E3 2013 - Microsoft

When Microsoft first unveiled the Xbox One, I didn’t know what to write. The presentation was focused less on games and more on entertainment which I didn’t care for. By the end of their hour long presentation, it felt incomplete, so I decided to wait till E3, as I had a feeling Microsoft got all that unpleasantness out of the way for the games. And you know what, I was right. Microsoft had a great E3, that was until a certain unnamed elephant in the room stepped up to the plate (but more on that later).

Metal Gear Solid 5 opened up the Microsoft presser, and boy does it look good. An open world Metal Gear, something they have been promising since Snake Eater, looks to be finally coming into fruition. From there, they went from game to game to game, each looking interesting. There really wasn’t anything extraneous. The biggest surprise, Insomniac Games are making an exclusive for Xbox One! I never thought I would see the day. That was huge. Game-wise, Microsoft had a great lineup of games.

Going into E3, we knew some disappointing things about Xbox One; there will be a used games limit, the console will have to log on once within a 24hour period, and it will come packaged in with an fixed 500gb HDD (you can have an external HDD for more space). All we needed was price, and for all its offering, I expected it to be a little high, but to lower the entry cost, I was waiting for a version with a subscription base. However, we are getting it for $499 this November, which is fine (a little high), but at least not of the astronomical levels of the PS3.

So how did they do? Not bad. They didn’t blow anyone away, but they had a solid (Snake?) showing. And it was the best presser until Ubi went later in the day (and of course Sony), but it failed to wow. I’d have to give it a solid B+. If Halo had been in playable form, would have been bumped up to an A-, and sadly, they ended up getting hurt by being first. 

My thoughts on Sony, EA and Ubi will be up later today. 

1 Sentence Review: After Earth

A coming of age father/son movie that’s quite entertaining though lacking in any real tension, showing that Will Smith’s still got it (despite his son mumbling half his lines), and that M. Night is finally starting to get his groove back.

1 of you got to where he is because he has talent, and the other is just very lucky he has someone who is looking out for him.

1 Sentence Review: Star Trek into Darkness

Star Trek boldly goes where it's gone before, barely differentiating, and ending up unchanged, making one wonder if there truly was a need to see this entertaining lens flare fest. 

No Captain, not you this time.

1 Sentence Review: Iron Man 3

What can I say, watch a great movie, and stick around for an even better closing credits sequence thats 5 years in the making.

Yes, it's awesome when it happens.

Why the world needs Superman

You know the story. Man sees doomed planet for what it is. He tries to help his people, but they spurn his attempts. In his desperation, he can only save his son, leaving his own fate with that of his people. The boy rockets to Earth, where he is adopted by two kind humans who raise him to be the best humanity has to offer. Thus Superman is born. He may not have the dark origin of Batman. He may not be as edgy as Wolverine. He may not be as relatable as Spiderman. But one thing is for sure, I wouldn't want anyone else other than Superman in my corner to catch me when I fall.

A parents last gift.

It’s easy to feel anxious in today’s world. Terror attacks, rapes, murders, and genocide are seemingly commonplace on this planet. Just pick up the newspaper (oops, you might not know what that is anymore), or watch the news (shit, TV’s dying too), and there is a constant testament to the worst humanity has to offer. Sure, every once in a while we get reminded of the random acts of kindness, but far too often the same news stories of tragedy reaches our senses. And as we begin to feel overwhelmed with all the negativity, its times like these where Superman is most important.

Give me a break!

You see, Bruce Wayne is Batman because of tragedy. Peter Parker is Spiderman because of his actions that led to his uncle’s death. Logan is the angry Wolverine because he’s the only badass Canadian ever (I kid!!!). But Clark Kent is Superman because of his adoptive parents. They raised him with the core values of what it is to be a good human being. And while struggling with his identity and his role in the world (which everyone does), while coming to terms with his immense loss of his biological home, but the gains of his adoptive world, Clark Kent embraced his human and kryptonian sides to become the most enduring hero of modern times.

