Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • Disappointing Games

    Max and I rented a couple games this week to play while I was off. We got Jak II and Lethal Skies 2. We were hoping to get SSX3, but they didn’t have it yet. I’m sad to bring you these reviews, because I had such high hopes for these games. I really did. So, let’s get this over with:

    Lethal Skies 2: This game’s pretty fun, and the graphics are great. The only thing missing in the rental is that Blockbuster doesn’t provide instruction booklets or even a little instruction on the back for most games. I’m completely stuck because I can’t find the button combination to use the air brakes. Without them, I can’t land, which means I can’t finish mission four. So… this one’s not even the game’s fault. Stupid Blockbuster. Maybe I’ll do gamefly. Hopefully, they provide some kind of manual.

    Jak II: Max and I loved the first one. Jak and Daxter is one of the all-time great platformers. The story is great, the characters were funny, and it was just hard enough to be challenging without being impossible. It was the first game we bought when we got the PS2. We played it for months. So, when I heard the sequel was coming out, I was psyched. Holy crap, am I disappointed. They tried to up the maturity level, so there’s a lot more rust, guns, flying things, and grim, big-eared bad guys. Max didn’t like it right off the bat, and I tired of it after the first hour. This game is a lot harder than the first, and it’s hard from the beginning. The story isn’t as compelling from the start like the first one, and it just falls flat.

    I’m really looking forward to SSX3. Tricky was the second game we bought, and we still play it. It’s that much fun.

    And yes, I’m still working on the community site… It’s slow going, but I have a logo, and am working on creating a new template. I’ll give y’all more details on what I’m doing when I get closer to launch.

  • All Things in Moderation: A Crazy Man’s Quest

    More coming at some point (maybe not, I’m not afraid of failure at this point, just never starting) on this, but this community thing I’m trying to start? It’s more of a quest for community. It’s a quest to find the absolute political middle of my country. Right now, I believe the following things about the political landscape today:

    • The Republicans and Democrats are more concerned about winning than being right.

    • The right and left in this country are worried about the loudest and most loyal of their constituencies. Those groups are not moderate, and are not usually willing to compromise with the other side.

    • This means that the majority of Americans – those a certain distance from the middle – are under or unrepresented by the folks they elected.

    • The two party system means that those candidates that get party support are not going to be moderate for the most part. They’re going to be the ones who can raise the most money from the party’s loyal constituents.

    • The moderates in this country are unorganized, misled and getting the shaft.

    • It’s not wrong to compromise.

    • Being right is more important than winning.

    • The under-represented middle will decide the election in 2004 – and if they don’t get their act together, we’re going to get screwed again.

    • It’s not wrong to be a moderate. Moderation is good. Good ideas are more important than who came up with them.

    There are lots of things that led me to realize these things… and lots of pieces of information and events that led me to these conclusions. What does it mean? It means I want to find a way to find those in the middle, find out what’s important to them, find what we can all agree on, and if we can’t agree on everything – find those things that are important to us and start a conversation.

    I know, it’s crazy. It’s insane. It’s too big to even think about starting. I’ve downloaded several open source content management systems, have installed several and am still looking. I know… geek’s answer: software will solve everything. But, it’s where I start. Got any suggestions? Am I as crazy as I think I am?

  • Note To Self: Read

    When not on vacation, go read Web Design Practices.

  • Vacation and Secret Projects

    I have this week off, and am spending lots of time doing family stuff, so don’t expect too much of me here. While watching TV, or when I’m not doing anything else, I’ve been playing with PostNuke. It’s currently a contender for a community site I’m planning. I don’t really want to talk about the purpose of the site yet, or why I went on a little domain name buying frenzy last week. But, it’s going to be important to me, and hopefully help define a few things.

    If anyone out there has used PostNuke before and has any tips/reviews, let me know!

  • I Think I Screwed Up

    I decided to give Scoop a try on my laptop. I figured the install would be relatively Movable Type-like. Guess again. It comes with this little install script that’s now been running for over an hour compiling and installing thing, asking me question after question, and… I hope I didn’t just make a very large mistake. But, if I did just hose everything, at least I’ll have a good reason to wipe the hard drive and install Panther fresh with it comes out next week.

