The ‘
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in user/themes/bonsai08/tag.php line 7
system/classes/rawphpengine.php line 93:
include( ...1 arg... )
system/classes/theme.php line 504:
RawPHPEngine->display( ...1 arg... )
system/classes/theme.php line 127:
Theme->display( ...1 arg... )
system/classes/theme.php line 263:
Theme->display_fallback( ...1 arg... )
system/classes/theme.php line 388:
Theme->act_display( ...1 arg... )
system/classes/userthemehandler.php line 50:
Theme->act_display_tag( )
system/classes/controller.php line 167:
UserThemeHandler->act( ...1 arg... )
index.php line 221:
Controller::dispatch_request( )
Call Stackindex.php (221): Controller::dispatch_request(); controller.php (167): UserThemeHandler->act(stringdisplay_tag); userthemehandler.php (56): Utils::debug(objectError Object
(
[message:protected] => Trying to get property of non-object
[is_error:protected] => 1
[string:private] =>
[code:protected] => 0
[file:protected] => /var/www/vhosts/binarybonsai.com/httpdocs/system/classes/error.php
[line:protected] => 115
[trace:private] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[file] => /var/www/vhosts/binarybonsai.com/httpdocs/user/themes/bonsai08/tag.php
[line] => 7
[function] => error_handler
[class] => Error
[type] => ::
[args] => Array
(
[0] => 8
[1] => Trying to get property of non-object
[2] => /var/www/vhosts/binarybonsai.com/httpdocs/user/themes/bonsai08/tag.php
[3] => 7
[4] => Array
(
[template] => tag
[matched_rule] => RewriteRule Object
(
[entire_match] => tag/science_fiction
[named_arg_values] => Array
(
[tag] => science_fiction
)
[m_named_args:private] => Array
(
[required] => Array
(
[0] => tag
)
[optional] => Array
(
[0] => page
)
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[rule_id] => 0
[name] => display_entries_by_tag
[parse_regex] => %^tag/(?P<tag>[^/]*)(?:/page/(?P<page>\d+))?/?$%i
[build_str] => tag/{$tag}(/page/{$page})
[handler] => UserThemeHandler
[action] => display_tag
[priority] => 5
[is_active] => 1
[rule_class] => 0
[description] => Return posts matching specified tag.
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[rule_id] => rule_id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[request] => stdClass Object
(
[rsd] =>
[atompub_servicedocument] =>
[cron] =>
[display_entries_by_date] =>
[user_profile] =>
[display_entries_by_tag] => 1
[admin] =>
[user] =>
[atom_feed_comments] =>
[endpoint] =>
[testoutput] =>
[display_search] =>
[submit_feedback] =>
[ajax] =>
[auth_ajax] =>
[admin_ajax] =>
[atom_entry] =>
[atom_feed] =>
[atom_feed_tag] =>
[atom_feed_entry_comments] =>
[atom_feed_page_comments] =>
[xmlrpc] =>
[display_entry] =>
[display_page] =>
[display_entries] =>
[display_home] =>
[display_404] =>
)
[posts] => Posts Object
(
)
[page] => 1
[pages] => Posts Object
(
[0] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 55
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 55
[slug] => the-administration-interface
[title] => Monolith
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/habari/the-administration-interface/
[content] => Monolith is the project name given to the administration interface I spear-headed the development of in early 2008. It has since been rolled into the main trunk of Habari, and been fully adopted as a community-owned part of Habari itself.
* "Announcement":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2008/02/19/i-named-her-monolith/
* "Mockup Gallery":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157603941330603/
* <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/files/habari/Monolith - Human Interface Guidelines.pdf">The Human Interface Guidelines</a>
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-02-19 11:57:15
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:06
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[1] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 57
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 57
[slug] => habari-1
[title] => Habari
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/habari/
[content] => This page will grow over time, for now, you're probably looking for "Monolith, the Habari Administration Interface":http://binarybonsai.com/habari/the-administration-interface/.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-02-16 21:47:51
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:06
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[2] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 432
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 432
[slug] => lifestream
[title] => Lifestream
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/about/lifestream/
[content] =>
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2006-11-26 15:58:52
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:14
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[3] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 763
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 763
[slug] => podcast-1
[title] => Podcast
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/podcast/
[content] => h2. Podcast
As of "February 5th, 2006":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2006/03/05/binary-bonsai-podcast-1/, I'm now also broadcasting (or is that narrowcasting?) a podcast (enough with the casts!) off of Binary Bonsai. You can "subscribe to the RSS feed":http://feeds.feedburner.com/binarybonsai/podcast or if you're an iTunes user you can go straight to "my entry in the iTMS":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129561559&s=143458, if you're so inclined.
<a href="http://odeo.com/sendmeamessage/MichaelHeilemann"><img alt="Send Me A Message" border="0" height="69" class="center" src="http://odeo.com/img/badge-send-me-cloud-bird-pink.gif" width="165" /></a>
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2006-03-21 18:26:28
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:21
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[4] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1032
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1032
[slug] => hosting
[title] => Media Temple Hosting
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/about/mt/
[content] => h2. Media Temple
In June 2005 I moved Binary Bonsai onto "Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com servers, and I quite frankly couldn't be happier with the level of service I have received from them.
<img src="/images/dv.png" alt="Server" class="alignright" style="margin-left: 10px;" />Binary Bonsai is powered by the "(mt) Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com "(dv) Dedicated Virtual":http://www.mediatemple.net/services/webhosting/dv/linux-standard/ server. This 2nd generation virtual dedicated server delivers advanced computing resources implemented in the intuitive Plesk 7 Reloaded environment.
Binary Bonsai is able to serve thousands of daily visitors all running a non-cached WordPress (that is, entirely dynamic pages, that're fethced for each request) on the (dv) Dedicated Virtual server. Combining this advanced server platform with (mt) Media Temple's "advanced blended network":http://www.mediatemple.net/company/aboutus/technology-infrastructure.php and support allows me to remain sane and concentrate on what I want published and not how I _get_ it published.
I tip my hat to the Media Temple crew, they're one of the best hosting experiences I've ever had.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-10-22 13:33:30
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:27
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[5] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1080
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1080
[slug] => essays
[title] => Essays and Writing
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/essays/
[content] => I obviously 'publish' a lot of stuff on <a href="/">my blog</a>. Some of a slightly useful nature, most of it not. The longer writings, that you may be able to actually derive something interesting from, I have gathered here. This is a mixture of old school assignments, rants and extended blog entries, put here for archival purposes.
Have fun, and feel free to <a href="/about/#contact">contact me</a> if you're interested in discussing any of the things you find here.
<h4>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</h4>
<small>Published online February 23rd, 2003 - Written Early 2001 - 22 Pages</small>
<a href="/files/androids_and_bladerunner.pdf">Download .pdf (~ 76 KB)</a>
<a href="/files/androids_and_bladerunner.zip">Download zipped .doc (~ 37 KB)</a>
I translated this from Danish to get it out on the net, my love for both Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick's works bid me to. Still today I am absolutely gobsmacked when I see Blade Runner. It's simply a masterpiece of a movie. And Philip K. Dick's ideas will warp your mind any time of day.
This is not a fully indepth analysis of the movie and the book. It's as close as I could get under the tight size restrictions I had to keep it within (it was a school paper), so there are a few things that have yet to be put in there, but all the cream should have found its way in there.
<h4>Solaris</h4>
<small>Published February 4th, 2003 - 14 Pages</small>
<a href="/files/solaris.pdf">Download .pdf (~ 48 KB)</a>
<a href="/files/solaris.zip">Download zipped .doc (~ 17 KB)</a>
I was absolutely awestruck with Soderbergh's take on this movie. So much that I spent 6-7 hours writing down my musings on the movie into some kind of coherent whole gathering up my thoughts, impressions and analysis of the movie. I would really like to hear from you if you read through it and have seen the movie.
_Note: This essay is slated for an update at some point, as I have discovered new aspects of the movie during my second viewing. Of course I'll never get around to updating it..._
<h4>Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines</h4>
<small>Published August 5th, 2003 - 8 Pages</small>
<a href="/files/t3review.pdf">Download .pdf (~ 50 KB)</a>
<a href="/files/t3review.zip">Download zipped .doc (~ 13 KB)</a>
Since I was first introduced to both the Terminator franchice and Cameron's works through Terminator, I've been an avid fan. I consider in particular T2: Judgement Day to be one of the finest action and science fiction movies ever made and its script to be one of the tightest of its kind.
And while I and many others considered the 'franchise' to have been closed with the T2 chapter, others didn't see it this way and elected to again open up the franchise with a new chapter which was released in 2003. I have many quarrels with this new entry into the series.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-09-28 16:59:04
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:28
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[6] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1151
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1151
[slug] => wordpress
[title] => WordPress
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/wordpress/
[content] => As much of my time is taken up by this blog, the platform on which is runs has also been quite important to me. That platform is of course "WordPress":http://wordpress.org, and I have been using it since the day it saw its first public release.
h3. Themes
Since then I have been fortunate enough to have a theme I created be included as the default theme in WordPress as of version 1.5. That theme being "Kubrick":/kubrick/.
Currently I'm the lead on "K2":getk2.com, a follow-up to Kubrick, which is quite a piece of work, if I do say so myself and incidentally also the theme running underneath this site.
h3. Plugins
I came up with an idea for an improved way of laying out recent comments on a blog and forced Brian to code it for me, it became "Brian's Latest Comments":http://meidell.dk/archives/2004/09/12/brians-latest-comments/
I also came up with an idea for an improved live archive browser, which Jonas Rabbe was kind enough to make a reality as "Super Archives":http://www.jonas.rabbe.com/archives/2005/05/08/super-archives-plugin-for-wordpress/, later upgraded to "Extended Live Archives":http://www.sonsofskadi.net/index.php/extended-live-archive/ by Arnaud Froment.
In addition to that, I have myself adapted code by Dunstan Orchard for a "Time Since plugin":/wordpress/time-since/.
I also integrated "Live Search":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/09/25/livesearch/ into WordPress (also available in a much improved version in "K2":getk2.com).
You can view "a list of the plugins I use":http://binarybonsai.com/about/plugins/ to keep Binary Bonsai afloat.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-08-11 10:41:27
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:29
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[7] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1152
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1152
[slug] => time-since
[title] => Time Since
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/time-since/
[content] => Time Since is a "WordPress":http://wordpress.org/ plugin which can be used to display the time since an entry or comment was published. It can for instance be used to tell you that an entry has been published "2 days, 3 hours ago".
The code is based, with permission of course, off of "Dunstan Orchard's code":http://www.1976design.com/blog/archive/2004/07/23/redesign-time-presentation/ with some help from "Brian Meidell":http://meidell.dk.
<div class="k2download"><a href="/code/timesince.txt">*Download Dunstan's Time Since 1.1*</a></div>
h3. Installation
Download, rename to timesince.php, upload to wp-content/plugins on your server and activate the plugin. If you're unsure on how to do all of this, there's "help available":http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins.
h3. Support
_Time Since is no longer supported!_
h3. Usage
Once you have installed the plugin, you need to add the activation code to your template. If at any point you're unsure how this should work, the "K2 template":/k2 comes with built-in support for the Time Since plugin.
