August 24, 2006 at 8:26 pm · Filed under Television
Here’s something interesting I read over at ComingSoon.Net. Apparently, the new season of the reality hit show, Survivor is adding yet another twist to the show. The new season, called Survivor: Cook Islands, will pit players of different races against each other. That’s right, you heard me, the show is actually going to be dividing the tribes based on their race.
The four tribes will be divided into African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic and Caucasians.
Although this is the most ethnically diverse cast of any reality show to date, it’s important we look at the implications of what the show’s producers are doing. They are literally putting different ethnic races in direct competition. No matter what happens during the duration of the show, the one feature that will be remembered about the castaway who wins will be their race. What this actually means is that we will be declaring the other ethnic groups, “losers”.
Perhaps I’m overanalyzing this. Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this is a sick, desperate plea for attention from a dying reality television show. But somehow, I get the feeling that I might not be alone in thinking that TV networks are considering doing anything for ratings.
August 17, 2006 at 1:56 pm · Filed under Games, Politics
And now for something ridiculous.
Dr. Kimberly Thompson testified just last month in front of the United States senate about the escalading rate of violence in videogames.
The funny part?
Her system for determining the violence in games was laughably flawed.
Read all about here.
(By the way, isn’t that an awesome giagantic picture I found?)
August 15, 2006 at 9:50 am · Filed under Education, Politics
The Toronto Star brings word that 11 Universities, including Toronto, Ottawa, UBC, McMaster, and Simon Frasier, opted out of cooperating with this year’s annual Maclean’s university rankings.
The rankings have always been a a source of controversy. And with U of T complaining from the top of the heap, it’s not just the losers crying foul. Are unified rankings even useful in today’s University marketplace, where hyper-specialization is becoming the norm?
August 10, 2006 at 10:04 am · Filed under Art, Games, Marketing
Yeah, award shows are usually biased, especially “Video Game Awards”, but it’s still neat that there is going to be a full show for the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts. They’ve even got a statuette (they’re calling it the Elan), and a host (William Shatner)!
August 10, 2006 at 9:49 am · Filed under Games, Movies
Peter Jackson announced that Neill Blomkamp will be making his directorial debut for the Halo movie that’s supposed to come out in 2008. We’ve noticed Blomkamp before, as director of the short “Alive in Joburg”. Blomkamp has extensive prior experience in 3D animation.
July 31, 2006 at 9:37 am · Filed under Computers, Personal, Technology, Toronto
I’ve written a brief update on the free WiFi scene in Toronto over at Torontoist. Also, I’m writing for Torontoist! (Profile to be updated shortly)
July 27, 2006 at 8:57 pm · Filed under ARGs, Toronto
Now here’s something that should tickle my co-writers’s fancy. ARGN recently brought to my attention a new, Toronto-based ARG. TorGame is presenting a new ARG type experience that will take place for two weeks in September called “Waking City”.
The official website gives this description:
“…We combine the story-driven mystery of alternate reality games, the frenetic intensity of puzzle hunts, and the passion for public spaces of urban gaming. We love this city, and we want to celebrate it with you in a fresh and fun way. This is a game that will get you out exploring, seeing parts of Toronto you’ve never seen before, and making you see even your own neighbourhood in a new light.”
There are a couple differences to Waking City from regular ARGs. First of all, it is required that participants live in, or near Toronto. Second, players are required to group themselves into teams of 5-10 people prior to the games beginning. Third, teams are required (I’m liking that word today) to pay a fee ranging from $100-$125 in order to pay for the production costs.
Should be an exciting event. I know a certain online newspaper that should write an article about it in order to grab more Toronto-ists (or is it Toronto-ites?) attention. Now get some friends together and create a team!
July 26, 2006 at 2:11 pm · Filed under Games, Marketing
Nintendo released a cryptic press release hinting at the date the Wii will become available. Gaming Target deduces that the system will be released on October 2nd, 2006.
July 25, 2006 at 3:27 pm · Filed under Art, Links, Toronto
We’ve brought you a week full of things to do for free in Toronto before. Beth Mather has compiled a much more extensive list of free (or at least cheap) activities. They’re even grouped into categories for your browsing pleasure.
July 23, 2006 at 11:11 am · Filed under Television
Slashdot has a story about a sitcom pilot for the WB that was not picked up but released on YouTube. It became failry popular, and is now being put back into development by NBC. It’s a sitcom about making a sitcom, and looks like a pretty standard (read: not funny) fare, but the path to production is certainly interesting. Will YouTube be the new proving ground for television pilots?
« Previous entries ·
Next entries »
