don't know who this big 'you' that you keep referring to. Being that this country's population growth is significantly due to immigration (I believe the Washington Post suggested the figure of 40%, though I don't know precisely), I would argue that a great number of Americans have been exposed to the variation of the world.
Although I too have a significant problem with the black hat/white hat mentality of discourse, I would caution you to not take internet forum discussions and party-affilliated websites to be an accurate reflection of how all Americans think or speak. This is a very big country and there is a lot going on that isn't covered by the media.
Having lived in a dozen U.S. states and western Europe, and traveled throughout Asia, I am aware of diversity (and I am an American). I can tell you that a Wyoming rancher has as much in common with a New York City stock broker as a Swede has to do with an Italian.
It's fascinating to watch the hysteria surrounding the Wii and PS3 launches. 90% of the reports of online issues seem to be generated from fanboys from the "opposing" camp latching onto every shred of negative news and screaming about it to the rest of the web.
I picked up my Wii yesterday morning at the Nintendo Store in Manhattan. I got free coffee and stood in line for about 10 minutes before I got it. Last night, I had no problem hooking up and updating the system. I did have one moment where the system said it couldn't connect, but seconds later it was working fine.
It ends when everyone learns to responsibly dispose of hazardous wastes. There should me a mandatory, national recycling program for this but for those who love to privatize everything, I guess this is their solution- send it back to the source.
A fundamental flaw in this long-winded piece is the idea that realism equals naturalism. This basic lesson has been learned in all the old art forms. Painters perfected art tempura photo-realistic paintings centuries ago, then discovered that maybe more feeling might be conveyed not by copying what they saw but by finding some emotional expressiveness, leading to artists such as Van Gogh and countless others. Sculpture made the same discovery. Even theater got over it's naturalistic re-creations for the stage in the early-to-mid 20th century.
Younger art forms, like film and games, have their mainstream fixated on this culture of naturalism. At some point, CGI and gaming will reach a threshold where the fetishizing of naturalism will lose its luster and people will enjoy games based on their quality of experience. Fortunately, there are a few great, non-naturalistic games out there (such as Darwinia) to keep me interested.
I completely agree. I stopped buying consoles after the Genesis days when I started getting better and more involved strategy games on the PC. Since then, I've never had a reason to go back.
The Revolution is the first console game I've seriously considered in years. I'm in my mid-30's and I don't have the time to spend 2 or 3 hours a day on the niggling nuances of games like Civilization, the been-there-done-that RPG, hack-and-slash leveling up, or the redundant chaos of multiplayer FPS. I love playing those games, but I've got a life and I want to hang out with people and be able to play a fun, challenging game that anybody can pick up- not just my gamer friends.
When I was younger, all I could dream about was better and better graphics and a realistic, movie-like feel. Now, I just want something that's fun and different. There isn't ANYTHING I'm seeing or hearing about the XBOX 360 or PSX3 to pique my interest.
Those systems are good for high school kids or college-age types where they're in the dorm and want to play some Madden with some friends down the hall, but that just ain't happening when you start getting on with your life. I've got friends who would be lost if you handed them a Playstation controller and that's probably the biggest reason that the Revolution has got me paying attention.
As a final note: I don't see why the hell it's so important to sell more than anyone else- as if that means something about being better. Leave the stats for the suits and Hollywood's marketing department. Quoting me sales figures is the quickest way of telling me that you need to start thinking for yourself and stop listening to the hype.
This is a tough room to sell these concepts, but I agree with many of his comments.
For two and a half years, I was a Genetic Engineering major. I loved biology and my meticulous attention to detail complement the research process. The problem is that science and engineering instruction at the university level is built to obtain a very specific type of individual. It is an artificial construct that has very little to do with science and everything to do with bureaucracy. Specific types of individuals are retained and everyone else is thanked for their contribution and kicked off to the Liberal Arts. It is arrogant (in Science and engineering??? NO!!) to assume that there is only one way of doing things and that the system currently in place finds only the best and brightest. That's like suggesting that the Billboard charts reflect the best music in the country because only certain bands are willing to jump through the 'right' hoops.
Teaching is still wildly uneven in this country but there is no way that's going to change anytime soon. The beauty of college is that if you've got a movement to organize, just hold it at bay and wait. They'll graduate soon enough. Besides, education is rapidly becoming a secondary pursuit at the university level. Research and real estate are where it's at. What else are they supposed to do with all that money?
Film programs do an awful job of training film students to write properly. They tell people to watch movies, throw Syd Field and "The Writer's Journey" at them, then spend the rest of the time teaching the technical aspects of filmmaking.
What you end up with is a bunch of film students with no reference to life except through film, so what do they write? More of the same! I had a friend who grew up in the whitest, upper-middle class suburb of San Francisco, attended film school, then immediately moved to Hollywood and started writing drug/mobster films because he was a huge Scorsese fan. No life experience. No understanding of struggle and hardship. A copy of a copy of a copy.
Aren't the airwaves owned by the public?
Just a thought.
If you want to hear what a good radio station sounds like, try
http://www.kexp.org/
That's what DJs and indie bands sound like.
Slashdot Mirror
don't know who this big 'you' that you keep referring to. Being that this country's population growth is significantly due to immigration (I believe the Washington Post suggested the figure of 40%, though I don't know precisely), I would argue that a great number of Americans have been exposed to the variation of the world.
