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About this blog

Mostly Atari-related projects, and other ramblings. Home of the Artie the Atari comic strip.

Entries in this blog

 

Summer Full o' Superheroes pt. 1 - Smallville finale

What's up with all the superhero movies this summer? Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men: First Class, Captain America... there's a veritable glut of 'em.   Maybe even... a super glut.   I have yet to decide if I'm going to see any of them or not. Frankly, I've never been a big fan of Thor (although if Walt Simonson were drawing the movie, I'd go see it), the previous X-Men movies have all been pretty wretched, Green Lantern looks kind of stupid (sorry GL fans... but I call 'em as I see 'em), and I h
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

5
 

New old music - part 5

Ah yes! Fresh Maynard! Straight out of 1968...     I first got into Maynard's stratospheric trumpet exploits back around 1981. Another trumpet player brought a tape (remember those?) of Birdland into high school, and I'd never heard anything like it. I was immediately hooked, and went out and started buying up whatever albums of his I could find. Initially I was drawn to more of the rock/jazz fusion work of his Columbia Records era ('69-'82) although that was certainly a mixed bag, notoriou
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

0
 

Cheat your way to victory!

In my Cave In review, I'd mentioned that I'd made maps of the game to work my way through it.   I completely neglected to post them, and I was recently asked to, so here they are. There's a non-spoiler version which is just a map of the main caves. It can help you get around from place to place easier, but won't show the hidden areas:   cave-in-map-no-spoilers.pdf   And there's also a spoiler version, which shows the entire cave, plus has labels showing where everything is located: cave-in
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

0
 

New old music - part 4

Herb Alpert and Lani Hall released their second jazz album a few weeks ago, entitled "I Feel You".     Their first ("Anything Goes") was an excellent collection of mostly older standards, recorded live at a number of venues with a small and very talented combo.   "I Feel You" is a mix of some older and some more contemporary standards, again recorded with the same group of musicians, but this time in the studio. While this results in perhaps a more polished album, it loses some of the spo
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

3
 

Too weird, apparently

Lady Gaga (who I've managed to largely ignore) is weird.   I think that's a pretty safe statement.   "Weird Al" Yankovic is also weird. But "Weird Al" is "funny" weird, rather than "don't let her near your cat" weird.   But now, apparently, "Weird Al" is too weird for Lady Gaga.   You can read the whole story in "Weird Al's" blog.   In short though, Al decided to do a parody of Lady Gaga. Admittedly, this is sort of like saying "the sky is blue", and for that reason, Al avoided doing a
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

4
 

200,000!

Well, it's been just about 100,000 views since this blog entry.   Time flies.   No, really it does. Einstein proved it. Or maybe he only speculated about it and never actually succeeded in formulating a viable theory about it, and then Stephen Hawking actually proved it decades later but then changed his mind about it and decided that time actually goes backwards, and we're only perceiving it as going forwards. Or something. I think they're all making all that stuff up anyway, just because t
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

4
 

An incomplete history of portable racing games - part 1

If you didn't grow up during the 70's, it's hard to relate just how cool it was the first time I saw a digital watch. Not the kind we have now and are so commonplace they're given away in cereal boxes and gumball machines, but the red LED ones that cost a fortune and drained batteries so fast you had to press a button to turn on the display.   They were undeniably the coolest thing in town.   That, and pocket calculators.   There was just something magical about those glowing red digits.
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

5
 

Finger Painting

So I'm working on a few labels for homebrews. Well, three homebrews and one reproduction. But the reproduction might as well be a homebrew, because there's no established precedent for its artwork, so we (Dave Dries and I) can just do whatever we want.   Anyway... so I've started sketching and looking through art books for inspiration, and as happens quite often with artwork, I hate pretty-much everything I'm drawing.   It happens. It's a frustration which stems from not being able to draw o
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

1
 

3D... Just a gimmick?

The answer to that would be "yes".   I went to Best Buy today (now there's an ironically named store), and finally checked out a couple of 3D products for the home. First, was 3D HDTV.   Now, I hadn't been able to try this yet, because in my previous visits to Best Buy, they didn't have any working displays. Usually, the 3D glasses had been broken, or were missing, or didn't have batteries in them or whatever. This time though, someone had the bright idea of permanently mounting the glasses
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

18
 

WRC - MIA?

The 2011 World Rally Championship season has kicked off, and yet there's zero TV coverage of it so far.   So where I'd normally use this as an opportunity to recap the highlights, instead I'm going to use it as an opportunity to just talk about car stuff in general.   Until HD Theater gets off their thumbs, that is.   Currently, the rumor I've been eagerly following is the joint Toyota/Subaru TC-86 concept sports car. Toyota design, Subaru power train. Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

36
 

Yet-another Tron blog

Yes, yes... another Tron-related blog entry.   Ah... but this one is completely different!   According to Tron-Sector, the original Tron is going to be screened in a number of theaters in special midnight showings around the U.S. in the coming months.   Here's the current list:   April 22 Nuart - Los Angeles April 30 Ken - San Diego May 6-7 Esquire - Denver May 13-14 Uptown - Minneapolis May 20-21 E Street - Washington D.C. May 27-29 Sunshine - New York June 10-11 Inwood -
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

3
 

Feelin' Blu

Well, the myriad editions of Tron: Legacy are now up for pre-order on Amazon (due to ship April 5th - ).  The question is... what to get?   The Tron: Legacy Limited Edition Five-Disc Combo Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy + Tron: The Original Classic Special Edition Blu-ray in super-special "Identity Disc" collectible packaging?   The Tron: Legacy Five-Disc Combo Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy + Tron: The Original Classic Special Edition Blu-ray?   The Tron: Legacy Four-Disc
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

33
 

Nostalgia overdrive

If you grew up on:   Batman,   Scooby Doo,   Batman guest-starring on Scooby Doo,   and, well...     ... then you have got to watch this (an excerpt from Batman: The Brave and The Bold):   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQYfM-M2fU
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

1
 

The last PSP game?

