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October 21, 2005
Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS
If there is any doubt that the Nintendo DS can work with any genre with it's dual screens and touch pad, let that doubt clear out now. Screenshots of Final Fantasy III have surfaced in a magazine and the 3D graphics are rich, sharp and saturated. It reminds me of Crystal Chronicles which is fine by me since that game was beautiful in it's own right.
Let the RPG goodness come forth. I'm waiting. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Posted by tranism at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
This Foo Got P'wned!
Remember when Street Fighter was all the rage? I myself remember kicking major butt and taking names but alas, those years are gone and I'm afraid to play again. I've since moved on to fighting games like Soul Calibur and Super Smash Brothers.
Well check out this video. It's from the EVO 2004 Street Fighter 3 tournament and just watching it brings back memories of geeks and nerds coming together in the name of ass kicking.
Preface to the video - it's down to two players battling it out for glitz-glory, the money, but more importantly bragging rights. Daigo (playing as KEN) and his opponent (playing as Chung Li) got him down to literally zero health. Daigo's opponent then unleashes a Chung Li super combo that lands 15 blows on him. The amazing thing is Daigo is actually able to block every single move and then proceeds to kick his opponents ass into submission with one thundering combo.
The crowd goes bonkers as hundreds of video game fanatics roar into a frenzy having bare witness to the event. You won't see moments of game mastery like this very often.
I just have one comment tho. Ass wonderful as Google Video search is - I love the fact that this video was found using the word "ass" as a search string.
Posted by tranism at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
October 19, 2005
Reader Corrects Bad Grammar
And I thank him for it. Brian sent us an email after noticing how we've improperly used "its" and "it's" in our writing. When to use one over the other? He sent over a handy-dandy rule and we love him for it.
"The best way to remember which one to use is to put 'his' instead of 'it's'. If you would use 'his' then you would use 'its' because there's no such word as 'hi's'."
See we always sort of knew something was wrong with it but figured some reader will catch it and tell us. In our minds, we use "it's" to show possession when really it's a contraction.
The results have been two-fold. One, all blog entries have been re-checked and corrected. Two, this makes us feel good because in order for someone to catch the numerous incorrect usage of the contraction, they would have had to actually read the blog.
Again, thank you Brian for the tip and for reading! You're rule makes a whole-lot more sense than that "i before e" crap. :)
Posted by tranism at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
October 17, 2005
Space Invaders, Where They're Really From
Even while I play Space Invaders on my Gameboy, it never occurred to me what the true origins of these invaders were. Apparently one day, they decided Earth was ripe for the taking and "invaded".
Aside from probably being the most famous aliens next to E.T., Space Invaders have been ported to all manner of art ranging from prints to clothing. It's an 80's phenomenon that has stretched across decades to still hold a special place in our hearts. Space Invaders were the creators and originators . . . or were they?
In a recent interview in Edge Magazine, Space Invaders creator Nishikado revealed his inspiration came from sea creatures like crabs, squids and octos, but the actual look and feel of the aliens came from reading H.G. Wells War of the Worlds. Originally the aliens were to look human but Naishikado was adverse to the idea of humans killing humans.
"In the story, the aliens looked like an octopus. I drew a bitmap image based on the idea. Then I created several other aliens that looked like sea creatures such as squids or crabs."
Who would have thunk it? Even from Nishikado's sketchbook pictures above, you can see the influences of H.G. Wells' aliens. Ya learn something new everyday.
Posted by tranism at 11:42 PM | Permalink
October 14, 2005
Geek Awesomeness Makes Dunt Hunt
Awesome! I want one. Some guy spent 30 - 45 hours creating a giant size model of those mallards from "Dunt Hunt", one of the original Nintendo NES games. Make sure you go check out his website. He poses with the mallard in ways that would make super models envious. Notice the Dance Dance Revolution gamepad in one of the pictures.
He deserves brownie points for this one.
