I’m going to keep this brief because it’s hard to look at a computer screen at the moment…

For those who don’t know I’ve been in hospital in Seattle since last Saturday morning, the 1st of November. I’ve just been released today and am flying back to Toronto tomorrow morning.

I was admitted to hospital after being attacked by a group of random guys who were harassing a friend of mine that I was trying to help get into a cab. The attack was completely unprovoked and unwarranted. I was not drunk, nor do I remember what happened after the first punch crushed my glasses into my eye.

The result of the attack left me with a fracture in my nose and another in the lower left portion of my orbital socket. Neither appear to be serious but I am required to follow up with specialists to rule out corrective surgery at a later date.

After spending the night in the ER I was released but due to the concussion, drugs, swollen eye, the constant nausea from cat-scan dye, etc my sugar levels were drastically screwed and I was in no condition to fix them resulting in an attack of Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) to which I was then readmitted 12 hours later and spent the next 5 days recovering from.

As scary as all that sounds, I’m OK. I’m very lucky and very thankful to the nursing staff of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. I’m not even close to 100% of my normal self and my vision is still slightly blurred but it will hopefully have no permanent damage. My nose is not knocked out of alignment nor am I hideously disfigured but I do have some rather deep bruising and cuts about the place.

I’m sorry if I’ve had anyone worried but being out of contact but this is the first chance I’ve had to be in touch with anyone beyond family.

Update – 13/11/08
A few common questions have come up in regards to what happened so I thought I’d just update you all here…

I have no idea how many people were actually punching me, all I can remember is that there were 5 of them there and at least one was punching my face.

There was little to no chance of the police finding the attackers and they were quite upfront in telling me this. A fact I completely understand being it was Halloween and there were thousands of people on the street.

I will be returning to Australia sooner than expected. Most likely early December but this is yet to be confirmed.

Update – 15/11/08
Here’s a photo of my damaged eye as of today. As you can see it’s healing nicely and the bruising has almost gone. You can click on the image to load it up in Flickr which will point out the two fracture points as they’re hard to see with the naked eye.

In a recent poll of human beings we asked “When you think of Raj and viewing scenery what is the first thing that comes to mind?” In almost all cases the response was an overwhelming “He has about as much interest in viewing the elements of nature as I do in eating the fecal matter of giraffe.” A strange analogy to be made by just one person (you would think) yet it was recited by almost 99% of the forty three million and twenty eight people interviewed. Odd.

Anyway, I speak of Giraffe feces with good reason as I will now astonish you all by saying just how breathtakingly beautiful Vancouver is. Of course this is now almost inconceivably absurd for you to comprehend as I’ve pre-cursed the statement by highlighting my deep rooted inability to find beauty in nature. Ergo Vancouver is so amazingly astonishing that your head has just exploded to leave the stump of your spine poking out from your clothing akin to something out of the most recent Rambo film.

I’m not really sure how I’ve gone from one of the most picturesque heavenly places I’ve ever visited in the world to the blood splattering exploits of Rambo but I’m pretty impressed with myself (again).

I’d heard different things about Vancouver, some said it similar to Sydney whilst Toronto was more like Melbourne and then others had said the complete opposite. I can see where both arguments come from but the truth of it is there is nothing like it in Australia. Vancouver city is laid out in a nice logical grid format and is on a slight hill very similar to Melbourne but then cuddling the metropolis are numerous mountain ranges akin to Sydney’s Blue Ranges but in much closer proximity in that they’re viewable from almost anywhere. Apparently it rains in Vancouver a lot, another great feature of Melbourne (well in years gone by anyway), but it is also one of the warmest cities in Canada with the mercury very rarely falling below zero even throughout winter, a meteorological trait sadly not shared with Toronto.

I haven’t spent enough time in Vancouver to really tell you anything beyond the majestic beauty of the place but, as mentioned earlier, for me to be so amazed by it; well that has to count for something! Next time I’ll just have to delve a little deeper into the other aspects, get into the nitty gritty so to speak but this is Canada, it’s not like the people are going to wind up being assholes or anything! It more depends on if they let you buy alcohol after 2am (unlike Toronto)!

• My Flickr Vancouver Photoset

A few weekends ago I participated in Improv Everywhere’s MP3 Experiment Tour. For those of you who haven’t heard of Improv Everywhere they’re the peeps behind the extremely popular Frozen Grand Central video that did the email rounds last year.

