The Shrine of Trivia

Just off the well-traveled road of life is an interesting detour through a field of tidbits that surround the mountain obscura—its highest peaks cradling the Shrine of Trivia. Many have made the trip but few have done more than gather at the mountain's base for a spell before finding something useful to do. Guarded closely by irrelevance, the mighty walls of this great temple allow passage to a select few—dedicated monks who have taken the solemn vow of mediocrity. Those who have clawed their way up through the mountain's chaffy forest will soon find themselves caught up in a series of trials.

For the first trial, one must successfuly negotiate the garden maze of minutiae—many who enter this maze become so caught up in the garden's intricate distractions that they never leave. Should you look away from the garden long enough to notice the threadbare rope of timely quips, a quick social climb will bring you to the platau of disappointment. It is here that most decide the Shrine of Trivia is too great a detour and their travels along life's road soon continues. For those on a true pilgrimage, there is a winding stairway made from poor excuses and fragile justifications leading upward. Many have found that their justifications don't hold up or that there are impassible holes in their poor excuses. For these unfortunate souls, falling back into life's journey is quite jarring and often painful—to reach the top, one must pick their excuses and justifications carefully. Should you make the summit, you will find yourself staring at a gigantic door carved from the best promises. In the middle of this great door is a loop hole with a little man standing in front. His name is Caveat...

Only a most dedicated disciple of procrastination will be deemed worthy of the loop hole by Caveat. While I am not allowed to discuss the trial of Caveat in detail, I can tell you that I am fortunate enough to have been granted passage through the loop hole. It is said that those here in the Shrine of Trivia never truly appreciate the beauty and wonder that exists around them because there is always the lure of something else just around the next corner. I am thankfully not as easily distrac...

Looking for a good wrench...

Something is wrong with me. I no longer seem able to reconcile every aspect of my tidy and organized life. Somewhere, somehow, someone or something has sabotaged the simple order of my world. I'm not sure exactly when I first noticed it but things aren't working the way they're supposed to anymore. The many pieces of my life no longer fit together as perfectly as they once did. Like an old clockwork, some of my favorite excuses are worn and missing teeth. New components I thought could replace old or missing ones don't fit quite as they should and the idea of adding new machinations to the delicate balance of my routine fill me with dread. For someone who's prided himself on a deep self understanding, these latest malfunctions are quite alarming—there has to be a clearly defined point of corruption.

Perhaps it's my relationships? We all know that getting married can change things. Maybe I married prematurely? What if I married the wrong person? Is there such a thing as the right person? I suppose I could get caught up in this loop for a while but I fear it is nothing but a wild goose chase. You see, the order of my world was beginning to show signs of decay long before I met my wife. In fact, thinking on it more now, I believe that it was my marriage (a new, more powerful and complex mechanism designed to replace my bachelor systems) that made it possible to support the children peripherals I'd always wanted. While some may argue that my core systems were not designed to support the family component—the additional load forcing me to route energy to either original or the new family system but not both at the same time. To be honest, I think there was quite a lot of energy wasted before starting up my family. The amount of effort used now is much more focused and efficient. My life hasn't changed. Instead of fewer and older cogs and gears, I have newer more efficient systems in place to help me continue doing things my way.

I think that the malfunctions are being caused by an external force acting on the system. Could it be that I'm simply not investing enough time maintaining my routines? Is the very attempt to try and run a machine (which has changed over the years) as if no modifications were made causing these breakdowns? Perhaps it is simply time aging and wearing on things? What if there is no malfunction at all but simply my inability to accept that my life has changed? That would explain a lot of things. I suppose I'm not a 12-year-old boy any more. If I could allow myself to see that there's more to each day than video games and comic books...

No. That's not it at all.

Somewhere, there's a saboteur missing a good wrench.

Download this

I saw this cheerful image (courtesy of the RIAA) and found myself smiling. "When you pirate MP3s, you're downloading COMMUNISM"—the very thing erroding our fine society today. The U.S.S.R. didn't dissolve, they simply became hackers and have secretly been uploading 'communism' to the internet. What began as a 'hippie' open-source mentality was really communism striking back at our capitalist way of life. Linux was really developed in Siberia as guards with AK-47s paced above the programmer's cubicles. Use FireFox and take a bite out of that big anti-big-business pie with all yer other red friends.

Remember that each time you download that pirated copy of Gigli we're one step closer to having our own 'Checkpoint Charlies' between states. Seriously though, the various industries out to protect their gifts to the world (music, film, software, etc.) are kind of going about things the wrong way aren't they? If you look at the little guys in software, there's a practice known as shareware or 'try before you buy' employed. While this doesn't stop pirates from hacking or cracking their software, it's still a deterrent to some of the more 'casual pirates.' As for companies whining about a loss in profits, when a piece of software starts to require a second mortgage, people tend to look for alternative methods of software 'evaluation.'

