Three recommendations: A game, a TV show and a book (Blog Post)

posted by Brian Houston (dag) 2 months ago • 488 views
I've had the flu over the past week and have been in and out of a delirious state. Even though I've been driving the porcelain bus that hasn't stopped me from getting in some good leisure activities. I have for you three solid recommendations for things to consume in your idle hours.

The first is the game FTL. Many of you in the indy gaming scene may have already played it, and I'm as usual, late to the party. I love this game. Its charm is that it's disguised as a very, very simple retro space battle game. In reality, it's an immersive strategic adventure that has given me more thrills than I deserve for $10. The basic premise is that you're a single vessel racing across the galaxy to bring news of impending rebel invasion. Along the way you build up your ship, meet aliens who join your crew and kick rebel ass. FTL is different than many games in its genre in that it's meant to be played in a single sitting. There are no save points, this adds a lot to the thrill. An entire game can be played from start to finish in about an hour.



FTL is a little bit famous for a very successful KickStarter campaign. If you're in to well-balanced space opera battle games, I heartily recommend this title, and for ten schmackos, you really can't go wrong.

My second recommendation is the TV show Fresh Meat. If you're in the UK you are probably well aware of it - as it's into a second season already. I have to admit, I've been a little disappointed with the new season of the now Harmonless Community. If you'd like to see a comedy that deals with college life that is a little more raw and sometimes side-splittingly funny, give it a try. It's made by the creators of Peep Show, and even has Robert Webb in a minor role as a sexually ambiguous college tutor.



My third recommendation (are you still with me) is a SF book called Constellation Games. I bought it based on a recommendation from Cory Doctorow - and I have to say it's been a really great read. It's messy, written in the form of blog posts, emails and rants - but it somehow works. The plot involves an earth-visiting group of alien visitors who belong to a multi-species "hippy anarchist" society. The main character is an earthing who creates crappy video games for a living and wants to review alien video games for his blog. He gets samples of ancient gaming systems from multiple races and puts them through their paces. At the same time he's dealing with the integration of the entire human race into this new pan-galactic society. This is not a normal space opera SF, it's very Internet nerdy and hits me in my sweet spot. I make this as more of a guarded recommendation- if you love the culture of video games and want to get your head around what they would be like in alien cultures - you may find this book expands your mind a bit. Buy the ebook directly from the little publisher - it will make you feel good.

Veronica Mars: The Movie (Funded via Kickstarter) (Blog Post)

posted by Rommel Santor (lucky760) 2 months ago • 368 views
If you're a fan of Veronica Mars (and if you've ever seen it, you must be), you'll be half as elated as I was to learn just now that Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell are pushing to make it a movie.

Fuck. Yes.

This was one of the best shows on TV before it was taken down for being too smart to garner more than a fanatical cult following. It was put on Kickstarter yesterday with a goal of $2,000,000 and as of this writing it's reached $3.46 million, so it looks like the project is one hell of a history-making go.

There are only 27 days left for the Kickstarter campaign, so head over and pitch in your two cents just to drill home how loved Veronica Mars and how much it needs to live on in any and every possible way.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project


Why do so many Asian-American kids do so well in school? (Blog Post)

posted by Rommel Santor (lucky760) 2 months 1 week ago • 396 views
By Kathy Seal of Pacific Standard Magazine:

Researchers are zeroing in on one important reason: the unique style of Asian-American parenting.

A visit to the University of California’s most selective campuses shows how very well Asian-American kids do academically: While Asian Americans constituted 14 percent of the state population in 2008, this fall they made up about 40 percent of the freshman class at UCLA and 37 percent of the entering class at University of California, Berkeley.

But it’s not just in California, and it’s not just in college. The 2000 Census found that 44 percent of Asian Americans had a bachelor’s degree, compared with 26 percent of the white population. Their outsize presence in higher education — critics charge some universities with enforcing tacit Asian-American quotas — has made their success legend.

... more inside ...


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