MOVED to Tall and Geeky

This blog has now died.

After a short hiatus, I moved my blog to http://tallandgeeky.wordpress.com/ This blog will be shut down shortly. Thanks for reading!

The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz Review

Last week I went and saw The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz (MSBB), a two hour play by Manitoban writer Armin Wiebe and directed by Kim McCaw. MSBB is a one set play that focuses on the inner relationships between four core characters, Susch, Beethoven, Obrum, and Teen.

Set on a small Mennonite farm in the prairies, MSBB takes a look at the life of devoted married couple Susch and Obrum Kehler. The big problem between the two lovers is that they can't have any children. They have great bed shaking sex but unfortunately none of their fornication has lead to tiny unpaid farm helpers.

That's where Beethoven Blatz comes in. Beethoven is a strange piano obsessed chap who comes into Obrum and Susch's life to fix a broken piano Obrum had bought for his wife. As the play progresses the audience doesn't learn too much about Beethoven (other than he's slightly mad). But he gives the play its central conflict and resolution as Susch and Obrum come to terms that they can not reproduce with each other.

And last, there is Teen, a neighbour of the Kehler's and Susch's best friend. She is the moral one in the play who tends to speak her mind and is always looking out for her friend's happiness.

All four actors in MSBB do a really good job playing their parts. Eric Nyland plays the off kilter Beethoven with ease and a craze that comes off effortlessly. Tracy Penner nails the her part as the wife who struggles with her love for her husband and her want for a child at any cost. Tom Keenan does a fine job as the hopeless husband, but his Mennonite accent seemed to wane at times. Daria Puttaert did a good job at portraying strong hearted and one line zinger Teen.

Armin Wiebe said in his talkback that it he started thinking of ideas for this play in 1996.
Having watched the play, it is evident that the characters have lived inside his head for a long time, all having fully fleshed out character traits and wants.

His talkback in a whole was rather vague to me however, as I don't think I received a deeper understanding for the play after he spoke to us (the uncomfortable writer persona shinning through). When asked why he featured Ludwig Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor), the response we received was because he liked it. I was hopping for more of an explanation as the piece is rampantly featured in the play, but que sera sera.

MSBB is not a play that I would have picked to go to myself. The plot for the play isn't the most original, but the characters and their quirks made the play interesting overall. I'd give it 3 Roger Ebert's out of 5.

My Mother Bought a 3DS - Welcome to the Game System Revolution

A tinier me on the 3DS

My mother bought a 3DS this past weekend. She headed down to Shoppers Drug Mart handed over her chalked filled points card and got a virtually free gaming system. Yes, my fifty year old mother owns a 3DS before her technological and game system savvy twenty-three year old daughter.

Luckily for me, I have a kind mother who has let me fool around with her shiny aqua 3DS. (Okay, I ran away with it and she is at the moment hunting me down. So if I don't return any calls or if you don't see me in the next week -- I'm six feet under.)

Old vs New

The 3DS is approximately the same size of a DS Lite, but it weights a bit more than its game device ancestor. When I first opened the 3DS, I was surprised at how capable the 3D graphics were. It is like having a small 3D movie theater in the palm of your hand. I like not having to wear the horrible 3D glasses over my own prescription pair (which has to be one of the most uncomfortable things ever). The downside is that you really have to stare straight-on to get the full 3D effect (or it looks all awkward with lines all funny and shapes blurred).

The system comes with some AR Cards that let you play a few simple 3D games like fishing and archery. They're not much, but they do show off the power of the game system. But after a few playthroughs, they become monotonous and don't add much to the gaming repertoire.

These are the cards that hold a window into your 3DS' soul

Unfortunately, I don't own any 3DS games yet. Yeah, so not much is going on in that department. I did try a few DS games on the handheld however, and they play fine. I really like being able to use the slide pad as it makes playing games feel more natural after playing on the bigger consoles (I played Okamiden and it felt right at home having played its bigger mama game before). The downside to playing DS games on the 3DS is that games are stretched and get a washed-out effect, colours muted and drab looking. There is a cheat to get a better resolution if you hold down the Select and Start button when you press the game icon however. It makes the game screen really tiny though, four big black bars surrounding game image on the top and bottom screen.

Another downside is that the Nintendo eStore will not be available until May. That means no downloads (DS or 3DS wise). No internet connection as it is either. For a $250 machine, you think they would at least have the internet working for their launch. And let 3DS users access the DSiWare shop.

