[via HaHa.nu]

Nate Bellegarde has been one of my favourite artists for a while now, best known for his art on the backup stories found in the back of Invincible. Every now and then, he posts a comic on Fetorpse, his Livejournal account. The guy’s artwork is messed up in every way I’ve ever wanted mine to be, and my hat is off to him at least twice a day. He’s posted up a new strip, so go check it out if ye know what’s good for ye.  You can also check out his sketchblog here.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy listening to a 90s compilation. Aaaah Mr. Big, wherever did you go.

There appears to be a problem with this week’s (aka last week’s) episode, so we’ve taken down the blog post for the moment. Apologies to folks who’ve already downloaded the file via their subscriptions, no doubt you’ll come here to the blog wondering WTF! Kev will fix the file tonight and we’ll put the blog post back up, so please come back in a bunch of hours and grab the file again. Again, sincerest geekapologies!

<3 Van.

If you’re not already reading the new Thor series, by Joe Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Rising Stars) and French artist Olivier Coipel, sort your shit out.

If you need to do a little catching up on the Thor storyline and history—I sure did—you can check out this Wikipedia entry for that big Norse bastard of the Marvel Universe.

Read a little of this JMS interview over at Newsarama to set yourself on track.

Get a look at some more art from the series here, from issue 2.

So, the latest Apple Keynote was today. Jobs unveiled: the new stubby little Nano with video and Coverflow. the iPod Classic which is basically the current iPod, but even thinner. And lastly, the iPod Touch—essentially the iPhone, without the phone. It’s got wifi, and you can download songs from iTunes via the wifi. There were a bunch of other little bits as well, so check out the Engadget link below for a full runthrough of the event.

Engadget runthrough
Apple store
Apple Australia store

If you wish to beat off over this, now’s the time. If you wish to announce your hatred for Apple, now’s the time. I’m somewhere in the middle, hating Apple and myself while beating off. Kev on the other hand, probably has a dirty big serial killer like smile on his face.

Now obviously a lot of geeky things have happened since July last year—the iPhone and the Transformers movie being standout examples of such geeky happenings—and we’ll try to catch up on as many of those things as we can.  Will this result in a longer than usual episode?  Quite possibly, biznitches, quite possibly!

Expect us to touch on some of the following things.

The iPhone, and how much it sucks
Transformers, and how much it almost sucked
A whole slew of comic book stuff

Oh GOD, I can’t think of anything else!  We’ll just make some stuff up.  In the meantime, if there’s anything especially geeky and noteworthy that’s happened in the past year that you think needs a GoH spin, leave us a comment!

…Okay, it is.

Hit this.

- Van

But yes, there’ll be no Geeks of Hazzard this week, my friends.  Kev and I have both been called upon to lead the forces of good in the Not-So-Secret Wars!  Please keep a Sonic Discombobulator™ handy in the event that one or both of us happens to return with a seemingly beneficial but in fact evil symbiotic exo-suit.

Alright, enough with the shenanigans.  Kev made me type that previous paragraph.  Or did he?!  You’ll never, ever, ever know.

We’re both very busy this week, so y’all can roast in hell a little until our return next week.  But good news, before I go.  Cameron Reilly, boss-man of The Podcast Network - has been all “uh uh uh I wanna get on your show guys come oooon lemme on your shooow!  I’ll f***ing fire you assjacks if you don’t”, so I guess he’ll be on.  We’ll probably talk comics and stuff, so prepare yourselves!  Also, his genius knows no peer.  In the immortal words of astronaut Jack Austin, “I KNOW EEEEVERYTHIIIING!”

…Hey, who added that last sentence?!

- Van

Folks, mi apologies.  I accidentally put the filename of episode 13 into the episode 14 post.  What does this mean?  It means if your iTunes grabbed this week’s episode in the past 8 or so hours, you’ve probably got ep 13 all over again.  Very sorry about that, however it’s been corrected now, so please don’t stop loving me!

A friend of mine, a video game journalist here in Australia with years of experience in the industry, has prepared a case against the Australian banning of the video game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, and has put together a letter to the OFLC and Phillip Ruddock. As is made clear in the letter, the future implications of this ban in Australia are far-reaching and potentially devastating to the video game industry, and because of the code’s relation to the film, writing, and music industries, it also stands to wreak havoc on these areas as well. This is a matter of oppression, of taking away from adults the right to decide for themselves what is and isn’t suitable for their own viewing, and is potentially - not to make this sound bigger than it is, but I fear it is this big - a further step toward building a police state.

