BRAIN DRAIN

(First of two parts.)

It was while waiting for one of the many movies of the summer to begin that I first caught a glimpse of the trailer to The Golden Compass. It had a spellbinding effect on me, to some extent because of the star power of Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig — and thereby the implication that it promised to be yet another big-budget movie experience — but really more because it looked like the sort of film that I would enjoy. It seemed to be another epic adventure in the offing, in a fantasy setting, no less, and with a new cast of characters to get to know along the way. As such, I had to know as much about the film as I could, and quickly learned that it was based on a trilogy of books written by Philip Pullman dubbed His Dark Materials.

The series is an opus paying homage to Milton’s Paradise Lost and one where the secrets of the universe’s creation come unraveled through what for all intents and purposes is a coming of age tale. His Dark Materials begins with The Golden Compass (nee Northern Lights), where readers are introduced to series protagonist Lyra Belacqua and a world both like and unlike our own. In this reality, the Catholic Church maintains monolithic power over society, technology is arcane yet with an air of sophistication, creatures of myth and magic are known to exist, and humans possess daemon familiars, animal manifestations of their souls and to whom they are inextricably linked.

The story unfolds in Oxford’s Jordan College, with young Lyra learning from her uncle, Lord Asriel, that there are mysterious particles permeating the world known as “Dust”. This Dust settles on adults more than children, and appears to be emanating from the Aurora in the northern lands. Soon after Lord Asriel leaves on an expedition to investigate the phenomenon, Lyra is to be taken under the wing of the influential and enchantingly beautiful Mrs. Coulter. Before she leaves Jordan College, however, her guardians entrust her with a mysterious truth-telling device called an alethiometer (the eponymous “golden compass”). As she adjusts to her new life in London’s high society and learns to read the alethiometer, Lyra makes a startling discovery: Mrs. Coulter is secretly the driving force behind a group known as Gobblers responsible for abducting hundreds of children across England. These Gobblers conduct experiments aimed at making future adults less susceptible to Dust by severing the kidnapped children from their daemons –- an undertaking that leaves those who survive mere shells of their former selves.

Horrified, Lyra flees from her mentor determined to put an end to these experiments. To this end, she enlists the aid of gypsy clans, witches and Panserbjørne (armored bears) to bring her to Lord Asriel, the one person powerful enough to stop the Gobblers. Chased by Mrs. Coulter, Lyra is eventually reunited with her uncle only to discover that he has a far more sinister agenda at work. Like the Gobblers, Lord Asriel plans to do something about Dust via a far more extreme solution: by destroying the Authority, the very source of Dust and the purported author of all creation, to whose realm and beyond a passageway has been discovered in the Aurora. As Lord Asriel disappears into the northern lights and across dimensions, Lyra makes the fateful decision to do all in her power to stop him, thus taking the plunge through the lights in pursuit.

The story continues in The Subtle Knife, where we meet two more protagonists, this time from our world. The first of these is Will Parry, a boy Lyra’s age on the run after accidentally killing a man. The second is Mary Malone, a physicist who has also discovered the existence of Dust and has written a computer program that functions very much like Lyra’s alethiometer. Lyra meets the two by circumstance, yet her chance meetings with them have vital consequences. In Will she finds an ally, and together they learn of a weapon powerful enough to create portals to other worlds and whose blade can cut through any material: the subtle knife. At great personal risk they obtain it, as it becomes apparent that the interdimensional army Lord Asriel has begun to amass for his rebellion also covets the weapon.

Meanwhile, Lyra’s encounter with Mary Malone opens the physicist’s eyes to the existence of passageways to different worlds. The scientist’s escape into one such passageway sets the stage for the trilogy’s final act in The Amber Spyglass, which derives its name from a device that allows Mary to see the flow of Dust across dimensions. It is here that Lord Asriel’s rebellion comes to a head as Lyra’s and Will’s adventure comes full circle, with readers ultimately learning the true nature of Dust.

Clearly, His Dark Materials is a series that lends itself easily to seasoned readers of fantasy. It is an amibitious tale with many of the genre’s familiar trappings often used in inventive and surprising ways. Indeed, the varied dramatis personae throughout the series — from humans, to warrior-bears, to witches and angels, among others — appear as good a reason as any to be drawn into narrative. As such, it is not surprising that the trilogy has received critical acclaim and possesses its own legion of fans.

For all that, however, I hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend the series to others, especially now that I’ve read it for myself.

(To be concluded.)

Over on the Aspac/Law blog, master of My-Tube Rey Leuterio has written about what he feels is the “most useful free web application in history.” Hyperbole? Perhaps. But it sure should rank up there.

It’s called Zamzar, a web service that does quick, easy, and (thus far) free conversion between a host of file formats. From the look of things it does just about every useful file format conversion one can think of for documents, images, music and video. This last category is particularly compelling as the site is able to take videos from Youtube as well as many other video-sharing sites and turn them into files that can be stored locally.

