Phendrana Drifts

E3 (Electronic Entertainment Exposition) is an industry event for video game makers, which is no big deal to some, but of course it highlights the games that are slated to come out for Christmas this year. This makes it a big deal for me. What is coming up that interests a Duncan? Well it isn't the orgy of last year (I was treated to Metroid, Zelda and Splinter Cell) so far, but some interesting stuff already is slated. A video for Metroid Prime 2? That is enough for me to follow minute-by-minute coverage. Rogue Squadron III? Even more good news.

Brazenly copying my friends...

1.What time is it? 8:53 PM
2.Name on your birth certificate? Duncan Louis Campbell Wojtaszek
3. Any nicknames? No
4. Parent's names? Neil and Susan
5. Number of candles on your last birthday cake? 24
6. Date that you regularly blow them out? October 7
7. Pets? Zoe, a cat
9. Tattoo or body piercing? Not yet
10. How much do you love your job (1 worst -10 best)? 4
11. Birthplace? Calgary, Alberta
12. Favorite vacation spot? Halifax, Nova Scotia
13. Ever been to Africa? No
14. Stolen any traffic signs? Yes
15. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
16. Croutons or Bacon bits? Bacon bits
17. 2-door or 4-door car? 2
18. Coffee? Yes
19. Salad Dressing? Ranch
21. Favorite Number? 7
22. Favorite movie? Raiders of the Lost Ark
23. Favorite Color? Yellow
24. Favorite Holiday ? My birthday
26. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
27. Favorite song? Lots. Probably Black and White by Sarah McLachlan
28. Favorite TV Show? West Wing? I don't watch a lot of TV.
29. Toothpaste? Yes
30. Most recently read book? Chickenhawk
31. Perfume/Cologne? No
32.Favorite scent? Tequila
33.Favorite thing to do to relax? Video games or movies
34. Favorite Fast Food place? A&W or Wendy's
35. When was your last hospital visit? When I fell off my bike three years ago
36.. How many times did you fail your driver's license test? 1
37. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Don't know...
38. What do you do when you are bored? Read, video games, whatever
39. Furthermost place you will send this message? I'm posting to a blog... people from Korea regularly visit my blog though...
40. What time is it now? 8:59 pm

Have you ever found out what the four slots are for in a cutlery drawer? I mean there are three basic utensils - forks, knives and spoons. There are small spoons and big spoons, and small forks and big forks. That gives us a division of forks, spoons and knives or alternatively small forks, small spoons, big forks, big spoons and knives. But there are four... not five or three. What am I supposed to put in the fourth slot?

Still taking a break from blogging. But all is good. Very tired after today.

I don't feel much like blogging, but I will share two links:

The reason I read Japanese news everyday

Iraqi information minister releases PCYA election results

Canadian democracy is a far cry from the horrors of its American counterpart, but Wil Wheaton's blog today certainly does have some relevance for all of us.

I suppose it is a good thing that the Maple Leafs lost game seven last night, because I'm not sure other teams would fly into Toronto after the WHO recommendation that came down today.

I scored
37¾%
on the classic 400 Point Purity Test!

Take the test here!

Hmm... the lower the score the worse off I am... well, I can honestly say there isn't much left in the test I am interested in... so I should stay pretty constant.

Which is worse, hunger or thirst? You can certainly die from both... hmm... I will tell you shortly.

Hmm... crazy, but not too crazy? Lots of my answers I wasn't sure about... well sort of. Still, at least paranoid. Or schizoid. And I like the sound of histrionic (which apparently means I have to be the centre of attention). Narcissistic... well what if I really am as good as I think I am. I mean I would be lying to myself if said I wasn't that good, right?

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Moderate
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Very High
Narcissistic:	High
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Low
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

Happy Easter!

Nothing to blog about, at least at the moment. Hmmm... my cat is pretty today.