    I don’t know what it is with me and beta software. I’ve come to realize over the years that I’m a compulsive installer/updater. I run Software Update on all my systems (Mac, XP, RedHat) at least once a week, and am almost always willing to install crazy beta/alpha software for no good reason. I think maybe I need help.

    UPDATE: Still compiling… That’s two hours. I think we’re up to compiling the kitchen sink and a new mach kernel. I compiled Mozilla several times on my old G3 Powerbook running YellowDog, and I thought that took forever. Scoop takes the cake… really. I know it’s compiling a lot of Perl stuff, but this is insane.

  • Random Notes

    • My wedding ring is getting looser. Sometimes, it slides down on one side. I’m almost to the point of being worried that it might fall off. I still have such a divot in my finger from when my ring was too small (when Jen was pregnant with Max I stupidly ate when she did – gained a loooo-oooot of weight, and got fat(ter) fingers). Maybe it’s time to go shrink it.

    • Cool CSS/Web Design Sites/Blogs I’ve Found Recently (or re-found):

    • I’m currently feeling guilty for leaving Automatic for the People off my top ten albums list.

    • Tiger Woods 2004 is the most addictive game I’ve played since Civ 2, and I’m slightly embarrassed about that. I spent an hour last night after everyone had gone to bed trying to beat Jim Furyk. And I did. I whipped his ass, but good. Took me about six rounds to do it, but that last one was perfect.

    • I’ve been reading The Right Christians recently, and it’s revealing a whole corner of the web, and the religious fabric of the country that I had no idea existed. Interesting stuff.

    • I’ve been looking for new blogs to add to the list of 116 subscriptions I have in NetNewsWire. Any suggestions?

  • Song of the Minute

    Right now, I can’t get over how old-school gorgeous Soul Coughing‘s Janine is. It reminds me of 50’s pop love songs, but with a modern twist that’s just wonderful. It brings back black and white memories of those dates I never wanted to end, driving home on empty streets with the smell of greasewood and mesquite in the air, lips tingling from kisses still fresh enough to taste and the smell of her perfume on my collar.

    Thank God I married her…

  • Favorite Albums

    In lieu of actual content today, I’ve decided to post my list of top ten favorite albums, for no other reason than every time I’ve tried to go through this exercise before I always fall into brainmelt trying to pick just ten (which is why I can’t really do my top ten favorite movies). Here they are in no particular order (and only one album per band, which makes this really hard), and why:

    • Morphine:Cure for Pain – This was the first Morphine album I heard and it just blew me away. From the opening sax on Dawna to the final notes of Miles Davis’ Funeral, it’s perfect. There isn’t one song this album could live without. Mark Sandman’s baritone is the fourth instrument in the band, and complements his crazy three-string bass, drums and sax perfectly. If you’ve never heard Morphine before, you’re missing out. I almost used The Night here instead, but Cure for Pain is more important to me, even though Night is a little more polished. The band’s at its best when it gets a little ragged anyway.

    • Phish: Billy Breathes – Augh, this one was hard. This could have easily been Farmhouse or Hoist. Like the previous album, I chose this one for the sheer impact. This was the first I’d heard of the band, and I was immediately hooked. I went out and bought Hoist, Rift and Slip, Stitch and Pass the day after hearing this album. This album is a great introduction to the band. It’s missing those long loopy jams that can annoy the first time listener, and all the songs are relatively short, independant and rockin’. It also has one of their best ballads (they’re totally underrated when it comes to ballads, check out Not Fast Enough for You on Rift and Dirt from Farmhouse). There are no duds on this album, and nothing you’ll want to skip through (ok, except maybe Wolfman’s Brother – but even that’s an awesome song).

