Non-Prophet

George Carlin - R.I.P.

I got a whole bunch of George Carlin recordings off of emusic.com and man, he was one funny guy. I love his stand-up material dealing with religion.

time.com:

When the culture began to change in the late 1960s — when the old one-liner comics on the Ed Sullivan Show were looking pretty tired and irrelevant to a younger generation experimenting with drugs and protesting the war in Vietnam — George Carlin was the most important stand-up comedian in America. By the time he died Sunday night (of heart failure at age 71), the transformation he helped bring about in stand-up had become so ingrained that it's hard to think of Carlin as one of America's most radical and courageous popular artists. But he was.

Where No Dwarve Has Gone Before

Man, after more than a decade of practically no fantasy role playing whatsoever, I'm about to head off into the unknown for a good ole game of AD&D with a bunch of friends. There is no way to describe how much I am looking forward to this. I feel like it has been way too long. The DM will be none other than my pal Klayton Elliot Kendall, who by all accounts should prove to be a fantastic story teller. He's one imaginative mo-fo, and he's going to lead us into a fully realized world of fantastic wonder. Even my wife -- who initially wasn't all that enthusiastic about the idea -- is now psyched. This is going to be great.

Klayton has put together a website to chronicle our travels. Check it out to see what is happening in the other-world. Adventure begins this Saturday.

Grand Theft Auto IV is #1

When I say GTA IV is #1, I really mean #1. No video game on any platform has received such widespread and unanimous critical praise. Gamerankings.com has posted an aggregate score of 99% from assorted media outlets. Scan a couple of the reviews linked from Game Rankings, what is being said is that GTA IV marks a moment in entertainment history, a moment in which interactive fiction has become truly compelling as a story telling medium and possibly even on par with film. It is being reported to be a quantum leap in the medium. It's easy to think back to when Half-Life was released and remember the way that it revolutionized the first person shooter, but this is bigger and the grades are even better. So what do I think? Is GTA IV really all that? I'd have to answer, "mostly yes." The game is mind boggling in its scope and detail. The writing is beyond superb. The humor is spot on. It's fun. The medium has obvious ways that it can mature and develop, but in essence the vision of a believable and open fully interactive game world has been brought forth. The future of interactive fiction looks bright.

nytimes.com:

Published by Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun. It calls to mind a rollicking R-rated version of Mad magazine featuring Dave Chappelle and Quentin Tarantino, and sets a new standard for what is possible in interactive arts.

Netflix Queue Running Dry

Our Netflix queue is really hurting these days. We need suggestions. What have you seen recently that is worth watching?

Bad Album Covers

I typically find almost all "funny" web pages not so... "funny". I don't know what it is, but the level out there just hits me as generally unexceptional. This one almost send me to the floor though. :)

Gary Gygax Dies at Age 69

He was an important figure in my childhood. He delivered me to fantasy worlds full of wonder and magic. May he rest in peace.

AP:

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

Homebrew XBOX 360 Games

I've long wondered why this wasn't being done. Imagine the unique ad entertaining games that will be made by the masses of wanna-be game developers out there. Now Microsoft is going to let all of those arm-chair developers have their titles made available through the XBOX Live service. I'm going to keep my eye on what people come up with, and I can bank on a few wonderfully refreshing games coming out of the bedrooms of teenage geeks.

bbcnews.com:

Microsoft freely distributes tools, called XNA, which gives amateur developers the chance to build games for the Xbox 360 and for Windows.

But until now the games could not be shared. The tools have been downloaded 800,000 times and more than 400 universities worldwide are using the XNA package.

Mr Satchell said it was the democratisation of development and distribution.

"There are tens of thousands of developers out there chomping at the bit; we need to unlock that potential," said John Schappert, head of Live services.

Microsoft also announced that it was planning a revenue sharing model for the community games distributed over Xbox Live.

See You In 2 Weeks

I'm off on my honeymoon. We're going to spend 2 weeks deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon with the Matses people, and running around Iquitos. I don't know what to expect exactly, but we're going in with a small group run by one journalist, and includes a second. This isn't a commercial Amazon tour, we're lucky enough to be hosted by the Matses themselves. Adventure surely awaits!

While I'm gone I've invited some of my favorite participants on NP to drive the boat so to speak. I hope you all have fun with the blog and post a bunch of stuff. "The Google" loves NP, and almost anything you write about will receive attention from the wider world. Post often, and don't worry about what you write about. I certainly don't. :0)

Wish me and my wife safe travels! -NP

Rowling Sues Over Fake Hogwarts

This is kinda ridiculous in that at the center of it all is a gigantic replica of Hogwart's which -- as amazing as it is by itself -- was somehow conceived and constructed only to be sued by Rowling. I mean, to have it go on to this point only to run into copyright violations is just bizarre.

apf:

KOLKATA, India (AFP) — Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is suing organisers of a religious event for constructing a replica of her imaginary Hogwarts Castle in an eastern India city, officials said Thursday.

Rowling and her publishers Bloomsbury are seeking two million rupees (50,000 dollars) from the organisers constructing an elaborate castle from canvas and papier mache in Kolkata for the upcoming Durga Puja festival, court officials said.

The Delhi High Court has summoned the builders on Friday to present their case, they said.

The suit, which runs into 394 pages, argues the organisers of the Hindu festival can stage the upcoming event in the gigantic marquee only after paying two million rupees to the British author.

Rowling's fictitious world depicts the castle as an ancient school of witchcraft where her eponymous hero Harry Potter learns wizardry.

Bioshock

In a time when truly revolutionary video games have become nearly extinct in favor of tried and true formulaic sequels or movie licensed approachs it is nice to know that something original and fun can occasionally make it to the consumer. 8/21 saw the release of Bioshock, which is the spiritual successor to one of my all time favorite games, System Shock.

Bioshock has thus far received the highest rank that anything ever has on metacritic. It isn't the graphics -- which by the way are incredible -- that make the game, it is the writing. Bioshock is a piece of interactive horror/sci-fi that has thus far exceeded all of my previous video game "wow" moments. It really is that good.

ign.com. (check the video review too)

But to call this game simply a first-person shooter, a game that successfully fuses gameplay and narrative, is really doing it a disservice. This game is a beacon. It's one of those monumental experiences you'll never forget, and the benchmark against which games for years to come will, and indeed must, be measured. This isn't merely an evolution of System Shock 2, but a wake-up call to the industry at large. Play this, and you'll see why you should demand something more from publishers and developers, more than all those derivative sequels forced down our throats year after year with only minor tweaks in their formulas. It's a shining example of how it's possible to bring together all elements of game design and succeed to the wildest degree.