Thanks to everybody who voted for me in the MKE Online blog contest. Here’s hoping Sara, our blog contest hostess, gets well and all my peeps in Milwaukee get their shot at the title.

Buddha’s Bellyaching is this week’s winner

Czeltic Girl pointed me toward this interesting article that explains why “soloing” is so common in games specifically designed to be social, MMORPGs.

Indeed, several of my friends have asked me why I bother to play the game if I’m not going to group up with other people. Particularly in City of Heroes, I was known as someone who *never* wanted to group, even with my friends. The reasons for that were clear to me, but not to my friends. When it comes down to it, the things I like about that game are not the things my friends like. It became a grind so quickly, without even thinly veiled character growth in the form of crafting, exploration or new gear. The goal in CoH is *always* just the next level.
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Lyrics have been talking to me this week, I guess. Sorry for the somewhat lazy posting of them.

—

slave screams he thinks he knows what he wants
slave screams thinks he has something to say
slave screams he hears but doesn’t want to listen
slave screams he’s being beat into submission

don’t open your eyes you won’t like what you see
the devils of truth steal the souls of the free
don’t open your eyes take it from me
i have found
you can find
happiness in slavery

slave screams he spends his life learning conformity
slave screams he claims he has his own identity
slave screams he’s going to cause the system to fall
slave screams but he’s glad to be chained to that wall

don’t open your eyes you won’t like what you see
the blind have been blessed with security
don’t open your eyes take it from me
i have found
you can find
happiness in slavery

i don’t know what i am i don’t know where i’ve been
human junk just words and so much skin
stick my hands thru the cage of this endless routine
just some flesh caught in this big broken machine

—

Thank you, Trent. That about sums it up.

A truly amazing human interactivity experience shows us how intuitive things could be if only we took the time. Make sure you watch the video. Thanks to TK for the heads up.

Multi-touch interactivity experiments

It’s been 10 years (nearly 11, actually) since I was a high school student. In March, I am meant to attend my ten-year high school reunion. I even helped make a website to that effect. But to what end these reunions?

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February 2004: Fuck Everything, We’re Doing Five Blades

February 2005: Gillette Fusion ad debuts at Superbowl XL

Kurt Wimmer, the director who convinced me some time ago that Christian Bale would be the perfect Batman, has created another clean, smooth, Orwellian future. If you haven’t already seen Equilibirum, make sure you remedy that. Don’t let the reviews fool you though; it’s not better than the original Matrix.

The only complaint I have with Wimmer’s directing style is that I’m not fond of the cheap-looking titles he uses; it lends a B-movie quality to the movie that sort of makes you feel like he doesn’t want you to truly respect his film, just let it wash over you and be forgotten. Maybe that is the point, but I think he should get some people like Peter Gifford at Universal Head, who pointed this trailer out to me, to show him how his titles and captions could stop pulling people out of the moment.

Anyway, this looks like one of those movies after which I’ll be doing all kinds of kung fu in the parking lot.

Ultraviolet; imagine Gattaca with less suspense, more vinyl and seemingly a lot of armor-shattering pistol whips.

Make Love, Fuck War, Public Enemy and Moby

Fingers in the air like you really give a damn,
Peace sign up, let me hear you say “Yeah!”
Power to the people, put your hands in the air,
Peace sign high like you really do care.

Rather be sittin’ just a gettin’ it
Power to the people, not the government.
Capitalists, communists, terrorists,
Swear to God, I don’t know the difference.
Making new slaves out of immigrants.
Wanna know where all the money went.
Another trillion spent by the government
Here the bomb go, sent by the president.

Power to the people, ’cause the people want peace!
Power to the people, ’cause the people want peace!

Tell the leaders they gotta feed us.
Grand theft oil gonna bleed us.
New World Order doesn’t need us.
Call for peace! Better heed us.
Dictators, human-haters
Hand on the bomb, masturbaters (MASS DEBATORS, according to official lyrics)
Finger on the button, infiltrators
Make Love, Fuck War! Peace will save us!

Power to the people, ’cause the people want peace!
Power to the people, ’cause the people want peace!

This could not have been anticipated, nor more brilliant. While I could describe it to you, gentle reader, I think you’ll find yourself tickled by the surprise as I was. I promise it’s nothing offensive.

GNEBORG.ORG

Jack Black remains my hero after ten years of worship. He and Kage can be my two kings any day. And while I sometimes pride myself on my refinement when it comes to understanding the value of literature and film, Nacho Libre would still have my vote at the Oscars.

Nacho Libre trailer