The movie High Fidelity has an interesting line in the beginning. John Cusack sits theres with his gigantic headphones on and says: am I miserable because I listen to pop music, or do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable?
It's an interesting point, does the media we consume determine how we feel? Or does how we feel determine our choice of media? (I know it's repetitive) I don't have an answer really, I'd like to think that I alone have power over my emotions and such, but I know that isn't true. It's probably a bit of both really which is how most things like this go.
It's interesting nonetheless, and I might follow this up with some more definite observations. How much does my media influence me? A topic for time when I care.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve
So I'm back in town for Christmas. It's about what I expected, fairly boring, monotonous, and occasionally I get to see an old friend. I enjoy the latter.
I'm not really sure what to say really, I haven't done a whole lot, I suppose I could relate to you some stories or something, but I doubt you'll find that in any way interesting.
Well, in any event, have a Merry Christmas....
Or I'll kick you in the nuts.
Cheers!
I'm not really sure what to say really, I haven't done a whole lot, I suppose I could relate to you some stories or something, but I doubt you'll find that in any way interesting.
Well, in any event, have a Merry Christmas....
Or I'll kick you in the nuts.
Cheers!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Military History and Stuff
So for those of you that aren't aware (which is an interesting thought, what's zero divided by zero? well... zero I suppose, be much cooler if it was infinity or something (which in fact it might be, you can't actually divide anything by zero, but I digress)) I'm currently reading Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. It's a great series, a monster too, it's three books all about a thousand pages each, clocks in at about 1.2 million words. I'm currently about halfway through the second book, in the lead up to the battle of Gettysburg.
I really enjoy reading it, which is kind of strange. I've read other sorts of historical writing, and I have to tell you, despite being a history major, most of it is a chore. The only saving grace of the stuff is that I'm interested in what happens. After all, I do like history. But Foote makes it, well, engaging. He describes the leaders in detail, goes off on random descriptive tangents (he compared General Hooker's state of mind at the battle of Chancellorsville to a character in a Hemingway novel for example) talks about the battles in glorious depth, ties it all together on political and military levels, and also throws in these random stories about the events that add this great human element. For example, during the siege of Vicksburg, General Grant blew up a mine under the confederate trenches. Now ultimately, the mine didn't do anything of significance, (besides the fact that it was a military action in a historic and pivotal battle) but what it did do was blow a black slave cook through the air, and into the Union lines. This obviously, has all the historical significance of swiss cheese, but it makes for great reading.
In any event, kudos to Foote for making the Civil War readable and most of all, enjoyable. You should pick it up if you have any interest in the Civil War, just don't expect to finish it for about 6 months, I've been reading it since August or late July... can't remember when I started it exactly.
Stuff
Recently, I got bored (surprise, surprise!) and I was looking for a some sort of play by email or over the internet game, to maybe screw around with. In my searches I started to look for this game I had heard about a couple of years back, I couldn't remember any specifics, but I knew it was some kind of sci-fi tactical game, and that you could play it by e-mail. Using the amazing powers of Wikipedia and Google, I actually manged to find it. It's called Laser Squad Nemesis, and it's pretty sweet.
It's made by the same guys who created X-COM: UFO Defense, and man was that game a life sucker. I remember when I first got X-COM a few years back, I had no idea what I was in for. But to stay slightly on tangent, I'll come back to that.
Laser Squad Nemesis (LSN for short) is a futuristic tactical game, pitting four races against one another in a turn based arena. It's fairly cliche in that regard, and the story is non-existent. The sinlge player is basically a training ground for the multi player arena too. In addition, the production value on the thing is simply not there, it looks like it was made in 1996 or something. So why on earth am I talking about it?
Because the multi player rocks. It's not without problems though.
What makes it stand out is its method of turn based play. In most turn based tactical games, there's a strict I go then you go mentality. You'll see it everywhere, and while that can be fun, it most certainly doesn't take advantage of the fact that you're playing on a computer as opposed to a board. Now some games do switch it up a bit, mainly by changing it from; you move all your pieces then I move all of mine, to I move one of mine and then you move one of yours until we've moved all the pieces once; and then start over. What LSN does is give you simultaneous turns.
