I like Vampires.  I enjoyed reading Dracula, I enjoyed The Vampyre more.  I loved the Vampire Lestat.  I have watched more bad vampire movies than I care to admit (here’s a hint, look up Shadow of the Vampire).  I have read the Twilight books, all three of them; and even the fanfiction that was book four.

And yet.  Yes there must be a yet.

I walked into a book store the other day.  I was half way through Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks, which was loaned to me by a friend, and I wanted to buy my own copy, and maybe the sequels.

So I go up to the Fantasy section, my favourite haunt, and low and behold there is only one kind of fantasy left: Vampire Fiction.  But it’s worse than that, most of them aren’t of the classic gothic style, or even in the Anne Rice style.  No, most of these are chiclit with fangs.  Vampire bodice rippers which are aimed at and written for primarily women.  But are they in the romance section?  No, they’re in the Fantasy section, pushing out authors like Weeks.  There was only one Robert Jordan, they weren’t carrying any Tolkien, and they had a few lonely paperbacks left of Modesitt.  Everything else had been pushed out by vampire novels.  Vampire novels by the tonne.  At least when Harry Potter was popular other forms of Fantasy still thrived.  What is it about Twilight that has encouraged people to read while at the same time limiting the types of books that they will read?

Fantasy is a wide genre.  Vampire novels are a proud part of that, but so are quest adventures like Tolkien, militant-political examinations like Jordan, and sociological adventures like Modesitt.

A reader of fantasy isn’t just one kind of reader, they are a reader of everything.  Though it is true that fantasy tends to focus on things from the past and on fantastic worlds, this is simply a vehicle for the story, be it escapism, social commentary, or coming of age.  To see all of this subsumed by one subset of the genre is depressing.

Please, read a Vampire novel.  Then pick up Way of Shadows.  Trust me.  You’ll like it.  Once you’re done that, why don’t you try some leGuin, she will nock your socks off.

Just another sojourner

Otherwise unoccupied

Hoping for a bite to eat

Nine pound steak sounds great to me

Huh, looks like that video might work.

Another E3 has come and gone.

Nintendo had some reasonable announcements, nothing amazing, but bringing Mario back in a host of titles.

Sony on the other hand had almost nothing.  Well, not quite nothing.  They had one release that I am dying to play.  The Last Guardian, by the same people who made Shadow of the Colossus.  For anyone who isn’t into that kind of thing, Shadow of the Colossus is one of the 10 most beautiful games ever made, and in my top five games ever played. It isn’t just a video game, it’s a piece of art.  And yes, the Last Guardian has continued that. 

You can see it in better resolution over at http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14230646/ico-project/videos/thelastguardian_trl_trailer_60209.html

I want this game.  It looks amazing.  That being said, with the exception this game nothing else at E3 was that amazing coming from Sony.  I suspect that the PS3 may be in danger of dying out because of lack of innovation, which is sad because it’s my favourite console.

Microsoft however has not stopped moving forward.  They have shown the next step in video games.  Nintendo got the first step with the Wii, but now Microsoft is trying to move beyond that with their Project Natal (video at the top).  Essentially they took the next logical step beyond the Wii, what if you didn’t need a controller?  Project Natal is all about movement mapping and voice recognition.  fighting games or sports games that map your motion, skate boarding games where it will scan in your deck so you can play on your own board, and controllerless menus.

This of course brings in a new revenue stream with custom controllers.  Sure you don’t need one for tennis, or golf, or driving a car, but as the Wii has shown, people will buy cheap plastic add-ons anyway.  But more importantly they will be able to redesign their controllers in a new way.  No longer will it be the two sticks for movement and view control and a few buttons for specified things, they will be able to get creative with their controller (granted, this is Xbox so I wouldn’t be surprised if they came out with a large brick for a controller).  And who isn’t looking forward to the gun shaped Halo 4 controller?

Project Natal probably isn’t as accurate yet as they make it out to be, but still, this is the next step in video games.

It’s also the next step in home entertainment.  Microsoft seems to be continuing their campaign of making the Xbox do everything under the sun.  I wouldn’t be surprised if soon it will do the dishes, or laundry, or rent videos (oh wait, it already does that one).  Sony is falling behind here.  They need to get Netflix or something similar on their console or they will be left behind as “Just a gaming machine”.  I’m sure it’s all right to be “Just a gaming machine”, but that’s not where the money is going to be.

I want a PS3, but the way things are going, I’ll probably end up buying an Xbox.

http://isdg.wordpress.com/ have a new post: http://isdg.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/stanley-fish-comments-and-purpose/

A discussion of purpose.  It seems to have come out of one of Stanley Fish’s blogs over at NYT: http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/god-talk-part-2/

Removing them one by one in bewilderment

Recognizing the name inside the cover of the last book

Breaking into tears and clutching my love to me

Mostly this is a check to see if I can use Windows Live Writer to update my blog.

Who knows.  Well, this was fun.  Test over.

English Student’s lament

Now I sit me down to write

A pint of guinness in my sight

I start to think through my tears

I might get a degree in 7 more years

This was a triumph.
I’m making a note here:
HUGE SUCCESS.
It’s hard to overstate
my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.
But there’s no sense crying
over every mistake.
You just keep on trying
till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are
still alive.

I’m not even angry.
I’m being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data
make a beautiful line.
And we’re out of beta.
We’re releasing on time.
So I’m GLaD. I got burned.
Think of all the things we learned
for the people who are
still alive.

Go ahead and leave me.
I think i prefer to stay inside.
maybe you’ll find someone else
to help you.
maybe Black Mesa…
THAT WAS A JOKE, HA HA, FAT CHANCE.
Anyway this cake is great.
It’s so delicious and moist
look at me still talking when theres science to do
when i look out there
it makes me glad I’m not you
i’ve experiments to run
there is research to be done
on the people who are
still alive.

and believe me I am still alive
I’m doing science and I’m still alive
i feel fantastic and I’m still alive
while your dying ill be still alive
and when your dead i will be still alive
still alive
still alive

——————————-

Yes, I still live.

I haven’t written in forever, just been a bit too busy.

Just wanted to say: “Yay, we have a new President.”

In other news, I”m going to be trying out Twitter again.