Me and my mother's 3DS

As of now, the 3DS is only a beautiful piece of equipment that sits in its personal cradle imploring me to buy a game that will show off its full potential. I stand my my previous post that Nintendo hasn't released any game that I need to play right now (I have a real cat and Super Street Fighting IV is on every system). I'll be waiting not so patiently for the summer and fall releases instead. Bur for now I'll stick to playing PC games like Wandering Willows and Gemini Rue (a Pokemon/Animal Crossing/FarmVille/Rune Factory hybrid strategy game and a noir-thriller adventure game), until Nintendo really wants to wow me.

George Takei as Spider-Man

You have my vote Mr. Takei.

Nintendo 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS came out Sunday in America, bought by thousands of people who couldn't wait to get their hands on the 3D gaming system. Unfortunately, I was not apart of that vague statistic.

Besides living on a student budget, the 3DS game launch hasn't released anything that I have to buy immediately. Not even knowing about future releases like Zelda: Ocarina of Time can make me purchase the 3DS in a impassioned Nintendo frenzy (I still own it on the N64). But hearing about later releases such as Harvest Moon, the Phoenix and Layton crossover, Paper Mario, and the Shin Megami Tensei games, I question if the previous sentence was just said out of bitterness and jealously.

I think I might wait for the next incarnation of the 3DS to come out (like I did for the DS). Nintendo tends to launch their systems with a small handful of games I'd like to play, but as its catalog grows bigger and its selection better, my need to buy their system grows with it.

Netflix

I recently got Netfilx. Not because it seemed like the most amazing thing ever, but because the first month was free and I had a little time off to watch some TV (this being back in February when we had Reading Week at college). After the free month, the subscription was renewed, because well, they have some good programing.

Netflix isn't the place you go for all the new releases and action packed jems, but for older TV shows, foreign films, independent movies, and documentaries, it has a good fledgling database. Without Netflix I never would have checked out Jekyll, a BBC program that takes a new spin on the old theories behind the original book, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; Soap, a satirical and comical show that makes fun of soap themes and storylines; finished the first season of Community, a show about a ragtag team of community college students who join a study group; or watched strange but interesting movies like TIMER and Dragon Hunters. Hell, I even learned a few things by watching Terry Jones: Medieval Lives.

On the anime side, I've also been watching Soul Eater and trying to work my ways towards watching Hell Girl. They also have one of my favourite anime series, Seirei no Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit to watch. A anime that has sadly been neglected by many.

I don't think Netflix is for everyone. If you like new releases and need to be on top of Hollywood's A game, going through Shaw or MTS for your movie needs might be a better idea. But for me, I like how I can catch up on the oldies and watch indie films on the go. It's a cheaper way to get your movie and TV fix.

Dragon Age 2 Thoughts

I would like to say that I've played Dragon Age 2 until my retinas started to bleed and my fingers grew so worn from the analog stick I couldn't play anymore. But alas, I have not been able to spend as much quality time with the game as I would have liked. However, from what I have played, it has been.... different.

I get how people have complained that DA2 is a dumbed down version of Dragon Age: Origins -- as it is in some regards. The game play is a lot easier and the new abilities for your Hawke and party members are more powerful which makes gameplay simpler and quicker.

A big gripe of mine in DA2 is all the reused environments. In DA:O the world was expansive and the environments were rich with culture and history. But in DA2, you're stuck in Kirkwall with environments/dungeons that are the same EVERY time. I mean, even if you enter one area from a totally different section in the game, you find yourself back at a location you were just in 10 minutes ago. I understand that BioWare was strapped for time, but that is lazy game development. In DA:3 they better shape-up and make the world immersive once again.

Although the world of DA:2 is lackluster, I like the characters that live inside of Kirkwall. I enjoy all the new companions, but at times they seem 100x more emo then the last cast of characters. Even the happy go-lucky companions have a past fraught with sadness and despair. However, I like the romance options in DA2. Right now, I've only had the chance to get to 3rd base with Anders, but I like how Anders and Hawke's relationship has progressed over time.

Quests have been interesting so far, but the game seems a lot shorter than the 50+ hours I put in DA:O (some which I just spent running around doing nothing of consequence). I want more game! (And paying for DL content doesn't count.)

In all I like DA2, but it feels like a completely different game than DA:O. It's not a true sequel. Its a branch in the DA universe, but that's it. Which is a bit of a shame, as I would have liked to played DA:O2.

