Have a Bunch of Links!

[wickedorin]

• Back to beading with the Nobody Bracelet. I've been wanting to try this pattern for months.

So catching up sucks. But how about one long post full of information instead? Sure, why not.

I finished Monster the night before the convention. That was certainly something to think about. *grin* The series... was nothing that I'd expected, and that's a magnificent thing. No one can really describe it adequately, so I won't try--but it's worth it. Very worth it. I am someone that greatly appreciated the last bit of the last episode. Oh yes, that was... perfect after the journey. I suppose maybe it's about human ache... but human triumph, too. And fear. But... not in a bad way. Yeah, too hard to explain. There was a actually one death that got to me. And that's all I'm saying.

Finally saw Moon. I've been wanting to see it since its release, but just managed a couple of week ago. It's also a little impossible to describe, but it's got a sliver of a 2001 vibe to it--and that's more than the window dressing. That epically "alone" feeling makes for the perfect backdrop... and you know how much I adore AIs. Gerty rocks. The effects are also perfect, nothing overdone but made just right. I'm so sick of obvious CG.

Saw Where the Wild Things Are, too. Let me be clear: the puppets were fucking amazing and I desperately want every behind the scenes featurette I can find. Does anyone even make documentaries about what the Henson Company is up to anymore? I was fantastically spoiled by both the Labyrinth and Dark Crystal documentaries, as well as the many behind the scenes Muppet specials. But, after gushing about the always incredible work of Henson's people... the movie itself... um. See, there's the problem. There were moments, there really were. But... for a Spike Jonze film, it felt... empty. Beautiful shell, with nothing in the middle. Maybe it was supposed to feel that way. I don't think so. But maybe it's just me. Turning a short children's book into a movie is never really a good idea, is it? I don't know, I just hope more of you got something more out of it than "Ooh, pretty!"

Which brings me to the really interesting thought: Can the Magic of Puppets Persist in a Virtual World? I would argue, always, yes. CG has its place, but it's never quite managed to capture that "certain something" that puppets and miniatures have. While Henson himself was extremely interested in computers, he treated computer graphics much like Pixar does--like puppets.

And while it's not a movie and I've seen it a dozen times, watching the Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium concert is always fulfilling. It's always a little bitter-sweet, but damn the art of a good performance seems rather lost these days. It's too rare a thing to see mutual respect between a band and their audience.

I figured out what else Poison reminds me of. And it's fucking weird. The light pink hair, white top, light skin, pose... sie reminds me of the magnolia tree that was slaughtered last year. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry when I thought of this, but it makes me happy now so whatever. Rock on you lovely bitch.

A bit of an enjoyable article, Sex and PVC: Sexuality and Action Figure Collecting. It seems like, even with the comments, the conversation is really just beginning. I should think that everyone grabs the figures they think are hot, but I know some collectors are... well, collectors and must have every particular figure in a series. I don't pretend to understand that concept, however.

I am... severely disappointed with the Revoltech Trigun figures. I mean, Vash looks okay, considering... but Wolfwood is a major no. Oh well, two less pre-orders for me. I should have known after Revoltech's Dante. Though I did buy their Starscream for the smirk alone--but it's a little hard to fuck up a robot ion. Possible, oh yes (vitriolic mentions of Bay movies here), but difficult.

And finally some better pictures of the Devil May Cry 4 boys got released! Here's Dante, and here's Nero. I'm still so tempted to switch my pre-order to the Japanese versions just to get them in June, but... I still worry about the facial sculpts. And, frankly, I can wait. I still wish Dante came with Alastor but... Ebony and Ivory are more than fine. I'm sure I'll sculpt an Alastor eventually. *sigh*

Tomopop's review of the FFXIII Shiva bike... sort of does make me want it, yes. Not for that price, not now, but maybe some day. It is deliriously freaky/pretty/awesome in its own right. (And to be clear, I'm not saying that the figure isn't worth its price tag. Clearly, I could not say something like that. *grin* I simply will not be aiming for it for... some years, probably.)

Okay, okay. So Roger Ebert stirred up the whole "games vs art" discussion again and I still haven't commented on it. That's because my reaction was exactly what Tycho (Jerry Holkins) writes here (though much more concisely than I could have written it). It's a non-issue, it's tired, and there are better things to focus and spend energy on. Let's move on.

In more important news, Old Grandma Hardcore has a bone to pick with people who think gamers are all 13-year-old boys. Game on, Grandma. I love this woman.

I love Godhand, too. A lot. It's an incredibly nonsensical, hilarious, brutal game. That Shinji Mikami says he regrets having "too much freedom" pisses me off. No, it didn't sell well. But it was just so damn weird and different and unexpected in every possible way; it's easy to understand why it's a cult favorite, and it took me forever to get a hold of just the disk alone. I cherish this disk. I know, we need money to live--but commercial success, get this, isn't everything. Whoah, I know.

