Category: everyday minutae

in the black: ipod video 80gb review

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 21 September, 2006

thought of the day: some people i cannot imagine naked (and don’t want to succeed in doing so). then there are those who i cannot imagine getting naked for the sake of pleasure.

some may know that i recently purchased one of the brand new ipods. yes, the video-enabled ones, and yes, the 80GB black one. the battery in my previous white, 40GB, gray-screened one seemed to not be enough anymore for the lengths of time that i needed it to live, and despite my best efforts of having originally waited for colour screens, only to give in a month short of the surprise release of said feature, some of the functionality of the newest generation of ipods is simply something i wanted to experience and share.

so now that i have it… what is to be said of this gadget? after a mostly painless checkout experience on apple.com’s store (i opted for an engraved message on the chromed backside, as well as a tip-in note to myself–intended for gift-giving, but used in mockery to bloat my self-assurance), it set sail from china to the midwest of america… all in 3 day’s time. i have to say the expediency of the standard (free) shipping is astounding. in fact, everything i’ve ever ordered from apple has arrived quicker than expected; and it’s quite possible mine is an isolated–or at least rare–track record for deliveries.

the first thing i noticed is that the new packaging seems roughly half the size of my 40GB’s cubic box (redundancy duly noted); that’s wonderful for someone environmentally mindful like myself. as always, the cleanliness of the packaging and it’s printed design are one of a kind; no other company in the world designs products and packaging like apple. where my last ipod’s box had a slip sleeve featuring bright colours and the iconic dancing silhouettes housing a plain black cube with just the white apple logo, this new packaging has a sleeve reminiscent of collectors edition dvd’s, except roughly the flat dimensions of a cd case, an all black attire, with accents of silver foil instead of plain white. being someone who has in the past year become more aware of packaging and printing technologies, i can definitely appreciate the detail–and glaring lack thereof–in its beauty.

the second thing i noticed was that it seemed almost TOO small.

everyday minutae gaming interesting links

windy city didn’t blow

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 19 September, 2006

i spent the weekend of august 4 in chicago, along with the rest of my friends/staff at gonintendo, specifically to attend the video games live concert, an interactive orchestral event devoted to the appreciation of video game music. while we were invited by one of the event founders, it seems the invitation was mostly to lend assistance to the production than to enjoy the show itself. luckily part of it for us included backstage access, vip badges, and also a night of hanging out with some other vgl staffers and game composers.

the premise of video games live is to give the audience an interactive concert, or at least one with more entertainment value than your average symphony. the show includes a large video display which runs footage of the game whose music is being played.. and the staging includes a variety of fancy, whirling lights that dance off the translucent haze no doubt generated by the panting mouths of the enraptured audience below. but the catch is that the orchestra plays in sychrony with the video footage, and the lights reflect both the rhythm and colour-mood of the display. all the elements play together and upon one another in brilliant moments sprinkled throughout the performance.

the show itself ran about two hours, and included music & video ranging from bleeping space invaders to footage of nintendo’s vaunted and as-yet-unreleased legend of zelda: twilight princess. while some of the programmed lighting forced the spotlights framing the giant screen to drown the picture behind, it wasn’t as distracting as you’d think not being able to see the video would be. as for the interactive bits, a few lucky audience members got to take place in on-stage contests of skill in effort to win various prizes. unfortunately, not everyone won, but i’m sure the thrill of being on stage was as valuable a takeaway as any prize package.

i’ve heard mixed reviews over the performance of other local orchestras peforming the VGL repertoire, but chicago’s was top notch all the way; not an off-note the whole night. in fact, some of the pieces were so well done, it rivalled the production values of the original studio-recorded tracks. not to geek out too much, but with jack wall conducting the theme/medley of myst (some of which he also composed), i was delighted to tears; the orchestra and chorale were really that good. if you have a chance to check out a VGL show in your area, i highly recommend it.

for some photos of the VGL-related parts of the trip… visit the gonintendo flickr page.

art & photography everyday minutae interesting links

something old, something new!

