Pocket Universe

Under tremendous peer pressure, here are some pictures from my recent trip to New Orleans.

I was in New Orleans attending the wedding of an old college roommate, Marc. Here is the interior of the church…

…and here are my traveling companions, Chris, Todd and Dave. Let’s see…Chris and I became friends in grade school, Dave and I became friends in high school, then Chris and Dave met through me, became roommates in college with Marc, then later with Todd, and when I ended up attending the same college, I roomed with Todd and Marc. Does that all make sense? If necessary, I can attach a diagram.

Here is one of the mausoleums that we drove by. Because New Orleans is at sea level, it is too wet to bury anyone below ground. Thus, the area is dotted with these gothic graveyards. I felt like I was in the middle of a Mike Mignola comic.

I have no idea what the story is behind this case. I suspect that if I did find out, I would wish that I hadn’t.

The wedding reception was held at a building in the city park, which is set on—what else?—a swamp.

And here is the man of the hour himself! Chris looks particularly fatherly in this picture, and perhaps a bit condescending. I think his newly acquired degree has had a negative effect on him. Or perhaps my own biases are showing through.

And here are Todd, Dave and Chris, looking quite proud. You may have noticed that Chris tends to squint in pictures. He always does that when he’s really, really drunk.

And there we are, the Gang of Four.

…and with the groom himself! I’ve uploaded this picture at a higher resolution, so you can use it as a desktop picture on your Apple 23" Cinema HD Display.

And there are the happy couple, enjoying their first dance. I haven’t seen Marc look this happy since…well, to be fair, I’ve never really seen him be unhappy. But in the range of happiness levels I have seen him in, this is up there near the top. Somewhere between playing the bass and watching Army of Darkness.

It really was a pleasure getting to visit New Orleans and attend the wedding. Thanks Marc, and best of luck with your new life together!

Ever heard of John Titor? Me neither. This article details some of the specifics of his visit to our time, along with general advice for other such visitors. Pay special attention to the links early on in the article, as they contain some fascinating information.

If you aren’t reading Daring Fireball on a regular basis, you should be. His latest essay is a discussion of the podcasting phenomenon, with some interesting insights on why Apple chose to get into the market sooner rather than later, and what it means for other companies who want to adopt a similar technology, but without the brand-specific moniker.

Let�s see, where to start? First, read this article at iPodLounge which discusses the potentially explicit content on Apple�s podcast directory. (You can also read Jobs� take on the issue at ABC News.) Then for a rebuttal, you can read Parent your own kids! at The Bynk Zone. And finally, scroll down and read the comments, where yours truly makes (I believe) a strong case against Welch�s screed on The Bynk Zone.

If you check out this week�s Best Buy ad, you will find that they have a deal this week on PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits titles: 2 for $22. Yes, you read that right. It almost makes me wish that I could get rid of my PS2 and buy everything all over again. Some of the highest-ranked PS2 games are now Greatest Hits titles, including Metal Gear Solid 2, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, Tony Hawk� Pro Skater 3 and 4, Burnout 3…those are all in the top ten! Like fighting games? Get Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and Soul Calibur II. Action? Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Devil May Cry. Snowboarding? SSX Tricky and SSX 3. Like platformers? Ratchet & Clank and the sequel, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. Or get Jak & Daxter and Jak II. For RPG lovers, you can pick up Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. Want a shooter? Get SOCOM, SOCOM II, or TimeSplitters 2. NBA Street and NBA Street Vol. 2, NFL Street…the list goes on and on and on.

You can get four fantastic games for the price of one regularly-priced PS2 game. If you have a few extra ducats laying around, you can build an amazing game library. Note that this deal is for Reward Zone members only, so sign up if you haven�t already (and as a bonus, you get gift certificates in the mail for $5 for every $150 you spend). If nothing else, everyone should pick up Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City.

In the wake of recent controversy over the �Hot Coffee” mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which activates a previously-hidden sex scene within the game), the Entertainment Software Rating Board has changed the rating from �M” (Mature 17+) to �AO” (Adults Only 18+). You can read more details of the fallout in this press release.

The upshot of this is that stores which refuse to carry �AO” titles are pulling San Andreas from the shelves. For stores that still want to carry it, Rockstar is providing �AO” stickers to place on current boxes. And Rockstar has downgraded their profit estimates for the next quarter…and they will no doubt be shocked when they soundly beat these estimates, as people rush to buy up every last copy of San Andreas before it gets pulled. I tell you, if I hadn�t thought of this on Tuesday and picked up my own copy of the game, I would feel quite the fool right now.

As for the �hot coffee” issue itself, I don�t think Rockstar is entirely blameless. I mean, yes, accessing the �sex minigame” requires third-party devices to actually modify the code, as it is completely disabled in the normal version of the game. But on the other hand, the minigame was in there in the first place; it would be difficult or impossible to put such a scene in simply through that same kind of device. I think the uproar over the content itself is unwarranted; as someone else pointed out, the sex scene is no more graphic than something you would see on �Sex and the City,” and I don�t think there is any nudity. If someone is going to go through the effort to unlock a poorly-rendered sex scene, they could just as easily (or more easily) obtain actual pornographic material. Still, Rockstar shouldn�t have left that code in. Hopefully this won�t have too many lasting repercussions for the videogame industry.

I�ve mentioned Delicious Library before, created by Wil Shipley. Now that Mike is leaving the company to go work for Apple, that leaves Wil as the last remaining founder. You can read a fantastic interview with Wil Shipley on DrunkenBlog. Very interesting stuff.

Lately, among other podcasts, I�ve really been enjoying Adam Kempenaar and Sam Hallgren�s Cinecast. You can also check out their blog (which I have linked to in the sidebar), but definitely download their podcast. Although I definitely disagree with some of their opinions (The Hitchhiker�s Guide to the Galaxy and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory come to mind), I generally find them a lot of fun to listen to, and respect their opinions. In particular, I always learn something from their weekly Top Five list (top five comic-book movies, top five onscreen duos, and so on). If you enjoy movies, they are definitely worth adding to your weekly lineup.