Did you ever see the Matrix and wonder just how all of those green characters of weird computer code flowing across the screen corresponded to what was represented on the screen inside the matrix?

Well, today I came across a tool on the BERG blog, which shows this correlation very well with real computer code:

ICU64 is a real-time debugger for Commodore 64 emulators. On the right is an emulator program emulating a virtual C64 machine. This virtual machine is running an old C64 game. On the left is ICU64 displaying the memory registers of the virtual C64 machine.

Tom Armitage on the aforementioned BERG blog does well to describe what’s going on:

To begin with, you can see the registers being filled and decompressed to in real time; then, you can see the ripple as all the registers empty and are refilled. And then, as the game in question loads, you can see registers being read directly corresponding to sprite animation. What from a distance appears to be green and yellow dots can be zoomed right into â?? the individual values of each register being made clear. Itâ??s a long video, but the first minute or two makes the part I liked clear: a useful (and surprisingly beautiful) visualisation of computer memory. It helps that the computer in question has a memory small enough that it can reasonably be displayed on a modern screen.

Seeing how the individual memory registers of the C64 as it runs the game, you can get an idea of how the individual bytes all play a part in presenting the game. And as the video progresses, you get an understanding of how you can change individual bytes and thus change the game – in realtime. This is pretty much what Neo does in the Matrix films: He hacks the code of the Matrix on the fly to give himself superhuman powers such as the ability to fly or fight, thereby breaking the programmed laws of the game.

It is a beautiful visualisation of the relationship between the physical computer (the registers on the disk) and the information we see displayed on our screen.

Now, consider Garfield. Probably the best-selling comic strip in the world. The basic premise is that you have a fat, ego-centric cat who enjoys annoying his lonely owner. The sarcastic drive of the cat dominates every other character in the strip. But what if Garfield was just a figment of poor Jon’s imagination?

Well, now, with Garfield minus Garfield, we can see what Jon’s life would be without Garfield. As the introduction reads:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Letâ??s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

You need to read a few pages to get the full desperation and crazed loneliness that the comic conveys. But then it’s downright startling.

But having waited means that I can link to some of the clever tributes which have been posted around the Net.

Like many of these players, I have spent much time dreaming myself away to these wondrous worlds, and playing these games with friends. Though, really, I think I spent more time dreaming up the worlds with their civilizations and stories and heroes than I spent actually playing the game, which with its crude characters and obsessive rules mostly annoyed me. I enjoyed the promise of the story. Of making my own adventures without being bogged down by the game. Thinking about it now, I wonder whether I have ever been keen on letting dice rule my story.

Did you see that TV-show yesterday? They were just dancing limbo beneath the lowest common denominator.

It works even better by sounding less mathematical in Danish, so your mileage may vary.

Going to Norway is like entering a big Danish thesaurus. All the words are recognizable and usable in Danish, they’re just not that common. Here’s a list of some of the Norwegian words I noted:

‘Vakker’ rather than ‘smuk’
‘Kjeltring’ rather than ‘forbryder’
‘løvskÃ¥ret skinke’ rather than ‘fintskÃ¥ret skinke’
‘Minnepinne’ rather than ‘memory stick’ (good Danish that)

Further, the Norwegian language is like Danish just littered with spelling mistakes – which makes it even more interesting and can create some curious misconceptions. For instance the way that Danish ‘kneb’ (Danish for ‘trick’) is subtly changed to ‘knep’ (Danish for ‘fuck’).

Or my personal favourite, one of the biggest Danish gossip magazines is called ‘Her og nu’ has a Norwegian pendant called ‘Her & NÃ¥’

Which in Danish is like turning ‘here and now’ into ‘here and so’ – the question mark almost pronounced with it. I find this hilarious since it pretty much sums up my attitude to gossip magazines in that Danish word: “NÃ¥?”

Tore is known for emphatic sarcasm, especially with regards to pop culture. Not only has he featured a post on “Men who look like Dieter Bohlen” – he is also vice-president of the Chelsea Gloryhunter Club who only accept people as members if they haven’t supported Chelsea FC before 12:47 on the 25th of november 2005 (which was when the club founder and president decided to become a Chelsea fan, as he was sick and tired of watching his original true love, Hertha Berlin, getting trounced every weekend.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Tore will twist the everyday stories of blogging and the online experience to new levels of intrigue and danger.

Because humankind is such diverse bunch, people have found all sorts of ways to handle that sort of seasonal stress. Some of them extreme, others downright bonkers.

So Heck is where you go if you don’t believe in Gosh. You’re basically darned for all eternity. Jeez, you’ve really fudged the Sheesh up this time.

For some reason, it’s not dirty if you say these sweet versions, even though you’re obviously expressing and using the meaning of the Dirty Seven Words.

Interestingly, “sucks” wasn’t considered dirty at all at first. As it was just a “nonoffensive word for suction” which then started to gain a slang meaning related to fellatio. But with increased popularity and usage, it has outgrown its sexual connotations, and is now considered a a “PG“-phrase.

Actually, the American film rating system gives an idea of how bad the various expletives are. The exact criteria are not known, though some general guidelines seem clear:

- if a film uses “one of the harsher sexually-derived words” (such as fuck) once, it remains eligible for a PG-13 rating, provided that the word is used as an expletive and not in a sexual context;
- if such language is used more than once, or once if in a sexual context, it usually receives an R rating;
- a reference to drugs usually gets a movie a PG-13 at a minimum, though a few movies were rated PG for mild drug references;
- a “graphic” or “explicit” drug scene earning a film an R at a minimum;
while total female nudity is permitted in an R-rated movie, any display of naked male genitalia will (usually) result in an NC-17 rating. Non-sexual male nudity is the one exception.

It could be fun to dub a film like Pulp Fiction so that all the expletives would be substituted with these acceptable words. Of course, there’s still the graphic drug scenes, violence and sex, but at least they can’t fault the language…