To show the time since an entry was published, insert the following code within "The Loop":http://codex.wordpress.org/the_loop. Most likely you'll want to replace any template tags already showing time and date information. The code below assumes you replace any date or time template tags already present:
<p style="text-align: left;">*Since Entry Publication:*<br />
<?php if (function_exists('time_since')) {
echo time_since(abs(strtotime($post->post_date_gmt . " GMT")), time()) . " ago";
} else {
the_time('F jS, Y');
} ?></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">*Time Since Publication of Comment:*<br />
<?php if (function_exists('time_since')) {
echo time_since(abs(strtotime($comment->comment_date_gmt . " GMT")), time()) . " ago";
} else {
the_time('F jS, Y');
} ?></p>
PS: If you're interested in Dunstan's Time of Day code, then it's also out as <a href="http://www.ifelse.co.uk/archives/2004/07/24/time-of-day/">a WordPress plugin</a>.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-08-11 10:28:17
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:29
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[8] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1185
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1185
[slug] => k2
[title] => K2
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/k2/
[content] => <div class="alert">K2 now has <a href="http://getk2.com">its own domain</a>.</div>
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-07-09 13:10:41
[updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:30
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[9] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1232
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1232
[slug] => kubrick
[title] => Kubrick
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/kubrick/
[content] => Once upon a time, I created the 'Kubrick' template for the WordPress blogging system. It was later adopted by "Automattic":http://automattic.com/ for use as the official template of WordPress. So if you're looking for support for it, you need to "contact them":http://wordpress.org/support/, since I no longer support it personally.
Another reason is that I've since been involved in building a 'sequel' named "K2":http://getk2.com/, which I recommend you use instead of Kubrick, which hasn't been updated for years.
And finally, I don't use WordPress these days, having upgraded to "Habari"http://habariproject.org, which I _do_ support.
Oh, and if you want to know more about the master himself, Stanley Kubrick, "this is what you're looking for":http://www.coudal.com/archive.php?cat=cat_stanley_kubrick.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-06-04 11:13:55
[updated] => 2008-08-22 08:36:01
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[10] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 1249
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 1249
[slug] => about
[title] => About
[guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/colophon/
[content] => The Hitchhiker's Guide has the following to say about Binary Bonsai:
<blockquote>The 'Binary Bonsai' is a "weblog":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog run by the earthling Michael Heilemann since <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2003/03/15/hohoho-now-i-have-a-blog/">March 15th, 2003</a>. It has gone through many <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/15153/">incarnations</a>, but has remained throughout a time consuming hobby for its mostly unwilling author.</blockquote>
Binary Bonsai is hosted by the phenomenally helpful and kind people of "Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com. If you're shopping for a web host, I heartily recommend their services.
h3. The Author
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/2460395510/" title="Me at 30 by Michael Heilemann, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2460395510_b00a563c56_b.jpg" alt="Me at 30" /></a>
<img src="/images/me.jpg" alt="Portrait" class="alignright noborder" style="display: none;" />Look, me. I'm the author. Michael Heilemann. I'm a 30-year-old game developer "living in Copenhagen, Denmark":http://flickr.com/map/?&user_id=51035624977@N01&fLat=55.687695&fLon=12.548532&zl=4&min_upload_date=946713600&min_taken_date=1970-01-01%2000:00:00&map_type=hyb. A small 6 million people country, described in '95 by "Bruce Sterling":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_sterling thusly:
<blockquote cite="www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.07/junkets.html">Composed of the Jutland peninsula and more than 400 islands, the country is a hauntingly beautiful world of Renaissance castles and quiet fishing villages, Viking legend and fairy tales. <a href="www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.07/junkets.html">#</a></blockquote>
Here I live with my wonderful girlfriend Rikke, spend my days working at <a href="http://ioi.dk">Io Interactive</a>, the company behind Hitman and Freedom Fighters, as a "level designer":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_designer on "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men":http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/kanelynchdeadmen/index.html and writing this blog.
I came into this world on April 30th 1978, spent some time in school, spent some time in high-school, dropped out, worked, spent some time in "the army":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594244500888/, dropped back into high-school, graduated, moved to Scotland and graduated with a bachelor in "Computer Arts":http://www.abertay.ac.uk/Courses/CDetails.cfm?RID=1&CID=184 from the "University of Abertay":http://www.abertay.ac.uk/ (not recommendable) in "Dundee, Scotland":http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=56.479368,-2.947426&spn=0.112753,0.324200&t=h&hl=en.
Interesting things of note might be that I love computers and <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2003/11/24/step-1-the-cpc464-and-cpc664/">have done so for many years</a> and I'm <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/tag/movies">a gigantic movie fan</a>. I have been running this blog for a couple of years now, and <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/03/15/one-year-anniversary/">I feel strongly about it</a>; before starting this site, I have also run or helped run <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2005/01/02/chest-of-nostalgia/">a good deal of other sites</a>. You can also have a look at <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/05/29/photos-of-our-home/">how Rikke and I live</a>, should that be of any particular interest to you. My <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/registry/1SSXUMV585UMQ/ref=wl_em_to">Amazon.co.uk Wishlist</a> is also available for perusal, feel free to buy me something.
h3. Travel
<iframe width="100%" height="370" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&lr=lang_da%7Clang_en&hl=en&msa=0&ll=55.676294,12.568116&spn=23.875,57.630033&t=h&om=1&msid=114018450032814718092.00043e1ba02f8138cc02f&output=embed&s=AARTsJqet_TAsyuCF-PaYLhr2XY8KXCLNg"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&lr=lang_da%7Clang_en&hl=en&msa=0&ll=55.676294,12.568116&spn=23.875,57.630033&t=h&om=1&msid=114018450032814718092.00043e1ba02f8138cc02f&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>
h3. The Online Trail
* <strong><a href="http://flickr.com/people/heilemann">Flickr</a></strong> -- I seriously loves me some Flickr.
* <strong><a href="http://google.com/reader/shared/00355806697147134309">Google Reader Shares</a></strong> -- Cool things that cross through my feed-stream.
* <strong><a href="http://heilemann.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a></strong> -- And this is how I link everything else.
* <strong><a href="http://last.fm/user/Heilemann">Last.fm</a></strong> -- I'm tracking all the music I listen to (sans iPod).
* <strong><a href="http://mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId=140107/">MobyGames</a></strong> -- I make computer games for a living, and this is my resumé.
* <strong><a href="http://linkedin.com/in/heilemann">LinkedIn</a></strong> -- For feeling important.
* <strong><a href="http://allconsuming.net/person/Heilemann/">Allconsuming</a></strong> -- What I'm watching and reading.
* <strong><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/heilemann/deliciouslibrary/">Library</a></strong> -- A nearly complete catalog of books, movies and games, thanks to "Delicious Library 2.0":http://www.delicious-monster.com/.
h3. Random Facts
* All times on this site are "CET":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_European_Time, the timezone used in Denmark.
* I was for a while the lead of a Half-Life total conversion called <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/07/17/uscm-infestation/">USCM: Infestation</a>, which was <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/07/20/cease-and-desist/">foxed</a>.
* I then worked for 2015 inc. on a cancelled product, <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/medal-of-honor-allied-assault">Medal of Honor: Allied Assault</a> and <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/laser-arena">Laser Arena</a>
* After university, I started working for <a href="ioi.dk">Io Interactive</a>, and have been almost unfairly credited on <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/ps2/hitman-contracts">Hitman: Contracts</a> as well as <a href="http://www.hitmanbloodmoney.com/">Hitman Blood Money</a>.
* I have over the years attained some sort of addictive level of <a href="http://www.coca-cola.com">Coke</a> consumption.
* I was always insanely lazy in school. Exiting with a somewhat decent grade point average was a miracle.
* Despite that miracle, I do not believe in God in any way, and consider myself through and through a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist">strong atheist</a> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism">Cosmicist</a> tendencies, if anything.
* Next to writing, I believe the Internet to be the greatest invention ever made.
* By and large my childhood and teen years were shaped by <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/07/11/masters-of-doom/">the output of id Software</a>. As is, you could say, my current job.
* I have created a template/theme for WordPress called <a href="/kubrick/">Kubrick</a>. Which was adopted into <a href="http://wordpress.org/development/2005/02/strayhorn/">version 1.5 of WordPress</a>.
* Because of that, I was once "the most 'famous' Dane!":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/30542675/, but I have since fallen from grace.
* And also because of that, Binary Bonsai has been "2nd most linked blog on Technorati":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/211128839/, though this was after it was removed from the official list (on which it <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/6515630/">peaked at 8th place</a> due to Kubrick's link influence. Still kinda cool.
* I'm enough of a geek to enjoy such a thing as my blogger 2.0 code: <a href="http://bloggercode.com/decode.phtml?bc=B9+D%2B%2B%2B+T%2B+K+S%2B+F+I%2B+O+X--+E%2B+L+C--+Y1+R%2B%2B+W%2B+P%2B+M1+N%2B+H+">B9 D+++ T+ K S+ F I+ O X-- E+ L C-- Y1 R++ W+ P+ M1 N+ H</a>.
* My first <em>logged</em> presence on the Internet, was <a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?q=michael+heilemann&hl=en&lr=&IE=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&c2coff=1&safe=off&edition=us&selm=01bbdb83%247b5b4b80%245508c0c3%40karma&rnum=1">November 26th, 1996</a>. What a sad way to make an entrance...
* The first mention of me however, is earlier than that, on February 14th, 1996, in <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/dk.chat/msg/f33fd0839285e176?hl=en">a list of Danish BBS's</a>. Oh, and also check out <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html/browse_thread/thread/4c3c4ebfb24c1811/63d1cfb1af913e6c?q=%22michael+heilemann%22&rnum=84&hl=en#63d1cfb1af913e6c">my old signature</a>; and <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.cult-movies.alien/browse_thread/thread/36071192cc303f45/0e89666ff0a70cb4?q=heilemann&rnum=392&hl=en#0e89666ff0a70cb4">another</a>, and <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.games.mecha/browse_thread/thread/506f30446ed3b239/e627e081d386004f?q=heilemann+-martin&rnum=15&hl=en#e627e081d386004f">another</a>.
* "I watch a lot of movies":http://allconsuming.net/person/Heilemann/consumed/movie, and "own quite a few myself":http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/27161623/ (not 100% up-to-date) and feel quite adamant about it. To measure my tastes against yours, start with "this rough list of movies I've rated on a scale from one to ten":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/05/08/movie-hitlist/.
* I spoke about Open Source Design at <a href="http://reboot.dk">reboot7</a> (a fantastic experience).
* I think perhaps "Wikipedia":http://wikipedia.org is one of humanities greatest achievements.
* I've featured a few times in Matt's "Cascade Failure":http://cascadefailure.keenspace.com/d/20041213.html webcomic
* I try to remember to not discuss the following items online: politics, religion, guns... I do so anyway from time to time.
* I listen to "various great podcasts":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2007/04/04/my-favorite-podcasts/.
* Contrary to "some":http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/18654576/in/set-438545/ "people":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/8217407/in/set-204448/, I have only "a single sticker on my Powerbook":http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/33470819/. And I cherish it.
* I've "been known to edit Wikipedia":http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=Heilemann&dbname=enwiki_p from time to time.
* I am a casual "Browncoat":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browncoat.
