The Life of a Theatre Techy

So, just got my first tastes of being a theatre-tech-crew-guy within the last few weeks. Fairly awesome, yes. It’s funner than I’d originally thought it’d be. I’m currently set up to be doing the soundboard and sound design for our plays and sets, but am also learning the vastly epic skills of light control & design.

Below are a few images of the Domain (read Tech Booth) in which I reside:

Soundboard

This is what I’m in charge of using for theatre. That and the thing below.

CD playing thing of death

Spotlight

I’m also in control of the left spotlight until we possibly get more crew members to run these things.

Light Controls

This is the “Lightboard” which my friend Michael controls. It controls the intensity of all the lights in the theatre, along with the cyclorama lights (the lights that shoot down onto the backdrop to make pretty scenery and colors) Michael is below.

Michael. Being all mischievous

And that’s all. I’ll post more updates on the play and my job doing all of this and whatnot later.

EDIT: The current play we’re setting up for is called “PRESSURE.” And it’s looking to be really frigging scary. Will post footage of it later if possible.

Compilation of April Fool’s Day Jokes. (2009)

As stated on my last April Fool’s Day Compilation (here), the internet has been having some amazing April Fool’s jokes/pranks over the past few years.  Below are some of the best ones I’ve found today, although there are probably way more than this. If you wish to add more, please leave a comment.

Google’s CADIE:

This was a pretty massive one. CADIE infiltrated almost every area of Google. For instance, Google Images had a picture of a panda with the words

 ”Oops, I accidentally all the images!

Lulz,
    CADIE.”

CADIE was an “artificial intelligence” designed by Google. It created its own web blog, with which its posting began like a simple internet noob’s and slowly became more advanced.

Using “CADIE technology”, Google released an update to it’s Google Chrome browser which enabled the browser to view webpages in 3D. You could print off some red and cyan “glasses” off on the computer which would view these webpages.

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More will be posted as I decide when to work on this.

Wii Games of 2009

I’ve always been a pretty blatant Nintendo fan. My first console was an SNES; my first handheld, a Gameboy Color. Since then I’ve owned an N64, Virtual Boy, Gameboy Advanced, Playstation One, Gamecube, and a Wii. I know not rather to call myself a hardcore gamer– I’m not into Halo, Fallout, Gears of War, or any of these heavy hitting Xbox games. I’ve always had an appeal for Nintendo’s Zelda series, the “Tales of” RPG series by Namco, Kid Icarus, Metroid, Pikmin, a certain plumber, and everything else generally found on a Nintendo console.

That’s not to say that the last few years of the Wii have really nagged at me. Lately, developers have seemed to think “hey, let’s make a cheap gimmicky game on the Wii for a quick cash-in.” Even Nintendo has done it recently (albeit also releasing AAA titles  at intervals). We’ve seen a few a good number of small developers really try with their Wiiware titles, and a few third parties somewhat trying with store-bought releases. But these numbers in comparison with the loads of crappy games I see every day just don’t add up. Since 2006 we’ve seen Zelda: TP, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, Metroid Prime 3, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Medal of Honor Heroes 2, Call of Duty 5, Resident Evil 4, Zack and Wiki (ah yes, Zack and Wiki. perfect example of what people should be playing on the wii yet ignore), Tales of Symphonia 2, No More Heroes, LostWinds, and a good solid list of a few other games. That’s for nearly 3 years worth of the console’s life. And half of those listed are from Nintendo itself; third party support hasn’t seen much in terms of 7.0 or higher titles.

Oh but 2009. 2009 looks to be the Year of the Wii in terms of its own lifespan (I’m not saying the Wii’s lineup will be any better or worse than 360 or the Ps3. Merely that this will be the WII’S best year yet.)

Let’s look at the games coming out either here or in Japan in 2009:

The Conduit

The Conduit

Website: http://www.sega.com/games/?g=562
Official Site: http://the-conduit.com/ (in development)
Gameplay Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGo9hXQ2ws

The Conduit is a game being developed by High Voltage and published by SEGA, set to be released sometime in 2009. High Voltage created an engine that was made for the soul purpose of getting 360-like graphics onto the Wii. Their technology is unmatched by any other developers at the moment, possibly even Nintendo itself. Look for this game to be an 8.5 to 9.5 title.

Sin & Punishment 2

Sin & Punishment 2

Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40742.html

Ah, good old Sin & Punishment. The game was originally on the N64, and got ported over to the Wii’s Virtual Console complete with an English translation and some overhauls. Apparently it sold well on the virtual console, so the developers decided to make a sequel. Glad they did; this game should really fit well on the Wii.