    • Massive Attack:Mezzanine – There is no other. This is their best album, and the best trip-hop album ever. You’ve probably heard most of the songs already without knowing it from movies, TV shows and commercials who make liberal use of Angel and Teardrop (still… the album came out in ’97). It’s got a great techno-not-techno feel. There are real instruments behind everything, and a real voice. This is the easiest pick out of the whole list (I shouldn’t say that, I’m not done yet). If you don’t own this album, go out today and buy it. I don’t care what kind of music you think you like – you will like this. You will love it, and then spend the rest of your days finding anything to compare to it (OK, 100th Window is close, but Mezzanine is still better by far).

    • Bela Fleck and the Flecktones:Live Art – Some might say this is unfair for two reasons. It’s a live album containing material from other albums, and there are two disks. Pshaw on you. You can’t really grasp the complete and total mastery the band has of their respective instruments by listening to their studio albums. Live Art gives you a little glimpse into the greatness of their live shows, and will get your butt in a seat when they come back to Wolf Trap (or whereever they’re going to be locally). There’s only one dud on the album, and that’s just because they let Sam Bush (who’s a hell of a mandolin player) sing a song. No singing = good Flecktones. If you’re not into the live stuff, check out Flight of the Cosmic Hippo – it’s my favorite of their studio albums, and has the amazing Howard Levy on it.

    • The Crystal Method:Vegas – This album is almost as old as Mezzanine and people are still copying it. It’s the definitive techno album as far as I’m concerned and contains songs I’m sure you’ve heard before – probably in the same places you’ve heard Massive Attack or Amon Tobin. This album just plain rocks. You won’t be able to avoid tapping your feet and bobbing your head along with the amazing beats on this album. Also one of the best headphone albums ever.

    • Living Colour:Cult of Personality – I was going to cheat and put Pride here, but I just couldn’t. This was one of the first albums I bought with my own money that I’ll still admit to. Corey Glover’s vocals were a cure for all the girly pop boys of the late eighties. His soulful tenor over Vernon Reid’s genius guitar work blew me away, and still do. Cult of Personality and These Memories Can’t Wait are perfect hard rock that no one’s been able to match for me since. If you want to buy one album and get the whole Glover/Reid experience, get Pride. It has the best of their studio albums – the latter ones only contain two or three songs each that match the promise of their first album. Vernon Reid and Corey Glover’s solo albums are also good… but again, they were at their best together on that first album.

    • The Beatles:Sgt. Peppers – My dad still had a great record collection, and this was my favorite album in it. This was my first favorite album. Every song is perfect. I know the album by heart, but every time I hear it, it feels new and better. Another great headphone album.

    • The Housemartins:The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death – This one’s older, but a fairly new addition to my list. This is one of Jen’s favorite bands, and now it’s one of my faves too. Never heard of them? Yeah, I’ve heard that before. This is happy 80’s pop without the bubblegum. It’s bouncey, smart, funny and perfect. You’ll smile without thinking about it, and learn the words and start singing along in no time. A perfect pick-me-up after a long day at work.

    • Talking Heads:Sand in the Vaseline – I’m totally cheating on this one, I know, but I don’t own another Talking Heads album. This could have been Feelings from David Byrne, but I decided to go to the source. My wife and I danced to City of Dreams at our wedding reception. They were one of the most revolutionary bands in modern rock and set the stage for art rock and folks like Beck. Good, good classic stuff.

    • Henryk Gorecky:Sympony No. 3 – Ha, threw you for a loop on the last one, didn’t I? You’ve probably heard some of this on TV or in a movie too (it showed up in one of my favorite movies, Fearless and I’ve heard it in at least a couple dozen other places too). Written about the Holocaust, it contains Polish poems and prayers, and is one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard. It starts out with a double bass sawing slowly and quietly, barely audible. Then builds through three movements with other strings and the gorgeous voice of Dawn Upshaw (in my recording anyway). The second movement especially is just heartbreaking. If you like bands like Sigur Ros, love sad orchestral music, or strings – go get this album.

    That was hard. I know I shortchanged about a dozen of my other favorite albums here, but I won’t list them – because that would be cheating, it really would. What’s your favorite album?

  • Kill Bill

    This is unlike any movie you’ve ever seen. It may remind you a little of Pulp Fiction, but it’s just a twinge of a memory. It will nag you through the whole movie what this spectacle reminds you of. You won’t realize what it is until the end, as you sit through all the credits hoping for a Matrix Reloaded-like preview of the next film. It never came.

