Here is a statement about the time we live in. The folks at Junkfunnel have created the Suspicious Looking Device. This item has no other purpose than to look as suspicious as possible.

I love the irony of this piece. Just imagine taking this to an airport, mall, or the ballgame. It's a surefire way to get yourself in jail. But it's also a testament to the concerns and fears of our society. Chances are you'd get a "shoot/beat down first, ask questions later" type of response.

This belongs in an art gallery or museum of modern art, just as much as it belongs in a very public place. Perhaps there should be a project with hidden cameras to gauge the response to this item from the public and security personnel. Hmmm...

Recently, I read a satire on the French and living with the French. It made me hungry for croissant and cafe au lait, and a long-legged French hottie. It also made me want to emigrate to someplace different than America, which I base mostly on my vague dissatisfaction with the current conditions.

Paris, France. It's tempting, isn't it? So many great minds have gone there, so many artists, poets, as well as designers, that it's more like an ideal than a city. It's beautiful, if you don't mind the occasional merde. If only to visit for a day, and float in a boat on the Rhine......lol.

System Shock 2 was a love and hate experience for me. When I began to play it I loved it. I continued to love it for a short time, until love of the game became secondary to fear. I don't do well with horror games, and you won't find me playing Fatal Frame. But SS2 was different.

I couldn't stop. Addicted? Probably. The game was intense, and I loved and hated every minute of it. I loved it for its atmospheric quality, and the fact that it was just well done. I hated it because it constantly gave me the creeps, making me sit on the edge of my seat. I loved and hated it because I couldn't get away from it. Like a holodeck simulation gone bad, the only thing to do was to get to the end, finish it, and be free. After its completion, the destruction of Shodan, I threw up my arms in jubilation and vowed never to play it again.

Of course I was still obsessed with the experience and it has stuck with me ever since. I even decided to vent my emotions in a creative way by making a wall. I called it Meet Shodan, and it's up on Minitokyo now. I recommend trying to view it full size if you want the real effect. I thought it turned out well, and then ended up converting the rest of my desktop to a matching SS2 theme using WindowBlinds, IconPackager, CursorXP, and several other programs.

That was about three years ago. Yes I played SS2 that recently, and for the first time no less. I had always meant to when it was still on the shelves, it just never happened. And now, what do I find here? BioShock is being developed by the creators of the System Shock series. The latest footage is already creepy. This game is beautiful, frightening, and I have a feeling I might be in for another nerve-wrecking ride. By the looks of it, BioShock may cause me to pee my pants when playing it. I better take precautions.

Kotaku once again informed me of the fantastic new God Hand game being developed in Japan. Since they sounded excited in their post about it I decided to dig deeper. There didn't seem to be anything more fascinating in the descriptions of most sites than what Kotaku had, so I looked for a link to the lost Japanese Commercial for God Hand.

Lo and behold! I was laughing harder than I have in many a day! I can only hope that this games makes it stateside. I mean, in what other game to you get to go into a booty-spankin' frenzy?!? This game is going to rock, and all shall love it! Goooootto Hando!!!

I was watching some HGTV, which is the bane of my existence, and saw a cool new thing on I Want That: Tech Toys. The were showing an arcade cabinet which is claimed to play just about "every game." The cabinets are made by Dream Authentic and feature several options in terms of screens, controls, and configurations.

Further surfing on their site reveals that the cabinets come with approximately 200 games, but are compatible with much more. Apparently the cabinets are a PC based system which can run "any retail PC game ever created that runs on Microsoft Windows XP, PC-based Software like MAME(tm) and other windows-based emulators, any retail XBOX game via a Microsoft XBOX Game Console, [and] fully Licensed arcade games."

I have to admit that I find that pretty impressive. Just imagine sitting down at your own personal arcade machine with your buddies and being able to play anything from King of Dragons to Soul Edge, Gley Lancer to Killer Instinct, and Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller to Space Tripper. Of course, you could opt for more popular titles, but that's just mass-market brain-washing mumbo-jumbo.

Now, you probably won't see me selling all my possessions to scrape up the exorbitant amount of money needed to buy one of these, and I'm sure you could build your own MAME compatible cabinet for a fraction of that cost. But if any of you've got an extra 6K burning a hole in your pocket, then by all means, go an get that Eladius model right now!

