A toes-on look at Wii Fit. Apparently, the official spelling is two words, now WiiFit, as I've been referring to it. In any event, Joystiq's reaction makes me hopeful. They didn't seem too impressed, but they seem to be reviewing it as a game, not a lifestyle tool, or whatever you want to call it. But they do acknowledge this, adding that, "like Brain Age, it's likely a title we'll never really love but still play it over a year after its release."

Now, I played Brain Age yesterday for the first time in awhile, and Dr. Kawashima's head pretended not to know who I was. That hurt. But I do think Wii Fit is something I would use with regularity. I managed to keep up with EyeToy: Kinetic for about two solid months, and that thing simply didn't work: I had to light myself up like a Christmas tree for the camera to see me (every light on in the living room, plus three halogen lamps pointed directly at me), kept bumping into the ceiling fan because I needed every inch of the room to play, and still the camera missed half my gestures, so I always got bad scores. And most of the non-aerobic exercises were just a glorified fitness video, offering no feedback. So what I noticed most in this early evaluation of Wii Fit was a lack of comments about things not working. So I am very excited about this product. If only they could pull off a holiday release, but given their now-baffling inability, eight months in, to make enough Wiis, I'm relatively sure Nintendo couldn't pull that off.

Sony's PS3 price cut a sham. They are phasing out the 60 GB hard drive models, and soon only the $600 80 GB models will be available. So you'll still be paying (or not paying) $600, but you'll get a slightly larger hard drive. $100 for 20 GB isn't a good deal, especially when you can upgrade the PS3 with third-party hard drives (unlike the Xbox 360). And, for the extra $100, you are rewarded with less backward-compatibility with PS2 software, as the new models use software emulation, and Sony has been clear they don't plan to make backwards-compatibility a priority. So way to go, Sony: It looked for a second that you might have a chance, but glad to see your arrogance remains unchecked. Enjoy third place.

UPDATE: Sony denies that it is phasing out the 60 GB PS3. So apparently their executives just make things up.

The Velaslavaskay Panorama in Los Angeles will be unveiling their new panoramic work, The Effulgence of the North, at a reception July 21.

I had no idea such a place existed in Los Angeles, until receiving notice of this event. But it sounds like a wonderful place, and a great use of their location, the historic Union Theatre. I do encounter references to panoramas and moving panoramas from time to time; I read an article awhile back about the restoration of the Gettysburg Cyclorama, and Paul Collins opens his book, Banvard's Folly, with a discussion of John Banvard, creator of a moving panorama depicting the Mississippi River, who rose to international super-stardom and great wealth through the art form (that a man so world-renowned could so quickly become virtually unknown is an adequate thumbnail of Collins' point in his book).

The phenomenon of these panoramas is hard for me to fathom, from my modern perspective; a forerunner to motion pictures, these panoramic displays served a similar role, a century earlier, to that of the cinema, yet they seem so different, the panoramic paintings conveying their narrative by capturing a single moment. The experience seems more like a trip to the museum, yet the impression I get is that it was much more like going to a show. Like the artifacts of early cinema--silent films and historic theatres--the panoramas have by and large not survived. And this art form seems like something that really needs to be appreciated in person, to understand the scale of the spectacle. So I am excited to learn that there is one (albeit of modern provenance) on display not far away. And if seeing a panorama up-close doesn't help me understand how a 19th-century audience approached such works, perhaps a presentation at the grand unveiling regarding Albert Smith's moving panorama "Ascent of Mont Blanc" will assist. There will also be Bavarian refreshments, alpenhorns and yodeling, so truly something for everyone. I am very excitedly awaiting July 21st.

A Smithsonian article on the Velaslavaskay Panorama getting the boot from their old digs.

An L.A. Voice profile of the Panorama in its new location (photos at the bottom, though not of the painting itself).

You can get a glimpse of their previous mural, from their old location, here.

Thanks to the Museum of Jurassic Technology for bringing this to my attention.