Cowboy Bebop and Mass Effect

Cowboy Bebop + Mass Effect = Perfect Duo

Now I want to simultaneously play Mass Effect and watch Cowboy Bebop.

The next ME3 recruit squad anyone?

Dragon Age 2 Demo - First Impressions

You know you're a true badass when you're flanked by a dragon

My blog is full of BioWare love. I can't deny it. I love Dragon Age: Origins and the Mass Effect series. But what happens when two beloved series combine into a mesh called Dragon Effect? Well, there are good and bad aspects.

Let's start with good and work our way down.

Good:

• Aveline looks incredibly kick ass.
• The rogue and mage abilities seem refined; spells seem more robust and rogue abilities feel more, well, roguish. Not just a hack off the swordsman's abilities.
• For the most part, I like the voice actors picked. I like the choice for male Hawke, but female Hawke's voice is a little soft for me and sounds familiar to Bethany's VO. However I love the picks for Fenris and Sebastian (sure they weren't in the demo, but hot damn. Sebastian's VO alone made me glad I pre-ordered.) Isabella's voice actor is still strong and I like Aveline's VO as well (I kinda wish it had been Hawke's...)

Limbo:

• The new Final Fantasy looking experience/attributes/skills system. I realize that the old system didn't give much room to pick different abilities and traits, but I feel like I'm playing FFXII every time I look at it.
• Female Hawke's swaying ass when she runs as a mage. It was... distracting.
• Varric narrating the story. I like Varric as a character, but it's off putting to be pulled out of the storyline at a moments whim. I can only hope it's in better integrated into the actual game. And what's up with Varric having the ability to lie about events? Am I playing the real story of Hawke, or am I just being fed shit?

Bad:

• The font. It looks like ants have creeped onto my television set. I have to be in make-out position before the text is readable. There was a similar problem for people in ME2 that consumers complained about, which BioWare said they'd fix in ME3. And yet we get even smaller print in DA2. Fix it.
• Funny graphic rate. I'll say that it's the demo's fault for now, but on my Xbox, the frame rate seemed sluggish at times and white lines kept appearing out of knowhere. It even froze once while I was playing mage Hawke and kicked me out.

The rest of bad is under cut for SPOILERS.

Sick so here are some vids.

I wanted to talk about the Dragon Age 2 demo that came out recently, but I'm feeling quite under the weather, so here are two videos instead.

Dragon Age Redemption! I will be watching.

I want to learn how to sing this.

Facebook vs. Twitter

Image taken from Radical

I am not the biggest Tweeter or Facebooker in the world. My use of Twitter comes down to tweeting about this blog when I update it, and Facebook I randomly use to update my status. Twitter has become a professional media device, while Facebook is more casual and personal. So really, it is all about professional vs. personal social media.

When I use Twitter, I tweet blog updates and follow other CreCommers and famous people. I try to make engaging sentences for my tweets, limited by 140 characters. It is purely professional for the most part, my Twitter account being a representation of my web persona. It's a PR tool for me to get my word out about school and blog related activities. On Twitter, I don't divulge personal information or talk about how my cat just hurled on my favourite jacket – but I will on Facebook.

Facebook is a more relaxed space. As I'm not a superstar, my Facebook account is used for my own personal benefit to keep in contact with friends. I don't have teachers on my Facebook, or people related to work; on Facebook I don't have to as closely monitor what I say, or care about what audience I am reaching. I don't think about who my latest Facebook status will benefit. Facebook is a place where I can talk about the awesome fantastic sandwich I bought and make meet-up dates with friends.

Facebook can be used as a PR tool, but then it needs to have a focus. I will have to go out of my way to make a group that people will want to join, or make an account that serves my professional needs, never to discuss how watching Vampire Diaries while sipping hot cocoa is the best thing ever. 

In the end, both Twitter and Facebook can be used for PR, but you have to decide on an angle for each one. Twitter for me is a professional medium, while Facebook is a personal one.

Mario Hits The Streets

<br/><a href="http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/mario-kart-in-real-life/1j44psngz?from=video_module&src=v5:embed:&fg=sharenoembed" target="_new"title="Mario Kart In Real Life">Video: Mario Kart In Real Life</a>

Fantastic.

Star Trek - Love Boat

Have you ever wondered how different Star Trek: The Next Generation would have been if it had taken place on The Love Boat? No? Well, good thing this blog is mine.



Patrick Stewart, never change.

