Sean Lemme

I started blogging as a way to lazily pass my high school senior project and somehow I've kept doing it for more than half my life

Yay Team

The A-Team

We expect a different kind of movie in the summer. We spend the rest of the year looking for bleak dramas wrought in angst and tears, in the summer we look for pictures featuring comedy, action or both. Last year, there wasn’t much in that department, a summer marked with crap like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. 2010 is already off the a pretty good summer with The A-Team, one of the most enjoyable action movies I’ve seen in a while.

Based on the popular TV series, The A-Team is the story of how Hannibal, Face, Murdock and B.A. became the greatest team in the world, and how they got burned and were forced to go underground. It is a story that perhaps feels a little too much like the launching point for a franchise, and suffers from “too many betrayals” syndrome, but ultimately is enjoyable enough. Although it is a bit odd that there is so much going on in this story despite the filmmakers treating the audience like morons – most notably by flashing back unnecessarily. I feel your contempt, director Joe Carnahan.

Liam Neeson plays Hannibal, the rugged leader of the team. He is basically bringing his Taken game, although a little more comedically. Bradley Cooper is Face, who it turns out is basically Bradley Cooper: likable ladies’ man. Sharlto Copley is Murdock, the psychopathic pilot. Copley proves that he can act, bringing enough accents and charisma to keep up with his more famous castmates. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has the hardest job, playing the iconic Mr. T role of B.A. Baracus. He does fine in the role, he’s certainly not distracting. Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson and a few other familiar faces are along for the ride too.

But The A-Team is mostly about the action. And the action is good. There’s that ridiculous sequence from the trailers, where the team tries to fly a tank. There’s a great heist on wheels. And plenty of crazy fighting too. Maybe I’ve just started getting used to it, but I didn’t find the shaky cam stuff as distractingly annoying as I have in the past, although there certainly are a few sequences that could have been more followable.

Don’t buy The A-Team on DVD. This isn’t something you’ll be coming back to again and again. I don’t care if it has director commentary. There’s not that much depth here. This is the kind of movie that demands to be seen in theaters. With a big screen, a loud sound system and a rowdy crowd, this is the quintessential summer action experience we’ve been waiting for.

Use Your Interface

In the earliest days, when people thought of computers they thought of massive room-filling machines capable of some fundamental logic-based computation. As time went on, that image shrank down to the classic screen and keyboard setup. Apple revolutionized that by designing the world’s first Graphical User Interface (GUI) and creating a companion for the keyboard: the mouse. Since then computers have gotten considerably more powerful and compact. We have the Internet now, which has totally changed the way we use computers. Technology is rapidly evolving, CPU keep getting faster, graphic cards more powerful, memory more vast. And yet we remain stagnantly attached to the mouse and keyboard.

Don’t get me wrong, the mouse and keyboard are a pretty good set up. We are so familiar with this set up that many of us can type quickly without looking at the screen and orchestrate complex works of art with the mouse. And the idea of change is scary. When I just tried to use a different keyboard layout (Dvorak) I found it so frustratingly slow I gave up after just a couple days. Change is too hard, I thought. But now I’m not so sure that is the case. Maybe what I really found out was that keyboards and mice are not an intuitive way of interacting with computers, but we just accept them anyway. Maybe it’s time we move away to a new form of input. Which is why the work that some people are doing right now is so exciting.

Personally, 10/GUI is the most exciting new UI currently in development because it seems so practical. Since the iPhone, we have all fallen in love with multi-touch. Which we should have, it’s great technology. But I refuse to believe that people actually want to spend all their time dragging their fingers all over their nice monitor at home. That’s tiring and people don’t like seeing all the finger prints when the screen turns off. 10/GUI makes a strong case for itself, logically allowing users to utilize all the power of multi-touch while keeping them comfortable and even leaving the keyboard for text editing.

