Some great stuff in here, lots of dreamy shoegaze vocals and drifting sounds which seems perfect for the hot summer weather we are having at the moment.

Highlights on first listen would include How to Dress Well, Toro Y Moi, Perfume Genius and some quality dubstep from Girl Unit. Well worth an hour or two of your time.

New Band Of The Day – Best of 2010

Madison wonders what to do next

I finished Heavy Rain recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, it is only since finishing it and reading about how extensively your actions and the choices you make affect the ending that I have realised how incredible an example of modern gaming it is.

I played it through in about 3 tense sessions as I couldn’t wait to see how it played out – Quantic Dream certainly achieved their objective of making it feel like an interactive movie rather than a game.

Here is a record of what I did, and what happened. Needless to say, I am about to give it all away so don’t read on if you plan to play the game for yourself.

Ethan

I completed 4 of the 5 challenges, but refused to kill the drug dealer. I thought about this for a while, and felt that killing him wouldn’t guarantee saving Shaun, and would rather trust one of the other characters to save him (of course, Ethan wouldn’t have had this option in real life). I have been reading about deontology in a book called Batman and Philosophy recently, and this must have had an effect here.

I drank the poison (although I inexplicably recovered in time to buy a rather nice looking warehouse apartment in the epilogue), but ended up with less letters and numbers in the address than I should have done, so had 3 choices of destination and picked the wrong one (surely in real life he would have used his iPhone to Google the locations to check one of them wasn’t a restaurant…)

Norman

I shot the devout Christian by mistake, and was pretty pissed off that I had done so, although I think it helped me out further down the line. I managed to find Shaun and save him, without accusing Carter. I then killed Scott, having saved him from falling once. I couldn’t prevent him from seeing Tron-like tanks at the end and appearing on dodgy chat shows to talk about how much of a hero he was.

Madison

I couldn’t save her from the fire in Scott’s apartment and was disappointed to see her burning and twitching on the bed before the place exploded. At least she had the pleasure of rolling around on the floor of Ethan’s motel room before she died.

Scott

I failed to save Lauren from the car, as I saw no opportunity to do so even though I wanted to.  Scott met a rather grisly end in the spinning blades after falling off the conveyor belt which was foolish given that he had been given a second chance by Norman.

Earlier in the game I considered the possibility of him being the killer (in fact, I considered all of them at one point or other), but discounted it as being too far-fetched.

Once I had finished the game I thought it would be interesting to see what other people had done and what other endings were out there. A Google search for ‘heavy rain spoilers’ or ‘heavy rain endings’ threw up some interesting results.

Best of which was the following from a European Playstation forum. Hilarious.

penguin_god_893 wrote:

My ending was a total tragedy. Ethan shot himself because he failed to save Shaun, Jayden didn’t have enough evidence to find Scott so he gave up and died later of Tripoctine overdose and madison took a leap of faith from the burning apartment; faith didn’t pay off. Shelby gets away. The mystery remains unsolved.

Awesome sound quality.

Just as the long-hairs were preparing for the arrival of AC/DC in Sydney, party-goers of a more funky persuasion were leaving the city behind to spend 4 days at Del Rio Resort in Wisemans Ferry, where Playground Weekender took place for the 4th time over the weekend.

Highs

Getting there – anyone that went last year will remember the nightmare that was waiting in the ferry queue for hours in 40 degree heat. This year there were more ferries on and the whole process was a comparatively beautiful experience.

The Carnivale area – one of the best spots for watching all the crazies filter past. I hope the chair people from Thursday night came back to Earth at some point.

The Melody Wine Bar – new for this year and a great place to finish the night. As it was nicely tucked away at the back of the same field as the main stage it was a perfect alternative if you found the Big Top a touch on the hectic side.

The police/ security team – their presence was noticeable but not intrusive, and they behaved like they were there to make sure festival-goers were safe, rather than looking to catch people out. Small things like barrier staff at the main stage wearing Indian head dresses make all the difference.

ManChoir – 8 blokes in wife-beaters singing (near) cover versions of Bon Jovi songs, Queen songs, and even the Home & Away theme tune (which they introduced as the Australian National Anthem). Much funnier and more entertaining than it sounds.

Orbital – still one of the best festival bands around. Unbelievable. And to the girl who gave me torches to clip to my glasses as they started, I will love you forever.

Fancy dress – I salute everyone that put in so much effort. From the couple in tailored green shopping bag suits to the guy in the ball dress/ gimp mask combo, the Muppets, the Stormtroopers and the Hitcher from the Mighty Boosh, congratulations for helping make the Saturday so special.

The weather – couldn’t have been better. Whoever organised it is a genius.

