Blog Archives
HAPPY NEW YEAR & “The PractitioNERD” 2012-In-Review!!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 21,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 5 Film Festivals
Click here to see the complete report full of nerdy factoids and what-cha-ma-info!
CNET’s Worst Tech Products of 2012. ONWARD!
Alright ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of year again! We are now gathered in front of your computers, phones, tablets, etc., to celebrated the absolute best tech products of the ye….what….wait, we’re not taking about the best gadgets of the year? Really, we’re going to list and talk about the crap? Well, OK then. It appears that CNET is ready to countdown their 5 lowest-rated gadget reviews from this year. Too bad, many of these products kind of sounded like really good ideas on paper. Check out the video after the break, and HERE…WE…GO!!!
The 2012 GameStop EXPO, from the Show Floor to DANCING ZOMBIES!
Back on Wednesday, August 29th, I was in attendance (with VIP access, because I “rolls” like that) at the first-ever, open-to-the-public GameStop PowerUp Rewards EXPO at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas, which marked MY VERY FIRST GAME CONVENTION EVER!! Plus, I got my chance to finally meet WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler (after calling him out on Twitter). The videos below contain images and footage of games I’ve seen and/or played, from:
Sport Champions 2, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal, God of War Ascension, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Dishonored, Ni No Kuni, Injustice, Assassin’s Creed 3 (& Liberation), Rayman Legends (on WiiU), Nintendoland, Dead of Alive 5, Halo 4, Little Big Planet Karting, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution, Aliens: Colonial Marines, WWE ’13, and more!
Check out the slideshow and some videos after the break!
Return of the London Olympics: The Summer Game’s Shooting Venue
And now…the long awaited “Part 3″ of my “coverage” of works of architecture being erected for the upcoming 2012 Olympic Summer Games that start next month in London. First I covered the nomadic basketball arena, second was the natatorium, and now I’ll be covering the London Olympic Shooting Venue. This building will accommodate the 10, 25 and 50 m Sport Shooting events for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and after the Summer Games have concluded, the three temporary and mobile buildings will be dismantled (a’la the basketball arena before mentioned) and rebuilt in Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Read the rest of this entry
Be Immersed in the Pre-E3 2012 Hype!
DAY 0 (Pre-E3)
Aloha, fellow gamers!! This is the time of year that we all look forward to on the yearly gaming calendar (next to the dates of certain game releases we are looking forward to) is the annual Electronics Entertainment Expo, also known as “E3.” Just in the past 18 hours, many brand new trailers for some of the games that are to be announced/mentioned/revealed/updated about at the convention. All next week — from Monday June 4th to Wednesday June 6th — The PractitioNERD is be featuring the “Daily Top Five” stories of the day at E3. After the break, check out some of those trailers, including Tomb Raider (which I have recently gushed about), Metal Gear Rising (as a HUGE fan of the Metal Gear series), and more; all of which will available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and (most likely) PC. Read the rest of this entry
“Call of Duty: Black Ops II” out 11/13/2012, and I’m….Excited?
Wait! A Call of Duty game that will have branching paths in the main campaign storyline for the first time in the franchise’s history? AND side-missions to add onto said storyline, taking a sandbox approach? AND the return of Zombie Mode? AND it takes place 13 years in the future in a (prayerfully) neo-Cold War 2025? Oh my goodness; I’m actually LOOKING FORWARD to a new Call of Duty game. Oh boy, oh boy; three-two-one, one-two-three, what the HECK is bothering me? Read the rest of this entry
Grantland’s David Shoemaker on the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble & The State of the WWE
With the WWE Royal Rumble coming up tomorrow, the WWE finds itself in a very interesting and very successful situation (if played correctly). Grantland writer David Shoemaker (also known as “The Masked Man”) takes a look back at the history and the legacy of the Royal Rumble, as well as the current intriguing storylines that are leading up to the event.
