Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon September 9, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Reviews, Video Games.add a comment
Before leaving for my trip, I got to watch my brother play a lot of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon. For a title that I never would’ve invested in myself, it was surprisingly much better than I thought it would be.
Composed of equal parts dungeon crawler, role-playing game (RPG) and real time strategy (RTS), it’s a decent enough title for the Wii, albeit marred by a few unusual creative production decisions. Why use a Chocobo as a protagonist? The game’s RTS elements are rather complex for a younger demographic — for which reason it’s actually a title that serious gamers may also enjoy, imagery notwithstanding — and the RPG storyline is generic enough to accommodate the usual hero archetype. And why’d Squeenix skimp on the cutscenes? Sure, the Wii isn’t a graphic powerhouse, but the text-heavy post-dungeon cutscenes can only be described as underwhelming.
All the same, it has enough elements from the Final Fantasy universe — remixed, rehashed or otherwise reused — to make the game both interesting and challenging enough to try out. Granted, it isn’t cutting edge by any stretch of the imagination and does come up quite short in some areas, but it’s ultimately a Square-Enix production — and rarely do they ever truly disappoint.
In-Flight Entertainment 9 September 6, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Reviews, Up and Away.add a comment
Finally! In-Flight Entertainment is now in sync with Random Travel Notes. This installment of movies I missed in theaters but caught on the trip home features a double dose of Abigail Breslin and Ryan Reynolds…at least once appearing in the same movie!
The Bank Job. A tad oversexed, but otherwise quite entertaining. Part of the allure is that the film is based on a heist that really happened, but I think there’s also the fact that it’s fun to see a heist so crude and doomed to failure, especially after the razzle-dazzle that was Clooney and co.’s Ocean’s Eleven and sequels. Personally, what piqued my interest were the interlocking stories incidental to the robbery. On the acting front, I’m not entirely certain Jason Statham was the right fit to headline the film, but he pulled it off well enough.
Chaos Theory. If anything, the film lives up to the title and could’ve been much better. A large part of the problem is that it’s rather difficult to buy into Ryan Reynolds’ playing the father of the bride, even if it is to setup the story-as-flashback. More’s the pity, because his portrayal of near total nervous breakdown in the main story is otherwise spot on. Overall a rather depressing film marred by a poor if unremarkable story.
Definitely Maybe. Ah, this one’s a charmer. From the get-go it’s not hard to be swept up in its pseudo-When Harry Met Sally vibe. In all I think the film shows Ryan Reynolds’ depth as an actor (for real!), and it helps that his romantic interests in the film — Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz and Isla Fisher — are also quite talented and painfully beautiful. The glue that holds the film together, however, has to be Abigail Breslin. Boy does she have talent!
Nim’s Island. The verdict? Well, the editing and effects worked exceedingly well to give the film its whimsical atmosphere. The story was a huge let down, though. To have Jodie Foster’s character travel halfway around the world in response to a cry for help, all for nothing? Come on! Of course, the acting was great. It was surprising to see how much Abigail Breslin had grown up since Little Miss Sunshine and Jodie Foster depicted her agoraphobe character admirably. When all is said and done, however, I feel that the real star was Gerard Butler, who pulls off playing two different characters exceedingly well.
The Spiderwick Chronicles. Unlike the Harry Potter films, this one shows how great a children’s fantasy film can be with child actors who can actually, you know, act. Suffice it to say I enjoyed it a lot. It surprised me that Freddie Highmore pulled a Parent Trap on audiences, and apart from a few early awkward moments his talent shines through in the end. Sarah Bolger was a surprise, too, and in general the cast was pretty high caliber, what with Mary-Louise Parker, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn and a cameo by Nick Nolte. If there’s anything to complain about, it’s that the plot first unfolds then resolves itself rather hurriedly, but the overall effect makes for a decent fantasy romp. Plus, Seth Rogen lending his voice to Hogsqueal was priceless!
Random Travel Notes 9 September 3, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Up and Away.add a comment
Here we go: the ins and outs and ups and downs of the trip to New York and back!
