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Archive for the ‘Video Games’ Category

Periodical: Geek Monthly

Posted in Arcade Fire, Artists, Authors, Book Reviews, Corporate skewering, Fantasy, Film & TV, Food, Foreign Books, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Futurama, Geek Monthly, Graphic Novel, Magazines, Magic, Music, Smarty Pants, Technology, TiVo, Video Games, Work, Yuck! on April 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

geek1I have a Periodicals page already, but I rarely look at it or update it.  So, over the next few months I’m going to mention a magazine that I subscribe to.  When I’m all caught up, I’ll remove that page.

I was inspired to do this when I got the latest Geek Monthly. I stumbled upon Geek magazine last year when I was gathering magazines for the library’s annual magazine survey.  I really enjoyed it and when I saw the next issue it was a Futurama feature, so naturally I had to subscribe right then and there.

And since then I have not been disappointed.

They have fun geek quotes from famous and non-famous people.  Some short articles about tech gadgets and new products. And an Ask Alienware category for high tech and gaming questions.

geek2They’ve also started a Green section (this latest one has a computer built into a cardboard CPU unit…very cool).

They also have a music section (six album reviews and an interview with a cool geeky person).  This latest issue has a great interview with Will Oldham & The Arcade Fire.

There’s obviously the interview with the cover person (Zach Braff & Nathan Fillion are recent cover stars).  Plus, there’s other film-related articles.  (An interview with Wallace Shawn and an inevitable piece on Battlestar Galactica).  There also usually an opinion piece about a film or TV topic, and sometimes a debate on a subject (Film Adaptations of Books).  There’s also a regular Rant from Mark Altman, and Secrets of a Lady Geek.

As you get near the back, you get film reviews (mostly sci fi & horror, but there’s also some comedies and documentaries), and DVD reviews.   And, of course book reviews (comics and otherwise).

And then you get one of my favorite sections: product reviews.  The Office Arsenal shows awesome gadgets that you can bring to work (sadly I don’t work in an environment where Nerf rockets and Super Soakers would be appreciated.)  But the best part has to be random reviews at the back of the magazine.  Things like: MyGlowKeys, or Van Dorn Gourmets Onion Dip and Bath Bomb, or the thing that’s been making me laugh for days: FX Neo: Hard Minty Eyedrops, which has the hilarious review: “Hard. Minty. Eyedrops.  I can’t think of two more terrible adjectives for something I’m supposed to stick in my eye.  Hot stabby eyedrops?  Grating infectious eyedrops?  Nope, can’t do it.” (more…)

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Ben Schott–Schott’s Original Miscellany (2003), Schott’s Food & Drink Miscellany (2004) & Schott’s Sporting Gaming & Idling Miscellany (2005)

Posted in Ben Schott, Books about music, Books about writers, Collecting, Dip-in Books, Dreams, Drinking, Food, Funky Web Sites, History, Holidays, Oddities, Outer Space, Pac Man, Short Books, Smarty Pants, The Flaming Lips, War, Wikipedia on February 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

originalSOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Race for the Prize (1999) & Waiting for a Superman’ (1999) singles.

race11race21When these singles were released, Zaireeka was out of print; these discs were the only way to get any of the tracks.  So, each of these singles has two track from a Zaireeka disc as a B-side: “Riding to Work in the superman1superman2Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” & “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair.”   “Race for the Prize” (1 and 2) have the tracks from Zaireeka discs 1 and 2, and “Waitin’ for a Superman” (1 and 2) have the tracks from Zaireeka discs 3 and 4.  The singles aren’t really worth hunting down at this point since Zaireeka is now available, but at the time, they were worth it.

[READ: January 18-Feb 5, 2009] Schott’s Original Miscellany

This is the book that started the Schott empire!

Ben Schott wrote this book (the origin story will appear shortly) and it was so successful that he wrote 2 more volumes (all reviewed here).  This led to his annual almanacs/miscellanies. There are different versions of the annual almanac for England and the U.S. (and Germany too!) and I can’t help but wonder just how different they are.  So if any one has an old UK edition of a Schott’s almanac that they want to send me, let me know!

For all your miscellany needs, check out  http://www.miscellanies.info/. Lots of information here! (more…)

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Christopher Monks–The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life® Or, The Video Game as Existential Metaphor (2008)

Posted in Christopher Monks, Contests, Einstürzende Neubauten, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Marriage (Happy), McSweeney's, Michael J. Nelson, Portishead, Set at School, Super Mario Brothers, Technology, Tekken, Universities, Video Games, Virginity (Loss of) on November 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

yourlifeSOUNDTRACK: PORTISHEAD-Third (2008).

3rdThis is probably one of the spookiest albums I’ve heard in a long time.  And, boy, do I love it.

Portishead has been away from the music scene for about ten years.  They’d had a couple of hits, sort of gloomy trip hop all held together by Beth Gibbons’ otherworldly voice (“Nobody loves me, it’s true, not like you do”).  But frankly, after ten years I wasn’t even sure if I cared about Portishead anymore.  And then, I heard the songs!

