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	17 April 2004 GAME: ALIAS (2004). My wife Nicki, lovely creature, is an avid fan of the television series this game is based on. No doubt she had high hopes of acting out the fantasy that is Sidney Bristow, the ass-kickin', haute couture-wearin' CIA agent hotty. What she got instead was a clumsy, repetitive brawler with camera problems and claustrophobic level design. I admire the game's attempt to include puzzle elements, as when Sidney hacks a security panel or has to figure out a security code. Unfortunately, the puzzles don't make much sense, and are solved by simple brute-force button mashing. Unsatisfying. Virtual Sidney still looks pretty hot, though. Must be the high poly count. GAMEPLAY: Like dog-paddling through syrup. REMINISCENT OF: The Matrix. And that's not a good thing. LIBRARY WORTHY? Nope. Watch the show instead. That's what Nicki recommends.   Back to main GAME: XIII (2004). XIII is a cel-shaded first person shooter made by French company Ubisoft, who also produced the stunning Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and the inexplicably popular Rayman series. The game starts off well, with stylish, comic book-like cutscenes reminiscent of 70s cop drama movie titles, and a noir story hook a la Max Payne. But then, sadly, the gameplay begins to sag a bit; levels become increasingly simplistic, designed either as vast arenas or tight singletracks with no secret areas and an overdependence on tedious stealth missions; the sharp comic book rendering eventually gives way to a more traditional, realistic style. Even the story begins to make less and less sense. My favorite part was at the Sanctuary, headquarters for a secret syndicate of powerful men bent on fulfilling Total Red: a plan which would create a New America across the globe and crush any opposition before it. You see them strolling about a dark cathedral wearing white KKK-style robes, complete with pointed hats. Some sort of French commentary on American Imperialism? Maybe. But before you throw out the Roquefort, realize that Ubisoft had the good sense to make your player one of the good guys: a level-headed, courageous Yankee with the guts to stand up to tyranny. GAMEPLAY: Spread too thin. The action isn't exactly blistering, and the monotonous stealth levels only force the player to replay levels over and over again just to memorize fixed guard patrol patterns. REMINISCENT OF: Pick any classic first person shooter. Then take it down a couple notches. LIBRARY WORTHY? No. Admire the game's fine cel-shaded screenshots instead.   Back to main 16 April 2004 PHOTO DIARY. Jongo (over in tech) gave me his desktop rear-view mirror today. It's tchotchke from Iomega, left over from the dot com days. In it I can see Josh. I can see Kristina. It's very distracting.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. Hidden among the screaming signage along Wilshire Blvd is a mural painted on the side of a shopping mall. I think it's an attempt to inject a token bit of culture into L.A.'s car-consumer ("carsumer?") culture. The mural proclaims, in rebus-like form, that Art Does Not Read Like A Sentence. The word art is framed; does not is being spoken by a pouting child; read like a sentence is framed as if it were a billboard. I don't know who painted this, or why they thought they could compete with the rest of the signs along Wilshire, but one can probably guess that the piece refers to a rebellion against Structuralism and its encapsulated rhetoric. But dude. This art looks like just another road sign. So now what?   Back to main 15 April 2004 PHOTO DIARY. Oh Lord. This is the best thing ever.   Back to main 14 April 2004 PHOTO DIARY. Today Tad (co-worker) doodled on our white board at work. He's a real weirdo -- an indie-rockin' surfer dude who plays in a couple bands: The Decoration and Machine Love. Anyway. He drew a portrait of me on a mysterious mermaid/scooter hybrid. A merooter, as it were. Told you he was a weirdo.   Back to main 11 April 2004 CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE. On 502 Colorado Ave., one block from home, stands an apartment building that is literally and functionally green. I dig the solar panels, the intelligently placed windows, and the native plant garden for lowered water consumption. Turns out the place is built by Livable Places, a group dedicated to building sustainable, eco-friendly housing. As in: 92% of 502 Colorado's electricity is produced by a combination of solar and natural gas-powered generators; the waste heat is used for hot water; and so on. Here's to off-grid living.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. While biking along the beach, Nicki and I happened upon these gigantic people playing tennis in Venice. Oh wait -- it's just that they're playing on small courts. Paddle tennis courts, in fact. A brief history: Frank P. Beal created paddle tennis in 1898 as a way of teaching tennis to children in Albion, Michigan. Beal, who was a youngster himself, simply cut the dimensions of the tennis court in half, replacing the tennis ball with a sponge rubber ball and the tennis racket with a wooden paddle. Nicki, a tennis purist, scoffed. We also spotted some wacky beachfront houses along the way. This one has it all: green bathroom mosaic tile, a Japanese shrine gate, and a luxury treehouse complete with crystal chandelier.   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 —