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Monday, May 4, 2015
Signal Watch Reads: Ready Player One
Welcome to The House of Unpopular Opinions, in which I attempt to alienate all of my longtime readers, many of whom I consider good pals.
It's not that Ready Player One won't make a decent enough movie when Steven Spielberg supposedly brings it to the big screen in the next couple of years. I think it will be a visual spectacle of a movie, and I'll pay good money to see it. It's just that when The Hunger Games feels like deep, societal commentary and introspection in comparison to your book, I kind of wonder what I'm reading.
The story:
Wade Owen Watts is a kid living in "the stacks", a sort of slum comprised of towers of mobile homes erected tens of stories high outside of Oklahoma City. He's grown up poor in a near-future America dealing with an energy crisis of crippling proportions, and a state that's given over significant power to corporate interests right up to the point of re-starting indentured servitude in place of debtors prisons.
Almost everyone in America, and, indeed, on Earth, uses the OASIS, a virtual reality gaming system that has grown to undreamed of proportions and become a way of life. While the world falls apart around them, humanity wears visors and haptic gloves (and suits, and immerses themselves in full rigs) to role-play their lives in the OASIS in whatever setting they like, moving between worlds created and custom built, largely around 20th Century ideals of science fiction and fantasy.
The creator of the OASIS - a cult figure that's part Steve Jobs, part Bill Gates, part Gary Gygax, part John Hughes, part Howard Hughes - has passed. His obsessions with the ephemera of the late 70's - early 90's, the period of James Halliday's own youth, are integral to the OASIS. In the wake of his passing, a contest is announced - whomever can find three keys hidden on the OASIS and find the final "Easter Egg", will become heir to Halliday's interest in his company and rule the OASIS. The trick being, one must become utterly familiar with 1980's pop-culture, and more specifically, geek pop culture, in order to complete the quest.
This creates a subculture of users, Egg Hunter/ Gunters, who seek the egg, as well as nefarious, well-funded corporate types who set up a virtual army in order t capture the prize and basically own the internet. All are consumed with 1980's pop-culture, an artifact now 60 years out of date but extremely well-documented and a source of never ending fascination and compulsive study by the Gunters.
Got all that?
It's not that Ready Player One won't make a decent enough movie when Steven Spielberg supposedly brings it to the big screen in the next couple of years. I think it will be a visual spectacle of a movie, and I'll pay good money to see it. It's just that when The Hunger Games feels like deep, societal commentary and introspection in comparison to your book, I kind of wonder what I'm reading.
The story:
Wade Owen Watts is a kid living in "the stacks", a sort of slum comprised of towers of mobile homes erected tens of stories high outside of Oklahoma City. He's grown up poor in a near-future America dealing with an energy crisis of crippling proportions, and a state that's given over significant power to corporate interests right up to the point of re-starting indentured servitude in place of debtors prisons.
Almost everyone in America, and, indeed, on Earth, uses the OASIS, a virtual reality gaming system that has grown to undreamed of proportions and become a way of life. While the world falls apart around them, humanity wears visors and haptic gloves (and suits, and immerses themselves in full rigs) to role-play their lives in the OASIS in whatever setting they like, moving between worlds created and custom built, largely around 20th Century ideals of science fiction and fantasy.
The creator of the OASIS - a cult figure that's part Steve Jobs, part Bill Gates, part Gary Gygax, part John Hughes, part Howard Hughes - has passed. His obsessions with the ephemera of the late 70's - early 90's, the period of James Halliday's own youth, are integral to the OASIS. In the wake of his passing, a contest is announced - whomever can find three keys hidden on the OASIS and find the final "Easter Egg", will become heir to Halliday's interest in his company and rule the OASIS. The trick being, one must become utterly familiar with 1980's pop-culture, and more specifically, geek pop culture, in order to complete the quest.
This creates a subculture of users, Egg Hunter/ Gunters, who seek the egg, as well as nefarious, well-funded corporate types who set up a virtual army in order t capture the prize and basically own the internet. All are consumed with 1980's pop-culture, an artifact now 60 years out of date but extremely well-documented and a source of never ending fascination and compulsive study by the Gunters.
Got all that?
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Grace Lee Whitney, Star Trek's Yeoman Janice Rand, Merges with The Infinite
It seems that actress and singer, Grace Lee Whitney, has passed. Fans of the original Star Trek show will remember Whitney as Yeoman Rand, Captain Kirk's sometimes love interest, especially during early episodes of the series.
We're very sorry to hear of her passing.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Horror Watch: House of Wax (1953)
I have to get up and go on vacation at a super weird early hour, but I re-watched House of Wax (1953), and it's still a great movie. Maybe not as great as when you watch it the first time when you're 14 because 26 years later you already know how the creeping horror of the movie winds up - but I think Price is just great in this movie.
