iWatch →

When Apple demoed the new iPod nano last week, I mentioned on twitter about how much I liked the look of its clock. It's more thoughtfully designed and better crafted than most watches.

Well, some wags have taken the obvious step by throwing a strap on the Nano and making it into a proper watch.

One thing Apple left off the new Nano with the redesign is the previous iteration's video camera. Is it so strange to imagine that a future redesign of the new Nano will re-add this feature? A front-facing camera with FaceTime? Suddenly we're wearing video phones on our wrists.

Oh shit! We're in the future.

# Monday Sep 6, 2010

How to Use Textmate →

Amazingly useful list of links on how to use Textmate properly, courtesy of Zeldman.

For example, did you know you can write a blog post in Textmate, drag-and-drop an image into the textmate window and it will automatically upload and insert the image into your blog post? I didn't. Mind = blown.

# Sunday Aug 15, 2010

Spoilers →

it's time to stop DVR-ing the series and start watching it live. You'll be happy you did, and you'll be happy to return to the cultural conversation. Let's bring a return of watercooler culture to the offices, chat rooms, and entertainment blogs of America. We're not arguing for spoilers; we're arguing against letting yourself get spoiled. Suck it up, America. Watch the damn shows.

New York Magazine - Spoilers: In Defense of the American Watercooler

# Friday Jul 30, 2010

Spoilers →

it's time to stop DVR-ing the series and start watching it live. You'll be happy you did, and you'll be happy to return to the cultural conversation. Let's bring a return of watercooler culture to the offices, chat rooms, and entertainment blogs of America. We're not arguing for spoilers; we're arguing against letting yourself get spoiled. Suck it up, America. Watch the damn shows.

New York Magazine - Spoilers: In Defense of the American Watercooler

# Friday Jul 30, 2010

Great FAQ Answer →

Real helpful. Thanks, Microsoft.

Q:Is there a maximum number of Points that I can have in my balance?

A: Yes, there is a limit. When you reach that limit, you will be notified that you've reached the maximum number.

# Wednesday Jul 28, 2010

Great FAQ Answer →

Real helpful. Thanks, Microsoft.

Q:Is there a maximum number of Points that I can have in my balance?

A: Yes, there is a limit. When you reach that limit, you will be notified that you've reached the maximum number.

# Wednesday Jul 28, 2010

No Content Found →

There’ll be some discussion of the ending of Mass Effect 2, so if you haven’t played that game all the way through and you like your life spoiler-free, stop reading now

After about 30 hours of playing, I finally, finally finished Mass Effect 2. And having finished it now, I’m still happy that pretty much everything I said about the game still stands. There were a couple of side-missions that were time-based: you have X number of minutes to escape from X or to stop X from happening, but…

# Tuesday Jul 27, 2010

No Content Found →

A couple of days ago, I wrote about how Red Dead Redemption could be seen as a useful metric to demonstrate how far videogaming has come. Now I want to discuss the other side of that argument, how Red Dead Redemption represents how far videogames still have to go as a medium.

Let’s tackle the issues in reverse order

The Ugly

As Emmett points out, despite being labelled an ‘open world’ game, Red Dead Redemption does not offer the player a particularly satisfying level of immersion and…

# Sunday Jul 25, 2010

No Content Found →

Almost three years on, Clint Hocking’s Ludonarrative Dissonance in BioShock is still dangerous.

If you’ve got five minutes, you should go read his essay now, but if you had a quick look and you’re still all “tl;dr”, here’s the short-short version of Hocking’s argument: while the story in BioShock is all about freedom, choice and power, the story of player’s actions (what Hocking calls the ‘ludonarrative’ of the game) is restricted to one pre-defined path. So, despite all the talk of free…

# Wednesday Jul 21, 2010

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter →

I've spent a good portion of today checking out videos from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which just opened in Orlando. Sure, there's rollercoasters and all that junk, but what I love is the mise-en-scene of the whole thing. The attention to detail. Mobility scooters aside, Hogsmeade looks perfect.