So now you know...
h3. Colophon
<blockquote cite="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=colophon">A colophon is: 'An inscription placed usually at the end of a book, giving facts about its publication.' <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=colophon" title="Source of Quote">#</a></blockquote>
Binary Bonsai is powered by a "Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com server out of Los Angeles, and is run on "Habari":http://habariproject.org and my inane writings. I generally maintain the site out of Copenhagen, Denmark, where I live, using "TextMate":http://macromates.com/ and "Transmit":http://www.panic.com/transmit/, "Adobe Photoshop CS":http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html. All of which I runâof courseâon "Mac OS X":http://www.apple.com/macosx/.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2005-05-11 21:20:03
[updated] => 2008-08-14 13:12:26
[content_type] => 2
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
)
[asides] => Posts Object
(
)
[recent_comments] => Comments Object
(
[0] => Comment Object
(
[post_object:private] =>
[info:private] => CommentInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo
[_key_name:protected] => comment_id
[_key_value:protected] => 26039
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 26039
[post_id] => 2592
[name] => Habari
[email] =>
[url] => http://www.googlization.org.ru/general/habari.html
[ip] => 1297596433
[content] => ...
[status] => 0
[date] => 2008-09-23 14:00:14
[type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 1
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[1] => Comment Object
(
[post_object:private] =>
[info:private] => CommentInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo
[_key_name:protected] => comment_id
[_key_value:protected] => 26038
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 26038
[post_id] => 2592
[name] => nathan hammond :: Habari
[email] =>
[url] => http://www.nathanhammond.com/habari
[ip] => 1109509966
[content] => ...l developer of both of those layouts, <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/">Michael Heilemann</a>, has <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/habari-kalamari">jumped ship</a> to Habari.Basically, to this point, I've no complaints at all. The database is cleanly laid out to ...
[status] => 0
[date] => 2008-09-20 10:28:44
[type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 1
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[2] => Comment Object
(
[post_object:private] =>
[info:private] => CommentInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo
[_key_name:protected] => comment_id
[_key_value:protected] => 26034
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 26034
[post_id] => 2606
[name] => Habari: Not sold? Check out the UI -
Moot Mots
[email] =>
[url] => http://paradoxradio.net/moot/habari-not-sold-check-out-the-ui
[ip] => 1163468624
[content] => ...ween there and back again Habari: Not sold? Check out the UI Been meaning to post this to you guys: <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari">A rundown of "Monolith"</a>, the backend to my new blogging system, Habari. Simple, clean, and even keyboard-based if you so ch...
[status] => 0
[date] => 2008-09-09 13:41:14
[type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 1
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[3] => Comment Object
(
[post_object:private] =>
[info:private] => CommentInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo
[_key_name:protected] => comment_id
[_key_value:protected] => 26033
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 26033
[post_id] => 2606
[name] => Woodlander - Habari: A Blogging Engine
[email] =>
[url] => http://james.sevenoakdesign.co.uk/?p=27
[ip] => 1074642982
[content] => ...erested in web application development or interface design, I recommend that you take a look at the <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari">developerâs screencast</a>. Enjoy. No Comments Yet There are no comments yet. You could be the first! Leave a Comment Name Ema...
[status] => 0
[date] => 2008-09-08 14:07:18
[type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 1
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[4] => Comment Object
(
[post_object:private] =>
[info:private] => CommentInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo
[_key_name:protected] => comment_id
[_key_value:protected] => 26030
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 26030
[post_id] => 2606
[name] => » Some reasons we’re toying with Habari: … Multiplexer
[email] =>
[url] => http://labs.utopian.net/blogs/mux/75/
[ip] => 1161291579
[content] => ...g">research</a> Some reasons weâre toying with <a href="http://habariproject.org">Habari</a>: <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari">http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari</a> Â Leave a Comment You must be <a href="http://labs.utopian.net/blogs/mux/wp-login.php?redirect">...
[status] => 0
[date] => 2008-09-03 22:58:48
[type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 1
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
)
[user] =>
[more_posts] => Posts Object
(
[0] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2622
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2622
[slug] => o-yeah-you-did
[title] => O Yeah You Did!
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:o-yeah-you-did/1225865256
[content] => <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/65I0HNvTDH4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/65I0HNvTDH4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Thanks.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-11-04 22:07:01
[updated] => 2008-11-04 22:07:36
[content_type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[1] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2621
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2621
[slug] => little-big-evangelical-planet
[title] => Little Big Evangelical Planet
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:little-big-evangelical-planet/1224591162
[content] => You may have heard that Little Big Planet was recalled due to references to the Qur'an in one of the music tracks accompanying it. Now, you're free to opine in whichever direction with regards to the idea of recalling something to avoid offending the members of a religion. I live in Denmark, I've been through the wringer on this, so I understand why Sony would chose to do so, and I empathize with their decision.
But I haven't seen _this_ particular aspect discussed anywhere:
bq. It's quite normal to play music and be inspired by the words of the Prophet Mohammed," Diabate explaine. "It's my way to attract and inspire people towards Islam. "#":http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/using-koran-quotes-in-music-quite-normal
I don't know how it was a part of the music, what language it was in or _what_ it said, but isn't there something fundamentally wrong with the notion of 'attracting' the players of a family title--that is, in particular, children--towards religion?
Now I hardly think it was the intent of anyone involved to evangelize in Little Big Planet; instead I guesstimate that Toumani Diabate, the musician behind the track, took some liberties--perhaps without even considering it. Very unfortunate, not least because a recall costs one hell of a lot of money, but also because that sort of thing simply doesn't belong in a child-friendly title.
Regardless, I'm very much looking forward to the game, though I at the same time feel my economy strained under the weight of games coming in the next month or so.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-10-21 05:13:46
[updated] => 2008-10-22 08:52:13
[content_type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[2] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2620
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2620
[slug] => silent-gaming
[title] => Silent Gaming
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:silent-gaming/1224177143
[content] => So it's that time of year where "the deluge":http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/13/ is about to hit, and I'm afraid it calls for some serious choices to be made. Not only about which games score high enough on Meta Critic to get to adorn the shelves and which on the same bill are left behind, out in the cold; but for those of us who run dual systems--that is, both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, nevermind the Wii--it also means figuring out which system to get said games for.
For me, this is the first time this has actually posed a problem as such. There simply haven't been any games on the PS3 I've wanted to buy... Whatever has seemed mildly interesting--like Uncharted, which is recommendable--I've borrowed from friends.
But now, between Dead Space<footnote>I'm not too impressed with what I've seen to be honest, but it's the vanguard of the deluge, so I have to get it just to get warmed up. Besides, it's gotten pretty good reviews so far.</footnote>, Mirror's Edge<footnote>I swear, the major design influence on this game has _got_ to be "Darude's Sandstorm":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYxT9GM0fQ music video. Tell me I'm wrong.</footnote>, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2<footnote>Well, I'm holding out for the reviews; I wasn't too impressed with the first Far Cry really, and I have a history with Crytek, but it looks like it might be good.</footnote> and of course later this year plenty other cross-platform titles, I now get to choose which of the two consoles I want these games for.
And despite the fact that the 360 outnumberes the PS3 some 7-to-1 or so, in my circle of friends, and despite the fact that I've bought only 360 games so far, this time around I'm going to go with PS3 for the majority of the games.
It's the noise.
It ruins all mood, chases my girlfriend out of the room and causes my stress-levels to rise far above healthy levels.
I can't even play GuitarHero without thinking how nice it would be if the music wasn't being drowned out by this damned thing.
I may be getting old, or I may have enough respect for our neighbors to not drown out the incessant fan and drive noises by cranking the volume, but I find myself using the 360 less and less, simply because I don't want it dominating our living space.
And meanwhile, next to it, the PS3 is silent like the tomb.
So I'm getting my games for the PS3 this time around; and I guess I'll just have to live with the fact that I actually like the 360 controller much more than the DualShock (or Sixaxis or whatever the hell they call that sized-for-Japanese-hands 'thing').
There's Gears of War 2 of course, which is only coming out on 360, but other than that, the only title I won't be getting for the PS3 is "Left4Dead":http://www.l4d.com/. Because after all, that is primarily a multiplayer game, and I want the Xbox Live network for that. Oh, and it's not available on the PS3...
Hm. Maybe I should just buy it off of Steam?
Choices, choices.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-10-16 10:11:47
[updated] => 2008-10-16 10:35:11
[content_type] => 1
[footnotes] => Array
(
[1] => I'm not too impressed with what I've seen to be honest, but it's the vanguard of the deluge, so I have to get it just to get warmed up. Besides, it's gotten pretty good reviews so far.
[2] => I swear, the major design influence on this game has _got_ to be "Darude's Sandstorm":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYxT9GM0fQ music video. Tell me I'm wrong.
[3] => Well, I'm holding out for the reviews; I wasn't too impressed with the first Far Cry really, and I have a history with Crytek, but it looks like it might be good.
)
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[3] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2619
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2619
[slug] => james-cameron-talks-piranha-2
[title] => James Cameron talks Piranha 2
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:james-cameron-talks-piranha-2/1223986254
[content] => Few things that have been put on this earth as as hideous and vile as James Cameron's first outing, "Piranha Part Two: The Spawning":http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082910/. That film has only two brag-worthy qualities, one of which is the fact that it manages to make its 90-minute running time feel like that of a three hour epic. Though that _only_ goes for the running time. Everything else is exactly as shoddy as it actually is.
The other thing, which is much more commendable, is that it was the launch pad for James Cameron, which, having grown up in the 80's, almost relieves it of any other responsibilities.
Anyway, I bring it up because "I've touched on Piranha 2 before":http://binarybonsai.com/piranha-ii-the-spawning, and wanted to share a clip of Jim--I call him Jim--in a rare instance, "talking about what happened":http://splicd.com/pQpDD6w6KOs/391/9.05 (or what didn't happen, it's all very confusing), on that shoot.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-10-14 05:04:01
[updated] => 2008-10-14 05:12:32
[content_type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[4] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2618
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2618
[slug] => post-1
[title] => 6:15
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:post-1/1223544796
[content] => At 6.15 this morning, I had my first driving lesson, which, yes, at the tender age of 30, might seem slightly late in life, especially for you pesky American's. But if you've ever lived in Copenhagen, you'll know that really, a car isn't the best way of getting around anyway, so why bother?
That was until I saw this little flick called Mad Max. I like dogs. I can get behind Vengeful Vigilantism. Shucks, I think I'll get myself one of them there drivin' licenses (licensi?).
It was an interesting experience, not least because it was still dark when we started, and rush-hour had set in when we ended. A friend of mine compared it to playing the drums on a track you've never heard before, which seems pretty accurate (crutch-ridin' since '08, and proud of it!). Though I'll add that it's like that, only you've also never played the drums before, and you're doing it in front of an audience of some 50.000 metal fans.
It was a little tense.
But I didn't cap any cyclists, bump into any cars or accidentally run over any pedestrians (whom I then subsequently sped away from, paying the instructor generously to overlook this minor accident, stopping at a gas station to wipe the blood off the hood, all the while grinning nervously and explaining to passerby's how the ketchup truck had spilled its load on my hood).
So that was great.
They all look so frail from the inside of the metal monstrum. Those poor meatbags, their meat so tender and their lives hanging capriciously in the balance as I go from one to the other 'not that one, not that one, not... no, not that one either... That one is good, I'll take him!'.
