For those who've played disc golf on the KSU campus, you know how impossible this is. For those who haven't, you'll just have to trust me.

Someone's a little overconfident.

Happy Birthday, Netty!

In honor of my wife's b-day, I made this stunning video (with stunningly bad compression, but oh well):

Muffin Wars: Episode 1

I made this today. It took about 30 minutes, which, now that I look at it, seems like way too long. :)

Call of Duty

Ok. I just played Call of Duty on the PC using the Wiimote, nunchuk, and a candle, and it's freaking awesome. It works just as well as the Wii version of CoD. I am infinitely pleased.

[Update: I just downloaded the "wiinsaber" script. It's stupid fun, and does just what you'd guess. Get it here.]

Enter the Wii-puting age

For some reason it never occurred to me that the innovative and fun Wiimote uses Bluetooth for its wirelessness. Most companies are, let's face it, evil (Sony). They insist on using proprietary technology that's not compatible with anything. But not Nintendo. The Wiimote uses Bluetooth and good ol' IR. So I shouldn't have been surprised to find that there's a growing community of users finding ways to use the Wiimote on the PC.

I don't need to tell you that there's a lot of potential in that idea. Replacing the mouse in FPS games, making homebrew PC games using the Wiimote, etc, etc. I've started playing around with it, and even though it's still a little rough, it's also pretty spiffy. Here's how to get started:

1. You need Bluetooth. If your compy has it, great. If not, buy a USB adapter. I got the Kensington 33348 for $30 at Best Buy, but here's the complete list of compatible devices. Install the drivers from the included CD.

2. Download GlovePIE. This program runs all the Wiimote scripts. It comes with quite a few prewritten scripts, and new ones are fairly easy to write (I'm still learning).

3. Get your Wiimote connected. This can be tricky. You have to hit buttons 1 and 2, just like you do to connect to the Wii, but the controller only stays in "search mode" for a few seconds, so you'll have to keep hitting them until your Bluetooth program finds it (it's called Nintendo RVL-CNT). Connect to it as a human input device (HID).

4. Run GlovePIE. File-->open-->testWiimote.pie. Once the script is loaded, hit "Run." If the numbers in the white box change when you move the Wiimote, it's working fine. Now click File-->open-->Wiimote Scripts and find a script that interests you.
So far, I've played with WiiDrums and Wiiitar, which are both pretty fun, and I now regularly use the Windows Media Player script so's I can have a remote control for my media (Note: the volume controls in that script are messed up. Change "Wiimote.Left" to F8 and "Wiimote.Right" to F9. You'll get what I mean once you see it.) If you want to run any scripts that use the IR features (like the pointer/FPS scripts) you'll need an IR source. Until I can work up something with IR LEDs, I've been using a candle, which isn't perfect, but works ok.

If you mess around with this, let me know how it goes for you, and if I come up with any fun scripts, I'll post 'em here. Happy Wiiputing!

A disc golf vista.

Remakes and adaptations and sequels, oh my!

The last two movies I saw?
300-- adapted from a graphic novel
TMNT-- a remake from the original animated series and/or the comic book

Movies I'm looking forward to?
Transformers--obviously adapted from the old animated series
Pirates 3-- end of the trilogy
Indiana Jones 4-- noticing a trend yet?
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time-- adaptation from an excellent game
Hitman-- another game adaptation
Get Smart-- adaptation of an old TV show I don't care about, but starring Steve Carell, which interests me
Die Hard 4-- probably not something I'd pay theater money for, but definitely Netflixable

And these are just the ones that immediately come to mind. There are probably a lot more that I can't remember. (not to mention all the ones I don't care about--the recent Rocky Balboa, for instance.)

This certainly isn't a new trend, but it's starting to bother me. Don't get me wrong. I'll more than likely enjoy all of these movies. But not every movie I see has to be part of a giant franchise with sequels and games and freaking coloring books. Excellent movies that stand on their own do still happen--The Prestige is a recent one that comes to mind. We need more movies where the majority of the money and the creative energy goes into the movie itself, rather than this incessant franchise-building.

Sometimes, remakes do this well--both 300 and Sin City tried to translate Frank Miller's artistic vision to a new medium, and they both did such an amazing job that the adaptations were justified as more than just money-making ventures for the studios. Transformers, though? Michael Bay has no vision. He's just out to make some serious bank, as always. (That won't stop me from seeing it, though. A giant-robots-fighting-each-other-and-smashing-stuff movie is, after all, a giant-robots-fighting-each-other-and-smashing-stuff movie. Still, I hope I've made my point here.)

