Haloid: Two Worlds Collide

If you play games, check out the best fan-made animation I have ever seen.

http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=57998

What would you do with $39.99?

...probably something a lot farther from brilliant than me.

Because for exactly that amount, I just picked up a small plastic case of magnetic tape off TSN (The Shopping Network). It's probably in the top ten "discoveries by Neil for the human race".

After buying the tape, I stuck it in my magnetic tape detection translation device and then copied the data to my binary information machine. I then made my small digital communications device pump out ones and zeroes corresponding to the intial magnetic data onto another computer accessible to anybody on Earth with a similar binary machine



I knew this video was legit when I saw the scrolling text that advertised purchasing it within the movie itself. Either this movie had a theatrical release (more than likely) or they know that most people who see this need two copies: one to watch and one to cherish.

Keep keepin' on, Keepon!

New Keepon/Spoon video!! Great synthesis of Japan + robots + rock music in this video:


Keepon is a Japanese Robot "designed to perform emotive and attentive exchange with human interactants (especially children)". If you want to see the original Keepon/Spoon video, click here. Also, this one is neat.

Edit: Just found an interesting article about this robot here. Apparently the robot runs software which can pick out the main beat in a piece of music, and it moves to that beat; i.e. it is not pre-programmed! Actual quote from article: "Robots that dance have enormous amusement potential."

Democracy gets a facelift from its billionaire buddie, capitalism

Democracy and capitalism have always been pals. They formed their friendship over shared respect for the voice of the people and the brave notion that an individual can make a difference and succeed based on his or her natural abilities. Today, an experiment will commence to see how these two political and economic ideologies can fuse to become more than just vague ideals and rallying points for proponents of "freedom".

No longer will we walk away from the poll booths shaking our heads in mild wonder, dumbfounded at the political jargon that attempts to sway us into believing that our one vote will make a difference. One voice, one vote. Equality. But doesn't capitalism teach us that the most enterprising, the most innovative, the most strategically adept participant will be rewarded with the most wealth and power? Does the idea that each vote is equal, regardless of the mental capability or the level of apathy of the individual, really jive with a system that rewards excellence? Democracy champions rights and freedoms distributed with equality and equity to the entire population, while capitalism throws its clout behind the best and the brightest. Can these two ideas be reconciled?

What is your vote really worth?

We here at creepydudesfromthebasement are going to test exactly that: the economic value of a single vote.

An IRL friend of the creepydudes has been a staunch non-voter since turning of age, much to the dismay of the author, and after being repeatedly bashed over the head with arguments from all sides as to why his apathy gunked up the democratic system we all know and love, he has decided to sell his vote for the next federal election!

So let the bidding commence. Can both of our systems exist in terms of the other? Democracy in terms of capitalism, votes for money... in the perfect system of supply and demand, which governs itself based on sellers having an abundance of something and buyers being in want, wouldn't it make sense that the votes would transfer from the hands of those who are politically apathetic or ignorant and do not care to have a vote to those who are passionate and politically educated and who deserve a louder voice?

I start the bidding at $1 CAD.

Cowabunga

-L.

August 6, 2007: Humans are Forever Changed

August 6, 2007. We all change today! This is fuckin' real boys, move your folks out of the cities, we're about to get smoked, and I'm not talking about Bohemia, I'm talking Brohemian Snapsody!



-Pierri J. Blige

r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r by E. E. Cummings

---

I propose that e.e.cummings is likely the granddaddy of "l33t h4x0r sp33k". And, to me, he makes infinitely more sense than a lot of the internet gibberish i read online, like web2.0?! wtf... and cookies? i mean come on, all i want to do is scarf down some mr christie when i hear that. srsly folks, this is synth poetry combining meticulous engineering of syntactical and cerebral aesthetics at its best. rspkt.

-L.

Interesting New Appendage to English!

Reuters, Dublin --A group of professors (pictured left) from the University of Dublin announced this week that they intend to introduce an appendage to the English language. Triggered by the proliferation of what's known to Internet discussion forum users and bloggers as "elitespeak", the group announced that several of the machinations could easily, and should be, applied to use in the English language.

To add to the issue, the group also introduced a new innovation that they created themselves. Termed the queston, the new method of ending question-based sentences shortens the entire length of novels by up to 300 characters, thereby saving paper.

Basically, the queston involves ending a question-based sentence with a capital letter rather than a question mark. For instance : How do I feel about reading this far into this articlE

Early adopters indicate stupidity.

Is this blasphemY

Kojima's Final, Legendary Tale - The Guns of the Patriots

In 1987, in a fit of creative frustration and inspiration, a young Japanese game developer named Hideo Kojima decided that the Famicom Entertainment System was capable of delivering video games as an artform rather than a simple pastime. Scouring his own passions and dreams, he emerged with a simple idea: intelligence. He felt that intelligence was completely absent from the gamut of twitchy arcade-based shooting games that dominated the Famicom at the time. Fusing his uncanny knowledge of fun with his desire for complexity, Kojima conceived of a new, artistic video game experience with intelligence, depth and precision. This Famicom game would be called Metal Gear, and would later be released in America for the Nintendo Entertainment System to critical acclaim.