Unstressed. Because I traveled light, it wasn’t too hard to pack, and I got over the entire process in about 20 minutes the day before I left. So for the first time in a long time — I usually pack up until hours before I have to go, fatigue be damned — I actually managed to get some sleep on the eve before the flight. Fancy that.
All smiles. For once, I must say that the service at the old (NAIA) airport was actually quite good. Maybe this had something to do with the long-delayed opening of the new terminal, but I couldn’t help but notice how most of the staff were particularly pleasant, courteous, and actually quite helpful. There were still a few hiccups, though: at immigration the place was still organized in the “form a separate line at each counter” mode, and one line was being held up because the immigration officer was chit chatting with most everyone in his line (obviously taking the “service with a smile” sticker on his window way too seriously). The cynic in me is tempted to conclude that, yet again, the folks at the airport have all the cosmetic matters down pat even if the underlying systems are still shot. Yet I suppose the happier thought would be to point out that maybe there’s hope yet for travelers to and from the country.
“Start spreading the news…” While waiting for my flight, I noticed that the music being piped into the airline lounge consisted mostly of jazz standards. This was just at the edge of my consciousness as I was making and fielding a few last-minute phone calls prior to departure. At some point, however, I just had to laugh at the universe’s sense of humor: building to a crescendo in the background was the familiar chorus to “New York, New York”. Go figure.
Upgrade, downgrade. Before boarding, I began to wonder whether the plane I’d be on would have the new cubicle class configuration I got to experience on the short leg of my last trip. And I was! It looks like Cathay have finally rolled this out to the rest of their fleet. I was also in for another treat: for the Manila-Hong Kong leg of the trip, I got upgraded to First Class! The last time this happened I didn’t find the perk particularly enjoyable, but this time around I was quite impressed. The food was the best I’ve ever had on an airline, and Cathay’s new first class configuration is very spacious and comfortable — so much so that when I ended up back in cubicle class for the remainder of the journey, I felt…deprived. Spoiled, I am.
Delay, delay. Whoops! Jet lag!. All told, I experienced a cumulative delay of three to four hours on the way to New York. The two major delays happened at Hong Kong, where security screening was taking longer than expected owing to the sheer volume of people suddenly in transit (perhaps from the Olympics), and inbound to New York, where the plane was held in a holding pattern for over an hour (and almost had to divert to Boston). The delays were inconvenient, to be sure, but the unintended consequence was that I ended up getting into my apartment at an ungodly hour, and thus was unable to appropriately reset my body clock given everything I had to accomplish for my trip. So the jet lag hit me particularly badly this time…albeit just long enough for me to get over it in time for the flight home (argh!).
Moving. So most of the trip was spent moving out of my apartment. Frankly, I was sad to have to leave the place. The location was good, it was spacious for a New York studio job, and even if the rent was rather much by the time I terminated my lease, it was still way below average by city standards. Anyway, this being the first time I’ve had to pack up my stuff and ship it home (among other things), I thought I was mentally prepared for how stressful it would be. I wasn’t. I think I gave it the good ol’ stiff upper lip, but really after all the stress I promised myself that when I got home I’d give my mom a big hug because now I understood the stress she went through moving all our things from one house to another. So when I got home, I did…and promptly received a lecture in the process. This is why I love my mom!
Buzzards. There was a fair amount of things I didn’t intend to bring home that needed disposing, which I duly offered to family friends and the building superintendent. Somehow, I got the sense that this is probably what it feels like to be carrion for vultures, with the exception that I was probably as happy to part with my things as they were to take it off my hands. Of course, in at least one respect I got screwed over: the superintendent had told me he had a “buyer” willing to take my furniture away for a song, but at the last minute the person backed out and instead the super said I could just leave what I had to leave behind and he’d throw it out for me. Yeah, right. But hey! He was pretty nice about it, so I don’t really mind. Most of the stuff was Ikea, anyway, meaning very little salvage value (if at all).
Need TV! I arranged the disconnection of my major services with a couple of days to go before the flight home. While most of them took effect the day after my scheduled departure, I had to terminate my cable TV service days before I left. In the process, I came to realize how much comfort being able to watch TV is when I’m on my own. In the days after I returned the cable box and shipped out my TV, I still found myself gravitating to the spot where the boob tube was to turn it on out of routine. Such are the idiosyncracies of modern life, I guess.