The MP3 Experiment Tour was slightly different from their normal pranks in that anyone who’s ever visited their website and lives in one of the four cities it was organized in can join in. All you had to do was download a provide MP3, wear a coloured t-shirt (red, yellow, blue or green), bring an umbrella and a balloon to Toronto’s Riverdale East Park and at 2pm exactly press play and await instructions.

It was pretty cool fun, there were well over 200 hundred people there who had never met and thoroughly enjoying one of Toronto’s last sunny weekends. The guys playing soccer in the same park got a bit pissy, but everyone else had a blast.

Below is their edited final video, including shots from the circling helicopter that was keeping an eye on us for the 45 minutes or so. One of the coolest parts was humming with everyone huddled under our umbrellas. The video doesn’t do it justice but when you were in the mix, so to speak, it was eerily haunting to experience.

I’ve also got a couple of videos from my small digital camera…

I’ll be updating this post throughout the next 24 hours with a play-by-play low down on exactly what’s going on and just how well I can see still! You can follow others’ game plans and get more information in the Sarcastic Gamer ExtraLife forums.

9:00am – We’re done. 24 hours. Woot! Good work everyone. I can’t type or function any more, I’ll see you on Monday world. Good day Sir.

8:26am – 30 minutes to go peoples and I’m spending the same as my first 30 minutes, playing CoD4 on my Mac. I’m avoiding the multiplayer though and just doing a level of the campaign because if I sucked so badly with sleep yesterday there’s no way I’d be able to hold my own in my current state!

7:22am – I really, really want to play Rock Band for some reason. Everyone’s asleep though. Do you think they’ll mind?? Hmmm… maybe I’ll pop in Grand Theft Auto 4 (GTA4), I’ve neglected Niko for long enough!

7:08am – 42. (Inside joke)

6:19am – 15 minute nap turned into half an hour. I needed it though, got a complete second wind. Now which console to hurt some more? I’m thinking a little of Wipeout HD again followed my some brain-dead FIFA `09 both on the PS3. Speaking of hurting; I’m surprised my thumbs aren’t bleeding by now.

5:43am – What if I just rest my eyes, just for a second. 15 minutes then I’m in for the last 3 hours.

5:25am – OK, it didn’t talk to me. I just needed coffee. Back to the Xbox. Still playing Star Wars.

5:20am – I swear the coffee table just spoke to me.

5:03am – I have never played games this long. The last time I played a computer game anywhere near this long was when I was about 11 and I hired the new “Alex the kid” game for my Sega Master System. I remember having been glued to it all day and then when I came out for dinner everything that was white looked bright red to me. I’ve never been able to look at mashed potatoes the same!

4:12am – My bed looks so nice and comfortable right now.

3:49am – On the verge of delirium. I have no idea what’s going on in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed at the moment. All I know is that if I keep pressing “X” on my controller I seem not to die

3:01am – Serious case of the yawns. Breaks are becoming little more regular as my brain slowly fades to nothing. Worried if I close my eyes I’ll go to sleep.

2:09am – How is it that a video game for Star Wars that’s only had about 10 minutes of dialog is already better than Episode One? Don’t get too excited though, Lucas has managed to keep some sense of cheese in there with an android that takes the form of anyone it likes. For the hormonal tweens & married men forget the android you have a personal intergalactic chauffeur with a breast endowment that would put Lara Croft to shame.

12:45am – Used my break to make my bed with the clean sheets from the washing I did earlier in the day. Ahhh fresh sheets for when I collapse in a pile of gamed out goo. Unfortunately looks like I’ve lost my MGS4 save game because the PS3 was replaced a few weeks back. Really can’t be bothered starting from scratch today so say hell to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed!

12:22am – I sat down nearly two hours ago to play Wipeout HD until the pizza I ordered arrived. Well the pizza’s gone but I’m still playing Wipeout! This game is damn cool, I don’t remember why I hated the old versions so much? Graphics are pretty amazing too! Still it’s time for a break, my eyes are getting tired, then on to MGS4.

10:40pm – I still don’t get why the PS3 doesn’t install things you download automatically?! It’s retarded! Grrrr, hurry up already Wipeout HD!

10:20pm – Just ordered Pizza for my dinner, 40 minutes away so I thought I’d play a few little arcade/PSN games. Little bit of Geometry Wars and what the hey, I’ll buy Wipeout HD for AUD$27.95, it’s for the kids, I swear!

