What’s The Buzz All About

Anyone out there using Google Buzz? Not me, not yet at least. It’s kind of a hard sell right now. After all, does Buzz really do anything that you can’t already do with Twitter or Facebook? Well, you can use it with your email, I guess. That’s not really that exciting or really something I needed anyway, since I use the Mail application instead of checking online. So why is Google Buzz something we should care about?

Because it is Google continually moving us closer to just having one place to go. Think about all the different applications and websites you check over the course of a day. You’ve got to keep track of the Twitter users you follow. You’ve got to check up for Facebook notifications, and maybe do some chatting there. Maybe do some chatting on AIM instead. You have to check your email. You’ve probably got some other favorite websites too.

Google was founded on the idea that people need help sorting through the countless number of websites out there. Now it wants to move everything into one place. They’ve already got your email, your contacts, your videos, your RSS feeds, your bookmarks, where you are and where you want to go, your calendar,your chats, your documents, your blog, your photos and more, so Google naturally had to expand into social networking.

I think there vision of the future is pretty simple, you open up Chrome and check your Google. From there you can see your contacts’ statuses, read your emails, check your RSS feed, chat, blog, watch videos, work on your calendar, whatever. Instead of managing a bunch of accounts on a bunch of websites, you’ll have one, standardized place to live your whole digital life.

It’s kind of scary, you know, from a security point of view. That’s a lot of intimate information to trust one corporation with. But for the majority of people, I think it will be a more streamlined and convenient approach to what they want from the Internet. Of course, we still have to wait for Twitter and Facebook to die before we can get there. And that’s going to take a while. After all, MySpace is still around.

Update Shmupdate

Wow no new posts for awhile now. I guess nothing has really been going on but I just can’t stand these post droughts. I would of wrote about the Super Bowl, like I did the past few years but I had to miss it to work. Paul and I are currently editing a new “The Morgue” video while simultaneously buying a new computer this week (Strictly for video projects.) So the next installment will probably done by around early March but I hope for earlier.

Got some neat flicks coming up; The Wolfman and Shutter Island so they’ll probably be some reviews coming up. I was trying to think of an idea for some kind of list or interesting post soon. I can’t wait for baseball season so I can finally do my “Best Baseball Movies” list. I guess it’s good I put it off so now I can see Sugar and maybe even The Perfect Game, due out finally in March. It’s a movie about a Mexican little league team that’s supposedly finally making it to theaters after floating around nowhere for like a year.

In other news I’ve been thinking about abandoning my personal blog out of laziness. I just don’t have it in me to write both here and there, so I may just stop posting there. Until that I hope everyone is having a proud “Black History Month”. Remember to embrace that by uhh… Watching lots of The Cosby Show, though I guess that’s a pretty offensive thing to say.

Mass Good

Mass Effect 2

Bioware is one of my favorite video game developers. The first Mass Effect is a big part of that. That game, though surely flawed, was among my favorites back in 2007. Set in a universe somewhere between Star Trek and Star Wars, Mass Effect delivered an amazing fusion of RPG and third person shooter gameplay that seemed tailor-made for me. But it had it’s problems: inventory management was clunky, the combat wasn’t quite there and planetary exploration was more of a pain than it should have been. That Bioware could fix all those issues and improve on everything else is an amazing feat, and the reason why Mass Effect 2 is one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Once again, you step into the ambiguous shoes of Commander Shepherd. You are still free to make the commander exactly how you want, male or female, saint or jackass, master of weapons or skilled biotic. Or you can continue as your Shep from the first game, carrying over all the decisions you made, but giving you the freedom to change your appearance or class. That is definitely the way to go, since the story of the first game has significant ramifications all the way through the second, and it is really cool when you know you were the one to make those calls.

The first game’s trademark conversation wheel is back and used greatly. The cast of characters are great and I never grew weary of all the talking. Bioware’s added an interrupt feature, which lets Shepherd, well, interrupt people. It’s pretty sweet. Paragon options are usually pretty cool, instead of turning Shepherd into some sort of whiny bitch. Renegade options seem to be awesome too. The rest of the RPG mechanics have been streamlined. They’ve done away with weapon skills and the majority of passive traits, characters only have a few skills for you to level and it’s easy to figure out. There’s no more inventory either, just an upgrade system that is also very straightforward. Don’t worry, you can still customize Shepherd’s armor, and with a lot more flexibility than I would have expected. For example, I played through the majority of the game with the commander wearing golden pimp armor.

The combat system has been massively upgraded. The framerate is smooth. The guns feel unique. There is ammo, but it’s not that big a deal. Most importantly, Bioware made shooting dudes fun. The controls are tight enough now that the combat is just as good as any other modern cover-based shooter. But when you throw in all the crazy combat, biotic, and tech skills you and your party have, you have some of the most entertaining gunplay I’ve seen.

The worst part of Mass Effect was going to planets and exploring them in the Mako. It was boring, clunky, and felt like a waste of time. Well, that’s gone. Now you just scan planets. Most of the time, you’ll end up finding a bunch of minerals you can use for upgrades. Every once in a while, you’ll find a side mission. When that happens, you shuttle down to that exact spot and take care of business. No aimless driving around. Great.