But what about going farther into the future? To modern minds something like 10/GUI seems plausible, but what about a UI that is a little more science fiction? Something a little more Minority Report? Well, funny story. That fancy computer interface you saw in Minority Report was designed by the folks over at MIT to resemble what they thought computers could be like in 2050 or whenever that movie was set. And even though it’s only 2010, MIT is closer to producing a similar UI than you might expect.

As you can see, gesture-based computing is approaching reality. But, besides being really cool, what is the appeal of this? After all, standing up and making sweeping gestures is a lot more exhausting than the borderline nothing computer users do today. You won’t want to jerk it in fancy gloves with cameras watching you. And it seems that text editing would take a hit, since you would be forced to use a slower on screen keyboard or actually dictate everything you want written. And yet this is definitely the direction technology is going in.

The Wii kind of got movement back in the picture a few years back. Later this year, movement will be pushed into further prominence when Microsoft comes out with Kinect (formerly Project Natal) and Sony comes out with PlayStation Move. Both use cameras to track the player in a 3D space. Move uses a Wiimote-esque controller with a magical ball on the top of it that lights up that the camera can very accurately track. Kinect thinks even that is too much, so it just straight up tracks your body. Neither of these technologies are available to the public yet, but it will be exciting to see what they do for the future of gaming. But the future of UI has to be bigger than just gaming consoles. Hell, it has to be bigger than computers as we know them.

Sixth Sense is amazing if it actually works. Being able to enjoy the best aspects of a computer wherever you go is something everyone can enjoy. Obviously there are problems with projector strength and battery life, but that Sixth Sense technology is about as exciting an approach to computing I’ve seen in the real world.

But does it replace the keyboard? I’m not convinced. Despite all the new, exciting UI technology that is currently in development, I don’t see any better method of alpha numeric input than the keyboard. And sometimes you just want to sit back and relax when you play a game or browse the Internet. I think gestures are a bit too much for that all the time. But the wonderful thing about our powerful modern machines is that you don’t need to choose one or the other. You can have both. It’s all about making the experience better for us. And that’s what is most exciting of all.

C.A.T: Back in Black

AC/DC – Back in Black (1980)
When you think of AC/DC, chances are you’re probably thinking of a track off of Back in Black. From the epic “Hells Bells” to Iron Man favorites “Shoot to Thrill” and the eponymous “Back in Black,” each and every track on this legendary album lives today in infamy.

AC/DC had just released megahit Highway to Hell and started working on this album when lead singer Bon Scott died after a night of partying too hard. With the future of the Australian group in danger, it seemed Back in Black was not to be. But the band decided to persevere, bringing in new lead singer Brian Johnson. They picked up where Scott left off, creating a new album that is both a tribute to their fallen brother and a statement of the group’s rebirth.

Everybody knows the songs on Back in Black. They are the essentials of hard rock. They dominate radio stations even today, and frequently appear in commercials, TV shows and movies. Even though this site tends to shy away from hard rock, I think we’d all agree that these are songs everyone can enjoy. The album kicks off with “Hells Bells,” as good as first song as there has ever been. Then it continues with hits like “Shoot to Thrill,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Have a Drink on Me” and ultimately ends on the tremendous “Rock and Roll ain’t Noise Pollution.”

If you ever feel like you need to rock, Back in Black is about as good a soundtrack as you could ask for. The only problem you might have is that you’ve listened to it too many times.

Favorite Tracks: “Back in Black,” “Shoot to Thrill,” “You Shook Me All Night Long”

Grand Theft Horse

Red Dead Redemption

I like Westerns. There are very few video games that have capitalized on that. Perhaps that is because historically accurate depictions of that era in U.S. history don’t exactly sound fun – lots of racism, hard work, and shitty weapons that are more likely to blow your hand off than your enemy away. But that reality didn’t stop the cowboys of cinema, so why couldn’t a game take the same liberties? There have been attempts, Call of Juarez, Neversoft’s Gun and Rockstar’s Red Dead Revolver tried to deliver quality Western experiences and had mild success, but the genre never had a truly great game. Until now.