Well, I'm not actually scared of driving. But it _is_ pretty stressful finding yourself suddenly behind the wheels of a car in heavy traffic for the first time, thinking to yourself that the car is apt to run amok, Christine-style, with you powerless to stop it. But then you turn the key, and it mostly does what it's told after that.
Mostly.
Next week I've got 5 hour and a half lessons, so be careful.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-10-09 02:34:07
[updated] => 2008-10-12 12:03:28
[content_type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[5] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2617
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2617
[slug] => blade-runner-2-blade-runnerer
[title] => Blade Runner 2: Blade Runnerer
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:blade-runner-2-blade-runnerer/1223365214
[content] => A story that Blade Runner 2 was being worked on by two screenwriters from DJ Caruso's Eagle Eye "floated recently":http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/09/29/exclusive-eagle-eye-co-writers-working-on-blade-runner-2/. It was unclear just how official this project was, and how serious it should be taken. Was it the hopes of this screenwriter, or was it actually in pre-production already?
As it turns out, "a bit of both":http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/10/06/exclusive-screenwriter-travis-wright-responds-to-blade-runner-2-story/, though at the moment it looks like it's mostly the hopes of Travis Wright, who wrote a long letter to /Film explaining the status of the project, his involvement in it and this finishing remark:
bq. I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Deckardâs story, but in my lifetime Iâd love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch as Deckard sees attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on.
I know next to nothing about Travis Wright, but for now, the above says just about all I need to hear. And before you start thinking to yourself 'Hey, you know, I always _did_ want to see attack ships blahblahblah', allow me the opportunity to convince you otherwise.
h4. Blade Runner Is A Unique Snowflake
In the history of the film industry, few works have been as monolithic, influential and respected as Blade Runner. Despite reception problems, continuity issues and re-releases over the years, it hasn't lost an ounce of respect- Quite the opposite in fact.
It might not matter how many American Pie, Ernest Goes To... and Porky's sequels and spin-offs they churn out. They are, for whatever qualities they may have, easily copied. Nor does it matter how many Star Trek films they do, the series was built for it. Jason? Whatever. American Ninja? Knock ýourself out.
But Blade Runner is a unique film in almost every way possible. A perfect storm of source material, talent and serendipity. It cannot be replicated. Even Ridley Scott, in all his visual splendor, hasn't been able to make a film since, that has been able to get within eye-sight of it. Doesn't that say something worth listening to?
Perhaps it was exactly _because_ Blade Runner leaves the audience with open questions that it has such an impressive longevity. And perhaps this longevity isn't an invitation to create a sequel staring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
h4. Tell, Don't Show
There's a golden rule in writing, which goes "show, don't tell":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don't_tell. As rules go, this ain't half-bad. But there are times when instead of reinforcing the illusion, it breaks it. Consider for instance if you had read this instead:
bq. I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Skywalker story, but in my lifetime Iâd love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch 'the clone wars'. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on.
It'll be _awesome!_ Oh. Wait. The clone wars were better off having remained "an off-hand remark by Obi-Wan":http://splicd.com/ukbTFgQ4jxs/0/35.
We don't need to meet Deckard's wife, we don't need to know that Rachel inherited Tyrell Corp and we don't need to see Harrison Ford pick up the Deckard mantle again (especially after we saw Indy 4, in which Indy wants nothing more than to watch a few episodes of Matlock while gobbling down luke-warm soup back at the retirement home.
h4. Blade Runner Already Has Sequels
Three direct sequels in fact: "Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Humanity":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_2:_The_Edge_of_Human, "Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_3:_Replicant_Night and "Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_4:_Eye_and_Talon, none of which I've read, and none of which I intend to read.
Also, David Webb Peoples, whom I have mucho mucho respect for (Leviathan, Salute of the Jugger, 12 Monkeys, Ladyhawke) co-wrote Blade Runner and went on to write <a href="http://bladerunner.wikia.com/wiki/Soldier ">Soldier</a><footnote>I haven't read the Soldier script, but word on the street is that Paul W.S. Anderson did extensive rewrites, and I chose to believe that, considering the rest of his atrocious output.</footnote>, which was then done by Paul W.S. Anderson, an absolute hack, who rampages through franchises like the black plaque through Europe. Now, what's interesting about this, is that Peoples considers Soldier a sidequel to Blade Runner, and of course the film... movie, let's go with movie--even has a cascade of references to Blade Runner.
In fact, if you want to see attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, it wasn't in the movie, but thankfully Mr. Anderson was gracious enough to put it in "the trailer":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6PPmyzIBNI.
And then of course, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_(1997_video_game)">the game</a>, which was actually surprisingly good, everything considered. Though it did at times feel as if it was simply trying to touch all of the things that made Blade Runner, Blade Runner, rather than expand the universe.
Hell, Vangelis even did "a sequel to the soundtrack":http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blade-Runner-Trilogy-25th-Anniversary/dp/B000Z0OX9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223369562&sr=8-1, which was... Let's not go there.
Ultimately, none of the above could capture the kind of lightning in a bottle that drives the original. It's not impossible. Nothing is impossible. But it _is_ implausible. And I would personally prefer if it was left alone as it is.
h4. The Bottomline
I'm not a staunch sequel hater as such. There _have_ been great sequels, I freely admit as much. In fact, I'm personally looking very much forward to TR2N. And hey, T2 was a great, if more family-friendly followup to its low-budget steel-bladed adrenalin-pumped predecessor. It works because Cameron was an unfliching egomaniac, which is probably why Aliens works as a sequel to Alien, despite being a fairly shallow Vietnam-in-Space followup to a much more atmospheric and erotic predecessor (stylistically, the aliens franchise is all over the place, and for that you can blame Aliens). Of course, of all sequels, I still hold The Empire Strikes Back as the best, for managing to expand on the universe, the story, the characters and their relationships, while also being a riveting ride.
But for every one of the classic 'great' sequels, there's a plethora of Indy 4's. Sequels with high production value, star quality and little else. No vision, no substance, no heart.
Consider 2010: The Year We Make Contact, a movie which isn't in itself _that_ bad, it just happens to quiver in the shadow of the greatest film ever made, which makes it look like a kindergarten project. And why? Nevermind Arthur C. Clarke's books, which in my humble opinion never lived up to the film anyway, and consider instead the fact that someone decided that 2001: A Space Odyssey could do with a sequel, probably because:
bq. I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Monolith story, but in my lifetime Iâd love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch as we trespass on the land of the ephemeral mystery, imposing our mediocrity to the jovial sounds of cheap synthesizers. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on.
Consider T3: The Rise of the Machines, which is not only a pretty bad film in itself, but which cheapens what came before by being "essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious, and to leave the Great Ideas to bona fide public intellectuals like Keanu Reeves and the Hulk"<footnote>Thank you <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9f01efd6143af932a35754c0a9659c8b63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2">A.O. Scott</a></footnote>.
Consider Alien Resurrection, which is quite frankly disastrous in every way possible. And then some.
Consider Batman & Robin... Or don't.
Consider any of the Planet of the Apes sequels.
Any of the Jaws sequels.
But more than anything else, consider that we already saw attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion in our minds eye, and it was a sight to see.
Don't cheapen this. Just leave it alone and pass on by. Please.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-10-07 01:57:19
[updated] => 2008-10-12 12:01:52
[content_type] => 1
[footnotes] => Array
(
[1] => I haven't read the Soldier script, but word on the street is that Paul W.S. Anderson did extensive rewrites, and I chose to believe that, considering the rest of his atrocious output.
[2] => Thank you <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9f01efd6143af932a35754c0a9659c8b63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2">A.O. Scott</a>
)
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
)
[previous_posts] => Array
(
[0] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2626
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2626
[slug] => star-wars-storyboards
[title] => Star Wars Storyboards
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:star-wars-storyboards/1226478915
[content] => <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594429862991/" title="Opening Scroll by Michael Heilemann, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/135/328151549_6cd1dfec5a.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="Opening Scroll" /></a>
On an average day on my flickr account, I'll have anywhere between 3000 to 5000 views. Three days ago, when "a set of Star Wars storyboards":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594429862991/ hit "kottke.org":http://kottke.org and "Digg":http://digg.com on the same day, I had 357.000 views. Since then the set has gone around the blogosphere, hitting "Wired":http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/11/early-storyboar.html earlier today, and the views have settled into a more reasonable 90.000 views a day.
Yikes.
Them being so popular now, I'm actually surprised they weren't 'discovered' earlier, since they've been up there for nearly two years now. But also, I'm pleased by how happy people have been with seeing these nuggets o' nerd gold. No hate, no 'blah blah prequels, blah blah Banta pudu!'. Just pure nerd love.
On that note, by the way, if you're interested in more Star Wars drawings, paintings, memorabilia and background information check out the list at the end of "this post":http://binarybonsai.com/skywalking for some books to pick up. And also, be sure to check out "my other Star Wars photos on flickr":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/collections/72157600061827469/.
May the force be with you. Always.
*Update:* I've uploaded a a new batch of about 20 Empire and Jedi storyboards to "the set":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594429862991/.
[cached_content] =>
[user_id] => 1
[status] => 2
[pubdate] => 2008-11-12 00:27:48
[updated] => 2008-11-14 08:47:24
[content_type] => 1
)
[newfields:protected] => Array
(
[status] => 2
)
[unsetfields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => id
)
[loaded:private] => 1
)
[1] => Post Object
(
[tags:private] =>
[comments_object:private] =>
[author_object:private] =>
[info:private] => PostInfo Object
(
[__inforecord_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo
[_key_name:protected] => post_id
[_key_value:protected] => 2624
[_loaded:protected] =>
)
[fields:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 2624
[slug] => games-games-games
[title] => Games. Games. Games.
[guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:games-games-games/1225922894
[content] => First of all, I'd like to express my elation with Barack Obama. And I really mean that. Even here, half-way around the world, in a country so liberal your scale doesn't even go that far left, this will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of a reign of incompetence and negligence and will soon see the rise of what I truly believe to be not only a good man, but the _right_ man for the job as president of the US.
Secondly, _I_ have certainly been, if not incompetent, then at least somewhat negligent, namely in writing for this site. But there's just been so much to see to lately. First I had a driver's license to take--nailed it by the way--and then the gates of Hades opened up on the unprepared masses and unleashed not one, not two, not three... No, one BILLION games.
So I've eagerly been playing as much as I've been able to, so far making headway in Dead Space, Farcry 2 and Fallout 3. Tomorrow Gears of War 2 is coming out and I just got word that Little Big Planet shipped. And later, there will be cake. And more games. So...
This is all largely _spoiler free,_ but not opinion free, so beware.
h4. Dead Space
Oh dear Science. It's so derivative. It's sooo been done before, that it's really kind of embarrasing to sit through the story as it unfolds _exactly_ as you'd expect. System Shock meets Alien meets Event Horizon meets Bioshock. It's like eating pre-chewed food; fairly unsatisfying.
I don't like the whole 'look, I build this power suit out of copper, and my guns look stupid and can rotate'-look, but that said, it's very well-crafted and highly polished, which is more than can be said for so many other games these days, so...
I hope I can muster up the drive to play through it, but I'm not entirely sure on that one.
h4. Farcry 2
I didn't like the first Farcry. Luckily the sequel has pretty much nothing to do with it, so that's something.