Well, despite my hesitancy to be an early adopter, I did go out and buy Tron: Evolution for the PSP. It was an impulse buy, and I feel terribly guilty about it.   Mainly because I bought it at Wal-Mart.   It's not the same Tron: Evolution that's on the PS3 or XBox360, but rather a collection of mini-games. Most are similar to the games on the Tron: Legacy iPhone app, but the PSP version adds a few more. I suppose Disney chose to go this route since they're both portable platforms, and the
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

9
 

Mega-Late

So, I finally got around to seeing DreamWorks' MegaMind.   Last week.   Yeah, I was a little late with that, and then forgot that I'd watched it, so I'm late writing the review, too.   Anyway, MegaMind is DreamWorks' take on the superhero genre.   You know... like Pixar did a few years ago with The Incredibles.   Sort of like how Pixar did Toy Story, then DreamWorks did Small Soldiers.   Or how Pixar did A Bug's Life, and DreamWorks did Antz.   Or how Pixar did Finding Nemo, and
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

1
 

Tron: Legacy Soundtrack

I picked up the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack by Daft Punk, and have been giving it a few listens.   It's not bad, although it's far more effective in context during the movie. Most of the soundtrack consists of low, long, rumbling chords driven along by plodding electronic rhythms. Not that that's all that bad... it does set an appropriate mood for the electronic world in the film, and the orchestrations help to add variety and intensity, but overall it just doesn't make for a great album to listen
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

7
 

Predictions for 2011

It's January, which means it's time to guess incorrectly at what isn't going to happen this year.   I mean after the Seahawks beat the Saints today in the playoffs... there pretty-much isn't any point in trying to predict anything.   But first, a recap of my predictions from last year:   Apple will release a tablet computer - it will be more than just a big iPod... - Right. Mostly. The iPad was just a big iPod though, but managed to transcend that market and effectively kickstart the
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

12
 

True Grit (it's Jeff Bridges month at the movies!)

In this film, an old, fat, bearded Jeff Bridges mumbles his way through a script that at times is largely incoherent.   Oh wait... I think that was supposed to be part of my Tron: Legacy review.   I went out and saw True Grit today. Being a fan of the original (with John Wayne) I half-expected to sit there through the whole film thinking, "That's not how John Wayne spoke that dialogue." And while such comparisons are inevitable, this new True Grit does stand on its own, and manages to carve
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

2
 

300th Stupid Blog Entry!

Part 1 - Eh, close enough   Sharp-eyed viewers will no doubt notice that this isn't the 300th Stupid Blog Entry... it's the 301st 302nd 305th 307th 310th.   Yeah... I've procrastinated finishing this one a few times.   However, this entry is about the 300th Stupid Blog Entry, so technically, the title of this entry is correct.   Descriptively speaking.   Back in September, I was planning to write up some massive, over-long entry like I did for the 200th Stupid Blog Entry and 100th Stu
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

19
 

Tron: Legacy (spoiler-free review)

I saw Tron: Legacy in IMAX 3-D today, after months of waiting and anticipation.   With much effort, I did manage to avoid spoilers - although some twit in the audience was talking during the film and guessed one during the movie. Here's a suggestion to all of you who are going to movies and like to talk during them... BE QUIET! You aren't at home watching TV, and nobody wants to hear you talking during the movie they're paying to watch. If you can't stand not hearing yourself talk for the dura
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

27
 

Homebreviews index - part 4

Another year, another update to the Homebreviews Index. There are now 109 reviews, arranged alphabetically, by score.   Reviews added since the last index are labeled New. 2600 Reviews are listed above, 7800 reviews are listed below. All reviews are for homebrew games, unless otherwise noted.   2600 Homebrews   5/5 2005 Holiday Cart: Reindeer Rescue 2005 MiniGame MultiCart 2007 Holiday Cart: Stella's Stocking Cave In - New Colony 7 Conquest of Mars Duck Attack! - New
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

11
 

Will Tron: Legacy tank at the box office?

"Tank"... get it?     Tron: Legacy is a huge unknown, and a big risk for Disney. The original film, while widely 'recognized' as innovative, was hardly boffo box office. However, the arcade game was a huge success, and a dedicated group of hard-core Tron nerds have kept the digital flame alive for nearly 30 years. So Disney obviously must see some potential here, or they wouldn't take the risk, right?   Well, Disney has also produced its fair share of box office bombs over the years. T
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

7
 

Don't bother

Well... it's not exactly what Dave was looking for...     One of my current favorite TV series is BBC's Top Gear.   On the surface, it appears to just be a show about cars. But actually, it's a show about the three hosts - Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond - and how these three very different (and funny) personalities interact with each other while talking about cars, arguing about cars, driving cars, showing a genuine passion for cars, and doing idiotic (and sometimes amazi
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

2
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