In case you missed it, here’s the piece that ran on last Sunday’s 60 Minutes showing the thought-controlled robotic arm I mentioned last week. Watching the prosthetic in action is remarkable and perhaps offers a glimpse into a future where cybernetic augmentation is commonplace. Truly exciting stuff:
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year. 2013 will find me turning 40, which I suppose is significant. Let’s hope I manage to avoid an embarrassing mid-life crisis. Barring that, let’s hope the photos don’t make it on Facebook.
Let’s do this.
The first thirty minutes of The Hobbit were the most disconcerting for me. I saw the 48 frames-per-second version and it has a hyperrealistic look that reminds me of a Mexican soap opera. That impression fades once the film becomes more sweeping in scope, but it continues to nag. Unfortunately, much of the script nags as well. Expository scenes, like Bilbo’s surprise dinner date with the dwarves, drag on for too long without doing much to advance the plot. Jackson also devises several scenes that are meant to foretell the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. These are interesting, but again, they seem like unnecessary padding.
The movie offers many fine action set-pieces and breathtaking vistas, but it simply doesn’t have the same narrative heft of the trilogy. The few agile and compelling scenes (like the battle of wits between Bilbo and Gollum) are outnumbered by cumbersome and self-indulgent. Let’s hope Jackson regains his footing in the next installment.
Too many games to play with just a few days of vacation remaining. More tomorrow.
My dad was very puzzled by the copy of Building Stories that I received as a gift from my sister and her husband. “What do you do with it?” he asked.
“You read it, Dad,” I said.
His brow furrowed in consternation. “And what happens when you’re done with it?”
“I don’t know, Dad. It’s a book. You put it on a shelf and maybe read it again someday.”
“It’s a book?”
“Basically, yes.”
“Oh.”
But I think he remains unconvinced.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, however you choose to celebrate. I finished the last of my shopping this morning, so I hope you like what I got you. I’m not sure it’s the right size, so save the gift receipt. And don’t worry, I’ll like whatever you get me. Even if she doesn’t come with fishnets.
While browsing at a bookstore earlier today, I noticed a large display of board games. My brother and I were avid board game players as kids and we had some truly epic fights over a Monopoly or Stratego board. But the games on display weren’t the inexpensive titles of my youth. These were big, heavy boxes full of ornate game tokens and lavishly illustrated playing cards. Most of them had a heavy emphasis on strategy with a dash of fantasy or horror. I counted at least a half dozen variations of Settlers of Catan. Board games seem to have become much geekier since my brother and I were hunched over the kitchen table. And more expensive. The games I looked at retailed between $60 and $80.
I still prefer gaming on my PC, but it might be fun to have an occasional board game night with friends.
I’m on vacation for the next ten days, which should allow me to catch up on my comics reading. I’ve been sampling some of the Marvel Now! reboots and the new Thor and All-New X-Men series are compelling enough to keep me purchasing subsequent issues. I’ve largely avoided X-Men titles because they require a map, compass, and slide rule to understand the continuity. But Marvel may have found the recipe to attract new readers like me who might have been previously intimidated by the decades of backstory. Of course, they did something similar with the Ultimate line a few years back and that universe is still going strong. So I might need that map after all.
I want to say more about other comics like Saga and The Massive, but I’ll save that for my year-end round-up.
Here’s word of further progress in the development of mind-controlled prosthetics: a paralyzed woman operates a robotic arm with an impressive degree of fluidity. The article also mentions a complication that hadn’t previously occurred to me. Scar tissue forms around the implanted sensors, which impedes the neural signals. It seems like a surmountable problem that should do little to derail my plans to construct a fleet of telepathically operated and well-armed giant robots. Assuming that the bank approves my loan, I should be able to close on a charming underground lair on a suitably remote volcanic island.