Gamesarefun writer Josh Freund informs us that Tri-Crescendo is making a fantastic new rpg which features the music of Polish pianist Fryderyk Chopin. The game appears to feature other themes from Chopin's time and life as well. In fact, the Japanese version is titled Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream. Now, that's pretty exciting for me, being Polish and all.

So imagine my disappointment when I found that the US version is not going to have Chopin in the title. Slated for sometime in 2007, the US version will be called Eternal Sonata. Not only that, but there is a possibility that Chopin's character in the game will be renamed to something fictional.

So, what are those marketing dudes for Namco Bandai doing? Is the home country of Polish jokes just not suitable to have a famous Polish musician in a mainstream game title? These are the questions that make we wonder if this decision is racially motivated. It's no secret that Polish people are not entirely viewed as intelligent in this country, so maybe they think this would hurt their sales.

Or maybe--just maybe--they think America isn't smart enough for them to understand the complexity and class of a famous pianist. Well, whatever ridiculous reason they've got for it, Chopin deserves to stay in the game no matter where in the world it gets released. I think everybody knows in this day and age that Chopin created some of the most incredible music this world has heard. If only that knowledge could be retained in this high quality mainstream video game. Tri-Crescendo has previously given us incredible games to enjoy, and I am sure that it will be no different in this case. American gamers can be proud of these titles as much as the Japanese, just as they can honor Chopin's achievements. So come on Namco Bandai, where's the love?

Update: Reader Comment -- Nick Q writes "For once, this is not an issue of Namco(Bandai) being retarded, but an issue of abusive copyright. Here in the States, it is very likely that whoever owns Chopin's estate would sue for unlicenced use of his name, likeness, or whatever. Copyright laws are much, much more relaxed in Japan though, so none of this is an issue."

However, since Chopin lived during 1810 - 1849, this puts his name and work in the public domain. The game will feature his music prominently after all, even if his name isn't present. Chopin's estate should be located in France (or possibly Poland). However, Google did not find any results for his estate. So it would seem that with his estate being in another country, and the game being released un the US, there should not be any problems with using a name and music in the public domain.

So, I played WoW for a while. And I have to be honest in that I don't think I'm really into the whole MMO thing. I mean I love games and all, but with online games--well, there are just too many people! Yes, I have anti-social depressed nerd tendencies at times, but that's not really the problem. The fact is that a massive amount of less-than-friendly people don't exactly add to the enjoyment of the game for me.

However, that's really not what this post is all about. Since I've gotten over WoW, I have become aware of how the success of this game may in fact not be entirely a "success" for gamers. As a former Gamestop employee, I watched the success of the game from the front lines since its launch date. It flew off the shelves, and continues to do so even today. In fact, WoW has continued to stay in the top ten PC titles sold. Blizzard has been rolling in cash as a result of this, I'm sure, but I have to question whether the mass adoption of WoW has been good for the rest of us.

I know that I wouldn't have any trouble finding fans to rave about WoW. But sometimes you also hear less flattering evidence. Penny Arcade did a comic strip effectively showing how hugely successful WoW has become, to the point of putting an uneasy ball-of-steel-cable-knots kind of feeling in my stomach. Which brings me to the point of how WoW, more so than any other game perhaps, has exerted this "dominance" over people's lives.

While I was away traveling, for instance, Nikki played a ton of WoW. She made a lot of "friends." She even ran her own guild. She did little else but work, and play WoW. I will confess that her physical and emotional health suffered because of my extended absence, and because of her incessant WoW habit. As a married couple we both inevitably depend on each other for support. This is true of the social fabric in general, and when individuals withdraw from that fabric the effects can be detrimental.

Others have spoken out about how those enthralled with WoW cause hardships for them. Numerous posts have been made on the Minitokyo forums from individuals who believe that WoW stole their friends. Those who do not choose to play WoW are left as outsiders, which has a painful effect on teenagers just as much as it does on those of us that are older. I can remember that when I moved to a new state not too long ago, many of my coworkers from Gamestop spent their free time playing MMOs together. Since that option was not available to me for some time, it was difficult to break through that barrier and make more lasting friendships. It was almost a year before I was able to integrate myself into that social circle.