Right now I can only think of two films I'm looking forward to that aren't part of an existing franchise: Hot Fuzz and Stardust (which is going to blow my mind).  There are probably a few others, but I need more.

It's about time

For many years now, I've been waiting for a DVD release of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. It is, quite simply, the best version of the play I've ever seen on film. I mean, look at this cast: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Gérard Depardieu, Charlton Hesston, Jack Lemmon, Richard Attenborough...some of these are pretty small parts, but seriously. All of those great actors in my favorite Shakespeare play, and no DVD? Hondo, the Imaginary God of Mischief is clearly at work here.

Well, Hondo, I stab at thy heart! Warner is releasing a 10th anniversary edition that should be out by the end of this summer. It's about time.

[A bit of Me and Aaron trivia: back in the day, we started rotoscoping the duel at the end of this film, between Hamlet and Laertes, giving them lightsabers instead of swords. Why? Because we're awesome. It was a pain, too, since we had to capture the footage from crappy VHS. 'Twas a worthy pursuit, but we only got about six seconds of film rotoscoped before the tedium got to us. Any idea where that footage is, Aaron?]

Wounded

My disc didn't come out of the ordeal without a few scars (and shards of light globe embedded in it).  The disc and I both agree: it was totally worth it.

Justice is served.

That light'll think twice before dissin' my disc golf crew again.

I'm all a-Twitter

File this one under "Not exactly new, but new to me."

Twitter is a system designed to let the world know what you're doing at any given moment, through IM, SMS or via the website. It's the kind of thing that would normally elicit a "Hm. That's cool I guess" from me before I moved on. But it occurs to me that there are lots of little updates that never make it to my blog simply because I don't want to clutter up my front page. Via Twitter's nifty flash badge, I can now put them on my sidebar. The system is meant as a social networking thing, since you can have it send you updates via IM or SMS about what your friends are doing. That part doesn't interest me so much, but the idea of mini-posts from my phone does.

Things

Ok, I know my sidebar's looking like a freaking LameSpace page, but it's temporary. I just found some cool toys and I'm too tired to mess with them any more tonight. So for now, they stay. (Try the chat-a-ma-thing...sometimes it works, sometimes not....it's in beta.)
[Update: I took down the chat-a-ma-thing. It's a neat idea, but it doesn't work reliably enough. Maybe they'll work out the bugs soon.]

Art!

It feels like trading brains with an imbecile, for real.

So Incubus just happened to say into my ear, and I think they're right.  Watching "Lady in the Water" is like trading brains with an imbecile.  An imbecile that thought this might be a good movie.  It is not good, and I'm glad to have my own brain back to tell me so.  

The conversation I had with this movie went something like this (This is basically an outline of the whole movie.  So this is your "spoiler alert," though I don't think it's possible to spoil this movie.):

Movie: Hey wouldn't it be cool if an Asian myth came to life in a modern apartment complex?

Me:  Yes, in theory, that would be cool.  Please continue.

Movie:  Ok, so there's this 'water spirit' chick who lives in an underwater room at the bottom of the pool.  The landlord guy finds her and she lives in his apartment for a while and doesn't wear pants.

Me:  Um...I--well, ok.  Go on.

Movie:  So this water girl needs to find this writer who's going to write a book that'll change the world.  Oh, and this writer is actually played by the director of the movie.

Me:  That's annoying.  So why does she need to find him?  Sounds like he's doing just fine.

Movie:  I don't know.  She just does.  Anyway, once she finds him she has to get home, back to the water.  Except there's this grass-wolf that lives outside and he's going to try to kill her when she comes back to the pool.  Normally he wouldn't be able to, because the justice-monkeys won't allow it, but this time he doesn't care because the water girl is really a water queen.  She just doesn't know it.

Me:  I see.  Sounds like quite the dilemma.

Movie:  Oh, it is, it is.  Luckily, there's this old Chinese lady who knows about the myth and her daughter translates for the landlord and he figures out that he needs some pot smokers and a guy who likes crossword puzzles to get the water girl back to the pool.

Me:  Um...you're losing me here.

