Mein Krapf

panic@chickennation.com — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:17:44 GMT

Hey Sydney people: I am going to be in Sydney from tomorrow evening. I don't really know why or for how long. I'll see you at Hayase if you're going.

I'll be staying near Newtown, for the next few weeks at least.

panic@chickennation.com — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:59:02 GMT

Twitter's down; posting on LJ instead.

Sensouji (and Skip)

panic@chickennation.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:18:03 GMT

Sensouji is the big, famous temple in Tokyo. You've probably seen photos of Kaminarimon, the temple gate. Did you ever wonder if there might be something... BEYOND that gate??

Let's find out!

Seoul trip -- January 2008

panic@chickennation.com — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:17:02 GMT

It was just a few days, but dang I took a bunch of photos.

Day one.

Day two, PART ONE!!

Day two, PART TWO!!!!!

Day three.

panic@chickennation.com — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:21:23 GMT

Finally getting around to uploading some more photos. These ones are of a sunrise, but particularly, the first sunrise of 2008, sharing a horizon with Mount Fuji.

It was very lovely.

panic@chickennation.com — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:32:21 GMT

Here you all are:

And here is a bigger version, if you want to see your beautiful selves in greater detail.

This was fun, and I'll probably do another one before long. In the meantime, WHY NOT DO YOUR OWN?

For the record: Done in Paint Tool SAI, with a Cintiq. Easy as pissing.

Mostly Deadwood

panic@chickennation.com — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:33:06 GMT

I didn't feel like doing what I ought to have been doing, so I decided to trace some photos instead:

This is the easiest thing in the world! And look how good those drawings are. Amazing. Any idiot with a tablet could do this. If you are an idiot with a tablet, you should try it!

It's quite fun, and I'm hoping if I keep doing it I might accidentally learn something. So, if you post a photo of yourself in the comments, I will trace over it probably. It's not even a thing; this shit is BEANS; it is EASY PEASY.

Man that baby is really angry.

Doodlings

panic@chickennation.com — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:34:54 GMT

Playing around in Paint Tool SAI:

Aoba-kouen winter lights, December 2007

panic@chickennation.com — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:21:56 GMT

Pretty lights on a rainy night:

Lots of bloggery comments throughout this one, so

GO AND LOOK AND READ, YES

Momijiyama Garden

panic@chickennation.com — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:10:04 GMT

"This garden is a part of Sumpu park, in the middle of Shizuoka. I'd always meant to see it (you have to pay to go in; just 150 yen I think), so we decided we ought to go and catch the last of the autumnal hues, since it would be our last autumn living in the city."

CLICK FOR PRETTY

Downtown Hamamatsu

panic@chickennation.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:09:36 GMT

"I took the train to Hamamatsu, just to be somewhere else for a change. Also to take photos, evidently.

"Hamamatsu is the other major city (along with Shizuoka) in Shizuoka prefecture. By reputation, it's a little more lively than the capital."

December 9th, 2007

Photo albums of photos.

panic@chickennation.com — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:25:04 GMT

I uploaded a couple more albums to 23; again, from about this time last year.

Some keitai photos, mostly of a pretty shrine in an unknown, non-famous part of Shibuya.

Yahatayama in autumn -- a beautiful hill just a minute's walk from our apartment in Yahata. There's a sunset at the end.

I recommend browsing each of these albums of mine from the very first photo, if you have the time, because when I comment them, I tend to do so in sequence, so the album becomes a bit like a journal entry.

Shizuoka in autumn

panic@chickennation.com — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:26:13 GMT

Okay so! I have finally signed up on one of those websites where you put your photos. So here are some photos:

http://www.23hq.com/zpxlng/album/3584545

WAIT SHIT that was just a link! Here is an actual photo:

Ummm hmmm I hope that works.

This set of photos is about a year old. It's gonna take me a while to work through my backlog. But that is GOOD NEWS FOR YOU, because it means there will be MANY PHOTOS in COMING DAYS so YES HOORAY WHEE!

(I almost went with Zooomr, but I'm so put off by the fact that it's owned by this smirking, teenaged goblin.) (Also it's gone kind of shitty lately, apparently?)

panic@chickennation.com — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:18:18 GMT

From here:

"Some experts have toyed with the idea of shielding the crew with lead or massive tanks of water, but the price of lifting this load into orbit from Earth is mind-spinning."