A loving couple.

Superman may fly in the sky, but he’s not above us or our laws. He willingly follows them to a T in order to better serve us. It is in this regard that he is most unique. Superman was the first significant creation in a new era of human mythology. Our ancestors had the Greek and Roman gods running amok, bending the human spirit to their will. They were vengeful, deceitful, full of trickery, and rarely did anything to benefit mankind if it did not help them personally. But here came a character with absolute power, like Zeus, but was not corrupted. On the contrary, he held himself to a higher responsibility in order to ensure humanities safety. Where Zeus would transform into a swan to bed a girl or three, Superman walks the line boldly so that we may follow his example. He was the first of the gods to serve humanity for no personal gain.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, from the people that gave us "Oedipus Rex"...

No task is too small for Superman; he’s saved cats stuck in trees! He’s tried to end world hunger, genocide, nuclear arms, and yes, put a stop Lex Luther’s mad plans too. But there is more to it. There is a scene in the comic All Star Superman where a young girl is about the hurl herself off a building. This girl with her shortly cut dark hair and black eyeliner is at that moment in her life where everything is just in a dark place. All she needs is someone to reach out and let her know that she will be fine. But her doctor is unavailable, and she can’t endure anymore. Just as she’s about to take that final step to end it all, she’s gently wrapped up in the Man of Steels arms and he tells her simply that “You’re much stronger than you think you are”. This moment comes between Superman saving the world from one disaster or another. He’s leaping tall buildings, bouncing bullets off his chest, and still has enough time for those who feel that time has run out. That is the enduring human potential.

All Star Superman indeed.

Sure his standings in popularity may have fallen. People constantly complain that he’s not relatable and that he’s overpowered. But of all the comic book characters out there, he is the one humanity must strive to become. A hero so strong and bold, but so gentle that he will willingly give himself up to the military, let himself be handcuffed and escorted through a military base to be interrogated, surrounded by mere mortals that he could destroy with ease, and all for our own self satisfaction. That is the human potential; a law abiding force of nature that doesn’t hold itself above everyone, but is more than capable of solving real world problems. We may never reach such lofty heights, but we owe it to ourselves to at least try, or else we have fated this world of ours to become the next Krypton.

From "Man of Steel" (2013)

Happy belated 75^th birthday Kal El. One day we will join you in the sun. 

All thanks to Joe Shuster and Jerry Seigel

Virtual Déjà vu Fleshed Out

Last year, I flew to Las Vegas for an interview and stayed a bit longer to explore the Strip. I cannot shake a sense of weird familiarity. I was once in Las Vegas. But two decades for a day on the way to Los Angeles. Hardly memory-making time. The feel of a decadent urban oasis in the middle of a derelict wasteland where high hopes die with waking reality. Crap, this sounds very much the depiction of Las Vegas. But no, this familiarity comes from Fallout: New Vegas.

Lucky 38? Nope, the Stratosphere

I wonder, has virtual worlds, such as Fallout: New Vegas, crossed that threshold to truly simulate reality and trick our brains? Of course, virtual worlds cannot replace the experience of actually having our arses in those spots. At the same, it would seem technology is destined to generate the whole world without us ever leaving home as the great prophet, Sci-Fi, has foreseen. And it is a bit uneasy.The Mayan calender resetting last year to signify the entering of a new era. Yes, New Vegas was released in 2009. And yes, there are many games set IRL locations, such as the GTA series and Midtown Madness series (look that one up). Las Vegas hit me with déjà vu: the feeling of overwhelming familiarity in place or situation without there being a reason for such feeling. Few psychologists suggest such moments maybe the brain spotting something familiar in an unfamiliar place/situation. So the brain is throwing an anchor in an unexplored harbor. For what reason? Well, psychologists are kinda new on déjà vu existing (for real) and not so much for why.