Confirm? Like a typical Filipino, the things I didn’t intend to carry home with me I put in a balikbayan box to have it shipped home. I found a (Filipino) company that could take care of it for me, arranged to have my boxes picked up and was told that they would be by in the evening a few days before I was set to leave. This worried me a little (what if they can’t make it?) but I took it in stride. Still, when the day came around I rang up the company again just to make sure, and this is the conversation I ended up having, verbatim:
Company Rep: Hello?
Me: Hello! I just wanted to confirm that someone will come by tonight to pick up my boxes?
Company Rep: It’s confirmed.
Me: …
Company Rep: Hello?
Me: …Uh…right. So…it’s confirmed?
Company Rep: Yeah. It’s confirmed.
And no, I didn’t even introduce myself. Bizarre, to be sure, but they did come by. So it was confirmed!
Suprise, surprise. With one day to go before my flight home, everything was set. My boxes had been shipped out, my bags were packed, all accounts that needed to be settled were settled and closed, and I was one with the universe. Then I received an unexpected surprise: on my way out to dinner, I noticed that an envelope had been slipped under my door that looked conspicuously like the one that I’d receive with the statement of account for my rent. And it was — with a bill for next month’s rent at double the rate. This sent my anxiety into overdrive: was I being screwed by my landlord? It turns out that I wasn’t: the next morning I called the management company to sort it out, and was told that the bill was automatically generated and just reflects what would happen if I stayed on without having renewed my lease. Still, that was one almost-surprise I’d rather not have received.
Blue Van. These past few years, if I had a lot to carry I’d arrange a service to the airport through Supershuttle. So it was this time around. Soon after I was picked up and on my way, it dawned on me that on each of my trips with Supershuttle never had I been on the same route out of the city to the airport. It’s such a shame that I hadn’t paid more attention before, because I’m sure that by now I would’ve seen so much more of Queens in the process!
Messy and confusing. The last time I commuted to JFK above ground, there was major construction ongoing. Now that it’s finished? The airport has to be the least driver-friendly in the world. There are more confusing twists and turns on a per square foot basis than I’ve seen in quite a while. It boggles the mind how a city like New York can’t have a friendlier airport to service its visitors. Oh, wait, that would be Newark…
Baby on board. For some reason, there was an inordinate amount of infants on my flight home. I thought I was the only one who noticed while waiting for the flight to board, but apparently so did other passengers, at least one of whom asked the staff if this was mere coincidence or if there was something else going on. Everyone hates having to be stuck on a flight with bawling infants, so I resigned myself to the fact that my luck had finally run out in this regard. Actually, it ran out even sooner than that: while waiting to board, I ended up seated next to a kid from Screamsville and his amah from hell who just couldn’t let the kid sleep in peace. Seriously.
Ready to go! And so it came to an end. There were no hiccups on the way home, no inordinate delays or unpleasant incidents, which is perhaps the best way to wind down my stay in the city I’ve called home for three-odd years.
Speaking of LOLcats… September 1, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Odds and Ends.add a comment
Time for a confession: I’ve been dying to find a reason to write about LOLcats. Who wouldn’t? It’s arguably the most consistently funny thing on the internet these days. Yet try as I might, I keep running into a stumbling block: most everyone already knows about them, so there’s really not much point in doing a write-up myself.
Yet hope springs eternal: CNet’s Daniel Terdiman recently came up with an article detailing the history of I Can Has Cheezburger, perhaps the most popular LOLcat site out there. So that’s really what this post is about. Natch! But seriously, it’s a great piece on a strangely viral phenomenon that is its own unusual success story.
New York, New York August 28, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Ramblings, Up and Away.add a comment
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine myself studying, much less living, in New York. Truth be told, if I had my way I’d have been studying in California. But sometimes we don’t get to choose — or the choice is made for us — and if we just go along for the ride we realize what a ride it is.
