nintendo’s new console – the wii

Nintendo has finally released the "real" name of their next-gen Revolution console. They're calliing it the Nintendo Wii (pronounced "wee").

I'm no branding expert but I think the name sucks. I was stoked about the Revolution and the new magic wand controllers, but I don't think I can get so excited about the name Wii. I don't guess they want to continue the Gamecube brand since that system didn't rise to the sales of PS2s and XBoxes, but Wii? That's terrible.

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i’m gonna sell me some stock footage

I found this site called pond5.com that specializes in selling stock footage. Always looking for ways to support my expensive technology purchases crack habit, I may send them some clips and see how it does. They let you keep all rights to your footage and let you upload whatever length clips you like and my favorite part – they let you set your own price ($10 minimum per clip). They pay you 50% of every clip that sells. They do have to approve what they put up, but a few common word searches didn't pull up many clips so it's possible to get in there before they get saturated with exciting tree footage.

I have no idea what the stock footage market is like or if pond5 will ever sell a single clip. But their user policy is so open it's dumb not to at least send them something.

psp firmware 2.7

Sony has released PSP firmware 2.7 in Japan, so it won't be long before we have it here. The major upside is supporting Flash, the major downside is that they have supposedly found a way to patch up the latest emulator and homebrew hacks. 

I had hoped the move to Flash support would mean a windfall of new PSP-specific Flash games. I had assumed a lot of these games would come from the same people already writing PSP homebrew games. But uh, they'd have to upgrade to 2.7 to test the Flash stuff which would make them lose all their other homebrew stuff so it may be a while before Flash on the PSP is even a big deal. Damn I'm a nerd.

i’m the decider

It's very rare that you get an email forward that you really feel is worth sending to others. In fact, I'm not much of a fan of email forwards at all – unless they are really damn funny. This one is awesome and has possibly changed my whole outlook on the next hour, and perhaps even the rest of the day. Turn up your speakers and give it a minute for the song to start.

I am the Walrus President Bush-style.

why the star wars kid sucks

This news report popped up today on Ghyslain Raza aka the Star Wars Kid. Turns out he settled his case against the former classmates who posted his video online. They don't give the details, but I'd bet this whole ordeal is the best thing that will ever happen to Ghyslain and his family.

Even after sites started taking donations to send him iPods and money as a "thanks for the laughs," his family was intent on suing the crap out of those kids. Sure he got depressed and had to drop out of school. But what teenager doesn't get depressed and want to drop out of school?

Here's why Ghyslain sucks.

1. He made a tape of himself doing something funny and it got out. It was on fucking school equipment! That means he doesn't own the camera, studio or tapes he used to record himself. The other kid says he found the footage while shooting a football game, presumably using the camera for a school approved purpose, unlike Ghyslain's Star Wars antics.

Now I'm pretty sure somewhere there's a tape of me doing something stupid on it, and sure, I'd probably be bummed if it got out. But you usually have to be really famous for people to care about you doing something stupid on video. Which brings me to my next point.

2. No single person has the right to that much free publicity. Instead of going all pussy on us, Ghyslain should have called an agent and started the bookings! Leno, Letterman, Conan, The Man Show (back in the day), Good Morning America, Today, 60 Minutes….

Much of North America would have tuned in to watch him recreate his Star Wars Kid bit. That's great comedy! He could have a made a few mil before everyone realized how dumb it all was. Hell, I bet he could have landed a cameo from Lucas. The corporate seminars, internet culture-based book deals and if he had any sense of humor at all, comedy clubs.

In closing, Ghyslain Raza was handed a free ticket to fame and fortune. Not everyone wants those things, but suing the kids who gave him that free ticket doesn't make him any less famous. It just makes him an asshole.

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boot camp bugs

This Boot Camp thing is awesome in concept and as I noted in a previous post, something I'd consider using in the future. The current release is a beta, meaning the final version should be more polished. Still, some of the differences between Mac hardware and Windows software create a list of shortcomings in dual-booting a Mac.

Some of the FAQs from Apple's website:

While booted into Windows XP, I still hear sound coming from the built-in speaker even with headphones plugged in.

The Boot Camp Beta audio driver for Windows XP does not currently support rerouting sound.

Why is the time different between Mac OS X and Windows XP on my computer?

The Windows XP and Mac OS X operating systems handle your computer's date and time information differently, so the date and time may be different when you switch operating systems. For best results, use a network time server and resync the date and time whenever you switch operating systems. In Mac OS X, use the “Set date & time automatically” option in the Date & Time preferences. In Windows XP, click the Update Now button in the “Date and Time Properties” control panel.

Does the MacBook Pro trackpad work the same in Windows XP as it does in Mac OS X?

Basic tracking works, but acceleration, scrolling, and right-click support are not available in Windows.

When connected to a TV, my Mac mini does not wake up after going to sleep.

Disconnect the Mac mini from the TV before putting the computer to sleep when running Windows XP.

OK, so from these answers I already know that running Windows on a Mac will prohibit me from using headphones and require me to manually update the date and time every time I time I boot up. If I have a MacBook Pro I have to use it with a mouse or I lose all right click functionality. And if I have a Mac mini I have to unplug my display (TV?) every time I put the thing in standby.

The right-click thing is sort of understandable, but the point of a laptop is portability. And it's a convenience killer to have a laptop that won't work without a mouse. The headphone issue is something I would consider broken. The other things are issues you would expect to "just work." I left other known issues off of this list, highlighting only the ones that would affect me the most.