Most likely to warn us

Perhaps déjà vu is an mechanism to buffer against uncertainty. Personally, I was in Las Vegas for an important interview which would dictate my future career. A video game inspired my déjà vu. A played out fantasy where you can have better control on the outcomes than IRL. Video gamers have been shown to have less nightmares. Since gamers are used to exerting control on one type of fantasy, so controlling another is not too hard. Hell, the US military has been experimenting with video games to treat PTSD.

So déjà vu and Mayan prophesy? Video games, more broadly virtual worlds, can be ingrained into our memories. Video games and virtual worlds become more as immersed experience than movies or books. Keep in mind, anxiety and depression disorders are rising in both children and adults for various reasons. So why not escape into a fantasy to deal with our reality? Keep escaping and we have the fulfillment of the Mayan calender ending in a new era.

So a fantasy revolves around moral system divided between slutty and emo. Not sure better than WoW or not...

Completely seceding from reality is ridiculous. But how many times have you spotted two or more people together, not speaking to each other and instead staring intently into their smart phone? Or how many times have you done so? Today?

Last thought: one solution to the Fermi Paradox (there are so many planets in the galaxy and yet we have not found evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence) is that all alien minds are uploaded to a supercomputer. Once in the supercomputer, the programming generated universes within this matrix. Thus, the aliens could care less about the universe outside.

Hmmmm

Richabob

Blinding Lights

There are roughly 7 billion people on this little planet of ours. We each like to think we are unique, blazing a path for others to follow, but mostly, we fit into the cogs of society. However, there does come a time when someone comes along and changes the game. They make the extraordinary look mundane, and they do it with such class, we the lucky witnesses, are left breathless. And just as they are going to revolutionize everything, they are taken from us, leaving the world to wonder what could have been. After all, a light that shines twice as bright lasts half as long. 

One person of genius was Ayrton Senna. I recently watched the brilliant 2010 documentary (Senna) based on his Formula 1 career. Full disclosure, I'm a F1 fan. My favorite team is McLaren. The greatest driver I've ever witnessed is Michael Schumacher. I passionately believe that Lewis Hamilton has the worst luck of any driver I've ever seen. But I came into F1 in 1996. I never saw Senna, and wouldn't really pay the name much attention if it weren't for sports documentaries. 

The film that sparked my interest in documentaries was ‘Fire in Babylon’. The movie follows the rise of the West Indies cricket team from forgettable fodder to unbeatable giants. It’s such a well crafted film, showing not just the individual players desires, but how a nation, and eventually nations, rallied around a group of 11 men as they took on the world, not just in competitive sports, but political drama. And it is in that vein that Senna comes to life. The movie could have focused on just how good a driver he was, but it shows the inadequacy of a governing body that clearly has its bias’ towards other established drivers, to the point where Senna is robbed of not only one of his world titles thanks to parlor tricks, but eventually his life because of slow, inadequate safety action.

Senna could have let the dark side of his sport drag him down and corrupt him. The 11 men, led by Clive Lloyd, of the West Indies could have played game as usual only to be a footnote in history. But they didn’t, much like James Dean stealing our hearts with his subtle, yet demanding performances, or Janis Joplin’s throaty, erotic even, voice whispering sweet nothings into our ears. They stood out; making everything that came before them redundant, and left their mark on everything that has come since (a line stolen from Dave Chappelle). Lucky for us, the players of the West Indies team did not die young, having unbeaten runs lasting up to 15 years. It leaves us wondering what we missed out form the others.

People come, people go, and sometimes the world notices. After all, we still talk of Alexander the Great, Joan d’Arc, Evariste Galois, Christopher Marlowe, and many others. It’s a shame our time with them was so short, but who knows, maybe that’s all we could have handled. So who will be next to come along, challenge everything that we hold as true, show us just how wrong we have been, and leave as quickly as they came? Who’s to know, and will we even let them survive our cynicism? Like my favorite author ‘Christopher Moore’ once wrote “Nobody’s perfect. Well there was this one guy, but we killed him”.