Wow. Curtis Joseph is probably feeling pretty low today. One of the best goaltenders in the entire world left the Toronto Maple Leafs last year to go to Detroit, with a pay cut, in order to win the Stanley Cup. Well, today the Toronto Maple Leafs are tied in their series with Flyers (and I'm confident that they will win) and well, Curtis Joseph and the defending Stanley Cup champions Red Wings are out, having played only four more games than my beloved Calgary Flames.

I am blue. I am somewhat innocent, in the fact that my genius only extends to the physical world. I have a false sense of contentness. I am usually the quiet one, the genius. Everyone can count on me to help when they have problems, but I only fall short of being able to solve my own.

What inner color are you?

Actually, I will be honest, I only took the quiz because of the picture (I mean look at them... how can you not click?).

Usually I support making video games (and movies, and books, and paintings, and poetry) about historical events. Well, not those sappy made-for-tv movies, but everything else. So why does this some how rub me the wrong way? I don't exactly know, but I guess it has something to do with the dead not even finished being buried. Heck, the war isn't even finished.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I just finished this great game last night, and all I can say is wow. If you have any interest in this game, you should go and grab it now. The art direction is perfect (despite being attacked in some quarters) and the controls handle like a dream. The control of Link, for lack of a better word, is perfect. The water theme might drag on a few, but the gains as a result (a large overworld, and a superb theme, and an amazing story) more than compensate. Honestly, I think Nintendo and the other game developers out there will be hard pressed to beat Zelda to earn game of the year honours. My only real complaint is that the adventure felt like it ended early (although very satisfyingly). I hope a sequel is in the works, with a bit longer of a quest, but other than that, as I say, it is perfect. And the GBA Tingle Tuner is a great addition...

10/10

Thanks to Quynn for this one, but the quote, from British foreign secretary Rt. Hon. Jack Straw, "There is no list and Syria isn't on it." is, as Quynn puts it, the winner of the Least Convincing Denial of the week.

Shorts weather is coming (at least according to the people at the Weather Network, who seem to know only slightly more about the weather that I do based on Geography 201) - tomorrow is only 9�C (48�F), but Wednesday is 16�C (64�F), Thursday is 17�C (66�F) and Friday is 16�C (64�F) as well. I can hardly wait... For the record, as I am writing this it is raining and 2�C (36�F).

I just finished watching The Fast and the Furious (ah, the joys of not working on Mondays), and it got me thinking as to what the very best scene in a movie is... I really like the first race but certainly I don't think it is the very best scene (although it still gets my heart racing. Usually I would say it is the courtroom scene near the beginning in Goodfellas, when Henry Hill is still a kid and he comes out of the courtroom, expecting the whole mafia family to be upset and they are so happy for him getting off. It is just so perfectly done. Hmm... I love movies. They may not be the perfect art form, but wow they can stir emotion in me in ways no other medium can.

Allie thinks I drink weird - she claims I just pour liquid down my throat. What the heck is drinking anyway - isn't it just the consumption of liquid? I sip wine and tea, but drink everything else. Bah.

I have to be honest - I sort of liked Craig Button. I mean I don't like missing the playoffs, and I don't like having a horrible hockey team, but I do like Roman Turek, I certainly liked the move for Chris Drury, Martin Gelinas played well, and Iggy is doing well. I still think the Flames can be a contender. And maybe a new coach and a new general manager is a mover for the best. But compared to the boneheaded moves of the past (re: Doug Gilmour trade) Button made some solid moves. Oh well, Let's hope Sutter can put together a playoff team during the summer and over the next season. Seven seasons is already excessive. This team needs success in order to survive. We are owed it.

I have decided to do something with my life. Hold on, no I'm not going to get a real job (don't be crazy...). I am going to learn how to draw. And fortunately, like everything worth doing there are hundreds of internet sites to help (again, unlike finding a real job, where there are no useful web sites to help me). If I feel even remotely competent (and this hobby doesn't just fall by the way side) I will post some material. Of course, blog you have not fallen by the way side - quite yet. Although there were some weekends when it looked like the end...