10:05pm – I just completed Bioshock! Goal 1 achieved for the day, even if I am about 3 hours behind schedule. I’m thinking maybe I should dedicate the rest of the time to finishing Metal Gear Solid 4 (MGS4) which I’ve had sitting here for months, but the call of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is soooo appealing! On Bioshock; what an absolutely amazing game! All the elements of a puzzler & FPS rolled into one with the most immersive story-line I’ve experienced in a game. For those out there that haven’t played it, go get it now! You’ll love it!

7:29pm – Just had my ass handed to me in some CoD4 multiplayer. I really suck at that game online! Back to Bioshock, but it’s getting dark and I’m getting scared. Will stop for a dinner break at the half way point (9pm).

5:30pm – You can still donate!! Instructions on doing so here.

4:50pm – Taking a Bioshock break by having a game of FIFA `09 on the PS3 with my housemate. My heart can take a little break from its palpitations ;)

3:30pm – Bioshock time. If there’s one thing I’ve set my goals on achieving today it’s finishing Bioshock. Hopefully I get it done before it gets dark because there are moments in that game that almost make me shit myself I swear!

3:08pm – Woah, look at the time and I’m still on CoD4. Time for a change up and to do another load of washing :( boooooo! Actually this might be a good opportunity for a lunch break. Jam on toast, packet of chips & a Diet Dr. Pepper. Lunch of video game champions!

1:00pm – Still playing CoD4. I love this game, it is without a doubt the best FPS on the market still and playing it on the Mac for the first time is just making it all the more enjoyable. I was going to stop but I just hit the sniper level, which is my favourite, so I’ll complete that and move on to the Xbox. Arsenal ended up winning BTW (3-1) and for my break I’ve popped on a load of washing, just for something different.

10:25am – Fresh new Starbucks. Switching to Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) on the Mac so my housemate can watch the Arsenal game on the TV. They’re losing 1-0 against Everton at the moment in case you’re wondering…

9:00am – The ExtraLife event has begun for me and my time zone. Straight into Bioshock on the Xbox 360.

8:45am – Woke up. Again. Dressed, coffee. I don’t think I’ve been up this early on a Saturday since I was 7.

8:00am – Woke up, not starting until 9:00, had planned on showering and getting all prepared. Decided sleep was more important. Went back to bed.

This Saturday is the big day for the ExtraLife charity event that I’m participating in. For those of you who missed my first post explaining the details you can catch up on it all here.

The nuts & bolts of it revolves around me playing video games for 24 hours straight and being sponsored by you guys out there which is then passed on to help children with cancer. There’s still plenty of time to get your donations in and you can do that here.

In the weeks leading up to the event I’ve been purchasing a bunch of new games to play as well as having a few in reserve that I’m yet to complete and a couple of old favourites spanning 4 different gaming platforms taking in to account times my housemate will undoubtedly require the TV to watch an English Premiere League game.

Games to be played, their platform & status:
Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox360) – Need to complete
Bioshock (Xbox360) – Need to complete
RockBand (Xbox360) – Fun
Fifa 09 (PS3) – Fun
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox360) – Brand New
Call Of Duty 4 (Mac) – Brand New
Sam & Max Season 2 (PC) – Brand New
World of Warcraft (Mac) – Never Ends & a last resort

Food, Supplies & Breaks:
I’ve stocked up on snacks, diet coke and batteries for controllers. I’ll be ordering in Pizza, Greek and maybe Mexican.
For breaks, I’m planning at least 5-10 minutes each hour, just because I know how my eyes can get after staring at RockBand and constantly seeing the stupid notes travel down the screen when I close my eyes. I also plan a movie break at least once, perhaps seeing the new Max Payne film.

Thanks
Big thanks goes out to those that have already sponsored me thus far. Sarah, George, Margie & John, and Marnie. To the rest of you get off your lazy bums and donate!

While the rest of the world enjoys the spoils of Harmonix’s latest efforts with the recent release of Rock Band 2 Australians, whom have yet to see any version of the franchise land upon its shores, will have to be content with the announcement that coming November 7th they too can finally begin their rock journeys with the release of the first iteration, the same version that is now over a year old for everyone else.

