jieison no brog

Red Ring of Death. You are so awesome. I guess this is...

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:54:00 +0900

Red Ring of Death. You are so awesome. I guess this is Microsoft’s way of telling me to play The Force Unleashed on the PS3.

"Force Unleashed is certainly less ambitious than the classic “Jedi Knight” games - and..."

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:16:32 +0900

“Force Unleashed is certainly less ambitious than the classic “Jedi Knight” games - and ultimately, its design makes it feel more videogame-y and less of an all-engrossing Star Wars experience than Xbox entries like “Jedi Knight II” or “Jedi Academy.” But when the game is on, it’s on.”

- Official Xbox Magazine

Well good fucking thing it’s a video game, right? I mean, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like my video games feeling like video games. After all, we all like to play other Star Wars games for their mountains of tedious text-based conversations and not to, you know, be “videogame-y”.

Chinese is the roar!

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:39:01 +0900

Chinese is the roar!

Well, at least China doesn't discriminate

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:37:40 +0900

Saw an article about some elderly people (in their late 70’s) who may go to labour camp for a year, because their permission for a protest in a designated protest zone was denied. Are they perhaps going to the labour camp because they went ahead and protested anyway? Nope. Their infraction seems to be requesting permission.

And what was their protest? Problems with communism? Nope. Unhappy about Taiwan and Tibet? Nope. They’re upset because China has not given them the compensation they were promised years ago when they were forced out of their homes for real estate development (maybe for the Olympic grounds). The nerve of those elderly people!

The scary thing is that with China not hiding the fact that it beats and intimidates people who think against the grain, you have to seriously wonder what sort of outcome was issued for the people whose grievances were addressed and resolved by the government. “Oh, you don’t like the fact that we won’t tell you what happened to your journalist son who went missing after being escorted away by police officers three years ago? Well we don’t like the fact that you keep asking us about it. Maybe if we break your ribs again you’ll learn to stop asking.”

Now I think I have a more clear understanding why Cheney likes having a strong relationship with China.

Ninjas! On roller skates!

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:36:24 +0900

Ninjas! On roller skates!

McCain PR rolls a zero

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:45:46 +0900

So in a recent blog post on McCain’s official site a stab was made at Dungeons & Dragons players, claiming that they “disparage a fellow countryman’s memory of war from the comfort of mom’s basement”. The odd thing is, the blog entry was in response to an article on another political website, to which I find no D&D association - so I don’t understand why he brought up that… um.. constituency(?).

Further hilarity ensues at the end of the article where a fellow POW’s remark was used in regards to D&D players that they are a “desperate group of people trying to make something out of nothing.” Interesting that politicians would make a remark like that towards gamers. Not like politicians to ever make a scape-goat of many of society’s ills on something like games. And why alienate that demographic? The last time I played any pen & paper games was before I finished high school, but I know a lot of people well into decades beyond me in age that still play, and I am sure they may not take kindly to being lumped into one mentality - and insulted.

What perplexes me the most about all this is why the didn’t go after players of World of Warcraft, or Grand Theft Auto (the Concerned Parents of America™’s scientifically proven 100% effective way to turn all players into gangsters and serial killers Game of the Century). I could understand that because those games are in the spotlight. But D&D? Could you even find an older gaming controversy?

Or maybe McCain thinks he’s running for President in 1980…

New James Bond movie theme song… Well, maybe not.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:36:27 +0900

New James Bond movie theme song… Well, maybe not.

Hello friends! My name is Tino! Do you like the drum? Great,...

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:58:09 +0900

Hello friends! My name is Tino! Do you like the drum? Great, man! I love the drum!

Six words. Boogaloo Shrimp. AquaFresh. Japanese TV...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:13:28 +0900

Six words. Boogaloo Shrimp. AquaFresh. Japanese TV Commercial. What else need be said?

More Olympic thoughts

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:58:00 +0900

With the time I had off last week, Momoko and I (and to an extent, Akanè) watched a good bit of Japanese Olympic coverage. I could bitch about how their coverage focused almost so exclusively on Japan that if they got 5th place in an event, you might not know who got the gold, silver or bronze until several minutes later. I have seen American and Australian coverage, and while it is obvious a country would spend more energy covering their respective country’s results, at least they would interview the winners - regardless from which country they came. Not Japan.