As for movies, music, games and the like, these works are harder to explain away. Perhaps it's the 'getting away with it,' or simply that some people are too cheap to pay $12.00 for a CD. Movies too expensive at $20 while games even more so at $50 a pop? There are rental services like Netflix or Gamefly that allow you to have an infinite library of media sent to your mailbox.

Is pirating wrong? Sure. It's stealing. Are the peasants forced to resort to desperate actions? Sometimes. I'm sure, however, that regardless of how things ultimate play out, the communists will be the ones smiling in the end.

Old enough to look back

I remember looking at old photographs of my father and laughing at how silly he looked. His response always began with, "well back then..." or "in those days..." And I'd laugh some more as he'd patiently explain that it was once considered 'cool' to look that way. I can clearly recall lecturing my dad on the perils of black socks and tennis shoes as I made swishing sounds pacing in my parachute pants—nothing says 'cool' like a million zippers to nowhere. My son may laugh at my 'Miami Vice' look or scratch his head when trying to figure out why his father wore 18 outfits at the same time to achieve the ultimate 'layered look,' but he will not laugh at my music!

That's right. We're talking about Debarge! Just look at them. These guys are cool. The curly mullet, the shoe-string ties and up-turned collars. Is the guy on the right wearing a karate outfit or a band uniform? I don't know and I don't care—Debarge is so hip they can barely see over their collective pelvis. Ok, looking at them now, they do look kind of silly. The sad part is that I was a poor imitation of these guys. So imagine, if you will, attempting to look like them but not being as 'cool.'

While their look may be laughable now, their music still takes me back and brings a smile to my face. Sure, it may sound at times like the Bee Gees soprano section but the songs they sang were fun and addictive—a reflection of much simpler times. Now that my son is growing up in a world where my father's era of fashion will soon be back in style, I'll be the one making excuses while my dad and son get to point at old pictures and laugh. Thank God there is no evidence of my Howard Jones phase.

What goes around . . .

Be all that you can be

Some days you're untouchable. If the enemy is careless enough to run near your crosshairs, you arrange their personal face time with God. Other days, you spend more time in the great beyond than on the battlefield. Regardless of how well you do, a losing streak melts away the moment you make that impossible shot or pull off an unbelievable maneuver in a vehicle. For those moments when the teamwork just 'clicks' or you're the one that captures the flag when all others fail, Battlefield 2 truly makes you feel like the hero of the hour—even if your score is the lowest on the server. It is a remarkable mix of weapon and vehicle balance that allows players to play on their own terms and have fun with wildly different playstyles. I like to fly choppers (the AH-64 specifically) and am happiest swooping down on enemy tanks, hovering over flag capture points or simply providing a steady platform for my gunner to mow infantry down. When I'm not flying, I'm sniping—you can call me a coward from your grave ;-)

New additions to Battlefield are the Commander mode which allows you to issue orders and call artillery strikes from a top-down RTS-like map interface. Also new are the editions of squads and in-game voice chat. Another nifty hook to the new Battlefield is a persistent ranking system—earn enough experience in the field and you'll start to unlock better weapons. All of these extras add to the game without adding to its complexity. And, of course, the visuals are jaw-dropping——shadows fall realistically, soldiers look real and vehicles look like they weigh a ton all against some of the most panoramic vistas this side of full motion video.

While the game claims to be playable on lower-end machines, it definitely is a resource hog. A high-end graphics card and lots of RAM will make for a much smoother gaming experience. Also, if you don't have broadband, don't bother——not only will you have lag and stutter, you will also degrade the experience for everyone else unfortunate enough to share the server with you.

Matchmaking in this game has taken a step backward as you can not keep track of favorite servers, sync up with friends easily or accurately find a server with available slots to join. All of these issues are supposedly addressed in a large, upcoming patch (ver 1.3) to hit the 'net some time in the next few months. EA is also planning to release a Special Forces expansion to the series which will feature more black ops action (night infiltrations, stealth missions, sabotage operations and the like).

If you haven't played Battlefield 2, it's high time you got involved in the war. If you like to drive, fly, snipe, heal, lay anti-personel or anti-vehicle mines or just run around like Rambo with guns ablaze, the battlefield awaits. Come add to the mayhem and if you see me...

...pray I'm on your team.

Calling all samurai

I'm always excited to find another epic tale. Based on the Akira Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, this anime series retains the concept of a rag tag group of heroes thrown together against insurmountable odds. As an animated series, the artwork is a hybrid of traditional cell and computer generated images. Also, while the anime faithfully recreates the original beat for beat, it offers up its own twists and tweaks as well—the greatest of these being the era in which this all takes place. Samurai 7 is set in the future.