Movie:  But wait!  There's a guy who only works out one side of his body so he has a huge arm and a huge leg and he's the guardian and as long as he stares at the grass-wolf-thing  it can't move and then the eagle comes and--

Me:  Ok, that's enough.

Movie:  But what about the Mexican sisters and the...the film critic gets eaten, and the--

Me:  I said that's enough.  Just stop it.


So, yeah.  I wouldn't recommend that movie to anyone.

300

It's a decent number. Some have called it The Greatest Number (though they were quickly silenced by the 301 Boyz). More importantly, however, it's the name of the film I saw yesterday afternoon. The film that I'd been looking forward to for nigh on six months. The film based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, which is a highly stylized version of the historical Battle of Thermopylae. Yes, that film.

So, after all the waiting, did I love it? Mayhap. In terms of visual presentation, it was superb. The backgrounds, the soldiers, the blood--everything looked like it had been painted. No, not painted. Inked. Especially the blood, and there was lots of it. The Spartans didn't wear armor in this movie, so when they got spear'd or arrow'd or sword'd, you saw the blade go in one side and out the other, in graphic detail. As Netty pointed out, though, the deliberate, dance-like choreography of the fights often took your attention away from the copious amounts of blood. The swinging of the sword and shield tended to be more visually captivating than the gutting and dismemberment. And then there was Xerxes, the Persian "god-king," who was portrayed as some kind of weird sexually-deviant giant. I dug it, if only because I've never seen a 'bad guy' quite like him (though I did get a bit of a Ra vibe from him, a la Stargate--not that there's anything wrong with that).

And now, having said all that (and there's much more I could say here), I've decided that I did love it. In fact, I think I'd enjoy it more the second time around, since I know that...well, I won't spoil it for you. I'll put it this way: now that I know how the film handled the historical aspects of the story, which I was wondering about most of the way through, my second viewing could dismiss that and I could simply look at this film again. I may just do that.

At last...

...the universe is complete. Or at least my new gaming board is. I made it to play Star Wars Starship Battles on, and I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. I may post more nonblurry pics later, but I just spent the last three hours finishing it up, and then I lost an hour to that damnable daylight savings conspiracy, so for now, I sleep.

I get along with HBO.

HBO is alright.  They've done good things for me.  Band of Brothers is the definitive WWII production.  Rome is, for lack of a better term, eximius.  And Curb Your Enthusiasm is generally pretty hilarious.  I never really got into that whole Sopranos thing, but whatever.  

My point in all of this blathering is that I'm hoping HBO will continue its trend of entertaining me with Preacher, which is finishing up its pilot right now.  It's a comic book, which is a strike against it considering the seemingly endless stream of poorly-adapted comic filth that's been running through theaters for the past few years (I'd list them, but you know the ones I mean).  Yet movies like Batman Begins, Sin City, and Hellboy have proven that it can be done right.  

And, come on.  Look at this description:

Preacher centers on a Texas holy man named Jesse Custer, who is possessed by a supernatural entity that is half angel and half demon. Given immense powers, Jesse sets out on a journey to find God—who has fled from heaven—and hold him accountable for his actions.  (SciFi Wire).

How can that not be good?  I mean, he's hunting God.  Do I have to spell out for you just how cool that is?  Do you need me to draw you a map to Awesome?  Because I could do it, and let me tell you: the path from here to Awesome leads right through God-hunting Preacher Land.

Ah, but there's a catch.  Of course.  The guy doing it is the guy who just finished Ghost Rider.  Now, I admit there's not much I can say about that movie, having not seen it, but it looks like it's a guy with his head on fire, riding a motorcycle around for a couple of hours, and all the reviews I've read have pretty much confirmed that.

And so, we're back where we started on this little blogventure: HBO. They've done me proud in the past.  Let's just hope they've made the right choice here.

It's a hat!

So, I ordered a pita a while ago (through Campusfood.com), and I wanted a cookie with it. I specifically wanted chocolate chip, but in case they didn't have any, I added this note to the order:

"If you don't have chocolate chip, then surprise me (with another cookie, I mean. Not like a puppy, or anything--I'm not looking for a huge surprise.)."

And this is what I found in the bag when my order got here a few minutes ago:


Spiffy.

I don't smile a lot...

...but I did just now when I saw that The Empire Strikes Back is on HBO.  Seeing the original trilogy takes me back to the old days of watching them on the USA Network, back before I had my own copies.  Ah, memories.