For anyone that has played Guitar Hero, Rock Band is going to be of familiar territory. The game revolves around the usual rhythm formula of coloured “notes” flowing down the screen that need to be hit when crossing a particular point. The more notes you hit in a row the more your score multiplier increases and should you not hit enough you bomb out of the song to the boos of a disappointed virtual crowd. Where Rock Band differentiates itself is that you not only have the option of playing the guitar portions of the songs but you know have a complete “band” of instruments to play (and sing) including lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. Think of it as Guitar Hero meets SingStar with a drum kit.

Rock Band provide two primary modes of gameplay, a “Solo Tour” mode and “Band World Tour” mode, which requires at least two players. The solo mode follows the same tried and tested formula of performing a few tracks on your desired instrument (excluding bass, which is only available in Band World Tour mode) until you’ve done enough to unlock the next venue and the new tracks that come along with it whilst growing in difficulty to play/sing. Depending on which instrument you choose to use the track list changes order due to the songs being of different difficulties for the individual mediums.

Band World Tour mode breaks the regular mould of linear track progression. Requiring at least one other person in the room rocking out with you, the World Tour mode challenges you to create a band poised to take over the world, earning fans, money, and accolades throughout your bands evolution. Starting with gigs in your hometown your band will go on to earn vans, tour buses and even private jets to play in any of the 41 venues in over 17 cities around the globe. You can even choose to play benefit gigs that earn you a larger fan base but no monetary reward all the time creating your own set-lists to accommodate your next gigs fans, introducing what Harmonix refers to as a “risk versus reward” system into the game, requiring a dedicated thought process behind your decision making somewhat similar to a real life band progressing through their musical career.

One of the decidedly major advantage the Rock Band franchise has over its competitors is its comprehensive track listing and music store. I love the loaded tracks in Rock Band, more so than any offering from Guitar Hero or even the US released Rock Band 2. Classics such as Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” and Stone Temple Pilots “Vaseline” are just the tip of the iceberg of this rock monolith’s 58 playable tracks, 51 of which are master recordings.
The in built music store allows further expansion buy allowing users to download new “track packs” or individual songs at a price of 160 Microsoft Points (US$1.99) per song. Currently there are over 250 tracks available for download from the Rock Band Music Store but it is unclear at this stage if all we be made available upon the Australian release, nor if their pricing will differ.

The Instruments
Guitar/Bass – The Rock Band guitar is by no means an evolutionary step in musical peripherals. In fact its quite the opposite as are all of Rock Band’s instrumental ensemble via their USB tethers. Connectivity aside the guitar unit is modeled against the famous Fender Stratocaster and, in my opinion, a far more recognizable shape of rock guitaring that most are more likely to identify with than that of Guitar Hero III’s Les Paul knock off. Unfortunately for Rock Band that’s pretty much where the praise ends. The guitar feels cumbersome, there’s little to no feedback when it’s fret buttons are depressed and the strum bar feels as though you’re pushing it through a pool of super glue. The familiar “click” when strumming on any of the previous Guitar Hero units is completely absent leaving me unsure as to whether or not I’ve actually played the note at all! It’s of general Internet consensus that the included guitar is rubbish and many are applauding Harmonix for the new upgrade with Rock Band 2 but unfortunately that’s not what Australia’s getting.

Drums – Harmonix received a lot of flack over the supplied drum kit when they first released Rock Band in the US. Complaints of the foot pedal snapping in two were more common than not and they went on record as to saying some of their initial units were admittedly faulty. Providing your foot pedal stays in one piece I can honestly say banging away on the drums is by far the most rewarding, and realistic, experience of Rock Band (for me). They’re loud, and housemates who aren’t joining in will quickly alert you to that fact, don’t think banging away on plastic pads is any less annoying than a real drum kit. You’ll also need to find a brick to put in front of them as the whole set up tends to move forward with each fervid kick of the foot pedal but boy is it a hell of a lot of fun. Be prepared to work a little on the drums too, if you’ve never drummed before teaching your mind to separate your three limbs (you generally only use one leg) to work independently is a challenge and one that’s not quickly mastered.

Microphone – I am most definitely not one for any form of karaoke. I know I can’t sing to save myself and I don’t see how forcing others listen to my hideous pitchless screams can be fun for anyone that isn’t deaf. I’d much prefer to bounce around the lounge room with a plastic guitar than sound like a fool singing! That said, in the spirit of gaming journalism I have (in solidarity) tried “singing” a tune or two. Fortunately as with pretty much every karaoke-like game available Rock Band calculates your performance on the ranging pitches your voice takes and not on you actually singing anything at all. It’s quite simple to get through a song with nothing more than a well controlled hum and whilst that may not be in the spirit of the game it was a most welcome relief for me.