The extent to which WoW has taken over some people's lives is nothing less than addiction. Some may believe that the relationships they form online are just as significant as they would be in real life. However, I would argue to the contrary based on Albert Borgmann's device paradigm. That concept, however, is to involved to be discussed here. Suffice it to say that, according to Borgmann, the technological barrier makes the online interaction artificial and a mere shadow of real life interaction.

People's addiction to WoW, MMOs, and video games in general has sparked the concern of others around them. In my experience, single player games do not seem to have as strong of a draw for most--though it may be different for me--as online multiplayer games do. I may be able to speculate as to why, but I cannot be sure. But it is important to note that addiction to games has generated enough concern in Europe to open a video game addiction treatment facility.

Don't get me wrong, I am not anti games, the internet, or technology in general. Those who know me will attest that I am quite the opposite. But the line must be drawn somewhere. If my marriage were to suffer because my wife plays WoW every time she can get her hands on that keyboard and mouse that hasn't been cleaned for a while, you better believe that I'm going to pull that cat 5 cable out of her machine. Whatever benefits this game may bring about, it's not worth sacrificing a real relationship between people who live together. I don't think it's even worth sacrificing a relationship between people who don't live together.

This is not some sort of "game vilification" post either. It should be taken as call to think about what's really worth doing, and what is worth sacrificing in order to bring about a more meaningful lifestyle.

Update: Reader comment -- hoyeboye writes me "Nice article. I should probably share with you a story about a close friend of mine.

He married a woman with whom he'd been in a "toxic" relationship with for some time, but they moved in together and he saw her calming down. They got married (against his closest friend's warnings.) I'm not sure what came next (sort of a chicken and the egg thing) but she began to slip back into her former self and he "hid" from her in Final Fantasy 11. It was a means for him to ignore any problems as opposed to working on them. I still place the fault of their split equally between the two, but am sad to say it may have been prevented if my friend hadn't hid in the game."

From there our discussion went into an uninformed remembrence of other extreme MMO addiction cases from Asia. In one of those cases "a player killed a fellow player who had stolen his virtual sword," reported here. In another case, a 13 year old committed suicide after a 36 hour Warcraft binge, found here. Not to mention the divorced couple who was arguing over their virtual items, blogged by Gaming Steve here. But since most of these cases seem to be happening in Asia, China has passed fatigue laws to limit play time in online games as reported by BBC News.

Nevertheless, I also came across "a sad collection of letters from partners of MMORPG addicts" on Aehso's Output here, so let's not forget that plenty of people are dealing with this problem in the US as well.

So I started a new job yesterday, which includes some housekeeping duties. You know, like cleaning and stuff. Well... yeah, some janitorial work.

Okay fine! I have to clean toilets all right? Are you happy now!? Damn... It's not like I am adverse to getting my hands dirty in a porcelain bowl you know. I did my share of toilet scrubbing at Odiyan.

So anyway, as I was cleaning TOILETS with another guy, we're just talking and he tells me he wants to go back to school. I asked him what he wants to study, and whaddya know? He wants to study philosophy! I tell him "hey, that's cool, I studied philosophy."

So basically we ended up talking philosophy for the rest of restroom cleaning duties. That's gotta be a new one. Or maybe just a really sad and ironic one. Either way, I got to put my philosophy degree to use while cleaning toilets. Yeah, laugh it up. Just remember, I'll find out where you live!

Also, this reminded me for some reason of Ilya Kabakov's The Toilet installation which I got a chance to see at the Documenta 9 in Kassel, Germany (1992).

And if you still haven't had enough, here you can satisfy your craving for more philosophical shit.

It's been seven years since the launch of the Dreamcast, and I am happy to say that I have played mine just a few days ago. In honor of this event, Kotaku posted an article about some of the merits and memories of the beloved Sega console.

Most recently, my Dreamcast endeavors have included trying to track down various homebrew projects for the system and trying them out. I am glad to see that the DC indy scene is still alive and well. Sites like DCEmu and DCEvolution have been very helpful in getting my fix lately. Among the best items I have found have been Beneath a Steel Sky, DCBlap, and other interesting applications like Dreamshell. There are several other titles that I'm still downloading, and others I haven't had a chance to burn yet.