What I mean by that, is that you have all your units on the map and then you give them orders for the next ten seconds of play (ten seconds in the length of a turn). It fairly simple stuff usually, run up to that wall, shoot to the left if you see a bad guy, cover this zone, etc.. But what really makes it fun is that is gives this amazing element of realism to the game. Quite suddenly, real world tactics such as flanking, suppression fire, leapfrog advancement, all of it, becomes pertinent, useful, and above all, necessary. You can't really do that in a normal turn based game, the system just isn't built for it in any real kind of fashion.
Plus with the play by e-mail system, you can play on your own time. Test our your orders, plan that perfect double envelopment maneuver, and in general, just have a fun time being an armchair General.
Flaws
The Game can be hard to get a hold of at times, mainly because the production value is pretty low (I suppose you get what you pay for, it is a 17$ game). Units are hard to tell apart, the sounds and graphics leave everything to be desired, and sometimes despite your best efforts, you can't get those little buggers on screen to do what you want. In essence though, that's all superficial nonsense. I still play games from years ago, snazzy graphics do not good game play make. If you don't believe me, check out pretty much any of the lackluster big budget titles to come out the past couple of years. The thing that really gets you, is the multi player interface.
Now above, I said I like the play by email style. And I do, but it really sucks at times. And I wish they had put a couple more options in here, like maybe an option for a real time game. And yes you can do that, there is a hot seat option (no one does hot seat though, I mean come on), but I'd like to just long on to server, hop into a game, and just play for an hour or two. Instead, I have to sit around and wait for the bugger on the other end to get off his fat ass and send me his orders for the next turn. For example, I'm currently in two games, both started about 2 days ago. In one, I'm on turn five. In the other I haven't even got to move my troops yet, I set out my deployment orders and then... nothing, not a peep from the guy. Irksome, to say the least.
Now this problem is easily fixable, play with friends! At least then you can go and talk to the guy, and tell him to send his orders already. And I'm working on that angle too, but nobody gets into this stuff really. And as you can probably surmise, you have to wade through a lot of crap to get to the good stuff in this game. Who wants to do that? Well me for one, but I don't count.
Laser Squad Nemesis, a great game that has a lot of flaws.
As far as X-COM goes, I've got enough stuff to do a whole other post. So I'm going to do that sometime in the future. But to be honest, I won't say anything you haven't read or heard from everyone else who's played the game. So do a Google search, and maybe I'll talk about something else next time I feel like posting.
I really enjoy reading it, which is kind of strange. I've read other sorts of historical writing, and I have to tell you, despite being a history major, most of it is a chore. The only saving grace of the stuff is that I'm interested in what happens. After all, I do like history. But Foote makes it, well, engaging. He describes the leaders in detail, goes off on random descriptive tangents (he compared General Hooker's state of mind at the battle of Chancellorsville to a character in a Hemingway novel for example) talks about the battles in glorious depth, ties it all together on political and military levels, and also throws in these random stories about the events that add this great human element. For example, during the siege of Vicksburg, General Grant blew up a mine under the confederate trenches. Now ultimately, the mine didn't do anything of significance, (besides the fact that it was a military action in a historic and pivotal battle) but what it did do was blow a black slave cook through the air, and into the Union lines. This obviously, has all the historical significance of swiss cheese, but it makes for great reading.
In any event, kudos to Foote for making the Civil War readable and most of all, enjoyable. You should pick it up if you have any interest in the Civil War, just don't expect to finish it for about 6 months, I've been reading it since August or late July... can't remember when I started it exactly.
Stuff
Recently, I got bored (surprise, surprise!) and I was looking for a some sort of play by email or over the internet game, to maybe screw around with. In my searches I started to look for this game I had heard about a couple of years back, I couldn't remember any specifics, but I knew it was some kind of sci-fi tactical game, and that you could play it by e-mail. Using the amazing powers of Wikipedia and Google, I actually manged to find it. It's called Laser Squad Nemesis, and it's pretty sweet.