'Mind-spinning'?

What has happened here, I promise you, is that the writer has gone to write 'astronomical', and then thought about it and gone, "Ohhh."

panic@chickennation.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:59:33 GMT

panic@chickennation.com — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:07:17 GMT

Alex wrote: It’s a ridiculous stretch to say that A Boy and his Blob is an allegory for anything at all; it’s just a videogame with not a lot of deep thought put into it.

Your reasoning depends on the idea that the meaning of a game (or any artwork) comes from the intentions of the author, rather than the experience of the player. I don't accept that idea. As Dess says in the article itself, a game doesn't mean anything until someone plays it.

In other words, there is no meaning without context.

From here.

It's good readin'!

panic@chickennation.com — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:03:16 GMT

Some doodles from recent days! Doodles!!

So how about places on the internet where I can put my photos and people can look at them and it's not a hassle? Everyone seems to use Flickr; is there a reason for that? Please tell me everything you know.

I'm in Seoul now and it's as I remember it: Like Tokyo but dirtier, messier and smellier. Here is a city that has launched itself head-first into the modern age, without slowing down, without looking back, and without stopping to clean up after itself. I dunno if I'd live here, but I do love it.

Perambulating Ame-yoko

panic@chickennation.com — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 07:41:30 GMT

I made a video of Ame-yoko for you!

It looks terrible in 'standard quality', so I'm attempting to embed it in high quality...

If 'high quality' loads too slowly on your connection, you can click through to YouTube and watch it in standard quality instead. Not really worth it though; everything's an ugly blur.

Like an idiot, I filmed this without my sexy and expensive wide-angle lens, even though this is exactly the sort of thing a wide-angle lens is for. I just forgot all about it.

Necktie?

panic@chickennation.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:50:47 GMT

I've been going to the dentist.

My temporary filling got pulled out, eating one of these:

(Don't worry, I have a proper filling now.)

* * *

Ladies and probably also men reading this will be pleased to learn that after years of eschewing them, I am considering giving neckties a shot, mostly because wearing a shirt and waistcoat without one doesn't look right.

I took a couple of internet-style vanity mirror (and just general vanity) photos. What do you think?

By "What do you think," I obviously mean not "Does it look good" but "Is the world ready?"

panic@chickennation.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:56:22 GMT

Oh man:

http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45606

Ame-yoko

panic@chickennation.com — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:13:13 GMT

So! Tokyo! Me, in it!

I'm staying on a famous market street called Ame-yoko, in the middle of Ueno. I mean, on it -- right in the middle. It's insane. This whole area is shops, shops, shops, of the very 'Japan' sort. I'll take some photos soon, so you can see what I mean. (Actually I was going to make a video today, but it's drizzling.)

Ame-yoko runs alongside a train line, with all the shops on one side of the street actually built under the tracks. My room is very close to Ueno-Okachimachi station, so I hear the chimes and announcements all day (and most of the night), along with noise from the street, which there is a lot of. Lots of "Irasshai-irasshai-irasshai~~~!" and so on. I'm happy to be living here because it's amazing, but maybe it's a good thing it's only for a couple of months.

Akihabara is a stroll away, if anyone cares. I ought to think of something Akiba-related to do for Eegra.

Rewinding a bit: After a whole day on a plane, I took the Narita Express to Shinjuku station and exited to Kabuki-cho, on a Friday night, in the middle of a Tokyo summer, wearing a jumper and coat, and lugging one suitcase, two large bags and a tripod. DON'T EVER DO THIS. Jesus god, don't ever.

I spent the night at a hotel in Shinjuku, walked to the Sakura House office in the morning to sign my lease and get my keys, then checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to Ueno and Ame-yoko. In one of the alleyways, I found the door leading to my room, and dragged my luggage upstairs. At this point, the sky was blue and the air was humid.

