things go for her - I imagine that it will be an interesting week for her as she gets introduced first-hand to work culture in the USA.
Interesting reversal from the status quo for the past 6 months or so - but it's okay.
She was a little nervous before heading out; readjusting and checking one of the professional outfits we had put together earlier in the weekend.
Maybe this is a little bit what it feels like when one first sends their kids to school?
We'll see how things go for her - I imagine that it will be an interesting week for her as she gets introduced first-hand to work culture in the USA.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
be kind rewind?
Really liked that movie...cool stuff that has been "sweded".
Made me think a bit. Creativity, making your own films, etc.
'Ghostbusters' theme in my head, and had to revisit that.
Made me think a bit. Creativity, making your own films, etc.
'Ghostbusters' theme in my head, and had to revisit that.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Buddha
Just finished reading this series - and it was excellent! Beautiful artwork, moving story...enjoyable simply as a comic but yet good on the level of an interesting retelling of a religious story.
Buddha, by Osamu Tezuka
Really can't complain with the series - I'm thrilled that it was available at my local library.
Buddha, by Osamu Tezuka
Really can't complain with the series - I'm thrilled that it was available at my local library.
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Tuesday, January 08, 2008
enjoying "rome" again
Have decided to re-view the 2005 BBC/HBO series "Rome" with my wife.
She's liking it, and I'm re-appreciating it.
What a well-done show! Great writing, superb acting, excellent mock-ups of city life. Season 1 is very tight and moves along very quickly. Season 2 isn't quite as tight, but the story is still compelling and at this point you've grown to care about the characters so much that you're happy to see how it plays out.
While (budget allowing), this could no doubt have been drawn out into a much longer running series, the fact that it's kept very finite I think has helped contribute to its overall quality.
Anyway, thanks again to my friend Brian (still in China), for introducing me to this.
She's liking it, and I'm re-appreciating it.
What a well-done show! Great writing, superb acting, excellent mock-ups of city life. Season 1 is very tight and moves along very quickly. Season 2 isn't quite as tight, but the story is still compelling and at this point you've grown to care about the characters so much that you're happy to see how it plays out.
While (budget allowing), this could no doubt have been drawn out into a much longer running series, the fact that it's kept very finite I think has helped contribute to its overall quality.
Anyway, thanks again to my friend Brian (still in China), for introducing me to this.
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Friday, January 04, 2008
learning to make fart jokes in korean
The title of this post says it all.
I can say: "Silent, but deadly"
or
"Not silent, and deadly".
I can say: "Silent, but deadly"
or
"Not silent, and deadly".
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Tuesday, January 01, 2008
since I'm at it, here's two minor episodes of late
Both are geeky and have no relation to China (unless you want to get really, really obtuse and count things related tangentially):
1. Had to re-install XP on my home Desktop. It took me a week to finally pull the trigger and do it rather than try and pull the malware off via a convoluted series of steps that must be pulled off in precisely the right order (the repair instructions read more like those for casting a magic spell or making a potion in Harry Potter).
2. While running out to get some food last night, my cell phone dropped off of my belt, which sucked. I didn't notice it at the time and it was dark out - so when I finally noticed it was gone, it was really, really gone. A search of the house, retracing my steps, and visiting 7-11 and KFC again (where I had gone to get some food to go) was to no avail. Luckily, I had recently backed up the information on those devices earlier in the day. Still wasn't too happy about the prospect of needing to venture out and either get a new SIM card or a whole new phone the next day.
All's well that ends well - Luckily, we got a call this morning from someone on my wife's phone (which I had been using to call my phone constantly) - apparently someone had found the phone on the street in the morning and they gave it to a nearby business.
I had the service shut off last night anyway as a precaution, and it seemed like no calls had been made or personal data stolen, and the phone was working fine...so it was no problem to re-activate it and continue life as usual.
(*Okay, shallowly - I would have been fine with replacing my phone with something new and cool. But, that would have been a very bad idea financially; and I've only had this phone for a little over a year - it should be no problem getting another year out of it - at least until whenever the 3g iphone comes out...)
