BRAIN DRAIN

Aside from the best that prime time TV had to offer in the Fall, the only other program I consistently went out of my way to watch while in the US was Ninja Warrior. One of the few things worth watching on G4, it’s the American-localized presentation of the Japanese program Sasuke, arguably one of the toughest obstacle courses on the planet outside of iron man contests.

There have been nineteen Sasuke competitions so far. Those unfamiliar with the show need only know the following about it:

It sounds simple enough, but so far only two people have ever completed all four stages in the show’s ten year history. While each competition features its fair share of oddballs and crackpots (as typical of Japanese TV), it’s the the ten or so “all-stars” in the competition that really make the show worth watching.

For those in doubt, here’s a video compiling the successful run of fisherman Makoto Nagano, the second person that has beaten the obstacle course:

Two things about the video: First, on the fourth stage, if the competitor doesn’t ascend the twelve-meter “spider-climb” in fifteen seconds to grab the rope and continue on, the walls will begin to part (seriously!). Second, as a result of this run, the producers have completely revamped the course, making it devilishly hard.

If given the chance I’m pretty sure I can make it through to the final stage…on a stretcher. So until the day that I can actually live out my Ninja Warrior fantasies, it looks like the best I can do is enjoy the video podcasts of the show, available via G4tv.com.

Three observations about consumer and retail culture in the Philippines, anecdotally:

No Return, No Exchange?

My girlfriend bought me a shirt for my birthday that turned out to be too small. (Aside: I think she was trying to flatter me…which certainly worked!) Naturally, we went over to the store to have it exchanged, only to find that there was no more stock in my size. Nor did any of their other branches. This being the case, we discussed the matter and decided that the sensible thing to do would be for her to ask for her money back so she could get me something else instead.

Unfortunately, we were told that, no, it was against store policy to give refunds. Instead, they gave out credit memos (as good as cash, we were informed) that we could use at the store or any of their associated brands.

On the surface, it seems like a reasonable arrangement but doesn’t hold up against any modicum of scrutiny. If you buy merchandise from a store and the purchased item turns out to be unsuitable, shouldn’t you have the right to get your money back? More, if you find that nothing else in the store is to your liking, why should it be acceptable to the consumer to receive, instead of her money back, credit to buy merchandise from sister stores? It stands to reason that because they are related with the original store they would theoretically carry similar merchandise. It’s almost as if the prevailing logic is that once you turn your money over to a store it’s theirs to hold hostage come hell or high water. Indeed, this takes the admonition of “Caveat Emptor” to an extreme that is out of step with modern consumer practices.

Granted, such a policy does offer merchants some protection against unscrupulous individuals that may abuse more lenient policies if given the chance. Still, how much more would retailers, especially outlets of well established brands, have to gain in terms of reputation and goodwill should they adopt more consumer-friendly policies in this regard?

Strictly No Browsing

It boggles the mind how Philippine booksellers frown upon anyone browsing through the books on their shelves.

I’ve probably been spoiled by the Barnes and Noble superstores that are near ubiquitous in the US, but it’s simply ironic that even purportedly “high-end” booksellers in the Philippines, the most glaring offender being Powerbooks, go so far as to post signs around their shelves reminding customers that browsing is strictly prohibited.

Of course, I think everyone gets it. In a country starved of libraries and where books are relatively expensive, encouraging browsing would all but certainly guarantee worn merchandise and cramped stores. But if this is the case, why do such stores stock their shelves full of books at all? If they were truly concerned about keeping their merchandise intact, they could presumably just fill their shelves with mockups of the books instead of the books themselves, similar to the way DVD or video game stores in some countries stock their shelves with empty cases to prevent theft, with the actual merchandise kept in storage and retrieved only upon sale. The principle is the same, and in the end should allow bookstores to carry more titles and manage their inventory better.

I haven’t decided whether going down this road would represent a step forward or backward for Philippine bookstores, but it would certainly be more consistent with any policy that discourages customers from reading through a book before deciding to buy it.

Thief! Thief!

Package counters exist for a reason, and it isn’t to make it more convenient for shoppers to browse through a store’s shelves unencumbered by bags from purchases elsewhere. Rather, they exist because it’s ultimately cheaper (and probably more effective) to keep anyone from entering the store with bags that may be used for pilfering merchandise, as opposed to investing in means that insure against such pilferage.

That’s all well and good, but am I the only one offended by the fact whenever I walk into an establishment that asks me to deposit my bags, I am being presumed to be a thief?