Posted by tranism at 10:19 PM | Permalink
October 9, 2005
Massachusettes
Maybe its all those hot brainy M.I.T. guys skulking about the state but for some reason, the great state of Mass. is really ahead of the pack socially, technologically, ecologically and now possibly pro-consumer than pro-big corporations.
The state legislature is considering a law which limits wireless contracts to one year, require easier to understand billing statements and force carriers to fix those dreaded dead zones that we all blame on trees. OF COURSE the people against the bill are the those fucking greedy carriers. California recently had a similar bill but that was shot down so fast by commissioners friendly to the wireless carriers. I hope it passes in Mass.
via textually
Posted by tranism at 1:51 PM | Permalink
Unicef Bombs Smurf Village
It starts out with our beloved childhood cartoon heros dancing and singing, flower picking and chatting when suddenly huge bombs fall from the sky. Tiny Smurfs scatter and run in vain from the whistling bombs before being felled by blast after blast waves of fiery explosions. The final scene is the most gut-wrenching as a scorched and tattered baby Smurf sobs uncontrollably surrounded by dead Smurfs. I think I just shed a tear. The video ends with a simple message;
"Don't let war affect the lives of our children"
Of course all this wasn't aired in America; hell no that would never pass the sensors. However for our cousins in Europe, the 25 second short left people shocked, most in approval and some in disbelief. And before you call it sacrilege, the animation was approved by the family of the Smurfs late creator, Peyo.
The short was intended as the keystone of a fund raising drive by Unicef's Belgian arm to raise money for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers in Burundi.
Well I've learned two things today. First - sometimes you have to shock in order to bring reality back to people who are oblivious or jaded because a war is so far away. And Two - who woulda' thunk it . . . the Smurfs are Belgian? Man, that explains A LOT.
UPDATE: The video will go live on the internet soon. Patience kiddies, patience.
Posted by tranism at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
October 8, 2005
Harry Potter's New Trailer
If you haven't seen the new international trailer for the upcoming Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire, then watch it NOW. The kids are growing up. Their acting is better than ever. The story is both thrilling and telling. The special effects are superb, and finally FINALLY we meet the dark lord.
Man - Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Aeon Flux. This holiday season has more in store than I can remember of any previous. I am so anxious.
Posted by tranism at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
PSP GPS
I have a propensity for getting lost (sometimes) and its not because I have no sense of direction. It's because I am one who relies on technology and looking up something on mapquest before every new trip is just plain burdensome. So my master plan is to research and look into which navigation system I want.
When I purchased my Prius, I opted out of the navigation system because I wanted something I could take out with me. What if one day I wanted to go hiking (yeah right), it would be helpful to be able carry my GPS navi around.
So after much research, I ALMOST settled on the Palm LifeDrive with TomTom's Navigator 5 software. The combination of 4 gigs storage and downloaded maps thru LifeDrive's wifi seem to make it an easy choice. Problem is I wanted a solution that would extend the functionality of something I already had, and then it hit me.
Sony's PSP - the portable game machine trying not to be just a game machine but more to compete. I remember when the PSP first made it's debut, Sony said they were interested in expanding it's capability to turn the device into a piece of convergence technology. One of those announcements was an add on GPS module. With PSP's recent entry into the web by including a web browser, it will be a matter of time before the GPS module becomes available.
So I'm going to wait it out and see what Sony has in store for me. Right now, my PSP is collecting dust and I can tell it is eager to start talkin to some satellites. How about yours?
Posted by tranism at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Bitches Bitchin' About Hybrids
All these anaylists and journalists bitchin' about whether or not hybrids really do save you a trip or two to the gas pump, or whether or not you actually recoup the savings during the lifetime of the vehicle and some even bitch about how diesels could get you the same MPG.
All fail to mention, perhaps because it's indisputable - hybrids put out 80 to 90 percent less emissions into our air. Doesn't that mean anything at all? Sure if the whole world drove hybrids, they would still continue to bitch about how it has little effect on gas efficiency meanwhile breathing cleaner air.
