BOO!

--Leif

The world is right again, the Dreamcast classic "Seaman" is receiving a sequel on the PS2:

1Up:

The premise in Seaman 2 remains largely the same -- you're still supposed to interact with a virtual pet -- except that this time around your creature is basically a mini neanderthal man. As the story goes, a species of these prehistoric mini-men were found to have lived in Peking China. A company in Moscow took their bones and created a factory to clone them and mass produce them as pets. 3,000 of them have been created so far. You're one of the lucky first to have one of them.

I've been waiting for the sequel ever since I finished the first one, 6 years ago. True, we'll probably never see Seaman 2 in English, or on the DS or Wii where it would be more at home, but at least it got made.

--Leif

Well, I finally took a look at the nominations for the 58th annual Emmy Awards, and there's some nice payoff. This is quite possibly the best lineup of nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series for a decade:

Arrested Development

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The Office

Scrubs

Two And A Half Men

I'm not sure where Earl is, but there aren't many losers in that category.

--Leif

Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 is now available. I like some of the improvements, although on the frontend it's more evolutionary than revolutionary. I certainly won't use it everyday, since I've developed a dependence on certain extensions, and they probably won't be updated for awhile, and most won't work with a simple hack.

Some of the improvements are a bit short of what extensions already offer, but since most users don't really go out find extensions to fix an unsatisfactory behavior it's still for the best. For instance the new tab focusing behavior doesn't replace FLST, it's certainly better than previously.

One thing I'm enjoying right now is the in-line spell checking, which I know was available with an extension, but never actually got around to installing it.

--Leif

The Man of Steel is back! Yes, I got out to see Superman Returns today, and I must say, I don't think the critical media has been giving it its fair share of appreciation. I'm somewhat surprised at the lackluster reviews, but perhaps I'm a bit illusioned by just the movie finally getting made. Either that or I'm comparing it with the last Superman film.

Really though, you can critique it for not being bold enough, being awkwardly paced at times, and a few minor logic gaps, but the thrill of seeing Superman in such fantastic special effect glory would probably be worth the price of admission. Atmospheric reentry with aerodynamic heating on Superman, the Boeing 777's nose crumple and its body accordion. Minor details surely, but welcome realism in a series which had so often required the suspension of disbelief.

Special effects aside, the only real complaint I have (after one viewing) is part of the casting, the obvious part to most fans: Lois Lane. I just can't get it. Where's the spunk? Maybe I'll mellow to that, but at least the rest of the casting was almost a miracle. Kevin Spacey delivers a perfect performance as Lex Luthor, uncannily like Gene Hackman, and even better. Superman himself, Brandon Routh, has a striking resemblance to Christopher Reeves at times, and while he looked awkward in the suit in some press photos, he delivers a convincing performance in the film.

Finally, probably the biggest kudos, even though it's a no brainer, the score. Using the John Williams Superman theme in full. More so than Elfman's Batman theme, which was barely used in Batman Begins' score, the Superman theme from Donner's movie has become linked to Superman so much that anything else just wouldn't be Superman. It's also a maddening earbug.

Perhaps some critics were expecting a little too much. Making a Superman film has never been easy to pull off with grace, but they've managed to do it here and revive a movie franchise that had been presumed dead, and retain the original's spirit. Not an easy feat with 28 years in between, its iconic star deceased, not to mention a jaded public.

***

--Leif

--Leif

I missed the Apocolypse! What gives? Nothing happened? No earthquakes, tsunamis, or world shaking events? Oh, that's right, the world ends on Saturday.

--Leif

Where's the fanfare? I'll admit, I don't keep up on video gaming like I used to, but I shouldn't have to see it in a periodical to find out Dreamfall - The Longest Journey 2 is out! (Three weeks ago)

Yes, many people have said this, and I don't want to sound cliche (unfortunately it's not really cliched), but I'm sincere when I say that The Longest Journey is one of the best games, not just adventure games, period.

It's too bad my video card died, and my motherboard doesn't support AGP8x or PCIe. You can see where this is going.

--Leif

Many prayers have been answered by this very unexpected announcement:

StarWars.com:

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

In other words: See the original original Star Wars trilogy, before Lucas started playing revisionist. You know what they say about an artist knowing what the last brush stroke is. Lucas obviously didn't hear that one.

Slander aside, this is phenomenal for the fans. Phenomenal. Thank you Mr Lucas. That said, it feels as if it's being done rather begrudgingly. Lucas had previously stated repeatedly that the original Star Wars trilogy would not be released again, at one time it was even indicated that they were destroyed in the restoration process for the Special Edition releases. And note that these are being touted as more supplemental bonus material than the actual content, as if no one really wants to watch them for more than novelty value.

It's all rather down played. It's also valid to note that by releasing them this way, they can count the fans satiated so as to avoid releasing them at all on Hi-Def. Get them out now as a re-re-release on DVD as bonus material, so you can forget about them for the next decade.

The message is clear: Lucas really is embarrassed by these films, ironically the very ones he should be proud of.

...and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

Imagine that.

--Leif

Nintendo Wii that is. Lots of people assumed "Revolution" would stick, just like DS did, but honestly, it did sound a lot like someone else's name, not Nintendo's. But the Wii? I guess it could be a name and a marketing catchphrase all in one.

This opens up the question: Will any next-gen video game system launching this year really be a big success? Xbox 360 has floundering backwards compatibility, and launch momentum has been dudded by supply issues. Sony pulled a miracle with the PS2, so can they do it again with the PS3? Will the name alone make it another market leader? Especially with their own backwards compatibility hurdles. The Wii (sounds like a Sony name actually) probably has the most hype, in terms of something that's actually new in video gaming, and Nintendo has proved once again with the DS that they can do something new. The N64 introduced rumble and the analog stick to console gaming, but even that took the backseat to the Playstation.

--Leif