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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

Slightly more fun than coughing up phlegm

It's been awhile since I've reviewed any animated film. Mainly because it's been awhile since I've seen any animated film. However, since I'm home with the flu, I figured while snot was draining out of my head, it was as good a time as any to watch Meet The Robinsons. Mainly because nothing else is on, and a friend of mine loaned me the DVD, so it didn't cost me anything.   Here's my review, in a nutshell:       Seriously... if you're a filmmaker... never ever put scenes like these in
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

0

Feelin' blue

It's been awhile since I posted some Photoshop hints, so I thought while I was finishing up the Gingerbread Man manual (Gingerbread Man-ual?) it was as good of a time as any.   The more I draw, the more I keep exploring different ways to draw. In the last year or so, I've really gotten back into drawing on paper, as opposed to starting off in the computer. Using paper and pencil is just infinitely more manipulatable than even the best computer drawings programs. I still use computers for what
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

2

Homebreviews - part 10

This time... no actual games! Just little black, plastic boxes that do other things. First though, for the Synthcart, I picked up a pair of Atari Keyboard controllers from Atari2600.com. Since the overlay that's available for the Synthcart isn't designed to fit these controllers, I ended up making my own. They're available as a PDF file, for anyone who wants to use them. (Yes, you have to cut out the little black circles by hand.) Then, for the AtariVox, I built a mixing circuit, so I could
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

11

Interstellar - Spoiler-free review

December 1st, 10:34 PM   Well, since I didn't have any laundry to do tonight, I decided to go catch a late showing of Interstellar. So at the moment I'm sitting in an entirely empty IMAX theater, waiting for the 10:50 PM showing to start. And yes... I know I'm in for a three hour movie that I will keep me here until nearly 2 AM, but that's okay since my internal clock has been way off lately, and getting to sleep after 3 AM has become the norm.   I'll admit to not having had much interest in
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

14

Real Arcade Play: Achieved!

Yet another mouth to feed:     Huge thanks to Albert for hooking me up with this Vectrex! This is a pretty sweet unit - very clean, works great, solid controller, and it included several games and overlays (gotta have the overlays).   I've been wanting one of these since, well, since the early 80's when I first saw them in stores. More recently though (like, ten years ago) Alex Herbert sent me copies of a couple of his Vectrex homebrews as a thank-you for work I did on the manual and labe
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

7

Working backwards

Recently, I've been doing some work for the forthcoming Harmony cart. In case you've missed it, the Harmony is a programmable cartridge for the 2600, which you can use as a multi-cart for playing nearly every 2600 game ever made, or for developing homebrews and testing them on real hardware.   The genesis of the project was in trying to come up with a way to produce homebrew cartridges in a more efficient manner, rather than Albert having to hand-solder and assemble every single circuit board,
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

10

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

Stella at 20-something

Well, if you've been following along with this thread in the 2600 forums, then you already know that a DVD release of the 2-part documentary "Stella at 20" is in the works.   Shot in 1997 and released on VHS, this documentary featured interviews with many of the Atari 2600's designers and programmers, as well as Atari's founders: Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn. (See complete descriptions of "Stella at 20" at the CyberPunks home page.)   Volume 2 has long been sold-out, although Volume 1 is sti
Guest

Guest

6

Homebrew Art, part 8 - 2005 MiniGame MultiCart

2005 MiniGame MultiCart (2005)     The 2005 MiniGame MultiCart - my second for-hire label - is a collection of mini-games. When I say "for-hire", I should probably point out that I get paid in store credit or homebrews. I don't ask for money or royalties. From my standpoint, this is still a hobby. If it starts crossing the line into work, then I need to step back from it. This has happened a few times, and as a result I'm more selective about the projects I take on now.   By a wide margin
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

4

To-do-over

Almost two years since the last list. Looks like the prediction of the great Homebrew Crash of 2016 was right! Hide the children! Run for the hills! Exit from the EU! Nah... there's plenty of stuff happening. Some of it just takes awhile to materialize, since this is all done in peoples' spare time and all that. Some of this is old. Some of it is new. Some of it is borrowed. Some of it is way overdue. Wait... that's not quite how it goes. Eh, close enough. Anyway... latest updates are
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

24

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Spoiler-free movie review

Back on April 8, 2015, I posted a status update about the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , and my impression at the time was, "Batman v. Superman sure looks... dreary." Monday night (admittedly, at an 11:15PM showing) I saw BvS in at the ArcLight theater in Sherman Oaks. This was in one of their biggest theaters, in an ATMOS-equipped room, and less than a week after the film opened. So even though it was a pretty late showing, and on a week night, you'd expect some kind of a crowd for
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

10

The Dark Knight Rises - Spoiler-free review

I'm at the theater yet again, and I've only got a few minutes before the film starts, so there's just enough time to post a super-quick pre-movie entry.   And that was it.   See you in three hours!     (Much, much later...)   You know what? I think I'm going to type this up tomorrow instead. It's late.     (The next day...)   Well, that was a long movie. And if I had to choose one word to describe it, it would probably be "tedious". It takes forever to get going, takes forever to g
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

