in other geek news, George Takei finallygot marriedto his partner of 21 years. his partner is 17 years younger than he is, and bully for him! um... would you call him a cougar or what? how does that work?
do you watch television? no? unless it's on Bravo or someone graciously lets me borrow his entire first season of Heroes, i don't either. perhapsCracked.comhas an answer to bring us back to the tube...
having trouble finding your personal higher power? try a different tactic and look at it in a different light. you know, likefantasy football. *snicker* Richard Gere!
Anybody happen to have kid stuff (ages 6-12) they don't need... or know anyone with kid stuff they don't use/need anymore?
And hey, who doesn't need a tax deduction?
Funding for our non-profit organization was cut by 66% and we are in dire need of new (or used!) games, toys, books and puzzles for summer camp and latchkey programs. Please help if you can!
For example, the kids would love to have:
Chess K'nex Lego Pictionary Jr Outburst Jr Catch Phrase Apples to Apples
Whatever you have, really, but you know, the usual kid stuff.
Because we are a non-profit organization, all donations are tax deductible. So, should you need or want, we can give you the tax deduction form.
It is remarkably quiet 'round these parts.Did anyone watch the SuperBowl this year or is everyone too heartbroken to comment?It ranks second in most watched telecasts ever (M*A*S*H* still holds that title) yet the most conversation I've had about the Big Game has been with a 9-year-old sports fanatic.And it was good conversation, by the way.
If we are honest with ourselves, weren't we all secretly rooting for the Giants?I was.
Warning: if you don't follow football, this next paragraph isn't gonna make sense: I really like Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan.I've been following their careers for a long time.Tell ya what, I have a confession: I HATE TOM BRADY.Love the Pats, hate their QB.Some feelings die hard, and this is one area where this happens for me.I loved loved loved Drew Bledsoe with that team.
Drew and I have the same birthdate.*dreamy sigh*
(Gregory Hines had the same b-day, too.Yeah, I had a crush on him.Shoosh.)
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So let's touch briefly on the entertainment.
Who the crap was that girl who sang the anthem?(naw, I don't really care.) Did she lip sync it or what?It was black whitebread. Would that make it rye or swirl?
Tom Petty's show was just classy.Perhaps a bit on the tame side, but it looked like they were enjoying themselves.I'll admit to nearly having a tear in one eye.It was like seeing friends on TV.
What?You don't like Tom Petty?I don't care.
The reality is that if my team isn't playing it means I'm mostly watching it for the commercials.By that reasoning, I have always watched it for the commercials.And this year's crop BLEW.I suppose I should have expected as much.It was on FOX, after all.(Any chance I get, I take.) With that, on to the real bitching!
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Budweiser, what the hell kind of crap did you try to pass off this year?Mencia again?Why?Trying to ride Iron Man's coattails with the superpowers thing wasn't amusing or creative.Do I think I could do any better?Hell no, but I'm not getting paid to entertain the masses, either.
Simpleton that I am, I genuinely enjoyed Tide's obnoxious noise-making shirt stain.
(29 seconds long)
Instead of a Tide pen to erase stains that may be hanging out on any of my clothing, I'd like them to make a pen to wipe out my "wardrobe" and replace it with something better.That means damn near anything.
Okay, I did crack up when Napoleon got out of the car in the Garmin commercial.
The second half's commercials seemed to be a bit better- they didn't seem to be taking themselves so seriously.At the end of the Taco Bell commercial when they sang "THEENK OUSIEE DE BUNNN!!!" me an Jer hurt ourselves laughing.Not a good commercial in my opinion, but the end was unexpected so it gets a higher mark than it would have.
Charlie Brown getting the Coke only scores high with me because my family has a predisposition to Peanuts on account of my dad liking the Schultz comic so much.It was sweet in an innocent way.
Timberlake being willing to take a beating to sell Pepsi crap is amusing, but him getting knocked out by a giant HD makes my heart smile because I can identify with the dad.Also, him getting his TV before the daughter gets whatshisface is flat out justice.
Surprisingly, I actually watched it for the game this year.
That last quarter made up for all the crap commercials I had to wade through to get there.
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The very best thing about the whole evening? Hugh Laurie playing the Fox NFL theme. I can't find it but when i do, I'm posting it here. It was brilliant. The second best commercial was for the television show, House. Note that Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" is featured.
(46 seconds)
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I stumbled across this while looking for the one above. genius!
(27 seconds)
Did you watch? Did you enjoy the game? What commercials were your favorites? On which points do you disagree with me?
xo
Currently
playing
:
My Spanish Coach Release date: 06 November, 2007
Adam Sessler is the Alton Brown of G4. the crushes i have on them both are almost equal.
if you were one of the 350+ clickers in the span of 2 days (seriously, what the crap??!!) who read my last rant about that insipid news source, you may enjoy this follow-up. it's 2 minutes of Adam making some good points and trashing them much better than i did.