And if I may leave you with a quote from the event invitation: In this glorious Year of the Fire Pig, may you and those around you burn brightly with the gladsome light of contentment.

Welcome to another installment of Wii/Jenga Confluence News of the Week (WJCNotW):

Kotaku's hands-on preview of Jenga is not flattering.

IGN takes a more wait-and-see approach. Apparently, you can toggle a visual mode on and off, which highlights the weak blocks that can be easily moved. This sucks; if force-feedback to discover weak bricks isn't practical, they at least need to make you click on the bricks one at a time, to remain faithful to the physical game's characteristics.

For now, I will remain a believer. Assuming Atari doesn't do something stupid like retail this at $50, this could be a good game.

The decline and fall of The Simpsons. Hard to argue with, though I would object to the claim that a single episode (Skinner-as-fraud) can mark the corruption of the series. I didn't mind that episode, in itself; the problem was, they'd been throwing that kind of crap at us for some time, and now they expect us to laugh good-naturedly when they crank the stupidity up to eleven. I don't have too much of a problem, in principle, with the various "concept episodes" (I actually thought the Seven-Up documentary parody was pretty good), but with the fact that now every episode is such. Looking over the last two seasons, I only see three episodes each season that were okay. To be fair, only three episodes between the two seasons would I describe as heinous, so that's an improvement over some seasons (there were actually five episodes I didn't see, which is quite telling--there was a time when that would not stand). Anyway, the point is, I'm cautiously excited to see the movie, but judging from the trailer, I don't necessarily think this excitement is warranted.

I'm getting more and more excited about WiiFit. Too bad it looks like I'll have to wait for 2008 to pick it up (and it will come at a premium price, apparently, which is fair).

Here's the E3 trailer for your fitness edification:

Lady Bird Johnson, dead at 94.

E3, the big (though scaled-down this year) video game convention, is this week, and by now Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have all had their keynote addresses. Nothing of note announced by Sony, that I can tell (PSP slim, Home can run on a mobile phone). But I paid more attention to Microsoft and Nintendo, since I own their platforms.

Microsoft didn't announce anything too earth-shattering (nor did Nintendo...it was all rather underwhelming). The Halo-themed Xbox 360 looks like ass. Scene-It is coming to the console, which is being met mostly with jokes about the bundled controllers. I think it actually looks interesting, especially if the controllers are utilized with other trivia games (You Don't Know Jack for the Live Arcade, anyone?). But their biggest announcement was probably the arrival of Disney movies to the Live Marketplace, in HD. I have yet to rent a movie via the download service. I'll probably try it out sometime (I noticed today that The Fountain is available in HD, though other movies I'd really like to see in HD, like Pan's Labyrinth, are only available in standard-definition), but the service strikes me as a questionable value proposition. $6 to rent a HD movie is a tad steep, methinks. I'll stick to Netflix and standard-definition DVDs on my upscaling DVD player. HD is nice, but as long as its widescreen, I don't see the reason to pay $6/movie, when I'm not paying Netflix much more for a month's worth of unlimited (essentially) movies (albeit without instant gratification).

Nintendo's press conference also wasn't earth-shattering, though they did announce Mario Kart Wii, and confirmed release dates in 2007 for the big three (Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl). They finally revealed the Wii Zapper, but I'll have to learn more about how it's utilized before I make the plunge (I'm not buying it unless it lets me shoot that snickering Duck Hunt dog). But the big announcement on the Nintendo front was regarding Wii Health Pack, now called WiiFit. It will apparently come bundled with a pressure-sensitive pad that can measure your weight, center of gravity, and movement, while putting you through a series of exercises. I think this is absolutely awesome. I loved the concept of EyeToy: Kinetic, a PlayStation 2 exercise game which used a camera attachment to put you in the game, but ridiculous lighting requirements and other limitations of the camera made it an exercise in futility (hee-hee). So it remains to be seen if WiiFit works well, but I have very high hopes for this game.

