Out Geeked

Jules recently discovered that you could purchase old school Nintendo games on the Wii and play them for under a fiver. She was quite excited when we downloaded Mario Bros. 3 and told me that she used to play it religiously. I really didn't believe her until we started to play and man, she knew EVERYTHING. She knew when to jump, where to jump, where the secret coins are, etc. etc. etc. I kept dying and was watching her play in complete amazment. I just got out geeked by my GF! Makes me feel proud somehow.

I later downloaded Double Dragon. For a game that has a character named "Abobo", it's held up against the test of time pretty well.

Paparazzi For Geeks

It must suck to be a celebrity. Every time you see them on TV or photographed in a magazine, they are always swarmed by paparazzi. Even Masi Oka has a small contingent of photographers following him once in a while.

There's an incredible demand for these paparazzi photos, mostly because normal folks want to see celebrities fall or be caught in compromising positions. Watching them trip over themselves or walk around without make up makes us feel like we're not any less then these glamorous stars, who are somehow superior beings because of their status. We really shouldn't need these photos to justify our existence, but somehow, it helps.

Until now, this feeling of justification was reserved for the TMZs of the world. Not any more! A new blog named PhotoshopDiasters has surfaced recently, citing surprisingly bad and often hilarious mistakes done by graphic pros. Photoshop geeks rejoice as press-release photos of a three-armed Beyonce are exposed, or a 6 fingered woman is used for the latest Grand Theft Auto ads.

Enjoy.

http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/

Penalty Shots Are Stupid

Millions of people glued their faces to the TV screen yesterday as Chelsea took on Manchester United in the Champions League finals. The teams were evenly matched and the outcome was ultimately decided with penalty kicks. Man U are your 2008 Champions League... uh... champions.

It's really unfair for the game to end this way. Here are two of the world's best teams, both utilizing superior passing, conditioning, defence, team chemistry, and other elements to get to the finals. The champion was then decided on ONE single element of the game, penalty kicks, of which majority of the goaltender's chances of defending a shot is guessing where the shooter will place the ball. The team element is gone. The essence of the game is gone.

Hockey has recently (2005-2006 season) adapted to deciding a draw game on penalty shots as well; while understandably it is an easy solution to decide a clear victor, consider what happens if we applied this principle to other competitions:

• Rather then playing extra innings until a winner is decided, baseball will now hold a home run derby after the 10th inning.
• Rather then playing overtime, basketball games will now be determined by foul shots. Better yet, a slam dunk contest.
• If there's a tie in a golf tournament, it will be decided by a long drive competition. The person who hits it the furthest wins, best out of 5.
• Rashad Evans fought Tito Ortiz in UFC 73 and judges ruled a draw between the fighters. This could have been solved if they took turns trading punches in the face to see who loses a tooth first.
• The final contestants in spelling bees will now have a staring contest. Loser laughs first.

Penalty shots. Ridiculous.

Another Dailymotion Gem

Hillarious spoof on Christian music, bang on with the mannerisms and personalities. Love the Rick Warren tribute Hawaiian shirt...

Jesus People - Episode 1
Uploaded by jesuspeople

Persepolis

A couple of weeks before my departure to London, I stockpiled on some movies in case I needed to kill time while job hunting. Within my pile was Persepolis, nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars and based on a critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. It came highly recommended by a movie buff friend, and I was intrigued by the style of the movie and it's unique coming of age story. When I finally got around to watching it last week, I was all proud of myself because this movie had just started playing in London cinemas.


To my dismay, Persepolis was a French film and the copy I got was void of any English subtitles. There's an English dubbed version with the talents of Sean Penn and Iggy Pop, but this wasn't it. I decided to brave through it anyway, figuring that the stylistic animation will keep me from yawning and I'd be able to guesstimate the plot. I was right. The film was funny, witty, and at times disturbing. I got all that from not understanding a single word of the dialogue.


After watching the film, I bought the graphic novel to catch all the bits that I missed. As it turns out, Persepolis was a FRENCH graphic novel as well. Luckily, with the release of the film, I was able to easily find ample copies in English.


The book is a detailed autobiography of the author, Marjane Satrapi. Born and raised in war-torn Iran, her parents flew her to Austria for a better life. She later returns to Iran, only to find herself trying to readjust to a society that she no longer truly belongs in. The book feels like a diary, with snippets of memories that somehow all fit together. It also gives a very rare first person account of of what happened in Iran during that time.

For those who still think of comics as a medium strictly for superheros and jugheads, this book will change your perception in an instant. I'm convinced that Satrapi was able to tell her story far better with images then with just words alone. Her illustration style is very basic, all in black and white (not even a shade of grey), and it works very well in conveying her perception on her life's events.

I think I'm going to watch Persepolis (the movie) again, seeing how much I've missed in the dialogue. But this time, I'm gonna find it in English.

Mobile Observations [March08]

[ain't she pretty?]

[try reading this sign, written in "Scottish"]

[strange fruit... or is it a veggie?]

[com'on, you know that's funny]

[accidentally came across a Manhua exhibit in an art college...
I didn't think chinese comics were big enough to be recognized like that?]

[caught some band named Kap Bambino with Buff the night before he left...
essentially a DJ and a screaming chick... the 300 hipsters in the pub approves]

[butthead: "uh-huh-huhuhuhuhuh"
beavis: "bunghole! bungholio!"]

Tron 1.2

I'm a big fan of Tron. I might be the only fan of Tron. Tron was made in 1982, and was probably the very first blockbuster movie to be made with computer graphics. Way ahead of its time. Without it to pave the way, we wouldn't have Pixar, Terminator 2, or The Incredible Hulk.

By the way, my cousin did the texture art for The Hulk and Abomination in the movie.

Uh... where were we. Ah yes, back to Tron. I found this wicked stop motion tribute to a true pioneer. Bask in it's glory. Bask!!

Tron
Uploaded by freres-hueon

7 Down

I <3 my 3Skypephone

I'll admit it, I had an unhealthy emotional attachment to my phone in Toronto. The Moto A1200 is an excellent phone, did just about everything except make you bacon for breakfast in the morning, and it isn't readily available in North America. It brought me much bragging rights, and beeped at me when I have important things to do. Like buying concert tickets at 10 in the morning.

When I got to London, I had a dilemma. I wanted to go on the 3 network with my A1200 because their plans really were the best for me. Unfortunately, only 3G phones could get on their network. The A1200, as amazing as it is, is NOT a 3G phone. Dammit.

After a brief greiving period for my old phone (5 minutes), I decided that it's best to buy a new phone. Man, am I ever glad that I did. I got the 3Skypephone, a meek looking phone which packs a surprising punch. It's like the Luke Cuomo of phones.

It came in handy several times already, here's how:

• For about $10 a month, you get unlimited internet access. This made my near 10 hour bus journey to Edinburgh much more pleasant
• I'm able to keep in touch with friends and family over MSN on the road
• Downloaded Google Maps on the phone and saved me several times from losing my manhood (i.e. ask a stranger for directions)
• FREE Skype to Skype calls directly from my mobile. I was talking to friends in HK and (not) Detroit with a press of a button
• With a bit of hacking, I can call my family on their phone for next to nothing without sacrificing any of my precious mobile minutes

I feel like a gold digger, now completely attached to my new 3Skypephone simply because it can offer so much more to me.

Moto who? Never heard of her.