Giant mechs powered by samurai who have given up their bodies to control these leathal machines now terrorize the countryside. Villages have no choice but to pay the harsh extortion fees. All villages, that is, except one. In this town, the oppression has forced them to seek out mercenaries who will fight off the mechanical bandits in exchange for their only source of value—rice.

The first DVD in this series essentially lays the ground work for each of the characters and introduces five of the seven samurai who will wage war on behalf of the villagers. While slowly paced and with minimal action, the series does hint at things to come with some skirmishes between mecha-humans and our heroes. I was hoping for more on the action side (a la Ninja Scroll) but found myself yearning for more as the final credits rolled on disc one. It is difficult to guage any series from the first disc but something tells me this will definitely be one to watch.

The little director who couldn't

The Brother's Grimm is no fairytale. This film (as released) is one of the most disappointing and painful experiences I've had to endure. It was Shrek without the wit. Terry is plagued by rotten luck when it comes to shooting a film or even getting one released. This bad luck has also cost him the clout needed to maintain creative control. Without that control, the film manages to break through the guard rails of good storytelling and plunges into the abyss of mediocrity. What we have, instead of brave and bold storytelling, is the tale of a Studio's might stamping out the passionate flames of a brilliant director.

I am a long-time and die-hard fan of Gilliam's work. I consider him to be a cinematic visionary and a master of wonder. All of his films bring a heart, warmth and depth outdone only by their lush characters and deep visuals——except this one.

If there was something to be salvaged from this poorly cobbled script, I honestly believe Terry did it. I also believe that what magic Mr. Gilliam may have weaved was lost on the studio's cutting room floor. In Hollywood, most tales are interchangeable and generic enough that you can rewrite, slice, dice and splice them together many different ways and get wholly different films from the same footage. Not so with Terry's work——machinations so intricate that removing a scene, requiring him to change some dialog or simply asking if the 'tone' of the piece be altered can bring down the entire house of cards.

I hope that Gilliam will be allowed to re-cut the film for it's DVD release. Perhaps then I'll be able to see how much he was able to accomplish with the little room (or script) he was given. I don't blame Gilliam. I blame the studio. It is painfully obvious which scenes were battles lost and where fragments of soul were blindly removed from the story. That the man continues to try and tell enchanting tales in the cold hard reality of the Hollywood machine commands nothing less than awe from me——Don Quixote could not have appointed a better spiritual successor.

I'm not going to discuss the film as I don't think we've seen it yet——just a faded shadow of what Terry Gilliam intended.

Desperately seeking wonder

Ever since PONG, I've been fascinated and sometimes obsessed with video games. At one point, I remember long summer nights in front of my IBM monochrome monitor exploring the mysteries of Colossal Cave. These days, games have become so much more sophisticated that entire worlds are fleshed out for our curious alter egos to explore.

Games such as Guild Wars (pictured here) offer up a long and engaging story to work through while other titles simply present a vast world for you to discover at your own pace. No matter how cinematic or sophisticated the gameplay becomes, however, the thrills, immersion and wonder of that old Cave still haunt me. What has been lost since the days of the old text adventure? Is it that we've allowed our creative minds to become lazy and therefore require game designers to fill in the blanks with more polygons or do we simply lack the patience to fully adopt each new world's mythology? Perhaps the problem it is the abundance of these games which dilutes the experience of a single adventure—get stuck or bored with your current game and there are a dozen standing by to become your new time sink.

As an avid gamer for over 20 years, I've begun to wonder if I'll ever feel the immersive sense of wonder brought on by Infocom or the old Sierra adventure games. Maybe I have become jaded over the years—many a gamer lost faith during the dreaded CD-ROM/Full Motion Video 'Game' era—and look at today's over-licensed, cross-promoted clones as the standard for the future. Perhaps I frown upon today's meager offerings because I hold out hope that a new generation of entertainers will engage us with virtual delights previously thought unmarketable.

I believe that ultimately all entertainment will be interactive in varying degrees. Maybe it's time I start sharing my ideas here in the hopes of fueling a new movement, a new evolution of storytelling. I wish to help usher in a new era of wonder. Can you imagine it? If yes, let's dream together.

And so it begins . . .

If you're a glutton for obscura or simply enjoy peering into someone else's rambling interests, welcome.

I figured I'd try my hand at this 'Blog' thing so here I am. Not really sure exactly what I'll post here or if I'll even post again but I'm writing now. I hope to use all the various tools out there which make it possible to journal, share and archive whatever pops into my head.

I have to admit, they did make this whole journaling thing quite easy to do. With the threat of a possible audience, perhaps it will motivate me to be a bit more regular with my visits to 'blogville.'

One can hope ;)