"Well what is reality?" "You wouldn't know, you study philosophy"

One day I want to experience a genuinely sureal moment. I'm not talking a coincidence ("Oh dear, a taxi just so happened to turn the corner the moment I said I wanted one") or something ironic ("I saw a meteorologist get hit by a meteor"), I mean something GENUINELY surreal. My current preference is to see a random fight break out just as my MP3 player starts playing the Mortal Kombat theme, all the while Johnny Depp is walking by in the exact same outfit as myself (a bright yellow suit), somehow recognises me, says he reads my blog and would like an autograph.

• 66. I refuse to play World of Warcraft. For me RPGs are great because of the interactive story they offer. Warcraft (other other MMOs) can only offer so much story, since, let's face it, it all has to be repeatable.

Short post today. Hungover. Turns out drinking from 2:30 until 11:30 on an empty stomach is a bad thing to do. Live and learn.

Ever seen Hellboy? How much of the demon monster in that was CGI?

The tentacles at all times, you said? Would you believe me if I told you they did the tentacles practically? They had a 'line' of little servos that twisted in random patterns, covered in rubber and painted it up (a bit more complicated then that, but I'm no engineer, don't judge me). Most people just assume that it's CGI because it looks impressive.

People have become used to CGI, expecting it in movies now, but not used ENOUGH to it. We see it, we can recognise it from years of looking at it and knowing what movie makers can and cannot achieve. "Giant fish-men pirates? Obviously they're CGI because there's no way film makers could get practical stuff looking that good". It's actually a curse as much as a burden, since so often things are just CGIed in that could probably be done practically. Underworld was a (relatively) cheap movie to make, and one of the best things it did was practical Werewolves. You could tell when they used CGI ones, since they used them for things it was impossible to get a guy in a suit to do, but when they did get the suit-wolves in, it was incredible.

Look at the new trilogy of Star Wars. Yes, the CGI allowed them to create a whole new range of impossible worlds, creatures and actions, but at the same time none of it was really realistic. There were so many special effects bits that just passed you by without even noticing (check out Obi-wan's robes when he hugs the four armed informant fellow in episode 2) , but at the same time there's so much that the law of averages just means there will be SOMETHING on screen that ruins it for you. Hell, one of the things that screwed with my head most was when I found out they NEVER made a set of clone-trooper armour. Never. Any Clone Trooper Armour you see in real life is fan made.

Long story short: CGI should only be used for things that can't be done practically at all, without looking ridiculous.

EDIT:ADDITIONAL:

Two things, completely unrelated to the post.

1. Look up 'Rag Doll Masters' and try the demo. Quite amusing game, really.

2. I'm watching 'The Last Samurai' on TV at the moment. This really needs a riff track to be worth watching. Anyone I know in real life willing to get together with a case of beer (or whatever your poison is) order a pizza and watch this movie riffing on it?