Mashing together a globe-spanning plotline with the personal story of a soldier, Kojima's first masterpiece augmented truly revolutionary gameplay with the passion of a single man. The story revolved around Solid Snake, a United States Foxhound Secret Operations unit rookie embarking upon his first mission into Outer Heaven. Through the twists and turns of his story, he emerges to find that Outer Heaven is the realization of the dreams of renegade soldiers worldwide: a land where war is the rule. A place where warriors could reject those in the lands of peace who had rejected them. Where they could use the skills that had grown unnecessary during these global ceasefires. Penetrating further into this twisted oasis, Snake emerges to find that Outer Heaven is in fact the dream of his own mentor at Foxhound: Grey Fox. The game closes with their final, epic hand to hand duel in a disintegrating Outer Heaven. Among other things, Kojima paints the battle as the one between justice and freedom.

Over the course of 20 years and 4 sequels, Kojima has expanded his tale to encompass many themes: honor, nationalism, freedom and love among others. Expertly weaving the tale of the individual through the tale of nations, Kojima has brought the character of Solid Snake through the many epiphanies of life that the author himself must have had.

Finally, next year, Solid Snake, his predecessors and descendants have finally come to see their conclusion in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Genetic clones, the nature of identity, the corruptibility of government power, the value of our DNA, family and death are a few of the ideas that Kojima is to imbue into this final tale. Armored walking tanks fused with biologically grown legs (show above), robotic viruses with the power to eliminate infected people at the push of a button, hormone-controlling microchips, war nations (similar to Outer Heaven) and walking Nuclear Tanks are his modest contributions to the world of stealth gameplay.

To me, the man's a genius.

To see a cinematic trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, click here. To see a high quality version of the first gameplay movie for this radical new game, click here.

iPhone NES Emulator w/ Contra

Imagine you had a device that could do everything? It probably couldn't do this. Therefore, this blows away your imagination.

Jim Cramer Rules

He's right. Nobody understands the nature of the new market.




Edit:

I asked my dad (www.valuesciences.com) to sum up what he's saying in lay man's terms.

"He is saying that the government should bail out all the people who cant afford to pay the money they borrowed to buy high priced homes in the U.S."

"...this trend has caused the banks who lent the money to run into trouble with
the people they borrowed money from."

"His solution is to flush the system with cheap money (lower rates) so that stock market will stop going down and everyone will be happy, particularly Jim himself because most of what he has been recommending is losing money and soon his show will be up in flames if not him personally as well. Fast world, this one of finance..."

"Chocolate Rain" Original Song by Tay Zonday

Real Time Music

Under the pressure of mind-crushers Rage Against the Machine, my entire concert history flashes before my eyes. I see every live band that ever had the heart and guts to flood my and my friends' ears with their message. Peace, Love, Drugs, Death, Pantslessness (Louis XIV)... It's all a ball to me. I got into concerts only a few years ago, around 2003, and it's easily the realest, most mysterious exchange of energy that I've ever come across in this life.

Here's a list of every show that's ever moved me. I started writing it for myself, but I thought I'd post it and see what you guys had to say about your favourite concert, or concerts in general.

• Kasabian at Club Soda, Montreal
• Shout Out Out Out Out at Main Hall, Montreal
• Green Day at Phoenix (along w/ 500 people to first debut American Idiot)
• Green Day in ??? (the big show)
• Sum 41 in London
• The Killers at Kool Haus
• The Killers at Molson Amphitheatre
• Oasis at Molson Amphitheatre
• Louis XIV at Mod Club
• OK Go + Kaiser Chiefs @ Mod Club
• Rage Against the Machine at Randall's Island, New York
• Foo Fighters @ Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Kool Haus
• Danko Jones @ Les Saints, Montreal
• Billy Talent @ the UBC Pub, Vancouver
• Metallica in Vancouver Hockey Arena
• The Strokes at Toronto Ricoh Colliseum
• The Strokes outdoors at Plaza of Nations, Vancouver
• The Living End, The Vines & Jet at Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
• Hawksley Workman at the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
• Hawksley Workman at some performance hall in Hamilton
• Mistakes in NYC
• Incubus at Copps Collisseum
• Psychotic 4 at Main Hall
• Death from Above 1979 @ The Horseshoe Tavern
• The White Stripes at the Molson Amphitheatre
• Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill & Public Enemy at Randall's Island, NYC
• Nobuo Uematsu @ Jump Festa 2004, Makuhari Messe, Tokyo
• The Trews @ Element Nightclub, Kitchener

My Still-to-See List:

• The Hives
• AC/DC
• Wolfmother
• Muse
• Arctic Monkeys
• Velvet Revolver
• The Bravery naked

My Biggest Regrets:

• Missing Muse on a rainy day at the Montreal Island to sleep in and get in a fight w/ my ex!
• Missing The Music as openers for Incubus at Copps Colliseum (thx 2 tim)
• Missing the opening song, American Idiot, TWICE (at both Green Day shows I saw) (thx 2 tim)

Tribute to GOB

Some clips featuring GOB, the eldest Bluth child (the "matriarch" if you will):