I’ve set up a new instance of Foundry VTT. As an old time pen and paper RPG player I find it quite impressive to see where the tools to play traditional tabletop RPGs online are these days.
If you’re interested in checking it out, you can see it here.
In a continuation of the theme, The 8-Bit Guy’s “Commodore History Part 3 – The Commodore 64” is great technical breakdown of the second computer I ever used. It’s really interesting to understand the technical reasons for the various features and limitations of a computer that you used as a child. The 8-Bit Guy’s channel in general is quite good, it’s particularly interesting if you have a technical background but aren’t really familiar with the specs and conventions of late 1970s to mid-1980s home computing.
Continue readingMy elementary school had a number of Apple II, Apple II+, and Apple IIe computers in the early 1980s. This was my first exposure to computers in general and I’ve only started to appreciate how fortunate I was to have a few teachers who were quite interested in computers even though there wasn’t really any computer class offered until I was in high school.
In my search for interesting info on the Apple II, I came across this really interesting video from the 8-Bit Guy walking through a restoration of an Apple II+.
Aside from their political analysis, I really enjoy FiveThirtyEight’s other coverage. Their roots are in statistical analysis of sports and they tend to cover a lot of obscure topics from a statistical perspective. This article by Allison McCann is a great example of a side project, looking at the relationship between hip-hop and politics from a data perspective.
She includes some cool interactive graphics as well as a searchable database for political references in rap and hip-hop lyrics. Plus the article showcases a pretty cool video which is easily my favourite political song of the 2016 campaign thus far.
I just finished watching My Scientology Movie by Louis Theroux and BBC Films. Unfortunately I was unable to get tickets when it was here at Hot Docs this year so I was really looking forward to seeing it.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Louis, I think he has a fascinating technique and he has made a number of films which I have found incredibly compelling. But I also find some of his work a bit contrived and there are occasions where I’ve felt that he’s soft peddled a situation. But I’m probably being unfair…
For whatever mistakes I may have felt he’s made in the past, he’s taken a very unconventional approach, and in doing so he manages to bait the “Church” into helping him make an even more damning film then he would ever have created if they had simply co-operated. Continue reading
As a follow-up to: The Atlantic’s Endorsement of Clinton, I thought I’d share the article that drew me to The Atlantic’s website in the first place about the remarkable rise of Seth Meyers to become the foremost progressive comic satirizing this year’s presidential election.
I’ve not been a huge fan of Meyers until now, he’s certainly a good performer but I’ve not been an avid SNL watcher for a long time so I missed most of his heydey. But this year he has really done an incredibly job mocking Trump in his own unique style.
The Atlantic: Why Seth Meyers Can’t Get Enough of Trump — The Late Night host discusses the pleasures of satirizing the presumptive GOP nominee and the rise of topical humor on his show.
It can be tedious working for a crown corp and the CBC certainly has its moments, just like any other job, but then there are things like this that you just don’t get to see anywhere else.
It’s pretty strange to be at a point in your life where pop heroes from your childhood are now being retread as kids entertainers of your middle age. But it was still pretty neat to see the parents almost as excited as the kids!
Sorry for the bad quality, I didn’t expect to see Maestro, let alone be taking video of Let Your Backbone Slide so I wasn’t exactly prepared.
Starting with this month’s tournament in Nagoya there is now an English language official web broadcast courtesy of NHK. This seems to be an experiment, so I’m hoping that they decide it’s successful. The quality of the programme is fantastic and as much as I’d like to see a bit more of the ring entering ceremonies and so on, I’m pretty impressed nonetheless.
You can check it out here, and if you’re a sumo fan who speaks English I really encourage you to!
Also, if you’re interested in more coverage, I suggest you to check out Jason’s All-Sumo channel on YouTube. He’s got great coverage of the domestic broadcasts in Japan and is just doing it because he loves the sport not to mention he seems like a nice guy!