Ryu2.mind

I'm still here... just that work has been kicking my butt lately,preparing for E3 (the gaming industry's biggest trade event, whereeveryone shows off their games in progress.)  It's tiring forsure, but not surprising, as I knew exactly what I was getting intowhen I signed up for this job.  Just like all my other friends inthe industry, it's something I have a passion for doing though, andthat certainly helps.

Thankfully, my web site is back up as well (thank you Mike) , although my CGIscripts are still broken -- therefore, no new blog entries for now.

After E3, after E3... that's the story of my life right now.

as Ryu2.mind makes a triumphal return!

Back from E3 and Brian's wedding in SoCal... it's just been good to decompress and get my life back, after having it been absent for the last two weeks or so.

I decided to drive down to SoCal in lieu of flying, simply because I wanted to visit various friends, and having a car (my company wouldn't spring for a rental car, since I wasn't "officially working" at E3, just attending it, so renting for 5 days during a major convention would have been expensive) was just infinitely more convenient that way. Of course, you deal with the infuriatingly perpetual LA traffic jams, but the advantages outweigh it for me.

There are some things I do love about driving in SoCal though, and by far, the best is listening to their classical music station, KUSC. While I love the Bay Area in many respects, and am not immune to letting my SoCal friends know that, I have to admit, our own offering, KDFC pales in comparison.

KUSC seem to play a much more eclectic and known repretoire of works than KDFC does. While the latter seems to be heavy on relatively unknown composers from the Baroque eras, KUSC seems to distribute their playing equally amongst five centuries of music. KDFC plays mostly chamber music, but KUSC plays everything from opera to solo works.

Most of this is most likely stemming from the fact that KDFC is a commercial station, and is dictated by the business necessity of frequent commercial breaks. While pop music comes in nice bite-sized chunks for this, classical works run the gamut from one minute inventions to multi-hour long operas. Playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony from start to end thrills the listeners, but just doesn't cut it for the advertisers.

Of course, KUSC "makes up" for it by having several hour pledge drives where, although the music is playing, announcers will butt in between movements or even during quiet passages WHILE the work is playing, asking for your donations. But still, give me insipiring romantic or 20th century works on a consistent basis, rather than some 17th century incidental music (which by its nature, was designed to just be background music while the nobility were schmoozing and partying... a baroque Muzak, if you will).

Which is not to say KDFC isn't bad -- it's definitely soothing while you're driving, and in fact, this is how they advertise themselves. But for real cultural enrichment and learning, KUSC comes out on top here, with their well-learned, yet witty announcers and their intruiguing commentary on composers, works, and performers.

So, in any case, I'm really looking for a source for some good classical music to listen to while I'm driving at home. Finding classical works on P2P is hit or miss -- I guess music pirates don't really like that stuff. iTunes has an OK selection, but like most B&M stores, classical is still an afterthought for them. I wonder if satellite radio services like XM or Sirius are any better...

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An article from the Onion -- for once, it's not just some satire, but an article that really brings the truth home...

"Look, in order to catch a rat, you gotta think like one," Rumsfeld said in a grainy and degraded videotape message filmed at an unknown location and released to CNN Monday. "We've been pussy-footing around the war on terrorism for years. All that time, the answer was right in front of us: In order to wipe out terror around the globe, once and for all, we've gotta beat them at their own game."

"We tried playing fair," Rumsfeld continued. "But how can you play by the rules when your opponent doesn't even know the rules? You don't bring a knife to a gunfight. That's just the way it is, folks. It's a dog-eat-dog world."

On the seven-minute tape, Rumsfeld is joined by counter-terrorist leaders Vice-President Dick Cheney and Attorney General John Ashcroft, each seated on folding chairs in front of an American flag. Ashcroft described some tactics the government currently uses用re-dawn assaults on civilian targets and subjecting potential stateside traitors to psychological intimidation預s a "small step in the right direction."

"I can't really say what we have planned for the future," Rumsfeld said. "As terrorists, fear and uncertainty will be our best weapons. Let me just say that the gloves are off. It is inevitable that indiscriminate attacks will be carried out, and innocents will lose their lives, but the end will justify the means."

