I’ll be honest: newspapers aren’t really my main source of information, what with this newfangled ‘World Wide Web’ thing that more and more people are flocking to every day. That said, despite my best efforts, I can’t always be plugged in, so there will be times when picking up a newspaper will be the prudent thing to do. Occasionally, I’ll head over to a restaurant and flip through a paper while having a bite to eat. There’s a 24/7 diner just up the road from where I live. It totally has that retro 1950s vibe going on, which is cool.

Anyway, recently this week I’ve been on a bit of a breakfast kick. I’m in the process of moving so I don’t have much in the way of cookable food left at my current place, so I’ve had to venture outdoors to get my nosh. This previous week was E3, the gaming industry’s mega-conference where all sorts of new games and information is unveiled. I kept up to date regarding E3 through the Internet, meaning I wasn’t exactly turning to print media for my information, so I was a little surprised when I saw that the Toronto Star gave E3 the front page treatment in their Entertainment section. I thought, ‘oh, cool’, ferreted that information away and went on reading the paper.

Anyway, Sunday morning rolled around and I headed back to the diner for some breakfast, this time picking up a copy of the Saturday Sun to amuse myself with. Flipping through Peter Worthington’s deranged, thinly veiled racist diatribes, I came across this little gem in the Editorial section from columnist Lorrie Goldstein, essentially bemoaning the fact that the Ryerson Review of Journalism, a student run publication from journalism students at Ryerson University, ignored the Sun and columnist Steve Tilley when writing a feature on video games and their coverage in Canadian print media.

Goldstein goes on to talk about how Tilley does a Really Good feature once a week on video games that is featured as a supplement in the Sunday Sun. He mentions that Tilley has ‘has the biggest journalistic footprint of anyone covering the beat in this country’, a claim that is seemingly only supported by the fact that Sun Media is Canada’s largest newspaper chain. Unfortunately, distribution doesn’t necessarily equate to significance in my books. Prior to reading this editorial, I had literally zero idea who Steve Tilley is, and I consider myself to be a fairly ‘in the know’ gamer. I imagine that if I were to poll other gamers asking them who Steve Tilley is, I’d receive similar responses.

What I find problematic with this editorial, though, is that this was a thinly disguised attempt to bitch about Ryerson and their dismissive attitude towards Sun Media…an attitude which I can’t necessarily fault them for doing so, as the Sun ranks roughly right above the National Enquirer in terms of journalistic ‘quality.’ They’re a tabloid newspaper and employ sports writers such as Bruce Garrioch (whose credibility and knowledge covering the NHL beat rivals only the punchline known as Eklund as being one of the worst voices in sports), Steve Simmons (whatever happened to him, anyway, or Mats Sundin’s career ending hip injury?) and Eric Francis (the epitome of a fair-weather, know-nothing fan whose claim to fame comes from having a famous mommy who was able to pull some strings for him.) Honestly, a cursory look at the Load This games page that the Sun runs, as well as Tilley’s own articles, show him to be nothing more than a glorified reviewer and fluffer. Honestly, I don’t get what Goldstein’s complaints are, beyond the fact that the Sun doesn’t get much respect…

“This is typical of Ryerson’s journalism program — and I don’t blame the students, but the faculty — which has a long, culturally inbred history of repeatedly dismissing or slagging Sun Media, a foolish disservice to their students.”

Oh. Well, I guess that sums it up. Unfortunately, Goldstein completely misses the point of the article he’s being critical of, even when he’s gone so far as to speak with Prof. Lynn Cunningham, the faculty advisor for the Review. She points out that “she would have mentioned Sun Media, but only briefly, since Tilley does game reviews, whereas the article was mainly about the media’s lack of social commentary on the industry — something akin to the film criticism of Pauline Kael, the late, legendary movie reviewer for The New Yorker magazine.”

Which is the point. It’s wonderful that Tilley is a part of the Sun Media empire and writes lots and lots of words for reviews of games, but that’s not what the Review was going for. Hell, Tilley’s own bio states that he ‘actually gets paid to play video games on cutting-edge HDTVs.’ So, yeah, I could see why there’d be little interest in someone who is trumpeted as being nothing more than a fucking reviewer.