1. Had to re-install XP on my home Desktop. It took me a week to finally pull the trigger and do it rather than try and pull the malware off via a convoluted series of steps that must be pulled off in precisely the right order (the repair instructions read more like those for casting a magic spell or making a potion in Harry Potter).
2. While running out to get some food last night, my cell phone dropped off of my belt, which sucked. I didn't notice it at the time and it was dark out - so when I finally noticed it was gone, it was really, really gone. A search of the house, retracing my steps, and visiting 7-11 and KFC again (where I had gone to get some food to go) was to no avail. Luckily, I had recently backed up the information on those devices earlier in the day. Still wasn't too happy about the prospect of needing to venture out and either get a new SIM card or a whole new phone the next day.
All's well that ends well - Luckily, we got a call this morning from someone on my wife's phone (which I had been using to call my phone constantly) - apparently someone had found the phone on the street in the morning and they gave it to a nearby business.
I had the service shut off last night anyway as a precaution, and it seemed like no calls had been made or personal data stolen, and the phone was working fine...so it was no problem to re-activate it and continue life as usual.
(*Okay, shallowly - I would have been fine with replacing my phone with something new and cool. But, that would have been a very bad idea financially; and I've only had this phone for a little over a year - it should be no problem getting another year out of it - at least until whenever the 3g iphone comes out...)
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1st post for 2008
So, here it is - another year, and I'm older and (perhaps) a bit wiser.
Still adjusting to life in the US and figuring out what the hell I'll be doing with my time in the future.
Had a large family gathering in Vancouver this year (it was nice to see everyone); it did prompt some reflection about where I am in my life & what I want to do.
Starting to feel old. Well, not really OLD old, but realizing that I'm really no longer in college anymore and am a part of the mainstream adult workforce now.
Maybe questioning if I really should be using my free time to be playing computer games? On one hand, I think they're okay as an alternate option to movies or TV watching or blindly surfing the internet just for the sake of surfing the internet.
On the other hand, if I'm cutting out doing things that will develop myself socially and personally to accomodate video games (being in a band, writing a book, spending quality time with my wife), then maybe I need to cut back.
Also, I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Am taking things easy so as to try & reverse it...but instead it feels like I'm just delaying the inevitable.
Personal:
I guess the usual goals of being fitter, happier, stronger, more learned, etc all are things that I'd like to do during the next year.
Now that the wife & I are back to life as usual (ie, no guests and no visits), we're eating more healthy and in smarter portions, and are trying to exercise.
Sight-seeing:
Have been uploading stuff to both Picasawebs and Flickr. (Picasa's desktop software's integrated websharing is awesomely convenient since I use Picasa on the windows box I have); Flickr is nice since there isn't a cumulative limit on content you can upload.
Here's the link to the Picasa page:
Here's the link to the Flickr page:
Fun stuff:
We have a gas-powered fireplace in our apartment and it is really, really warm. I thought such fireplaces were more for decoration. Apparently not - it is keeping the house toasty-warm.
(I'm reconsidering the efficacy of leaving our computer so close to it ).
Trivia:
Finlandia cheese is not produced by the same company that makes Finlandia Vodka.
Still adjusting to life in the US and figuring out what the hell I'll be doing with my time in the future.
Had a large family gathering in Vancouver this year (it was nice to see everyone); it did prompt some reflection about where I am in my life & what I want to do.
Starting to feel old. Well, not really OLD old, but realizing that I'm really no longer in college anymore and am a part of the mainstream adult workforce now.
Maybe questioning if I really should be using my free time to be playing computer games? On one hand, I think they're okay as an alternate option to movies or TV watching or blindly surfing the internet just for the sake of surfing the internet.
On the other hand, if I'm cutting out doing things that will develop myself socially and personally to accomodate video games (being in a band, writing a book, spending quality time with my wife), then maybe I need to cut back.
Also, I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Am taking things easy so as to try & reverse it...but instead it feels like I'm just delaying the inevitable.
Personal:
I guess the usual goals of being fitter, happier, stronger, more learned, etc all are things that I'd like to do during the next year.
