Perfect Analogy

> Here are some pictures of the property. I can’t comment on what this property should actually go for as I’m a 21-year-old recent graduate and owning property to me is a bit like owning a zeppelin. It’s something people did in the past that seems crazy today and it eventually blew up in their faces.

— [Dalkey house valued at €6.2m in 2007 has finally sold for €1.4m – Newswhip](http://newswhip.ie/national-2/reality-dalkey-house-valued-at-e6-2m-in-2007-has-finally-sold-for-e1-4m)

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Up Premake Trailer

A trailer for *Up* created by splicing together bits of old movies. What an amazing piece of work.

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Jersey Shore, in Italy

[Jersey Shore is coming to Italy](http://www.tmz.com/2011/01/25/jersey-shore-italy-pauly-d-snooki-jwoww-vinny-guadagnino-mtv-shoot-travel-show-visa-the-situation-ronnie-sammi-angelina/)

> Sources connected to the show tell us they will be scouting locations in Italy — similar to the way they did it in Miami — to find the right locale.
>
> One source connected with the show says they’ve already lined up some of Vinny’s Italian relatives to host the “Jersey” crew for an authentic Guadagnino dinner.

[Called it.](http://lowbrowculture.com/2010/04/27/jersey-shore-2-the-situationing/)

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The real question “isn’t how did it get there?” but “what are the penguins building?”

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This is how all games should be reviewed

> reley dont wan to say this, but i have to now.
> this game is so esey. i mean, all you do is hit the spacebar. thats it! how is this an RPG anyway? you cant contrail anything but what it says on > the screen! what if i didnt want to buy the potion? what apout quests? all you can upgrade is stranth? there is no way you can lose to the boss at > the end! this game is crap! its not even an RPG at all! i mean look at it! in what way is this supposed to be an RPG if you can do quests and stuff? all you do is press one butten the entier time! explain to me! the athore coments al totol lies! is it supposed to be stick dudes? i dont even know how this damn game got the daily 3rd prize, or a rating of 4.26!
> pepole think this review is worthles.
> go ahead! say it! i dont care! im just trying to make a point here!
> blam this piece of crap!!!!
>
> P.S the only reson im giving this a 1 is beacuase the voices where pretty good. but thats it!

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Penis

penis

*Community* is so good, even its throwaway jokes are gold.

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Death in Videogames

[Kotaku – There is real death in this video game](http://kotaku.com/5739362/there-is-real-death-in-this-video-game)

> Beloved niche PC publishers Paradox Interactive today revealed Salem, a free-to-play MMO that wants to make sure that players take their decision-making seriously. To this end, things you do in the game are promised to have a lasting effect, while more importantly, if you die, you are dead.
>
> Your character is gone, and all your equipment is set loose for other players to grab. There is no respawning, no retention of your name or your stats or your skills. You are simply dead, and if you want to play again, you need to start all over at the beginning with a new name and a new character.
>
> … It’s a brave decision, and one that has a far more drastic impact than in a singleplayer game, where you’re the only person who cares. In an MMO, when you die, you can be *mourned*.

I love this idea, and I applaud the publishers for having the balls to put out a videogame that actually deals with death in a serious way, beyond the usual “LOL I TOTALLY JUST SHOT THAT FUCKER IN THE FACE.” My only concern is with how they are planning on implementing this. When you die, will you immediately be able to start a new character? Will they ban your account for a period of time? Death only has meaning because of its permanence. It’s the ultimate full-stop. There’s no coming back. And in an MMO, the character doesn’t matter, the *player* matters. So the idea that a player can just roll a new character and maybe even be present for the ‘funeral’ of his previous character bothers me slightly, like it’s missing the point slightly. Why would anyone mourn a character when they know the player is still around – the same person in a different avatar?

Still, it’s a step in the right direction.

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XBMC ported to Apple TV

Cult of Mac reports that [XBMC has been ported to the second-generation Apple TV](http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cultofmac/bFow/~3/_cB1BIRXdSI/77993).

> The new port of XBMC not only makes the second-gen AppleTV one of the cheapest devices out there that can run XBMC short of a used Xbox, but it also adds some lovely functionality to Apple’s woefully slim-featured set-top box, including the ability to pump out 1080p video, play a myriad of codecs and web content natively, as well as install and expand your experience with new apps.

My original Xbox running XBMC was, hands down, the best media centre I’ve ever owned. It never once complained about codecs and it ran silky smooth. In fact, I still keep it hidden under my TV for emergencies. The only problem with it is the hardware itself. The Xbox is bulky, noisy, ethernet-only, and has no remote control, so when I use it, I’m forced to use the monstrously huge Xbox controller, with its cable draped across my living room.

I had been thinking about getting a Boxee box, but slightly went off the idea after reading [Jon Hicks’ lukewarm review](http://hicksdesign.co.uk/journal/boxee-box-review). The availability of XBMC on the ATV2 nails it for me. My next toy.

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Videogames in the wild

Illustrator Aled Lewis has put together a series of images of videogame characters put into real-world settings, and some of them are terrific.

Off The Dirt Track

Hyrule Field

We Need A Montage

Check out [his full Flickr stream](http://www.flickr.com/photos/35699504@N00/) for more.

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Begrudgery

[Adrian Wreckler – Meet the Monaghan lass with 345,000 Twitter followers](http://www.yourtechstuff.com/techwire/2011/01/meet-the-monaghan-lass-with-345000-twitter-followers.html)

> Sinead Duffy is a lifecoach (with her own company, Great Minds) who has set up the mother of all Twitter accounts. Called Greatest Quotes, it’s an auto-tweeting feed of… greatest quotes. Astonishingly, Greatest Quotes is growing by 10,000 followers per week. That’s almost as much as Ashton Kutcher.
>
> Ah, you think — that’s a bit of a swizz. Sure, just set up a few RSS feeds and let it take off; that’s not a real account.
>
> Think again. Because of this account, Duffy is getting business online. And it’s cash upfront. “I coach select overseas clients via Skype and charge through Paypal,” she tells me. “It’s mostly through Twitter that potential clients find me.”
>
> Who’s laughing now?

Coaching. “Select overseas clients”. From a Twitter account that spews out ‘greatest quotes’.

Sometimes I think this recession hasn’t hit hard enough.

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