So that's my summary of what looked to me like the big news of E3. Nothing major, but just enough to make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth from both the Wii and Xbox 360. I do intend to write a review of my Xbox 360, now that I've had it a few months, but that will wait for another day.

Charges filed in collar-bomb bank robbery; victim in on the scheme, to some extent. I saw this case profiled on America's Most Wanted, and got the impression that the likely mastermind of the robbery died of cancer, but the woman charged in the case (currently incarcerated for murder) is quite a piece of work herself. The whole scheme seemed poorly planed, though, if the motive was greed; Wells was forced to follow a ridiculously circuitous path that almost guaranteed he would be intercepted by the police, and killed. Very strange story.

U.K. doctor stood out for his humorous approach to terror.

Doug Marlette, Kudzu cartoonist, dead at 57.

Last.fm makes deal with Sony BMG to stream their catalog. In light of this news, some in the internet radio industry are asking, is the whole point of the new internet royalty rates to kill compulsory licensing and force companies to make deals with the major labels?

I tend to think the new rates are simply the result of blind greed, but at the very least, giving more power to major labels to control their digital destiny may be an unintended by-product. Of course, another unintended by-product might be to strengthen indie labels' position, as I am skeptical of the claim that this new situation will force indies to give up on licensing and give internet radio blanket waivers of royalties. Indies will just be forced to join together to form groups to manage such licensing issues, just as I believe quite a few do now. It'd be a natural outgrowth of CD Baby's business, for instance. And I assume in the indie business plan, the artists will see a chunk of that money; the disparity in such deals from major to indie might make more big names wonder just what the hell a record label does for them.

In any event, if the end result is to cut SoundExchange out of the equation, it almost seems worth it. And as for concerns of lower royalties in exchange for airplay as a form of payola, I don't think the market would stand it, and I also think lots of people would come running to the various attorneys general who are still wrapping up the last payola investigation.

In Seattle, you can use your Nintendo DS to get stats, watch replays, and order food at the Mariner's Safeco Field. Pretty neat idea. And the way the major leagues crap all over their fans, the $5/game fee doesn't seem that bad.

In what will no doubt be a semi-regular feature of this blog, I bring you the Wii/Jenga Confluence News of the Week (WJCNotW):

Yes, the rumors are true, Jenga is coming to the Wii (and the DS).

Also, the first details of Stephen Spielberg's video game projects are emerging, and apparently his Wii game will be a cross between Saturday morning cartoons and, um, Jenga. Sounds like a bad mix to me; once I've watched Pee-Wee's Playhouse and consumed six bowls of Cookie Crisp cereal, my hands are far too jittery for Jenga.

So, yeah, Jenga as a video game concept? I'm not so sure. Unless they can really master the subtleties of the tactile experience via force feedback, so you can tell by touch which pieces can safely be moved, I don't think the experience will be the same. That said, I would buy two Playstation 3s (one to serve as emergency Jenga backup) if it allowed me to play virtual Jenga. The whole concept is just so wrong, and yet so right.

As for Spielberg's invocation of Jenga, I think he is just trying to take the wind out of the sails of Atari's announced Jenga game, no doubt as an act of revenge against the company for the E.T. debacle.

Lord Buckley on You Bet Your Life:
This is included in one of the You Bet Your Life best-of DVDs, which I heartily recommend. They really hold up well, due both to Groucho's quick wit (though the shows were actually quite tightly-scripted), and the wide range of contestants, famous and not.

As for Lord Buckley, this and other clips can be found here. A biography, or more properly an oral history, was published under the title Dig Infinity! It is OOP, but a well-stocked local library should have a copy of the book, and more importantly the accompanying CD, with performances and interviews. An album is also available on eMusic. Good stuff, all around.

And finally, Lord Buckley on The Beany & Cecil Show.