Beth Gibbons’ voice sounds even more ghostly than before.  And the noises that Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley make are totally beyond the pale.  Some of the music sounds like pieces from a late night horror movie.  Take the bizarro verse music of “Hunter,” guitar chords stretched beyond recognition alternating with a keyboard riff straight out of “Revenge of the Cheapo Zombie Monster.” Or the aggressive soundtrack of “Machine Gun,” in which Gibbons sings over a musical piece that is more or less an electronic drum that sounds like a machine gun.  It’s pretty intense.

But just when you think the whole disc is nothing but uneasy listening, they thrown in the beautiful acoustic simplicity of “The Rip,” a simple acoustic guitar playing over Gibbons’ sultry voice, or “Deep Water” a minute and a half of old timey ukulele music.  Of course, these songs are bookeneded by two creepy tracks: “Plastic” in all its eeriness, and “We Carry On” some of the most unusual sounds ever to be called music (aside from Einsturzende Neubauten, of course).

Somehow all of the unsettling sounds work wonderfully together.  And, although I haven’t processed all the lyrics yet, previous Portishead albums would lead me to believe that things aren’t very peachy in Gibbons’ world.  And yet, despite that, I find the album very uplifting and not at all depressing.

Maybe every band should take ten years between records if it yields results this great.

[READ: November 16, 2008] The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life®

I used to work with the author of this book.  Perhaps a dozen or so years ago, Christopher (just Chris back then) Monks and I worked at Wordsworth Books in beautiful Cambridge, MA.   When I learned that he was writing for McSweeney’s (and has since become the editor of their online website) I was very impressed and happy for him and not at all jealous or seething with envy at his wonderful, picturesque life in the Massacusetts suburbs.  But, more to the point, when I read his works, and his website, he displayed humor that was in little evidence at work.  (Talk about compartmentilization…).

Anyhow, he recently sent a generic email to everyone who has ever written him to say that he has a book out (and would we all go buy it, please).  Well, I’m always game to help someone who over the years I have come to consider a former co-worker. (more…)

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Mary Gaitskill–“Don’t Cry” (New Yorker, June 9 & June 16, 2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Chuck, Mary Gaitskill, Missile Command, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Rush, Short Story on November 12, 2008| 4 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: RUSH-Moving Pictures (1980).

movingpicturesThe other night on the show Chuck, Rush was described as “the music of the universe” (which enabled our hero to defeat Missile Command and get secret codes–thereby saving the lives of millions.  I have taken this as a sign that geeks have totally taken over the world.  They played “Tom Sawyer” 3 times during the show.  It was pretty awesome.  And my 13 year-old self would have been so excited, it might have been too much for me.

Since about 8th grade, I’ve been a huge Rush fan. And, yes, I do play bass guitar, thank you for asking.  I’m still a fan, although not nearly as rabid as I was back in the day.  Nevertheless, it’s pretty exciting to see these guys making inroads into pop culture, and it has only taken some thirty-four years after their first record.

Having said that, everyone knows Side A of this record (“Tom Sawyer”, “Red Barchetta”, “YYZ” and “Limelight”).  So, I’m not even going to mention it.  Rather, I’ll focus on Side B (how quaint am I with this terminology?).  I think the overexposure of Side A led me to really investigate Side B.  And, for my money, Side B is the more enjoyable side.

“The Camera Eye” starts it out with a wondrous eleven-minute epic.  It has different sections, it has repeating motifs, and it’s probably the most overlooked song in their catalog (their other epic tracks were usually A sides which meant more notice).  It doesn’t have a lot of the drama of Rush’ other ten-minute-plus songs, rather, it’s a meditative look at life in the city.  And yet, all of the parts are essential, with a few minutes of little bits and pieces throughout the track.  And then suddenly you’re eight or so minutes in and totally hooked.  I’ve always has a soft spot for this song.

“Witch Hunt” has such a fantastic drum opening.  My friend Joe was the drummer with whom I jammed to Rush back in the day.  Now, no kidding, Neil Peart is an amazing drummer, but sometimes you have to really listen to a song through the ears of a drummer to hear how amazing he is.  The opening drum motif is so complex, it’s amazing that one man could play it.  And then he throws in a cowbell to boot!  It also has some fantastic lyrics that I find myself singing a lot lately when I think of rabid right-wingers: “Confident their ways are best. The righteous rise with burning eyes, of hatred and ill-will….”  “Those who know what’s best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves….””Ignorance & prejudice and fear walk hand in hand….”

As “Witch Hunt” has a crazy opening drum motif, “Vital Signs” has a great guitar intro.  The guitar chords aren’t terribly complex, but Alex Lifeson plays the chords in a different pattern during alternate lines.  Boy is that fun to play.  This also features one of the great early keyboard workouts for Geddy Lee.  The keyboard riff in “Tom Sawyer” is pretty memorable, but in “Vital Signs” it’s intense.  The two main sections of the song don’t seem like they should fit together, but they segue nicely with drum fills and a smooth and fun bass solo.

