This one is just great fun. Suffers a bit from being just the first one (by which I mean I really want to get the rest now, to continue the story). The story of Agatha Heterodyne, a student at a crazy steampunk university, who gets drawn into a military takeover of the town. To complicate things, her secret (even to her) history begins to cause her trouble.
The stroy is pretty much beside the point, though. It's funny. The art is good (and also funny) and there's some great jokes in the dialog too. Also, I love the Jagermonsters, they rock.
Girl Genius 1 (Amazon)
You can read many of them at Girl Genius online, too.
30 August 2006
Concrete: Fragile Creature by Paul Chadwick
Another great Concrete story. This one is fairly low key, with Concrete hired to work on a trashy film. He is basically there so they can save special effects money - he throws, carries and destroys things that otherwise would have used the SFX team. It seems to be Chadwick's impression of how Hollywood works (apparently he use to live there and was somewhat involved in the film business). Fun.
Fragile Creature (Amazon)
Fragile Creature (Amazon)
A History of Warfare by John Keegan
This is a really good read. Keegan goes back to the stone age and works his way forward, covering the things that (in his opinion) revolutionized war in human history. It's one of those books in which I think he's probably generally right, although perhaps over-emphasizing some things and underplaying others to accord with his general thesis. In any case, it's thought-provoking whether you agree or not.
There's also a rather sad touch in his epilogue (written in 1993) in which he looks forward to a world where war is less and less an option and the United Nations and major powers work to keep things civilised. This seems perhaps further away now than it must of to Keegan then (when the collapse of the Soviet bloc was still recent). Hopefully he's right anyway, even if it happens later than he hoped.
A History of Warfare (Amazon)
There's also a rather sad touch in his epilogue (written in 1993) in which he looks forward to a world where war is less and less an option and the United Nations and major powers work to keep things civilised. This seems perhaps further away now than it must of to Keegan then (when the collapse of the Soviet bloc was still recent). Hopefully he's right anyway, even if it happens later than he hoped.
A History of Warfare (Amazon)
23 August 2006
shock: social science fiction by joshua a. c. newman
Yesterday I received my eagerly awaited copy of shock:. Physically it's a startling orange square, with an extremely nice modernist layout. There's some really cool art too.
The game text is bracketed by a piece of fiction based on a game (with marginalia explaining rules stuff here and there). It's a pretty cool story, especially given the source (this is by Ben Lehman, not Newman).
Then there's a short overview, how to create characters and worlds, how to resolve conflicts, advice on being an antagonist and advice about end a protagonist's story. There's also some appendices, including a selection of media and how they might inspire games of shock:.
The game is intended to allow you to play through stories in which real issues are addressed through the lens of science fiction, and it is very strongly focused on this.
In particular, the first thing that players do is build the world. This involves picking some real issues you want to explore and then some 'shocks' (science fiction elements, basically) that are related to the issues. So if I wanted to run a game about mortality (issue), a shock could be anti-aging drugs or replacement clone bodies. These are then added to a grid, with each protagonist (essentially a player character) sitting in one junction. That is, your protagonist is about a particular issue and shock.
The next thing that defines the world is the praxis scales. These are two opposed pairs of ways of acheiving things. These are analogous to stats in most games, in that every conflict you will pick one of these four methods to get your way. Again, the choices reflect on the world (e.g. hope vs despair in one game and lasers vs missiles in another would indicate quite different styles).
Finally a world is defined by minutia. These are any other future details. They have a small mechanical effect, but they're mainly formalised in order to keep track of them, it seems to me.
Issues, shocks and minutia all get an owner when they are created. The owner gets to decide any details about how things in that area work (i.e. the owner of the shock 'anti-aging drugs' would decide all questions about how the drugs work, where they come from, etc).
Now you have your world sorted out, you can make characters. Everyone takes their position on the shock/issue grid and generates a protagonist for that spot. Characters are defined by how where on each praxis scale their 'fulcrum' is and some features and links. The fulcrum is basically where you fall on the scale - is this or that method easier for you? Features are general traits of the character, and give you more dice in conflicts. Links are your important connections, and can beused to try and recover from lost conflicts. Lastly is the story goal - what you want to happen to your protagonist in this story.
Then you make an antagonist, for the person on your left. This is the character or organisation who creates trouble for that protagonist, and is based on a suggestion from that player. You allocate them fulcrums and some features, and give them some credits (these are spent in conflicts, and thus determine the length of the game).
