The cake is a lie.
今年の一番素晴らしいゲームは絶対「ポータル」。このヨゲはアメリカのValve Softwareが作った。とても面白い新アイディアやな、このゲームプレイ。このtrailer(予告編)（それとHDバージョンもある)がおすすめ！英語を分からなくて、まだ面白いと思うや！
The game that I liked the most this year has been garnering acclaim from every corner of the gaming press. Valve Software (yes, that Valve) snapped up a very talented Digipen Institute team and funded their work to create one of the most startlingly tight and engaging experiences in the last few years – Portal. It meshes light action, clever puzzles, dry humor, and exhaustive playtesting to deliver on all cylinders. The fact that it only takes about 3 hours to complete is actually a plus, as it never has a chance to be anything but astonishing. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s packaged with the stellar Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episodes 1 & 2, and (easily the best multiplayer experience of the year, arguably of the forever) Team Fortress 2 as part of the Orange Box. If you are a light gamer or the gamer on a budget, this one purchase is probably enough to get you through until next year’s Christmas season. One could argue that this is the bundle the industry has been leading up to for the last 30 years.
But, to refocus: Portal. And in HD. Watch, even if you’re not a gamer! At the very least I guarantee it will get your mental gears turning. And if that’s not enough to convince you, then enjoy this incredibly amusing Zero Punctuation review courtesy of Yahtzee Croshaw.
Don’t you dare change that channel!
今年は絶対東京事変の年や！もちろん俺の日本語の音楽学力がとても弱いけれど、椎名林檎のバンドがアルバムをリリースするのは俺は注意を払うや。日本も覚えなくて、日本語も忘れて、友達の皆さんも死んだって、俺まだこのぐらいの和音が好きよ。
それで、皆さん、２００７年の東京事変のアルバム「娯楽 (バラエティ)」を聞いて、恋に落ちて、ここにコメントして下さいね？本間にそんなにすばらしいとおもうよ。
This year the album I fell in love with most completely won’t even be a surprise to those who know me. Shiina Ringo’s band Tokyo Jihen (東京事変) has stretched it’s proverbial wings yet again and given us 2007’s Variety (「娯楽 (バラエティ)」 in Japanese), an eclectic work to be sure, but one of those utterly delightful ones where the whole is much, much greater than the sum of each of it’s brilliant parts. Each song shows a level of musicianship we rarely see in pop music on either side of the sea; the breadth of the material shows a willingness to experiment and keen insights into a wide range of genres; the composition knits these disparate threads with ease into a gorgeous scarf that any music fan should be proud to be seen wearing. If a catastrophe wiped out my music collection tomorrow, next month, next year, or next decade, smart money would bet on this being one of the first albums I’d endeavor to re-acquire.
Don’t miss this one. Even if you’ve never listened to Japanese music or were turned off by Ms. Ringo’s previous efforts, broaden your horizon and dive in. Available now on the Japanese iTunes Music Store, through any number of online import music shops, or at your local Japanese music retailer.
It happens every so often that I fall for a song, hard. It starts with some musical phrase or melody embedding itself in my mind, becoming an obsession. I listen again and again, quickly wearing myself out on that aspect of the song, picking out new beats, movements, and harmonies in it to love (which I will wear out, in turn). Slowly, each part I’ve burned out becomes a foundation from which I build my understanding of the rest of the song – familiar portions that I know by route, as though my aural sense has some kind of muscle memory. Eventually every note, every pitch, every tonal change becomes a kind of second nature to my ear and I feel like I know the song completely. Then, one of two things happen. Either I reject the song utterly, having sucked it’s marrow dry and finding nothing left to devour, or – and this happens far less often – I look at it again and seeing the beauty of the whole, I fall completely in love with it forever.
And every time this process starts, I find myself wondering… which will it be this time?
Baby, baby / Ain’t it true
I’m immortal / when I’m with you
But I want a pistol / In my hand
I wanna go to /a different land
games | JB | 
2007.12.20 13:41 | 
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