Now that the wife & I are back to life as usual (ie, no guests and no visits), we're eating more healthy and in smarter portions, and are trying to exercise.
Sight-seeing:
Have been uploading stuff to both Picasawebs and Flickr. (Picasa's desktop software's integrated websharing is awesomely convenient since I use Picasa on the windows box I have); Flickr is nice since there isn't a cumulative limit on content you can upload.
Here's the link to the Picasa page:
Here's the link to the Flickr page:
Fun stuff:
We have a gas-powered fireplace in our apartment and it is really, really warm. I thought such fireplaces were more for decoration. Apparently not - it is keeping the house toasty-warm.
(I'm reconsidering the efficacy of leaving our computer so close to it ).
Trivia:
Finlandia cheese is not produced by the same company that makes Finlandia Vodka.
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
Google vs MS - interesting
Came across this article today (about how Google & Microsoft are headed for a showdown in online services) and found it pretty interesting - what do you think?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/technology/16goog.html
Good discussion is here: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/16/2127244
My .02 - per what I've seen in my own experience among my friends, family & even in my company, I'd say that Google is in the better position - MS is in a weaker position for the future based on its tendency to promote closed, proprietary solutions. It seems that when people are spending time on their computers, both during & outside of work, they are doing it to be online - and most online applications are browser independent. It's not unreasonable to think that in a few years people will be doing most of their web surfing via iphone (or equivalent) - I'm not sure where the compelling reasons are to pay the extra cost of maintaining a Microsoft desktop*.
*Aside, of course, for those out there who really, really need/love PC games and don't have a dedicated console gaming platform.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/technology/16goog.html
Good discussion is here: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/16/2127244
My .02 - per what I've seen in my own experience among my friends, family & even in my company, I'd say that Google is in the better position - MS is in a weaker position for the future based on its tendency to promote closed, proprietary solutions. It seems that when people are spending time on their computers, both during & outside of work, they are doing it to be online - and most online applications are browser independent. It's not unreasonable to think that in a few years people will be doing most of their web surfing via iphone (or equivalent) - I'm not sure where the compelling reasons are to pay the extra cost of maintaining a Microsoft desktop*.
*Aside, of course, for those out there who really, really need/love PC games and don't have a dedicated console gaming platform.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
irritable?
Not really sure what it is that's bothering me - but I'm restless & can't sleep. It's past midnight - normally I would be well on my way to dreamland now, but something is different today.
Still adjusting to life in the US - for the purposes of sending out Christmas cards, I've been reconnecting with a lot of old friends, and I guess it's hitting home how much I miss them, and how different things are here.
It's tempting to want to run back to the old, comfortable, known way of doing things, but I guess it's not really an option now, both (plainly) financially and more importantly since I don't think I'd be growing if I went back - here is the new way of life, new challenges for me.
But yeah, I still miss China a lot.
Still adjusting to life in the US - for the purposes of sending out Christmas cards, I've been reconnecting with a lot of old friends, and I guess it's hitting home how much I miss them, and how different things are here.
It's tempting to want to run back to the old, comfortable, known way of doing things, but I guess it's not really an option now, both (plainly) financially and more importantly since I don't think I'd be growing if I went back - here is the new way of life, new challenges for me.
But yeah, I still miss China a lot.
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Monday, December 10, 2007
reflective, again - things I've done & things still to do
Reflective like a puddle on a rainy night? Not exactly. Have been going through the process of preparing a Christmas letter, and in recounting the events in my life of 2007 - namely, the major shift in moving from China back to the US, I can't help but reflect on how things are different.
Life in the US has already gotten routine, to a point - not that that's a bad routine, but China sure did seem to offer more in the way of adventure and unpredictability.
Alternately, perhaps in some irony, it seems that although the US is my native land and I speak English perfectly well, I'm less inclined to actively push for new experiences here - after coming back , in a lot of ways i feel like I've been staying in a "comfort food" / "comfort zone" type of rut.
One of my biggest excuses, however, is money, which holds some water in that I don't have a lot of it, especially after relocating & trying to re-establish savings. However, it's also a bit of a crutch - one can be creative and engage in new experiences without blowing a ton of cash.