Although I too have a significant problem with the black hat/white hat mentality of discourse, I would caution you to not take internet forum discussions and party-affilliated websites to be an accurate reflection of how all Americans think or speak. This is a very big country and there is a lot going on that isn't covered by the media.
Having lived in a dozen U.S. states and western Europe, and traveled throughout Asia, I am aware of diversity (and I am an American). I can tell you that a Wyoming rancher has as much in common with a New York City stock broker as a Swede has to do with an Italian.
It's fascinating to watch the hysteria surrounding the Wii and PS3 launches. 90% of the reports of online issues seem to be generated from fanboys from the "opposing" camp latching onto every shred of negative news and screaming about it to the rest of the web.
I picked up my Wii yesterday morning at the Nintendo Store in Manhattan. I got free coffee and stood in line for about 10 minutes before I got it. Last night, I had no problem hooking up and updating the system. I did have one moment where the system said it couldn't connect, but seconds later it was working fine.
It ends when everyone learns to responsibly dispose of hazardous wastes. There should me a mandatory, national recycling program for this but for those who love to privatize everything, I guess this is their solution- send it back to the source.
That's cliched parroting of sound bites and a shortcut to thinking.
The problem isn't isn't the step, but where the foot eventually lands.A fundamental flaw in this long-winded piece is the idea that realism equals naturalism. This basic lesson has been learned in all the old art forms. Painters perfected art tempura photo-realistic paintings centuries ago, then discovered that maybe more feeling might be conveyed not by copying what they saw but by finding some emotional expressiveness, leading to artists such as Van Gogh and countless others. Sculpture made the same discovery. Even theater got over it's naturalistic re-creations for the stage in the early-to-mid 20th century. Younger art forms, like film and games, have their mainstream fixated on this culture of naturalism. At some point, CGI and gaming will reach a threshold where the fetishizing of naturalism will lose its luster and people will enjoy games based on their quality of experience. Fortunately, there are a few great, non-naturalistic games out there (such as Darwinia) to keep me interested.
I completely agree. I stopped buying consoles after the Genesis days when I started getting better and more involved strategy games on the PC. Since then, I've never had a reason to go back.
The Revolution is the first console game I've seriously considered in years. I'm in my mid-30's and I don't have the time to spend 2 or 3 hours a day on the niggling nuances of games like Civilization, the been-there-done-that RPG, hack-and-slash leveling up, or the redundant chaos of multiplayer FPS. I love playing those games, but I've got a life and I want to hang out with people and be able to play a fun, challenging game that anybody can pick up- not just my gamer friends.
When I was younger, all I could dream about was better and better graphics and a realistic, movie-like feel. Now, I just want something that's fun and different. There isn't ANYTHING I'm seeing or hearing about the XBOX 360 or PSX3 to pique my interest.
Those systems are good for high school kids or college-age types where they're in the dorm and want to play some Madden with some friends down the hall, but that just ain't happening when you start getting on with your life. I've got friends who would be lost if you handed them a Playstation controller and that's probably the biggest reason that the Revolution has got me paying attention.
As a final note: I don't see why the hell it's so important to sell more than anyone else- as if that means something about being better. Leave the stats for the suits and Hollywood's marketing department. Quoting me sales figures is the quickest way of telling me that you need to start thinking for yourself and stop listening to the hype.
This is a tough room to sell these concepts, but I agree with many of his comments. For two and a half years, I was a Genetic Engineering major. I loved biology and my meticulous attention to detail complement the research process. The problem is that science and engineering instruction at the university level is built to obtain a very specific type of individual. It is an artificial construct that has very little to do with science and everything to do with bureaucracy. Specific types of individuals are retained and everyone else is thanked for their contribution and kicked off to the Liberal Arts. It is arrogant (in Science and engineering??? NO!!) to assume that there is only one way of doing things and that the system currently in place finds only the best and brightest. That's like suggesting that the Billboard charts reflect the best music in the country because only certain bands are willing to jump through the 'right' hoops. Teaching is still wildly uneven in this country but there is no way that's going to change anytime soon. The beauty of college is that if you've got a movement to organize, just hold it at bay and wait. They'll graduate soon enough. Besides, education is rapidly becoming a secondary pursuit at the university level. Research and real estate are where it's at. What else are they supposed to do with all that money?
Yeah. I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings.
Film programs do an awful job of training film students to write properly. They tell people to watch movies, throw Syd Field and "The Writer's Journey" at them, then spend the rest of the time teaching the technical aspects of filmmaking. What you end up with is a bunch of film students with no reference to life except through film, so what do they write? More of the same! I had a friend who grew up in the whitest, upper-middle class suburb of San Francisco, attended film school, then immediately moved to Hollywood and started writing drug/mobster films because he was a huge Scorsese fan. No life experience. No understanding of struggle and hardship. A copy of a copy of a copy.
I'd be curious to see how we're gonna power this virtual world. Saudi Arabian invasion... or should we start investing in radiation suits?
Aren't the airwaves owned by the public? Just a thought. If you want to hear what a good radio station sounds like, try http://www.kexp.org/ That's what DJs and indie bands sound like.