It was in listening to the the Snakes and Arrows live CD recently that I was reminded how much I love “Witch Hunt” and what a great song it is.  My only regret is that I never got to see that one live.

[READ: October 31, 2008] “Don’t Cry”

I was introduced to Mary Gaitskill’s writing about a decade ago.  I really liked her short stories.  It’s been a while since I’ve read her work, and I basically forgot what her main themes were.  So it surprised me to find that this story was set in Ethiopia. (more…)

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Cory Doctorow–Little Brother (2008)

Posted in Adventure, American Libraries, Be Your Own Pet, Black Flag, Corporate skewering, Cory Doctorow, Dystopia, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Military, NPR/PRI/PBS, Prison, Record Labels, Set at School, Smarty Pants, Technology, The Muffs, Threats, Upton Sinclair, Video Games, War, Wikipedia, WMDs, YA Books on September 19, 2008| 5 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: BE YOUR OWN PET-Get Awkward (2008).

Be Your Own Pet are a bunch of young kids from Nashville.  Get Awkward is their second album.  According to the liner notes, two of them were born in 1988 and one of them in 1990.  1990!  They play three-chord punk music which focuses primarily on having fun and partying.  I like to think that Black Flag’s “TV Party” might be an influence, but really they sound more like The Muffs than anyone else.   Jemima Pearl is one of those surprisingly cute punk singers who explode in a gruff gravelly voice (although never TOO rough or gravely) which makes all the proceedings quite fun.

The songs are short (only 2 songs are over 3 minutes), fast, and generally fun.  Song titles like “Food Fight,” “Zombie Graveyard Party!” “Bitches Leave” and “Bummer Time” should give you some sense of what the songs are about.  I’m led to believe their first album was a bit more aggressive (enough to get Thurston Moore to sign them to his Ecstatic Peace record label).  But this one keeps pretty well to the three chords (and occasional guitar riff) and fun shouting and singing.

It seems like every few years there’s a new young punk band who takes up the mantle of punk rock and BYOP were the most recent (although their web site says the just broke up).  And it’s cool for young kids to have a new young band to look up to.  Much like the theme of the book below, if you’re over 25 you ‘ll probably just think that this band is ripping off [insert your favorite brash young punk band here] but really who wants to listen to 40 year olds singing about parties and whatnot.  So, if you’re looking for a new young band, then, check them out.  There’s not too much new about them, but then, that’s not the point, is it.

And according to Wikipedia, three tracks were removed because they were deemed too violent (!).  Maybe the album is well suited to this book after all.

[READ: September 16, 2008] Little Brother

I have to get this out of the way:  READ THIS BOOK!  It is fantastic and it will motivate you like nothing I’ve read.  READ IT READ IT READ IT.

Okay, I feel a little better.

I read an interview with Cory Doctorow in American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association.  It was a short interview about this book, and he said such great things in a few paragraphs, that I immediately went to work and checked out the book.   And, wow, what a fantastic book.

This may be the kiss of death for any young reader, but Little Brother is an important book.  And everyone should read it.  And yes, I know it is fiction, but fiction can be a very powerful tool for waking people up to injustice.  Upton SInclair’s The Jungle was instrumental in the creation of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which established the Food and Drug Administration.  Not bad for a work of fiction, eh? (more…)

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Joshua Bearman–“The Perfect Game: Five years with the master of Pac-Man” (Harper’s, July 2008)

Posted in Contests, Donkey Kong, Essays, Gnarls Barkley, Harper's, Joshua Bearman, King of Kong, Pac Man on July 24, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: GNARLS BARKLEY-The Odd Couple (2008).

So “Crazy” was Gnarls Barkley’s ubiquitous and fantastic single from 2006. The rest of St. Elsewhere was nowhere near as catchy, although it was all quite good. It was funny to see the backlash for this record because there was no “Crazy” on it. And yet, the rest of the album is not too different from the rest of St. Elsewhere. The same themes are there: lunacy, insecurity. And the production feels kind of claustrophobic like the first one did.

“Crazy” was a great single because Cee-Lo was able to unleash his mammoth voice. There are a couple of songs on The Odd Couple where Cee-Lo gets to unleash: “Surprise,” and “Neighbors.” But they’ve also got some great, subdued songs as well: “Blind Mary,” “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul.”

The music from Danger Mouse seems to be busier and more complex on this one, too. There’s all kinds of samples on the record, but they are hard to distinguish from the original music: a true sign of great sampling. There’s a background chorus of some sort on “Surprise” that is just fantastic, and I can’t tell if it’s the sample or not (since I’ve never heard the original).

Perhaps it’s because The Odd Couple is fresher in my mind, by I think I like it better than St. Elsewhere, even without “Crazy.”

[READ: July 1, 2008] “The Perfect Game”

As I said, I don’t usually review articles in magazines. This one, however, had special resonance. (more…)

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