Things that I should really do now that I live out here:
Life in the US has already gotten routine, to a point - not that that's a bad routine, but China sure did seem to offer more in the way of adventure and unpredictability.
Alternately, perhaps in some irony, it seems that although the US is my native land and I speak English perfectly well, I'm less inclined to actively push for new experiences here - after coming back , in a lot of ways i feel like I've been staying in a "comfort food" / "comfort zone" type of rut.
One of my biggest excuses, however, is money, which holds some water in that I don't have a lot of it, especially after relocating & trying to re-establish savings. However, it's also a bit of a crutch - one can be creative and engage in new experiences without blowing a ton of cash.
Things that I should really do now that I live out here:
- Go hiking in the mountains
- Go skiing/snowboarding
- Join a band
- Learn Korean
- Finish my book
- Pursue more education (MBA or Product Management course?)
- Visit Snoqualmie falls
- Take a "Duck" tour of Seattle
- Visit Vancouver, Canada
- Greatly expand content of my book so far
- learn more about the web - new blog content, new things to see...(the uncensored internet in the US, compared with China, is excellent)
- Learn to cook better at home - more variety, more different recipies
- Learned to prioritize my time better
- minimizing tech experimentation for its own sake - while I love the idea of what Ubuntu and open-source software is about, I end up wasting a lot of time with it...at present, I still need windows for the games I run (I don't have a console), my PDA, and itunes. This probably isn't going to change for a while. I'll probably also still be running XP for quite some time too.
- seem to have gotten the obsessive need to check RSS feeds/updates constantly out of my system - using more time for my stuff.
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Monday, November 26, 2007
vancouver visit
This weekend went over to Vancouver, mostly to visit family.
This is my first time up there in 10 years. Also the first time in Canada after having lived in Asia.
I could understand a lot of the conversations by Chinese people on the street. Not so much of the conversations in Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, or Hindi (but at least I could tell what they were).
Vancouver is a delightful hodge-podge of a city. It reminded me of Hong Kong, Seoul, a bit of Seattle, New York, and even St. Paul at various points as we drove around in it.
Didn't really get to experience the nightlife so far as it was more of a family trip. However, hope to do more in the next visit.
I was really happy to try some of the super-authentic Chinese food at a place in Richmond...I miss food like that.
This is my first time up there in 10 years. Also the first time in Canada after having lived in Asia.
I could understand a lot of the conversations by Chinese people on the street. Not so much of the conversations in Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, or Hindi (but at least I could tell what they were).
Vancouver is a delightful hodge-podge of a city. It reminded me of Hong Kong, Seoul, a bit of Seattle, New York, and even St. Paul at various points as we drove around in it.
Didn't really get to experience the nightlife so far as it was more of a family trip. However, hope to do more in the next visit.
I was really happy to try some of the super-authentic Chinese food at a place in Richmond...I miss food like that.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
I'm due to post something
Things have been busy in the past 3 weeks since I've last blogged- there has been lots on my mind, lots to write about.
Just settling down and doing something to actually create more with my computer rather than just reading blogs is a bit of a challenge.
Main news:
1. I'm caught up on the US version of "the office" - Marsha & I are big fans, and we'd really like to start seeing more of season 4. It is too bad that NBC has decided to be super lame & pull-out from iTunes. While I don't really have an agenda against amazon.com, I don't want to support their DRM-laden windows-only download service. Too bad.
2. Beowulf 3d. Wow. Worth it. The story was on the light side, but managed to compel a bit of thought. Fairly good at modernizing the story without making it too full of ironic jokes.
3. TV Writer's strike. Really, it's amazing that the media companies aren't even trying to be liked. Just one greedy move after another as their distribution model becomes obsolete. Any good reason that writers don't deserve to be compensated & benefit a little more from the hyper-long copyrights that these monoliths have endlessly lobbied for? Lame.
4. OS X Leopard. Woot. Kind of unnecessary but pretty nice. Reinstalling got a ton of crap out of my system, so now I have a roomy 23 gigs of free space. (Tiny hard drive to begin with).
