Grand Theft Auto 4: It's New York

…or Liberty City.

The new version of the best game ever is here… nearly. You can see the trailer here (because the official site's down at the moment). It's pretty obvious that the new game is set (at least partly) in New York. The actor's accent is interesting. My first thought was that he might be Russian, a possibility that could still leave the idea of a European angle to the game open.

Apart from that, the graphics look amazing. There are no proper gameplay shots but it's clear enough that it represents a major step up. Whether it has anything like the shift which characterised GTA3's appearance on the scene remains to be shown. Somehow, I doubt it does… but I'm more than ready to be proved wrong.

Any ideas about what the new trailer reveals?

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March 30, 2007 | Filed Under Internet computer | 2 Comments 

Pimp my MySpace with foulness

myspace-profile-1.png

I'm not sure how I ended up with a MySpace account. It's not something I'm particularly proud of, though I'm glad that I can use it to stay in touch with friends in the UK who don't really 'do' email like I do. Anyway, what I really wanted to write about today is why I'm going to start a new tradition with my Space. Starting yesterday, I'm going to find the most tacky, disgusting and cutré profile design possible for my profile. Perhaps it'll feature a buxom bikini model, a famous footballer, a sports car or an alien smoking a spliff. Ideally, it should include just the right balance of transparency, non-complimentary colours, animated gifs etc to render it practically unreadable to all but the most dedicated stalker/layabout.

I'm going to celebrate the trashiness of the world's most popular website and I want you to come with me. Suggest a theme from pimp-my-profile.com, or an equivalent (ideally with a song which you think will compliment the layout), and I'll adopt the best entries for a week each. Let's get low.

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March 27, 2007 | Filed Under Internet computer, Site news | 2 Comments 

Le Flâneur

It's great when a new blog appears which manages to capture the zeitgeist and also offers insight on feminism, painting and the world in general.

Today, I'm happy to share just such a blog with you. Le Flâneur is the new incarnation of The Lowe Point, all jazzed up with a funky WordPress design and 1000px width. It rocks.

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March 24, 2007 | Filed Under Internet computer | Leave a Comment 

Turkish Star Wars

So called because the makers of this Turkish sci-fi film ripped off sections from the George Lucas classic. This is undeniably the single best film ever made.

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March 20, 2007 | Filed Under General | 5 Comments 

The Trap

Last night, we watched the second part of Adam Curtis's documentary about the concept of freedom in modern society, The Trap. It was really very interesting and while naturally polemical in its structure, still worth watching even for those who still think James M. Buchanan has all the answers (you're wrong: he doesn't). Curtis basically condemns the adoption of 'game theory' as a system of social management, because of its flawed classification of humans as simple, mechanical computing machines.

I'm sorry to say that we missed the first part in the series. Reviews of it were very good, though, so I'll have to see if I can't hunt down a copy.

In other news, my colleague, Eric and I met up with web2.0 professional, John Bell on Thursday evening. He said a lot which opened my eyes and got me thinking about new ways of approaching social media, specifically in Barcelona and Catalonia. Anyone who wants to be at the bleeding edge of web technologies could do worse than bookmarking his blog (and then reading it at regular intervals). He wrote a very kind blurb about this blog here.

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March 19, 2007 | Filed Under Catalonia, Internet computer, Politics, Site news | 2 Comments 

About that coup…

A few days ago, I mentioned in these pages that members of the PSOE had suggested that the PP and its allies in the AVT were attempting to foment a coup d'etat against the Socialist government.

After some investigation, I have to report that the only place where I can find any reference to this quote is the right-wing website, 'Libertad Digital'. As LD is almost totally unreliable in their news coverage, I reckon that either the story was highly exaggerated or it was a total fabrication.

I should have checked-out the story properly before referring to it.

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March 17, 2007 | Filed Under Spain, coup | Leave a Comment 

Scrap Trident!

MPs vote today on whether to renew the UK's nuclear deterrent. To do so would not only contravene the Non-Proliferation Treaty but would commit the UK to huge spending, perpetuate the nuclear arms race, and send the wrong signal to those countries we are trying to convince not to build their own programs.

Besides these arguments, Tony Blair's government has broken a promise it made to allow a full public debate prior to holding a vote on the issue. The debate has been stifled and the vote is being rushed into.

While it's going to be tough to prevent the Yes vote, you can join or donate to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament here and say No to Trident.