For the first few hours I really didn't like it. It was confining and annoying and felt very unfocused. But then it slowly started clicking for me. I had some moments, the likes of which only a sandbox game like this can give. And then I loved it. And I loved it for a good 8-10 hours or so. The mechanics are great, the AI pretty nice and some of the landscapes are just downright gorgeous (even if the PS3 _does_ start sounding like a jet when I take a boat down river and it needs to stream data faster than it wants to). The setting certainly has its moments, and it's just great to see Africa portrayed so well and put to such good use.
But when you get the 10th 'go across the map and do X', and you know that doing so means passing through 5-6 checkp
| index.php (221): | Controller::dispatch_request(); |
| controller.php (167): | UserThemeHandler->act(stringdisplay_tag); |
| userthemehandler.php (56): | Utils::debug(objectError Object ( [message:protected] => Trying to get property of non-object [is_error:protected] => 1 [string:private] => [code:protected] => 0 [file:protected] => /var/www/vhosts/binarybonsai.com/httpdocs/system/classes/error.php [line:protected] => 115 [trace:private] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [file] => /var/www/vhosts/binarybonsai.com/httpdocs/user/themes/bonsai08/tag.php [line] => 7 [function] => error_handler [class] => Error [type] => :: [args] => Array ( [0] => 8 [1] => Trying to get property of non-object [2] => /var/www/vhosts/binarybonsai.com/httpdocs/user/themes/bonsai08/tag.php [3] => 7 [4] => Array ( [template] => tag [matched_rule] => RewriteRule Object ( [entire_match] => tag/science_fiction [named_arg_values] => Array ( [tag] => science_fiction ) [m_named_args:private] => Array ( [required] => Array ( [0] => tag ) [optional] => Array ( [0] => page ) ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [rule_id] => 0 [name] => display_entries_by_tag [parse_regex] => %^tag/(?P<tag>[^/]*)(?:/page/(?P<page>\d+))?/?$%i [build_str] => tag/{$tag}(/page/{$page}) [handler] => UserThemeHandler [action] => display_tag [priority] => 5 [is_active] => 1 [rule_class] => 0 [description] => Return posts matching specified tag. ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [rule_id] => rule_id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [request] => stdClass Object ( [rsd] => [atompub_servicedocument] => [cron] => [display_entries_by_date] => [user_profile] => [display_entries_by_tag] => 1 [admin] => [user] => [atom_feed_comments] => [endpoint] => [testoutput] => [display_search] => [submit_feedback] => [ajax] => [auth_ajax] => [admin_ajax] => [atom_entry] => [atom_feed] => [atom_feed_tag] => [atom_feed_entry_comments] => [atom_feed_page_comments] => [xmlrpc] => [display_entry] => [display_page] => [display_entries] => [display_home] => [display_404] => ) [posts] => Posts Object ( ) [page] => 1 [pages] => Posts Object ( [0] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 55 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 55 [slug] => the-administration-interface [title] => Monolith [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/habari/the-administration-interface/ [content] => Monolith is the project name given to the administration interface I spear-headed the development of in early 2008. It has since been rolled into the main trunk of Habari, and been fully adopted as a community-owned part of Habari itself. * "Announcement":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2008/02/19/i-named-her-monolith/ * "Mockup Gallery":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157603941330603/ * <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/files/habari/Monolith - Human Interface Guidelines.pdf">The Human Interface Guidelines</a> [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-02-19 11:57:15 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:06 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [1] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 57 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 57 [slug] => habari-1 [title] => Habari [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/habari/ [content] => This page will grow over time, for now, you're probably looking for "Monolith, the Habari Administration Interface":http://binarybonsai.com/habari/the-administration-interface/. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-02-16 21:47:51 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:06 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [2] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 432 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 432 [slug] => lifestream [title] => Lifestream [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/about/lifestream/ [content] => [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2006-11-26 15:58:52 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:14 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [3] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 763 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 763 [slug] => podcast-1 [title] => Podcast [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/podcast/ [content] => h2. Podcast As of "February 5th, 2006":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2006/03/05/binary-bonsai-podcast-1/, I'm now also broadcasting (or is that narrowcasting?) a podcast (enough with the casts!) off of Binary Bonsai. You can "subscribe to the RSS feed":http://feeds.feedburner.com/binarybonsai/podcast or if you're an iTunes user you can go straight to "my entry in the iTMS":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129561559&s=143458, if you're so inclined. <a href="http://odeo.com/sendmeamessage/MichaelHeilemann"><img alt="Send Me A Message" border="0" height="69" class="center" src="http://odeo.com/img/badge-send-me-cloud-bird-pink.gif" width="165" /></a> [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2006-03-21 18:26:28 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:21 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [4] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1032 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1032 [slug] => hosting [title] => Media Temple Hosting [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/about/mt/ [content] => h2. Media Temple In June 2005 I moved Binary Bonsai onto "Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com servers, and I quite frankly couldn't be happier with the level of service I have received from them. <img src="/images/dv.png" alt="Server" class="alignright" style="margin-left: 10px;" />Binary Bonsai is powered by the "(mt) Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com "(dv) Dedicated Virtual":http://www.mediatemple.net/services/webhosting/dv/linux-standard/ server. This 2nd generation virtual dedicated server delivers advanced computing resources implemented in the intuitive Plesk 7 Reloaded environment. Binary Bonsai is able to serve thousands of daily visitors all running a non-cached WordPress (that is, entirely dynamic pages, that're fethced for each request) on the (dv) Dedicated Virtual server. Combining this advanced server platform with (mt) Media Temple's "advanced blended network":http://www.mediatemple.net/company/aboutus/technology-infrastructure.php and support allows me to remain sane and concentrate on what I want published and not how I _get_ it published. I tip my hat to the Media Temple crew, they're one of the best hosting experiences I've ever had. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-10-22 13:33:30 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:27 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [5] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1080 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1080 [slug] => essays [title] => Essays and Writing [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/essays/ [content] => I obviously 'publish' a lot of stuff on <a href="/">my blog</a>. Some of a slightly useful nature, most of it not. The longer writings, that you may be able to actually derive something interesting from, I have gathered here. This is a mixture of old school assignments, rants and extended blog entries, put here for archival purposes. Have fun, and feel free to <a href="/about/#contact">contact me</a> if you're interested in discussing any of the things you find here. <h4>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</h4> <small>Published online February 23rd, 2003 - Written Early 2001 - 22 Pages</small> <a href="/files/androids_and_bladerunner.pdf">Download .pdf (~ 76 KB)</a> <a href="/files/androids_and_bladerunner.zip">Download zipped .doc (~ 37 KB)</a> I translated this from Danish to get it out on the net, my love for both Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick's works bid me to. Still today I am absolutely gobsmacked when I see Blade Runner. It's simply a masterpiece of a movie. And Philip K. Dick's ideas will warp your mind any time of day. This is not a fully indepth analysis of the movie and the book. It's as close as I could get under the tight size restrictions I had to keep it within (it was a school paper), so there are a few things that have yet to be put in there, but all the cream should have found its way in there. <h4>Solaris</h4> <small>Published February 4th, 2003 - 14 Pages</small> <a href="/files/solaris.pdf">Download .pdf (~ 48 KB)</a> <a href="/files/solaris.zip">Download zipped .doc (~ 17 KB)</a> I was absolutely awestruck with Soderbergh's take on this movie. So much that I spent 6-7 hours writing down my musings on the movie into some kind of coherent whole gathering up my thoughts, impressions and analysis of the movie. I would really like to hear from you if you read through it and have seen the movie. _Note: This essay is slated for an update at some point, as I have discovered new aspects of the movie during my second viewing. Of course I'll never get around to updating it..._ <h4>Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines</h4> <small>Published August 5th, 2003 - 8 Pages</small> <a href="/files/t3review.pdf">Download .pdf (~ 50 KB)</a> <a href="/files/t3review.zip">Download zipped .doc (~ 13 KB)</a> Since I was first introduced to both the Terminator franchice and Cameron's works through Terminator, I've been an avid fan. I consider in particular T2: Judgement Day to be one of the finest action and science fiction movies ever made and its script to be one of the tightest of its kind. And while I and many others considered the 'franchise' to have been closed with the T2 chapter, others didn't see it this way and elected to again open up the franchise with a new chapter which was released in 2003. I have many quarrels with this new entry into the series. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-09-28 16:59:04 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:28 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [6] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1151 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1151 [slug] => wordpress [title] => WordPress [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/wordpress/ [content] => As much of my time is taken up by this blog, the platform on which is runs has also been quite important to me. That platform is of course "WordPress":http://wordpress.org, and I have been using it since the day it saw its first public release. h3. Themes Since then I have been fortunate enough to have a theme I created be included as the default theme in WordPress as of version 1.5. That theme being "Kubrick":/kubrick/. Currently I'm the lead on "K2":getk2.com, a follow-up to Kubrick, which is quite a piece of work, if I do say so myself and incidentally also the theme running underneath this site. h3. Plugins I came up with an idea for an improved way of laying out recent comments on a blog and forced Brian to code it for me, it became "Brian's Latest Comments":http://meidell.dk/archives/2004/09/12/brians-latest-comments/ I also came up with an idea for an improved live archive browser, which Jonas Rabbe was kind enough to make a reality as "Super Archives":http://www.jonas.rabbe.com/archives/2005/05/08/super-archives-plugin-for-wordpress/, later upgraded to "Extended Live Archives":http://www.sonsofskadi.net/index.php/extended-live-archive/ by Arnaud Froment. In addition to that, I have myself adapted code by Dunstan Orchard for a "Time Since plugin":/wordpress/time-since/. I also integrated "Live Search":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/09/25/livesearch/ into WordPress (also available in a much improved version in "K2":getk2.com). You can view "a list of the plugins I use":http://binarybonsai.com/about/plugins/ to keep Binary Bonsai afloat. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-08-11 10:41:27 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:29 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [7] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1152 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1152 [slug] => time-since [title] => Time Since [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/time-since/ [content] => Time Since is a "WordPress":http://wordpress.org/ plugin which can be used to display the time since an entry or comment was published. It can for instance be used to tell you that an entry has been published "2 days, 3 hours ago". The code is based, with permission of course, off of "Dunstan Orchard's code":http://www.1976design.com/blog/archive/2004/07/23/redesign-time-presentation/ with some help from "Brian Meidell":http://meidell.dk. <div class="k2download"><a href="/code/timesince.txt">*Download Dunstan's Time Since 1.1*</a></div> h3. Installation Download, rename to timesince.php, upload to wp-content/plugins on your server and activate the plugin. If you're unsure on how to do all of this, there's "help available":http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins. h3. Support _Time Since is no longer supported!_ h3. Usage Once you have installed the plugin, you need to add the activation code to your template. If at any point you're unsure how this should work, the "K2 template":/k2 comes with built-in support for the Time Since plugin. To show the time since an entry was published, insert the following code within "The Loop":http://codex.wordpress.org/the_loop. Most likely you'll want to replace any template tags already showing time and date information. The code below assumes you replace any date or time template tags already present: <p style="text-align: left;">*Since Entry Publication:*<br /> <?php if (function_exists('time_since')) { echo time_since(abs(strtotime($post->post_date_gmt . " GMT")), time()) . " ago"; } else { the_time('F jS, Y'); } ?