Hybrid = Fuel Economy
Hybrid = Cleaner Air
Diesels = Fuel Economy
Diesels = Noisy, Fucked Up Air
Petrol = Fucked Up Fuel Economy
Petrol = Fucked Up Air
Posted by tranism at 1:20 PM | Permalink
October 5, 2005
Hinokio
Hinokio, very very losely based on Pinocchio, is about a boy whom in order to avoid going to school - sends a robot he remotely controls from home in his place. The real story is about how the robot tries to communicate with the people around him and "grows" as he progresses.
check out the trailer
Posted by tranism at 10:15 PM | Permalink
Utopia a.k.a Songdo City
This is why this century belongs to Asia (GO ASIANS!). South Korea is building a new city, from the ground up called New Songdo City. It will be a living experiment where all major information systems (residential, medical, business and government) share data and computers are to be built into homes, buildings and streets everywhere.
This ubiquitous city will be completed in 2014. The city's infrastructure will be a test bed for new technologies and the city itself will exemplify a digital way of life. It will be the future right here in the present. It all starts with a resident's "smart-card house key". The same key can be used to get on mass transit, park, see a movie, borrow a free public bicycle and so on. It's all anonymous and autonomous. City and urban planning also applies the latest theories in urban development. This is an opportunity to finally test which theories work and which don't; with the hopes that what does work can be applied to metropolises around the world. The city will be "green", clean air, clean transportation and will be equipped with the latest wireless and communications technologies.
Ironically, much of the technology going into New Songdo City was developed right here in the U.S. but the cost and regulatory obstacles prevent such a city from ever being built here.
This reminds me of the futuristic city of Brasilia that ultimately failed although much of the fantastic architecture still stands. If anything, the Koreans will know before anyone else what flies. I applaud the Koreans and 2014 just seems so damn far away now.
more pictures after the jump
Posted by tranism at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
October 3, 2005
Apple Expanding
With the popularity of its iPod players and small incremental increase in computing hardware sales, Apple is once again in a position to expand and grow. The company has been quietly leasing tens of thousands of square footage in and around it's hometown of Cupertino, California. In 2002, Apple only occupied 850,000 square feet at it's headquarters located at 1 Infinite Loop (it really is an infinite loop!) but since 2004, the company has increased that number to over 2 million square feet.
Ironically the buildings in question happen to be buildings it once occupied during its rise in the 80's. During the early 90's, the company retreated it's territory back to 1 Infinite Loop and has quietly been plotting to slowly overtake all off it's former occupations. (Why am I making this sound like a WW2 documentary?).
I used to work at Apple headquarters and the space is BEAUTIFUL. Talk about clean wide open spaces. Is this a sign that Apple is once again strong, perhaps stronger than it has ever been? Is the Phoenix finally rising again? If it is, I can't wait for it to spread its bright firery feathers all over because I gots tons of hum drum and drab things that need the Apple midas touch.
Posted by tranism at 12:08 PM | Permalink
October 2, 2005
Yaniblog
Awesome guy from down under. Yaniblog gets two brownie points and love from both electro and plankton. HOLLA!
Posted by tranism at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Magic Exists Near The North Pole
And our friend at freshlikethat proves it. To him, just another place buried somewhere deep in Sweden but to me and I'm sure many of you, a site to sit and stare at in awe. If nature did sky scrapers, this would probably be how they would look like. Speaking of magic, go see MirrorMask. Think Fantasia on crack.
click on the pictures for a larger view
Posted by tranism at 7:04 PM | Permalink
October 1, 2005
A Mid-Air Snatching . . . Macro Style
Nature is frighteningly beautiful. What do you suppose happened when a spider snatches a bee twice it's size out of mid-air flight?
pictures after the jump
DAYUM, just damn . . .
Posted by tranism at 11:07 AM | Permalink