Then the game begins, with players taking turns setting scenes for their protagonist. After the scene is set, you begin roleplaying and the antagonist tries to push on the protagonist's buttons (as indicated by their issue, shock, links, story goal, etc).
Conflicts are mainly interesting in that the parties to a conflict roll separately and their intentions must be compatible, win or lose. I.e. every conflict, everyone can win, everyone can lose, or some combination in between. I'm not sure how this will affect play - I suspect that it will make things more complicated, in general, which is probably good for this sort of story.
The game design seems really solid. It has nothing that isn't integral to what it does, and looks like it does that well. However, the game also has only miminal explanation of how things go. In fact, "the players take turns to start scenes for their protagonists" is implied only - never actually stated in the game. There are a few aspects like that which could probably do with more elaboration, especially as the book is fairly short as it is.
I want to play this as soon as possible, expect an actual play report in the nearish future.
The game text is bracketed by a piece of fiction based on a game (with marginalia explaining rules stuff here and there). It's a pretty cool story, especially given the source (this is by Ben Lehman, not Newman).
Then there's a short overview, how to create characters and worlds, how to resolve conflicts, advice on being an antagonist and advice about end a protagonist's story. There's also some appendices, including a selection of media and how they might inspire games of shock:.
The game is intended to allow you to play through stories in which real issues are addressed through the lens of science fiction, and it is very strongly focused on this.
In particular, the first thing that players do is build the world. This involves picking some real issues you want to explore and then some 'shocks' (science fiction elements, basically) that are related to the issues. So if I wanted to run a game about mortality (issue), a shock could be anti-aging drugs or replacement clone bodies. These are then added to a grid, with each protagonist (essentially a player character) sitting in one junction. That is, your protagonist is about a particular issue and shock.
The next thing that defines the world is the praxis scales. These are two opposed pairs of ways of acheiving things. These are analogous to stats in most games, in that every conflict you will pick one of these four methods to get your way. Again, the choices reflect on the world (e.g. hope vs despair in one game and lasers vs missiles in another would indicate quite different styles).
Finally a world is defined by minutia. These are any other future details. They have a small mechanical effect, but they're mainly formalised in order to keep track of them, it seems to me.
Issues, shocks and minutia all get an owner when they are created. The owner gets to decide any details about how things in that area work (i.e. the owner of the shock 'anti-aging drugs' would decide all questions about how the drugs work, where they come from, etc).
Now you have your world sorted out, you can make characters. Everyone takes their position on the shock/issue grid and generates a protagonist for that spot. Characters are defined by how where on each praxis scale their 'fulcrum' is and some features and links. The fulcrum is basically where you fall on the scale - is this or that method easier for you? Features are general traits of the character, and give you more dice in conflicts. Links are your important connections, and can beused to try and recover from lost conflicts. Lastly is the story goal - what you want to happen to your protagonist in this story.
Then you make an antagonist, for the person on your left. This is the character or organisation who creates trouble for that protagonist, and is based on a suggestion from that player. You allocate them fulcrums and some features, and give them some credits (these are spent in conflicts, and thus determine the length of the game).
Then the game begins, with players taking turns setting scenes for their protagonist. After the scene is set, you begin roleplaying and the antagonist tries to push on the protagonist's buttons (as indicated by their issue, shock, links, story goal, etc).
Conflicts are mainly interesting in that the parties to a conflict roll separately and their intentions must be compatible, win or lose. I.e. every conflict, everyone can win, everyone can lose, or some combination in between. I'm not sure how this will affect play - I suspect that it will make things more complicated, in general, which is probably good for this sort of story.
The game design seems really solid. It has nothing that isn't integral to what it does, and looks like it does that well. However, the game also has only miminal explanation of how things go. In fact, "the players take turns to start scenes for their protagonists" is implied only - never actually stated in the game. There are a few aspects like that which could probably do with more elaboration, especially as the book is fairly short as it is.
I want to play this as soon as possible, expect an actual play report in the nearish future.
20 August 2006
Glasshouse by Charles Stross
The latest Charles Stross novel comes across like a modernised Philip K Dick story.