Monster Hunter 3

Monster Hunter 3

Monster Hunter 3 was originally planned to be released for the PS3, but changed to the Wii for reasons I’m not aware of. Anyway, looks epic. Monster Hunter is big in Japan, not so big in the US. If you’re into these games though… might wanna check it out.

MadWorld

http://www.bdgamers.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/madworld-2.jpg Warning: Bloody. Not going to show an image of this one directly…

This is basically an action game in which you uh… kill people inside of a gameshow type of setting. People are psyched about it. I’m… not so much. Artstyle is neat.

Trace Memory: Wii

Trace Memory

New Trace Memory game, sequel to the one from the DS. Point and click adventure game.

Fatal Frame 4

Fatal Frame 4

Gameplay Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxR8iPaEOAk (in a Zero Suit Samus suit, at that)

Nintendo recently acquired the rights to the Fatal Frame series over in Japan. This game should be localized in 2009. Exploration, killing ghosts with a camera, creepy atmosphere, great graphics.

Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Fragile

Official Website (JPN): http://fragile.namco-ch.net/
Official Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtGuOsuWCgg

Fragile is a bit of an RPG with a twist. You’re basically given a flashlight, you explore a world where everything has gone into ruin, and it seems there’s only a few people left alive. I’m not too updated on this game, but it looks like it’s shaping up well.

 Rune Factory Frontier

Rune Factory Frontier

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOKkUPT30PY

Rune Factory is a series of games from the creators of Harvest Moon. Basically, it’s Harvest Moon with an RPG aspect. You live on a farm of sorts in a world infested with monsters. Go into dungeons, etc and fight off monsters to earn varieties of items. Plant things. Live a life. Have some fun. It’s what the HM series has always been about.

 

 

 

Other games worth mentioning:

Red Steel 2
Muramasa: Demon Blade
Klonoa
Arc Rise Fantasia
Rune Factory Frontier
Dynamic Slash
Tenchu 4
Cursed Mountain
Sonic and the Black Knight
Endless Ocean 2
Little King’s Story
House of the Dead: Overkill
Overlord: Dark Legend
Deadly Creatures
No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle

 

You can search each of these titles on Google or somesuch to get images or whatnot of them. If any information I’ve given is inaccurate or you’d like to suggest something, please do so in the comments section.

Also, do remember that it isn’t even 2009 yet. These are only titles that are known and in development. Many other games may be coming from Western developers, or even from Nintendo itself who tends to stay quiet until near-release. A new Kid Icarus game is rumored to be in the making, Miyamoto kind of hinted off at that one a few months ago. A new Zelda is in the making. Pikmin 3 is probably being worked on. An instant-transmission machine is being worked on that processes at over 9000GHz. Wait…

 

 

         

Celldweller

CELLDWELLER

Just heard about this band (technically, one man army) called Celldweller about a week ago. Quickly fell in love with the songs as this is a type of music I’ve always personally enjoyed. From industrial to metal choruses and techno/electronica, there’s just about a little bit of everything for everyone.

The man who runs the band goes by Klayton Scott, known for his work in previous bands Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, and Angeldust; some of these featuring Criss Angel on vocals.

One album, self-titled Celldweller, has been released that has many vocal works on it such as “Switchback,” “The Last Firstborn,” “Own Little World,” “One Good Reason,” and others. Other albums are mostly instrumental tracks–of exceptional quality.

Anyway, on to what I want to discuss. Celldweller sounds a good deal like old Linkin Park minus rap sections and more of an industrial/trance-ish vibe. The Last Firstborn and a few other songs can come off as sounding like Slipknot. All in all his music is quite original, but the two reasons above were what got me hooked onto the music in the first place.

If you’re interested, I’ve posted Youtube links of a few of the better vocalized tracks.

“Switchback” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knV1H163ISE (watch out for the video, might seem a bit odd at first)
Sounds like: Spineshank, a little.

“The Last Firstborn” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jryDyvmqwSg&fmt=18 
(personal favorite)
Sounds like: Linkin Park + Slipknot

“I Believe You” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10s4Lv2rdKI

“One Good Reason” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaflaPLQbwA
Sounds like: Heavy metalish; Slipknot…?

“Own Little World” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2eHh4GcJMQ

“Frozen” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3INX5cJ4bw

“Birthright” beta 1.0 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMyW0632VpI

“Shapeshifter” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uWgzDNkZmQ
Featuring Styles of Beyond on vocals (Guys from Fort Minor.) Klayton sounds a lot like Chester from LP.
Sounds like: Linkin Park-ish.

Personal Photo Gallery

Most of my recent posts have been reviews and what not, but for this one I’d like to take a moment to basically blatantly advertise something of mine; an image gallery (powered by coppermine) of all of my recent graphic design works. This includes recent wallpapers, avatars, and banners.

If you’d like to view it or take a moment to see my works, you can do so by clicking here.