Below is the letter that Drew Taylor, editor of JumpButton Magazine, emailed to friends and industry and Government peeps.

—————————————————

While I make no pretense at being any kind of legal or argumentative whiz,
the following is an open letter that I constructed and this morning sent
to Philip Ruddock’s office and the OFLC (as well as all of you).

If the letter is something you support, please feel free to post the
contents of it on forums, forward it to friends, collegues or media, or
use it as the basis for your own letter to the Attorney-General.

If you hate it, and wish to flame me, please at least wait until Monday!!
And preferably until after my 10 am coffee!

An open letter to Australia’s Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock MP.

RE: overturning the decision to refuse classification to the computer game
Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

Dear Mr Ruddock,

I write, urging you to overturn the OFLC Review Board’s recent decision to
refuse classification to the computer game Getting Up: Contents Under
Pressure on the grounds that the ban was unfounded, given the guidelines
set down in the Act and the Classification of Films and Computer Games
2005.

I put forward the case that the decision made by the Board does not meet
the requirements outlined, in that the videogame Getting Up does not
provide ‘detailed instruction or promotion in matters of crime or
violence’ when compared to previous OFLC classifications and decisions,
and the large array of information already freely available.

In the official press release regarding the Board’s refusal of
classification, OFLC Review Board Convenor Maureen Shelley cited three
main areas of concern that led to the decision:

‘1) the realistic scenarios whereby the central character Trane acquires
his knowledge of graffiti tips, techniques and styles–including meeting
with five real graffiti artists who pass on details of tips and techniques

2) the reward for and positive reinforcement of graffiti writing on public
buildings and infrastructure, and

3) interactive biographies of 56 real graffiti artists, with details of
their personal tags, styles and careers. The game detail states that all
these artists began their careers performing illegal graffiti on public
buildings and infrastructure and that some continue with this practice
today.’

Contesting those three points, one by one:

1) while the central character (Trane) does meet with the digital
representation of five real graffiti artists, the tips and techniques he
receives are not detailed.

Take for example, his conversation with Shepard Fairey, whose ‘tips’ and
‘techniques’ include the line ‘A little wheat paste glue, a squeegee and
some posters and you could become the city’s best ad agency’, and, after
handing Trane nothing but a squeegee, the dismissive comment, ‘Here’s all
the tools you need’.

There are no details given as to what ‘wheat paste glue’ is or how it
should be applied, the type of paper Trane should use, how he should
create the posters, how to create larger posters, or anything else of
practical use. If a driving instructor handed one of their students the
keys to a car and said, ‘Go, drive’, would the law determine that the
driving instructor’s company had provided the student with instruction on
how to pass their driver’s license test?

2) without doubt, limited rewards are given for the restricted application
of graffiti within the game. But, in context, can these rewards be
considered of a stronger impact than the rewards given for equivalent, and
often far more serious, crimes in games that have successfully been given
classification by the OFLC?

In The Warriors, players not only engage in interactive graffiti, but they
are rewarded for looting shops, mugging civilians, attacking police
officers and inciting riots. Hitman 2, the Grand Theft Auto series, Tony
Hawk’s American Wasteland, Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance and Total
Overdose are just a few additional examples where crimes with a level of
realism are met with rewards. (Should the entire phrase ‘matters of crime
or violence’ be included and possibly a quarter of all games awarded
classification by the OFLC would need to be reconsidered.)

Or consider the G rating allowed for Need for Speed: Most Wanted, in which
players are rewarded and given positive reinforcement for gaining
notoriety as a wanted felon by engaging in illicit street racing and a
variety of criminal acts including the destruction of public and police
property and resisting arrest.

3) yes, biographies are available on up to 56 real graffiti artists,
should the gamer manage to ‘unlock’ them all. It must be pointed out,
however, that they are hardly interactive, unless one considers turning
the page of a book or scrolling through a page of a Word document as
interactive.

Additionally, the issues of detail and fair comparison must again be
questioned. Each biography included in the game is roughly between 30 and
60 words, and the level of information supplied regarding their styles and
careers is realistically less than expected from any year seven school
project.

Interestingly, our public schools have no problem teaching students about
Australia’s own ‘legendary’ criminals–bushrangers such as Ned Kelly, who
robbed banks and murdered policemen–without those teachings being brought
into question or deemed to solicit additional criminal acts. That the
government finds it acceptable to elevate real criminals to ‘hero’ status
(the impact of which must be considered greater due to the fact that Kelly
et al were Australian) and teach extensively about them (even deem recent
films about them as classifiable) raises serious questions about the idea
that Getting Up could be banned on this premise. Even a biographical film
about Australia’s notorious underworld criminal, ‘Chopper’ Read, was not
refused classification.