The Ollivander's spiel made me wish I was 13 years old again (the 31-year old me couldn't help but see the genius of the scam behind it - what parent is not going to buy a wand for their child after it has 'chosen them').

The AttractionsMagazine youtube channel has tons more, if you're also a giant man-child and fancy wasting a couple of hours too.

# Monday Jun 21, 2010

Dangers of Self-googling →

The things you find browsing the Adrian Mole wiki at 1am on a Monday:

Sharon Bott

Adrian Mole’s first ‘lover’ and mother of Glen Bott (Adrian’s illegitamate son). Adrian and Sharon have nothing in common and were merely intrested in each other for sex. Sharon represents the underclass of Britain.

> >

My name is Sharon Bott. I was born in Oadby Leicester. I have never met anyone named Adrian Mole. My eldest child is the son of his french father. Sue Townsend did not ask me if she could use my name and if she had done so I would not have allowed her. She has defamed my name i am upset and emmbarrassed. and would sue if i could find a solicitor to help me, «email»@live.com.91.XXX.XXX.XXX 13:15, May 7, 2010 (UTC)

# Sunday Jun 20, 2010

Joystiq's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Gallery →

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I am ridiculously excited about playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, set in renaissance Rome. The idea of shanking someone outside the Pantheon (in a videogame, of course) seems really cathartic.

# Thursday Jun 17, 2010

Joystiq's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Gallery →

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I am ridiculously excited about playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, set in renaissance Rome. The idea of shanking someone outside the Pantheon (in a videogame, of course) seems really cathartic.

# Thursday Jun 17, 2010

No Content Found →

Audio

Vince DiCola's 'Training Montage' song from Rocky IV. If there's a better song to work out to, I'd love to hear it.

# Wednesday Jun 9, 2010

Sweating the Small Stuff →

Secret Lab tells us why the promotional images for the iPad show 9:41am (and the iPhones all say 9:42am). I love that even the trivial, incidental stuff tells a story.

# Wednesday Apr 14, 2010

Tremerz →

Flash game of "Tremors" - fuck yes.

# Monday Apr 5, 2010

The Movie Studios' Big 3D Scam →

I managed to catch Avatar in 3D when I was back home last month and I don't think the 3D helped at all. In fact, the few scenes where it really 'worked' for me just yanked me right out of the paper-thin story. I'd rather have seen it in 2D without the 30% colour-loss you get with the 3D glasses.

# Wednesday Mar 17, 2010

Fuck 2009 →

I don't know about you, but I thought that -- as years go -- 2009 was fairly shitty. There were a few good points (awesome birthday party, Primavera, holidaying around Italy with my wife), but when I look back, I can see a whole bunch of shit that I really didn't want to have to deal with. So hooray for 2010.

Except when my wife asked me what I was most looking forward to about 2010, I went blank. The joke about it being the year we make contact is getting a little old. The only thing I could think was "at least Lost will FINALLY be over."

The AV Club lists 32 of their most anticipated movies, games, books and albums of 2010, and that's a pretty good start. I'm pretty psyched for Shutter Island and Tron Legacy, but I have to be honest, I'm not particularly fussed about Bioshock 2.

Most of all, what I'm looking forward to about 2010 is that it won't be 2009. That's good enough for me.

# Tuesday Dec 29, 2009

Nicolas Cage, Goodwill Ambassador →

This is just bizarre, Nicolas Cage has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. My favourite quote from the press release:

"Until today, justice has been a cause without a rebel. Now we have one," said [UNODC Executive Director] Mr. Costa.

Cage has said that he will "use the performing arts as an engine for global justice and victim support".

Now, let's take a look at a couple of Nicolas Cage's movies that are coming out in 2010.
Drive Angry - "A vengeful father chases after the men who killed his daughter".
The Hungry Rabbit Jumps - "After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score"

This is Nicolas Cage's interpretation of "global justice"? What next? A right-wing homophobic actor with a history of drug use and sexual assault being elected governor of California?

Wait, what?

# Monday Dec 14, 2009