I’ve spent three years living in the capital of the world, and true to form it seems to have gone by faster than a New York minute. When I first arrived I thought I’d hate the entire experience, thinking that the city wasn’t for me, that it didn’t fit my personality, that by the time winter hit I’d look for any excuse to get my frozen behind back to the Philippines. Well that last bit did happen each winter; but now that I have a chance to look back I can’t imagine not ever having lived here.
In retrospect, I think what makes New York great is that it is the city of cities, not just in the sense that it is perhaps the most representative cross-section of the world but because it has something to offer everyone and anyone regardless of race, origin, personality and persuasion. And this is speaking from experience. As a private person — and more to the point, a nerd — I am probably the least likely individual anyone would have thought would end up in New York, the mecca of high fashion, financial markets, outspoken people and urban attitude. Yet here I am, and I would be lying if I didn’t say that a part of me thinks that, yes, I did belong here, too.
It was no secret that I’d have to move on eventually. In fact, as each semester wore on I rather looked forward to it (still do!). So when I set off on this trip to settle accounts/close up shop/move out I decided I’d also make the most of it by going on a “victory lap” of my favorite haunts and maybe get around to doing some of the things I always intended to but never did (like a tour of the UN). That didn’t quite happen; plans are funny that way. Organizing the move turned out a little trickier than expected, and soon enough I found myself falling back on routine. But I console myself in the thought that it goes to show that I am as much at home here as anywhere else.
Besides, it’s not as if the city itself wasn’t cooperating. This past week the weather has been glorious: sunny, not too warm and otherwise comfortable, making sojourns outdoors quite pleasant. While on just such an errand, waiting to catch a bus on a crowded sidewalk I chanced a glance down the street, and for a moment everything seemed to have slowed down. Taking everything in, I became aware: of how diverse the people around me are, of how on a clear day one can see miles on end down any the city’s storied avenues, of how the buildings that line New York City’s streets are a marvel to behold, and of how the city pulses with life and bristles with history.
In a word, it is simply majestic.
I will miss this place.
And yes, the city seems to have a life and mood of its own, arguably one in lock-step with its many inhabitants. As if on cue, no sooner had I finished packing up the last few items to take home did I come across this New York Times article on how newcomers to the Big Apple must change or be changed to live in the city. Everything in there is eerily true, and I can’t think of a more fitting piece than that to summarize what my stay in the city that never sleeps has been like.
So here’s to New York, the greatest city in the world. I hope you won’t miss me too much; I’ll be back to visit soon enough.
Less Than Meets the Eye (Wired) August 26, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Odds and Ends.add a comment
It’s no secret that I like revisiting stuff that I grew up on. New wave music. Eight-bit video games. The cartoons of the ’80s most especially. Like Transformers. Sure, nostalgia probably causes me to remember the original (Generation One) series better than they actually were, but seriously. “Transform and Roll Out”? Classic!
So it was with geektastic glee that I came upon this article on Wired’s Geekdad blog on the twelve most ridiculous Transformers of all time. Yes, it spans more than just Generation One, and it obviously oozes sarcasm (feigned or otherwise), but overall it’s a treat to behold nerd rage on such a scale that I thought only I was capable of — both in the article and the comments.
[Less Than Meets the Eye: The 12 Most Ridiculous Transformers of All Time (Wired's Geekdad Blog)]
Dissertating 9 August 24, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Academically Speaking.add a comment
These are the latest developments in my ongoing research, following the consultation with my advisor earlier in the week:
Things are looking up in terms of the direction I’ve been leaning towards. As I’ve said in the past, I’m keen to write about remittances, and in the course of gathering material on the subject there are three specific things that struck me as worth looking into. Without going into specifics these are: whether remittances to the Philippines flow with, against, or irrespective of the domestic business cycle; developing a macroeconomic model with which to evaluate the impact of these flows; and finally ascertaining how exchange rate fluctuations affect remittance flows (and thereby isolating income and substitution effects). The three are related, of course, and I felt that framing the matter in this way adds some coherence to the research gaps I found in the existing literature. So far, I’ve done some preliminary work on the first part, have been given good advice with which to approach the second part and have yet to further develop that last part, though it’s the one I’m particularly interested in. I’ve been cautioned that each on their own can be tricky — as if I didn’t already know — and thus the plan is to take things one step at a time, continue with what I’ve already begun and see if that doesn’t develop into something full-blown in its own right.
