Virtual Piano

This is a pretty cool device, I imagine, for the digital producer on the go. Sure, it’s a bit over the top and unnecessary; but what the hell! I wonder how quickly the sensors respond, and if there’s any kind of velocity sensor like on an MPC. The future is supposed to be crazy like this. I’m excited.

In other news I’m headed to Myrtle Beach at some point this week, so I will most likely be out of contact for the next several days. Also I am a ridiculous ball of anxiety for no particular reasons. Also I cannot sleep at night. Perhaps it is my lifelong fear of vampires, camouflaged as a psychological disorder. Blasted insomnia! You may protect me from vampires, but you certainly don’t do me good. 

Now I’ll just wait for these mysterious chest pains to pass and then it’ll all be great. 

Mythos: free MMORPG from the Creators of Diablo

I just signed up for the closed beta of Mythos. I hope I get in! I’m more and more interested by this game.  There’s not a lot on the main page, but if you read the manual, you get a better sense of what kind of game it is. Let me summarize, therefore, my favorite aspect of all RPGs: the character creation system. 

It’s relatively bare bones, as far as selection goes, but I’m very interested by the choices presented. Here’s some stuff from the manual.

Races: 

The Humans- The youngest of the races of Uld, the Humans have emerged as a strong peacekeeping force, brokering alliances and trade between the other races. A hardy race, they are generalists who can perform any task admirably. 

The Satyrs- The Satyrs are the oldest of the races of Uld, and their culture is steeped in history and lore. They have a natural affinity for magic, and generally keep to their own, preferring the company of other Satyrs whenever possible. 

The Cyclopes- Enormous and brutish in appearance, the Cyclopes have a great affinity for the stone of the earth and a great aptitude for shaping it. Fiercely loyal to their kind, the Cyclopes pass down only their twelve laws that each live by. 

The Gremlins- The Gremlins are a quick-witted and nimble race. Gregarious, and given to occasional fits of temper, they are both agile and strong, with a love of machinery and tinkering. 

Classes

Bloodletter- the Bloodletters’ gifts for melee combat make them formidable opponents, employing powerful skills to damage many nearby attackers. Their ability to summon blood minions from their fallen foes to serve as their own private army makes them fearsome opponents indeed. 

His Highness’ Take: This is your warrior, your tank. The pets make for an interesting nuance, but I’m not sure how varied the class can be. If I can get into the beta, I’ll let you know!

Pyromancer: Gifted in control of elemental fire, Pyromancers can effectively attack from a distance with powerful spells, or weave protective shields and enchant weapons to attack foes face-to-face. Pyromancers also have the ability to summon powerful elemental minions to aid them in battle. 

His Highness’ Take: It’s the MAGE! Everybody knows him, everybody loves him- ladies and gents, I give you the tried, the true, the time honored, MAGE. Again, if I get into the closed beta, I’ll write more posts with my reactions.

Gadgeteer- Gadgeteers excel in the use of rifles, and improve their effectiveness in surprising ways with their penchant for tinkering. Gadgeteers construct and hurl traps, bombs and helpful drones to set up ambushes thereby defeating their foes with technology. 

His Highness’ Take: This could be a really interesting class, frankly, combining the odd elements of WoW’s Hunter, the engineering profession, and perhaps even a bit of the classic D&D rogue, all blended together with a sprinkling of steampunk. I’m curious as to how this turns out. 

With that tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come, I really hope they let me in. 

 

Michael Moorcock Named SFWA Grandmaster

I write this small note with a happy grin. Michael Moorcock, in my mind, along with Fritz Leiber, is one of the greatest science fiction writers I have ever read, if not the. I grew up reading the Elric novels, the stories of Dorian Hawkmoon and Count Brass, Erekose and Corum, and I cannot explain how deeply I love his work; I’m delighted that this often-honored man is being honored yet again. He deserves the title. Cheers, Mr. Moorcock. Thank you. 

Jimmy Dean Sausage

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<p>Boy, is this gentleman angry about the loss of 4 oz. of sausage! Hey, hey, chief, I like Jimmy Dean too, but 4oz? Come on, man. Spring for another roll and you’ll have leftovers.

Comic Con 2008

 8bitkid and I went over to Comic Con NYC this year. All in all, it was pretty great: I got a snazzy t-shirt, and so did he. Also, I was delighted to realize that we are pretty low on the geekery scale. I was disappointed when I realized Dumbarella was there and I didn’t get to meet them, since I am big J-Row fan. Ah well. I did get to meet Scott Adsit, who plays Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock, one of my favorite shows. That was pretty awesome. And to top it all of, I saw this: stage combat lightsaber battles. It’s worth viewing, all I gotta say. Use the force. 

David Devant & His Spirit Wife / Asylum

Being a devoted Simon Pegg fan ever since I saw Shaun of the Dead, I’ve been actively examining his back catalog for a while now (the impeccable Spaced cementing him in my mind as one of the best comedic actors of our time) and I happened across Asylum, a surreal, six episode BBC series directed by Edgar Wright, and starring Mr. Pegg as a pizza delivery boy who gets trapped in an insane asylum by the definitively unhinged doctor in charge. Not to mention it also stars Julian Barrett, of Mighty Boosh fame, and Jessica Stevenson, of Spaced. There’s a whole slew of hilariousness there, and you can watch most episodes on Veoh. But Holy Britpop, Batman! The house band for Asylum was David Devant & His Spirit Wife- David who and his what, you say? My reaction exactly.

They’re an excellent Britpop band in the vein of Blur and Oasis, with a bit of Bowie thrown in. Very cheeky and fun lyrics (or at least on their debut album, Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous) as well as catchy guitars and keyboards. For the life of me, though, I can’t find that album for free… but you can get some of the band’s more recent stuff on iTunes, and a collection that includes some of the singles off of Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous. Anyway, here’s one of my favorite tracks so far, from episode 2 of Asylum, entitled “I’m Not Even Going To Try.” I’ll add a link to the album if I find one. I recommend both the band and the show highly. 

 

Hiatus Over!

Whoo. Bet y’all missed me. It’s okay. Here. Was this how you felt?

It’s cool. Don’t stress. That dye will eventually grow out. I’m back and badder than ever, bitches. My hands aren’t even cramped that much. (Smash Bros. status: 57%)

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Is Fun

Posts will resume when I am done playing it. Or whenever I feel like, whichever comes first. 

Lil’ Wayne: Da Drought 3 Mixtape Available for Free Download

Lil’ Wayne is without a doubt rocking my world in like 78 different ways these days. Anyway, this mixtape he did is available for free download here. Get it. You’ll regret it if you don’t. 

 

EDIT: SORRY! I put the wrong link up. It’s all fixed now. 

JG Ballard…as a Children’s Cartoon?

Since there’s never anything good on TV during the day, I switched it to the Cartoon Network, in the hopes that its programming would at least be tolerable (at least compared to the malodorous MadTV). But lo and behold, it was more than tolerable– the episode of “Squirrel Boy” (which, as a cartoon, I could grow to like, I think…) was a partial recreation of JG Ballard’s novel Concrete Island. Rodney the Squirrel gets stranded on a dividing island after a car crash, surviving there for over two weeks. Of course, it’s been ages since I read the novel, so I really only remember that bit. But still! I was amused.