1. A couple of birthdays.
2. Norway’s national day.
3. Eurovision Song Contest.
4. Two weeks of hospital.
5. Additional treatments.
6. Started a new project.
7. Resumed another project.
8. E3

2.) This year I spent most of our national day at my uncle’s together with some of my family as well as my uncle’s girlfriends family. Lots of lovely food, and by that I mean LOTS! I was in heaven hehe. One of those days where you wish you could eat forever. One of the reasons it probably was so much extra goodies this year is because it also happen to be my uncle’s 40th birthday.

3.) Eurovision Song Contest. Now, most of you outside Europe now probably goes “Say what?!”. However in Europe this is a pretty huge thing which you can get more in depth info about here. Nobody actually watches this show (so they say), but the fact is most do (1 billion), it’s tradition after all. This year we (Norway) won the whole thing setting a massive score record, meaning, we get to host it next year. You can pretty much say it’s been crazy lately, with the winning song playing over and over EVERYWHERE, newspapers and magazines writing pages up and down about Alexander Rybak (the winning artist), debates about what town getting to host it etc. I feel like strangling somebody when I hear the winning song haha. But on the other side I watched it, was happy when we won, and will watch it again next year. I just don’t like things being milked to the very last drop ack.

4.) Oh the fun, two weeks at the hospital. No I have to disappoint you, I didn’t get to ride an ambulance with flashing lights and use the siren. Two times a year I got a scheduled control, and once every couple of years, or if things get really unbearable, then I’m in for an extended control like this time. Most of it is actually somewhat lovely, like the swimming, heat treatment and massage/physiotherapy. Though the swimming and massage/physiotherapy can be rather painful at times, it in general is pain relieving.

The annoying part is all the doctors and tests like needles here and there, X-rays, CAT Scans, MRI and the more nasty ones including scalpels and biological injections etc. *shivers* I’m sure the doctors there are set on giving me a 3rd arm coming out of my stomach, a tail, super powers or making me glow in the dark. The radiation I’ve got over the past eight or so years is ridiculous high.

So what did I get out of this control? Pretty much nothing more than more radiation and more pain hehe.

6.) Yes, I started a new project. And as often, I can’t or won’t really say what it is ;) However I can tell you this! It’s already nearing it’s first release, and if lucky you can get your hands on it already within a week! I’ll reveal this much: It’s a small software that will help you ***** your files in a ***** on a webhost.

7.) The resumed project is still a secret! ;)

8.) Past couple of days I’ve been following the annual E3 show in Los Angles and I have to admit, my inner gamer is jumping of joy of things to come, while my wallet is going into cardiac arrest! I think this year there are more games that I want than I DON’T want. Here are some links to trailers of the ones I already got on my watch list in addition to some revealed at E3. Final Fantasy XIII (horrible English dub, give us Japanese with subs!), Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Final Fantasy XIV Online, Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Assassins Creed 2 (even though the first flopped big time for me), Alan Wake, The Saboteur, Star Wars: The Old Republic, White Knight Chronicles, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, The Last Guardian, Mini Ninjas, this list will probably grow throughout the next few days as a reminder to myself. Eeeeek!

So what are you up to?

Real life has started to pick up again with spring making it’s entrance. Been on a couple of hikes already which has been really great. This first photo is from last day of the easter holiday where me and Dan climbed Ulriken. Look at the view! :D

This one’s from just the other day when we climbed Løvstakken. The weather wasn’t completely on our side, but as usual the view from almost any mountain top is great.

Though my body is currently suffering greatly from the way it’s been treated over the past couple of years, I never regret going on these hikes even if I feel like vomiting upon reaching the summit. It’s always worth it watching the view, and I always feel good about myself when I come back down. I used to be a very active person, and my goal is to become one once again. Not to mention all the health benefits that follows. Thanks for asking me to join in on these Dan, let’s make a habit out of it please. As for everyone else reading this living nearby, feel free to tag along. :D

Some of you has asked me what happen to my A Year In Pictures project. Truth be told I wasn’t cut out for it. All I thought about was what to photograph, not in a good way, more like in an obsessed way. It’s fair to say it stressed me out to the max. But was it a complete waste? Certainly not. I got a couple of photos I’m happy with to add to my collection, I finally dusted the camera after about 3 years, or should I say my creativity, I had my first photo shoot with a model shortly after, and I’ve slowly started to get back in to the whole creative world again working on some new projects I mentioned earlier in this post. One of the best parts about it for me was to see that I hadn’t lost it. I actually somewhat felt like I had improved from this break instead.

What else is new? I sold my Les Paul Custom, (miss it already) and my Wacom Intuos3. Why? I’m downgrading to a smaller size as well as upgrading the model to Intuos4 yay! As for the guitar I couldn’t justify having such an expensive guitar considering how little I play it. So, I’m in a way downgrading that one too to a really cheap one. This way I can spend the money left from these priority changes, (included a lot of savings) on a long wanted for Full HD 40″ LCD Flat screen! Most likely it will be a Sony Bravia which I’ve always wanted *Insert big grin here*. The question remains; Where to place it? Yes that is how tight I live, i’ll figure something out though.

