Doctor Recommended
100% Natural

So it’s hard to find anyone that dislikes Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Arguably the most famous and popular is the O Fortuna stanza.

Here is a bastardization of it:

Looking back, I think it was the old Quake-based Team Fortress that introduced me to Orff’s opus (Ecce Gratum):

Via Bad Astronomy

I just got an email from id software with a beta key. I won’t have a chance to play QL so I’ll give the key to the first person that sends me an email or leaves one in the comments.

Happy fragging.

Update: offer went to Chris. Make us proud.

Damn, I wish I could use the title of the previous post on this one. Watch the video and you’ll know what I mean.

For anyone that has been to any number of hip hop clubs or enjoys rap music you’ll find the first part funny. It does kind of get old and repetitive towards the end (no pun intended):

Be sure to also check out Timberlake’s classic “Dick in a Box.”

Via AlleyInsider

Bravo to the script writer of the new game: pure mayhem.

Everyone and their cousin has used a smorgasbord of analogies to describe the current economic climate.

Robert Higgs dismantled some.
And here is a new compilation of analogies used by Schiff.

I think someone should use a jello analogy because that stuff tastes great.

Something like, years of artificially low interest rates from the Fed would be like imbibing Everclear-laden jello shots at a party every night. Sure it’s fun for awhile but then several year later you discover that you now have diabetes and liver disease. But because it tasted great in the past and got you laid, you keep consuming them expecting the results to be onward and upward forever.

QED, right?

The first one does a pretty good job making fun of those household cleaning ads:

The second one is a bit more risque and just barely SFW.

Via Bob Murphy and Robin Tovson.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Spore found itself in the cross-hairs of creationists: Anti Spore.

I didn’t care much for the game due to its lackluster gameplay and shallow design, but I don’t really see his objection to panspermia.

After all, I’ve discussed extremophiles numerous times in the past (1 2 3 4) and they could easily be our earliest ancestors.

If nothing else, this is a pretty good illustration of Poe’s Law.

Via Pharyngula

After all the hype surrounding the previews, I got a copy of the full version and played it for 4-5 hours today.

In that amount of time I nearly finished the entire game (got the space ship and flew to a couple of planets, beamed up spices, fought drones, etc.).

The only two stages I found relatively entertaining was the cell stage where you have to run away most of the time and the space stage, where you get a cool tractor beam that allows you to throw stuff around like a rag doll.

The other stages were monotonous grinds and I don’t see too much replay value if the objectives never change.

The music and sound effects were good. The visuals were okay, certainly not breath taking (at least on my laptop). I even liked the names of some of the vehicle weapons (e.g., “war criminal”).

I’m sure that some of the bonus online content (e.g., sharing your customized characters) will help create a long lasting community, but I probably won’t mount the image again after today. The middle stages, the ones that involve real-time strategy are just mind numbingly boring. The micromanagement is tedious, especially since the path-finding AI seems stuck in 1999. And annoyingly, all the actions zooms by too quickly.

For instance, the creature stage starts off in an interesting direction as you upgrade and modify the character as if it is the lead character of an RPG (better claws, faster legs). And just as you’re getting the hang of things, you hit the next era. For example, advancement hump in a nutshell:

1) Grow older
2) Collect DNA points
3) Reach the next era
4) Create a new muppet
5) Grow older

In retrospect, it could be five games in one, but none of the games is fully fleshed out. I think Maxis left a lot on the table and with any luck, a [non-existent] mod community will be able to hack the civilization & space stages and somehow allow players to duke it out over a LAN (like a normal RTS).

But then again, the game is expected to sell 2 million copies this month alone. Somehow I doubt my lack of enthusiasm will undermine their bottom line or force them to elongate the core game play.

Verdict: 2.5 out of 5. Grab a demo if you can, but I’d stick to a traditional RPG or something like AoE III for replay value.

[Note: is it bad that I named all of the widgets after Paulson and Bernanke?]

Addendum: here are two reviews, one from Ars, the other from ze Germans

If you’re looking for a quick laugh that involves graphs and fake data, check out GraphJam.

One of the better ones:

If you missed it, you can grab a demo of the Creature Creator for the upcoming game (comes out early September). I spent 5 minutes and whipped together this guy. It’s very easy to use and extremely customizable.

It actually has a long tail but it’s obscured by its super sexy chest.

Also, the last few days have been Christmas-in-the-summer for fans of Blizzard games. They finally unveiled Diablo 3. Back in the day I spent hours playing the first two. Looks great (hold your breath until next holiday season).