It deals with a person far in the future who has undergone radical memory excisions, apparently because of a dangerous part of their past. While recovering, they become paranoid and end up signing on for a historical psychology experiment. This involves taking on a role in a simulated 20th/21st century society. Of course, the understanding of the society is imperfect, and the experiment consists of some terrifying social controls to keep everyone in a perfect suburban lifestyle.
It's an interesting setup and there's a lot of fun poking of stuff around at the moment (e.g. reality tv shows).
As our protagonist gets more and more unhappy with the terms of the experiment, they begin poking around and the story shifts to a thriller mode. The concluding section isn't really as much fun as the earlier stuff about identity in a world of editable memories and personality or the bizarre experiment.
Glasshouse (Amazon)
It deals with a person far in the future who has undergone radical memory excisions, apparently because of a dangerous part of their past. While recovering, they become paranoid and end up signing on for a historical psychology experiment. This involves taking on a role in a simulated 20th/21st century society. Of course, the understanding of the society is imperfect, and the experiment consists of some terrifying social controls to keep everyone in a perfect suburban lifestyle.
It's an interesting setup and there's a lot of fun poking of stuff around at the moment (e.g. reality tv shows).
As our protagonist gets more and more unhappy with the terms of the experiment, they begin poking around and the story shifts to a thriller mode. The concluding section isn't really as much fun as the earlier stuff about identity in a world of editable memories and personality or the bizarre experiment.
Glasshouse (Amazon)
13 August 2006
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
The second of the Nursery Crime novels, this one successfully delivers exactly what I expected:
In the unexpected area, this book breaks the fourth wall a few times. The characters occasionally seem quite aware of their state and in one case abuse the author for a particularly terrible joke.
Good fun, recommended.
Oh yes, SommeWorld is quite central to this story, so we get to hear a lot about the great World War One theme park that is mentioned in passing in Fforde's other books. Some of the stuff in there is lovely - who could resist the 'Simulated Trenchfoot' attraction?
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
- Absurdity
- Puns
- Jokes about nursery rhyme characters (and a few other fictional creatures as well)
- Laughs
- A mystery that ends up revealing a staggeringly stupid crime (involving prize cucumbers, in this case)
In the unexpected area, this book breaks the fourth wall a few times. The characters occasionally seem quite aware of their state and in one case abuse the author for a particularly terrible joke.
Good fun, recommended.
Oh yes, SommeWorld is quite central to this story, so we get to hear a lot about the great World War One theme park that is mentioned in passing in Fforde's other books. Some of the stuff in there is lovely - who could resist the 'Simulated Trenchfoot' attraction?
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
I hadn't really been interested in this book, feeling that the setup was a bit naff. It's an alternate history told via short sections about the same few people reincarnated at vaarious points in the history. Which sounds pretty dumb, really.
However, it's actually good. The structure is just that - a way for Robinson to muse a little on the nature of history, religion, science and humanity. He has some thought-provoking musings in there, too.
Also, I'll save other readers some confusion by mentioning that each character has the same initial every incarnation. So pay attention to the names (I didn't pick up on this until the third section, so I think I missed some characters in the first couple).
The Years of Rice and Salt (Amazon)
However, it's actually good. The structure is just that - a way for Robinson to muse a little on the nature of history, religion, science and humanity. He has some thought-provoking musings in there, too.
Also, I'll save other readers some confusion by mentioning that each character has the same initial every incarnation. So pay attention to the names (I didn't pick up on this until the third section, so I think I missed some characters in the first couple).
The Years of Rice and Salt (Amazon)
05 August 2006
Top 10 (books 1 and 2) by Alan Moore
These comics deal with the police in a city where everyone has superpowers. It has fairly straightforward superheroes as cops stories. Around these are various plots and vignettes generally poking fun at the whole concept of superheroes.
It's quite reminiscent of a lot of the old 2000AD stories - jokes all the way through and occasionally some serious moments.
The characters are pretty cool too, with lots of fun aspects to each.
Also, it's basically worth reading just for the subplot where one of the cops has to help his mother with an infestation of super-mice in her apartment.
Top 10 #1 (Amazon)
Top 10 #2 (Amazon)
It's quite reminiscent of a lot of the old 2000AD stories - jokes all the way through and occasionally some serious moments.
The characters are pretty cool too, with lots of fun aspects to each.
Also, it's basically worth reading just for the subplot where one of the cops has to help his mother with an infestation of super-mice in her apartment.
