Factory X has recently been exploiting its license to produce Buffy: The Vampire Slayer replicas to the hilt. They’ve currently got eight replicas announced, including this one which I absolutely will own,
Day: October 3, 2005
Paul Krugman IS George W. Bush
Paul Krugman used to be interesting to read, but his New York Times columns are nothing but political hackery of the worst sort. The fascinating thing is that Krugman has become just like his nemesis, George W. Bush, in his ability to ignore, deny, and gloss over any mistakes he makes.
We Love Katamari Reviews
I’m still devoting all my waking moments to World of Warcraft, so I haven’t got time to play it, but the reviews are in on “We Love Katamari” and it seems to be more of the same goofiness which made “Katamari Damacy” the most fun I’ve ever had with a console game.
GameZone gives “We Love Katamari” a 9.2 rating for gameplay, noting,
We Love Katamari, like its predecessor, is a blast to play. The reason for this is it is so simple in premise yet it is so addicting. You will tell yourself that you will only play one level and the next thing you know you have played through three. The controller will not want to leave your hands because this game is so much fun to play.
Meanwhile, GameSpot says,
In the end, We Love Katamari is basically just a big, happy love letter to the fans that contributed to the first game’s success. Namco clearly had no intention of mucking up a winning formula, and as such, it has created a sequel that delivers more of the same fetchingly enjoyable gameplay and whimsical humor that made Katamari Damacy so much fun. Undeniably, We Love Katamari lacks the consummate originality of the first game, but for most, the lack of originality won’t be a hindrance. And anybody who played and enjoyed Katamari Damacy will feel right at home with the sequel.
The Return of the Porn Prosecutions
I’ve been reading reports over the past few months that the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were going to begin increasing the number of investigations and, presumably, prosecutions of pornographers.
Many of the articles I’ve read included appropriate slaps at the FBI and Justice Department to the effect that it must be nice that they’ve finally eradicated all the terrorists so they can focus on something like pornography.
Which is certainly a deserved criticism, especially given that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said he wants to make prosecuting obscenity a major priority. But Congress also deserves a major share of the blame as The Washington Post noted in September,
Congress began funding the obscenity initiative in fiscal 2005 and specified that the FBI must devote 10 agents to adult pornography. The bureau decided to create a dedicated squad only in the Washington Field Office.
Also, many of the articles critical of the focus on pornography wrongly assume that it will turn into little more than tilting at windmills, assuming that First Amendment case law exempts pretty much everything between consenting adults. In fact, by targeting the right venues and the most extreme pornography, the Feds are likely to achieve a number of successful prosecutions.
As the FBI notes in a memo quoted by the Washington Post,
“Based on a review of past successful cases in a variety of jurisdictions,” the memo said, the best odds of conviction come with pornography that “includes bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior.”
As the Washington Post hints at, one interesting difference between the Reagan administration’s obscenity prosecutions and the current attempt to crack down on pornography is that pornography has become a much larger part of the popular culture in the intervening decades. Ron Jeremy has appeared on a number of mainstream programs and Jenna Jameson is still slated to appear in her own reality television show. A song that is little more than a list of sexual positions can be played on mainstream radio today, and major companies such as General Motors and Time Warner Inc. make large profits off their involvement in pornography.
Source:
Recruits sought for porn squad. Barton Gellman, Washington Post, September 20, 2005.
Logitech Cordless TrackMan Wheel
I absolutely detest computer mice. Personally, I think they are ergonomic disasters and are very uncomfortable to operate — the constant wrist motion of using a mouse always left me in pain after extended sessions.
So for as long as I can remember, I’ve been using Logitech’s excellent TrackMan Wheel.
I own about 10 of these between the various work and office computers I use. It turns out that Logitech now makes a wireless version of the TrackMan.
I’m definitely picking one of these up to replace the wireless mouse I’ve been carrying in my laptop bag, and will probably gradually replace my wired versions of the TrackMan with these wireless models.