Believe the hype: Super Mario Galaxy has taken game platforming to an entirely new level. Whether it’s the ingenious level designs; the playful use of different gravities as players jump, spin, and fly through different planetoids; or the truly exceptional soundtrack, it doesn’t take very long to realize that this game is something special.

There can be no denying that Galaxy is a true and blue 3D platformer if ever there was one. It’s not just in the character rendering: playing the game often requires thinking in 3D, to explore the different nook and crannies that each stage has to offer to find objects, to think about how to position Mario in just the right way to clear obstacles, and occasionally to take control of the pudgy plumber from positively maddenning angles (upside down and sideways are certainly more challenging than most people might think). Disorienting? Only at first. Innovative? From start to finish. Fun? Beyond measure.

As an added bonus, the game allows for two-player cooperative play. This is accomplished by one player essentially playing through the game as Mario, with the second player assisting by using another Wiimote to point out things onscreen, collect and fire star bits, or help the first player pull off double or super jumps. Granted, it seems like a very limited role to play for a second player, but it’s a whole lot more engaging than it sounds. In fact, some stages seem nigh impossible without such an assist, and overall it seems that Nintendo have touched on an entirely new mode of two-player gaming that is not just workable but has lots of potential.

It’s hard to conceive of how anything can possibly top Super Mario Galaxy. Indeed, what Nintendo have accomplished in the latest offering for their flagship character is absolutely extraordinary.

Back in October, Penguin published a book about the design that goes into subway and similar transit systems. As part of the marketing effort, they also released an e-card of the diagram above, reproduced from the book’s opening page . Obviously, it looks just like a generic mass transit system’s map. As the caption explains, however, it’s really an inventive map depicting cities that already have (or are planning to build) some urban railway system or other.

The cities do appear to be grouped together based on their actual geographic location; apart from that, there doesn’t appear to be any particular rhyme or reason to the layout of the passages, nodes and terminal locations. All the same, the map does evoke a certain appreciation of how interconnected the world has become, and makes one wonder what a more “accurate” map of this sort — depicting the relative sizes of each transit system as well as true transborder railway connections — might look like.

(From the look of it, though, the map already seems to get Manila’s location in the grand scheme of things quite right.)

[Via Strange Maps]

When my dad mentioned that he found a copy of futurist Alvin Toffler’s latest book, Revolutionary Wealth, my immediate reaction was to ask, “You mean he’s still alive?” As some might recall, Alvin Toffler and his wife Heidi had penned such titles as Futureshock, The Third Wave, Powershift and War and Anti-War only to drop off the literary radar before the turn of the century. So it goes without saying I was intrigued. Now, having just read the book, I can honestly say that it is vintage Toffler — and by “vintage”, I mean that the length of the authors’ absence from the publishing scene shows.

Revolutionary Wealth builds on the body of ideas that the Tofflers have been writing about throughout their careers, to wit: societal shifts from being agricultural to industrial to knowledge-based. As the title suggests, this time around they focus on the new sources of value that exist in knowledge-based societies, as well as the many issues that involve adapting to and obtaining such wealth. In this regard, the book is old hat, and true to form offers a fascinating framework that elaborates upon the “deep fundamentals” (time, space and knoweldge) of modern-day economies.

The problem, however, is that the book also comes across as somewhat dated — not in the content, but in the presentation. The Tofflers are right on the mark with much of their discussion, and they do employ a fair amount of information that is relatively current. Yet — and here’s where the book falls very short — other authors have written much the same with greater parsimony and panache. There is nothing contained in Revolutionary Wealth that hasn’t already been discussed at length by the likes of Kenichi Ohmae, Chris Anderson or (my personal favorite) Thomas Friedman, to name a few. By comparison, the Tofflers’ offering is unremarkable and, quite frankly, rather boring.

In all, Revolutionary Wealth will most likely appeal to the serial Toffler reader, not to mention the odd individual with a knack for poring over titles about technology, the information age and globalization. But be warned: as insightful as the book is, it is also dry reading. True, the Tofflers may have kept up with the times and have managed to continue being relevant. In fact, they may still be the best futurists around. It’s a shame their style hasn’t aged nearly as well.

Since the Wii’s unveiling, there have been plenty of attempts to find alternative ways to make use of the Wiimote. From the innocuous…

…to the amusing…

…and anywhere in between. For my money, however, Carnegie-Mellon’s Johnny Lee’s is the most impressive one so far. By a mile.