    Sorry… let’s talk about the flick why don’t we? But first, let me say that I’m an unapologetic Tarantino fan. I love Pulp Fiction and Resevoir Dogs. I even liked Four Rooms. So, this is a fan’s review. I’m not impartial. I went into this expecting to love the movie, and I was no disappointed. I loved it. It was awesome. It was the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in a long time.

    The action is intense, slightly cartoony (which I’ll explain later), and a lot of fun. Uma Thurman pulls off her best performance ever… ever. Everyone else is solid, especially Lucy Liu, who chews up the scenes she’s in with a lot of power, but with a very real sense of grace and lightness.

    A couple warnings… this is the bloodiest, most gruesome action movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t watch slasher flicks, but I’ll bet it outdoes some of them for the number of limbs violently removed and the gallons of blood sprayed per character. Even so, most of the blood feels cartoonish, and there are only a couple real cringe-worthy moments.

    Let’s talk about music… it rocks. All of Tarantiino’s movies have great music, and this movie is no different. There was only one place I wanted a song to go on longer than it did – that killer horn riff song from the trailer. It’s a great track, but it’s only in the movie for a minunte or so. Still, the rest of the music is great, and fits the scenes perfectly.

    Now, where have I seen this before? While I loved the movie, it felt very familiar. I realized near the end that it’s really a live-action anime. Behind the great acting, great production values and fight scenes, it’s anime. The spurting blood, crazy action, and forceful amputations are all nods to anime. This isn’t bad… it’s good. It’s great. I think more anime should be retold to American audiences. A live-action Akira rewritten by an American screenwriter with Hollywood stars? Awesome. Yeah, it would rule.

    Go see Kill Bill… go see it today. Movies like this deserve to be successful so they’ll make more like ’em.

  • Debate Notes

    I watched the debate last night, after a long day of doing nothing (God bless vacation time!). Here are my impressions:

    • I’m sorry Bob Graham dropped out, but not too much. He seems like an honest and reasonable guy, but he didn’t really strike me as presidential in the debates I watched.

    • In 2000, I didn’t like either choice – Gore or Bush. I liked McCain, but he dropped out in South Carolina, and left us with W. But, of the nine Democrats left in the race, there are real differences between the candidates, and they are polar opposites of our current President. It’s exciting to watch.

    • To me, Howard Dean is losing ground. Maybe it was just this debate, but he’s starting to look a little wooden, and I’ve heard all of his answers before. I don’t know if it’s just Dean Burnout, but he’s slipping in my mind.

    • Wesley Clark is moderate enough to win against Bush, but not liberal enough to win the nomination. That’s a little depressing, but unfortunately a fact of life. Apparently, to win the nomination, you have to go way out on the left, and then spend the rest of the campaign swimming against the current to get back to the middle. I think that the Democrats need to start that transition now. Bush is not a moderate, and his actions are eroding his support in the middle. If the Democrats speak to the middle and not the party faithful now, they get a head start on next year, and we can pick a candidate that will energize the moderates in this country, who make up an overwhelming majority of the voters in this country.

    • This debate format sucked. I could try to say something intelligent about it, but I’m not awake yet.

    • Sharpton was flatter than in other debates.

    • Speaking of moving to the middle, Kucinich needs to drop out soon. No matter what the question, he comes back to the “I voted against the war. I’m the ONLY ONE!!” line, and the even worse “Bring our troops home now!” Kucinich is interesting, but too far out on the fringe to do anything in the race. He needs to drop out.

    • I don’t think we’ll see too many more folks leave the race until New Hampshire, although I could see Moseley-Braun and Kucinich leave before then.

    • For winners? I think Kerry and Gephardt gave their best performances, and Gephardt for the first time actually looked like he had some fire. Kerry gave his most fiery performance and, in my mind, pulled even with Dean and Clark.

    I’ve been thinking about each candidate, their strengths and weaknnesses, and may write up what I see in the near future if I can find the time. Oh, Lazyweb, does such a thing already exist?