(Prickholio, you'll particularly enjoy the last line.)
this isn't anything new, but i don't get my news from FOX News. after reading about two pieces they recently broadcast, i never will. not even for entertainment purposes.
and i'm going to actively encourage people i know to do the same.
item the first
as mentioned a blog or 2 ago, Heath Ledger died. sure, i didn't treat him like a saint but i didn't treat him like a punching bag, either. i'm all for mockery and shenanigans, let's not forget who is writing this, but this struck a wrong chord with me. hey, usually i like wrong! but how are his comments appropriate for a "NEWS" channel?? i guess it would be funny if it weren't coming from people who are "journalists."
this item isn't going to get more coverage from me mostly because i'm speechless.
item the second
also, near and dear to my heart is... you guessed it: videogames.
so when this piece of crap originally aired, i was peeved. i actually remember seeing it. davie and i went for our weekly morning feast at a local eatery. said establishment usually has their swank new flat panel screens tuned in to Fox News. when we walked in, i saw the headline- "'SE'XBOX? New Video Game Shows Full Digital Nudity and Sex." i couldn't hear what was being said, but i knew in my heart of hearts that whatever it was, it was bound to be wrong.
lo! and behold! Fox News "reported" incorrect information!
for the record, the game in question (Mass Effect) does not show full digital nudity and sex. edit: not in the way they mean it. there is a "situation," but not any more explicit than what you'd see on prime time television. none of the people working for the network had played the game at all, not even for research and reporting purposes.
as could have been predicted, the video game giant, publisher Electronic Arts, has asked what is being called "Faux News" to correct the inaccuracies. but guess what? they still haven't!
even if you don't play games, it's very likely you've heard of Electronic Arts. ever heard this? "EA Sports. It's in the game." (embarassingly enough, i say it a lot.) what about this- ever play The Sims? SimCity?
see, EA is like the Budweiser of the gaming industry. you may not like their product, but there's no doubt that it's the most consumed.
i'm not sure if Fox fully understands yet that if they don't backpedal, what they probably have coming is a little lawsuit by the name of slander. i'm sure that neither corporation is unfamiliar with how lawyers work, but why instigate a fight? i don't see how EA can lose, but then again i could be blinded by partiality.
thing is, of the 200+ games i own, EA published... maybe 5 of them. all right, fine, 15 or so.
see, i'm not a fan of EA. in fact, many moons ago they pissed me off because they blocked a title i was anticipating, Thrill Kill, from being made. i remember reading the preview of the game in my PSM (PlayStation Magazine) and being super stinkin' excited. anyhow, EA bought the rights to it (it being the original publisher, Virgin Interactive) and then promptly killed the project. on purpose. they didn't think such a game should ever have been made. bastards.
so the copy i have of it is incomplete (but still enjoyable).
uninteresting personal note: PSM included a sticker inside that issue, exactly like the circle you see above. it fit perfectly on the lid of the PlayStation. mine had it, yo.
to now find myself cheering for EA is a bit strange, but i compare it to the Olympics: you still root for your country even if you don't care for the individuals who are competing.
i'm sure about 2 of you actually read/cared about all of that. maybe.
get to the point, fish, the freaking POINT already!
okay, here's the point: call me insane, but i guess i just don't want to get my news or answers from people who have no flipping idea what they're talking about. or who are okay with reporting incorrect facts. or can't place objectivity first.
i know it's kind of ridiculous, but i have begun writing a letter addressed to the eatery where davie and i have occasioned asking them to change the channel.
if you don't already dislike Fox News, might i encourage you to start?
no, i'm not really here. i'm somewhere else playing some mad Scrabble.
i'm dropping in here to post a few videos for myself and others who enjoy The Royal Guardsmen. if you haven't heard them, i highly recommend you watch this. their actions are supremely entertaining. hmmm... then again it may just appeal to my simple sense of humor.
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
if you like the Christmas version better:
Hey Ya!!!
and finally, for you Sting fans:
and hey, since i prolly won't see ya: 000111010010001111010
the real reason i'm giving you a blog today is because i want to share with you what is going on in Hollywood, in case you were in the dark about it...
from dailytech.com:
"The Heartbreak Kid" underperforms; blames Halo 3
The target audience for many of the Farrelly brothers' movies are young adults, predominantly male. The target audience for Bungie Studios' Halo 3 game are also young adults, also predominantly male.
Using this parallel comparison, many film executives are pointing their fingers at the latest videogame blockbuster as the reason for one of the weakest recent Hollywood box office weekend performances of the current millennium.
The movie industry expected The Heartbreak Kid, the film that reunites the Farrelly brother director duo with Ben Stiller, to make up to $25 million over the opening weekend. The Heartbreak Kid fell short by raking in only $14 million across North America.