That’s Mass Effect 2 for you. Everything is great. It’s hard for me to find flaw in a title this good. I guess you could argue that the final story mission is a little disappointing, since it does a lot of setting up for Mass Effect 3, but it works really well with the rougher tone of the game. To think that Bioware could put out a game this good just a couple months after putting out the great Dragon Age: Origins is amazing. That’s why I can’t wait for The Old Republic, Mass Effect 3 and whatever else they’ve got cooking. Bioware is an outstanding studio.

The Nomination Situation

I can’t express my excitement whenever the Oscar nominations are announced. It’s another step closer to my favorite annual celebration of cinema and the only award show I care about. In more recent years it’s become a tradition for Colin, Sean and myself to try and see all the films nominated for Best Picture. Which sounded like a daunting task with 10 films nominated, luckily I only have one more film to cross off my list.

So ten nominees for Best Picture huh? I guess it’s to make up for people being pissed about past snubs for films like The Dark Knight and WALL-E but if you ask me it’s not that they don’t nominate enough films, they just nominate the wrong films. Looking at this years group I think they made a lot of interesting choices.

They are;
1. Avatar: No surprise here coming in with a whopping nine nominations, not to mention winning the top prize at the Golden Globes. Avatar will probably sweep the technical awards but I don’t imagine it’ll scoop up anymore than that.

2. The Hurt Locker: Also nominated in nine categories The Hurt Locker is shaping up to be the film to beat. The skillfully acted, culturally relevant, war drama is completely worthy of the most prestigious award in movies, I’m definitely pulling for it.

3. Precious: This was another early shoe-in for a nomination. It may be too dark to win best picture but it’s easily one of the most powerful films of the year.

4. Up in the Air: Completely worthy of being in this category I loved Up in the Air but it’s starting to look like more of an outsider as Hurt Locker’s popularity grows. If anything it’s got a good chance to win adapted screenplay.

5. Inglourious Basterds: It’s so cool to see the Academy honor such a stylistic, over-the-top, Tarantino outing. It’s probably got the worst chance to win (in the top five) but I’m so glad to see that the Oscars can be hip every now and then.

6. Up: Only the second film to ever be nominated for best picture (after Beauty and the Beast) it’s about time that animated films got more recognition. Though I hardly think this should of been the film to re-break that barrier (that should of been WALL-E) but I’m glad the door is now opened for anything.

7. An Education: You always got to round out this category with a slower British film, so I’m not surprised to see it here. I wasn’t that taken aback by it but film’s like this seem to be Oscar staples.

8. A Serious Man: If it wasn’t for this ten nomination dealy-o, this film would of never received this honor. It’s a great entry from the Coens but a little too low key for most audiences. I was a little disappointed Michael Stuhlbarg didn’t get a nomination but this will do just fine.

9. District 9: How cool is that? This is a big shocker and I just love it. To see one of the year’s best blockbusters get Academy Award recognition? Yeah that’s pretty awesome.

10. The Blind Side: Almost a bigger surprise than D-9 is the recognition of this family drama. I haven’t seen it so I can hardly judge but I bet there’s other film’s more deserving of this spot. This kind of attention only makes Sandra Bullock’s potential road to Oscar Gold that much more likely. I guess she’s become the frontrunner.

It’s a lot to take in so I’ll end it here in a beat. Aside from “Best Picture” I can’t say there’s a lot that jumps out at me. Jeremy Renner is a pleasant surprise for best actor but I ain’t complaining. I’m glad to se “The Weary Kind” nominated for best song… I don’t know where I heard it couldn’t be nominated, anyways it better win. Until I write another Oscar themed post before the big day this is the Ottman reporting, good day.

Can You Do the Contra?

Vampire Weekend – Contra

Seems like it’s now or never that I give my take on the latest from Vampire Weekend entitled Contra which was released a few weeks ago. After their smashing debut I figured they’d made the best album they ever would but I guess I had no idea what this group was capable of. Playing up more of their “Worldbeat” influences or whatever you want to call it, these Ivy League New Yorkers have delivered a catchy new batch of optimistic and intelligent indie tunes. From the island beach rhythm of “Horchata” to the almost circus-like arrangements of “Holiday” and “Cousins” Contra may be even more fun than it’s predecessor.

I find it hard to describe Vampire Weekend’s sound. It reminds me of Paul Simon but if he was born in an age of nifty 80s keyboards and synths. There’s a cheerful disposition to the arrangements but an underlying complexity to the lyrics too. Guitarist/Vocalist Ezra Koenig’s voice is better than ever and Keyboardist/Guitarist Rostam Batmanglij wows with his sparkling keyboards and airtight production.

Here Vampire Weekend has shown that they’ll be here to stay for many years to come. They’ve recorded another fantastic album and only strengthened and honed their trademark sound. Whether or not it tops their debut? Not for me but it’s surprisingly close> At this rate who knows what lies ahead for Vampire Weekend.

Favorite Tracks: “Cousins”, “Horchata”, “White Sky”