1.27.2005
EVERYONE NEEDS A HOBBY
Or so I have said this little phrase to explain away just about any behaviour veiwed as strange, unpleasant, or just plain silly. That said, the notion does hold true. Everyone truly does need a hobby. To not find some sort of passtime to engage your free time is a sad existance indeed. My own personal experience with hobbies is that many are simply dabblings, others are heartfelt attempts at enjoying someone elses' hobby, and a few may even be labled as passions. Since bullshitting isn't a formally recognized hobby, I would have to say that my hobby fall under the heading of Technology. Those guys who wire up their home networks before even checking to see if the phone is working. The ones that dream of 19" equipment racks in their closets or basements., of personal server farms, of home automation - these are my people.
I've done the home network, I run dual 21" monitors on my primary PC, I built a PC for my wife simply so I didn't have to give up mine when it was time to balance the checkbook. I have actually sketched out my own plans for the "server room / media center", and I think it might not result in divorice. All of that is secondary to one project though.
As some have heard me tell it, I spent an inordinate amount of time in my childhood in front of pinball machines and video games. Many of these hours occured within the confine of various western Pennsylvania pubs. Actually Pubs is a nice way to say dives. Yes, not the idyllic place for young minds, but I attribute those trips to the bars with my father as having achieved several positives, not the least of which was a realization that drinking is very rarely "cool". Enjoyable in moderation, but trust me on this, few can truly pull off a saturday afternoon bender with much self control. The other side affect was my love of video games. Had I the means I would probably be a collector of the classics - trying to find a space for dozens of machines is more than a little bit of a deterrent.
Luckily there is the joy that is emulation - all the arcade classics on your PC, exactly as you remember them, only further away from the food court. This allows the possibility to play lots of those classics without all the cabinets filling the house and enraging my better half. Playing on the PC has been fun for more than a little while, but there is one thig missing - the authentic feel of an arcade joystick. So the comprimise is made, I shall build one cabinet, and use it to play all the game I might ever be inclined to. I certainly am not the first to try this - just look here, and you'll see a whole community devoted to the notion.
So I've gotten to the point where I've found the proper Inspiration, and collected the requisite parts, even picked up the wood for the cabinet. Now all I need is a little elbow grease, and some luck, and by the end of spring I'll finally have achieved the dream of owning my own Arcade Machine, even if it is a home brew solution. I haven't decided how obsessive to get about documentig the process, but you might see a second blog sprout up for it, or possibly just get used to seeing a whole lot of odd pics posted this year. Either way I'm looking forward to the challenge, that a good hobby can provide.
go and tell me all about it
I've done the home network, I run dual 21" monitors on my primary PC, I built a PC for my wife simply so I didn't have to give up mine when it was time to balance the checkbook. I have actually sketched out my own plans for the "server room / media center", and I think it might not result in divorice. All of that is secondary to one project though.
As some have heard me tell it, I spent an inordinate amount of time in my childhood in front of pinball machines and video games. Many of these hours occured within the confine of various western Pennsylvania pubs. Actually Pubs is a nice way to say dives. Yes, not the idyllic place for young minds, but I attribute those trips to the bars with my father as having achieved several positives, not the least of which was a realization that drinking is very rarely "cool". Enjoyable in moderation, but trust me on this, few can truly pull off a saturday afternoon bender with much self control. The other side affect was my love of video games. Had I the means I would probably be a collector of the classics - trying to find a space for dozens of machines is more than a little bit of a deterrent.
Luckily there is the joy that is emulation - all the arcade classics on your PC, exactly as you remember them, only further away from the food court. This allows the possibility to play lots of those classics without all the cabinets filling the house and enraging my better half. Playing on the PC has been fun for more than a little while, but there is one thig missing - the authentic feel of an arcade joystick. So the comprimise is made, I shall build one cabinet, and use it to play all the game I might ever be inclined to. I certainly am not the first to try this - just look here, and you'll see a whole community devoted to the notion.
So I've gotten to the point where I've found the proper Inspiration, and collected the requisite parts, even picked up the wood for the cabinet. Now all I need is a little elbow grease, and some luck, and by the end of spring I'll finally have achieved the dream of owning my own Arcade Machine, even if it is a home brew solution. I haven't decided how obsessive to get about documentig the process, but you might see a second blog sprout up for it, or possibly just get used to seeing a whole lot of odd pics posted this year. Either way I'm looking forward to the challenge, that a good hobby can provide.
go and tell me all about it
1.24.2005
FODDER
There are some people that know this subject matter far better than me, so I most assuredly do not write the following as anything other than an interested party.