Now if only there were a Mac version of the software involved…

The first real Zelda game for the Nintendo DS, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is both a worthy sequel to the Gamecube’s Wind Waker and an all-around great role-playing game (RPG) for players on the go.

Fans of the series will note that Phantom Hourglass is perhaps the most palpable departure from the Zelda formula to have graced a gaming platform in a long time. Here there is no Triforce, no Master Sword (although there is a close substitute), and ultimately no dark wizard Ganon to defeat — all of which happens to be a good thing. That the story takes place following the events of Wind Waker has given the developers an opportunity to craft something refreshingly new albeit still cast in the Zelda mode, resulting in a game just ripe for players new to the series to try out and that long-standing fans (especially those of Wind Waker) will also enjoy.

The game has to be the most impressive release on the Nintendo DS to date. It’s not just the game’s near flawless stylus-based controls; beyond that, nearly the entire range of the DS’s functionality — such as the microphone and even its clamshell design — factor into the gameplay quite thoughtfully. While some players may object to the to the need to revisit a particular area in the game several times over just to push the story forward, it is a quirk of game design executed fairly well.

Although relatively short for an RPG (it can be finished in around twenty hours), a number of extra features ensure that gamers won’t be putting Phantom Hourglass down all too soon. The reason for this, aside from two token minigames within the main story, is the game’s Wi-Fi component. Because it is essentially a seafaring adventure, the game inevitably involves customizing the ship being used to travel from island to island, which can be done more quickly by trading parts with other players via Nintendo’s Wi-Fi connection. This takes place via a separate online game pitting players against each other in turn-based matches akin to “capture the flag” mixed with “hide-and-seek”, which also happens to be quite addictive on its own.

Nintendo have once again struck gold with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, a must-have title for the DS if there ever was one.

I have a soft spot for Capcom’s Street Fighter series. It began with Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, carried over to the subsequent Alpha/Zero iterations, and more or less died down with the revamped cast of characters that accompanied the release of Street Fighter III. Because the attempt to render it in full-blown 3D has more or less been a disappointment, nearly ten years have passed since anything new worth writing home about has happened to this beloved fighting game.

That is, until Capcom released a trailer teasing at an upcoming Street Fighter IV already in development. So this is me (very belatedly) “writing home” about it.

Gamer or no, one has to concede that it’s a very well made and, dare I say, stylish trailer. The manner in which the characters’ sparring was rendered is quite cinematic, with the brushstroke motif making it look all the more classy. Further, there’s a ton of fan service throughout the clip, the most satisfying of which just has to be the uber-fantastic Ha-Dou-Ken! at the very end.

In the onrush of speculation that followed, arguably the best is the following feature from GameTrailers dissecting the Capcom clip. It’s very much worth playing if only for the catchy tunes (a remixed version of the background music from Zangief’s stage).

Reading too much into it? Maybe. But as the initial development-stage gameplay footage go to show, a fair amount of the speculation has been spot on. Truly, it’s a great time to be a Street Fighter fan.

Over at the New York Times, Stanley Fish has written a thought-provoking article on the question of what use the humanities have. His answer: none whatsoever! Interestingly, if the article is to be believed — rightly or wrongly — that is not entirely a bad thing.

Even more fascinating are the reader comments in response to the missive. It’s gripping commentary that proves the internet’s worth as a venue for enlightened discourse.

Personally, I feel Archibald Macleish’s Ars Poetica argued the same point as the professor, albeit more succinctly. But that’s just little ol’ liberally educated me.

[Think Again: Will the Humanities Save Us? (Stanley Fish, via the New York Times)]

“Are the police outside the house?”

That was my dad’s question as he walked into my room. It was around ten in the evening on New Year’s Day, and the sound of a radio’s squawking from beyond our gate had caught his attention. Mine being the only room in the house directly overlooking the street, we turned off all the lights so as not to be seen and pulled the curtains back to have a quiet look.

Pacing back and forth on our driveway were two neighborhood security guards.

I volunteered to go out to see what was up and soon enough had been brought up to speed by our unexpected visitors. Earlier, a teenagers onboard a pickup truck were seen throwing objects at our house. Worried that what had been thrown were leftover firecrackers, the guards came by after apprehending the suspects in order to investigate and inform us. In the process, they discovered that what had been thrown were not firecrackers but a handfull of eggs, the debris from which were strewn across our driveway.