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March 14, 2007 | Filed Under Politics, UK | 1 Comment 

YouTube: racism and homophobia are OK

I mentioned in a post some time ago that I was disappointed that a video with a bit of swearing in (Nick's epic bowling movie, for example) could be banned from YouTube.com whereas videos from the BNP which solicited almost explicitly racist comments are left untouched. This situation is symptomatic of a problem with the far-right in online communities: they're far better organised than the left wing are. So, for example, a video during which a Socialist party member reads from a selection of BNP literature and describes them as racist is met with responses like " Can you explain the non-stop HATE I see every day in the eyes of black men…?".

Later, the comments devolve into opposing sides referring to eachother as "Moron" and later, "C*nt". Intriguingly, this last word is banned from videos on YouTube but not from the comments people leave. Check out the abuse this user gets on his profile page. Interestingly, I only stumbled upon that user's profile because he, in turn, had been sending me offensive and threatening messages because he thought I'd posted a video spoofing homophobic reggae 'star', Buju Banton. In turn, a video of fellow reggae performer Shabba Ranks saying the bible supports Buju's positon features the comment "Heah i aint famous so f*ck it, all queers should be shot dead it aint right and should be dealt with by aggression and plenty of it cut there cocks off if they cant use it properly f*ckin sick bastards.. [sic]".

I recognise that in the US, where YouTube is registered, there exists a stronger belief in freedom of expression, whatever offence is caused. And yet, YouTube's Community Guidelines state "We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech which contains slurs or the malicious use of stereotypes intended to attack or demean a particular gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or nationality". The advice given by YouTube is that if you're not happy with something, you should flag it as inappropriate and it will be dealt with. I know, however, that this is just not applied to offensive comments.

So what should be done? Some people will say that frankly, freedom of speech should be upheld above all other rights. I disagree when it comes to hate speech as categorised in YouTube's own rules. YouTube really needs to make more of an effort to moderate debate on its pages. There's no stopping stupid thugs making unpleasant videos like this but YouTube should be checking the content that gets uploaded to its site.

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March 14, 2007 | Filed Under Internet computer, Politics | 4 Comments 

Cerdanyola shooting - big news - updated

Something massive has been going down here today. Apparently at about 1215 this afternoon, two Mossos tried to investigate two dodgy geezers wearing wigs who'd been seen casing a bank by the Carretera de Barcelona. The two alleged hoodlums apparently opened fire on the Mossos, wounding one, and then fled to a place near where Adam lives. There, they abandoned their car and are believed to be hiding out. There have been helicopters in the sky all afternoon, looking for the miscreants. It will be interesting to see just who's stupid enough to shoot at some police officers.

More details: here and here.

UPDATE: The alleged criminals have been arrested after a brief siege at their apartment not five minutes from our flat. They're a man and a woman and apparently lived together. It seems they had a sawn-off shotgun, or maybe two. They're being questioned in a comisaria nearby.

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March 13, 2007 | Filed Under Catalonia, Home | 1 Comment 

What's the idea? Anti-government demos in Madrid

It seems that the BBC are reporting on a new opposition demonstration in Madrid every weekend now, inadvertently showing the pictures of falangist flags and Nazi salutes that the Spanish media seems not to see. There's no doubt that the PP has a decent base of around 30,000 activists it can rely on to be bussed to Madrid on a Saturday morning with their flags and their kids (the rest of the attendees seem to be Madrileños). But the aims behind the demos are a much more cloudy affair.

The official rationale behind the marches is this: the PSOE is selling Spain out to ETA by doing things like talking with them and releasing prisoners early. The PP wants anyone who's opposed to Spain's destruction to feel an affiliation with those marching in Madrid. Never mind some inconvenient truths, such as: the PP government released no fewer than 64 prisoners on the same basis as De Juana Chaos's original release schedule. Either the PP deserve the wrath of the people for this behaviour, or the idea of releasing people early, in line with the judgement of the courts, is not as blood-curdlingly awful as they say. The PP also held secret negotiations with ETA and offered to move other prisoners to the Basque country, in line with ETA demands.

But for some reason, these facts are either forgotten or not seen as a betrayal of Spain. Why not? The only explanations are that either they're not evidence of a betrayal of Spain; or that those people demonstrating don't really care about justice; or that the people demonstrating are being misled by political agitators about the actions and aims of both the present government and their predecessors.