Growing up, there were pretty much 3 flavors of comic books I get a hold of easily; Marvel, DC, and "Kid comics" which was pretty much everything not in the first two groups. Being a creature possessing a modicum of intelligence, it is not surprising that I gravitated to Marvel. I dabbled in comics, never being a completist on any one title, never making it a mission to stay up to date on all the intertwining storylines. But I was a fan. Still am to a certain degree, though I couldn't tell you the last time I actually picked up an issue of any comic.
Now Marvel has had numerous attempts at porting its wares to other medium. Spiderman was on the little screen in both cartoon and live action form, long before Sam Rami had his crack at ol' webhead. Many of Marvel's best known characters have enjoyed the crossover successes and failures. (Watch The Punisher - The one with Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gosset Jr., and you will understand the failures part quite well) Spiderman and the Hulk were no-brainers to bring to the Big Screen - Huge followings of fans from several generations, not to mention they are the highest profile characters Marvel has as far as mainstream recognition.
Trust me on that last one, there is a much higher probability of your Grandma knowing the Hulk than Cyclops or Nightcrawler - that's just the way it is.
Now the balancing act that is taking time honoured characters from one particular outlet (the comic book) and trying to translate that onto film is a bitch. It's a bitch because to do it well, you have to appease the fans, while engaging an audience that most likely does not posess an encyclopedic understanding of the pre-existing mythology. I'd give Spiderman and X-Men high marks for succeeding with the balance, and I'll even give Daredevil grudging marks for effort.
For the most part I watch the hype build up and try and keep my distance until the final print makes it to my local cinema. While the true giants of the Marvel Universe have had their screen treatments taken care of, there was in my mind always one glaring ommission.
Surrounded in rumor for the last few years, with the occasional on set spy photo to keep the faithful hoping, I truly thought this film would never be made, but - here it is.
Now the die hards are already picking apart the trailer for numerous reasons, some of them no doubt, legit. But c'mon it's January. Release is set for July. They are called "Teaser Trailers" for a reason. To try and divine what the final product will be based of those few seconds of film is silly. Still let's have some fun. Here are my predictions:
Dialouge for Jessica Alba, kept to a minimum of polysylabic words.
Michael Chiklis will steal the show as The Thing.
The script will be pretty predictable.
Number one complaint from fanboys after its release - Tie: Dr. Doom was a wuss / No Galactus references.
Still, I'll probably go see this one in theater. But I'm a sucker for reliving my childhood.
go and tell me all about it
Growing up, there were pretty much 3 flavors of comic books I get a hold of easily; Marvel, DC, and "Kid comics" which was pretty much everything not in the first two groups. Being a creature possessing a modicum of intelligence, it is not surprising that I gravitated to Marvel. I dabbled in comics, never being a completist on any one title, never making it a mission to stay up to date on all the intertwining storylines. But I was a fan. Still am to a certain degree, though I couldn't tell you the last time I actually picked up an issue of any comic.
Now Marvel has had numerous attempts at porting its wares to other medium. Spiderman was on the little screen in both cartoon and live action form, long before Sam Rami had his crack at ol' webhead. Many of Marvel's best known characters have enjoyed the crossover successes and failures. (Watch The Punisher - The one with Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gosset Jr., and you will understand the failures part quite well) Spiderman and the Hulk were no-brainers to bring to the Big Screen - Huge followings of fans from several generations, not to mention they are the highest profile characters Marvel has as far as mainstream recognition.
Trust me on that last one, there is a much higher probability of your Grandma knowing the Hulk than Cyclops or Nightcrawler - that's just the way it is.
Now the balancing act that is taking time honoured characters from one particular outlet (the comic book) and trying to translate that onto film is a bitch. It's a bitch because to do it well, you have to appease the fans, while engaging an audience that most likely does not posess an encyclopedic understanding of the pre-existing mythology. I'd give Spiderman and X-Men high marks for succeeding with the balance, and I'll even give Daredevil grudging marks for effort.
For the most part I watch the hype build up and try and keep my distance until the final print makes it to my local cinema. While the true giants of the Marvel Universe have had their screen treatments taken care of, there was in my mind always one glaring ommission.
Surrounded in rumor for the last few years, with the occasional on set spy photo to keep the faithful hoping, I truly thought this film would never be made, but - here it is.
Now the die hards are already picking apart the trailer for numerous reasons, some of them no doubt, legit. But c'mon it's January. Release is set for July. They are called "Teaser Trailers" for a reason. To try and divine what the final product will be based of those few seconds of film is silly. Still let's have some fun. Here are my predictions:
Dialouge for Jessica Alba, kept to a minimum of polysylabic words.
Michael Chiklis will steal the show as The Thing.
The script will be pretty predictable.
Number one complaint from fanboys after its release - Tie: Dr. Doom was a wuss / No Galactus references.
Still, I'll probably go see this one in theater. But I'm a sucker for reliving my childhood.
go and tell me all about it
