Despite all attempt to resist, once the MMO sci-fi universe of EVE Online came to the Mac I had to give it a whirl. It has a very steep learning curve and can get tedious at times, but for sheer stunning graphics, awesome ships, etc., it's pretty nifty. I'll play it for another month or two to see if it's worth the time. So far my biggest surprise was how easy it is to get Player Killed (PKd)... I lost an cruiser and destroyer doing nothing dangerous, but flying in the wrong area of space. Now I'm flying around in a Minmitar "Rupture" class cruiser armed to hilt and with a fleet of drones just to be safer, but it's a hard game to play if you're not in a corporation (EVE's version of guilds).

Wow! I had very little expectation that Cloverfield would be anything but a special effects and cheesy action flick. Action, yes (but more disaster film action). Effects, yes (but not cheesy). Great movie... HELL YES. I thought the main creature was very Lovecraftian for a while, but later scenes disproved that. Either way, it's a visceral and intelligent film that doesn't simply fall into gore, effects and machismo stereotypes. While some say it lacks a plot, the gimmick it uses works very well to move the story ahead. Nuff said. Go see it and don't worry if it starts off slowly.

In a tragic irony, the rally race I most look forward to every year, the legendary Dakar Rally, has be cancelled just days before its start, due to of all things... terrorism! It's run 30 consecutive years! Crazy f*ing world we live in.

Sad frog... I love my Dakar. *sigh*

A tragedy for many reasons, but perhaps the greatest is the loss of a positive spotlight for the African continent in light of recent turmoils. That said, given direct threats to the race (which covers such a massive area over many days that it would be impossible to police), and the recent murder of French tourists in one of the race-bound regions, the cancellation makes sense. The good news is the organizers are looking forward to 2009 and plan to have security precautions in place to make sure next year's Dakar lives!



IMHO it's the most amazing endurance motor race on the planet -- incorporating motorcycles, ATVs, cars, buggies, trucks and more -- all racing across continents at insane speeds, facing absurd obstacles, and doing it non-stop over 2+ weeks. It's hard not to cheer for all the teams in a race where just finishing is considered amazing.

Read the cancellation story here. Check out the Dakar on Wikipedia if curious about what the hell it is.