July 30, 2005

The Mudd Run

Fort Jefferson in the Dry TortugasI finally posted photos from my recent sailing trip in the Florida Keys. I also posted a narrative of the trip that I wrote for the Puget Sound Writing Project.

* Filed by Eric at 4:08 pm under Life in General,Photography,Poetry and Literature
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July 26, 2005

Modders

Last night I went to see the 1995 classic Hackers at Movies of Mass Destruction at the Re-Bar. While it was a fine movie for its time, the do-it-yourself sensibilities of the new millennium call for a sequel. I present my movie pitch for Modders.

A couple of geeks are sitting around an Alienware pc playing Big Car Heist, the latest rpg from Punkster Games. One of them, Tim Wade, a.k.a. Pop-I, wonders if there are any hidden games to be unlocked. Mike Bradford, a.k.a Vitamin Be, discovers a hack that enables them to unlock a secret sex mini-game hidden in the code. They decide to publish their mod under the name “Soy macchiato” on the net. That’s when their troubles begin. Parents of young children across the country are outraged that their kids could access graphic sex on an “M” rated game, so they write angry letters to Punkster Games. Punkster agrees to change the rating to “X”, but the C.E.O., Peter Gaston, a.ka. Blue Crush, decides to get revenge. He invests some of his millions of dollars earned from pre-teen sales of Big Car Heist to pay off the F.B.I. to spy on Pop-I and Vitamin Be. Since Pop-I’s wireless network has an easily guessable password, the F.B.I. are able to monitor their web surfing habits. Pop-I is arrested for publishing a mod for Robotron and Vitamin Be escapes to work at a technical support desk in India. Also, all of the characters ride around on Segways and a climatic scene will involve the phrase “mod the planet.”

Angelina Jolie is rumored to be “interested,” but could not be reached for comment.

* Filed by Eric at 10:54 pm under Arts and Entertainment,Technology
* 2 Comments

July 7, 2005

How to Write a Lousy Poem with Very Little Effort

Many years ago in an language arts methods class, the instructor had us do this activity just for fun. Write a poem according the following formula (as best I can remember);

  • Line 1: “In the __________ of my mind” (fill in the blank with a nonsensical metaphor, think of Simon and Garfunkel)
  • Line 2: “I forgot to __________ “
  • Line 3: write an exclamation with appropriate puncuation!
  • Line 4: write a self-contradictory or paradoxical statement.

Keep in mind that the lines should not relate to each other or rhyme. Here is an example:

In the zamboni of my mind
I forgot to walk the dog
Wait, hold the elevator!
The sun casts the darkest shadow

Now try to write your own poem and post it as a comment.

* Filed by Eric at 10:02 pm under Poetry and Literature
* 6 Comments