Less Talk More Rock - when making a game, go from step 1 to step 3. You'll just have to read it to see what I mean. (I enjoy the concept quite a lot.) Choice quote: "A little bit of talk is ok, so long as there is proportionally more rock going on..."

I guess The Path wasn't for everyone. The post mortem, at least, is fascinating.

I'm glad I didn't buy Final Fight: Double Impact now. Let's not start shit, Capcom.

While not technically video game news, I felt it important that everyone who loves Yoshitaka Amano through his Final Fantasy illustrations knows that he's got a feature film in the works that looks and sounds awesome thus far. But I personally happen to love his style, so.

And yet a little more about my Muppet obsession. Rumor has it thee will be a new Muppet movie in 2011. ...I want to believe the recent YouTube stuff means this won't be shit. I'm not sure when Jim's sensibilities were finally completely ignored, but there's hope now. There's hope. *rocks back and forth*

Nerd Awakenings: When Did You First Realize You Were a Geek? is an enjoyable read, along with the comments. I don't remember a defining moment, myself. It simply always was. *snort* My father used to watch Star Trek and Star Wars quite often, introduced me to the wonder that is Tremors, and my parents bought me games and consoles and never once suggested that I not buy toys once I could do so with my own money. So... yay for that. No, I wasn't like the others. I'm still not. There's some pride in that.

I have gained respect for Rachel Neumeier as a writer.

Ever witness someone being knowingly cruel to someone who relies on them? I just... don't understand. If you volunteer to take care of someone who can't take care of themselves, whether it be an animal or an old person, or even a child (and I am no fan of children... but the little bastards deserve a chance to turn out alright), then... I don't understand how you could possibly be knowingly, purposely cruel. It goes beyond my realm of understanding. These are not people who deserve the air they breathe, are they? And yet I get looked down on because I voice these thoughts? I just... don't understand. No, I could never have that much patience for humans--but I know that so I don't volunteer to be a care-taker. Yes, sometimes there have been frustrating moments in taking care of abused or neglected dogs in my life, because they're afraid of one thing or another, but... you don't act on it. You should be able to remember to have patience and understanding and enough love to try and understand what they're going through so you can help them. Both animals and people know frustration when they see it, and it doesn't help. It sure as fuck doesn't help to give them more to be frightened of or confused or frustrated by. You don't yell and you don't hit and you don't become the mother fucking scum of the earth. *sigh* I don't know, just venting. People shouldn't need laws or religious codes of conduct to know not to be dicks. It's not like they work anyway.

Comments

[lhexa]

That epically "alone" feeling makes for the perfect backdrop... and you know how much I adore AIs. Gerty rocks.

I particularly liked how he didn't turn out to be a malicious AI, despite all sci-fi conventions stating that must happen. The expressions were also nifty.

I would argue, always, yes. CG has its place, but it's never quite managed to capture that "certain something" that puppets and miniatures have.

I think one persistent advantage puppets have over CG characters is that they don't move in a realistic fashion, but instead translate physical motions to emotional affect in a chaotic manner. Their worth is a testament to human empathy (to the fact that we can like creatures that are only cursorily human) as much as it is to the puppeteers' skill.

Okay, okay. So Roger Ebert stirred up the whole "games vs art" discussion again and I still haven't commented on it.

Oddly enough, from a Cavell book I'm currently reading: "What harm if one wishes... to characterize Duchamp's exhibited urinal, entitled 'Fountain,' as undecidably a work of art or else not a work of art? Although this might do less harm than the arguments that Duchamp's nasty brilliance has so far inspired, it might do worse harm, since it would instill the thought that the idolized urinal is decidably art or the reverse. I do not claim that this is impossible for some minds to think, but I expect they will be ones who would like to decide whether others are human or not."

Ever witness someone being knowingly cruel to someone who relies on them?

No, not yet. I do think I am a person who knows how to sublimate the responses that lead to such cruelty, and keep the company of other such people, though. ...As long as precisely measured teasing doesn't count as cruelty, that is. :P

[wickedorin]

I particularly liked how he didn't turn out to be a malicious AI, despite all sci-fi conventions stating that must happen.

That's part of what I loved--when that tension and dread you've basically been programmed with just disappears altogether because Gerty's really not some horrible evil machine. Wouldn't mind seeing that a little more often.

On puppetry, it's deliciously perfect to watch any clip of Jim Henson consciously demonstrating a puppet (or the people who worked directly with him, for that matter). There isn't a moment when this thing made of cloth and plastic doesn't seem to have a spark of something purely alive inside of it. But then I'm (extremely) Henson-obsessed.

Granted I've nothing of great intelligence to say regarding the Cavell quote, but it is interesting to reflect on how closely linked art and humanity are. Somehow I think the discussion might change if that element was brought into it... but there'd only be more whining an in-fighting. Possibly another element of humanity.

As for teasing, I think the depth of that cruelty is a matter of perception. *grin*