Top 10 #1 (Amazon)
Top 10 #2 (Amazon)
Relics by Pip Vaughan-Hughes
This is a historical adventure story, about a young monk in thirteenth century England. He gets drawn into some dangerous plots and ends up joining a crew of relic smugglers, and thus on to more adventures with them.
The book appears to be intended as the first in a series, and so spends a fair amount of time introducing characters. Despite this, it's a good novel in its own right - the protagonist's Campbellian hero's journey, in fact.
There's lots of neat historical pieces too - from the plots regarding stolen and faked religious relics, to the hints of conspiracy to come (key characters are exiled Cathars, and there's a Templar and a Byzantine princess in there too).
Overall, a good adventure story and I look forward to the next one.
Relics (Amazon)
The book appears to be intended as the first in a series, and so spends a fair amount of time introducing characters. Despite this, it's a good novel in its own right - the protagonist's Campbellian hero's journey, in fact.
There's lots of neat historical pieces too - from the plots regarding stolen and faked religious relics, to the hints of conspiracy to come (key characters are exiled Cathars, and there's a Templar and a Byzantine princess in there too).
Overall, a good adventure story and I look forward to the next one.
Relics (Amazon)
02 August 2006
Four of Robert Asprin's Myth Adventure novels
The specific books were Myth Directions, Hit Or Myth, M.Y.T.H Inc. Link, and Myth-nomers And Im-pervections. I'm not going to treat them seperately, as they're all pretty much alike. Silly comic fantasy, with lots of puns and parody of genre cliches.
Asprin is good, but uneven. Occasionally hilarious, mostly quite fun and sometimes misses the mark. As the series goes on, there's some development of the (initially cardboard) characters. However, there seems no danger that serious issues will be addressed.
various Myth Adventures books (Amazon)
Asprin is good, but uneven. Occasionally hilarious, mostly quite fun and sometimes misses the mark. As the series goes on, there's some development of the (initially cardboard) characters. However, there seems no danger that serious issues will be addressed.
various Myth Adventures books (Amazon)
Cherish
This film is a strange hybrid. Part stalker thriller, part romantic comedy and generally pretty weird. The story revolves around a woman who is arrested for a homicide committed by her evil stalker, and then placed under in-home arrest. Hijinks ensue as she tries to get around the anklet and begins to fall in love with her home arrest minder. And then the stalker begins tracking her down to her apartment, so things end on a darker note than I expected.
Still, odd as it is, it was a fun watch and had some inspired moments. My favorite has to be when the stalker (after she is put in home arrest) visits all the spots he used to spy on her, moping, to an 80s pop song ("she's not here for you, anymore..."*).
If you find that description intriuging, it's probably worth watching.
Cherish (IMDB)
Cherish (Amazon)
*Lyrics quoted represent the general idea, but not the specific song, which I have forgotten.
Still, odd as it is, it was a fun watch and had some inspired moments. My favorite has to be when the stalker (after she is put in home arrest) visits all the spots he used to spy on her, moping, to an 80s pop song ("she's not here for you, anymore..."*).
If you find that description intriuging, it's probably worth watching.
Cherish (IMDB)
Cherish (Amazon)
*Lyrics quoted represent the general idea, but not the specific song, which I have forgotten.
31 July 2006
Joyeux Noël
This is a film about the fraternisation that occured between German, British and French soldiers on Christmas in 1914. It tells the story from the point of view of three officers and a few of their men in each force.
It's a nicely constructed film. It does not play down the brutality of the situation, although the section of the front that it concerns is relatively quiet. The quick friendship between the three officers seems a little too neat, but perhaps required to make the film work.
There's a lot of genuinely touching moments, and plenty of humour too (I think my favorite is the cat that lives on the farm that they are fighting over - it gets food from both the French and German lines and during the Christmas 'party' two soldiers argue over who it likes best).
Thoroughly recommended (especially if you have been reading about the battle of Stalingrad, in which the common humanity and decency shown in this film was rather lacking on either side).
Joyeux Noël (IMDB)
It's a nicely constructed film. It does not play down the brutality of the situation, although the section of the front that it concerns is relatively quiet. The quick friendship between the three officers seems a little too neat, but perhaps required to make the film work.
There's a lot of genuinely touching moments, and plenty of humour too (I think my favorite is the cat that lives on the farm that they are fighting over - it gets food from both the French and German lines and during the Christmas 'party' two soldiers argue over who it likes best).
