Tablet Wars

Ok so, I'm looking to purchase a tablet PC in the near future. Its hard to buy any electronics these days, especially PCs due to the growing rate of processor speed and new processing technology. See Moore's Law.

I was going to just go for an Ipad because of their sheer visual aesthetic, until I looked up its tech specs.. 2core 1GHz CPU Speed, 16GB Storage, 512MB RAM, 1024x768 resolution, 10 hour battery life, 550.00 (and that's the cheapest).

Then there is the Amazon's Kindle Fire; Firstly, about 300 bucks cheaper than the ipad. It's display is smaller, but in turn much lighter/ easily held by one hand. It's Half as much storage space as the Ipad giving it an 8GB HD and no sd card. Most importantly, it has a 2core 1GHz Processor and 512MB RAM, just like the Ipad.

Then there is the Nook Tablet, priced at $250. Virtually it's the same in all specs as the Kindle Fire, except for storage, it has a 16GB HD with an SD card slot making it upgradable to 48GB in total. The Ipad has no SD card slot, but you can buy one with a 64GB HD.. for $850. Essentially, you'd be paying $550 more for a 16GB upgrade with the Ipad.

Out of the three most popular tablets out there, I'd have to say I favor the Nook overall. The nook is reasonably priced, and I'd rather not pay 300 more dollars for another 2.7 inches of display from the Ipad. The nook also has about twice as much ram as the ipad.

There are other tablets/ tablet pc's out there under $600 so I'm still trudging on decision.

Here a tablet PC by a less reputable company: ASUS Eee PC. Its tech specs blow the other three out of the water and its priced at 450.00.

Comments and opinions welcome! (:



(http://www.apple.com/ipad/)
(http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook/379003208)
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051VVOB2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=httppaulmccbl-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0051VVOB2)
(http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/ipad-2-vs-kindle-fire-vs-nook-tablet-specs-showdown-20111114/)
(newegg.com)

M83- Hurry Up, We're Dreaming... It's like a fine aged cheese.

If you are familiar M83 second album: Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, You will be taken back to that one right out the box with the intro. The front man, Anthony Gonzalas, has a true talent in arranging the songs to cataclysmic build ups until they implode into glittery cosmic rays of phantasmal glory. He goes alot further in exploring new uses of his voice, shrieks, yelps, cries, you could here this beggining in the last album, Saturdays = Youth. The raw synth arpeggiated arrangements really have their appeal, they serve as a hard backbone to the wide and expansive reverberated layers over-top. At first glance, the album may be a little intimidating with its 22 tracks but don't let that stop you, each track is beautifully written and placed.
Enjoy the trip! :D

Stoicism Quotes

Epictetus:

"Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of men's desires, but by the removal of desire." (iv.1.175)
"Where is the good? In the will. Where is the evil? In the will. Where is neither of them? In those things that are independent of the will." (ii.16.1)
"Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them." (Ench. 5)
"If, therefore, any be unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason of himself alone." (iii.24.2)
"I am formed by nature for my own good: I am not formed for my own evil." (iii.24.83)
"Permit nothing to cleave to you that is not your own; nothing to grow to you that may give you agony when it is torn away." (iv.1.112)

Marcus Aurelius:

"Get rid of the judgement, get rid of the 'I am hurt,' you are rid of the hurt itself." (viii.40)
"Everything is right for me, which is right for you, O Universe. Nothing for me is too early or too late, which comes in due time for you. Everything is fruit to me which your seasons bring, O Nature. From you are all things, in you are all things, to you all things return." (iv.23)
"If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word which you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this." (iii.12)
"How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life!" (xii.13)
"Outward things cannot touch the soul, not in the least degree; nor have they admission to the soul, nor can they turn or move the soul; but the soul turns and moves itself alone." (iv.3)
"Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also" (vi.19)
"Or is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of those applauding hands." (iv.3)

Seneca the Younger:

"The point is, not how long you live, but how nobly you live." (Ep. 101.15)
"That which Fortune has not given, she cannot take away." (Ep. 59.18)
"Let Nature deal with matter, which is her own, as she pleases; let us be cheerful and brave in the face of everything, reflecting that it is nothing of our own that perishes." (De Provid. v.8)
"Virtue is nothing else than right reason." (Ep. 66.32)

Boards of Canada- Sunshine Recorder

Subconscious suggestions. I know that if I listen to Boards of Canada for a while I will be put in this sorta of awakened trance. A lot of their music has this layer of nostalgia lathered thickly on top that can sometimes help me recall some strange child hood memories long lost forgotten. Definitely one of my all time favorites when it comes to electronic music. Imagine old home videos that have been warped and distorted naturally over many years and sorta mental frequency wave that is neither happy or sad injected into it. A lot of their music is very dark because it sounds like a happy song that used to exist a long time ago and is no longer here. Not all of their music is dark though, some of it is very meditative and peaceful. I get a wide range of feelings derived from their music. Sure its kinda like the weather channel music, but who doesn't like that music when discovering the weather forecast for the week.

so like, what is the purpose of life?