Again, I realize this is a beta, but I'm hoping Apple takes the time to make it as compatible as possible before final release with Leopard (OS 10.5).

official movie site up and running

Well it's not much for content but we finally have a solid page up for WestAcre the Movie. To recap, this is a project that was started in Feb 05 while I was working in the mall. Many script ideas came and went until I realized you gotta write what you know. And I know working in the mall. I teamed up with my then co-worker Robert McMillen and we hammered out the story over many meetings at the Chinese restaurant at Sheridan and 120th.

I wrote the screenplay from our scribbles and drawings, put together a cast and started started scouting locations. Logistically it became impossible to keep my mall job and do the movie as well, so I quite my job in Nov 05 and started pulling income through various video jobs.

Getting everything up an running was a challenge. Schedules changed, locations changed and the weather was frequently unkind. Casting was even shuffled around. One of the main characters in the movie is Harrison, the shift leader for outdoor security. Our actor for that part got hired to be in the Blue Man Group and we couldn't really blame him for taking the gig. So Jason Henning, acting as a producer and playing Wayne the Assistant Mall Manager stepped into the role of Harrison and the search began for a new Wayne.

The character of Rohan (the kid with a band) was saved for the end. No one involved could think of a good person for Rohan. The one guy I knew who'd be perfect for the part is Ryan Kemp, who lives in Dallas. So I hit up Josh Botana (you know him from my last WestAcre post and from The 15 Minute Show) stepped in as Wayne. Ryan and Josh came to Colorado to shoot their scenes with the Denver actors, and I flew to Dallas for a weekend of shooting their scenes together.

Amazingly this all worked out really well. Jason is the perfect Harrison and funny as hell. I can't picture Wayne now without thinking of Josh, and Ryan had just the right amount of slacker punk attitude to carry Rohan to comic gold.

We officially started shooting in Jan 06 and, short of a couple of pickup scenes, the production stage is complete. Right now I'm in the process of capturing the good takes and doing a rough edit. In between editing on WestAcre and work projects I'm doing the website as well. Though it's not something that comes natural to me so every attempt looks like shit. The page up now borrows heavily from the default WordPress template, just without the actual blog part.

I like the font and the colors so the basic look of the site will remain close to the same. Updates will include trailers, screenshots, cast and crew info and, once we have it, news on festival screenings.

In the meantime I'll post news updates regarding WestAcre here on cheezwhiz.

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UPDATE! Link changed to WestAcre TV. What’s WestAcre TV?

fake psp game download screens

Somebody put together screenshots of PSP PSone game download screens that look a little too sloppy to be real. Still, it's good because they have people talking about how much they're willing to pay for old games. The fakes set the price at $15 a piece, which is a little too much. At $5 it's an impulse buy. At $15 it's getting into physical used game prices of current used games.

What I mean is, I can buy used PSP games for around $20 a piece. And once I'm done with them I can resell them for probably the same amount. I'm pretty sure they'll lock down the ability to resell downloaded games. And somebody's going to hack this. If the prices are reasonable it won't be worth hacking. If they try to rape us on old game prices it will be easier to justify simply "finding" them somewhere else.

The comments on this article are awesome. A few of my favorites:

GTA2
was GTA2 even on the PS1?

yeah
yeah gta2 was on ps1 tard

$15 this is a joke!
this is a joke.!!! I wouldn't pay $15 a game…..this thing would be free I guarantee it! 1.5 all the way baby!

Well.
Well, if games will be $15, I will most definitely be pirating them. I will pay $5 per game however. Hint hint Sony

f.u.c.k Sony? f.u.c.k you!
YOU DO NOT OWN THE DIGITAL RIGHTS TO ANY PS1 GAME!! DO YOU KNOW WHO DOES?! SONY!!! IF YOU DONT LIKE $15 A POP FOR EACH GAME THEN ***** OFF!!! SONY DOES NOT HAVE A LOADED GUN POINTED AT YOUR PATHETIC ACNE PUSSING FACES!!! YOU ALL COMPLAIN BUT YOU ALL WANT TO PLAY GAMES THAT ARE MADE BY SONY!! HEY STUPID, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?! BECAUSE SONY GAMES HAVE HIGH PRODUCTION VALUE !!! ITS NOT MADE BY BOB IN DAKOTA IN LUA!! SONY AND THE 3RD PARTY DEVS PUT ALLOT OF WORK AND HOURS CREATING THEIR GAMES!!! NOT YOU!!! YOU THE CONSUMER DONT OWN *****!! YOU BUY IT THEN SHUT THE ***** UP!!! AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT YOU CAN THROW YOUR PSP DOWN THE TOILET AND ***** YOUR MOTHER!! NONE OF YOU OWN ANY OF THE COPYRIGHTS TO ANY GAME YOU PURCHASE, OK STUPID!!

Important Contribution
I'd just like to say butt cheeks.

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apple’s boot camp

After all the fuss over "hacking" an Intel iMac to run Windows it looks like all we had to do was wait a bit. Apple's official support for dual-booting a Mac has me feeling warm and fuzzy in that superdork kind of way. I'm already tired of losing video jobs due to not being on Final Cut Pro, so my next computer was going to be a Mac anyways. I'll probably still keep my current Windows computer running alongside the new Mac, but it's nice to know that when my current rig dies I don't have to give up Windows altogether. It's also a great way to attract consumers who may have been afraid of cutting loose the only operating system they've ever known. Even if most Mac owners will never, ever dual-boot their systems, the option to do so is an amazing selling point.

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jack thompson is an asshole

Ass. Hole.

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