For those tossing up between Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour (which is basically Rock Band with different tracks) I have to recommend Rock Band for its track list and music store, but ideally I’d want the hardware from Guitar Hero and the game from Rock Band. Even though this game is over a year old for the majority of the video game world you will find its popularity no shorter than ridiculous in Australia. What’s fantastic about Rock Band is that it has such a wide appeal including those whom want to rock their nights away pretending to be the latest Dave Grohl to that of the karaoke junkie; this game appeals to you all and what’s more you can now play together! Yay! One big happy family!

Related Links:
Rock Band Official Website
Rock Band track list
Downloadable tracks for Rock Band

Last night I attended the Toronto Downtown Dingo’s AFL Grand Final party at the Sports Centre Cafe, an annual event organized by one of the local Ontario Australian Football League (OAFL) clubs. Surprisingly there is actually a full league here in Ontario made up of of ten teams, some of which pilfer names and logos from Australian cousins, The Ottawa Swans for example, while others conceptualizing their own colours like the Guelph Gargoyles.

This is my third grand final in a different country in as many years, last year I was in London, the year before that in Paris and whilst each year I’ve been surrounded by Aussie brethren, and the past two finals have been absolute nail-bitter games, this year’s Canadian round takes the cake. It’s not that there were more people at said event, not even close, but this year was the most fun.

At all three of my O/S grand final appearances I’ve been flying solo and going by prior experience I assumed the night to run as it had previously; a few too many beers, some idle banter between unknown punters and the unusually warm feeling of being surrounded by like accents but this time round was a level above and beyond. There was no option for solidarity last night, should anyone have looked to be alone they were quickly met with a smile and familiar “`ow ya doin’ mate?” to the point that I actually missed the entire 3rd quarter chatting with a couple of blokes from Perth & Melbourne, one of which freakishly lived about two blocks from my old apartment in Kensington!

As a now self appointed “veteran” of overseas grand final parties there’s one element common to them all that I feel every Australian needs to experience at least once. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an AFL Grand Final, nor does it need to be in a particular country (well as long as it’s outside of Australia), pick any major Aussie sporting event to attend at any particular bar, pub, or even house that will contain a majority share of Australian persons, stand proudly and sing our country’s anthem with the upmost gusto spurred on by the chorus of fellow ex-pats. Maybe I’m just a sentimental, slightly graying, late 20 year old but that experience alone makes you truly honoured to be an Australian.

Oh and as for the game. Meh. Hawthorn won, I honestly couldn’t have given two hoots who won. Good on ‘em I suppose? Next up; find a place to watch the NRL final. Ca’an the Storm!

Coming up on October 18th I will be participating in Sarcastic Gamer’s 24 hour gaming marathon pediatric cancer charity event – Extralife.

…gamers from around the world will come together for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for the cause of pediatric cancer. Cancer is the number one cause of non-accidental death in children.

I will be square eyed playing Xbox, PS3 and PC games for a 24 hour straight period and I’m asking all of you out there to please dig deep and sponsor me in this amazing worldwide gaming effort. Let’s all help put a smile on a child’s face.

How to sponsor me
- Go to this URL: http://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=739

- In the box labeled “Name of Gamer you are Supporting” enter “Raj Deut“

- Click “Donate” & complete the PayPal form

Today is my mum’s 60th birthday and whilst she may not think it’s much to make a fuss over I have an extremist view of the opposite. If there were any reasons that would’ve stopped me from trying life in Canada not being in Australia to spend this day with her was most definitely one of them.

Family is of the upmost importance to me, a trait that I will actually admit came from my father, and to not be there today feels terrible! So to alleviate some guilt and make her day special I’ve made a quick little video for my Mum and I hope you’ll all join me in wishing her a very, very happy 60th birthday!

I love you mum!. xo

Whilst PAX has been and gone for a few weeks now I did recently fill a guest spot on the HundredPennies podcast which is now up for download. I didn’t expect the entire episode to be named after me (“Episode 25 – Raj at PAX”) but it’s nice to be loved :)

Props to Gav, Stu, Fu & Doug, the HundredPennies lads. They are always a pleasure to chat with and I highly recommend a listen and visit to their site at http://hundredpennies.com

HundredPennies Episode 25 “Raj at PAX” Download