4

Man of Steel - Spoiler-free review

Yep. Sitting in a theater again, waiting for a movie to start. But this is one I really have no expectations for, one way or the other. I'll admit I didn't have high hopes when I first heard they were rebooting the Superman movies, since after all - it's Superman. How much can you really do with it? Besides, DC's track record for movies is generally pretty bad. But some of the trailers looked pretty good. So in just a few minutes here, I guess I'll find out. The theater is mostly empty though, s
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

7

Ralph McQuarrie

An amazing artist - Ralph McQuarrie - passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Even if you can't place the name, you've seen his work, if you've ever seen:   Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi Star Trek IV Raiders of the Lost Ark Battlestar Galactica (the original series)   And many more...   Or played:   Vanguard (Atari 2600), which he did the label artwork for (possibly others, but that's the one I know of).   The Art of Star Wars was the first big "Art of..." b
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

3

Homebrew Art - The Index

Four months ago, I set up a gallery of the label artwork I've created for AtariAge, with the intent of including short little descriptions about each project. Sort of like the blog entries I'd done for some of the labels I've worked on, but much, much shorter.   Note the operative word: "intent".   If you've followed my blog at all… you've probably figured out by now that I generally don't write entries that are "short". Except for Artie the Atari. Those are pretty short. But that's because
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

6

Summer Full o' Superheroes pt. 5 - Green Lantern

Five down... one to go.   I only had a couple of Green Lantern comics as a kid. I knew he had a power ring that was recharged by sticking it into a lantern, and that he could fly and shoot energy blasts with it... and that was about it. It was only later as I began collecting comics that I peripherally learned more - that he was only one of thousands of Green Lanterns patrolling the galaxy, and that they make giant green things ("constructs") like dinosaurs, fists, and sledgehammers out of the
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

0

(Marvel's) The Avengers - Spoiler-free review

Well, I was going to write up some ridiculous, overlong blog entry about The Avengers and superhero movies in general. But then 2/3 of the way through it, I realized that even I didn't want to read it. I got off on some tangent about Batman and... anyway, I'll leave that for when The Dark Knight Rises comes out.   So here's what you need to know:   The Avengers is awesome.   The action is great. Everyone gets a chance to show why they excel at what they do. You could see how Captain Americ
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

0

Homebrew Art, part 1 - Climber 5 contest entries

This is the first entry in a series recounting label artwork I've created at AtariAge. In addition to labels that have been published, I'll also be posting designs I entered into contests - including the losers. This entry is from the latter category. I have a lot of these. Despite winning several contests, I've created far more losers than winners. The pictures showing the final artwork are 3D renderings (read this to find out why), which can be clicked on for larger views. Entries will be p
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

5

Three chips off the old block

Keeping an old 2600 running isn't always easy... My original 2600 is kind of an odd one to begin with, in that it was a factory reconditioned Sears console, with a light-sixer case, but heavy-sixer insides. Apparently, this is just something Atari did. It makes sense - if they're factory-refurbishing something, they'll put it back into the best, or newest, case available. In 2002, as I dusted off my 2600 for the first time in years, I noticed the springs in the switches were broken. These were
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

18

Guardians of the Galaxy - Spoiler-free review

Currently waiting in line at the theater with my peeps (okay... I don't actually have any "peeps"... but I am saving seats for a couple of friends...) to see Guardians of the Galaxy. I'll admit I was surprised to hear Marvel was making this into a movie. I was a comic book collector and Marvel fan-boy in the 80's, and even I had never read the GotG comic book. I seem to recall something about it, but had just dismissed it as some weird, obscure title involving their "cosmic" characters, which I
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

8

Mutton, beef and trout

After being delayed for several months, Herb Alpert's new album - Anything Goes (featuring his wife - Lani Hall) is finally here!     Recorded live during a brief tour last year, this is Herb's most jazz-centric album since 1992's Midnight Sun (currently out-of-print, unfortunately). There's nary a trace of the Tijuana Brass years here, and yet Herb's playing is as instantly identifiable as ever, as is Lani's singing (in case you're unfamiliar, she was the lead vocalist for
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

1

Saving $1.29

If you've followed this blog at all, you'd know that I'm a fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic's music.   Well, most of it. Some of his stuff just doesn't work (like pretty-much all of "Poodle Hat" ). But I have all of his albums, plus several DVDs featuring his music videos, TV series, movie, and a live concert. I even have the laserdisc version of The Compleat Al.   That said, I'm not going to buy his new digital-download single, "Craigslist".   Why?   Well, because it's a waste of a $1.29, t
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

13

Leop of faith

Maybe it's just the fever I've had for a few days, but I've decided to take the leap and upgrade my Mac to OS X 10.5 "Leopard".   Of course, I've heard about all of the bad things that can happen, especially considering how many third-party extensions I'm running, but I've updated everything, disabled what can't be updated, and hopefully it will all go well.   If not, I've taken out some insurance, by using NetRestore to completely clone my hard drive. So if everything does go ka-flooey, I c
Nathan Strum

Nathan Strum

15
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