Had a friend who wanted to try the game at my house; he was well forewarned how hard it was, and not to run in like Kratos. He played it trembling. He also made it through the entire first level without dying once.

I know that the discussion above has mostly turned into a historical debate, and while that's fine (it's an interesting read), I would like to propose that while the Christian West does not promote "suicide bombers" as such, the idea of dying for ones faith or country has permeated our entire society. Yes, many have…

It will keep longer? I was taught that honey was the one food in the world that will never, ever, go off. Ever.

Shameful - SHAMEFUL, I say - not to include Bakker's 'Prince of Nothing'-series, which is much more Martin than anything on this list. Also, despite its faults, 'the Whee of Time'-series is pretty good (if meandering), especially now that it's finally finished.

This sounds EXACTLY like a new drama airing here in Sweden as we speak (it premieres on January 22); it's called "Real People" rather than "Beautiful People", but the plot could be a carbon copy. Are you sure the US version is based on an original script? I know the Swedes sold the remake- and format-rights pretty…

I think that at this point I need to mention that I used to ride the same train that Rowling used to ride when I went to University in England, at around the time she came up with the idea for the Harry Potter books (according to interviews). I used to read Gaiman's Books of Magic on that train. Back then I was a…

OK, that scene from Young Indiana with the psychologists was reeeeeaaaally good! Oh, and not just one, but TWO great swedish actors (besides Sydow's Freud, Jung is played by the late, great Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, who may be familiar to some viewers as the Swedish doctor in von Trier's 'The Kingdom')

I heartily recommend the AmbiScience Apps from Tesla Software, they've worked really well for me on my iPhone. They're available for Android as well.

Awesome list, though personally I prefer the fourth King's Quest game. I also have a soft spot in my heart for Conquest of Camelot, but I suspect that's mostly because I literally built my own cardboard decoder wheel through a process of trial-and-error to beat the copy protection (my cousin had installed the game on…

I'd nominate Gattaca. My mother and my sister both profess to hate Science Fiction (because "it's not real", as they say. I say they're conflating Sci-Fi with Space Operas like Star Wars, but I digress), but they both list "Gattaca" as one of their favourite films ever. They refuse to believe me when I tell them it's…

Old story is old. This exact same thing happened in Sweden last year, for the exact same reason. Tried the diet (LCHF) myself for a few months - actually works really well, and you only fart about once a week on it, which is a bonus :-)

Kind of a weird poll - only professionals or semi-pros will have used Avid. It is, by far, the most powerful editor, though bang-for-your-buck-wise, Final Cut Pro (the classic Studio, not the nerfed new one) is probably the best - it is used more and more often to cut feature films, like 'the Social Network'. However,…

I'm pro-choice, but only up to a point. I follow the arguments in the U.S., and it seems like many people on both sides of the divide become dogmatically locked into a black-or-white argument, when there is a fairly clearly defined grey area. Here's my take, you may have your own:

What do you mean "before piracy?" I bet 3 out of 4 installed copies of "Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards" were pirated. I know my cousin's was, and my neighbours (which is where I played it). Probably the only game more ubiquitous on early home PC's, with their CGA-graphics, was "Tetris" and "Art…

When I lived in England, I had no idea Halloween was coming up (I'm Swedish). I knew there was some sort of party that night, but didn't realize I needed a costume... until someone told me, fifteen minutes before the stores closed. I got to the costume shop on time -just- but all that was left were some crappy novelty…

I tend towards the Le Guin side of the argument; Science Fiction is about extrapolatory sociology - i.e. if x and y was changed about our planet/universe, how might society work, and what stories might take place in this society? Star Wars is emphatically Fantasy; Star Trek is mostly not (and that Atwood thinks it is,…

Hey, the PS2 only had 36MB of total RAM, and that ran GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas just fine. Hell, even the PS3 has just 512MB of RAM...

Luke, what on earth have you been smoking? I played Privateer 1 and 2, and I remember Privateer 2 as absolutely amazing. In fact, I found it so good that I actively sought out any movie with Clive Owen in it after that, since I was so impressed by his performance (Croupier, then Bourne, then Closer...). Granted, it…

Huh. I think I still know all the answers to the "prove your age" questions. I memorized them all when I first played this game at, uhm, age 9.

This is the most awesome item I have read all day. I salute this crazy cephalopod self-portrait theory. All hail!