It's made by the same guys who created X-COM: UFO Defense, and man was that game a life sucker. I remember when I first got X-COM a few years back, I had no idea what I was in for. But to stay slightly on tangent, I'll come back to that.
Laser Squad Nemesis (LSN for short) is a futuristic tactical game, pitting four races against one another in a turn based arena. It's fairly cliche in that regard, and the story is non-existent. The sinlge player is basically a training ground for the multi player arena too. In addition, the production value on the thing is simply not there, it looks like it was made in 1996 or something. So why on earth am I talking about it?
Because the multi player rocks. It's not without problems though.
What makes it stand out is its method of turn based play. In most turn based tactical games, there's a strict I go then you go mentality. You'll see it everywhere, and while that can be fun, it most certainly doesn't take advantage of the fact that you're playing on a computer as opposed to a board. Now some games do switch it up a bit, mainly by changing it from; you move all your pieces then I move all of mine, to I move one of mine and then you move one of yours until we've moved all the pieces once; and then start over. What LSN does is give you simultaneous turns.
What I mean by that, is that you have all your units on the map and then you give them orders for the next ten seconds of play (ten seconds in the length of a turn). It fairly simple stuff usually, run up to that wall, shoot to the left if you see a bad guy, cover this zone, etc.. But what really makes it fun is that is gives this amazing element of realism to the game. Quite suddenly, real world tactics such as flanking, suppression fire, leapfrog advancement, all of it, becomes pertinent, useful, and above all, necessary. You can't really do that in a normal turn based game, the system just isn't built for it in any real kind of fashion.
Plus with the play by e-mail system, you can play on your own time. Test our your orders, plan that perfect double envelopment maneuver, and in general, just have a fun time being an armchair General.
Flaws
The Game can be hard to get a hold of at times, mainly because the production value is pretty low (I suppose you get what you pay for, it is a 17$ game). Units are hard to tell apart, the sounds and graphics leave everything to be desired, and sometimes despite your best efforts, you can't get those little buggers on screen to do what you want. In essence though, that's all superficial nonsense. I still play games from years ago, snazzy graphics do not good game play make. If you don't believe me, check out pretty much any of the lackluster big budget titles to come out the past couple of years. The thing that really gets you, is the multi player interface.
Now above, I said I like the play by email style. And I do, but it really sucks at times. And I wish they had put a couple more options in here, like maybe an option for a real time game. And yes you can do that, there is a hot seat option (no one does hot seat though, I mean come on), but I'd like to just long on to server, hop into a game, and just play for an hour or two. Instead, I have to sit around and wait for the bugger on the other end to get off his fat ass and send me his orders for the next turn. For example, I'm currently in two games, both started about 2 days ago. In one, I'm on turn five. In the other I haven't even got to move my troops yet, I set out my deployment orders and then... nothing, not a peep from the guy. Irksome, to say the least.
Now this problem is easily fixable, play with friends! At least then you can go and talk to the guy, and tell him to send his orders already. And I'm working on that angle too, but nobody gets into this stuff really. And as you can probably surmise, you have to wade through a lot of crap to get to the good stuff in this game. Who wants to do that? Well me for one, but I don't count.
Laser Squad Nemesis, a great game that has a lot of flaws.
As far as X-COM goes, I've got enough stuff to do a whole other post. So I'm going to do that sometime in the future. But to be honest, I won't say anything you haven't read or heard from everyone else who's played the game. So do a Google search, and maybe I'll talk about something else next time I feel like posting.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Bourne and random shit
So I got bored a few days ago and decided to torrent some movies. For those of you that aren't piratically inclined, it means I stole them off the internet. Well in any event I got a whole slew of things to watch, play, and mess around with including the new Bourne movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. Which I hadn't seen since it was in theaters. Now for those of you that don't know about this movie, it's essentially a spy thriller like James Bond, except way more gritty, morally ambiguous and it deals with the CIA (not MI6).
Now as I watched this movie for the second time, a thought struck me. Essentially the movie is three giant chase scenes. That's it. And despite that bare bones bones technique, I found that it added to the story as a whole. Bourne doesn't really need the character interaction of Casino Royale, he needs cops to run from and secrets to chase down. It makes for a great and satisfying experience.