The purpose of life is *drum rolllll*..... LIFE! Life itself is the purpose of life. there is no set purpose of life, sure a lot of people share similar purposes.. but, to each his/her own. Life is what you make of it. Some people ask this question is as if there is someone or something outside of us that decides our purpose and life is the journey to find that. This may be a way to live but once you start taking charge of your life , this is when you can start making a change in the world. Change helps life remain fresh and not become stagnant.

Baddest Villians: Ultimecia

A powerful Sorceress from a future many generations ahead of the game's time, Ultimecia intended to compress time into one single moment with a form of magic known as Time Compression. She used a device called "Junction Machine Ellone," as a means to send her consciousness into the distant past. In the past era, Ultimecia manipulated world events, and utilized her ability to possess other sorceresses.
In her final confrontation with Squall Leonhart, she attempted to absorb all that ever had and ever would exist, including all time and space, in order to become "a living god." Much is unknown about Ultimecia's true motives and existence in the game.

Baddest Villians: Sephiroth

In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is the result of an experiment by the mega-corporation Shinra in which they used cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova. Feeling he is better than all the humans, Sephiroth decides to become a god to take control of the planet and so Cloud and the other game's protagonists decide to stop him. Only those who have played and completed the game will truly understand his badassness

Baddest Villians: Kefka

Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy 7)

Kefka acts as the court mage of Emperor Gestahl early in the game, and simply carries out his monarch's orders. However, behind Gestahl's back, Kefka attacks various towns and drains the power of Espers meant for Imperial usage. This gradual culmination in power leads Kefka to overthrow Gestahl and take control of the Warring Triad, effectively becoming the God of Magic itself.

While previous villains in the Final Fantasy series were distant, cold, ruthless, and bent on their goals, Kefka is loud, short-tempered, maniacal, and destructive. His popularity among Final Fantasy fans as a villain is rivaled only by Sephiroth. Kefka is well-known for his many one-liners, his final appearance as an Angel of Death (which has become something of a tradition in the series), and his sociopathic hatred of virtually everything in existence. His dark humor and jester-like appearance have earned him the nickname "The Psycho Clown" among fans. Kefka's most defining character trait is arguably his laugh, a high-pitched whooping cackle that is repeated numerous times throughout the game.

Diablo III

Diablo III

Final Fantasy 13 Versus (Release Date: ?!)

Baddest Villians: The Goblin King

Jareth, The Goblin King (The Labyrinth)


Ok, so Jareth isn't an necessarily evil but he is certainly bad-ass. His true motives are unknown throughout the film so one could just assume that he is a madman at the end of a magical labyrinth. The only reason he would be considered a villain is because he has created an extremely complicated and morphing labyrinth for Sarah to travel though in order to get her baby brother back, Toby. The brother in which she wished The Goblin King to take him away from her in the first place due to her frustrations while watching him. So in all actuality, The Goblin King isn't an evil villain, just some madman that takes babies when told to and then turns the babies into goblins when the time is right. His powers include the ability to form crystal orbs in his hands, which can create illusions of all types or to view things from a distance. Jareth uses his magical crystals to show dreams and offers the crystals to Sarah as a symbol of dreams. Another inspiration for the idea of Jareth's magical crystals is Hand with Reflecting Sphere by M.C. Escher, i. e. the inspiration for the mirror properties of the crystals and their power to show reflections of dreams. Villain or not, The Goblin King deserves a spot on this list due to his sheer David Bowie awesomeness.