Learning this and seeing the mess upset me a lot. As a small consolation, the guard let me know that other houses in the area had also been victimized by similar egg-throwing incidents over the past several months, though this was the first time anyone had been caught red-handed. I was also told that we had the option to file a complaint against the teenagers — whose identities were being ascertained — and that I should check elsewhere on the premises as at least one of the kids was clearly seen tossing something over the fence.

At this point, I called on my brother to get our camera and reported the details to my dad, who took the news even better than I did (he was even angrier). Then, after taking pictures of the mess that was our driveway, we proceeded to inspect the area of the house the guard pointed out. True enough, we found that a few more eggs had splattered against one of the windows, the yolk still fresh and seeping down the wall.

This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After a brief conference with my dad, the decision was made to file a complaint immediately against those responsible. As I prepared to leave and do just that, another security guard arrived to inform us that the teenagers in question were being detained at the neighborhood security office, and that two of them already admitted they had thrown the eggs. What he would tell us next, though, would be even more surprising.

Each of the nine teenagers responsible had been my brother’s high school classmates, some even his close friends. In fact, he’d been out to dinner with them a few nights before, and thus they should have had no reason — no reason whatsoever — to do anything so disrespectful to him or to us.

The hours to follow (and on to the next day) would provide much time for introspection. Why would my brother’s “friends” do such a thing? We have our own suspicions (outside of plain stupidity), but the fact that they would do something that would affect not just him but our entire family made the incident even more distasteful. How to handle the matter? No one can deny that this was a difficult situation: these “kids” were all legally adults, and we very much wanted to throw the book at each and every one of them; yet some of their parents were also friends of our family, making things that much more delicate. Besides, we had to acknowledge that my brother would still have to live with the natives, as it were, when all was said and done.

In the morning, I would be the one to fill my mom in on the details since she turned in early the night before. While similarly incensed, she was able to take a moment to put things in perspective and asked the inevitable question: granted it was a stupid prank, but could we be overreacting? In the end, no one was hurt and, apart from a stinking mess, nothing was damaged. Mind, she was just playing devil’s advocate, and over the course of the day her resolve to act against those responsible became even stronger. Still, it was a fair point.

Try as I might to see things this way, however, I can’t convince myself that there is any merit to such a position. Objectively, no one would wish the same to happen to their home, and I dare anyone to say otherwise. Further, and on a more personal note, it’s not the fact that we were the victims of a stupid prank that bothered me. The more I think about it, what struck a nerve was that the peace of our home had been violated. Indeed, it felt as if each and every egg that had soiled the house had not just been directed at our home but at me. And my brother. And my parents.

In retrospect, there were some positives that can be taken away from what happened. Two of the kids outright admitted to being responsible, and hours after the incident the lot of them came over presumably to apologize. Given the late hour and upset as we were at the time, we asked them to come back the next day when we hoped to be in a much better humor to talk things over. To their credit, they promised to do so and did. Then there were the parents of one of the teenagers involved, who came by with their son in tow precisely to make amends. While humbly owning up to what he did, it was clear that his parents were deeply affected, as if what he did reflected on them. To my mind, these show that even people from good families make mistakes, but that the right upbringing and values will shine through in the end.

Yet there remain plenty of negatives, too. Notwithstanding the apologies, it was clear that some of these kids were worried about saving their skin rather than making nice. Most continued to lie about precisely what they did: some misrepresented the facts to their parents (we later learned) and would continue to lie about exactly how many eggs they threw (they would insist that there were only three, when any reasonable person could see that only twice that many could account for the debris). One even went so far as to lie about his identity when confronted by neighborhood security. But the biggest disappointment from the incident was personified by the “ringleader” of the group — the one driving the vehicle — who never showed a shred of remorse despite speaking on behalf of his accomplices. Throughout, he seemed more worried about the potential repurcussions of any action we had taken against them and if anything had been broken, but not the least bit concerned that he had done something offensive and disrespectful. It’s truly beyond me how anyone can show such a lack of class and character.

Almost a week has passed since these events occured and we’ve already moved on. Those involved have apologized and the matter is now in the hands of the relevant authorities. In all likelihood, the excitement of the evening and the events that followed it will over time become just another of those anecdotes with which we regale guests over dinner. Nevertheless, it is sobering to see how a few bad eggs are all it takes to test friendships, ruin reputations, and cause plenty of grief and aggravation.