Media Commentary Timothy Sanders Media Commentary Timothy Sanders

Yarr! Backcompat Update Ahoy!

There is a backwards compatibility update now available over Xbox Live. This free update brings the complete list of original Xbox games that you can play on your Xbox 360 to almost 300.

Xbox Live's Major Nelson : August '06 Back Compat Update

This is the usual mishmash of crazy "Who Cares" games that we've come to expect from the backwards compatibility of Xbox 360, but I mention it because it includes Burnout 3:Takedown and Sid Meier's Pirates. Plus Aquaman and Outlaw Tennis (rolls eyes). Still no Psychonauts or Jet Set Radio though.

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There is a backwards compatibility update now available over Xbox Live. This free update brings the complete list of original Xbox games that you can play on your Xbox 360 to almost 300.

Xbox Live's Major Nelson : August '06 Back Compat Update



This is the usual mishmash of crazy "Who Cares" games that we've come to expect from the backwards compatibility of Xbox 360, but I mention it because it includes Burnout 3:Takedown and Sid Meier's Pirates. Plus Aquaman and Outlaw Tennis (rolls eyes). Still no Psychonauts or Jet Set Radio though.

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Comments Feed?

Is anybody out there using the comments feed to watch comments here? If so, are you seeing posts with more than one comment get screwed up? I upgraded NetNewsWire around the same time of the freaky web server crash and ever since then it amalgamates comments into one big comment with a revision history. I've looked over the MT templates, done a rebuild, and visually inspected the XML file itself and that all looks good. So I think it's a new "feature" of NetNewsWire, but I'd like to confirm whether anybody else has trouble.

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Is anybody out there using the comments feed to watch comments here? If so, are you seeing posts with more than one comment get screwed up? I upgraded NetNewsWire around the same time of the freaky web server crash and ever since then it amalgamates comments into one big comment with a revision history. I've looked over the MT templates, done a rebuild, and visually inspected the XML file itself and that all looks good. So I think it's a new "feature" of NetNewsWire, but I'd like to confirm whether anybody else has trouble.

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Eurogames on XBL!

Hee hee! Settlers, Carcasonne, and Alhambra. That's a pretty stellar list there, even if I can't explain why Gamespot calls Alhambra a "stock-market" game (You're building palaces, but whatever.) There are screenshots here. Now we just need dates on these puppies.

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Hee hee! Settlers, Carcasonne, and Alhambra. That's a pretty stellar list there, even if I can't explain why Gamespot calls Alhambra a "stock-market" game (You're building palaces, but whatever.) There are screenshots here. Now we just need dates on these puppies.

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Lead Times Are A Bitch

So today's big science story is that we've found good evidence for dark matter. Today as I'm eating lunch I'm reading the August issue of Discover magazine (Yeah I'm one behind - September came in last week) and run across the article about Mordehai Milgrom and his research into modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND). Thing is, the strongest argument for MOND is basically that with no direct evidence for dark matter, MOND is just as plausible. Until two gas clouds run off and collide somewhere in space. Isn't that just like a pair of gas clouds? Unreliable little things.

Feel free to post theories about why my day is synchronistically about the fundamental cosmological equations of the universe. Normally, not so much news about galactic-level structures of matter.

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So today's big science story is that we've found good evidence for dark matter. Today as I'm eating lunch I'm reading the August issue of Discover magazine (Yeah I'm one behind - September came in last week) and run across the article about Mordehai Milgrom and his research into modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND). Thing is, the strongest argument for MOND is basically that with no direct evidence for dark matter, MOND is just as plausible. Until two gas clouds run off and collide somewhere in space. Isn't that just like a pair of gas clouds? Unreliable little things.



Feel free to post theories about why my day is synchronistically about the fundamental cosmological equations of the universe. Normally, not so much news about galactic-level structures of matter.



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TV Talk

I've taken a minor break from the "catch up on Babylon 5" project, in order to institute the "catch up on Lost" project. Geez, you'd think I was an art director lost in the Land of the Rising Sun, wouldn't you? But this was necessary because B5 doesn't have new episodes this fall, and Lost does, so there you go. I finished season 4 of B5 and from what I understand it's all downhill from there anyway. I'll go back and catch season 5 and the movies later.

So you can imagine my slight confusion to catch the actress who played D'lenn in Lost. Plus a hobbit is in the mix as well. But I digress.