So anyway as I read the above paragraphs I realize they're pretty much an incoherent mess. Which is ok, I'm not going to delete them or anything, but I feel I could explain myself a tad better and go onto some other related topics that have been kicking around the old brain-box.
Bourne: a review ( kinda)
As you can probably figure out, I liked this movie. So in the interest of explaining why I liked it so much, I'm going to do a sort of review here. Spoilers will probably ensue, but I'll try to keep myself restricted to themes and technique here.
So (obviously) this is the next chapter in the story of the CIA assassin who lost his memory, and is trying simultaneously to rediscover his past and avoid the CIA (which as usual is trying to put a bullet in his skull). Hijinks ensue and eventually a conclusion a reached (see? no spoilers). So onto themes and shit that I noticed and enjoyed.
As I said above, the movie can essentially be divided into three separate chapters. Each chapter consisting of a high tension chase/escape/fight of a sorts. Now each of these scenes is engaging, entertaining and in general a joy to watch. But why?
Music for one. The music is an orchestral soundtrack that mixes modern beat mix stuff and violins and other styles. Unless you're really listening for it, you'll completely miss it. Which to be honest is exactly the point, because the music is there for basically one reason; to increase the tension.
And it does a wonderful job of this, as Bourne runs through the streets of various cities, dodging police, CIA assassins and those damn innocent pedestrians. The music builds and builds, faster and faster, until you're right on the edge of your seat... and then it resets. It's wonderful, the music keeps you right in the emotional zone to appreciate the chase. (spoiler warning) For example, the second chase takes place in Tangier. As Bourne books it through the alleys and runs across the rooftops, the music keeps pace and keeps you right there with him. Until it cuts off as he jumps through a window and has a great fight scene with one of those CIA assassins. It really strikes you if you're watching for it, because instead of some epic finale that the music had been obviously building towards, it just ends. A climatic anti-climatic ending would be the best way to put it. (end spoiler)
Editing and Cinematography
Another thing I noticed was the camera work. While its not exactly on par with Children of Men (god that continuous scene was amazing), its accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. Which namely, is to keep the tension at high level. As you probably surmised, this is the same point as the music, so the two are very much so tied together in terms of cuts and transitions. So what exactly drew my eye?
Two things specifically, the choice of shots, and the editing cuts. Now I could dig up my film class book and notes and tell you exactly what kind of shots they used, but I'm lazy and I'm not going to; so please excuse my clumsy terminology.
Now a basic way to build tension through editing (that's been around since Birth of a Nation no less) is to start with long shots and gradually move the camera in closer and closer, while at the same time shortening the length of each shot. It's simple and it works. However, doing only that is boring, pedestrian, and its been done a thousand times over the history of film. Essentially, Bourne does do this, but it does it in its own unique way.
It does it through non-conventional camera views (at least in my opinion). You'll see a lot of shots that are jerky, moving, and basically, but you right there in the middle of the action. It's a kinetic thing I think, if the camera is bouncing around like a hyper-active two year old, it gives a sense of movement to the audience. Thankfully though, due to the rapid cuts between shots, you don't feel like you can't follow the action, or that the shaky cam is an excuse for scenes that would otherwise look like shit (Braveheart, I'm looking right at you). The specific balance/counterpoint to these kind of shots is the long security camish shots. So while you have the shots that make you feel like your right there, you also have these long view shots (usually accompanied by a zoom-in or some sort of in picture framing so you can pick out the characters from the rabble of extras), that allow you to follow the action. This is the important part, through the rapid cuts between these two basic styles of shot you gain two things. A sense of tension and involvement, and an understanding of what exactly is going on. Add in the music and in the great choreography of the fight scenes and chases in general, and its no-holds barred thrill ride that grabs you from beginning to end.
That's why I liked the new Bourne.