Thoroughly recommended (especially if you have been reading about the battle of Stalingrad, in which the common humanity and decency shown in this film was rather lacking on either side).
Joyeux Noël (IMDB)
Actual Play: The Mountain Witch Chapter One
After owning it for several months, I finally ran The Mountain Witch today. Technically I guess we started last time, as characters were generated then. But tonight the ronin set off up Fujiyama to slay the witch.
Overall, it was very good. We had a great time and the game did what my reading felt it would.
Specifically:
- The dark fates worked well, giving the players a good way to add to the game and put their own spins on the scenes I was building. For this first session I was mainly pushing this - setting a scene and then picking someone and saying things like "the person in front of you is someone from your past - who?" I expect that later sessions will have everyone volunteering more of this stuff.
- The conflict resolution system is quick and easy.
- The trust mechanics work well. We had one (fairly minor) betrayal and a few cases of aiding occur. The choices to do these reflected the interactions and past of the characters involved, in my opinion. Finally, at the end of the chapter updates, the choices made by each player also seemed to fit very well with the levels of trust shown in the character interactions. I'll be interested to see what happens when people have the chance to betray another ronin to their deaths in later chapters...
Another unexpected win was Kleinert's advice for running the game. Preparing over the weekend I had re-read it all, and felt that it was fairly fluffy advice, with little concrete to use. However, a half hour constructing seeds for scenes and then building on them (and what the players threw into the mix) was plenty. The game ran without a hitch... I remember one spot where I needed a few minutes to construct a good situation, but even then I could fall back on the advice and it was easy.
In this case, one of the ronin had been seduced and abducted by a mysterious woman. The others had lost her trail. One of the others had a tracking ability, and the player decided he knew where they had gone. I rolled with this and described where the captive was being held (a small gathouse/outpost). Then we cut inside and I asked for who was interrogating the captive as he came to. He suggested it was a degenerate and debauched cousin who had been exiled from the family home and this provided a very interesting scene in which the ronin promised to betray the others to their deaths before he faked an escape (slaying many of the guards on the way) just before the others charged in to rescue him.
Definitely a great game. The trust mechanics provide a nice way of investigating the issues of friendship and betrayal in the group. The advice for running and background material is really good (although it may not seem like it when you first read it). Also, the rules were simple enough that I only screwed up once - this may be a personal record for me (I have invariably messed up the rules of even games I wrote, as well as others).
Overall, it was very good. We had a great time and the game did what my reading felt it would.
Specifically:
- The dark fates worked well, giving the players a good way to add to the game and put their own spins on the scenes I was building. For this first session I was mainly pushing this - setting a scene and then picking someone and saying things like "the person in front of you is someone from your past - who?" I expect that later sessions will have everyone volunteering more of this stuff.
- The conflict resolution system is quick and easy.
- The trust mechanics work well. We had one (fairly minor) betrayal and a few cases of aiding occur. The choices to do these reflected the interactions and past of the characters involved, in my opinion. Finally, at the end of the chapter updates, the choices made by each player also seemed to fit very well with the levels of trust shown in the character interactions. I'll be interested to see what happens when people have the chance to betray another ronin to their deaths in later chapters...
Another unexpected win was Kleinert's advice for running the game. Preparing over the weekend I had re-read it all, and felt that it was fairly fluffy advice, with little concrete to use. However, a half hour constructing seeds for scenes and then building on them (and what the players threw into the mix) was plenty. The game ran without a hitch... I remember one spot where I needed a few minutes to construct a good situation, but even then I could fall back on the advice and it was easy.
In this case, one of the ronin had been seduced and abducted by a mysterious woman. The others had lost her trail. One of the others had a tracking ability, and the player decided he knew where they had gone. I rolled with this and described where the captive was being held (a small gathouse/outpost). Then we cut inside and I asked for who was interrogating the captive as he came to. He suggested it was a degenerate and debauched cousin who had been exiled from the family home and this provided a very interesting scene in which the ronin promised to betray the others to their deaths before he faked an escape (slaying many of the guards on the way) just before the others charged in to rescue him.
Definitely a great game. The trust mechanics provide a nice way of investigating the issues of friendship and betrayal in the group. The advice for running and background material is really good (although it may not seem like it when you first read it). Also, the rules were simple enough that I only screwed up once - this may be a personal record for me (I have invariably messed up the rules of even games I wrote, as well as others).