B5 was worth watching, but I didn't find it as great as usually advertised. I suspect that has to do with chronology. When it originally aired the only real contemporary SF would be Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I can see how in comparision it would seem very fresh and exciting. But I can compare it to Battlestar Galactica, and it doesn't come off well in that comparision. Of course I can also see the historical side and realize that BSG might well owe its existence to B5 proving that interesting SF with long story-arcs has a home on television.

Lost seems pretty cool so far, but I'm less than halfway through the first season, so I will discourage discussion of it until I'm caught up. :-) At my current rate of consumption (limited by Netflix queues and shipping times) I'll finish season one right around the time season two is released on DVD - thus saving me from any shaky BitTorrid affairs with that darn internet. I doubt I'll finish season 2 before season 3 starts, but I'll finish it before stacking up five episodes on the TiVo - which is when you start requiring drastic measures.

One thing that I will mention about Lost is that the commentaries are fantastic. They use seamless branching to great effect. During the pilot they discuss some of the FX shots early on, when the plane wreckage is still on fire and stuff is collapsing. Then they actually say in the commentary, "In fact, stop the film right here", the screen fades to black and then they show some of the daily footage - without the FX added. Later they show some footage where a take goes wrong and generally discuss the shot. When they are done they say "OK, roll the film again" and the show picks up where they stopped it. Very cool.

Is anybody else watching Eureka? The two hour pilot was pretty s . . l . . o . . w, I wouldn't blame somebody for giving up after that. But if you did, give it another chance. The pacing picks up, and it has a certain quirky charm. It also is a bit less predictable than the pilot implies. While there still is a MacGuffin of the week, they are doing some development from episode to episode and things carrying from one ep to the next. It's not epic TV, but it's fun and there is a little more depth to it than I expected at first glance. If you've been looking for some sci-fi filler on your TiVo (what to do in the three days it takes to get a new disc from Netflix?) check it out.

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I've taken a minor break from the "catch up on Babylon 5" project, in order to institute the "catch up on Lost" project. Geez, you'd think I was an art director lost in the Land of the Rising Sun, wouldn't you? But this was necessary because B5 doesn't have new episodes this fall, and Lost does, so there you go. I finished season 4 of B5 and from what I understand it's all downhill from there anyway. I'll go back and catch season 5 and the movies later.



So you can imagine my slight confusion to catch the actress who played D'lenn in Lost. Plus a hobbit is in the mix as well. But I digress.



B5 was worth watching, but I didn't find it as great as usually advertised. I suspect that has to do with chronology. When it originally aired the only real contemporary SF would be Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I can see how in comparision it would seem very fresh and exciting. But I can compare it to Battlestar Galactica, and it doesn't come off well in that comparision. Of course I can also see the historical side and realize that BSG might well owe its existence to B5 proving that interesting SF with long story-arcs has a home on television.



Lost seems pretty cool so far, but I'm less than halfway through the first season, so I will discourage discussion of it until I'm caught up. :-) At my current rate of consumption (limited by Netflix queues and shipping times) I'll finish season one right around the time season two is released on DVD - thus saving me from any shaky BitTorrid affairs with that darn internet. I doubt I'll finish season 2 before season 3 starts, but I'll finish it before stacking up five episodes on the TiVo - which is when you start requiring drastic measures.



One thing that I will mention about Lost is that the commentaries are fantastic. They use seamless branching to great effect. During the pilot they discuss some of the FX shots early on, when the plane wreckage is still on fire and stuff is collapsing. Then they actually say in the commentary, "In fact, stop the film right here", the screen fades to black and then they show some of the daily footage - without the FX added. Later they show some footage where a take goes wrong and generally discuss the shot. When they are done they say "OK, roll the film again" and the show picks up where they stopped it. Very cool.



Is anybody else watching Eureka? The two hour pilot was pretty s . . l . . o . . w, I wouldn't blame somebody for giving up after that. But if you did, give it another chance. The pacing picks up, and it has a certain quirky charm. It also is a bit less predictable than the pilot implies. While there still is a MacGuffin of the week, they are doing some development from episode to episode and things carrying from one ep to the next. It's not epic TV, but it's fun and there is a little more depth to it than I expected at first glance. If you've been looking for some sci-fi filler on your TiVo (what to do in the three days it takes to get a new disc from Netflix?) check it out.



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