In their largely unsuccessful co-opting of traditionally left-wing means of protest, the PP fail to offer one important thing: their alternative. They're opposed to dialogue with ETA, so how do we achieve peace in the Basque country? Not interested, is the response. "Wipe them out" is the stupid and unhelpful proposition from some foreign observers (who've never had to live under the threat of terrorism). The truth is that no solution will ever be found without dialogue. It's going to be painful and tricky but those who suddenly oppose talks now are only delaying the inevitable.

The absence of a true alternative is a permanent feature of PP political activity. They rarely, if ever, propose an alternative solution to the problems they perceive in Spanish society. What they're good at is making a lot of noise, using a lot of invective and waving a lot of flags. They don't seem to bring anything to the table beyond opposition for opposition's sake.

But it's not just the PP who are responsible for attracting people to these demonstrations. The AVT, while effectively a grassroots campaign group for the PP, technically remains a separate entity which can therefore attract people who don't consider themselves to be PP supporters so much as non-aligned anti-terrorists. The AVT's website, though, says very little about terrorism or its victims. It's dominated by a banner which calls for an "Unstoppable Civic Rebellion"*. El Mundo and El Cope both make encouraging noises about attending the demos, and insist on calling them 'protest for freedom' and other such nonsense. Finally, Libertad Digital, the online newsletter of the far-right, uses unashamedly old-style falangist calls to arms or outright lies to encourage their sorry (and declining) readership out into the streets.

There are those in the PSOE who accuse this united front of plotting (or even attempting) a coup d'etat against the elected government. I think that's an exaggeration. But I can understand the fear these people are begining to cause among supporters of the constitution and a modern, progressive society. Just what is it they really want?

–

*I may be a bit simple, but can someone explain the specific differences between a 'civil war' and a 'civic rebellion'…? They sound quite similar to me.

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March 13, 2007 | Filed Under 'Terror', PP, Spain | 2 Comments 

ERC: hardcore separatists

Yeah, they're at it again. So-called separatist-friendly, hardcore-porn producing friend of the people, Conrad Son, has been given more money by the Generalitat to make some 'girl friendly' porn, en Català. Apparently, he's a big fan of Josep Carod-Rovira (and no doubt, the ERC leader is a big fan of… hot Catalan action… yuck*).

There are a number of serious questions raised by this (is there really no material considered out of bounds for those keen on spreading the word of Catalan? is it not morally reprehensible for a 'left-wing' party to get involved in the production of porn, even if it is 'for women? doesn't porn for women just mean it's toned down a bit?)… the main concern has to be this: Conrad Son, please don't let Carod-Rovira become the Catalan Ron Jeremy.

__

*I have no problem with hot Catalan action, myself.

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March 9, 2007 | Filed Under Catalonia, Politics | 5 Comments 

Ann Coulter and the gay porn star

An amusing (and, if I may, revealing) article by Max Blumenthal here covering the slightly embarrassing CPAC event last weekend. It seems that after calling (or nearly calling) John Edwards a 'faggot', Coulter cosied up with former gay porn star and rentboy, Cpl. Matt Sanchez.

There is of course nothing inherently wrong with Sanchez being a gay porn star or a male escort. His past is only notable because he chose to join a movement that exploits anti-gay sentiment for political gain. Coulter's now-famous "faggot" remark was not an aberration, but rather a symbol of the politics of resentment that propels the conservative movement and its elected Republican surrogates; a reflection of the bigotry conservatives have sought to write into the Constitution through the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment. The ascendant "family values" wing of the right is also responsible for sabotaging legislation allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces, a maneuver that may now spell the end of Sanchez's career.

This is yet another story which gives the lie to conservative 'ownership' and 'custody' of morality. I wouldn't mind them so much if they didn't spend half their time slagging people off for doing things they, or their mates, are perfectly happy to indulge in. The point is that no one, left or right, can own morality… but it is conservatives who frequently claim to.

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March 8, 2007 | Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments 

500 things to do in Spain before you die

Ben at Notes From Spain is running this interesting contest to win an iPod Shuffle. To take part, submit your idea for one thing (or loads of things) you feel must be done in Spain before you shuffle of your mortal coil. Examples given are eating gastropods in Basque land, risking your neck in a gorge and frolicking in the sand. thebadrash.com is going to join in the fun, but we can't think of anything yet, except for taking a two-hour siesta on a work day. The 500 best things will be published in a book with the proceeds going to charity.

Incidentally, I'm just about ready to unveil my new weather news service. It's pretty 'intuitive'. If I go for a week without posting anything to the blog, the sun's out.

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March 5, 2007 | Filed Under Spain | 1 Comment 

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