Red Dead Redemption is not a linear action game like its spiritual predecessor. It is very much a Grand Theft Auto game set in 1911. Just like the GTA series, Redemption is all about the sprawling sandbox that you are free to explore. But the GTA games were all about wreaking havoc, filling a bustling metropolis with as much destruction as you could before ultimately succumbing to an onslaught of police gunfire. This is a game about enjoying a vast landscape and the strangers that occupy it. The game gives you a huge piece of land, from the U.S. to Mexico, from deserts to forests, mountains to plains. You will spend a lot of time riding around this land on horseback, and while it eventually does get boring, you never fail to appreciate the beauty of this digital world.

And there is a lot to do. You can visit various towns, engaging in games of horseshoes, blackjack and liar’s dice. You can hunt down bounties or actual game. Strangers will ask you for help and take advantage of you. You can search for a new horse to tame. If you stumble upon a gang hideout, it will be up to you to get rid of those criminals. There are even flowers to gather. Everything has a purpose and propels you toward some sort of reward. The developers did a wonderful job of filling this world with life. When someone waves you down, you never know if they actually need help or are about to open fire. And the cougars. Oh those damned cougars.

There is a main story at the center of the game, starring what has to be one of the most compelling main characters I’ve played, John Marsten. When the story begins, Marsten is being pressured into hunting down a member of his old gang by some government agents. The poor guy just wants to leave his old life behind, as the whole gunslinger lifestyle is dissolving around him. In traditional Rockstar fashion, the story is offered to you in tiny chunks, asking you to explore the world at the end of each chapter. Also just like other Rockstar games, you find yourself doing some kind of messed up stuff for really messed up people a lot of the time. But if you make it to the end, I believe you will agree that Marsten’s lengthy story was a pleasure to see unfold.

The game plays a lot like GTAIV, with mostly identical controls. They’ve added a radial menu on the left bumper to change buttons, which is nice but still a little clunky. There are three aiming modes with different amounts of aim assist, I preferred the middle option which lets you aim Modern Warfare-style, automatically aiming at the chest of the enemy you’re looking out when you pull the left trigger. You can also do a mark-and-execute style maneuver by tapping the right analogue stick, which is neat. Most important are the equestrian controls, which take a little getting used to before you understand how they work. But when mastered, it becomes a lot of fun to ride around, which is important since most of the game is spent on horseback.

On top of all this great single player content is an interesting multiplayer mode. The whole world is available for you and your buddies to posse up in, and there is plenty to do there too. There are also competitive multiplayer modes to play, which offer interesting takes on the traditional game types you’d expect from a shooter. Honestly, it all sounds great, but I haven’t really spent much time with it.

Red Dead Redemption is the first Rockstar game I have actually been able to finish. For all that I enjoyed GTA IV‘s story, I did stall out towards the end. I could have probably completed that game in a sitting, but I was done. I was sick of driving around a depressing city, running errands for jerks and constantly appeasing my ever-calling buddies. Redemption was different. The story was so good I couldn’t wait to find out what crazy character I would meet next. The world is vast and beautiful. There is always something fun to do. This is certainly a game worth owning. If you like the west, cowboys or sandbox games, I implore you check it out. Despite a few bugs, this is one of the best games I’ve played.

Thank You

Here’s the obligatory Griffey post. Enjoy!


So here we are, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Wednesday was a very emotional day for me. I was preparing for our CO-ED softball championship when I first heard the news. It did not surprise me. My initial reaction was “finally.” Then we played softball, lost, and I came home feeling sad. It wasn’t just the softball game though, it was something else in the back of my mind. I then found out about the whole Galaraga perfect game situation. That made me even more sad. Sad for him, sad for the umpire, sad for baseball. It wasn’t til I went to bed that night I finally realized, Griffey is no longer playing baseball.