Is it just me, or am I adding too many blogs on to my blogroll?

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire

This game got a fairly bad score from Electronic Gaming Monthly (the largest gaming magazine) and a fairly high one from IGN (the largest online gaming site). Where do I think it stands? That is a good question. IGN gave it a high score because it is engrossing, deep, and fun. EGM gave it a low score because it is the exact same game (more or less) that was found in Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal. And the truth is, they are both right. However, the game may be virtually the same (and shame on Nintendo for not putting a bit more effort into it) it is not stale. I still have played this Game Boy game more than any other (and Pokemon Crystal probably was played more on my old GBA more than any other game including the fancier Game Boy Advance games). In the end, the facts are the game looks terrible in contrast to a game like Golden Sun, it can get a little tedious from time to time, but it plays like a dream. Simple mechanics taken to the ultimate extreme, with superb gameplay that anyone can pick up and enjoy and yet is challenging and engrossing enough for anyone who is demanding. I still wish more had been done - a larger and more diverse world, more diversity in the pokemon themselves, and maybe a better story. And better sounds and battle graphics for the pokemon. Despite the value of the game, I can't give it a perfect score - the flaws exist and are uncharacteristic for a Nintendo first party game.

9.5/10

And although you may have seen this linked to on other people's blogs, it is too funny to pass up.

Shock and Awe

More friends new to blogging - Toby!

Why do civilian populations immediately turn to looting the moment law and order collapses? I mean, the second it happens, people go off and get a new TV. It happened in Los Angeles in 1993, it happened in France in 1940, and here it is again. Well, as my pledge to all of you, when the US invades Alberta, I will not go and steal a new TV. Or a subwoofer. Operation Canadian Freedom may change my life, but I will not take material advantage of it. Promise.

New friend joins the blog community - Michele!

It is budget day here in Alberta! Which means I am busy at work. But it also means that you can read about it online. A budget! Exciting stuff. We are spending 7.2% more on health care this year (meaning I should be 7.2% healthier, right?), alogn with a bunch of new spending in education too. Details to come.

And also, thanks to Allie, an article too good not to share -
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/wwn/20030319/104808600007.html.

Wow, so I have had what might be called, at least in technical terms, the most unproductive day in the history of humanity. Well, there was that day I slept for 32 hours, but I was sick. I got better. That is precisely one more productive thing I did that day than this one. But this a good thing. Oh yes, it is a very good thing. Two movies and about five hours of Zelda playing in. Where will the rest of the day take me? Likely in similar directions. Only time will tell.

Today, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer denied President Bush watches the war on television. I guess he�s waiting for the movie version to come out, because we know he ain�t gonna read the book.

- Mike Bullard

Weekend, weekend, weekend. Only three more hours away. I am so excited. And hungry. But mostly excited.

So what to say for the day? Nothing much is going on around me personally, other than I say my first person wearing a sergical mask in public. Kind of disconcerting. I really want to blog more today, but honestly a genuine topic escapes me. Maybe something will come to me later. For now, visit another blog awards site, the Anti-bloggies. And if you need a laugh, read my favourite Strong Bad e-mail.

I remember with some degree of fondness the summer of 1990 through to the beginning of 1991 in terms of the news. There were huge stories - war in the Persian Gulf, a native uprising in Oka, Quebec, etc. I thought, well for lack of a better term, this is cool. Stuff is happening everywhere. Then Ms. Margaret Thatcher was deposed, Gorbachev was taken in a coup and then the Soviet Union fell - I mean it was dizzying times for the growing news hound that I was becoming. Of course, now I am there completely. I read news about 30% of my working day. I have grown to keeping Newsworld or CNN in the background at work while I write or read. And again, we are in dizzying times. Another war in Iraq, a diplomatic crisis here in Canada, the outbreak of a strange and lethal disease, Air Canada declaring bankruptcy and the Calgary Flames missing the playoffs again. OK, one of those is not newsworthy. But the point is a lot is going on right now. Enough so, that other stories are getting missed (like did you know the Tories and the Liberals are in the midst of leadership races?).