It must also be noted that a single entry at Wikipedia (‘graffiti’,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti) provides almost more information on
a single internet page than is contained in the entire game, with the site
listing in excess of 85 graffiti legends (providing links to extensive
biographies for the majority), as well as an expanded history of graffiti
art, a glossary and a list of additional links, including image galleries
of graffiti artist’s work. And, unlike the game, all of the information
available online is able to be printed out, duplicated and given to
others.

In addition, it is understood that graphic arts magazines such as Computer
Arts Projects have run special issues on graffiti art (which have included
particularly detailed step-by-step how-to instruction and promotion of
illegal graffiti), and Australian books and magazines (such as Artillery)
have been published showcasing illegal graffiti and street art (with
profiles on, and interviews with, current graffiti ‘legends’ and
‘criminals’, a number of which are Australian).

The legal use of illegal graffiti in television advertising must also be
considered promotion, and the questionable use of stencil art by
VicHealth, spraypainted onto the platforms of Melbourne railway stations,
sends a very mixed message indeed.

Broaden the topic to include ‘crime’ or ‘violence’ in general, and based
on the level of detail and promotion contained in the videogame Getting
Up, one must expect the government to refuse future classification to any
publication or film resembling JFK, Wolf Creek, The Godfather, Pulp
Fiction, Natural Born Killers, Chopper, The Bourne Identity, American
Psycho, Crime and Punishment, serial killer profiling or true crime
stories, and films or documentaries on matters that instruct or promote
instances of assassinations, riots, unsolved crime, criminals, the
construction of a crime or forensic investigation.

After all, let it be made quite clear that the basis upon which the ban
was made– namely that computer games can be refused classification if
they ‘promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence’–is the
same one within the Act which is able to be applied to film and
publications.

Investigating further the topic of the decision, while it is recognised
that the way in which the vote was carried out was within regulation
(according to section 57, page 47 of the Act), concern must be raised over
two particular facets.

Firstly, why would a Review Board be called with an even number of
members? Surely, this would increase the likelihood of a ‘hung’ board. Is
this standard procedure? And, if it is, why would a government department
create a system that encourages problematic situations and decisions?

Secondly, why is the Convenor given the power to make a casting vote (ie.
with Getting Up, Convenor Maureen Shelley was able to make her vote count
twice)? With a board able to be made up from as little as three or four
members, a second vote is a considerable percentage of the vote.

Furthermore, let it be pointed out that I strongly believe that the
Classification Code itself–in part–contravenes its own principles. It is
clearly stated on page 1 of the Code, that OFLC ‘decisions are to give
effect, as far as possible, to the following principles: (1) adults should
be able to read, hear and see what they want’.

How this can be possible if–in direct contrast to publications and
film–the Code does not allow for an R18+ classification for computer and
video games? Given that statistics provided by the Interactive
Entertainment Association of Australia point to a situation where 88% of
Australians believe there should be an R18+ classification, 76% of
Australian households have a device for playing games and the average age
of a gamer is now 24, it must be assumed that the Code needs immediate
revision.

In closing, then, for the Australian government and its legal
representatives (such as the OFLC) to consider itself in a position to
fairly and justly classify all publications, film and computer games, I
believe:

1) the decision to ban the videogame Getting Up must be immediately
overturned

and, 2) future provision be made for R18+ classification for computer games.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I look forward to your
response, and subsequent action.

Kind regards,

Drew Taylor
Editor of JumpButton magazine: the art and substance of videogame culture

——

–
Drew Taylor
Editor
JumpButton Magazine
PO Box 293, Blackburn South 3130
Australia
email: info@jumpbuttonmag.com
web: www.jumpbutton.com

Should Doctor have a capital D? We put our lives in some Doctors hands, so I figure they deserve a capital D.

Seriously though, thanks so much for the great feedback folks. Keep it coming, this stuff keeps us going!

- Van

…Anyway. If it’s not already obvious, TGoH has not yet been recorded this week! Why is that? We generally record on Tuesday nights, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it!) this Tuesday was - dum dum dum - Valentine’s Day! Kev and his girly do not celebrate this hideously commercial event, but I enjoy the opportunity to wine and dine in a geeky way with a geeky girl, so that’s what I did. I make no apologies!