Upon learning this I couldn’t contain my inner geek and just had to try it out for myself. Having done so, it’s no exaggeration to say that using the site is as straightforward an experience as they come. In four easy steps, anyone can convert a file of their choosing into the specific format they need: upload the file (or enter the URL for Youtube-like videos), specify the desired file format, indicate your email address where a link to the converted file can be sent for you to download, and wait. When the file’s ready, you’ll receive an email that looks a little something like this (in my case, for an mp4 file of the Free Hugs video I posted a while back):

That’s all! Quick, easy and user-friendly, and not to mention at least five kinds of amazing, if not more.

Recently, my RSS news feed included a curious article on the New York Times’ Screens Blog about a musician called “funtwo”, who’s apparently shot to fame on Youtube for playing a mean guitar. As it stands to reason that Youtube probably has its fair share of videos featuring wicked guitar solos, it suffices to say that my interest was piqued.

A quick search later and I had the video playing in front of me. The first few bars began in a sort of “ho-hum” fashion, and then…well, it has to be seen to be believed.

As of this writing it’s already pushing twenty-nine million views on the video-sharing site. Interestingly, what first came to mind as I watched it was that this is precisely the sort of thing that J-pop artists would probably venture into. It turns out I was only slightly off: the talented funtwo is actually Korean, while Jerry C., the progenitor of the “Canon Rock” movement, is Taiwanese.

All the same, it’s truly amazing stuff regardless of one’s musical inclinations. Those sufficiently enamored with the performance may also want to read an older article about it, which in addition offers an enlightening discussion on the origins of Canon Rock.

For those who haven’t heard, DC Comics is giving its Johnny DC imprint for younger readers a much needed shot in the arm with a bunch of new titles. Of these, readers can look forward to a true jolt of electricity as Mike Kunkel takes the helm of the upcoming Captain Marvel series, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!

The famed animator has already won critics over with his charming “Superman-meets-Santa-Clause”-esque Herobear and the Kid, so fans are sure to be in for a treat as Kunkel offers his take on the World’s Mightiest Mortal. The initial sketches (see above and click to enlarge) already go to show that the book promises to be downright fun for kids and adults alike: the entire Fawcett city cast look so utterly…awesome!

Kunkel’s already been interviewed by Newsarama regarding the upcoming work, and more information on the series will (sporadically) become available on the blog he’s set up for it.

Children of Mana follows in the tradition of one of the more popular titles ever to have been released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It boasts decent graphics, straightforward gameplay, and an interesting enough storyline for even the most casual of gamers. More, the anime cutscenes that are peppered throughout the game, though few, are among the best to have graced the screens of the Nintendo DS thus far.

Why, then, hasn’t Children of Mana received more positive buzz from gamers and fans of the series?

If I were to hazard a guess, there are two reasons. First, the game is a surprising departure from the formula that made the original a standout. Secret of Mana positively bewitched SNES gamers because it was a unique take on the action-RPG genre wrapped up in an engrossing story and (what was at the time) a superior battle system. For a handheld sequel, Children of Mana tries to recapture old glory by going back to basics; yet the results are less RPG and more action-oriented. Indeed, it is really a dungeon crawler hiding in an RPG’s clothing, which wouldn’t be much of a problem were it better designed: not only does the gameplay tend towards the mind-numbingly repetitive hack-and-slash mold, but it also lacks balance in that magic, a key component to many a Mana game, becomes completely unnecessary.

As far as dungeon crawlers go, it’s probably easy enough to overlook these blemishes were it not for the game’s second and more glaring flaw: it is, for lack of a better term, quite clunky. More forgiving players keen on just getting to the action must suffer through how slow Children of Mana’s interface feels. Simply put, dealing with the game’s menu system is a chore that detracts from the gameplay and just bogs down all attempts to push the story forward. Players get a sense of this upon first firing up the game, what with far too many button presses just to get past the opening credits and through to the title screen.

Notwithstanding all this, there is some fun to be had from Children of Mana. There is something to be said for the qualities of the dungeon-crawling genre as a diversion, and it does translate quite nicely on the DS for a no-frills pick-up-and-play experience. The abundance of sidequests, though really more of the same, and the ability to revisit dungeons after they have been cleared further guarantees that this game can be played ad infinitum for exactly that purpose. Further, inasmuch as the game’s interface leaves much to be desired, it does have the advantage of slowing down the game to be friendlier to younger gamers, particularly those who perhaps have yet to jump headlong into a true and blue RPG. Finally, those in search of a title not overly time-consuming will find that the game has the advantage of being relatively short: on my playthrough, I finished it in exactly twenty-five hours, which includes time spent ensuring that my character was powerful enough to weather the stages ahead. On balance, this means that the main game can perhaps be finished in well under twenty hours for those set on just getting it over with, while those obsessed with completing every sidequest (and collecting every item) that the game has to offer can look forward to upwards of forty hours of playing time.

