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Seb and James eviscerate a pair of shockingly bad comics…
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London electro band is streaming their album on MySpace.
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First gameplay footage of the recently-announced Diablo 3. It’s 20 minutes long, so if you’re pressed for time you should just watch the last 5 minutes or so.
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Hardcore skate punk band who’ve just split up.
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Is something growing on the leg of the Phoenix lander?
Linkfest: 2008-06-30
June 30th, 2008 § 0
Primeval: It’s exactly what you’d expect
June 30th, 2008 § 3
(The is the first of a short series of old posts retrieved from NFI’s predecessor, Neverscapes. Look out for the remaining posts over the coming week.)
So, the first series of ITV’s new dinosaur & giant bug time-travel-thriller is over and, since I was fool enough to watch all six episodes, I thought I’d offer my thoughts on it. By which I mean take the piss out it.
Let’s begin with a brief overview of the central cast.
This is Nick Cutter. He’s the main man. He has a lovely Scottish accent and tends towards the take-no-shit school of, uh, evolutionary zoology. His wife has been missing for eight years and according to the Primeval website, he likes Joy Division. Cheer up Nick! » Read the rest of this entry «
R.I.P. Neverscapes
June 29th, 2008 § 0
March 13th 2007 – July 27th 2007
Died of neglect.
As my first attempt at a serious blog Neverscapes was doomed to failure from the outset, but I learned a bit about PHP and blogging from trying it and it was good fun for a while. I left it up after I started Nostalgia For Infinity (which I’m happy to say has already greatly outlived its predecessor) because there were some posts I thought were neat. However as it’s attracting more and more spam, I’m going to steal away the best content, repost it here, and delete Neverscapes.
As it turns out, “best content” amounts to three posts, with most of the rest being either poorly written or… what’s the opposite of timeless? Is it “shit”? No, wait… “Timecop“.
Anyway, these three blasts from the past will be appearing on the coming Monday, Wednesday and Friday respectively. Enjoy!
Linkfest: 2008-06-27
June 27th, 2008 § 0
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The Alk 3 have a stream of their new album, Agony & Irony, running on their MySpace page.
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Another brilliant and hilarious Target Women video from Sarah Haskins, and this time she’s taking aim at Botox.
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Physics is fun!
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“Pigs are winging through the atmosphere as I write. The Tories are not only back from the dead, not only headed to Downing Street, not only in the lead, but absolutely annihilating the once deadly New Labour electoral machine.” Is New Labour finished?
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It’s what appears to be a comprehensive catalogue of online zombie games. Oh, happy days!
F3: Releasing Moments
June 27th, 2008 § 6
Here’s my flash fiction for the last Friday of June – I hope you enjoy it. I think it may be the first thing I’ve ever written in second person so I’ll be interested to hear if you think it works.
I’ve just noticed that in exactly one month I’ll have been writing F3 for a full year. So far I’ve posted stories on 32 of those 48 weeks, which I think is pretty good going.
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LJ feed problems
June 27th, 2008 § 0
If you’re following NFI using the LJ feed, you may have noticed some seriously funky shit going on with the code in the del.icio.us autoposts. I’m not 100% sure what’s going on with the markup but I think I have an idea what it is. Hopefully there shouldn’t be any further problems…
Linkfest: 2008-06-26
June 26th, 2008 § 2
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“How can the art be taken seriously when as an artist you have to bend over backwards, fuck yourself twice and eat your own shit just to be heard by white audiences?”
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An interview with filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, including excerpts from her new expose on one the world’s biggest agricultural and GM companies – Monsanto.
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A fair, sensible post on awards, considering the differences between juried and fan-voted systems.
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“In the following article we will examine two cases of extremism for its own sake, consciously postmodern experimental literature, and also a school of thought called Post-Left Anarchy.” A controversial (or flawed?) critique.