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 26 July, 2006

the onion has an hilarious article about one of the largest cultural phenomena of recent year: wikipedia. one of the ideas behind wiki is that the collective knowledge of the world will outweigh comparable resource in terms of quantity, quality, accuracy, etc. unfortunately, adding the internet also adds a lot of mischief… and in the case of wikipedia, many articles wind up with some level of vandalism at some point. that’s where the onion enters to poke decent fun.

america celebrates 750 years of independence!

so what of the ‘new’? the video isn’t ready yet (some preview clips here though), but i have over a dozen images taken from day one of my new g35 sport coupe. it is quite honestly the most beautiful, amazing vehicle…ever. these photos are also beautiful, but clearly don’t do it justice. some of them are wallpaper quality, so feel free to use them as such. enjoy!

everyday minutae thought of the day

mother’s milk

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 16 July, 2006

another bit of mosquito wonderment…

thought of the day: if a mosquito taps into a nursing mother’s nipple, what fluid does it wind up drinking?

this week… expected to part with my beloved 350z :-\ but to anyone who has known me for a few years, you’ll remember my fondness for the g35 sport coupe from infiniti… if the z is a jock, the g35 coupe is essentially the z’s swanky older brother. but all is not woeful. my friend will be taking over ownership of the z, and fostering its maturation.

jack stopped by the other day, and in the course of catching up, we would up discussing about how remorseful and dissatisfied he is with having moved and his new roommate/house, respectively. to be honest, i foresaw this outcome before he was even moved out, mainly because his new roommate is someone with whom he was clearly incompatible with, based on their interpersonal dynamic and his account of it during the months leading up to his departure from this address. anyway, he mentioned the other night that he wished he hadn’t moved out, but of course considering some of the things he left behind, tangible and non, that’s not exactly an option. he warned me that he may be moving again soon. somehow–and this isn’t a slight in any way, just an educated guess–i’m betting that the 200$ per month that he is saving in rent doesn’t equate to him having any more in a savings account than usual.. which is zero.

i do have more to talk about, but in the interest of writing more soon, i’ll save it. check back in a day or two to hear more of my bizarre thoughts…

listening to:
The Dandy Warhols Come Down
The Dandy Warhols

everyday minutae

Protected: when hard work and diligence earn zilch…

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 5 June, 2006

everyday minutae

Protected: honestly…

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 25 March, 2006

art & photography everyday minutae thought of the day

V, SUV, and Coupe… oh my!

Post author By cortjezter
Post date 20 March, 2006

thought of the day: what exactly is the function of eyebrows? nature must have some purpose for them, as she always does, but aside from catching some sweat on hot days, what could it be?

last friday i had the distinct pleasure of seeing v for vendetta, a wonderfully entertaining flick. you may have heard mixed things from critics, but seriously, when was the last time a critic liked a movie as much as you have? their nitpicks are duly noted, but completely insipid, as none that i’ve heard have been detrimental to the enjoyability of the movie whatsoever. go see this one if you have a chance!

saturday was my annual erection fest, as i wandered the minneapolis convention centre for the auto show. most of it was the same as any other year, but considering in the next couple months i plan to get a new car, my attention was keenly focused, and my excitement level higher than other years where my ride was not to change. aside from some of the concept cars, my delight was greatest for two particular models: one of which i plan to get, the other more of an aspirational thing. the former being the infiniti g35 coupe which i’ve talked about plenty before, and the other was a lexus sc430 (convertible). the lexus i’d always admired from afar on the roads, but would’ve never guessed that to sit in one was akin to being seated upon an upholstered throne with scantily-clad harem girls feeding me seedless grapes, parked on the beach of my seaside manor. it was just a perfect fit in every way.. with such breathtaking attention to detail, it all fit my senses like some intangible, proverbial glove.

anyway, here are a few photos of the g35 in a metallic slate colour that was shockingly beautiful.. enough that i’d seriously consider it over a plain dark silver (like my z). take a peek, and look for more auto show photos later!

listening to:
Guero
Beck