29 July 2006
Badass Space Marines: Art
I have got my artwork for Badass Space Marines today, and am ready to begin layout and maybe a few final tweaks of the game.
If you'd like a sample, here's what will probably become the cover:
If you'd like a sample, here's what will probably become the cover:
Art is by Daniel Gorringe. Wait until you see his aliens...
Two Books About Russia In World War Two
I got lent both these two books after a conversation on the subject.
Russia's War by Richard Overy is a very good overview of the whole of the Soviet war effort with a focus (inevitably) on Stalin and his decisions. It's a very good, moderately scholarly work.
Enemy At The Gates by William Craig is an older book (and thus misses some information that was still secret at the time of writing). It's about the battle of Stalingrad and is based mainly on information from survivors. It's a greet example of this sort of history. I was initially somewhat sceptical of the style, as Craig jumps between little fragments from each participant fairly quickly, but as the book goes on it all comes together as a coherent history. A side note for those who know the film this book inspired: the sniper Zaitsev gets all of three pages or so, but it seems that the main events in the film all basically happened...
Both books are pretty horrifying, as the atrocities committed by both the Russians and Germans in this war were totally inhuman. It's hard to even imagine the kind of hatred that could inspire such things (although I guess once it has started then it is more likely to continue).
Russia's War (Amazon)
Enemy At The Gates (Amazon)
Russia's War by Richard Overy is a very good overview of the whole of the Soviet war effort with a focus (inevitably) on Stalin and his decisions. It's a very good, moderately scholarly work.
Enemy At The Gates by William Craig is an older book (and thus misses some information that was still secret at the time of writing). It's about the battle of Stalingrad and is based mainly on information from survivors. It's a greet example of this sort of history. I was initially somewhat sceptical of the style, as Craig jumps between little fragments from each participant fairly quickly, but as the book goes on it all comes together as a coherent history. A side note for those who know the film this book inspired: the sniper Zaitsev gets all of three pages or so, but it seems that the main events in the film all basically happened...
Both books are pretty horrifying, as the atrocities committed by both the Russians and Germans in this war were totally inhuman. It's hard to even imagine the kind of hatred that could inspire such things (although I guess once it has started then it is more likely to continue).
Russia's War (Amazon)
Enemy At The Gates (Amazon)
27 July 2006
The Amazing Screw-on Head, the TV series
Apparently the scifi channel is making a show of Mike Mignola's Screw-on Head. You can watch the pilot online.
The show is fantastic, with Mignola's style captured wonderfully in the animation and hilarious all the way through.
I look forward to more...
The show is fantastic, with Mignola's style captured wonderfully in the animation and hilarious all the way through.
I look forward to more...
22 July 2006
Looking Back At The Roach
So, we finished off our play of The Shab-al-hiri Roach. My overall feeling remains that this is a wonderful black comedy game.
There are a couple of things that lead to the game working better.
1. Don't hold back - over the top, crazy, absurd plans are what makes the humour work best. Subtlety is a vice.
2. Make sure you describe the intended conflict when you begin each scene. Without this, scenes can easily flounder about. If everyone knows where it is heading, it seems to work much better.
For those who are interested, our version of Pemberton College closed down due to the large number of faculty and student fatalities and (mainly) the debt incurred in the construction of a luxury replica Parthenon for the Classics department. One character went on to become Chancellor, briefly. Another formed a roach-cult in backwoods New England. A third went on to influence certain members of the Third Reich.
Lots of fun. Good for crazy cutting loose play, if you like the black (or splatter) humour that it generates.
There are a couple of things that lead to the game working better.
1. Don't hold back - over the top, crazy, absurd plans are what makes the humour work best. Subtlety is a vice.
2. Make sure you describe the intended conflict when you begin each scene. Without this, scenes can easily flounder about. If everyone knows where it is heading, it seems to work much better.
For those who are interested, our version of Pemberton College closed down due to the large number of faculty and student fatalities and (mainly) the debt incurred in the construction of a luxury replica Parthenon for the Classics department. One character went on to become Chancellor, briefly. Another formed a roach-cult in backwoods New England. A third went on to influence certain members of the Third Reich.
Lots of fun. Good for crazy cutting loose play, if you like the black (or splatter) humour that it generates.