We will be recording tonight (Thursday), so hang in there! We’ve got so much goddamn gear for this week, you’re going to want a second box of Kleenex amirite!

Cheers,
Kev

The new British Sitcom “The IT Crowd” that we mentioned in our last Podcast looks to have become too popular for its own good… So popular in fact, that the TV Network that was hosting the first two episodes that they kindly put online for all and sundry, has had to pull the episodes off-line.

I was talking to my good friend who prefers to go by the name of “Mr Google”, and he said that you might be able to have a peek here.

Please, don’t all thank me at once. Wait til you’ve seen the show, then decide if I’m worthy of thanks.

Carry on.

Kev.

Some of you may remember the competition that we have been running for the last month or so to win an exclusive Heroes Of The Pacific Developers Tee Shirt.

The contest was to come up with an artist name for Michael Davies music. We’ve had a few entries, but not nearly enough…

The competition is still running, I think we’ll give it another week, so get your entries in to thegeeksofhazzard@gmail.com.

Here is some further examples of Michael’s music, to get the creative naming juices flowing.

Through Mojave - MP3 - 6:47

Stasis - MP3 - 5:41

Good Luck!

Kev out.

The iPod Dj… Enough said…

- van

A few of his stories have been recorded as audio books, by way of the podcast method. Bloody clever. The most recent book to cop the treatment is Anda’s Game; “… a story about in-game sweatshops, child labo[u]r, obesity, exploitation and community online”. I just read it between projects at work right now (okay, so I was slacking off), and it’s excellent. But as I said, if you can’t be arsed reading it, then check out the podcast. In fact, let me know how it is — I haven’t listened to it yet.

Just about all of Doctorow’s stories are available for free, and in various formats, on his website. Do yourself a favour.

- van

“TPN would like to advise that we are doing some important server maintenance on from Dec 31 - Jan 2 and our comments system will be down during that period. Regular access to podcasts and blog posts should not be affected during this time. Thanks for your patience!”

I have no idea what they’re talking about, but I submit this information for your consideration. Make of it what you will.

The Geeks of Hazzard would also like to apologise profusely for the recent lack of podcast - Due to one of us moving house, various holiday comittments and the death of an Australian Media Mogul we have not yet been able to find time to record a new episode. Please do stay subscribed, but in the meantime why not enter our competition?

Kev out.

Kev.

As you may have heard in the latest podcast, we will be holding a competition for the next month or so to win a HOT exclusive Heroes of the Pacific Developers T-Shirt! See it modelled below by one of said same developers!

All you have to do is to come up with an appropriate or amusing artist name for Michael Davies’ music. Michael will be judging the Competition in a month or so. Michael (let’s face it) is a little simple so your entry doesn’t have to be even vaguely clever!

Email your entries to thegeeksofhazzard@gmail.com and we’ll pass them on to him.

So far our only entries have been from a West African gentleman who has several million dollars that he desperately needs to get rid of, but all he wants is our bank details and has no interest in this great T-Shirt!

Respect from The Geeks of Hazzard.

The Negroni.

What’s on the show in the coming weeks? That’s an awesome question, and I’m glad I pretended that you asked it. Next week - that’s, you know, the week after this one - Kev (and I, I guess) will be having an in-studio chat with Michael Davies, one of the lads responsible for the awe-inspiring sound on the hit WW2 game Heroes of the Pacific.

A couple of probably kickarse weeks after that, I (and Kev, I guess) will be swapping chili recipes with Drew Taylor, editor of the gorgeous JumpButton magazine. Devoted more to the culture that surrounds gaming and gamers rather than the games themselves, JumpButton is a brilliant new approach to understanding the world that us geeks inhabit and presenting it in a so fresh / so clean heavily design-oriented magazine.

In other equally rad news, that jerk Kev will soon be launching a second goddamned show on TPN, devoted almost (well, not really almost, but rather quite entirely) to cocktails. What if he gets too freaking popular for the Geeks of Hazzard? I’ll kick his arse, that’s what! He’s one suave fucker, I have no doubt his show will rock the socks on both of your feet.

Hey, I’m sold. See you there.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kev, and I host this here Podcast along with my close geeky companion Van over there. To make it easy on you, I’m the pretty one ;)

We are going to have the first Episode of “The Geeks of Hazzard” up on this here site very soon, so I have to ask y’all to sit tight, and point yer Podcatchers at those links over there.

I’ll be moseying along now, y’all.

Take care!
Kev.