Geometry Wars music

(tags free, music, game, Xbox 360, shmup, Geometry Wars)

Yes I saw on Xbox 360 Fanboy that there was a Geometry Wars related free download, so I grabbed the Geometry Wars 2 music remix, called "46860 Choices". It starts off slow, and the remix doesn't really sound too different.

Oh yeah, I recently played some GeoWars2, but unfortunately I can't beat my own Deadline score. I did get close at 22 million, so the fight is still in me.

Dated sci-fi but it's not too bad: Anything You Can Do by Randall Garrett

(tags science fiction, free, English)

I just wanna say right now that I'm reading more Free Speculative Fiction Online. One of the stories that stuck in my mind is Anything You Can Do by Randall Garrett (1963). I expect some antiquated plot devices and theories but there are always surprises.

Blindsight by Peter Watts, other noteworthy SF

(tags book, science fiction, free)

I read another excellent free book through Free Speculative Fiction Online, called Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a near future space fiction about what to do after first contact, although a bit more psychological than technological. There is a long bibliography which makes this fiction more rooted in fact and logical speculation than others.

Spoilers below in ROT-13. SPOILERS

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END SPOILERS

Speaking of FSFO, I've read the other shorter stories and they are great. "Stars Seen Through Stone" by Lucius Shepard has great contemporary style and a knockout theme to boot. I am also glad that Ted Chiang is back to writing, with a award nomination as well: "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate".

Free magazine, but expensive collectables: A-Station Telephone Cards

(tags magazine, free, anime, illustrator, telephone card)

A-Station magazine is a free glossy magazine "for the Akiba-otaku". They just celebrated 1 year of publication. It has some reviews of recent and upcoming anime/manga, as well as maid cafe and poster inserts. It is pretty limited distribution here in Kobe, but I am able to obtain a copy at "otaku" stores like Gamers, since they have increased their publication to 10_0000 copies. Pretty much I collect it based on the magazine cover illustrations alone:

These are the work of illustrator Atsushi Yoshinari (吉成篤). Moe!

Actually these are scans of the collectable telephone cards up for sale right now at the web store. They have online ordering by debit-prepay card, but I am doing the old-fashioned way by sending them postal checks (定額小為替). 1200 yen per card, ouch. There is a limited print run of 200 cards per design, on a first-come first-served basis. For the whole Japan. This is not a familiar system. It's either a limited print run by draw, or all-applicants print run. I sent my money last month pretty quickly, but I wonder if it got through. They are doing the same run this month, so I'm buying an incomplete second set. Heheh.

Before this, I was able to buy A-Station's first three issue covers reprinted onto telephone cards. It was totally easy to obtain it by postal check order, so I hope its the same for the above 9 cards.

Atheist on the Highway: Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune music for free

(tags music, free, game, race)

According to the elitist snobs at Insert Credit, there was (and still is) a freely available music collection for the arcade game Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune (湾岸ミッドナイト MAXIMUMTUNE), composed by Yozo Koshiro (古代祐三). You can download this free 14 track trance-themed soundtrack.