The Hidden Fortress
One of the Kurosawa films that I have never managed to see before, I was glad to finally watch it.
It's fairly good, but certainly not his best. The two greedy peasants are used far too much for comic relief, which is not very comical or relieving. Toshiro Mifune is good but he rarely gets the full attention of the camera.
This film is also the one generally regarded as the main inspiration for Star Wars. To that, all I can say is... huh? You can certainly pick some elements that the two films share, but none of them are central elements. And perhaps they are no more than you would expect purely by chance.
The Hidden Fortress (IMDB)
The Hidden Fortress (Amazon)
It's fairly good, but certainly not his best. The two greedy peasants are used far too much for comic relief, which is not very comical or relieving. Toshiro Mifune is good but he rarely gets the full attention of the camera.
This film is also the one generally regarded as the main inspiration for Star Wars. To that, all I can say is... huh? You can certainly pick some elements that the two films share, but none of them are central elements. And perhaps they are no more than you would expect purely by chance.
The Hidden Fortress (IMDB)
The Hidden Fortress (Amazon)
20 July 2006
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
This is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, it's a good near-future conspiracy thriller. On the other, it's a wonderful exploration of a possible evolution of ubiquitous computing and networking and their effect on society.
Some of the ideas that Vinge presents seem so useful and cool that it's hard to imagine that they won't come true. On top of this, the technology is not too far off what we have now (and certainly a lot of things are currently moving towards what he describes).
In addition to the neat gadgets, there's some really funny stuff about the way that subcultures have developed with the almost total internet penetration of life. My favorite is probably the (mostly play) battle for supremacy between two "belief circles" - these seem part fan club, part cosplay group and part online game. There's also some ideas about schooling and work that are a lot more serious. Both the comic and workaday descriptions of the society are thought-provoking.
Overall, very good. I'm certainly going to read it again, just to really explore the details of social change that Vinge presents here.
In tangentially related news, I recently bought myself a PDA for the first time. It's been quite useful in the ways I expected it would, but Vinge's novel makes me feel like I'm now on the leading edge of a social revolution. A little bit, anyhow.
Rainbows End (Amazon)
Some of the ideas that Vinge presents seem so useful and cool that it's hard to imagine that they won't come true. On top of this, the technology is not too far off what we have now (and certainly a lot of things are currently moving towards what he describes).
In addition to the neat gadgets, there's some really funny stuff about the way that subcultures have developed with the almost total internet penetration of life. My favorite is probably the (mostly play) battle for supremacy between two "belief circles" - these seem part fan club, part cosplay group and part online game. There's also some ideas about schooling and work that are a lot more serious. Both the comic and workaday descriptions of the society are thought-provoking.
Overall, very good. I'm certainly going to read it again, just to really explore the details of social change that Vinge presents here.
In tangentially related news, I recently bought myself a PDA for the first time. It's been quite useful in the ways I expected it would, but Vinge's novel makes me feel like I'm now on the leading edge of a social revolution. A little bit, anyhow.
Rainbows End (Amazon)
17 July 2006
Good Night, and Good Luck
Interesting film, about Edward Murrow's fight against McCarthy. It comes across as pretty close to the facts, and includes real footage of McCarthy's hearings. A good piece of historical filmmaking there.
Of course, it's also a brutal indictment of the political atmosphere and media in the USA today. The message repeated all through this film is that the media have a responsibility to check political craziness, and that the idea that communists/terrorists are so evil that we should throw away civil liberties and common decency is just as crazy as it in fact is.
It's filmed (nicely) in black and white and Clooney's direction is very slick. One odd note is the music, which is presented as interludes in the film. It's good music, but a bit odd as a way to structure a film.
Good Night, and Good Luck (IMDB)
Good Night, and Good Luck (Amazon)
Of course, it's also a brutal indictment of the political atmosphere and media in the USA today. The message repeated all through this film is that the media have a responsibility to check political craziness, and that the idea that communists/terrorists are so evil that we should throw away civil liberties and common decency is just as crazy as it in fact is.
It's filmed (nicely) in black and white and Clooney's direction is very slick. One odd note is the music, which is presented as interludes in the film. It's good music, but a bit odd as a way to structure a film.
Good Night, and Good Luck (IMDB)
Good Night, and Good Luck (Amazon)
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