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I try and avoid rambling about games too much (perhaps with limited success), but the new Alone in the Dark is, for me, a very pleasant surprise. I was expecting very little of it, having seen next to no coverage and feeling even more dubious when there were no reviews until a few days after release, yet it's quite possibly my favourite survival-horror game since Silent Hill 2 (which was nearly 7 years ago, improbably). I'm going to write a review of it when I finish it -- and I will finish it, unlike so many others -- but I'd certainly recommend it if you can put up with some control awkwardness (but since when has there been a survival-horror with a smooth control scheme?) and the occasional frustrating sequence.
With that out of the way, today was pretty good. I'm planning on going to my mum's at the weekend, and I needed to return the immensely-disappointing Viking: Battle for Asgard for something better, so I thought I'd get a coach ticket and a few other things at the same time.
I wanted to see if I could get the latest issue of Wired, as the newsagents in the bus station is one of the few places that tends to have it, but no joy. I did, however, get MusicTech, which had an extra 4.3gb DVD of samples in addition to the coverdisc, which was exclusive to that newsagent. Most of the music I've posted lately has been things I've found mostly-complete from the past, so I've not actually written a new track from scratch in a while; I think some new samples may well help on that front.
I also got a book from there: Wikinomics. (I just syndicated the website's RSS feed here on LJ;![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif)
wikinomics has some neat stories.) It fits quite nicely with one of the other books I'm reading at the moment, Naomi Klein's No Logo, which I'd seen no end of references to, but hadn't actually read.
Elsewhere in town, I managed to get the large-format book of Himalaya, the Michael Palin documentary series that Russ kindly got for me on DVD; I finished watching it earlier this evening, and oddly the larger hardcover (with many more pictures) cost me less than the paperback. It's available to read in full, for free, at his website.
To replace Viking, there wasn't much that was very interesting, so I went for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is basically More Guitar Hero, and that's never a bad thing; it fills the gap until I can afford Rock Band and the instruments to form a band with![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
kyu_diary. It's also distinctly easier than, say, GH3, with less stupid note arrangements. I still can't play it for very long because everything starts scrolling after you look away from the screen if you've been playing a while. I'm not even much of a 'Smith fan, and it's still enjoyable.
Anyway, I feel I got a bit sidetracked there. On the way back home, I got some more accessories for my DS (a case, stylii, cleaning cloth, and screen protectors) very cheaply, and David A. Vise's The Google Story. Finally I picked up Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age, which I've been meaning to get for a while.
The general point that I'm getting at with all this is twofold: first, as has been remarked upon by a few folks, it's finally starting to seem like the future, as promised to us in sci-fi and especially cyberpunk in the mid- to late-80's and early-90's, is here. This is as self-evident -- I mean, I just bought an entire computer that's smaller than the screen of the monitor on my desktop -- as it is fucking awesome. Which means that the future of the future will be even more awesome.
The other part of what I'm getting at is a little bit more difficult to explain. I'm still a fluctuating percentage of certain that I'm Buddhist, but even so, I don't think that withdrawing from all things of the world is either practical in the modern-day context, or even something that would particularly benefit people. That's why I've been interested in documentaries on the natural world and books on what I suppose comes under contemporary sociology.
I think this is technically Engaged Buddhism, though at present what I'm doing is more a process of learning than taking any action as of yet. I'd prefer to be in a position to make a well-informed decision that's somewhat planned, though, than to just go after whatever cause seems appropriate at the time. I tend to think more than act, anyway, though I'd like to be able to make some kind of change for the better, even if it's only something minor.
Tomorrow I have to go to the doctor's to get a new prescription; I can't just get a repeat this time, as I have to see the doc periodically to confirm the meds are still right. That being said, I can't get them changed any time soon, for various reasons, so it's all a little pointless.
On Saturday, as I said, I have my ticket booked to go and stay with my mum and stepdad for a while. I should be in Leeds for about 2 1/2 weeks, picking up the stuff I've ordered while I'm there and hopefully seeing a few friends. It'll be nice to see my folks again and find out how their trip to Amsterdam went, and I could do with a break anyhow.
quixoticWith that out of the way, today was pretty good. I'm planning on going to my mum's at the weekend, and I needed to return the immensely-disappointing Viking: Battle for Asgard for something better, so I thought I'd get a coach ticket and a few other things at the same time.
I wanted to see if I could get the latest issue of Wired, as the newsagents in the bus station is one of the few places that tends to have it, but no joy. I did, however, get MusicTech, which had an extra 4.3gb DVD of samples in addition to the coverdisc, which was exclusive to that newsagent. Most of the music I've posted lately has been things I've found mostly-complete from the past, so I've not actually written a new track from scratch in a while; I think some new samples may well help on that front.
I also got a book from there: Wikinomics. (I just syndicated the website's RSS feed here on LJ;
wikinomics has some neat stories.) It fits quite nicely with one of the other books I'm reading at the moment, Naomi Klein's No Logo, which I'd seen no end of references to, but hadn't actually read.Elsewhere in town, I managed to get the large-format book of Himalaya, the Michael Palin documentary series that Russ kindly got for me on DVD; I finished watching it earlier this evening, and oddly the larger hardcover (with many more pictures) cost me less than the paperback. It's available to read in full, for free, at his website.
To replace Viking, there wasn't much that was very interesting, so I went for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is basically More Guitar Hero, and that's never a bad thing; it fills the gap until I can afford Rock Band and the instruments to form a band with
kyu_diary. It's also distinctly easier than, say, GH3, with less stupid note arrangements. I still can't play it for very long because everything starts scrolling after you look away from the screen if you've been playing a while. I'm not even much of a 'Smith fan, and it's still enjoyable.Anyway, I feel I got a bit sidetracked there. On the way back home, I got some more accessories for my DS (a case, stylii, cleaning cloth, and screen protectors) very cheaply, and David A. Vise's The Google Story. Finally I picked up Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age, which I've been meaning to get for a while.
The general point that I'm getting at with all this is twofold: first, as has been remarked upon by a few folks, it's finally starting to seem like the future, as promised to us in sci-fi and especially cyberpunk in the mid- to late-80's and early-90's, is here. This is as self-evident -- I mean, I just bought an entire computer that's smaller than the screen of the monitor on my desktop -- as it is fucking awesome. Which means that the future of the future will be even more awesome.
The other part of what I'm getting at is a little bit more difficult to explain. I'm still a fluctuating percentage of certain that I'm Buddhist, but even so, I don't think that withdrawing from all things of the world is either practical in the modern-day context, or even something that would particularly benefit people. That's why I've been interested in documentaries on the natural world and books on what I suppose comes under contemporary sociology.
I think this is technically Engaged Buddhism, though at present what I'm doing is more a process of learning than taking any action as of yet. I'd prefer to be in a position to make a well-informed decision that's somewhat planned, though, than to just go after whatever cause seems appropriate at the time. I tend to think more than act, anyway, though I'd like to be able to make some kind of change for the better, even if it's only something minor.
Tomorrow I have to go to the doctor's to get a new prescription; I can't just get a repeat this time, as I have to see the doc periodically to confirm the meds are still right. That being said, I can't get them changed any time soon, for various reasons, so it's all a little pointless.
On Saturday, as I said, I have my ticket booked to go and stay with my mum and stepdad for a while. I should be in Leeds for about 2 1/2 weeks, picking up the stuff I've ordered while I'm there and hopefully seeing a few friends. It'll be nice to see my folks again and find out how their trip to Amsterdam went, and I could do with a break anyhow.
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