Climate Refugees

This is a film selected to be shown at COP15 next month. A special “test screening” of Climate Refugees will be held in Fort Collins, CO on Nov. 15th at 6pm. The trailer is viewable on the website, just click the above poster image. Be sure to look at the interview list; it’s impressive. Anyway, I plan to go and see the film, then post about it afterward. More likely, if the film presents any strategies for dealing with refugees, I will be posting on those. The location of the screening follows:

Lory Student Center Theater
8033 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523

Tickets: 970.491.4849

PS3 Linux, Two Games, and Sustainable Sim City

Christmas is slowly approaching. I make more money than usual with all the generous holiday tips, and its hard to look at my wad of cash and not put it to work, so after I splurge a bit on friends and family, I maximize the effectiveness of that moolah. Usually, I rearrange my technology setup based on one goal: to have broad functionality with the least number of devices.

Last year I sold my Game Boy Micro and got a PSP… and then I modded it. My PSP can emulate all sorts of old school games I have from way-back-when, it can display ebooks, and it can function as a remote control because of its infrared connectivity. Did I just confess that I’m a nerd? Well, this year I plan to outdo myself.

Eventually, if I get into a graduate program for Urban Planning, I will need to update my computer to be able to run the current GIS software. The best plan I see now… instead of going out on impulse and getting a compatible computer this year, would be to save up and get a laptop once I know what my program will require. Probably, I will need to run Windows. Right now, I have a G5 iMac, and an iPod touch. Until I get into school and need the new computer, I could (in theory) do this: get a PS3, install a Linux distribution, use Wine to operate iTunes for my iPod, sell my G5, and put that money aside for a new laptop. In the end, I wouldn’t go without a computer (or my iPod), I’d gain a state-of-the-art videogame system, a blue-ray player (for Wall-E and Baraka), and roughly $300 in savings.

It also seems like I’d be able to run some GIS programs through Linux for practice before hitting the big leagues.

PS3 running Fedora:

The other benefits of this switch will be the following two games:

The Last Guardian looks especially good after just finishing the novel, Life of Pi.

So yes, in my opinion, games are getting better these days; although, I would like to see  Sustainable Sim City. Just think of all the benefits if a game was made as broad and interactive as Sim City 2000 but updated to include today’s challenges and thus today’s work-in-progress solutions. Players could build their cities but try out so many new arrangements, technologies, and aesthetics. And with the computational capacity of hardware, we could watch different strategies interact. Long story short, I’d buy it. Many other older gamers would too. Someone just has to make it. I did a search for ‘Sustainable Sim City’ and this popped up. Neat to see that major cities are using this, including Denver.

Strong Community Snippet #2: Urbavore’s Dilemma Series by Westword

An ongoing series of articles that document the Urban Homesteader’s movement in Denver, CO

The Urbavore’s Dilemma: Getting down and dirty with Denver’s backyard farmers

More Music

Well, I have some more music to share.  Considering I hardly post on music anymore, but listen to so much of it, it will feel good to spread the love. A good deal of what follows is what I listened to through the late summer:

Nicolai Dunger

I only have one song by this guy. But it got a ton of playlist time… Last Night I Dreamt of Mississippi.

Blitzen Trapper

Most likely you’ve heard of these guys. I don’t watch cable, but I’d assume they have a video or two in rotation on the college MTV-like channels. If I’ve caught you unawares of these dudes, be sure to check out “Furr,” and “Big Black Bird” on the band’s Myspace page.

Mos Def

This album got heavy play. And:

Auditorium

Quiet Dog

Memory Tapes

It seems Memory Tapes has finally gone viral. You can’t make it through a day without seeing this dude appear on an mp3 blog.

I was hooked with the Magic Sequence mix, although for the Plain Material song I do feel the Passion Pitty vocals are a bit abrasive. “Green Knight” is a cool one.

Washed Out

The three songs I have by this dude are good, really good.  But what keeps me from really loving the stuff is (big surprise) the vocals. I just want to hear what is being sung.

Two of them are here.

The Smith Westerns

Yeah, just click on the picture. Put a song of theirs on a CD mix for E in Chicago without realizing Chi-town is the band’s home sweet home. The gorgeous young woman (whom I should have asked out when I had the chance) will hopefully have seen them play by the time she pops that CD into her computer.

Miscellaneous

Very summery… Princeton’s “Calypso Gold“

Yeasayer’s “Sunrise“ was one of the repeats on the way to work.

I think LP3 was a slightly more evolved album; Ratatat traveled into Animal Collective territory a bit. The album still got acceptable feedback, but reviewers seem to be bothered about Ratatat not having lyrics. Aren’t we allowed to enjoy the possibilities/potentialities of the musical instrument? Anyway, check out this track with Kid Cudi… great for that halloween party you have coming up.

I’m currently waiting to get Likki Li and the newer M.I.A., Kala. Kinda missed these two releases.

Hello, Fall.

Fall has arrived. For others it means lots of football watching and… Well I’m not sure, school. For me, it means the best portion of my wardrobe comes out, I go to coffeeshops more often, and I get a swiming pass. Largely, this annual change in behavior is an attempt to stay visible to the opposite sex. Covering oneself with a heavy blanket and grabbing a book, playing Mario Kart with your roommate, or lifting weights in the basement are all pleasurable activties, but they nix the chances of running into a likeminded, attractive woman.

I may be alone in this, but I feel like the music I listen to changes along with the seasons. I am intrigued by this. Will other people make a drastic change away from rap to jazz or something mellow and acoustic like Iron and Wine? What inspires this shift, if it’s common? Are we cueing ourselves to move to a slower pace of lifestyle for staying inside during the winter? Is it some psychological result of life around us entering hibernation? Anyway, I feel inclined to throw together a simple post with what’s currently playing in my living room/car/on my iPod.

J. Tillman via Aquarium Drunkard

Carlos Barbosa-Lima:

Aphex Twin’s slower songs are as relaxing as they are beautiful:

Sheet music here.

“I and Love and You” by The Avett Brothers via Spinner

and last but not least, Kings of Convenience.

Strong Community Snippet #1: Pillow Fight Day

I’m going to start doing incredibly short posts that cover ________. ________ will usually help build or maintain a strong community structure or improve quality of life for an area’s residents. One meaningful aspect of this snippet’s Pillow Fight Day is that it occurs locally and globally, somewhat simultaneously. Shared experience resulting from occurrences like these can foster connections within and between nations/cultures/movements. I found the below video when researching Brooklyn, as K might move there.