But, this is not my main complaint. No, this time I want to complain about a broader aspect of the competition. Hurdles, pole-vaulting, swimming, jumping, cycling and others are sports where a victor is so easily a decided that even 5 year olds who can’t speak the same language as one another can agree who is the victor in each instance. Who crossed the finish line first? Who jumped the farthest? Who scored more goals / homeruns / baskets? Who lifted the most weight? There are definitive criterion that leave little room for debate who comes out on top. But then we have synchronised swimming, some equestrian events and the bulk of gymnastics. How the hell can these be considered competitive sports?

Don’t get me wrong. I watched some and found these guys to be talented - especially the people who didn’t fall. But the fact that it takes a panel of judges who don’t always agree with one another to determine the score for each contestant makes me think these events need to get dumped. When I watched the men’s horse event (the gymnast bar with two handles, not the animal) last night, I thought all the gymnasts were great, and pulled off some scary manoeuvres. But I fail to see how there can be a clear set of objective criteria which dictate inarguably who was better than whom (aside from the people who obviously messed up their routines).

Perhaps if there was something set up like who can do the most number of backflips in X amount of time, who can keep their body at a 45° incline on the rings the longest or other things of this sort, then I could see a more easily defined competitive aspect to most gymnastics upon which everyone could agree who would be the victor. As it stands, though, we’re mostly left with little girls flipping around parallel bars, and guys twirling their bodies on horses.

Anyway, that is my take. I don’t expect everyone to agree, and I am sure there will be some people who have valid arguments as to why these events should remain. Just consider me to be one of the judges who would give your argument a lower score than other judges might. ^___^

More on censorhsip

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:57:00 +0900

So there is a violent video game coming out for the Wii in the not too distant future. We had Biohazard 4 / Resident Evil 4 already (which was pretty damn violent) but apparently this game (which no one has really played yet) is so violent that some dude in the UK wants to exploit the rating system and deny it a classification. Doing so would, well… Here is what he said: “Without that it cannot be marketed in Britain. What the rest of world does is up to them. We need to ensure that modern and civilized values take priority rather than killing and maiming people.”

He is concerned that the release of this game being solely on the Wii would tarnish its family friendly appeal - which I guess blowing off people’s heads or being ripped in twain with a chainsaw in RE4 didn’t do. This means, of course, it is “for the children”. Well, dill-hole, that is why there are game ratings. If it says “M” or “18+” or whatever the hell your country uses, then it’s up to the parents to not let their kids purchase or play those games if they think they aren’t ready for it. But apparently we have moved beyond personal responsibility and need to just dive head first into the realm of straight up banning and censorship. Nice.

Nevermind that real studies (ie studies performed by independent groups with nothing to gain, not those carried out by parental groups with an agenda) have shown that playing violent games actually acts as an outlet for aggression and helps decrease the amount of violence carried out by gamers. Those shouldn’t count because of the rare occurrence when someone who isn’t attached to reality uses games as a reason for their crimes. Blaming the illness instead of the criminal’s said motivation is a sound logic only reserved for the times when Jehovah is used as the reason.

Anyway, given his reasons for not wanting a game such as that to be released, maybe someone should introduce him to the worlds of film, television and literature. Oh, and maybe the real world.

McCain & The Internet

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:17:11 +0900

Here’s a nice little bit of information I was linked to today. Turns out that McCain wants to allow for ISPs to regulate the internet in terms of content and free speech. I won’t go on about how that sucks major ass, because that should be pretty obvious. But what I will do is pose a question:

If McCain can be high and mighty about his view that Obama would be ill-equipped to handle war because of lack of experience, then wouldn’t the same hold true for internet policy from a man who until less than a month ago was only “aware of the internet”?

As far as I am concerned now, a vote for McCain is a vote for evil. After all, wasn’t “not having open internet” one of the things everyone has been lamenting over in regards to China? How would this be any different?

Victory... By any means necessary

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:54:00 +0900

Here’s a question: If China is willing to go to the highest levels of government to endorse a lie about the singing of their national anthem (to give China a good image), then how far do you think they will go to ensure they win gold (arguably a better way to give their nation a good image)?

Apparently they may go so far as to warp space and time, because it seems as though when they reported that one of the Olympic hopefuls was only 13 earlier this year she managed to be 16 (the youngest age possible to compete in the games). After all, there is no way that China could possibly produce fake documents to show that they are of the correct age, right? No one has that technology available to them.

My main curiosity now is whether or not the Olympic Committee will actually investigate this and take away the medals these girls won if it turns out they are underage. If there is no serious investigation into this you can pretty much count on me not ever giving a shit about the Olympics again. Of course, China is not accustomed to journalists asking its government “troubling” questions and has already responded to further investigation from the media as follows: “We already explained this very clearly. There’s no need to discuss this thing again.” Classy. So does this mean, then, that the Chinese media actually screwed up in the past? Impossible!