Applications for your USB Flash Drive

Until recently, I’d never really thought there was much use for a USB stick other than carrying around some documents and music with me on the go; commuting from work, school, home, etc. Then, about two weeks ago, I found out that, well, hey, you can probably use programs that don’t need installation on it with computers that don’t have administrative rights. And I was right.

At school, I no longer worry about fooling with having to use IE6; instead, I can whip out my 2GB USB and plug that sucker in and instantly have access to Firefox 2.0 and Avant Browser. Along with these, I also have an IM program, pdf reader, various games, a personal management organizer, calendar, mail reader, swf player, ftp client, screenshot taker, word processor, paint program, and more. All for under about 400mb of space.

USB sticks are cheap these days, ranging from a 2gb at $13 to a 4gb at $23 USD, if you know where to shop. There’s no excuse not to go for a 2gb or higher for a few bucks if you’re like me and don’t have installation rights on a computer somewhere.

 

Most of these applications below come from an application website know by the name Portable Apps. Others are from various other internet sources. I’ve compiled a list of the most useful ones, in my opinion, below.

 

Web Browsers

- Firefox 2 Portable – http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable
      USB-enabled version of the popular Firefox browser. Fully supports plugins such as Flash, and almost all addons.

- Avant Browser USB Edition - http://dl.filekicker.com/send/file/184227-Z37W/avant.exe
      Portable version of Avant browser, a more obscure but well-built browser. I use this one more than Firefox. Doesn’t have many addons, however.

- Opera USB – http://opera-usb.com/download/opera952en.zip
     USB Version of the semi-popular Opera browser. Not much more to say.

 

Word Processors / Text Editors

- AbiWord Portable – http://portableapps.com/apps/office/abiword_portable
     Pretty good word processor; nice alternative to Windows’ Microsoft Word.

- OpenOffice Portable – http://portableapps.com/apps/office/openoffice_portable
     Renowned OpenOffice is available on USB. Only problem is the large filesize (240mb) Contains the ENTIRE OpenOffice suite, not just Writer. I’m sure you can find Writer alone on the site, possibly.

 

Instant Messengers

- Miranda IM – http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/miranda_portable
     Not all that sexy by default, but can be skinned and edited to your liking. Access to most IM networks, and IRC.

- Pidgin Portable – http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/pidgin_portable
    Pidgin. Another multi-IM network program. Formerly GAIM.

 

Games

- Sudoku – http://portableapps.com/apps/games/sudoku_portable
     The popular Sudoku game on your usb. No further explanation needed, I’d think.

- DOSBox Portable – http://portableapps.com/apps/games/dosbox_portable
     Used to run old DOS games smoothly on newer computers. Not a game itself, but an emulator.

 

Graphics / Picture Editors

- The GIMP, Portable – http://portableapps.com/apps/graphics_pictures/gimp_portable
    It’s GIMP. Portable. The only image editor / paint program you’ll ever really need on your USB.

 

Music Players

- MPlayer – http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/mplayer_portable
    Has support for most music formats. And video formats.

 

Personal Information Managers

- EssentialPIM Portable – http://www.snapfiles.com/get/epimportable.html
    Works amazingly. ToDo’s, notes, schedules, etc. Great interface, easy to navigate.

 

Other Stuff

Since I can’t point out everything that might be useful to you, below are several sites with lists of USB-compliant programs.

- http://portableapps.com/ Where most wellknown, existing programs are ported to portable. (lolwut)

- http://www.snapfiles.com/features/ed_usb_software.html List of programs that can be put on a USB.

- http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/portable-software-usb/ 100 Programs.

- http://flashdrivefreak.wordpress.com/ - Reviews/Lists random portable games and applications.

      

       

MessengerFX

Looking for a web messenger of Windows Messenger? Or better yet, one that works with the Wii’s internet browser? Messenger FX, http://www.messengerfx.com/, has you covered. This nifty website allows you to control a lookalike of MSN Messenger, complete with rearrangeable and maximizable windows.

As the above image says, “You can use your MSN® Messenger account for login.  Your passwords encrypted with 1024-bit RSA keys.” I’ve been using this site for quite some time, and can ensure that it does not harvest and steal passwords.

As seen above, you can change your font, font color, do bolds/italics/underlines, add users, change your status, etc. All windows are fully draggable and resizable.

All in all, MessengerFX is pretty much bug-free. One noticeable bug on the wii is that you must wait several seconds after you log on before being able to send messages. This bug doesn’t seem to affect computer users. (that I know of)

http://www.messengerfx.com/

Rating - 8/10. Comparable to Meebo’s windows messenger. Better than most other web messengers.

Related Web Messengers: Meebo http://meebo.com, Windows Web Messenger http://webmessenger.msn.com