I love George Kenneth Griffey Junior. I love his swing, I love(d) his defense, I love his persona, and so on. I don’t personally remember too much about his departure, so I never had that bad taste in my mouth. It was all joy. I think that is why it was so hard to see him struggle. It was too obvious watching him day in and day out that he was done. I joked that 630 was just too round a number for him to hit anymore. Who wants 631? That’s ugly. There’s Griffey at 630, and Mays at 660. It’s not symmetrical, but it is beautiful.

But despite all these things I love, I love one thing more: winning. Jr. was not helping in that department. I knew it, he knew it, we all knew it. That’s why he retired. It took him longer than it should, but I don’t blame him. When you’ve been the best at something, better than all your peers, for your entire life, it’s going to be real damn hard to just stop. The writing was always on the wall, he just had to put on his glasses and read it.

After I stopped being sad, I was joyous. This is not a sad day in Seattle, this is a great day. We get to celebrate our Hall of Famer. He is ours, not Cincinnati, not Chicago, not anywhere but here. He is ours.

There  has been a lot of talk about how Griffey’s legacy is “tainted” because of the last two months. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. How often do we hear of May’s last years in New York? Hardly ever. In a couple months when Jr. comes back and we have the celebration at Safeco, no one is going to remember all this stupid sleeping business. No one is going to remember how wretchedly awful he has been. It doesn’t matter. That is what happens when you get old. You suck! You are no longer able to do what you did when you were 25. And that is why we love him isn’t it?
 
There is nothing sad about him sucking. It only furthers the fact that he is one of the greatest players of his generation. One of the main reasons we love him is because he the only modern player with 600+ home runs that is CLEAN. When you’re clean, you get hurt, you start a decline. Would you rather have him chasing Ruth, Aaron, and Bonds well into his forties, then all the speculation rest of that steroid garbage? People say this isn’t a storybook ending, but it is. It is with out a doubt a storybook ending.

So thank you Jr. Thank you for saving baseball. Thank you for coming back. Thank you for you’re swing, you’re glove, and the pure unadulterated joy you brought us. Thank you for grounding out to second 100 times this year. You did it well, you did it right. You are not dead, just retired.

PS: Thanks again.

Rock Band 3 to Support Keytar?

That image above pops up at the end of the Green Day: Rock Band demo. Look at that, it’s the four ways of playing Rock Band we’re all pretty familiar with. Oh, and what’s that? Keyboards, right? That’s exciting. Not sure how that’s going to work, but everyone’s been saying that Rock Band 3 will be more about actually learning to play instruments, so maybe that’s a factor of the new direction.

But wait! Ars Technica is reporting that graphic is actually for the new game’s keytar. Well, that’s interesting. Um… I don’t get it. Wouldn’t the game version of a keytar be pretty much identical to the game version of a guitar? Are we just going to get to play piano parts with our guitars now? Does this mean every song in the game has piano in it? Probably not, we know the game supports vocal harmonies now too, but I doubt every song will have multiple parts to sing. But still, what’s the big idea here?

Ars Technica also says there’s going to a “pro” mode that could possibly teach you how to play guitar/bass. How will that work, I wonder. I like the idea of the teaching part of the game being a separate mode, since I imagine most people just want to have fun and don’t really have musical aspirations. Plus I generally play with three real musicians and this new mode would probably make me look really bad by comparison.

But yeah, I’m starting to get really excited about Rock Band 3. Harmonix is doing a good job of giving me the impression that they are actually doing something new and exciting instead of just cashing in on a beloved franchise. I guess we’ll find out more at E3.

Da Podcasket Episode 03

They’re back again, complaining about the same ol’ crap they usually do. Take the Mariners, for example. Do you imagine the gang are happy about their team’s performance lately? Then maybe you are a fool.

Sean also talks about Lost and 24, but no one cares. Then, in a shocking twist, video games are actually discussed. Huzzah!

What more could a single episode contain? A lot, actually. But it’s up to you to listen and find out. Or not. After all, whose cares what these guys have to say?

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