Video games are becoming more and more mainstream and they are becoming more accepted in our society. Being able to have writers who are capable of providing valid, mature and well-reasoned criticism, debate and discussion of the industry as a whole is important and is something that could appeal to video gamers who, believe it or not, are not just 15 year old slackers. If books, television, movies, comic books (sorry, SEQUENTIAL ART) can be treated with seriousness and maturity, why then is it so hard to do with video games? Sorry, Goldstein, but Steve Tilley embodies what is wrong with video game journalism, not what is right and your editorial shows that mainstream journalism’s attitudes about gaming and gaming culture aren’t going to be changing anytime soon.

Sorry folks. I’m in the process of moving and getting set up at a new base of operations. Additionally, wireless internet is spotty at the moment so getting Part 3 of my HQ LP up is a pain in the arse. Apologies! I know, I’m a baaaaaad blogger.

I was a little surprised to hear that David Eddings had passed away. I never really read a whole lot of David Eddings stuff, to be honest, but one of his books, The Ruby Knight, was one of the first fantasy novels I had ever read (with The Hobbit and LOTR being the two that preceded it.)

What was more sobering for me, though, was doing some reading up on other authors out there and realizing that we’re going to be closing the book on a great deal of speculative fiction authors. While it’s exciting to think that there’s going to be new writers establishing themselves and doing new things within the genre, it’s quite saddening to think that a lot of recognizable names are getting up there in age.

Piers Anthony is 74.

Terry Pratchett is 61, but was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s 2 years ago.

Ursula Le Guin is 79.

Jack Vance is 92.

Michael Moorcock is 69.

Robert Jordan passed away 2 years ago.

This post is probably more than a little morbid, but it was the result of stumbling around and checking out some other authors which I am familiar with.

RIP David Eddings.

One of the Internet whipping boys as of late, particularly if you’re of the geeky bent, has been author George R.R. Martin, he of the ongoing Song of Ice and Fire series. I’d recommend the books to pick up and read, but, well, I’d probably have to go and recommend you take up black tar heroin or start reading Robert Jordan, another fantasy author who passed away not too long ago before completely finishing his epic fantasy series, leaving his story unfinished and in the hands of another author. You might see where I’m going with this.

See, the fifth book in the series, A Dance With Dragons has been stalled. Roughly five years, as a matter of fact, although technically, the ‘drama’ with Martin has only been going on for the past 2 years or so. The fourth book in the series, A Feast For Crows, was half of what he intended the fourth book to be and A Dance With Dragons was going to be tossed out really quickly, lickety split, because, hey, if he had written only half a book, figuring out the rest shouldn’t be too hard, right? Unfortunately, the release of ADWD hasn’t happened and fans, being the annoying pests that they are, soon became disgruntled. It doesn’t help that Martin keeps a blog where he updates readers on his current doings, such as works that he is editing, other projects, such as the HBOization of ASoIaF, hocking merchandise or, and this is important here, providing updates on ADWD. This criticism reached critical mass not too long ago when Martin himself lashed out at angry fans on his blog, upset that they dare to pester him about updates regarding the book.

More recently, authors such as Neil Gaiman have come out to voice their support for Martin, telling fans that Martin ‘is not your bitch.’ I can see the point that Gaiman is making: just because you buy the published work of an author, doesn’t mean he is under any sort of obligation to provide more entertainment for you. I agree with it, too. Unfortunately, when you’re someone like George RR Martin, constantly posting updates regarding your work and making and breaking promises to your fanbase about said work, you’re providing them with an expectation, intentional or not. Martin is under no obligation to post said updates, but when he does that begins  a dialogue with his audience and expectations change.