Ok that was a little summary of what’s been going on lately for me. What news have you got? Now my dishes, laundry, bathroom etc. looks at me with some serious evil eyes. Ack, I guess I just have to get started! :P

PS: I promise it wont take two months before I post my next blog post. ;)

Starting on my birthday February 11, 2009 I will attempt to post one photo a day to create a year in pictures. If you’re interested in following the progress and see how it goes, I recommend that you either add me on flickr or bookmark the flickr url.

I feel somewhat in awe going into this project. Nonetheless this will be an interesting journey. Like you, I have no idea how it will turn out, and that alone is an interesting thought.

Time to dust of that camera, have the iPhone on standby in case I’m somewhere else, and contact some people to challenge.

I’m ready!

I’m dedicating this one especially to my man Totto. If you know Totto you’ll know why :P To everyone else, enjoy.

Have a nice weekend :)

Guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Molly Sims and Jamie Lynn.

The hype machine for the game is just beginning, as this is but the first of many countdowns to come in the future. However, will Final Fantasy loyalists be able to handle the long wait to 2010?

Via Joystiq

For HD quality visit Square Enix’s own FF XIII website.

Update:
My fingertips feel like they are full of small pieces of glass, yet, I’m on my way to the studio again today hehe

Plot shamelessly copied from Wikipedia:
9 takes place in a world parallel to our own, in which the very legacy of humanity is threatened. A group of sapient rag dolls, living a post-apocalyptic existence find one of their own, 9 (Elijah Wood), who displays leadership qualities that may help them to survive.

The conflicted, but resilient group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a domineering war veteran; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 5 (John C. Reilly), a stalwart mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; and 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a brave warrior. The trailer also depicts 3 and 4 as identical, hooded rag dolls, and 8 as a hulking warrior (his number is marked on his left shoulder unlike the others, who bear their numbers on their backs).

Official website
Release date 9/9/09

The first thing that hits you about this movie is it’s breathtaking visuals and sounds that puts you in the right atmosphere from the very beginning. I’m not sure words can even describe it so I’ll just let the trailer and photos speak for themselves for now. (The review continues below the pictures.)

Looks refreshing doesn't it?

Besides the music, vibrant colors is a key factor for setting the mood for this movie along with the level of detail.

Even the rocket smoke has a shadow, nice!

Photorealistic visuals throughout the movie.

Beautiful sunrise. I wish I was there.

What is this movie about you say? It’s a 3 part movie going through various stages of life including love, dreams, hope, youth, overcoming obstacles, reality, growing up. That pretty much sums it up I think. All done in a very realistic and honest way, not some cheesy Hollywood stunt that we’ve seen far too many of. It also has a message I’m leaving for you to figure out for yourself :)

If to nitpick on something I have to say that the only thing causing me from not giving this movie a solid 6 out of 6 is that the character details doesn’t match the ones of the environment. I can totally understand it due to the animation process I surely do, however that would have been the little extra extra for me. One other small thing is the abrupt ending. It’s not a bad ending at all without revealing anything. It just happen so fast I didn’t see it coming. It was just… stop.

I have to get a hold of a Blu-ray copy of this movie some day and see the full potential it holds ;)

A highly recommended quick watch!
(Runtime 63 min)

Rating 5 Centimeters Per Second: 5/6
Written and directed by: Makoto Shinkai

I have to say that this is what good marketing is all about. It’s brilliant in so many ways. It’s funny, grabs your attention in all the right ways, delivers a clear straight-to-the-point message that sticks to your brain. And best of all, it’s dead simple! In other words, genius…

Hands down for this class work. Hands down…

Visit Superfad’s website for some additional hilarious “out-takes”.

After been having Little Big Planet for roughly two weeks I can honestly say that to me, this is the Game of the Year 2008. Just as the Super Mario and Zelda series were to me back in my Nintendo days, (they still are). Like the creators over at Media Molecule said themselves; ”We are working hard to bring you The Next Big Thing on PS3“, and I believe that this is exactly what they’ve done.

From the moment I pressed start in this game I was sold. It somewhat gave me a feeling of being taken back over 20 years in time. The childish feelings of a 5 year old sparked inside me straight away. I can now build all the cardboard castles, go-carts, costumes, obstacle courses, hey even whole worlds I still wanted to make before life caught up with me. And just like when we were kids you can invite your friends over to play it with you without having some parent getting angry if you tag, make a mess, get dirty or stay up late! Now isn’t that just a dream coming true? Hehe…

Age doesn’t matter in this game. No matter if you’re 5 or 50 years old I believe you will have a good time enjoying this game and explore it’s endless possibilities. The creator mode is so massive that you probably can create just about anything your imagination holds and more.

If you want to join me in game feel free to add me: jcolsen

For more info and screenshots head over to Engadget by clicking the read more link below.

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For anyone interested wanting to add me to your PS3 my PSN username is jcolsen LitteBigPlanet is fuuuun! Come join me ;) Been playing a little already with some of the guys over at Naature. I can recommend it greatly. Expect some collaborated levels coming your way.