The can fairies – offering 20/ 50c for every Tiger can returned to the recycling bins was a brilliant idea and a win-win-win. The army of can fairies that sprang up got enough free drinks to see them through the evening,  made the festival a cleaner place for everyone and relieved pressure on the official cleaners.

The swimming pool – this qualifies a high and a low. Perfect area to be in during the day, and we are so lucky to have it at a music festival, but why do people need to shit in it? Not cool.

Lows

Pricey drinks – it makes it very hard to obey the rules and not sneak booze in when the going price for a small can of Tiger is $8. And a vodka & red bull for $12? Ouch.

Running out of cider – surely Festival organisers know by now that cider will be the drink of choice on a hot day. It was obvious, however, that the staff were working over time to bring more in. Maybe a Glastonbury-style cider bus would be a good idea.

The (Death Metal) Filth stage – great idea on paper, and a potentially great way of broadening the appeal of the Festival, but it just wasn’t that popular. A lot of the bands on there seemed pretty good, it just seemed that not many people were interested.

The comedy at the Shack – again, a good concept, but one that just didn’t fly with the punters. Tough gig though, I wouldn’t get up and tell jokes to a bunch of snarky pissheads who think they are funnier than the guy on stage.

Fancy dress – poor (= no) effort on my part. I will get involved in 2011 for sure. No excuses next time.

Playground Weekender is one of the few Festivals where you can have a great time no matter what the line-up. The music is important, but in no way essential. It has fully deserved the awards it has won for Best Crowd and Best Atmosphere, and will no doubt go on to win again. 2011 can’t come soon enough.

Excellent photo galleries can be seen at inthemix.com.au and 2dayfm.com.au

Q. What is the largest contributor to global warming?

A. A recent study shows that animals raised for food account for at least half of all human-caused greenhouse gases.

The report, “Livestock and Climate Change”, by researchers at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group shows that previous figures for the environmental impact of animal meat production have been vastly underestimated. Researchers found that the meat industry accounts for over 51% of annual worldwide gas emissions, including direct and indirect sources of emissions from livestock.

The report states that replacing livestock products with alternatives is the best strategy for reversing climate change and would have far more rapid effects on emissions than introducing renewable energy sources only.

Facts: Global warming and meat production

1. Animal farming generates more greenhouse gas than transport.

2. Animal farming products large quantities of methane (72 times as warming as carbon dioxide) and nitrous oxide (296 times).

3. Methane cycles out of the air in just eight years, so that lower methane emissions translate to cooling of the earth.

4. 70 percent of rainforests in the Amazon have been cleared for grazing.

5. In Australia, hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by land clearing for grazing.

6. Meat and dairy production use huge amounts of water, causes air and water pollution, use fuel and causes soil erosion.

7. Livestock use 30 percent of the earth’s entire land surface.

8. 33 percent of global arable land is used to produce feed for livestock.

9. It takes 10,000 litres of water to farm just one kilo of beef, compared to only 500 litres for a kilo of potatoes or 900 litres for wheat.

10. Food wastage due to animal meat production would be enough to end hunger and malnutrition across the globe.

Sources:

Livestock’s Long United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Livestock and Climate Change, World Watch Magazine, November 2009

Its a Meat Market, Colin Tudge, New Scientist

Noam Mohr, report for EarthSave International

How to tackle the impact of animal agriculture

• Governments must publicly recognise the negative impact of animal agriculture on global warming
• Governments must remove all subsidies for animal agriculture and promote its replacement by organic plant farming
• Environmental groups must recognise that animal agriculture is the largest cause of global warming
• Governments must promote the fact that a plant-based diet is healthier than a diet containing meat and dairy products
• State and Federal environment departments must strongly promote a plant-based diet for environmental reasons
• State and Federal health departments must strongly promote a plant-based diet for health reasons
• At Copenhagen, governments must include animal farming as one of the main factors in global warming

HOW TO MAKE A SUBMISSION

To participate in this consultation, you need to answer the question:

Should the Australian National Classification Scheme include an R 18+ classification category for computer games?

Submissions can be sent by email in Word format without embedded images.  Submissions can also be posted or faxed.  You are also encouraged to keep any commentary short and succinct.

Unless you clearly request confidentiality, submissions are public documents and may be accessed by any member of the public, may be published on a website and quoted in further review papers.  If you do not want your submission to be published, or you would like to request anonymity, you must clearly request this in your submission.

Submissions must be received by 28 February 2010.  Submissions received after this date may not be able to be considered.