I think the big misconception that a lot of people are under is that fans aren’t mad because Martin is doing other things, they are getting mad because he has teased fans with the hope that the book is going to be done soon. This has been an ongoing problem for about 2 years, if you refer back to the last link that was made. This becomes further complicated when Martin refuses to give any sort of insight as to what is going on with ‘the’ work, other than vague promises of ’soon, soon’ and then goes on to talk about every other writing project he is involved in, projects which have all seen completion or progress of some kind. Further, it becomes frustrating when rumours abound that Martin forbids any sort of mentioning of the book when he makes appearances at conventions and quells any attempt at discussion on his blog. This would be understandable if his blog hadn’t already been setup as a place to go for information regarding ‘The Book’, but, again, since Martin uses the blog as a way of updating people on his work, fans have an expectation that he would be giving updates on all of his work, as has been the case. To chastise fans for expecting something is silly, given that he uses his blog as a way of advertising every other piece of writing and merchandise of his. To make one exception:  to refuse to discuss a book that has been promised to be released ’soon’ for the past 2 years while getting angry when fans sour against you for what they view as dragging your heels is asinine, especially when you leave all of them in the dark, after providing them with information and updates prior to this.

That’s the issue and why so many fans are upset and feeling frustrated: they feel as though they are being lied to and that Martin is being evasive about things. It is not because they lack sympathy towards George because writing can be frustratingly hard at times. It is not because fans expect a new book: that expectation was placed there by Martin with his constant promises of ’soon.’ The book isn’t something he has stated he has put on the backburner, it is something he is actively working on and, if you believe him, close to completion.

If Martin were to come out and say ‘Look, the pressure regarding this book is huge and I’m having some incredible difficulties with it. I can’t give you a timeline because I need to reconnect with the project and get the writing juices flowing.’ Fans would be a hell of a lot more understanding than with the current runaround that they are currently on the receiving end of. To bring up one of my favorite authors, China Mieville has said that he wants to write more books in the Bas-Lag universe, a world that I abso-fucking-lutely adore, but that he’s taking a break from it and he wants to write some other stuff. I’m not getting pissed at him. Why? One, because he has arms that could probably crush me into a fine powder and two, because he hasn’t gone onto his LiveJournal and written posts where he says ‘Oh sup mates, I’m working on a new Bas-Lag novel. It should be finished in June’ and then when June rolls around, posts something like this. Then repeats the process for the next 2 years.

Although I’m not as hung up as some other, more rabid, fans can be, it is frustrating watching this play out. If I ever, ever get a publishing contract, please, for the love of God, use this post as a reminder of what not to do as an author.

Moving away from hockey, I found some interesting news regarding a Chrono Trigger ROM hack that was providing a ’sequel’ of sorts to the classic SNES game. Predictably, Square-Enix issued forth a cease and desist on this group. The real kick in the nuts, though, comes from the fact that this group had about 98% completed this ROM hack before SE decided to descend upon them and give them hell.

A lot of folks are pissed off at SE for doing this, claiming it was a scummy move and so on and so forth. Well, yes, it is a bit of a scummy move, but it’s one of those things that needs to be done if Square wants to protect their intellectual property. Some people might scoff and go ‘Well, it’s just a fan made game, nobody’s getting hurt over it and blahblahblah.’ While that’s probably true, it does set an ugly precedent and it would make it harder if someone else came along and decided that there was profit to be made in meticulously remade fanfiction using existing ROM files. The whole 98% thing, to me, is getting thrown around way too much, as well, as it seems to be nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence than anything else.

Here are some unfortunate truths for people out there who are wanting to get their hate on for SE:

1, They have had a history of stopping fan projects before. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is the aborted 3D remake of Chrono Trigger. Square jumped all over that quickly and nipped it in the bud. For the people who have been a part of the Crimson Echo project to openly advertise and promote their project before it was done, knowing that SE has stopped fan projects in the past is either naive or ignorant.

2, A sequel to Chrono Trigger hasn’t been made because the original creators aren’t all involved. Despite everyone screaming bloody murder at SE and going ‘OMG WHY WON’T U MAEK GAEM’ as a justification for a lack of a sequel, SE is instead showing consideration for their fans by NOT making a sequel to the game that doesn’t involve people who were originally affiliated with it. This is part of the reason why I find this whole thing to be hilarious: rabid fanboys think they know more/better than the original developers/designers of the games and are arrogant enough to go where the Big Bad Evil Company are loathe to. Yet people are angry at SE for being ‘money grubbing bastards.’ Oookay.