Publishing: A Tale of Two Options

Book image taken from St. Michael's College where they learn too.

I have often fantasized about publishing one of the numerous story ideas that float around in my mind. But in these fantasies, I have never given much thought about the publishing process – my daydream beginning after the publishing aspect, where I sign autographs for adorning fans, get a movie deal, and sit on my couch stuffed with hundred dollar bills. However, as I am starting to writing my novel for school, I have begun thinking more and more about how I will publish it in the future.

There are a few avenues to stardom that I can take:

1. Find a publisher and get them to publish my novel

2. Self-publish an e-book or hard copy

The first option has multiple perks and one great downfall. The perks are that I will have an editor (which is duly needed), and a whack of other people dedicated to selling my novel. But on the negative side, I only get 10% of the royalties from my book. That means if my book is $20, I get 2 bucks a pop. Ouch.

So let's say I sell 100 copies of my book. That's only $200 for all my sweat, tears, and a year (or years) of living like an aquariam dolphin. That $200 would give me enough cash to buy groceries once. So if I go the publishing route, I may just have to sacrifice a goat to ensure that I make it big, or get another job on the side. (And no I wouldn’t sacrifice an actual goat. I’m a hard and true veggie-head.)

The second option is that I publish my book through e-publishing. Going the e-publishing root unfortunately means that I won’t have an editor or publisher (unless a publisher like Harlequin picks me up for their new e-book line), and I won't have a hard copy of my book that bookstores can shelve away. Getting the word out about my book becomes substantially harder as well.

Self-publishing is a difficult route to go, but the venues for self-publishing are growing rapidly. It also means that my profit will substantially increase as companies like Lulu give the writer 50% or more of the royalties for every book sold (depending on how you print your novel – e-book or hard/soft cover style). Or I can just upload it to iBooks and set a price and BAM! Instant book. Yet, these paths are also fraught with the fact that telling the world about my amazing novel will rest on my sole shoulders.

If I want to get the best of both worlds, I could go the e-book route and print off a few hard copies for family and friends (and possibly try to get McNally to pick up a few). I might even think of hiring a freelance editor, which could increase the quality of my work.

For my IPP, I still want to go the publishing root first. Why? Because I would like someone to go over and edit my work and have people guide me through the whole publishing process. But if I get rejected across the board, I am thinking about taking the self-publishing route (or perhaps I`ll take the more undignified option where I sob into my grandmothers tea-towels as I pack all my hopes and dreams into a box in my basement).

In the end, I think both routes are viable ways to get a book published. But in the future, I see e-book publishing being the easy money banker, as technology keeps changing and people and books with it.

My Star Trek Mug

Last summer I went to a Jerome, Arizona and bought one of the most awesome and badass mugs I have ever had the pleasure of looking at.

It's a Star Trek mug that radiates amazing as Kirk and Spock stare off into the distance, the two wearing their serious captain and fascinating faces. On the back (or front depending on how you look at your mug), the Starship Enterprise hits warp speed. The Enterprise obviously going on a journey to a treacherous planet that Kirk and Spock will visit – alone. And like all good fanfics, this is where pon farr hits Spock as fast as a drunkenly acquired STD, Kirk being the only person available to cure the logic debilitating psychophysical condition.

But that’s enough of exposing my hidden fantasies to the world. Let's get on to the pics.

Try not feeling the stir of exhilaration when you look into their sensual gazes.
You can't.
 

You want to watch Star Trek now. I can sense it.

I found this exquisite mug at a movie theater/novelty store hybrid shop. A place that can only exist in a town like Jerome.

Jerome isn't a big town, but it contains some of the most interesting artwork and ideas that I have ever seen. It is a hotbed for art, jewellery, and crazy-wicked stores, making the town very tourist friendly. In fact most people’s livelihood in Jerome comes from tourism.

One of the neatest and bizarre shops in Jerome is a whore house that was turned into an artish-brothel-sex shop-marilyn monroe-1950s call girl-gift shop. Try finding a place like that in Winnipeg.

I also enjoyed visiting the art galleries. At one, I even purchased a painting of a robot in space.

Jerome is one of the best places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting for a day.

Mario Paint Composer Music is Swell

Okay, I found these videos a while back, and I'd thought I'd share the finally tuned love. I have never tried Mario Paint Composer, but even if I had, I don't think I could ever redo Zelda songs, or any other for that matter. Kudos to all who have!