When I came down for lunch an hour or two later, it was storming! All the tiny shops were packed with people escaping the sudden rain -- although, a few people did have umbrellas, which earlier in the day had been parasols. I spied a nearby food shop/stall and ordered a 500 yen bowl of takadon, which is a big bowl of sushi rice with pieces of raw tuna on top. I'd never had it before, and with the soy sauce and wasabi, it was great. Good, fresh fish. (And on Ame-yoko, it ought to be.)

So I sat on a stool at one of the narrow tables under the shop's small covered area, in the warm air, eating takadon, semi-chatting with the old shop lady, and watching people with umbrellas scooting along Ame-yoko in the heavy rain. It was fucking glorious.

Summer in Tokyo is actually great for going out in the evening! Last night I wandered around Ueno in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, through a maze of lively alleys, and stopped at a ramen place, and then a yakitori place, for dinner and beer. So relaxing.

There is much gorgeous, urban Japan-ness around here. I must do a photo-taking day sometime soon. And I haven't even been to Ueno park yet! (It's about five minutes away.)

I'm not wasting time in getting things done, amazingly! I guess arriving in this extraordinary place has filled me with energy. Today I went to Lawson and booked two tickets: One for the Ghibli Museum, and one for a YMCK show on the 28th, with four supporting acts including SEXY MOTHERFUCKING SYNTHESIZER, YEAH!! So that is going to be amazingly awesome.

Problems so far:

1) My keitai's not working; I guess Softbank cut me off for not paying my bills -- but it's their fault that I couldn't, and I have a piece of paper that proves it! So hopefully I will get that sorted out this week, because FUCK OFF life in Tokyo without my keitai.

2) Today I tried withdrawing some money at the post office, from my Australian account, and it wouldn't work! This has happened before. But this time, it can't possibly be for the same reason as last time. I might have to call the bank OH WAIT, NO PHONE. Gotta get this sorted out before I run out of money. I have like 7,500 yen right now.

3) Due to above problem, can't walk to Yodobashi Camera right now and buy Rhythm Tengoku Gold.

That is all.

What up, my n-Eegra!

panic@chickennation.com — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:31:11 GMT

Some passably coherent rantings from the Eegra forums, presented without context (but with links):

* * *

From this thread:

Quote:
which is sad because it used to be a word used sparingly with affection, like an exquisite tea set that was only brought out on special occasions

What in god's name are you talking about?

Art used to mean, just, what you did; what you were good at. It's only fairly recently that 'art' has come to mean some lofty, elevated thing that the average person can't understand or, simply, finds boring: 'art as art', instead of art as something relevant. Not relevant because an artist has tried to make something relevant, but relevant because art is simply an ordinary, everyday part of the culture, so it can't not be relevant.

And, uh... this period of history where people brought out exquisite tea sets and called them art exists only in your imagination, I'm afraid.

*

Anyway -- your objection to 'art' seems to be that some things that you think are bullshit, are being placed on the pedestal where they don't belong. My objection is that 'art' shouldn't be on a pedestal to begin with. "Is it art?" is a question for wankers -- including art-hating wankers. We shouldn't even be thinking in terms of 'art'/'not art'.

Whether something's art or not is a meaningless semantic question -- it just depends how you, personally, define 'art'. Calling a game 'art' or 'not art' doesn't tell us anything about it. What matters isn't whether a game is art, but what it means to you: How it made you feel; what it taught you; how it affected your life, or outlook on life.

*

Now, some people call their games 'art games' simply to communicate that they made the game primarily to express or communicate something, rather than to make money. Other people use the term 'art games' with slightly different meanings; for instance, maybe they mean games with a strong authorial voice. So long as it's clear what they're trying to communicate, I have no objection to any of this -- this is what language is for.

Quit gettin' mad about art games!

* * *

From this thread:

Sorry, reading over that, it sounds like a shut-down, which it wasn't.

The thing is that making a database or definitive list of 'notable' games is a pointless exercise; it's the wrong approach to a discussion of games -- either specific games or 'games' as a form. Apart from the obvious "What does 'notable' mean?" problem, and apart from the problem that lists, by themselves, don't say anything, the thing is that trying to be 'definitive' is a waste of time; it's a mental approach that runs against reality. The reality, like it or not, is this: Anything you write, or create, be it art or criticism or something else, is part of an ongoing discussion; part of the conversation that our culture is having with itself. There is no 'definitive'.