Rumsfeld refused to comment on the recent abuse of military prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, other than to characterize those abuses as "nothing compared to what we are capable of."

"It's vital to remember that these terrorists hate freedom," Rumsfeld said. "Well, guess what? From now on, we're going to hate it even more. Do you think terrorists care about due process and fair treatment of prisoners? Of course not. Why should we give them the upper hand? You fight fire with fire."

Cheney restated that the goal of the new policy is to put an end to terror around the world, once and for all.

"It's time to get this war over with," Cheney said. "The philosopher Eric Hoffer said, 'You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.' Well, we've been observing, but finally we've started taking notes. We'll have these terrorists running scared in no time."

Cheney urged Americans to "be on alert" in upcoming months.

Above: A NYPD officer uses terror to fight terror in Times Square.

"Seneca once said, 'To be feared is to fear: No one has been able to strike terror into others and at the same time enjoy peace of mind,'" Cheney said. "If we want these terrorists to fear the U.S., we as a people need to be filled with fear. Expect to see more heavily armed, uniformed officers, both at home and abroad."

Elliott Abrams, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director For Near East and North African Affairs, said that the Bush Administration acknowledged the ethical inconsistencies of its opposing-terrorism-through-terrorism stance, but doesn't really care.

"Look, any eighth-grader knows that the line between good and evil is blurry," Abrams said. "Our concern is the safety of the American people. An eye for an eye: Let's see if that plan works."

Abrams refused to provide clues about the time and method of attack, other than to allude to an "election-year surprise."

"Just wait and you'll see," Abrams said. "Martin Luther King said, 'Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.' Well, enemies of democracy and freedom around the world are going to find out just how right he was. They'll see just how dark it can get."

Experts from the Mukhabarat el-Aama Egyptian intelligence service have deemed the message authentic.

"There is no doubt who the men on the tape are," spokesman Sulieman Assad said. "Cheney can clearly be recognized from previous tapes, albeit a bit aged, and John Ashcroft is wearing his iconic stern, fanatical expression. I would recommend that the Arab world raise its security alert level to 'severe,' but apparently, it has already been that way for some time."

For the record, in case people don't know by now from reading my previous entries, I am against the domestic and foreign policies and tactics the USA have been employing in the Iraq war.

While I think terrorists are a blight upon the civilized world, I posted the Onion article as an observation to see how far the USA, the supposed beacon of democracy and freedom, have lost the moral high ground, and the morass which the Americans have pulled themselves into.

All it'd take is George Bush standing in front of the UN, admitting he was wrong, asking for help, and before long a multilateral peacekeeping force would be in Iraq, not only helping directly, but showing the Iraqis that the WORLD is there to try and help THEM rebuild their country - and it's not just the big bad US trying to occupy their country. However, for a president running for re-election and in an election year, a Presidential mea culpa is highly unlikely...

But then, maybe President Bush is a great leader after all and understands that the success of this operation in Iraq, the lives of his troops and the future of the middle east are more important than his own political carrier... ;P

Posting this from thousands of feet on Mt. Diablo via my cell phone during my small group camping trip... I'm sure the small group members reading my blog will be amused. :)

Aside from that though, the fellowship here is beaten only by the view ABOVE the clouds where our campground is located. It's certainly good to have that thing called a life back again...

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I was reminded today the hard way that 6th AVENUE is not the same as 6th STREET. Darn you SF... :P

The Japanese generally eschew the wholesale violence that seems to be the taste of many gamers in the West. Games like Grand Theft Auto, Quake, and the like don't sell nearly as much copies in Japan as they do here. But of course, every good game needs some sort of conflict to drive it. So they make up for this with their own "take" on things -- instead of wanton destruction and killing, we get this:

The Daibijin -- roughly translated to English, it means "The Big Beauty". From a online seller's description: A 17 year old girl named Riho Futaba has grown to a height of 48 meters, and is attacking japan in her bikini. Slow her down with tanks, helicopters, planes, all the while taking pictures in order to analyze how she came upon this condition.

Ahhh, yes, I love Japan.