Stills: Let the Right One In

New survival horror game Inspired by Twin Peaks

Alan Wake will be a free roaming type survival horror out for the 360 May 18th

IGN

Stills: Castlevania: Lord of Shadows

The new addition to the Castlevania series.
Release date: TBA 2010

For more info and images: IGN

Review: Lost Odyssey

Developed by: Mistwalker, feelplus
Writen by: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Music by: Nobuo Uematsu
Release Date: Feb. 12, 2008
Length: Took me 60 hours to complete

First thing I have to say about this game is Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu!! Holy SHIT! Ever since I played Final Fantasy 10, I've been quite sad to find out that Nobuo Uematsu left the Final Fantasy Series. FF's just haven't been the same since then. The same goes with Hironobu, he left square a while back, he is responsible for the story and production of Final Fantasy VII, Parasite Eve, and the Production of Final Fantasy VIII. Lost Odyssey was like a journey to the past, it combined the dark themes and story-line of Final Fantasy VII and the stylization of Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X. This game was an epic journey through an extremely imaginative and beautiful world. Accompanied by Nobue Uematsu'a epic and emotion filled melodies. From the intro, you are thrust into battlefield in a world on the brink of an all-out war, as main character, Kaim, an immortal that has lived 1000 years in this world. Kaim at first seems like an emotionless loner without a cause, later on you find out that he is among 4 other immortals sent to this world to investigate a cross dimensional disturbance, 3 of which immortals had their memories wiped by one evil immortal that is bent on destruction and infinite power. As you play through the game, Kaim's memories return to him. Trivial and subtle events such as a flock of birds flying over-head or the sounds of tree's rustling in the wind trigger Kaim to regain a memory that had been locked, and they are displayed on screen as short, touching, and brilliantly written stories with hazy dream-like backgrounds and sound. I can't say the main story is this game bright spot yet the short stories of the memories that Kaim regains hold memorable after the game is completed; some of which even made me pop a tear. The battle system is pretty straight forward and there is nothing complex about it until the ring assembly function becomes available. The ring function takes Squalls gunblade trigger of Final Fantasy VIII to a new level. When a ring is equipped and you attack normally, a interactive element is added to battle, a targeting ring appears on screen. This is the Aim Ring System in action. Holding the right trigger creates a second "aim" ring which begins at the edges of the screen and quickly shrinks until it overlaps the target ring. Release the trigger when the aim ring is overlapping the target ring. Miss and you may actually whiff on your swing. If you trigger the ring in the shaded area of the target ring, you get a "good" status for the attack, this gives you a chance of applying the rings various effects to your attack. Nail a "perfect" and you gain bonus damage plus guaranteed execution of the rings abilities. At first, the damage gain is a few measly points, but by the end of the game this can mean a gain in thousands of points of damage . The timing for the ring isn't as easy as I thought it would be, triggering a perfect is determined by super fast reaction timing on a millisecond basis. Eventually it becomes very intuitive with the wooshing sound that accompanies it. The ring system maintains an exciting element to the countless battles you encounter, it never gets old. Finally, this game graphics are so astonishing and mesmerizing that I found myself at multiple points in the game stopping and just staring at the ultra realistic sceneries. Don't miss this title if you were in love with games like Final Fantasy VII or VIII, it will certainly be another classic from creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

Rating: A

Review: Julie & Julia

Directed by: Nora Ephron
Writen by: Nora Ephron (screenplay)|Julie Powell (book)|Julia Child (book)
Release Date: 7 August 2009
Length: 123 min

Your typical "chick flick", but that's not always a bad thing. Julie and Julia is a film about two true story's, set in different times, that run parallel to each other. One of the stories is about Julia Child's upcoming in the cooking world, starting at where she wasn't sure what to do with her life and leading to the publishing of her book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Julie's story is about a girl who experiences the same unsureness in life, she decides to write a personal blog over the course of one year where she cooks all the recipes in Julia Child's book and reviews her experiences while cooking them. I have to say I enjoyed this movie, it was a light-feel-good type of film. I don't usually watch movies like that, so I found alot of it to be cheesy and unrealistically emotional. Saying that though, the main actresses Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, did a fine job of portraying their characters.

Rating: B

Review: Mind Game

Mind Game

StudioC4
Directed by: Masaaki Yuasa
Written by: Robin Nishi
Release Date: 2004-08-07
Length : 103 minutes

From the start, I want to say that Mind Game is not your typical anime movie. Mind game was the most random/surreal animations I've ever seen, you may ask yourself while watching "what the hell is going on?", but thats the point. I knew from the opening scene (where the main character gets shot through his ass and out of his head and flushed into heaven where he is then greeted by god, a metamorphosing figure who eventually turns into a purple cheetah) that I was in love with this movie. At first glance of this anime, I noticed its extremely unique art style deviating from anything that else that I've seen that kept changing to completely different bizarre art styles. It almost felt like I was being pulled into different dimensions and viewing the action through a different mind. The first 10-20 minutes may seem random but the more your mind adjusts to its craziness, the more its vivid plot becomes apparent; a powerful, impacting story get unveiled. Quite possibly my favorite Japanese animation as of yet. The only other anime I can compare it too is Paprika due to its surreal and random nature.

Rating: A++