></p> <p style="text-align: left;">*Time Since Publication of Comment:*<br /> <?php if (function_exists('time_since')) { echo time_since(abs(strtotime($comment->comment_date_gmt . " GMT")), time()) . " ago"; } else { the_time('F jS, Y'); } ?></p> PS: If you're interested in Dunstan's Time of Day code, then it's also out as <a href="http://www.ifelse.co.uk/archives/2004/07/24/time-of-day/">a WordPress plugin</a>. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-08-11 10:28:17 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:29 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [8] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1185 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1185 [slug] => k2 [title] => K2 [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/k2/ [content] => <div class="alert">K2 now has <a href="http://getk2.com">its own domain</a>.</div> [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-07-09 13:10:41 [updated] => 2008-08-09 04:14:30 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [9] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1232 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1232 [slug] => kubrick [title] => Kubrick [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/kubrick/ [content] => Once upon a time, I created the 'Kubrick' template for the WordPress blogging system. It was later adopted by "Automattic":http://automattic.com/ for use as the official template of WordPress. So if you're looking for support for it, you need to "contact them":http://wordpress.org/support/, since I no longer support it personally. Another reason is that I've since been involved in building a 'sequel' named "K2":http://getk2.com/, which I recommend you use instead of Kubrick, which hasn't been updated for years. And finally, I don't use WordPress these days, having upgraded to "Habari"http://habariproject.org, which I _do_ support. Oh, and if you want to know more about the master himself, Stanley Kubrick, "this is what you're looking for":http://www.coudal.com/archive.php?cat=cat_stanley_kubrick. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-06-04 11:13:55 [updated] => 2008-08-22 08:36:01 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [10] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 1249 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 1249 [slug] => about [title] => About [guid] => http://binarybonsai.com/colophon/ [content] => The Hitchhiker's Guide has the following to say about Binary Bonsai: <blockquote>The 'Binary Bonsai' is a "weblog":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog run by the earthling Michael Heilemann since <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2003/03/15/hohoho-now-i-have-a-blog/">March 15th, 2003</a>. It has gone through many <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/15153/">incarnations</a>, but has remained throughout a time consuming hobby for its mostly unwilling author.</blockquote> Binary Bonsai is hosted by the phenomenally helpful and kind people of "Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com. If you're shopping for a web host, I heartily recommend their services. h3. The Author <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/2460395510/" title="Me at 30 by Michael Heilemann, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2460395510_b00a563c56_b.jpg" alt="Me at 30" /></a> <img src="/images/me.jpg" alt="Portrait" class="alignright noborder" style="display: none;" />Look, me. I'm the author. Michael Heilemann. I'm a 30-year-old game developer "living in Copenhagen, Denmark":http://flickr.com/map/?&user_id=51035624977@N01&fLat=55.687695&fLon=12.548532&zl=4&min_upload_date=946713600&min_taken_date=1970-01-01%2000:00:00&map_type=hyb. A small 6 million people country, described in '95 by "Bruce Sterling":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_sterling thusly: <blockquote cite="www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.07/junkets.html">Composed of the Jutland peninsula and more than 400 islands, the country is a hauntingly beautiful world of Renaissance castles and quiet fishing villages, Viking legend and fairy tales. <a href="www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.07/junkets.html">#</a></blockquote> Here I live with my wonderful girlfriend Rikke, spend my days working at <a href="http://ioi.dk">Io Interactive</a>, the company behind Hitman and Freedom Fighters, as a "level designer":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_designer on "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men":http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/kanelynchdeadmen/index.html and writing this blog. I came into this world on April 30th 1978, spent some time in school, spent some time in high-school, dropped out, worked, spent some time in "the army":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594244500888/, dropped back into high-school, graduated, moved to Scotland and graduated with a bachelor in "Computer Arts":http://www.abertay.ac.uk/Courses/CDetails.cfm?RID=1&CID=184 from the "University of Abertay":http://www.abertay.ac.uk/ (not recommendable) in "Dundee, Scotland":http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=56.479368,-2.947426&spn=0.112753,0.324200&t=h&hl=en. Interesting things of note might be that I love computers and <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2003/11/24/step-1-the-cpc464-and-cpc664/">have done so for many years</a> and I'm <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/tag/movies">a gigantic movie fan</a>. I have been running this blog for a couple of years now, and <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/03/15/one-year-anniversary/">I feel strongly about it</a>; before starting this site, I have also run or helped run <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2005/01/02/chest-of-nostalgia/">a good deal of other sites</a>. You can also have a look at <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/05/29/photos-of-our-home/">how Rikke and I live</a>, should that be of any particular interest to you. My <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/registry/1SSXUMV585UMQ/ref=wl_em_to">Amazon.co.uk Wishlist</a> is also available for perusal, feel free to buy me something. h3. Travel <iframe width="100%" height="370" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&lr=lang_da%7Clang_en&hl=en&msa=0&ll=55.676294,12.568116&spn=23.875,57.630033&t=h&om=1&msid=114018450032814718092.00043e1ba02f8138cc02f&output=embed&s=AARTsJqet_TAsyuCF-PaYLhr2XY8KXCLNg"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&lr=lang_da%7Clang_en&hl=en&msa=0&ll=55.676294,12.568116&spn=23.875,57.630033&t=h&om=1&msid=114018450032814718092.00043e1ba02f8138cc02f&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small> h3. The Online Trail * <strong><a href="http://flickr.com/people/heilemann">Flickr</a></strong> -- I seriously loves me some Flickr. * <strong><a href="http://google.com/reader/shared/00355806697147134309">Google Reader Shares</a></strong> -- Cool things that cross through my feed-stream. * <strong><a href="http://heilemann.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a></strong> -- And this is how I link everything else. * <strong><a href="http://last.fm/user/Heilemann">Last.fm</a></strong> -- I'm tracking all the music I listen to (sans iPod). * <strong><a href="http://mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId=140107/">MobyGames</a></strong> -- I make computer games for a living, and this is my resumé. * <strong><a href="http://linkedin.com/in/heilemann">LinkedIn</a></strong> -- For feeling important. * <strong><a href="http://allconsuming.net/person/Heilemann/">Allconsuming</a></strong> -- What I'm watching and reading. * <strong><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/heilemann/deliciouslibrary/">Library</a></strong> -- A nearly complete catalog of books, movies and games, thanks to "Delicious Library 2.0":http://www.delicious-monster.com/. h3. Random Facts * All times on this site are "CET":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_European_Time, the timezone used in Denmark. * I was for a while the lead of a Half-Life total conversion called <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/07/17/uscm-infestation/">USCM: Infestation</a>, which was <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/07/20/cease-and-desist/">foxed</a>. * I then worked for 2015 inc. on a cancelled product, <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/medal-of-honor-allied-assault">Medal of Honor: Allied Assault</a> and <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/laser-arena">Laser Arena</a> * After university, I started working for <a href="ioi.dk">Io Interactive</a>, and have been almost unfairly credited on <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/ps2/hitman-contracts">Hitman: Contracts</a> as well as <a href="http://www.hitmanbloodmoney.com/">Hitman Blood Money</a>. * I have over the years attained some sort of addictive level of <a href="http://www.coca-cola.com">Coke</a> consumption. * I was always insanely lazy in school. Exiting with a somewhat decent grade point average was a miracle. * Despite that miracle, I do not believe in God in any way, and consider myself through and through a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist">strong atheist</a> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism">Cosmicist</a> tendencies, if anything. * Next to writing, I believe the Internet to be the greatest invention ever made. * By and large my childhood and teen years were shaped by <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/07/11/masters-of-doom/">the output of id Software</a>. As is, you could say, my current job. * I have created a template/theme for WordPress called <a href="/kubrick/">Kubrick</a>. Which was adopted into <a href="http://wordpress.org/development/2005/02/strayhorn/">version 1.5 of WordPress</a>. * Because of that, I was once "the most 'famous' Dane!":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/30542675/, but I have since fallen from grace. * And also because of that, Binary Bonsai has been "2nd most linked blog on Technorati":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/211128839/, though this was after it was removed from the official list (on which it <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/6515630/">peaked at 8th place</a> due to Kubrick's link influence. Still kinda cool. * I'm enough of a geek to enjoy such a thing as my blogger 2.0 code: <a href="http://bloggercode.com/decode.phtml?bc=B9+D%2B%2B%2B+T%2B+K+S%2B+F+I%2B+O+X--+E%2B+L+C--+Y1+R%2B%2B+W%2B+P%2B+M1+N%2B+H+">B9 D+++ T+ K S+ F I+ O X-- E+ L C-- Y1 R++ W+ P+ M1 N+ H</a>. * My first <em>logged</em> presence on the Internet, was <a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?q=michael+heilemann&hl=en&lr=&IE=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&c2coff=1&safe=off&edition=us&selm=01bbdb83%247b5b4b80%245508c0c3%40karma&rnum=1">November 26th, 1996</a>. What a sad way to make an entrance... * The first mention of me however, is earlier than that, on February 14th, 1996, in <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/dk.chat/msg/f33fd0839285e176?hl=en">a list of Danish BBS's</a>. Oh, and also check out <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html/browse_thread/thread/4c3c4ebfb24c1811/63d1cfb1af913e6c?q=%22michael+heilemann%22&rnum=84&hl=en#63d1cfb1af913e6c">my old signature</a>; and <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.cult-movies.alien/browse_thread/thread/36071192cc303f45/0e89666ff0a70cb4?q=heilemann&rnum=392&hl=en#0e89666ff0a70cb4">another</a>, and <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.games.mecha/browse_thread/thread/506f30446ed3b239/e627e081d386004f?q=heilemann+-martin&rnum=15&hl=en#e627e081d386004f">another</a>. * "I watch a lot of movies":http://allconsuming.net/person/Heilemann/consumed/movie, and "own quite a few myself":http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/27161623/ (not 100% up-to-date) and feel quite adamant about it. To measure my tastes against yours, start with "this rough list of movies I've rated on a scale from one to ten":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2004/05/08/movie-hitlist/. * I spoke about Open Source Design at <a href="http://reboot.dk">reboot7</a> (a fantastic experience). * I think perhaps "Wikipedia":http://wikipedia.org is one of humanities greatest achievements. * I've featured a few times in Matt's "Cascade Failure":http://cascadefailure.keenspace.com/d/20041213.html webcomic * I try to remember to not discuss the following items online: politics, religion, guns... I do so anyway from time to time. * I listen to "various great podcasts":http://binarybonsai.com/archives/2007/04/04/my-favorite-podcasts/. * Contrary to "some":http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/18654576/in/set-438545/ "people":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/8217407/in/set-204448/, I have only "a single sticker on my Powerbook":http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/33470819/. And I cherish it. * I've "been known to edit Wikipedia":http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=Heilemann&dbname=enwiki_p from time to time. * I am a casual "Browncoat":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browncoat. So now you know... h3. Colophon <blockquote cite="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=colophon">A colophon is: 'An inscription placed usually at the end of a book, giving facts about its publication.' <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=colophon" title="Source of Quote">#</a></blockquote> Binary Bonsai is powered by a "Media Temple":http://mediatemple.net/.from/binarybonsai.com server out of Los Angeles, and is run on "Habari":http://habariproject.org and my inane writings. I generally maintain the site out of Copenhagen, Denmark, where I live, using "TextMate":http://macromates.com/ and "Transmit":http://www.panic.com/transmit/, "Adobe Photoshop CS":http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html. All of which I runâof courseâon "Mac OS X":http://www.apple.com/macosx/. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2005-05-11 21:20:03 [updated] => 2008-08-14 13:12:26 [content_type] => 2 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) ) [asides] => Posts Object ( ) [recent_comments] => Comments Object ( [0] => Comment Object ( [post_object:private] => [info:private] => CommentInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo [_key_name:protected] => comment_id [_key_value:protected] => 26039 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 26039 [post_id] => 2592 [name] => Habari [email] => [url] => http://www.googlization.org.ru/general/habari.html [ip] => 1297596433 [content] => ... [status] => 0 [date] => 2008-09-23 14:00:14 [type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 1 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [1] => Comment Object ( [post_object:private] => [info:private] => CommentInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo [_key_name:protected] => comment_id [_key_value:protected] => 26038 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 26038 [post_id] => 2592 [name] => nathan hammond :: Habari [email] => [url] => http://www.nathanhammond.com/habari [ip] => 1109509966 [content] => ...l developer of both of those layouts, <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/">Michael Heilemann</a>, has <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/habari-kalamari">jumped ship</a> to Habari.Basically, to this point, I've no complaints at all. The database is cleanly laid out to ... [status] => 0 [date] => 2008-09-20 10:28:44 [type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 1 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [2] => Comment Object ( [post_object:private] => [info:private] => CommentInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo [_key_name:protected] => comment_id [_key_value:protected] => 26034 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 26034 [post_id] => 2606 [name] => Habari: Not sold? Check out the UI - Moot Mots [email] => [url] => http://paradoxradio.net/moot/habari-not-sold-check-out-the-ui [ip] => 1163468624 [content] => ...ween there and back again Habari: Not sold? Check out the UI Been meaning to post this to you guys: <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari">A rundown of "Monolith"</a>, the backend to my new blogging system, Habari. Simple, clean, and even keyboard-based if you so ch... [status] => 0 [date] => 2008-09-09 13:41:14 [type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 1 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [3] => Comment Object ( [post_object:private] => [info:private] => CommentInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo [_key_name:protected] => comment_id [_key_value:protected] => 26033 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 26033 [post_id] => 2606 [name] => Woodlander - Habari: A Blogging Engine [email] => [url] => http://james.sevenoakdesign.co.uk/?p=27 [ip] => 1074642982 [content] => ...erested in web application development or interface design, I recommend that you take a look at the <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari">developerâs screencast</a>. Enjoy. No Comments Yet There are no comments yet. You could be the first! Leave a Comment Name Ema... [status] => 0 [date] => 2008-09-08 14:07:18 [type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 1 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [4] => Comment Object ( [post_object:private] => [info:private] => CommentInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__commentinfo [_key_name:protected] => comment_id [_key_value:protected] => 26030 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 26030 [post_id] => 2606 [name] => » Some reasons we’re toying with Habari: … Multiplexer [email] => [url] => http://labs.utopian.net/blogs/mux/75/ [ip] => 1161291579 [content] => ...g">research</a> Some reasons weâre toying with <a href="http://habariproject.org">Habari</a>: <a href="http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari">http://binarybonsai.com/interfacing-habari</a>  Leave a Comment You must be <a href="http://labs.utopian.net/blogs/mux/wp-login.php?redirect">... [status] => 0 [date] => 2008-09-03 22:58:48 [type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 1 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) ) [user] => [more_posts] => Posts Object ( [0] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2622 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2622 [slug] => o-yeah-you-did [title] => O Yeah You Did! [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:o-yeah-you-did/1225865256 [content] => <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/65I0HNvTDH4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/65I0HNvTDH4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Thanks. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-11-04 22:07:01 [updated] => 2008-11-04 22:07:36 [content_type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [1] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2621 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2621 [slug] => little-big-evangelical-planet [title] => Little Big Evangelical Planet [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:little-big-evangelical-planet/1224591162 [content] => You may have heard that Little Big Planet was recalled due to references to the Qur'an in one of the music tracks accompanying it. Now, you're free to opine in whichever direction with regards to the idea of recalling something to avoid offending the members of a religion. I live in Denmark, I've been through the wringer on this, so I understand why Sony would chose to do so, and I empathize with their decision. But I haven't seen _this_ particular aspect discussed anywhere: bq. It's quite normal to play music and be inspired by the words of the Prophet Mohammed," Diabate explaine. "It's my way to attract and inspire people towards Islam. "#":http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/using-koran-quotes-in-music-quite-normal I don't know how it was a part of the music, what language it was in or _what_ it said, but isn't there something fundamentally wrong with the notion of 'attracting' the players of a family title--that is, in particular, children--towards religion? Now I hardly think it was the intent of anyone involved to evangelize in Little Big Planet; instead I guesstimate that Toumani Diabate, the musician behind the track, took some liberties--perhaps without even considering it. Very unfortunate, not least because a recall costs one hell of a lot of money, but also because that sort of thing simply doesn't belong in a child-friendly title. Regardless, I'm very much looking forward to the game, though I at the same time feel my economy strained under the weight of games coming in the next month or so. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-10-21 05:13:46 [updated] => 2008-10-22 08:52:13 [content_type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [2] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2620 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2620 [slug] => silent-gaming [title] => Silent Gaming [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:silent-gaming/1224177143 [content] => So it's that time of year where "the deluge":http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/13/ is about to hit, and I'm afraid it calls for some serious choices to be made. Not only about which games score high enough on Meta Critic to get to adorn the shelves and which on the same bill are left behind, out in the cold; but for those of us who run dual systems--that is, both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, nevermind the Wii--it also means figuring out which system to get said games for. For me, this is the first time this has actually posed a problem as such. There simply haven't been any games on the PS3 I've wanted to buy... Whatever has seemed mildly interesting--like Uncharted, which is recommendable--I've borrowed from friends. But now, between Dead Space<footnote>I'm not too impressed with what I've seen to be honest, but it's the vanguard of the deluge, so I have to get it just to get warmed up. Besides, it's gotten pretty good reviews so far.</footnote>, Mirror's Edge<footnote>I swear, the major design influence on this game has _got_ to be "Darude's Sandstorm":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYxT9GM0fQ music video. Tell me I'm wrong.</footnote>, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2<footnote>Well, I'm holding out for the reviews; I wasn't too impressed with the first Far Cry really, and I have a history with Crytek, but it looks like it might be good.</footnote> and of course later this year plenty other cross-platform titles, I now get to choose which of the two consoles I want these games for. And despite the fact that the 360 outnumberes the PS3 some 7-to-1 or so, in my circle of friends, and despite the fact that I've bought only 360 games so far, this time around I'm going to go with PS3 for the majority of the games. It's the noise. It ruins all mood, chases my girlfriend out of the room and causes my stress-levels to rise far above healthy levels. I can't even play GuitarHero without thinking how nice it would be if the music wasn't being drowned out by this damned thing. I may be getting old, or I may have enough respect for our neighbors to not drown out the incessant fan and drive noises by cranking the volume, but I find myself using the 360 less and less, simply because I don't want it dominating our living space. And meanwhile, next to it, the PS3 is silent like the tomb. So I'm getting my games for the PS3 this time around; and I guess I'll just have to live with the fact that I actually like the 360 controller much more than the DualShock (or Sixaxis or whatever the hell they call that sized-for-Japanese-hands 'thing'). There's Gears of War 2 of course, which is only coming out on 360, but other than that, the only title I won't be getting for the PS3 is "Left4Dead":http://www.l4d.com/. Because after all, that is primarily a multiplayer game, and I want the Xbox Live network for that. Oh, and it's not available on the PS3... Hm. Maybe I should just buy it off of Steam? Choices, choices. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-10-16 10:11:47 [updated] => 2008-10-16 10:35:11 [content_type] => 1 [footnotes] => Array ( [1] => I'm not too impressed with what I've seen to be honest, but it's the vanguard of the deluge, so I have to get it just to get warmed up. Besides, it's gotten pretty good reviews so far. [2] => I swear, the major design influence on this game has _got_ to be "Darude's Sandstorm":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYxT9GM0fQ music video. Tell me I'm wrong. [3] => Well, I'm holding out for the reviews; I wasn't too impressed with the first Far Cry really, and I have a history with Crytek, but it looks like it might be good. ) ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [3] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2619 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2619 [slug] => james-cameron-talks-piranha-2 [title] => James Cameron talks Piranha 2 [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:james-cameron-talks-piranha-2/1223986254 [content] => Few things that have been put on this earth as as hideous and vile as James Cameron's first outing, "Piranha Part Two: The Spawning":http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082910/. That film has only two brag-worthy qualities, one of which is the fact that it manages to make its 90-minute running time feel like that of a three hour epic. Though that _only_ goes for the running time. Everything else is exactly as shoddy as it actually is. The other thing, which is much more commendable, is that it was the launch pad for James Cameron, which, having grown up in the 80's, almost relieves it of any other responsibilities. Anyway, I bring it up because "I've touched on Piranha 2 before":http://binarybonsai.com/piranha-ii-the-spawning, and wanted to share a clip of Jim--I call him Jim--in a rare instance, "talking about what happened":http://splicd.com/pQpDD6w6KOs/391/9.05 (or what didn't happen, it's all very confusing), on that shoot. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-10-14 05:04:01 [updated] => 2008-10-14 05:12:32 [content_type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [4] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2618 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2618 [slug] => post-1 [title] => 6:15 [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:post-1/1223544796 [content] => At 6.15 this morning, I had my first driving lesson, which, yes, at the tender age of 30, might seem slightly late in life, especially for you pesky American's. But if you've ever lived in Copenhagen, you'll know that really, a car isn't the best way of getting around anyway, so why bother? That was until I saw this little flick called Mad Max. I like dogs. I can get behind Vengeful Vigilantism. Shucks, I think I'll get myself one of them there drivin' licenses (licensi?). It was an interesting experience, not least because it was still dark when we started, and rush-hour had set in when we ended. A friend of mine compared it to playing the drums on a track you've never heard before, which seems pretty accurate (crutch-ridin' since '08, and proud of it!). Though I'll add that it's like that, only you've also never played the drums before, and you're doing it in front of an audience of some 50.000 metal fans. It was a little tense. But I didn't cap any cyclists, bump into any cars or accidentally run over any pedestrians (whom I then subsequently sped away from, paying the instructor generously to overlook this minor accident, stopping at a gas station to wipe the blood off the hood, all the while grinning nervously and explaining to passerby's how the ketchup truck had spilled its load on my hood). So that was great. They all look so frail from the inside of the metal monstrum. Those poor meatbags, their meat so tender and their lives hanging capriciously in the balance as I go from one to the other 'not that one, not that one, not... no, not that one either... That one is good, I'll take him!'. Well, I'm not actually scared of driving. But it _is_ pretty stressful finding yourself suddenly behind the wheels of a car in heavy traffic for the first time, thinking to yourself that the car is apt to run amok, Christine-style, with you powerless to stop it. But then you turn the key, and it mostly does what it's told after that. Mostly. Next week I've got 5 hour and a half lessons, so be careful. