sunday hangovers

We had the excitement of thinking maybe, possibly we'd get more than an inch or so of snow yesterday. Alas, not so. Now, today, it's just bright as the surface of the sun outside and I've wrecked yet another pair of sunglasses by leaving them buried in my bottomless bag. Oh well.

1. You really will want to go read Paul Ford's My Three Favorite Computer Games of 2004. On game # 2: "Will Oldham's Adventure":

Basically you are the musician Will Oldham, also known as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and someone has stolen your beard, which makes you very, very sad. You have to go on tour and play concerts and talk to different NPCs about getting different parts of your beard back. The concert cut scenes are well-rendered, and the game graphics are top-notch (they use the Unreal engine). The NPCs are really pretty good, and include P.J. Harvey (be REALLY careful when she invites you up to her apartment), and (spoiler alert) Johnny Cash, who has some good advice on finding your beard, and the Renderers. I also liked that, once you go through the game once, you can play it again as a cinematographer, a big ol' bear, or a racing horse, although to be honest game play doesn't differ that much when you play as different characters.

There's going to be a MMORPG version soon, which I can't wait for, because the idea of thousands of Will Oldhams sharing a world together online is pretty amazing.

(Thanks, Richard!)

2. Kameron Hurley writes a funny and insightful entry on shopping in the boy's section and dealing with with snow.

3. Read this editorial at Technology Review and see if you can spot the most offensive paragraph. (Thanks, Christopher.)

4. Ayelet Waldman fears sharks.