In all, Children of Mana is an average game with above-average potential. For those who have never played anything in the series before, it is a decent enough game to get their feet wet with, albeit one that does not naturally outshine the many other titles already available for the DS. For longtime fans of the series, this Mana game just goes to show that the franchise has some life left in it yet as it continues to reinvent itself, for better or worse.

It would appear that the web is awash with the news that the iPod Touch’s built-in calendar has been crippled. Presumably a move to differentiate it from the iPhone, the latest generation iPod will have a calendar only as functional as that of its numerous predecessors; that is to say, users will be able to view their appointments, but not add to them on the fly.

While it’s hard to gauge whether this will in fact be the case, I have no reason to doubt it: on the subway, I happened to be standing across a fellow that did have an iPod Touch (!), and who spent the entire trip between stations literally pounding on the touch screen in a desperate attempt to see whether he could add items to his calendar (no dice). Oh sure, I still want one, but let’s just say it’s become ever so slightly less appealing an idea.

The folks over at Blogger have just added a new feature that they’ve apparently been keeping to themselves for quite a while now.

Blogger Play is an ongoing slideshow of the photos being uploaded to Blogger in real time. Obviously, there’s no rhyme or reason to what one gets to see, but it does make for an interesting diversion.

And yes, they’ve taken reasonable precautions to keep what’s shown in good taste, albeit with the caveat that the odd inappropriate photo just might slip through the cracks every now and then.

The internet is rife with comic strips about every subject imaginable, from the trials and travails of life in graduate school to quirky re-imaginings of 1980’s cartoons. It turns out that blogging and bloggers now also have a comic they can call their own: bLaugh.com proclaims itself the (un)official comic of the blogosphere, and the few strips they have so far go to show that their sensibilities are spot on. To wit:

Ah, yes, every blogger’s dilemma.

We can only hope that the site has more in store in the future and doesn’t go the way of the many blogs that haven’t been heard from in a very long time.

As if the current line of iPods weren’t good enough reason to go out and buy one, Apple just had to announce new ones in time for the holiday season.

In all, the new additions to the iPod family offer updated features that range from the cosmetic to the pretty far out. The recently dubbed “iPod Classic” gets an all-metal casing, the iPod Nano now comes in more colors and boasts a two-inch video screen, and the entire lineup gets a new sibling in the iPod Touch, a phoneless iPhone and the undisputed eye candy of the bunch. Not only that, but in announcing these models Apple also decided to drop the price of the iPhone, prompting the company to give early adopters a rebate in the hopes of smoothing over any ill feelings (which brings to mind the anecdote of what happens when the man with experience meets the man with the money: the man with the experience ends up with the money, and the man with the money ends up with the experience).

Aside from guaranteeing that Apple will one again make a killing when these models hit the market, they also give consumers a wider range of choices to suit individual tastes, and at varying price points. Most of these price points are just about right: the new and improved Nano starts at $150 (4GB), while the iPod Classic — perhaps the real winner as far as value for money is concerned — begins at $250 for an 80GB model.

For my part, the real question is whether the iPod Touch is a worthy investment at $300 to $400.

Presently, I own a third generation iPod and have been thinking of upgrading to a newer model for quite some time now. The unit is still serviceable, so if I do take the plunge it will have to be in favor of something that has more to offer. On the surface, the iPod Touch fits the bill: apart from the added functionality of video playback and a touch-screen interface, it has built-in Wifi and a browser, making it practically a PDA. For me this is a real plus, as I’ve been in the market for a portable internet-enabled gadget that I can take along with me on trips where it would be inconvenient to bring a laptop.

The problem, however, is that the iPod Touch offers these features in exchange for considerably less memory: either 8GB or 16GB worth only. While that’s nothing to sneeze at per se, it’s certainly a drop in the bucket compared to what the Classic model (or my own existing unit) has to offer at considerably less. What this means, really, is that this latest iteration of the media player will be less an all-in-one repository for digital media (in its present incarnation anyway) and more a nifty toy that would be nice to have if one can afford it. Consider my situation: my digital library — mostly CDs but a fair amount of Podcasts, too — already pushes nearly 18GB. Of course, there is a good portion of that which I don’t listen to and merely dumped into my iPod because I could. While I’m more than confident it won’t be that hard to filter through my content in order to get it well under 16GB should I invest in this newer model, it still doesn’t leave much room for pictures, videos and storage space. In the consumer’s calculus this also matters, especially since we can all be fairly certain Apple will come up with a beefed up version in the not too distant future.

Either way, I’m quite certain that these new models will rouse me from my self-imposed tech embargo sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I’ll have to give some serious thought as to whether that shiny new toy is worth the price tag that comes along with it.

What better way to mark the beginning of another semester in graduate school than with the following comic from Jorge Cham and the wonderful folks over at PhD Comics:

Just another healthy reminder that I need to get cracking on my dissertation. As in yesterday!