FOR FRIENDS FAR & WIDE.

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	19 March 2004 GAME: JAMES BOND 007 NIGHTFIRE (2003). Remember how the last Bond game, Agent Under Fire, was kinda eh, causing one to wonder if gamemakers would ever recapture the perfection of the original Goldeneye? Well. Not to worry. Everything's all better now. Really, Nightfire's gameplay is just as clever, varied, and happily infuriating as Goldeneye was, but with vastly improved graphics and slightly better storytelling. I'm re-playing it to get all the Bond moves and hidden 007 tokens -- a good sign. Some might pooh-pooh Nightfire as being yet another mainstream genre game, but hey man, it's not the what, it's the how. And Nightfire is one well-built game. Solid fun. GAMEPLAY: Smooth as a gravy sandwich. REMINISCENT OF: Um, Goldeneye. LIBRARY WORTHY? Not really. Well worth a rental, though.   Back to main 18 March 2004 CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE. Many wealthier homes in Los Angeles feature tall hedges for privacy. The thinking behind this choice of barrier might be that hedges look less obviously paranoid than walls do, and also fulfill urbanites' righteous indignation at living in a concrete city with very few green spaces (besides country clubs and homeless parks). This hedge, with its keyhole doorway, stands a magestic twelve feet in height. The top of the arch must be a challenge to trim. Crisp, manicured greenery dotted gardens all along the deserted street.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. Nicki and Jung took me out to last night's Clippers/Lakers game as an early birthday present. Big bro couldn't make it (busy with work), which was a bummer because the Clippers, ever the underdog, kept us on the edge of our seats the entire night by falling only three points short of beating the Greatest Bastketball Team In The World. Final: 103 - 106. Now if only the Clippers could figure out that whole pesky passing thing... Somehow we managed to get 7th row seats. Shaq looks even bigger from such an angle. Note here how the basketball seems as small as a grapefruit in his hands. Plenty of celebrities sat courtside. Nicki pointed out Kadeem Hardison, of A Different World fame. Tom Green also sat a few rows ahead of us. Sean Astin, who played Frodo's sidekick Sam in Lord of the Rings, made the rounds. This was Nicki's first time at a pro basketball game. And why is she smiling? Because she also spied, with her little eyes, Adam Sandler Pete Sampras Kristin Davis (from Sex & the City) and Billy Crystal. Looks like she's happily fulfilled her celebrity sighting quota for the next few months.   Back to main 17 March 2004 MUSIC SHOW: BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS Me, Robert, fellow designer Debbie, Casey, Poe, and Jen went to a Big Head Todd show at the House of Blues down the street from work. The House of Blues is a chain of musical venues founded by celebrities, including Dan Akroyd and James Belushi, with the idea of promoting equal parts community service and musical diversity. The first HOB was opened in Harvard Square; they're now the 2nd largest live music promoter anywhere. Big Head Todd, on the other hand, is not faring so well. This photograph seems to indicate movement and energy -- a band that would maybe inspire listeners into spontaneous soul-searching. In reality, they are mediocre songwriters who fell behind other superior post-grunge ballad bands, including Toad the Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, and The Catherine Wheel. I struggled to feign interest by nodding my head with deep concern. Their cover of Eric Clapton's grating '80's hit "Forever Man" was pitch perfect right down to its two (or three?) guitar solos, which gave me a glum thought: would they have been better off as session musicians? They closed the night with the song "Bittersweet," to an oddly fist-pumping crowd. "Bittersweet" was their one hit.   Back to main 16 March 2004 CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE. There's a Days Inn that I scoot by every day on the way to work. According to Days Inn, the hotel is "surrounded by all the attractions so many tourists think of when they think 'California' or 'Beverly Hills' or 'Hollywood'." Indeed! Detail. The ominous bird adorning the pink arch serves to ward off dirty seagulls.   Back to main 15 March 2004 PHOTO DIARY. The local Wild Oats supermarket has special shopping carts called "Uncarts." Each cart has a mysterious box just behind the front wheels. If the cart crosses a magic barrier of yellow dots painted in the supermarket parking lot, the whole cart drops .75 inches and fixes its front wheels, so that it can only turn in circles. How infuriating! How cool! I'm guessing it's done with radio waves, but MindWurx, the maker of the Uncart, is unclear in its documentation.   Back to main Archives. 17 August 2003 — 24 August 2003 — 31 August 2003 — 07 September 2003 — 14 September 2003 — 02 November 2003 — 09 November 2003 — 16 November 2003 — 23 November 2003 — 30 November 2003 — 07 December 2003 — 01 February 2004 — 08 February 2004 — 15 February 2004 — 22 February 2004 — 29 February 2004 — 07 March 2004 — 14 March 2004 — 21 March 2004 — 28 March 2004 — 04 April 2004 — 11 April 2004 — 18 April 2004 — 25 April 2004 — 02 May 2004 — 09 May 2004 — 16 May 2004 — 23 May 2004 — 30 May 2004 — 06 June 2004 — 13 June 2004 — 20 June 2004 — 27 June 2004 — 04 July 2004 — 11 July 2004 — 18 July 2004 — 25 July 2004 — 01 August 2004 — 08 August 2004 — 15 August 2004 — 22 August 2004 — 29 August 2004 — 05 September 2004 — 12 September 2004 — 19 September 2004 — 26 September 2004 — 03 October 2004 — 10 October 2004 — 17 October 2004 — 24 October 2004 — 31 October 2004 — 07 November 2004 — 14 November 2004 — 21 November 2004 — 28 November 2004 — 05 December 2004 — 12 December 2004 — 19 December 2004 — 26 December 2004 — 02 January 2005 — 09 January 2005 — 23 January 2005 — 30 January 2005 — 06 February 2005 — 13 February 2005 — 20 February 2005 — 27 February 2005 — 13 March 2005 — 20 March 2005 — 27 March 2005 — 03 April 2005 — 10 April 2005 — 17 April 2005 — 24 April 2005 — 01 May 2005 — 08 May 2005 — 22 May 2005 — 29 May 2005 — 05 June 2005 — 12 June 2005 — 19 June 2005 — 26 June 2005 — 03 July 2005 — 10 July 2005 — 17 July 2005 — 24 July 2005 — 31 July 2005 — 07 August 2005 — 14 August 2005 — 28 August 2005 — 04 September 2005 — 25 September 2005 — 02 October 2005 — 09 October 2005 — 30 October 2005 — 06 November 2005 — 13 November 2005 — 20 November 2005 — 27 November 2005 — 04 December 2005 — 18 December 2005 — 01 January 2006 — 08 January 2006 — 15 January 2006 — 22 January 2006 — 05 February 2006 — 26 February 2006 — 12 March 2006 — 19 March 2006 — 26 March 2006 — 02 April 2006 — 16 April 2006 — 23 April 2006 — 30 April 2006 — 07 May 2006 — 14 May 2006 — 21 May 2006 — 04 June 2006 — 18 June 2006 — 25 June 2006 — 16 July 2006 — 23 July 2006 — 06 August 2006 — 13 August 2006 — 03 September 2006 — 17 September 2006 — 01 October 2006 —