The most useful thing you can do, if you have something to say about a game, is present your ideas and thoughts as clearly and honestly as possible, and hope that someone will 'get something' out of it -- that is, that something you've written will help them think their own thoughts; sort out their own ideas. Maybe you'll put a feeling into words that they never could, even though they've had the same feeling. Maybe they'll learn something from your approach to art and life; they'll find it helpful.

Anyway, the point is: If you've been thinking a lot about some game, write about it: Tell the world (or even just yourself; writing helps you sort out your own thoughts) what's interesting about the game, or what meaningful experience you had with it. Maybe one of your conclusions about the game will be that it is/was, in some way, 'notable'.

But starting with a poorly-defined idea -- 'notability' in this case -- and then trying to think of games to fit it, is an arse-backwards approach to criticism: beginning with the conclusion. Waste of everyone's time.

THAT SAID, yes, throwing an idea out there, just for the sake of something to talk about, can spark discussion and be a catalyst for thoughts that might have otherwise not been thought. BUT THE THING IS, you gotta remember what the point is. The point is to say something; to express your thoughts; to deepen your, and everyone's, appreciation of a videogame. The point is not the list. The list is the means, not the end.

Yes. Yes, that's what I wanted to say.

Sorry for carrying on, if I did, and for stating the obvious, if I did.

panic@chickennation.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:19:15 GMT

I'm selling a DVD player for $40. Here's an SMS exchange I just had:

Hi is player still available?

The DVD player? Yes it is.

Where are u located?

[I give them my address.]

Will u sell for 20!

I'll sell for 30.

I'm a student. Can't really afford that much and i'll have to travel to u also

Make it 20 then you cheap hippie.

What the fuck?

And then, ten seconds later:

I'll pick it up tomorrow

The Muffin Man

panic@chickennation.com — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:54:43 GMT

He is pretty upset about those fresh baked muffins.

Laptop; Sydney; Birthday

panic@chickennation.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:48:55 GMT

Took these about a week ago, but I've been too busy to post them. My new laptop:

So light and thin and quiet! It is a very sexy XPS m1330. I can post specs in the comments, if anyone gives a shit. But 'sexy' is what it comes down to. Haven't done any video editing on it yet, but I expect the sexiness to continue.

Also the keyboard is lovely and 'clacky'. It feels good and it sounds good. The touchpad buttons are clacky too.

Hey, what's that on my lap?

Well fuck damn, it's a Cintiq!

I'm still getting used to it, and I will certainly not be abandoning paper entirely, but for some things that I do, this wonderful object is going to save me a lot of time and energy. And it's so much fun just to play with!

I've done the two most recent Eegra comics with the Cintiq:

This one in Photoshop, and

This one in Illustrator (but coloured in Photoshop.)

Not too keen on Illustrator, though I do like those smooth lines. I might give Comic Studio a try. I welcome advice from experienced tablet users!

Also! Kind of important! The new laptop has a built-in webcam (as laptops seem to these days), so I'm making Skype my chat program of choice. I will not be reinstalling Trillian, so if you chat to me using ICQ or MSN, well, you don't any more. Get on Skype and find me there. I figure everyone has Skype these days, and the fewer programs I have cluttering my computer, the better.

Please do add me to your Skype contact lists, because I work from home these days and it would be nice to have some online office buddies. Plus it is so handy for staying in touch with friends.

Sydney

I'm extending my stay in Sydney, just so everyone knows. I've been flat out since I got here, and I'm so tired of being busy and rushed; I've been rushed all year. So I'm staying for another few weeks. I'll still be pretty busy, but I want to hang out with people!

Birthday (mine)

It is on Sunday! I am having last minute birthday drinks, as usual! If you're reading this, you're invited, though I will try to call or message people as well.

Please come to Kelly's on King Street in Newtown at about 7:00. I'm thinking upstairs near the pool tables, probably. Shouldn't be too busy 'cause it's Monday the next day. For the same reason, I don't expect anyone to stay too late (although you're welcome to); just come along and make my birthday happy.

Okay, see you then! Actually I will see many of you tomorrow, at the Kinokuniya zine fair.