UPDATE: I've created a Lord Buckley playlist on iMeem. So far, only one song, but I intend to upload more of his stuff soon.

Xbox 360's warranty extended for three years in cases of "red ring of death." Reliability issues were one of the reasons I was slow to purchase a unit, and I'm still a bit leery that my system could crash at any moment, but knowing my warranty now extends to 2010 gives me peace of mind.

In other video game news, word has leaked out that the Playstation 3 will be getting a price cut to be announced in scant weeks. Not that I'll be getting one, but I'm sure some people will be happy.

The Comics Curmudgeon calls out an outstanding new blog, which reimagines the children's comic strip Slylock Fox as hard-boiled pulp fiction. I've noticed the bulk of this blog's readership recently has came from people searching from some iteration of the phrase "Cassandra Cat," so I assume this will be of interest. Even if you haven't yet discovered the simple joys of Slylock Fox, you should enjoy Reynard Noir.

Incidentally, Cassandra Cat was back in last Sunday's Slylock Fox. Apparently, some PTA groups or something, no doubt from the deep South, have written in to their local newspapers, complaining about Cassandra Cat's sexiness, so she can now only be presented standing behind a building. But us fans will have to take what we can get. But this appearance led me to review the Comics Curmudgeon archives, where I saw that the link to Cassandra Cat porn (which I didn't share here out of basic human decency--though I should say, lest I sound holier-than-thou, that I did offer a suggestion which was incorporated in the final product) had been removed at the request of the strip's artist. Can't say I blame him, seeing as the strip is aimed at toddlers and all. So if you're searching for Cassandra Cat porn (and I know a goodly percentage of my readers are), I can't help you. I didn't have the presence of mind to download it while I could. I just don't want that sort of thing on my computer. You have friends over, they're snooping on your computer, "Let's see if Mike has any porn, that'll be good for a laugh," then they find that, and suddenly the fun's over. "I don't know if I feel comfortable being in the same room with him anymore," and all that. Actually, something very similar happened when I snooped on my college roommate's computer, but let's not go into that.

Anyway, I digress, but I did want to mention one other thing pointed out in the same post at the Comics Curmudgeon, though it might not amuse you as much if you didn't follow the recent storyline in For Better or for Worse where special-needs student Shannon Lake gives an impassioned speech in the school cafeteria. But someone has revised the strip, to reflect reality. Which I was glad to see, as I found the original strips revolting. Offensively condescending, and hopelessly out of touch with actual teen dynamics. As one of the revised strips puts it, "You do have a personality, Shannon! You talk funny an' I patronize you!" Anyways, the new versions really made me laugh, especially the first strip for some reason.

UPDATE: The Shannon parody was removed, by threat of lawsuit. Fuck you, Lynn Johnson.

7-Elevens transformed into Kwik-E-Marts. We didn't get any here in town, but there are some in L.A. and in Vegas, so I'll probably get a chance to make it to one or the other. It seems odd, when they're having this promotion in July, month of Comic-Con, that they wouldn't convert a store in San Diego.

But I was able to visit a local 7-Eleven, and even the ones not transformed have special Simpsons-themed merchandise. I got a squishee and an official pink movie donut, as well as a Radioactive Man comic book, box of KrustyO's cereal, and a six-pack of Buzz Cola. Not the most exciting thing ever, but as promotional gimmicks go, it's well-conceived. And considering most of the jokes on the show involve how criminally-overpriced the Kwik-E-Mart is, I considered the prices charged to be reasonable, considering nerds like me would have paid whatever they asked. Yet in keeping with the spirit of the show, the penny candy was surprisingly expensive.

After a 24-year absence, Porter Wagoner is back on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with Wagonmaster. This gives Wagoner a chart span of over 43 years, the longest possible span, as he was on the very first country album chart (including singles, Wagoner has been on the charts since 1954).