Still, it feels, well, more evil. Maybe it was that I was 12 in 1990. Or the education I have indulged in. But I feel, well under seige by the news. I am not the kind of person to hide from the news (hence Newsworld on as I type this), but I feel, well more aggressive. More angry. All of the time. And much more so after I listen or catch up on the news. I certainly don't remember giving a rat's ass in Panama. Of course I was even younger then. I certainly cared about the first Gulf War. But even when I was an International Relations student and deep in Model UN, I only sort of followed the wars in Yugoslavia. I mean, I tried to understand and read a lot, but for the most part I figured I would read about after it was done. And of course, I have.

Maybe it is all this extra time I have on my hands now that I'm not in school.

Regardless, if you aren't keeping up, American forces are only six kilometres away from Baghdad. And the lights are out. I'm glad I live here. That might be selfish to say, but it remains true.

I'm looking at the PlayStation 2 release calendar, and I have discovered that there is almost no titles I am looking forward to. Final Fantasy X-2 aside (and possibly Metal Gear Solid 3, unless it comes out on xBox), the only titles I may remotely consider is titles that are coming out on other systems, like Soul Calibur II (which will grace my GameCube later this summer). Now, I'm sure for many people the PS2 will remain the number one console and will buy a billion titles for the system. And a new Grand Theft Auto title will more than convince me to open my wallet for the PS2. But honestly, without some other title being announced, it is within the realm of possibility that The Sims will be my last PS2 purchase, which was for Allie and not myself. Of course, I always change my mind come the Christmas season, but even now the 2003 fourth quarter looks, well, ho-hum.

Then again, we are entering the dearth of video game releases. Nothing (well, I see only two titles that I must buy this summer - Knights of the Old Republic and Soul Calibur II. Which is good for my wallet. But bad if I actually finish the game back log from Christmas and Nintendo March.

So as I said before I headed off to Red Deer - I read these two books called Ishmael and My Ishmael. Both were good and made me think a lot. I'm not sure I have altered my behaviour any and I can certainly say that I still disagree with accepting the philosophy with totality. It ignores completely Plato's cave - making the argument that our lifestyles before civilization (or when we began locking up food, as Quinn suggests) was more sustainable and in many respects better. I'm no anthropologist or archeaologist, so I can neither refute or confirm Quinn's claim, but it really isn't the point. The point is that should humanity continue along its destructive path, we will likely cause our own extinction. Now, we of course don't believe this, as our "Mother Culture" tells us that we are progressing and that these problems will disappear as we advance. Fair enough. I can buy that. I certainly hope that humanity will never encounter a problem that it can't solve, but I certainly believe that we are in mortal danger (although not immediate) given the rate we are destroying our environment and more importantly, destroying our role in it in favour of something that can't last forever.

But, what I think Quinn misses, is that humanity can no longer live as he suggests. Or, perhaps it can, but I can't. I choose to leave the cave - ignorance may be best, but I would rather die and know more about my world than live in ignorance. We have to leave the cave. It is scary and dangerous, and in the end it may even kill us - but we need to know. Our society (and Quinn is projecting this on the whole world, not just the Western world) could learn a lot from Quinn, but in the end, I don't think returning to a more, well, I don't want to say primitive, but it is the only word that comes to mind - a more primitive existance is the answer. The point of being human is not the perpetuation of our species for all time. I would trade our eventual extinction for the knowledge we have accumulated to this point. Indeed, I would rather die than lose all that I have learned so far (unless I had the opportunity to learn it all again, I might take that).

Nevertheless, read the books. They are good and fun. And the lessons contained therein are important. Much more so, and far more complex than I have suggested here. But I still think Quinn is wrong. Humanity can prevail. And I hope, if not believe, that it will.

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