I am not saying that these girls are not amazing. Nor am I saying that the rules should not be subsequently changes to allow for younger participants. If you’re good, you should be able to show your skills. But the fact remains that the rules in regards to age may have been broken - and that would be unacceptable.

I had heard and believed before that the hosting of the games in China would be a gesture to the rest of the world to show that China wants to be a part of something global. Now I think it is becoming more evident that they are doing this for themselves so they can keep their people own people happy. “When we host the games, we win. We are so awesome!” After all, I am pretty damn sure that their media isn’t really going to investigate the controversial issues regarding China’s activities at The Olympics.

I didn’t have much respect for China before, and I am losing more and more of it as each day passes.

More on the Opening Ceremony

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:35:00 +0900

My dad went into some detail on his blog about the little girl switcheroo for the Opening Ceremony last weekend. The reason proffered by the officials behind this singing scandal boiled down to the following (from The Guardian):

“It seems that Yang’s uneven teeth, while unremarkable in a seven-year-old, were considered potentially damaging to China’s international image.”

Not that I agree with them on this but were I to concede this to them, what is their excuse for the ridiculous amounts of smog? What’s that going to do for their “international image”? And if dental hygiene was the biggest concern, did anyone neglect to tell them that “Ms. Pretty” is full on missing a tooth?

China sucks on so many levels.

Bush looking to off endangered species act

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:13:02 +0900

Bush looking to off endangered species act: Why does this give me a bad feeling?

China's.. I mean The Olympic Opening Ceremony

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:29:04 +0900

So Momoko and I watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics. There is zero question that it was absolutely spectacular, but I have a few issues - some of which might be slightly controversial.

First and foremost… What the hell, China? This is the Olympics, not “Glorious People’s Demonstration of The Power of China”. I have managed to watch a few opening ceremonies in my lifetime, and I seem to remember them focusing on global brotherhood, and community and unification. Not this time. The entire first hour - which was the awesome part - seemed less about coming-togetherness and more about “look what China did for the world, with paper, moveable type, the compass and some other thing which I have already forgotten.”

Of course before they even got into the song and dance, we got to see a Chinese girl sing a Chinese song while goose-steppers raised the Chinese flag. Just swap the country flag for North Korea’s and you may as well have been watching the Mass Games. And given China’s ratings for the opening ceremonies were 98% of all televisions, it pretty much was the same thing within China. (The other 2% of televisions were probably watching surveillance cameras.)

I don’t have a problem with China having the Olympics, per se. And the ceremony was breath-taking. But just because something is beautiful to look at doesn’t mean the message itself should be excused. The fact remains that it took China nearly a full hour before anything about the ceremony really pertained to the Olympics or the spirit that the Olympics embody was displayed, and that is what irritates me.

On top of that they seemed to have abandoned other traditions of the opening ceremonies, like the flag raising and the order in which countries are brought into the stadium. Chinese stroke order? I am not saying the Roman alphabet is the be all and end all, but even though other countries who have hosted the games use different words for countries from around the world, China is the first to depart from the order.

And to top it all off, the announcers have typically been assholes to the Nth degree. I realise many commentators don’t know exactly what to say during live events, but to say “And here comes Japan - a big competitor in the games. It must be really awkward for them to be here in China, after they invaded it in World War II” or other equally inane and insensitive remarks which have zero bearing on the event is entirely inexcusable.

So aside from that and daytime images of post-apocalyptic looking smog, I wonder what else we’ll be taking away from the games this year.

"It’s true. We all know how Wal-Mart just barely squeaked by during the Clinton..."

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:26:00 +0900

“It’s true. We all know how Wal-Mart just barely squeaked by during the Clinton administration.”

- Onion response to Wal-Mart higher-ups instructing managers to pass along to staff the notion that a Democratic President would lead to more unions, smaller profits and worse conditions for the company.

Hey Apple, when you’re not too busy re-orging the MobileMe...

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:05:30 +0900

Hey Apple, when you’re not too busy re-orging the MobileMe team for its stupendous fuck-ups, you may want to get a few people to get the App Store working just a bit better. You honestly think I have 4 copies of Enigmo installed on my iPod Touch?

If you're not a gamer ignore this entry

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:07:15 +0900

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! You can play as Kratos from God of War in Little Big Planet if you pre-order? Already know which friend in the US I will be hitting up for this one…

McCain gets some milkshake profit

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:37:17 +0900

McCain gets some milkshake profit