On a side note; I guess the cycle is completed once again. I’ve been going back and forth between Nintendo and Playstation a few times already hehe.

As you can see I didn’t get far, but the view is still nice.

These are the titles I decided to get for now, and perhaps, maybe I’ll get myself a couple more later on. (Some that I’ve not seen already would have been nice). Thank you Warner Bros., and happy anniversary.

How do you handle spam invasions?

Mmmmmmmm car crashes…

By all means let me know if I am wrong. Twitter hasn’t been removed from my blog all together, just the daily digest post. You can still read my 5 latest Twitters in my sidebar or visit my Twitter page for the full history if you wish. Or even better, subscribe to my Twitter feed.

There is absolutely nothing resembling the game as I remember it from media besides a very gimped evolution part. It looks like a cheap ripoff of it self in a very bad flat 2D way. (Note that I have not played the PC/Mac version, so I have nothing but media presentation to refer to). When you move for instance, you don’t move straight forward as you would expect. Instead since this is 2D in a kind of 3D world you move in more of a 45 degree angle which looks absolutely ridiculous. You would think they could at least do it better graphic wise in 2008, and we all know that the DS is capable for some rather gorgeus stuff. That’s not all of it. In fact there wasn’t a single thing about the whole game I found to be fun or interesting.

As for the gameplay if to just think of this as any other game than Spore as we know it, it’s not making much sense either. Perhaps I just didn’t understand it, but being thrown off after half an hour because I didn’t find any way to kill my first assigned kill in one of the first missions in the game due to the fact I only had one attacking part available for my creature that hardly could do anything else than to burst a balloon. Maybe I could have gone and socialise pushing one button 400 times, or maybe dance for hours until I gained 20 levels so I’d have enough health to hold on until my little balloon popper could finish him off. Where is the fun in that if so? Some might say that the whole game it self is over hyped, this might be true. However I would go as far as to call it a scam.

If this post is sounding very frustrating and with no order it’s because that’s exactly how this whole game is. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, not even kids. On the bright side I’m still looking forward to get my hands on the proper game. I only hope they don’t intend on doing something different for the Wii as well. If so do it proper or please don’t even release it at all. This version should never had been made. In fact I wonder what they were thinking (besides more money). It could be a dangerous move on their part reputation wise regardless of what they had in mind.

Thoughts? Have you played the DS version? What did you think? Even thoughts about the other Spore versions are much welcome, even if you haven’t played anyone yet.

Rating Spore for DS:
1/6

What I can reveal is that you’re in for an exiting ride filled with lots of action, drama, appearances of new as well as known characters. You don’t need to know the background story from the other movies since this story takes place in a alternate timeline of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but it helps a lot and makes it a whole lot more interesting so I would recommend it. Especially when it comes to the new characters and their appearances. Something that made me enjoy this show a lot.

As oposite to the Terminator movies where the focus was on the Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles focus more on Sarah’s story. I could reveal more about this TV series, however I feel that I shouldn’t. Instead I’m going to say this: I think this show will appeal to both Terminator fans as well as to those who has never seen, or maybe even disliked the Terminator movies. I was partly affraid that the brand new cast would make everything awkward for those who have seen Terminator before, however I’m pleased to announce that they did a great job. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has quickly became one of my favourite TV shows and I’m looking forward to season 2.

Rating 4/6

In many ways this movie is a work of art. The animation, camera work, effects and visuals in general is absolutely beautiful to watch. Producer John Woo was brought in to help bringing Japanese animation to a broader marked in the west. In my opinion this was partly a misstake. The movie is full of typical John Woo trademarks that hasn’t really been renewed. I think they would have been better of trusting themselfs and instead just let them be inspired by his work. My suggestion if they want to extend their fan base in the west would be to do exactly what they always have done except maybe to stay more in the 3D world as oposite to 2D, (I’m a big fan of both worlds by the way). Japanese animation is fantastic, and I want that to continue.

Storywise the movie it’s not half bad either, however if found myself from time to time forgetting what the story was all about. I’m unsure if this is done by the story it self not being as good as it could be, or if some of the down paced moment dragged out too much. A side note here that should be mentioned is that the subtitles is the worse crap I’ve ever seen. 2-3 seconds out of sync, misstranslated in parts and starting with the name of the character who was talking! This didn’t make things easy. I could have seen it with English dubbing, but since I’ve yet to see a well done dub I prefer the original work. (Better lip sync etc.)

I guess my conclusion is this: If you don’t mind English dubbing, know Japanese, like John Woo or just want to see some beautiful eyecandy, you will probably enjoy this movie and rank it above average. I hope to find that there is a better subtitled version out there (another DVD zone) for me to watch that will change my first impression for the better.

Rating Appleseed Ex Machina:
3/6

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In what’s becoming like a Pixar trademark, there was also a short film to warm you up before the main film started. I have to say I’ve not laughed this much in a very long time! The plot is about a magician, Presto and his rabbit which he often neglects to feed. He’s about to find out that he’s not the only one who can do some tricks! If you don’t want to see WALL•E (I hope you do) but only the short film, it’s titled Presto.

Rating WALL•E:
5/6