Shoemaker starts by discussing the inception and evolution of the Royal Rumble event, conceived by Pat Patterson, which was inspired by the tradition of the battle royale-type match being a match of “controlled-chaos.” He continues with the insanely-clever return of WWE mainstay Chris Jericho, who had just returned to action after a lengthy absence, seeming to play and exploit the fans’ knowledge and expectations of the typical “hyped-up returning good-guy wrestler” story to become a top heel (or bad guy). Next is the continuation of the CM Punk storyline from this past summer (which I also blogged about), in which he broke the fourth-wall to take the company into an “Reality Era” (a play of the WWE’s “Attitude Era” of the late 1990′s), followed by the complete bait-and-switch of the persona of another returning wrestler, Broadus Clay, hyped as the unstoppable and violent monster, yet returning as a dancing machine (“what him get down, watch him get down“).
I strongly recommend reading the entire article (linked below), as it is a very interesting and fun read. At the end of reading it and reflecting of the state of the WWE in the last year or so, I think the answer to Showmaker’s question of whether or not the WWE was “trolling their own audience” is a huge, emphatic YES; YES they are. To tell the truth, it’s probably working; I’ve been glued to the TV every Monday and Friday Night (or at least Hulu) to catch up on the madness.
[Thanks Grantland]
"Yakuza: Dead Souls" is Coming to the US in 2012!! MOAR ZOMBIES!!
The Yakuza video game series by SEGA (known in Japan as Like a Dragon) is one of the more underrated critical darlings in gaming. It can best be described as the Japanese version of Rockstar Games’ popular Grand Theft Auto series, mixed with the short-lived Shenmue series, also made by SEGA. SEGA is currently working on releasing a new side-story to the Yakuza series with the release of Yakuza: Dead Souls (or Like a Dragon Of The End in Japan) for the PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe in March 2012 (the game has been available for purchase in Japan since June 9th, 2011).
The game itself is a huge departure from the main series storyline, taking place during the events a zombie outbreak in Kamurocho in April of 2011, when the residents of the city have become zombies. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (which is Japan’s army) was called in to contain the outbreak, but were unsuccessful in doing so, and only one soldier is still alive, Misuzu Asagi. During these events, the legendary former yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu returns from Okinawa after receiving a phone call from a mysterious man who has kidnapped Haruka Sawamura. Now, four men are the only hope and are the only ones who can defend the city and ultimately save it- the mysterious money-lender Shun Akiyama, feared yakuza and construction company owner “Mad Dog” Goro Majima, the recently awoken from deep sleep Dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda, and Kazuma Kiryu. So it’s almost like Zombieland, but Japanese and taking place mostly in the red district!!
Check out the announcement trailer for Yakuza: Dead Souls below, and GET HYPED UP!!
[Thanks to Destructoid for the cover image]
The London Olympics Strike BACK! The Summer Games’ Aquatic Center
I suppose you can call this “Part II” of my Architectural Series of buildings erected for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. I had an earlier post about the recyclable arena almost two months ago. I will say this though: I cannot guarantee a “Part III;” which kind of sucks because I’m a sucker for a trilogy.
Oh well, this is the Olympic Aquatic Center designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the next London Olympic structure to be completed. This building will house all of the swimming events (including diving and water polo), and will house approximately 17,500 spectators.
 |
| Now that’s a heck of a view…. |
The Olympic Aquatic Center is an aluminium-clad-steel-roofed building measuring around 525 feet long and 295 feet wide, a space-age ceiling, and an aerated ceiling over the training pool that casts interesting reflections on the water below. There are three concrete columns that support the 3,000 ton overhead structure, a double curvature parabolic structure resembling a wave, 850,000 tiles surface the all of the pools, changing facilities and floors. Plus, there are a group of concrete towers that include three meter springboards and diving platforms that were formed and cast on site. The building is also eco-friendly, as the excess pool water is designed to be channeled from the pool to the facility’s bathrooms, where it will be recycled as toilet water.
Well, that’s another London Olympic building completed, so stay tuned; SAME BLOG TIME, SAME BLOG CHANN….wait, wait; I can’t guarantee another blog about a London Olympic building…
[Much Thanks to DesignBOOM & Hufton + Crow]
Look at this Recyclable/Nomadic Arena and KNEEL BEFORE IT!!
I suppose that after the natatorium used in China for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the whole “design-your-arena-to-look-inflatable” thing is taking off pretty well with Olympic facilities. Also, I’m not sure if there are bags or bins large enough to stuff this baby into for recyclables pick-up day during the week. Hmmm…