And Wagonmaster is a great album. The centerpiece is "Committed to Parkview," written by Johnny Cash for Wagoner after learning they had both been patients at Parkview Psychiatric Hospital. Wagoner never recorded it before now, but Cash eventually sang it with Willie Nelson on the first Highwaymen album. Cash's version is okay, but feels a bit voyeuristic, a tad tawdry, perhaps. Wagoner's rendition has a much more personal feel, with him speaking as both an observer and a participant, and the final verse, with a resigned desperation seeping through his weathered voice, gives me chills.

You can download an MP3 of "Committed to Parkview" as well as the "Parkview" music video from Wagoner's Anti- website. And the album is available from eMusic. Solid effort all-around, and well worth purchasing. Reminiscent, surely, of Cash's first American recording, but not quite as spare. A nice mix of traditional honky-tonk, a touch of countrypolitan, and more simple arrangements like that heard on "Parkview."

As far as being a career-redeeming effort, like Cash's American Recordings, Wagoner was probably much more in need of an image makeover (as recently noted by Big Rock Candy Mountain). I know I'd mostly thought of him as the man who tried to hold back Dolly, and as the creators of a lot of '70s tripe, though his recording of "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" certainly encouraged me not to close the book on him too hastily (and that was before I'd seen the very special album cover that accompanied the song). So it's nice that Wagoner had the opportunity to put out this album, and regain a bit of the respect he deserved. But before this album came out, a new compilation CD, The Rubber Room, was already offering up evidence to support Wagoner's position as an artist "often ahead of his time who has always appeared hopelessly behind the times." Featuring songs like "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" and the titular track, another madhouse song, the album digs into some of his darker material, while honestly representing his career at it's peak. I haven't picked this one up yet, but from the tracks I'm familiar with, it seems like a solid compilation, well worth a purchase.

UPDATE: I've created a Porter Wagoner playlist on Imeem, focusing on the new album. I belive you will only hear 30-second previews, but that may change in the future.

Universal reportedly not renewing its contract with Apple to sell its music in iTunes. Time will tell if this rumor is true, and just what it means if it is true, but I have to wonder what Universal is thinking. Picking a fight with a powerful adversary when their business model is in the toilet should just serve to remind everyone of just how impotent they are. iTunes is responsible for approximately 15% of Universal Music Group's revenues. And iTunes has little incentive not to let Universal walk away, as the profits from iTunes pales in comparison to their profit from the iPod. They want their customers to be happy, and have access to as much music as possible in iTunes, but they also know that if they reach an impasse with Universal, Universal will get the blame.

So, yes, I think this will most likely blow up in Universal's face, depending on how this purported showdown goes down. But I'll keep an open mind. For one, we don't know what will be the length of any short-term purchasing agreement between the two parties. The Wall Street Journal suggests that "short-term" means under one year. So, if they reach a six-month agreement, it may postpone an ugly stand-off long enough that Universal may, down the road, find themselves in a better bargaining position. And perhaps Universal is ready to imminently announce their abandonment of DRM, which they have been rumored to be considering. This would take the sting out of their departure from iTunes for iPod users, who would then be able to buy iPod-compatible files from other sources. Really, removing DRM is such a transparent means of combating Steve Job's influence on digital music distribution, it really baffles me why the labels are so slow to accept that losing DRM is vital for their survival. It would certainly be a smarter move then pouting and threatening to take their toys and go home.

Let me just remind Universal of one thing: People don't mind stealing from you. It's wrong, yes, I truly believe that stealing music is wrong. But I believe that gambling and drinking are wrong, too, and, well, I've been known to partake in a snifter of brandy after an evening of penny-stakes bridge. Or something like that. My point is, many people who buy music think stealing is wrong, but will gladly do so anyways if they can somehow justify it to themselves. The argument that, because Universal stopped selling on iTunes, I'm now justified to steal from them with impunity, is of course faulty. But it's an argument I would nonetheless embrace, and gladly pilfer Universal music with little compunction. So just don't do it, Universal; don't give me an excuse to do bad.