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-10-09 02:34:07 [updated] => 2008-10-12 12:03:28 [content_type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [5] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2617 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2617 [slug] => blade-runner-2-blade-runnerer [title] => Blade Runner 2: Blade Runnerer [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:blade-runner-2-blade-runnerer/1223365214 [content] => A story that Blade Runner 2 was being worked on by two screenwriters from DJ Caruso's Eagle Eye "floated recently":http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/09/29/exclusive-eagle-eye-co-writers-working-on-blade-runner-2/. It was unclear just how official this project was, and how serious it should be taken. Was it the hopes of this screenwriter, or was it actually in pre-production already? As it turns out, "a bit of both":http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/10/06/exclusive-screenwriter-travis-wright-responds-to-blade-runner-2-story/, though at the moment it looks like it's mostly the hopes of Travis Wright, who wrote a long letter to /Film explaining the status of the project, his involvement in it and this finishing remark: bq. I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Deckardâs story, but in my lifetime Iâd love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch as Deckard sees attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on. I know next to nothing about Travis Wright, but for now, the above says just about all I need to hear. And before you start thinking to yourself 'Hey, you know, I always _did_ want to see attack ships blahblahblah', allow me the opportunity to convince you otherwise. h4. Blade Runner Is A Unique Snowflake In the history of the film industry, few works have been as monolithic, influential and respected as Blade Runner. Despite reception problems, continuity issues and re-releases over the years, it hasn't lost an ounce of respect- Quite the opposite in fact. It might not matter how many American Pie, Ernest Goes To... and Porky's sequels and spin-offs they churn out. They are, for whatever qualities they may have, easily copied. Nor does it matter how many Star Trek films they do, the series was built for it. Jason? Whatever. American Ninja? Knock ýourself out. But Blade Runner is a unique film in almost every way possible. A perfect storm of source material, talent and serendipity. It cannot be replicated. Even Ridley Scott, in all his visual splendor, hasn't been able to make a film since, that has been able to get within eye-sight of it. Doesn't that say something worth listening to? Perhaps it was exactly _because_ Blade Runner leaves the audience with open questions that it has such an impressive longevity. And perhaps this longevity isn't an invitation to create a sequel staring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. h4. Tell, Don't Show There's a golden rule in writing, which goes "show, don't tell":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don't_tell. As rules go, this ain't half-bad. But there are times when instead of reinforcing the illusion, it breaks it. Consider for instance if you had read this instead: bq. I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Skywalker story, but in my lifetime Iâd love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch 'the clone wars'. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on. It'll be _awesome!_ Oh. Wait. The clone wars were better off having remained "an off-hand remark by Obi-Wan":http://splicd.com/ukbTFgQ4jxs/0/35. We don't need to meet Deckard's wife, we don't need to know that Rachel inherited Tyrell Corp and we don't need to see Harrison Ford pick up the Deckard mantle again (especially after we saw Indy 4, in which Indy wants nothing more than to watch a few episodes of Matlock while gobbling down luke-warm soup back at the retirement home. h4. Blade Runner Already Has Sequels Three direct sequels in fact: "Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Humanity":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_2:_The_Edge_of_Human, "Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_3:_Replicant_Night and "Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_4:_Eye_and_Talon, none of which I've read, and none of which I intend to read. Also, David Webb Peoples, whom I have mucho mucho respect for (Leviathan, Salute of the Jugger, 12 Monkeys, Ladyhawke) co-wrote Blade Runner and went on to write <a href="http://bladerunner.wikia.com/wiki/Soldier ">Soldier</a><footnote>I haven't read the Soldier script, but word on the street is that Paul W.S. Anderson did extensive rewrites, and I chose to believe that, considering the rest of his atrocious output.</footnote>, which was then done by Paul W.S. Anderson, an absolute hack, who rampages through franchises like the black plaque through Europe. Now, what's interesting about this, is that Peoples considers Soldier a sidequel to Blade Runner, and of course the film... movie, let's go with movie--even has a cascade of references to Blade Runner. In fact, if you want to see attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, it wasn't in the movie, but thankfully Mr. Anderson was gracious enough to put it in "the trailer":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6PPmyzIBNI. And then of course, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_(1997_video_game)">the game</a>, which was actually surprisingly good, everything considered. Though it did at times feel as if it was simply trying to touch all of the things that made Blade Runner, Blade Runner, rather than expand the universe. Hell, Vangelis even did "a sequel to the soundtrack":http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blade-Runner-Trilogy-25th-Anniversary/dp/B000Z0OX9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223369562&sr=8-1, which was... Let's not go there. Ultimately, none of the above could capture the kind of lightning in a bottle that drives the original. It's not impossible. Nothing is impossible. But it _is_ implausible. And I would personally prefer if it was left alone as it is. h4. The Bottomline I'm not a staunch sequel hater as such. There _have_ been great sequels, I freely admit as much. In fact, I'm personally looking very much forward to TR2N. And hey, T2 was a great, if more family-friendly followup to its low-budget steel-bladed adrenalin-pumped predecessor. It works because Cameron was an unfliching egomaniac, which is probably why Aliens works as a sequel to Alien, despite being a fairly shallow Vietnam-in-Space followup to a much more atmospheric and erotic predecessor (stylistically, the aliens franchise is all over the place, and for that you can blame Aliens). Of course, of all sequels, I still hold The Empire Strikes Back as the best, for managing to expand on the universe, the story, the characters and their relationships, while also being a riveting ride. But for every one of the classic 'great' sequels, there's a plethora of Indy 4's. Sequels with high production value, star quality and little else. No vision, no substance, no heart. Consider 2010: The Year We Make Contact, a movie which isn't in itself _that_ bad, it just happens to quiver in the shadow of the greatest film ever made, which makes it look like a kindergarten project. And why? Nevermind Arthur C. Clarke's books, which in my humble opinion never lived up to the film anyway, and consider instead the fact that someone decided that 2001: A Space Odyssey could do with a sequel, probably because: bq. I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Monolith story, but in my lifetime Iâd love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch as we trespass on the land of the ephemeral mystery, imposing our mediocrity to the jovial sounds of cheap synthesizers. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on. Consider T3: The Rise of the Machines, which is not only a pretty bad film in itself, but which cheapens what came before by being "essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious, and to leave the Great Ideas to bona fide public intellectuals like Keanu Reeves and the Hulk"<footnote>Thank you <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9f01efd6143af932a35754c0a9659c8b63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2">A.O. Scott</a></footnote>. Consider Alien Resurrection, which is quite frankly disastrous in every way possible. And then some. Consider Batman & Robin... Or don't. Consider any of the Planet of the Apes sequels. Any of the Jaws sequels. But more than anything else, consider that we already saw attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion in our minds eye, and it was a sight to see. Don't cheapen this. Just leave it alone and pass on by. Please. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-10-07 01:57:19 [updated] => 2008-10-12 12:01:52 [content_type] => 1 [footnotes] => Array ( [1] => I haven't read the Soldier script, but word on the street is that Paul W.S. Anderson did extensive rewrites, and I chose to believe that, considering the rest of his atrocious output. [2] => Thank you <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9f01efd6143af932a35754c0a9659c8b63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2">A.O. Scott</a> ) ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) ) [previous_posts] => Array ( [0] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2626 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2626 [slug] => star-wars-storyboards [title] => Star Wars Storyboards [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:star-wars-storyboards/1226478915 [content] => <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594429862991/" title="Opening Scroll by Michael Heilemann, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/135/328151549_6cd1dfec5a.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="Opening Scroll" /></a> On an average day on my flickr account, I'll have anywhere between 3000 to 5000 views. Three days ago, when "a set of Star Wars storyboards":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594429862991/ hit "kottke.org":http://kottke.org and "Digg":http://digg.com on the same day, I had 357.000 views. Since then the set has gone around the blogosphere, hitting "Wired":http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/11/early-storyboar.html earlier today, and the views have settled into a more reasonable 90.000 views a day. Yikes. Them being so popular now, I'm actually surprised they weren't 'discovered' earlier, since they've been up there for nearly two years now. But also, I'm pleased by how happy people have been with seeing these nuggets o' nerd gold. No hate, no 'blah blah prequels, blah blah Banta pudu!'. Just pure nerd love. On that note, by the way, if you're interested in more Star Wars drawings, paintings, memorabilia and background information check out the list at the end of "this post":http://binarybonsai.com/skywalking for some books to pick up. And also, be sure to check out "my other Star Wars photos on flickr":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/collections/72157600061827469/. May the force be with you. Always. *Update:* I've uploaded a a new batch of about 20 Empire and Jedi storyboards to "the set":http://flickr.com/photos/heilemann/sets/72157594429862991/. [cached_content] => [user_id] => 1 [status] => 2 [pubdate] => 2008-11-12 00:27:48 [updated] => 2008-11-14 08:47:24 [content_type] => 1 ) [newfields:protected] => Array ( [status] => 2 ) [unsetfields:protected] => Array ( [id] => id ) [loaded:private] => 1 ) [1] => Post Object ( [tags:private] => [comments_object:private] => [author_object:private] => [info:private] => PostInfo Object ( [__inforecord_array:protected] => Array ( ) [_table_name:protected] => habari__postinfo [_key_name:protected] => post_id [_key_value:protected] => 2624 [_loaded:protected] => ) [fields:protected] => Array ( [id] => 2624 [slug] => games-games-games [title] => Games. Games. Games. [guid] => tag:binarybonsai.com,2008:games-games-games/1225922894 [content] => First of all, I'd like to express my elation with Barack Obama. And I really mean that. Even here, half-way around the world, in a country so liberal your scale doesn't even go that far left, this will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of a reign of incompetence and negligence and will soon see the rise of what I truly believe to be not only a good man, but the _right_ man for the job as president of the US. Secondly, _I_ have certainly been, if not incompetent, then at least somewhat negligent, namely in writing for this site. But there's just been so much to see to lately. First I had a driver's license to take--nailed it by the way--and then the gates of Hades opened up on the unprepared masses and unleashed not one, not two, not three... No, one BILLION games. So I've eagerly been playing as much as I've been able to, so far making headway in Dead Space, Farcry 2 and Fallout 3. Tomorrow Gears of War 2 is coming out and I just got word that Little Big Planet shipped. And later, there will be cake. And more games. So... This is all largely _spoiler free,_ but not opinion free, so beware. h4. Dead Space Oh dear Science. It's so derivative. It's sooo been done before, that it's really kind of embarrasing to sit through the story as it unfolds _exactly_ as you'd expect. System Shock meets Alien meets Event Horizon meets Bioshock. It's like eating pre-chewed food; fairly unsatisfying. I don't like the whole 'look, I build this power suit out of copper, and my guns look stupid and can rotate'-look, but that said, it's very well-crafted and highly polished, which is more than can be said for so many other games these days, so... I hope I can muster up the drive to play through it, but I'm not entirely sure on that one. h4. Farcry 2 I didn't like the first Farcry. Luckily the sequel has pretty much nothing to do with it, so that's something. For the first few hours I really didn't like it. It was confining and annoying and felt very unfocused. But then it slowly started clicking for me. I had some moments, the likes of which only a sandbox game like this can give. And then I loved it. And I loved it for a good 8-10 hours or so. The mechanics are great, the AI pretty nice and some of the landscapes are just downright gorgeous (even if the PS3 _does_ start sounding like a jet when I take a boat down river and it needs to stream data faster than it wants to). The setting certainly has its moments, and it's just great to see Africa portrayed so well and put to such good use. But when you get the 10th 'go across the map and do X', and you know that doing so means passing through 5-6 checkp |