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“I’m beginning to suspect that science fiction may prove to be not only a popular vehicle for transmitting socialist and/or utopian thought but also one which really encourages people to think out concretely what their ideals and aspirations involve.” No
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An absolutely brilliant re-imagining of the history of science fiction if it had appeared and developed in China.
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A wonderful slice of futurism from Charles Stross, excerpted from a 2007 technology open day speech.
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8 – MySpace.com – The Horrible Truth About Me – Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania – Indie / Rock / Post punkFirst song from a new project, ex-Scared of Chaka and ex-Digger (who I’ve not heard). Pretty good, and kinda makes me think of a male-fronted Fifth Hour Hero. Though maybe that’s just because I’m wearing a FHH shirt today and I’m a simpleton.
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“People who are bicultural and speak two languages may actually shift their personalities when they switch from one language to another, according to new research”
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In his latest column, Jonathan McCalmont returns to the idea that science fiction cannot and should not be defined, and that the imagination and creativity underpinning the genre is best served by a more open and inclusive approach and language.
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“Using mass as a way of counteracting vibration, tuned mass dampers can be found in a variety of systems, from transmission lines to bridges. The biggest ones can be found in huge towers.”
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A good, insightful review of the Spore creature creator.
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Socialist Worker reports on how the burden of inflation is overwhelmingly shouldered by the poor as wages are suppressed and the cost of living rises.
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An old article describing some of the rhetorical hoops anti-choice protestors leap through when they themselves require an abortion.
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“I have been an abortion provider since 1972. Why do I do abortions, and why do I continue to do abortions, despite two murder attempts?”
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“[T]here are few physicians today who can relate to [the pre-Roe “bad old days”] from personal experience. I can.”
Linkfest: 2008-06-25
June 25th, 2008 § 0
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Dancing robots and punk rock! What more could I ask for.
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All three seasons of critically-acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development are available online for free. Check it out – I reckon it’s the funniest comedy the US has ever produced (although pap like Friends, Will & Grace and Fraser offers little competition ;)
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“Use it as you see fit. Most of it can be thrown in the bin as ranting and gibberish.” The first part of an interview with Paul Barnett; this part focuses on his thoughts on games journalism.
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“Individuals at the department were rejecting any of our candidates who could be construed as left-wing or who were perceived, based on their appearances and resumes and so forth, as being more liberal”
Game Review: Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Xbox 360)
June 25th, 2008 § 0
My review of the latest Dragon Ball Z beatem (kudos Damien Murray), Burst Limit, has gone live over at Den of Geek. I’m quite pleased with it overall. I wasn’t sure how qualified I was to review a beat-’em-up as I don’t play a huge number of them, but fortunately the game proved to be both accessible and comparable to one or two recent titles that I have played. Plus it’s based on an anime so I got to poke a bit of fun, which is always good.
Linkfest: 2008-06-24
June 24th, 2008 § 0
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“Record breaking heist rocks Eve Online guild to the tune of $16,500 USD in virtual goods”. An old article, but worth re-reading. EVE Online remains rich with possibilities, but the investment of time and energy it demands… sigh.
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It’s a spider! Spiders are awesome. I have an instinctive fear response to a spider scuttling right at me, but they do look so cool and are fascinating creatures to boot.
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A couple of tunes from Saint Alvia Cartel’s forthcoming self-titled debut. Comparable to the Replacements/the Clash.
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“I thought the greatness of this music was obvious. But no one wanted to sign them.”
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Unison membership vote to strike – good for them, and let’s hope the leadership doesn’t sell them out. And fuck off, Cameron…
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“Nice little future you got there. Hate to see something bad happen to it.” Futurist Jamais Cascio contemplates the future directions “griefing” – spoiling someone else’s experience of a digital environment – may take.
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“The APPRENTICE: THE FINAL FIVE programme was due to start at 22:45. The time is now 46 minutes past.” An insight into the emptiness of the idiotbox lifestyle.
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“Kerouac and the Beats have touched virtually all modern culture.” A short guide to the historical and cultural significance of the Beat movement.