Random Stuff
Now for those of you that aren't nerds, a game recently came out called Assassin's Creed. (It''ll tie in I swear) Now I'm too lazy to go to wikipedia and look up the specifics, so I could be wrong, but I bet I'm not. In any event, I'm almost positive it was made by ubisoft, the makers of the Prince of Persia trilogy (Incidentally, the Prince of Persia movie is going to be made by Jerry Bruckheimer, five dollars says it blows harder than a starving hooker) The game involves running around the rooftops of crusades era Jerusalem, doing crazy parkour stunts, and assassinating bad guys. It's a fun time.
So to tie in with Bourne, I want a game like Assassin's Creed that lets me play as a Bourne-like character. It'd be sweet as hell in my opinion. Run around Europe, engage in sweet car chases, fun martial arts and gun combat, blend into crowds and run from those damn government assassins.
Now from what I hear (this time I'm probably dead wrong) the next game in the splinter cell series might be a little like this. Which (if it happens) would be sweet and might get me into the series. But I doubt anyone will make a Bourne-style game anytime in the near future.
Well I seem to have written quite a bit, and I've run out of things to say. So peace out people, I'm going to get a cigarette and some sleep. (like I actually have any readers to say goodbye to, sheesh, talk about hubris)
Now as I watched this movie for the second time, a thought struck me. Essentially the movie is three giant chase scenes. That's it. And despite that bare bones bones technique, I found that it added to the story as a whole. Bourne doesn't really need the character interaction of Casino Royale, he needs cops to run from and secrets to chase down. It makes for a great and satisfying experience.
So anyway as I read the above paragraphs I realize they're pretty much an incoherent mess. Which is ok, I'm not going to delete them or anything, but I feel I could explain myself a tad better and go onto some other related topics that have been kicking around the old brain-box.
Bourne: a review ( kinda)
As you can probably figure out, I liked this movie. So in the interest of explaining why I liked it so much, I'm going to do a sort of review here. Spoilers will probably ensue, but I'll try to keep myself restricted to themes and technique here.
So (obviously) this is the next chapter in the story of the CIA assassin who lost his memory, and is trying simultaneously to rediscover his past and avoid the CIA (which as usual is trying to put a bullet in his skull). Hijinks ensue and eventually a conclusion a reached (see? no spoilers). So onto themes and shit that I noticed and enjoyed.
As I said above, the movie can essentially be divided into three separate chapters. Each chapter consisting of a high tension chase/escape/fight of a sorts. Now each of these scenes is engaging, entertaining and in general a joy to watch. But why?
Music for one. The music is an orchestral soundtrack that mixes modern beat mix stuff and violins and other styles. Unless you're really listening for it, you'll completely miss it. Which to be honest is exactly the point, because the music is there for basically one reason; to increase the tension.
And it does a wonderful job of this, as Bourne runs through the streets of various cities, dodging police, CIA assassins and those damn innocent pedestrians. The music builds and builds, faster and faster, until you're right on the edge of your seat... and then it resets. It's wonderful, the music keeps you right in the emotional zone to appreciate the chase. (spoiler warning) For example, the second chase takes place in Tangier. As Bourne books it through the alleys and runs across the rooftops, the music keeps pace and keeps you right there with him. Until it cuts off as he jumps through a window and has a great fight scene with one of those CIA assassins. It really strikes you if you're watching for it, because instead of some epic finale that the music had been obviously building towards, it just ends. A climatic anti-climatic ending would be the best way to put it. (end spoiler)
Editing and Cinematography
Another thing I noticed was the camera work. While its not exactly on par with Children of Men (god that continuous scene was amazing), its accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. Which namely, is to keep the tension at high level. As you probably surmised, this is the same point as the music, so the two are very much so tied together in terms of cuts and transitions. So what exactly drew my eye?
Two things specifically, the choice of shots, and the editing cuts. Now I could dig up my film class book and notes and tell you exactly what kind of shots they used, but I'm lazy and I'm not going to; so please excuse my clumsy terminology.
Now a basic way to build tension through editing (that's been around since Birth of a Nation no less) is to start with long shots and gradually move the camera in closer and closer, while at the same time shortening the length of each shot. It's simple and it works. However, doing only that is boring, pedestrian, and its been done a thousand times over the history of film. Essentially, Bourne does do this, but it does it in its own unique way.