One of the pitfalls of getting homebrew software is that every download comes in a different file format, so figuring out how to burn it has been a challenge. It's easy when you just get a Nero, Clone CD, Alcohol, or DiscJuggler image. But some downloads require you to create your own self-bootable image, and I haven't been able to figure that out yet. Part of me just doesn't want to spend all that time researching the method :P.

I've also had a chance to play a couple of really awesome import titles recently. A friend of mine lent me Cool Cool Toon, which is a very fun and original music and rhythm game. The gameplay is reminiscent of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! for DS, and I have a feeling some of the same people probably created it. And then, needing no introduction, Ikaruga finally made its way into my sweaty little hands.

Though I have to admit that I've spent less time playing and more time scouring the net for the last bastions of DC glory, I am still much enamored of my Dreamcast. I find it is perhaps the last great video game console of the "next gen era." That era began for me with the Dreamcast in 1999, and continues to this day. However, I have high hopes for the Wii, but we shall see.

Ah yes. Being the struggling artists that we are, our various works were "on display" Saturday during the 50/50 Art Market in downtown Wilmington. We tried to peddle our various--and I do mean various--works of art on the hot pavement.

I felt like our mix was a little too eclectic and that may account for how little we sold. At least we broke even for our fee to be in the event, with a little extra left over. But for sitting out there for about ten hours, and both of us getting fairly strong sun burns, I have to wonder if it was worth it.

I suppose I did give out my contact information to several people, so I have to include the networking aspect into my "benefits" in this case. But you don't normally hear back from anybody that takes your contact info, so I'm not holding my breath.

What I found surprising is that so few people bought Nikki's "mounted doodles for $10." They were cute, good, dry mounted, not too big, and best of all cheap. What more do people want from a piece of original art? I guess that's an answer that is more than a little difficult to find.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. Mongo, or as I remember with chagrin, "dumpster diving" is a great pastime if you don't mind a little dirt in your nails, questionable odors from within the cavern of The Can, or uprooting possible varmints from their domain. It's a great resource for artists who think outside the box, and even entertaining to watch on tv. One of my favorite childhood memories is dumpster-diving with my slightly nutty mother, scrounging for supplies and surfaces to do art on. Shhh, don't tell...

If only I had the opportunity to go to NY, NY, and scrounge about there. High density population plus limited living space equals fabulous Mongo. Who knows what the future shall bring... ^_^

I live in a town where women casually stroll the street in shoes that make me cringe. "Ouch," I think. As a woman, I wonder if I'm behind the times, with my flat sensible shoes, borderline hippy attitude, and an uncanny ability to walk long distances.

Walk a mile in these shoes, baby!

We've finally grown past "Blacker than the devil's hooves." Java, made in every frothy way imaginable, is now as visually stimulating as it is tasty. Pucker up to this one, but don't worry about destroying the art. It dissipates in a few minutes, sans stirring.

Since I was updating my Minitokyo page recently I was also checking on the status of my work that I have uploaded there. I was surprised to see that after almost two years since its submission, my Rokujo wallpaper is still riding in the top 10 favorite walls on Minitokyo. That's pretty amazing considering it's in number six out of a total 1,929 walls in the general category! The other crazy statistics are that it's been viewed over six thousand times, and downloaded over two thousand times, garnering 86 comments and 139 favs from other MT users. I feel humbled by those numbers.

Since my return from Odiyan, I have a greater interest in various things related to Tibet. Recently, prolific blogger Xeni Jardin posted gorgeous photos taken in Lhasa during her travels. Read Xeni's post here, or follow the link for the complete photo album.

Tibet photos taken in Lhasa.

Since my return back home, I have been playing catchup with my various "presences" on the net. Today I spent some time updating my Minitokyo page and created a new layout for it. I like it pretty well right now, though I plan on changing it eventually to something a little cleaner. I have also been cross-linking my other sites with my blog.

I'd love to read whatever comments you may have on my MT page, or any of my work there. You can either comment here or on MT (though you need to be registered to post on MT).

Check out my awesome Minitokyo page here: linkiedinkie

Betcha didn't know Napoleon was this hot, huh?

As our new blog is just getting off the ground, I will be continuously tweaking the settings and promoting the site on our various presences on the net. New content will begin to pour into the blog soon and on a regular basis, so you may want to subscribe to be notified of updates.