Realistically, it’s too early in the research game to have a sense of how things will turn out (i.e., what sort of output will be sufficient for the dissertation), but my professor and I have hammered out a timetable that will have me prepare the working proposal draft before the end of Spring, present the proposal in the Fall, and defend the dissertation in the Spring thereafter. This amounts to a good two years of research work (including time already spent) on the dissertation stage. Admittedly, there is a part of me that’s a little disappointed that it can’t be sooner, but a two year research project is just about right for someone in my situation. Besides, in these here parts, the “proposal” is already mostly the finished deal, so we’re really talking about a good year to hammer out the dissertation draft and another to get the comments in, shine and polish.
That’s where things stand now. When I get back to the Manila later in the week, my immediate concern will be to figure out the appropriate econometric technique to isolate the cyclical component of my data (there are several — I’ll probably write about this in the next installment) while looking into some nuances surrounding the reporting of official remittance statistics. If this gets tiresome (oi!), I’ve been advised that it might be worth looking into the literature on international risk sharing; but above all else it’s probably best not to let my eye off the proverbial ball. I’ve also been putting off updating the reference list for quite some time now, so I’d better get around to doing that, too.
***
From this point forward, “Dissertating” moves to a fortnightly schedule. This’ll give me time to catch up on the work I’ve had to put off while winding down my NY commitments (which is a nice way of saying “moving out”), and is probably more realistic in terms of making the sort of progress worth writing about. So it’s “every-two-weeks-or-whenever-I-accomplish-anything-significant”, whichever comes first. At the very least, it will help ensure that this space isn’t overrun by aimless missives about my research — my readership is thin enough as it is!
Curiouser and Curiouser August 19, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Reviews, Video Games.add a comment
Because I frequent a lot of video game blogs (particularly DS Fanboy and Kotaku, my personal favorite), I’d been excited about Professor Layton and the Curious Village for quite some time. Well, excited and curious. Could another puzzle game, on a platform awash with puzzle games, really live up to the hype it seems to have drummed up on Japanese shores? Even when localized? I just had to know. So sometime after its US release back February, I picked up my copy and set about putting the game through its paces .
Soon enough, I was pleased to find that it lives up to all the acclaim surrounding it, and then some.
By definition, puzzle games aren’t for everyone, but Professor Layton and the Curious Village does so many things right that it practically demands attention from a wider audience. Consider, for instance, the fact that it is manages to pull off story-driven puzzle gaming in a manner that doesn’t feel forced at all. Granted, the mystery-esque plot is fairly predictable with maybe a couple of inexplicable elements (who was that bad guy, anyway?), but it blends in rather well with the game’s overall feel, and is sufficiently engaging to keep players’ interested to see the story through to its logical conclusion.
Then there’s the game’s production value. In a word: wow. From the moment one leafs through the manual it’s plain to see that the game is a quality product. The artwork is topnotch and the anime cutscenes are the best I’ve seen on the DS so far (in terms of amount shown and overall quality, with the possible exception of the painfully bad voice acting for the Professor’s ward Luke). The gameplay mechanics are kept simple and sensible — note that there are built in hints to each brainteaser lest one get stumped — and the addition of weekly downloadable puzzles is a great way to keep a game with otherwise very little replay value fresh.
Finally, there is also the promise of unlockable content via a passcode to be made available with the game’s sequel. Some may look none too kindly on this marketing gimmick, especially because the sequels (there are two) have yet to be announced on Western shores. Me? I think this is a good sign of things to come, because this is one franchise whose audience shouldn’t be limited to Japanes shores alone. It’s that good, and may be proof positive that Level-5 is coming into its own as a game developer from whom we can expect great things.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is yet another fantastic addition to the Nintendo DS’ library. As the box art says: “Solve brainteasers to crack the case.” Sometimes, it really doesn’t need to get much better than that.