Submissions should be sent to:

Email:                          classificationreview@ag.gov.au

Fax:                              02 6141 3488

Post:                             Classification Review, Attorney-General’s Department, 3 -5 National Circuit, BARTON  ACT  2600

TEMPLATE FOR MAKING SUBMISSIONS

PERSONAL INFORMATION[1]:

Name: Stewart Heys

Email address*:

Gender*: Male

Street Address*:

State/Postcode*:

Country of Residence*: Australia

Age range*: under 18/18-24/25-34/35-44/ 45-54/55-64/ 65+

Do you play computer or video games?*   yes no

How frequently do you play?

Daily Weekly     Fortnightly    Monthly      Other………………..

How long do you play in an average session?

0-15minutes   15-30 minutes     30-60mins   1-2 hours 2+ hours

(Note: fields marked * are mandatory fields)

THE QUESTION

Should the Australian National Classification Scheme include an R18+ classification category for computer games?

NO YES

ARGUMENTS

To help us understand your reasons for your answer, please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following arguments:

• Adults should not be prevented from playing R 18+ level computer games simply because they are unsuitable for minors

1) strongly disagree     2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• The R 18+ classification category sends a clear, unambiguous message to parents that the game material is unsuitable for minors

1) strongly disagree     2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• Consistent classification categories for films and computer games are easier to understand

1) strongly disagree     2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• A new classification will supplement technological controls on minors’ access to age-inappropriate computer games

1) strongly disagree     2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• Comparable classification systems internationally have an adult rating for computer games – international parity is desirable

1) strongly disagree     2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• Consumers access games which would be R 18+ illegally – it would be better if they were legally available with appropriate restrictions

1) strongly disagree     2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• Computer games should be treated differently from films given the specific, negative effects of interactivity on players, particularly their participation in violent and aggressive content.

1) strongly disagree 2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• It would be difficult for parents to enforce age restrictions for computer games.

1) strongly disagree 2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• Minors would be more likely to be exposed to computer games that are unsuitable for them.

1) strongly disagree 2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• An R 18+ for computer games would exacerbate problems associated with access to high level material in Indigenous communities and by other non‑English speaking people

1) strongly disagree 2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

• There is no demonstrated need to change existing restrictions.

1) strongly disagree 2) disagree       3) do not know           4) agree           5) strongly agree

Comments (Optional – up to 250 words)

America shall? or …..should?

at the Climate Conference the American argues that ‘shall’ be replaced with ‘should’ while outside there are near riots.
that is not good enough America.

not finished

Hello. I arrived at the copenhagen summit yesterday afternoon.
I felt compelled to come to find some hope from these talks. for our kids and theirs. judge that as you will.
i camewith a friend of mine Tony Juniper ( He was previously head of Friends of the Earth when i was involved with them to get the climate bill passed in the UK. a Framed copy of which i have on my wall at home. ) So is there any? well yesterday there seemed to be.
the first person i met was the famous john vidal from the guardian who said things were moving again. then we talked to others who said the same. got technical for a bit most of which i can follow but i get lost on the forest stuff and still can’t piece together how you can have a kyoto style agreement and another for america et all running at the same time. but then i sat in on a uk press briefing with Ed Miliband. and he made things clear in some ways.
yesterday there is a lot of brinksmanship, the americans offering money seemed. but no-one was talking 40 percent cuts by 2020. and the negotiations had an obvious G8 vibe about them. the west dictating terms and bizarrely assuming that the science could be bartered.. !!! arguing about who cuts what??? that somehow the amount we have to cut our emissions is negotiable?? what a crock of shit. may i humbly suggest that we remove the professional negotiators who seem to relish the negotiations for their own sake. miliband talked about a hundred square brackets in the document waiting to be filled.
it feels like the developed countries are trying to wrestle some sort of business as usual out of this. despite huge domestic and global political pressure. and the imminent demise of life on earth.
these cuts are non negotiable, they are the facts. it is not surprising that the developing countries find this difficult to stomach and sign up too. that and the mysterious lack of transparency to the process.

what is frustrating so far is americas attitude. hilary clintons speech was apparently still trying to shift responsibilty for emissions around… which is just frankly nuts.
obama said nothing though i have not seen all the speech yet. i feel very sad for all americans i know who hold so much hope for this man. still.. i guess the day isnt over. its 3pm on friday ( though it should have finished by now). and our leaders are fully aware they are in disgrace. and fully aware that they cannot draw up an agreement and force it upon us all without us immediatley seeing the holes in it.

the atmosphere here is deepy distressing at the moment though, with many of the suits obviously puzzling how to make this look good how to spin something positive.
frankly they should have kept all the NGOs in here. throwing them out was an absolute disgrace.. ( though some are now back in )right now they should tearing this place apart with their bare hands, registering the utter disgust that the rest of the world will feel if today ends like this. and i say if. there is a prayer and meditation room here. i may have to go and sit it and dodge all these cameras.

tony just told me a bunch of latin american countries just walked out. at least someone is registering their anger here. people are being too reasonable.