And one day I'll see it in 3D and see the thrilling PADDLE-BALL scene the way it was INTENDED.
And one day I'll see it in 3D and see the thrilling PADDLE-BALL scene the way it was INTENDED.
A Change from the Comics I'd Be Okay with in the New Avengers Movie
I'm going to be away for the first two weekends of the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. I'm fine with this. It's not like I think the movie looks like it holds that many surprises for us comic nerds with a passing knowledge of Marvel Comics lore.
I'm pretty much a fan of fidelity to the comics, and I think Marvel can attribute a lot of their success to sticking with the core conflicts and traits of their characters and universe. But...
By just using his voice for the villainous Ultron, aren't we wasting James Spader?
Now, bear with me - but I think most of us have seen Pretty in Pink and realized the only character who isn't kind of a loser in the movie is Steff played by the incomparable James Spader. I mean, sure he went about courting Molly Ringwald poorly and maybe got mad when she rejected him. The guy has feelings, too, you know. And when you watch it again - she's kind of an idiot in this movie, isn't she? She unwittingly strings along Ducky from the age of 5 like she can't read human interaction any better than an ATM, and then goes for this Blane guy who clearly isn't comfortable with what passes for class differences in a John Hughes movie.* But he is rich, so.... he's better than Ducky fersure.
Steff, meanwhile, moves on, throwing parties, hooking up with ladies who appreciate him, belittling anyone and everything in his path, and beating up Ducky when the need arises.
To my point, Steff is awesome.
I'm pretty much a fan of fidelity to the comics, and I think Marvel can attribute a lot of their success to sticking with the core conflicts and traits of their characters and universe. But...
By just using his voice for the villainous Ultron, aren't we wasting James Spader?
Now, bear with me - but I think most of us have seen Pretty in Pink and realized the only character who isn't kind of a loser in the movie is Steff played by the incomparable James Spader. I mean, sure he went about courting Molly Ringwald poorly and maybe got mad when she rejected him. The guy has feelings, too, you know. And when you watch it again - she's kind of an idiot in this movie, isn't she? She unwittingly strings along Ducky from the age of 5 like she can't read human interaction any better than an ATM, and then goes for this Blane guy who clearly isn't comfortable with what passes for class differences in a John Hughes movie.* But he is rich, so.... he's better than Ducky fersure.
Steff, meanwhile, moves on, throwing parties, hooking up with ladies who appreciate him, belittling anyone and everything in his path, and beating up Ducky when the need arises.
To my point, Steff is awesome.
 |
| The secret hero of "Pretty in Pink" |
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Oh. Yeah. I have a Blog. I should maintain it.
I have a feeling posting is going to be light for, like, the next two weeks. I got stuff going on.
"All good things, all good things" as Olaf might say.
Conference at work went well. My presentation actually had attendees, which I appreciated (this has not always been the case). And I'm wrapping up the week before taking off for a while. And, of course, need to drop in and check on the Nephew tomorrow afternoon. Make sure I wake him up and see to it his sleep schedule gets thrown.
Starting this weekend, Jamie and I are taking a vacation for our anniversary. A long overdue vacation. So, please, as I beg every time I take a vacation - do not break into my house and take my things.
It does mean I have no idea when I'll be posting again for, like, almost two weeks between work and this trip. I expect that somehow you'll muddle on without me.
In the meantime, you kids have a good time. Take care of yourselves. And check out Gerry's newish/ relaunched blog here at: Strange Orphan Boxes
Gerry is wise. He will be worth reading.
"All good things, all good things" as Olaf might say.
Conference at work went well. My presentation actually had attendees, which I appreciated (this has not always been the case). And I'm wrapping up the week before taking off for a while. And, of course, need to drop in and check on the Nephew tomorrow afternoon. Make sure I wake him up and see to it his sleep schedule gets thrown.
Starting this weekend, Jamie and I are taking a vacation for our anniversary. A long overdue vacation. So, please, as I beg every time I take a vacation - do not break into my house and take my things.
 |
| I am actually somehow more pale and likely to melt than our friend here |
It does mean I have no idea when I'll be posting again for, like, almost two weeks between work and this trip. I expect that somehow you'll muddle on without me.
In the meantime, you kids have a good time. Take care of yourselves. And check out Gerry's newish/ relaunched blog here at: Strange Orphan Boxes
Gerry is wise. He will be worth reading.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
The Avengers: Age of Technical Difficulties
SHIELD Council as non-co-located videoconferencing victims.
Our own PaulT worked on this film recording audio, so if the audio is especially crisp and clear, you know it's PauT's special brand of audio recording magic.
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