3, The ’shittiness’ of current SE games is YOUR fault. Yes, YOU. Okay, maybe not you specifically, but you catch my drift, yes? While there are tons of people out there who either love or hate Final Fantasy 7 and the subsequent trends that they created in JRPGs, often pointing to this guy:

As the source of Final Fantasy’s ills. For many fans, Sephiroth represented a lot of what went ‘wrong’ with the Final Fantasy series: vaguely effeminate, ‘badass’ character  with an absolutely mindboggling past that led to a plot that didn’t make a lot of sense. The black trenchcoat and katana also led to a more ‘contemporary’ look in character design and, blah, blah, blah. I’m not repeating anything that hasn’t been said before. While that’s all fine and good and nerds will either rage or love Sephiroth in entirely inappropriate and disturbing ways, I’d argue that Sephiroth wasn’t the root cause of all the bullshit that clogged up the pipes of the Final Fantasy series (and even I would argue that ‘blaming’ anyone or anything as a specific cause would be reaching…why I am writing this, then, I have no fucking clue.) No, the blame should land at the feet of THIS guy:

Big weapon, silly hair and the same sort of nonsensical backstory that you got with Sephiroth and whom also has a ridiculously huge cult following, just like Sephiroth. While there have been no cults forming in honor of Magus, there were a group of people who devoted five years of their life in making a game in which Magus plays a central part, if what I’ve viewed from the 15 or so videos already up on YouTube are anything to go by.

And this is what I find the most insane of all of this: you have a group of people who have an obvious passion for something and, more importantly, the ability and desire to create something. Why didn’t they make their own game instead of penning what basically equates to a bunch of electronic fanfiction? And why did it have to be a game where the company in question has a known history for striking down such work?

I have little sympathy for these guys, as they were obviously begging for SE to come and take them down a notch or two.

So Montreal is all abuzz with the announcement that Jacques Martin, former GM of the Florida Panthers, has signed on to become Montreal’s latest head coach. Rumours are buzzing around (in French) that Jacques Lemaire is going to be signing on as a ’special advisor’ and that former Habs head coach, Mario Tremblay are going to become a part of the Habs new coaching staff.

That’s all well and great, but as someone who isn’t a huge fan of the Habs, that whole drama, along with the handwringing going on in Montreal with the notion that the Habs are going to become a boring trapping team doesn’t really interest me. Unless Bob Gainey makes some solid personnel moves and makes the team tougher, hiring Lemaire isn’t going to have a huge impact for the Habs. Instead of being an offensive, ‘high octane’ team that gets ragdolled, they’re going to be a defensive, ‘conservative’ team that gets ragdolled. Good to see that Gainey is at least addressing the defensive problems that plagued the Habs last season, I guess.

What is far more interesting to me, as a Canucks fan, is that this could possibly signify Bouwmeester being on his way out the door in Florida. Jacques Martin had been trying to get the talented youngster signed to a deal all last season but was rebuffed. He made the decision not to trade Bouwmeester at the trade deadline, choosing instead to keep him for a bid to make the playoffs. At the time, it looked like a gutsy move that showed that Martin wanted Bouwmeester and that he had faith in his club to make the post-season. That didn’t pan out, as the Panthers didn’t make the playoffs and Bouwmeester, who has been the subject of rumours that he wants to play either for a winning team or in Canada, can’t be too happy with having his season end after 82 games played yet again.

Martin’s signing as head coach comes as a bit of a surprise, so you have to wonder if something precipitated this decision. Either ownership down in Florida told Martin that he was on his way out and gave him an opportunity to leave gracefully, or perhaps Martin realised that there is no way he was going to be able to retain Bouwmeester and knew that his dismissal would be pending and got out of Dodge as a result. While you could say that I’m reading too much into all of this, all signs do seem to indicate that Bouwmeester is not coming back and that Panthers management have given up on trying to retain him. (Sidenote: It also seems to nip in the bud many of the Phaneuf/Bouwmeester rumours I keep hearing about, assuming that what his agent is saying is true.) So, with the knowledge that Bouwmeester won’t be back, it’s not much of a stretch to think that since Martin’s gamble didn’t pay off, his days in Florida were numbered.

This makes me optimistic that perhaps, just perhaps, the Canucks have an outside chance at landing Bouwmeester. Then again, I was hoping against hope that the Canucks would make a push for Scott Hartnell several seasons ago and, well, the Flyers had to go and break my heart. Bastards.