Note: For fun, watch these two videos and see if you can guess the song names and which game the music is from. (Personally, I did better on the Zelda one.)

                               Can you name each Zelda song?

                 Have you played each game featured in this video?

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - First Impressions

Image taken from GameSpot

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective arrived faithfully at my door a day ago, and since then my fingers have been feeling rather wane and cramped, from the hurt of extended button poking and stylus holding. Or maybe it’s ‘cause outside it’s -30°C and I need to wear a parka in my house to stay warm.

I have to say right off the bat, that there may be a bit of bias in my love of Ghost Trick, as the Ace Attorney series is one of my favourites (both games created by Shu Takumi). But having gone through preliminaries, I can see how someone can like Ace Attorney and not Ghost Trick or vice versa. Game play is very different between the two games, Ghost Trick relying on physics, object manipulation, and mapping out a series of events in a short amount of time – while Ace Attorney is all about detective work, interrogations, and courtroom drama. But the fundamentals that made Ace Attorney so well liked such as hilarious dialogue, off-beat characters, and winding plot twists, haven’t missed a mark in Ghost Trick.

Suit-dude, Lynne, Sissel, and Kamila. You wish you had their hair.

Ghost Trick follows a man named Sissel, who recently died, and his journey to unravel the mystery behind his death. On his quest for truth, Sissel learns that he can interact with the dead and go back four minutes in time to try and stop their usually humorous and tragic deaths. He does this by going between the Land of the Living and the Ghost World, where time stands still and he can manipulate inanimate objects, and prevent unfortunate demises.

I haven’t finished the game yet, but from what I’ve played, the game has been excellent. The puzzles that you have to solve go from easy hard, but never brain-exploding hard. There is also a wonderful rewind feature in the game that lets Sissel replay a puzzle as many times as he has to until he solves the puzzle – with no penalties (that I know of so far).

As of right now, I’d totally recommend people checking this game out, especially adventure and puzzle game fans. So go forth and buy people! And while you’re at it, can you buy me a heater?

Manga Mad - Video/Short Documentary

Sorry that my blog has been dead as of lately all. During winter break I went into hibernation and it has been hard to get back into the blogging sphere. I hope to write up something on Hotel Dusk: Room 215 soon... and since those words have now been etched into blog-stone, I have to hold myself to it!

Meanwhile, here is a short and interesting documentary called Manga Mad, which is about manga in Japan, and its impact on Japanese culture. Some of the subtitles made me go :/ but overall it was a fascinating video that I would recommend people to watch - especially manga beginners (and it's free to watch on YouTube. Which makes everyone happy in this age). And if you're an offical manga guru/otaku, it’s worth watching for the images of Japan alone.

If you ever wanted to know what manga is, but didn't have a clue where to start, check this out. You'll learn something.

Pseudo-Events - Flash Mobs - A Time to Sing Cheer

Pseudo-events are publicity stunts organized to get people to talk about said organization or person. One of the more popular and larger based pseudo-events is a flash mob. Flash mobs are when a group of people get together and organize a large-scale event that will surprise other people who are not involved. Many flash mobs take place in a mall for promotion, ergo to impress mall-goers.

If you've been living in Canada for even nary a year, you'll have heard of the Christmas Food Court Flash Mob that took place in Ontario. The flash mob was created for promotion of Alphabet Photography (a store in The Welland Seaway Mall), as well as a video card to clients. The idea came from its owner Jennifer Blakeley. She contacted Chorus Niagara to help with her idea, and with support from Seaway mall president Mike Belcastro, set the mob in motion.

On November 13, 2010 Chorus Niagara broke out singing Hallelujah in the mall's food court to the surprise and wonderment of its shoppers. Alphabet Photography uploaded the video days later and it has become and instant YouTube success with close to 30 million views.

With millions of people viewing the video, I can guess that business for Seaway mall and Alphabet Photography has gone up. Having the video released for Christmas was a genius idea as that's when families get together and want to share sweet and interesting holiday videos with each other - a cluster of people singing Hallelujah in a mall filling that void. The video going viral was also helped by news stations like CBC or the BBC picking up the story, the video spreading like wildfire throughout Canada, the US, and some places in Europe.

Alphabet Photography successfully achieved great PR and created a pseudo-event that will be remembered through continuous viral footage and word of mouth.



For more flash mobs, check out Top 7 Flash Mobs Of All Time, where businesses like T-Mobile get on the bandwagon and flash dance to a compilation of songs.