5. Vista - I'm using it at work and although it's fun to bitch about, it works pretty fine for what I need it for. I feel no rush to actually upgrade at home, however (since that pretty much will require a massive hardware upgrade that I don't need yet).
6. Ubuntu 7.10 - I've played with it and it seems pretty good, but I don't really have a reason to use it very much when I'm at home.
7. Rock - I need to start doing more musically. Did some messing around with making songs & beats on garageband and Ableton Live, but that's not moving very quickly.
8. Writing - Have been doing okay and the story is progressing, but erratic sleep & post-work activity last week got me a bit off-routine. Will re-establish it this week.
9. Thanksgiving - Should be fun - looking forward to it!
10. Upcoming travel - it's fun exploring new parts of the city & area out here. Everything's new. (On the other hand, in suburbia, everything is pretty much the same)
Just settling down and doing something to actually create more with my computer rather than just reading blogs is a bit of a challenge.
Main news:
1. I'm caught up on the US version of "the office" - Marsha & I are big fans, and we'd really like to start seeing more of season 4. It is too bad that NBC has decided to be super lame & pull-out from iTunes. While I don't really have an agenda against amazon.com, I don't want to support their DRM-laden windows-only download service. Too bad.
2. Beowulf 3d. Wow. Worth it. The story was on the light side, but managed to compel a bit of thought. Fairly good at modernizing the story without making it too full of ironic jokes.
3. TV Writer's strike. Really, it's amazing that the media companies aren't even trying to be liked. Just one greedy move after another as their distribution model becomes obsolete. Any good reason that writers don't deserve to be compensated & benefit a little more from the hyper-long copyrights that these monoliths have endlessly lobbied for? Lame.
4. OS X Leopard. Woot. Kind of unnecessary but pretty nice. Reinstalling got a ton of crap out of my system, so now I have a roomy 23 gigs of free space. (Tiny hard drive to begin with).
5. Vista - I'm using it at work and although it's fun to bitch about, it works pretty fine for what I need it for. I feel no rush to actually upgrade at home, however (since that pretty much will require a massive hardware upgrade that I don't need yet).
6. Ubuntu 7.10 - I've played with it and it seems pretty good, but I don't really have a reason to use it very much when I'm at home.
7. Rock - I need to start doing more musically. Did some messing around with making songs & beats on garageband and Ableton Live, but that's not moving very quickly.
8. Writing - Have been doing okay and the story is progressing, but erratic sleep & post-work activity last week got me a bit off-routine. Will re-establish it this week.
9. Thanksgiving - Should be fun - looking forward to it!
10. Upcoming travel - it's fun exploring new parts of the city & area out here. Everything's new. (On the other hand, in suburbia, everything is pretty much the same)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Rant on voice-activated telephone menus
Seriously...what's the deal with corporate phone systems that require you to speak to them?
I don't want to begin a chat with a computer, especially when it involves personal information and when I'm surrounded by my colleagues.
Mashing the keypad generally does get me through to someone useful, but that can't seriously be the best way to navigate these systems.
I recall a post on Slashdot some time ago from some admins that mentioned that such systems were generally implemented by managers who wanted the appearance of an up to date phone system - not that users ever liked or requested such systems.
I don't want to begin a chat with a computer, especially when it involves personal information and when I'm surrounded by my colleagues.
Mashing the keypad generally does get me through to someone useful, but that can't seriously be the best way to navigate these systems.
I recall a post on Slashdot some time ago from some admins that mentioned that such systems were generally implemented by managers who wanted the appearance of an up to date phone system - not that users ever liked or requested such systems.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
new addiction
Despite better judgement to the contrary, I went ahead and purchased the newly released "orange box", which is a compilation of Half-life 2, Half-life 2 episodes 1& 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2.
Half-life 2 was an excellent game that I played about half-way through while I was living in China but then after a computer reformat I never bothered to finish up (was getting new games every month anyways).
Team Fortress 2 is an online game that is proving to be very, very addictive...simple to learn, but so difficult to master. Anyway, I've never really been into online games before, but this is making me reconsider my position.