It does it through non-conventional camera views (at least in my opinion). You'll see a lot of shots that are jerky, moving, and basically, but you right there in the middle of the action. It's a kinetic thing I think, if the camera is bouncing around like a hyper-active two year old, it gives a sense of movement to the audience. Thankfully though, due to the rapid cuts between shots, you don't feel like you can't follow the action, or that the shaky cam is an excuse for scenes that would otherwise look like shit (Braveheart, I'm looking right at you). The specific balance/counterpoint to these kind of shots is the long security camish shots. So while you have the shots that make you feel like your right there, you also have these long view shots (usually accompanied by a zoom-in or some sort of in picture framing so you can pick out the characters from the rabble of extras), that allow you to follow the action. This is the important part, through the rapid cuts between these two basic styles of shot you gain two things. A sense of tension and involvement, and an understanding of what exactly is going on. Add in the music and in the great choreography of the fight scenes and chases in general, and its no-holds barred thrill ride that grabs you from beginning to end.
That's why I liked the new Bourne.
Random Stuff
Now for those of you that aren't nerds, a game recently came out called Assassin's Creed. (It''ll tie in I swear) Now I'm too lazy to go to wikipedia and look up the specifics, so I could be wrong, but I bet I'm not. In any event, I'm almost positive it was made by ubisoft, the makers of the Prince of Persia trilogy (Incidentally, the Prince of Persia movie is going to be made by Jerry Bruckheimer, five dollars says it blows harder than a starving hooker) The game involves running around the rooftops of crusades era Jerusalem, doing crazy parkour stunts, and assassinating bad guys. It's a fun time.
So to tie in with Bourne, I want a game like Assassin's Creed that lets me play as a Bourne-like character. It'd be sweet as hell in my opinion. Run around Europe, engage in sweet car chases, fun martial arts and gun combat, blend into crowds and run from those damn government assassins.
Now from what I hear (this time I'm probably dead wrong) the next game in the splinter cell series might be a little like this. Which (if it happens) would be sweet and might get me into the series. But I doubt anyone will make a Bourne-style game anytime in the near future.
Well I seem to have written quite a bit, and I've run out of things to say. So peace out people, I'm going to get a cigarette and some sleep. (like I actually have any readers to say goodbye to, sheesh, talk about hubris)
Friday, December 7, 2007
It's been a while
As the title states, it's been a while since I've posted here. No real reason why I haven't been posting, just general laziness I suppose. Not like it matters, I have as many readers as an Ethiopian has meals! Haha...ha....ha ok bad joke.
So updates and such.
It's currently winter break, which I am spending in Athens as opposed to spending it at home with my family. It's cool, kind of boring, but that's about what I was expecting. So I read, I play video games, I write a bit here and there, and in general try to keep myself occupied. It works for the most part.
As to what I'm writing, it's currently a 30 page monstrosity that I've been working on for about a month or so. I enjoy writing it, but it's going to need a lot of work before it's finished. And to be honest the amount of work that's going to be needed to get this to any state of completion is a tad daunting. But whatever, it's not like I have a whole lot of pressing matters eating up my time.
As far as everything else goes, I do my thing. I'll try and post more frequently, some kind of regular schedule might even be achieved! Or... not. In any case something will happen and you'll either hear about it, or you won't.
So updates and such.
It's currently winter break, which I am spending in Athens as opposed to spending it at home with my family. It's cool, kind of boring, but that's about what I was expecting. So I read, I play video games, I write a bit here and there, and in general try to keep myself occupied. It works for the most part.
As to what I'm writing, it's currently a 30 page monstrosity that I've been working on for about a month or so. I enjoy writing it, but it's going to need a lot of work before it's finished. And to be honest the amount of work that's going to be needed to get this to any state of completion is a tad daunting. But whatever, it's not like I have a whole lot of pressing matters eating up my time.
As far as everything else goes, I do my thing. I'll try and post more frequently, some kind of regular schedule might even be achieved! Or... not. In any case something will happen and you'll either hear about it, or you won't.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)