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This post has been in the backlog for awhile now, I’ve finally decided just to put it up and get it over with.
While continuing the same train of thought from my previous post, I finally got a chance to check out Watchmen movie. Before I go into any specific details about it, I will say this – I absolutely loved it and wished it wouldn’t end.
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It happened – after a constant onslaught of media since I saw the first trailer during The Dark Knight, I finally gave in and started the journey into exploring the Watchmen universe. I just put the motion comic away and I have to say – I can see why people love this so much, but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to calling it the “be all, end all” of graphic novels.
Anyway, the hype train begins with a simple fascination with the character of Rorshach – for some reason, his attitude and “No Shades of Grey” demeanor really appealed to me as I played through the fun beat em up Watchmen: The End is Nigh. This fanboyism was further enhanced with the Watchmen motion comic.
Sure, Nite Owl was a cool dude and Dr. Manhattan was the epitome of a “Super” hero, but Rorshach was clearly the star of the show.
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So, by now everyone on the planet knows about the Wii. It’s Nintendo’s heralded return to the console scene, and if the NPD numbers have anything to say about it, Nintendo didn’t just conquer the current video game market, it created a new market for itself.
One of the Wii’s biggest and most important contributions to the interactive entertainment space is the controller, the “Wiimote” a motion sensitive controller that really changed the way people perceived video games. The “ooh, aah” appeal of the Wii was even more apparent when Nintendo unleashed Wii Fit. Wii Fit, is basically a set of mini games strung together with some rudimentary stat tracking – it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but the perfect storm of Wii hype, an overweight America, and the appeal of Yoga somehow brough the Wii Fit and its balance board into the mainstream.
On the subject of the balance board, it’s a pretty simple concept – a device that measures your weight on a location-specific basis on the pad. With that information, you can do a lot of number crunching behind the scenes to create some neat results. For relatively cheap (well, at least cheap compared to some of the weighing systems you see employed at universities), you can have your own personal scale with four pressure points – using information from those four points, you can pretty much pinpoint the pressure and weight that you’re putting on any point of the board (you’ve got your coordinate plane right there!)
However, the remarkable hardware comes bundled with some pretty lame software. This can be fixed though, as a few simple changes in the exercise database, competitive tracking system, and social media functionality can turn this into a “Soccer Mom’s” toy to a serious fitness machine.
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Just in case the above reference makes no sense to anyone:
I’ve recently switched Webhosts – I was getting a bit tired of Omnis.com’s shared hosting and it was really starting to slow down for me (not to mention phpmyadmin was down for a bit), and I really felt that I didn’t feel like I was justifying spending 8 bucks a month for my web host. Now, I’ve officially made the switch over to NearlyFreeSpeech.net – it’s speedy, it’s cheap, and best of all – you only pay for the bandwidth you use (I’m sounding a bit like Billy Mays here). I don’t forsee my website being that high-traffic anytime soon, so In order to trim around the edges with regards to my finances, I’m trying to cut back wherever I can – this way, I get out of my website what I put into it, so I’m pretty happy.
In other news, I recently purchased a 16kg kettlebell – I’m really excited by this, as I recently started getting a lot more serious about physical fitness and I thought – hey, a kettlebell would be great to just have at home. I’ve named him Randy.
We’ll see how useful it ends up becoming in the coming weeks!
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So last weekend I got a chance to check out the movie “Bigger, Stronger, Faster*” about the proliferation of steroid use in America and the debate behind the use of muscle enhancement drugs. It was kind of a perfect storm for me because I’ve recently started going to the gym a lot more, and while I still never, ever plan on using any kind of anabolic steroids, this movie really opens my eyes on the use of steroids. More…
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I’m a newcomer to the Gears franchise, noting that I haven’t ever played Gears of War 1 aside from the briefest bouts of coop multiplayer on the first level or the occasional romp on Gridlock, a symmetrical multiplayer map that seems to hold the same esteem as de_dust does to Counter-Strike players. Despite the fact that I “missed the boat” for the first game in the franchise, I’m proud to say that that I just finished the 2nd game on “Hardcore” and I must say, I really enjoyed it!
I started playing Gears 2 in multiplayer as part of my job functions at gamerDNA, where I enjoyed some fun during a gamerDNA community night. Oh how I wish I got into the game sooner, as it really is one of the more engaging experiences I’ve had in a shooter. Everyone’s already aware of the whole “stop and pop” combat mechanic, as well as the “active reload” system, which frankly I think should be in more games, because there is something incredibly satisfying about nailing that reload and having your gun roll out a torrent of bullet justice.
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Or, as I describe it, “Working until you gas out”.
I’ve been trying to work a lot harder lately, in a lot of things – from actual “job” work, to working harder in the gym, to working harder on the pavement when I’m going out for a jog. Basically, I’ve dubbed the entire procedure as “Operation Redline” in my head.
Unfortunately, the name also implies an important distinction – I can’t keep up the pace for long. Maybe I can structure it out by refueling on the weekends, but if I want to keep up my physical shape, I’m going to have to start using weekends for more extended conditioning – so I guess that really just leaves Sundays as an all-around rest day.
Let’s see how this plays out.
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Aside from the previously mentioned bullet duels, the game as a whole ended up being really fun for me. My favorite part of the game was using a “spin attack” that allowed for a cinematic John Woo moment (doves and all) to play on the screen, it’s really evocative of the John Woo style of action movies, and that – for me, is why I like the game so much.
Sure, it gets awfully repetitive, but for someone like me, who loved Max Payne, and especially loves The Specialists, this game was right up my alley.
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This is pretty much a placeholder post, letting everyone know that ImranMalek.com is back up – and with a new design provided by Kevin Leary. Expect some good post fun soon!
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