The clerk at Best Buy was surprised that so many people were (evidently) getting the package.
However, I think that a solid collection of games at a fair price that still look on run great on basic hardware is certainly worthy of attention!
Half-life 2 was an excellent game that I played about half-way through while I was living in China but then after a computer reformat I never bothered to finish up (was getting new games every month anyways).
Team Fortress 2 is an online game that is proving to be very, very addictive...simple to learn, but so difficult to master. Anyway, I've never really been into online games before, but this is making me reconsider my position.
The clerk at Best Buy was surprised that so many people were (evidently) getting the package.
However, I think that a solid collection of games at a fair price that still look on run great on basic hardware is certainly worthy of attention!
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Friday, October 12, 2007
Radiohead is cool
I think it is awesome that Radiohead has opted to distribute its latest album directly via its website.
Good on them.
I downloaded the album (and did pay them for it), and I'm pleased to report that it is a pretty solid release. More listenable than Kid-A and Amnesiac (which were fine in their own right).
Anyway, hope this is a trend that grows and continues.
Good on them.
I downloaded the album (and did pay them for it), and I'm pleased to report that it is a pretty solid release. More listenable than Kid-A and Amnesiac (which were fine in their own right).
Anyway, hope this is a trend that grows and continues.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
M.I.A.
I did pick up the new album by M.I.A. (not sure if you pronounce each letter or read it like "mia" or maya...she says it a few ways herself on the record).
Anyway, different, funky-sounding beats and lyrics that are a good change from trite, tired love themes (that I heard way too much in china pop music) and rap cliches.
Her rapping style is maybe comparable to Missy Elliot, but she sings more than really just rapping all the time. Apparently Timbaland played a role with the album, I'm not sure how much of it he produced but I wouldn't be surprised if he played a pretty big role - many of the tracks are in his style.
Many of her songs stuck in my head. I can't honestly say all of them are great, but there are at least 3 or 4 excellent songs, and the rest are still all pretty fresh sounding.
Anyway, different, funky-sounding beats and lyrics that are a good change from trite, tired love themes (that I heard way too much in china pop music) and rap cliches.
Her rapping style is maybe comparable to Missy Elliot, but she sings more than really just rapping all the time. Apparently Timbaland played a role with the album, I'm not sure how much of it he produced but I wouldn't be surprised if he played a pretty big role - many of the tracks are in his style.
Many of her songs stuck in my head. I can't honestly say all of them are great, but there are at least 3 or 4 excellent songs, and the rest are still all pretty fresh sounding.
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thoughts on the office
Lately, have been catching up on the US version of "The Office".
I had been familiar with the BBC version and had heard mixed reviews of the US show by fans of the BBC show.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the US version quite a bit, and since the plot and characters do not exactly mimic that of the BBC version, it was a new experience.
Both series have their strong points.
BBC:
- More about the dreariness/monotony of day to day office life
- More about an insensitive boss who thinks he's an awesome and funny leader
- The series makes its point and then ends
US:
- Maybe a little more about the way that working with the same people in a monotonous situation can warp you - the supporting office characters seem to have a stronger role here; it's definitely more of an ensemble piece
- The series is still (?) going. I guess I've only seen the 2nd season thus far; I'm not sure how much they can drag out the love stories and other plot elements without straining my belief.
May have to make a Best Buy run to get season 3, as I'm pretty hooked.
I had been familiar with the BBC version and had heard mixed reviews of the US show by fans of the BBC show.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the US version quite a bit, and since the plot and characters do not exactly mimic that of the BBC version, it was a new experience.
Both series have their strong points.
BBC:
- More about the dreariness/monotony of day to day office life
- More about an insensitive boss who thinks he's an awesome and funny leader
- The series makes its point and then ends
US:
- Maybe a little more about the way that working with the same people in a monotonous situation can warp you - the supporting office characters seem to have a stronger role here; it's definitely more of an ensemble piece
- The series is still (?) going. I guess I've only seen the 2nd season thus far; I'm not sure how much they can drag out the love stories and other plot elements without straining my belief.
May have to make a Best Buy run to get season 3, as I'm pretty hooked.
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