In-Flight Entertainment 8 August 17, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Reviews, Up and Away.add a comment
I’m postponing another round of Random Travel Notes until after I fly back home. Likewise, Dissertating will be put on hold until after I get to consult with the powers that be later in the week. In lieu of these, another roundup of the films I missed in theaters but caught in transit gets your undivided attention:
Charlie Bartlett. I thought it was interesting enough, but certainly not the sort of thing I would’ve wanted to watch on the big screen (and based on the trailers, I actually wanted to). The movie has this whole Dazed and Confused vibe going for it with a character that reminds me of J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, which is probably why I wasn’t too taken with it (I’m not too fond of The Catcher in the Rye). There were moments the movie reminded me of The Royal Tenenbaums, too. I thought it would’ve been more interesting had the film revolved around the “kid becomes peers’ de facto psychologist” angle rather than the hodgepodge of drug dealing, teen angst, rebelliousness and relationships it turned out to be. For that matter, off the top of my head I’m at a loss to describe what the movie was about at all.
Drillbit Taylor. It’s like a trainwreck: I knew exactly what to expect, and yet I couldn’t resist but watch it. The long and the short of it is that this is one feature-length “meh” from start to finish. Why is it Owen Wilson gravitates to these kind or roles, anyway? Guy used to be funny, and the irony of it all is I think the movie would have been so much better had it headlined Rob Schneider, Adam Sandler or Ben Stiller insead.
Iron Man. Everyone that would rave about the film described it in ZOMG terms. The verdict? ZOMG! John Favreau is a genius, pushing all the right buttons and getting the perfect cast for the film. It’s a pretty straightforward superhero movie that wouldn’t have been half as good were it not for Robert Downey Jr., who pulls of the Tony-Stark-was-inspired-by-Howard-Hughes characterization near perfectly. Terrence Howard was a tad underutilized (a la James Franco in Spider-Man, so this one cries “sequel!”), and I felt Gwyneth Paltrow was a little too stoic for her role, though she played it well. And Jeff Bridges nearly steals the damn show. Overall, it would be unfair to compare Iron Man to The Dark Knight as the two have different appeals, but both go to show what comic-inspired movies can accomplish with a great cast and a good screenplay. Oh, and the mech-on-mech throwdown at the end? Epic!
Leatherheads. George Clooney is still the man, both as actor and director. I hear he got into this project because he didn’t want to be typecast after doing such serious roles in Goodnight and Goodluck, Syriana, and Michael Clayton. So it all works out, but perhaps not as well as it could’ve. The film’s good for a few chuckles, to be sure, but in other areas falls flat. In my opinion, I think the screenwriters should have shot for a more out-and-out love letter to the prohibition era beginnings of professional American Football rather than something along the lines of A League of Their Own, because in the process the film got stranded somewhere in the middle — and that’s not a good thing.
Run, Fatboy, Run. Ah, Simon Pegg. He’s my new hero. The guy is an awesome scene stealer (even in the lead role) and manages to make a movie with an otherwise unremarkable premise (man leaves woman at the altar and then years later tries to win her back by entering a marathon?!) shine purely on the basis of acting ability. It helps, of course, that Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria are along for the ride. David Schwimmer directs, too. There’s a fair degree of brown and otherwise completely inappropriate humor thrown into the mix (which is probably why it’s funny), but there’s more to enjoy in the movie than the wisecracks and punch line. Heck, I’m practically kicking myself in the head for not buying the DVD while waiting for my connection in Hong Kong, because now I know that the US release won’t be until September. I think the movie resonated with me because I’ve taken a liking to running. Jogging, really, though some have said it resembles “walking really quick-like” the way I do it. Ahem. What was I talking about, again?
Traveling Light August 14, 2008
Posted by Brian L. Belen in Up and Away.add a comment
This is odd, by my standards: I’m getting set to fly back to NY in a few hours, and I find that all I have packed is an overnight bag.
In the three years back and forth, I suppose I’ve gotten used to my routine with suitcase in tow. This time is different though: with the coursework done there’s little reason for a long stay away. Thus the purpose of this trip is to tie up the loose ends: shut down the apartment, close some accounts, and consult with the professors so I can do the research remotely from the comfort of home sweet home.
So this’ll be a quick trip by all accounts, but a hectic one at that. Will be back before anyone misses me.