a display of rhetoric

ok so now there are texts/ drafts flying around all over the place. just when things feel like they are falling apart rumours that europe will commit to bigger cuts? hysteria and confusion is in the air. there has been a request for leaders to stay an extra night? what ‘on earth’ is going on? i pray something. i pray that something comes of this process. that all these people for all these years, all these flights to copenhagen all this hot air has some meaning. and in the midst of it all i take to bbc radio 1 and am asked ‘yeah but is climate change really real’ etc etc. oh for gods sake.
what am i doing here??

confused?

when is a good time to give up and go and eat something? leaders are still apparently still having heated discussions. where? no-one knows? there has been a debate going on how to vote on any decision.. but it is in a language of numbers and procedure. i have had a load of cameras and recorders stuck in my face now and tried to say what and outsider walking in to this madness might think. one who is perhaps concerned about the rise of global temperatures. one who has experienced this first hand maybe. one who may have even voted in their leader on the basis that they may do the right thing on this issue.. only to see them surrounded by this weird fog. i hope that the fog clears sometime tonight. but that they dont pretend to have an agreement that they do not. i hope this is not over.

ditto

i think i may have had enough of cynicism, brinkmanship, face saving and posturing. have had enough of sitting in a crowd of journalists watching for anything that might happen waves on nothing.. so crazy . . this is all far too late. far too late.

expo

and as i wrote the previous entry my battery goes dead and obama walks past with a very grim expression, everyone thought he was stroming out but no he’d just been in talks with the chinese. just now a french delegate tells me that brazil has stormed out of the talks. this is all so sad. still peace and goodwill to all men. love and understanding.
just no more business as usual ok?? this is all starting to really feel like some enormous vaguely pointless corporate expo.

copenhagen climate summit

well … i am truly disgusted about the way things have ended here. if you read in tommorrows headlines that a deal was reached?? remember it was nothing like what was needed and was filed by a bored complicit press who needed to show something for two weeks of crap.. and that it reflected the wests inability to lead decisively.
that it will make alarm bells ring throughout the world.
we have no international agreement. this is all too too late.
i feel deeply traumatized by the whole experience. if you’d been there you would also have been.

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

Antony & the Johnsons – The Crying Light

Morrissey – Years of Refusal

Beirut – March of the Zapotec

M. Ward – Hold Time

Dan Deacon – Bromst

Squarepusher – Numbers Lucent

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Beware

Bat for Lashes – Two Suns

Fever Ray – s/t

PJ Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By

The Pains of being Pure at Heart – s/t

Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/ Light Years

Sunn O))) – Monoliths & Dimensions

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

St. Vincent – Actor

Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul

Iron & Wine – Around the Well

Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications

Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor

Tori Amos – Abnormally Attracted to Sin

Regina Spektor – Far

The Mars Volta – Octahedron

Mos Def – The Ecstatic

Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer

White Denim – Fits

The Horrors – Primary Colours

The Dodos – Time to Die

Wild Beasts – Two Dancers

Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong

The xx – xx

Yacht – See Mystery Lights

The Antlers – Hospice

Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue

Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come

The Flaming Lips – Embryonic

The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Real Estate – s/t

Bear in Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth

Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport

Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

Biggest let-downs of the year

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Dananananaykroyd – Hey Everyone

Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms

Best gigs of the Year

Benga & Skream at Oxford Arts Factory

Bon Iver at the City Recital Hall

Nine Inch Nails at the Hordern

Mogwai at the Enmore

Iron & Wine at the Manning Bar

Tony Allen at the Forum

M83 at the Metro

Lee “Scratch” Perry at the Opera House

Seun Kuti at the Opera House

Brian Eno at the Opera House

Vivian Girls at Spectrum

Bad Religion & NOFX at the Hordern

Sarah Blasko at the Enmore

Blitzen Trapper at the Metro

Tori Amos at the Opera House

Jarvis Cocker at the Metro

Animal Collective at the Enmore

So we start with 3,000 in chips and 45 minutes in I am down to 1,000 and move all-in with AQo. Everyone folds except the guy to my right who calls and turns A10o. Nothing comes on the flop or the turn, which puts me as a rough 94-6% favourite. But a 10 comes on the river and I’m out.

So in to game 2. Mid way through the game, a few players have come and gone, and I am at a shove or fold stage. I move all-in with A8o for about 1,500 chips, and the guy to my left is the only caller. He turns 37d. 37d? Are you serious? 2 diamonds on the flop have me sweating, nothing on the turn, which puts me at about 82-18% favourite, I think. Diamond on the river puts me out.

I reckon I got unlucky, but then you hear that all the time. Truth is, some dodgy play up to that point put me in the position of having to move all-in so early on. Oh, well, “that’s poker”.