While some of those who would have been interested in seeing The Heartbreak Kid chose to stay at home to play Halo 3, another reason for the movie's disappointing opening may be due to the less than warm reception by critics. Less than one-third of movie critics gave The Heartbreak Kid an overall positive impression, according to statistics gathered by Rotten Tomatoes. Furthermore, the movie's "R" rating may have also forced younger viewers to stay at home to play their "M" rated videogame.
According to information cited by Advertising Age, total industry ticket sales were only $80 million for the October 5 weekend, a 27 percent decrease from period last year, making it the industry's worst performance for an October weekend since 1999.
Halo 3's first day performance rang in at $170 million, which Microsoft called the "biggest day in US entertainment history." Within the first week of the launch of Halo 3, consumers went on to spend over $300 million on the game alone. Halo 3's launch also spurred sales of Microsoft's console, pushing Xbox 360 sales to double over the same period.
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quick intermission from the news, and yes, it really was in the news, but... uh... has anyone seen The Heartbreak Kid? do you want to?
yeah i was at home playing Halo 3, but i rarely go to the movies anyway. what's your "excuse?" i'm sure Hollywood would like to know!
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the spoofsters over at bbspot.com wrote up a beautiful response:
Microsoft Blames Hollywood for Record Halo 3 Sales Redmond, WA – Microsoft executives blamed higher ticket prices and a "lack of originality" for record sales of Halo 3.
"We thought we'd get some good sales, but nothing like this," said Microsoft executive Bob Frederickson. "But with escalating ticket prices and the crappy movies Hollywood has been putting out. People are just hungry for entertainment."
Frederickson added that the record sales for Halo 3 have also caused booming sales for Xbox console as well as other Xbox accessories. "Gee thanks, Ben Stiller, with all this business our guys haven't gotten much rest."
Frederickson showed some internal data that demonstrated how an actually funny movie from Ben Stiller would've impacted sales. "This data shows a quality comedy starring Ben Stiller and not just some movie trying to recapture the "Something About Mary" magic, would've dampened Halo 3 sales by 10%. A movie where Charlize Theron appears nude would've decreased sales by 35%," said Frederickson.
Many in Hollywood contest the data. Including Karl Goldsmith of Paramount Pictures. He said, "I don't think you can tie the record game sales only to bad movies. I mean the music and television industry isn't producing anything so hot either. Look at Caveman! Is that keeping anybody away from their Xbox 360?"
Fans of Halo 3 agree. Chad Phillips from Rockford, Illinois said, "I'm not going to pay $12 for another derivative Ben Stiller movie. I'd rather pay $60 for another derivative first-person shooter." Microsoft sees even more reason to be sanguine about the future for video game sales. Frederickson said, "There's no Star Wars or Lord of the Rings on the horizon to slow sales. What have they got, Alvin and the Chipmunks?"
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anyway, what blog would be complete without a CAD comic?
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you may be sick of Halo, but regardless- it has reached a certain status where if someone says, "hey, wanna come play Halo?" you'll be willing. if you game, that is. even if you don't, you may one day want to try it out.
if you're a PC gamer, the same rule may apply to you with this game:
(hooray battle.net!)
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luckily for you, the Halo blogs will probably run dry now that the game has been released and the hype has died down a bit. time will tell.
in other news: * pumpkin muffins are currently plentiful. ** Bella is an awesome dog and an even awesomer bed warmer. *** Science is supa-cool. today we're gonna make stuff react! **** i'll be dressing as Chun-Li (yes, again, so shoosh), but the whole fam is dressing as game characters this year. FINALLY!
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now for some cyberbegging:
i need stuff to read while i'm still in my hibernation. anybody willing to loan out some books you think i'd like to read?
ask your kids (if they're in grades 1-5) what kind of science projects they're doing and let me know, will you please?
so it's a cartoony music video set to Beethoven's Fifth and aimed at one particular group of people, but i think it's a message that all can embrace (and practice, for the luvvagod). if you have the time or inclination, listen to what they were saying about this on NPR.
time again for a useless and very short blog about videogames. okay, just one videogame.
(haven't been online for weeks and i am currently working on not being online for another few weeks. well, except for putting up my new story on RAW. if you get time to swing over there, let me know what you think, and don't hesitate to read stuff by the other authors! some of the stuff on there is brilliant...)
anyway, on to Halo 3 mania.
even the ads have ads! the new commercial campaign starts today, but this was released earlier this week in anticipation of it. well, i think it's cool...
CAD is just always right on, so i'll let him say all that needs saying:
i'm glad all this overblown media blitz is something i can enjoy. even with all the hype, some of you barely even know that Halo exists, unlike, say, Harry Potter...
in the meantime, i'm "saying goodbye" to all the places i've been killed before!
i've been to a couple of friends' homes lately and have either been shown things on their computers or just needed to use it myself. it has been painful.
it's also been yet another lesson in "you don't know how good you have it until you see somebody else who is doing without." i'm not a tech snob by any means, but i'm certainly not a luddite. so i've got a few game consoles hanging around and 12 speakers and 2 subwoofers in my computer room, but hey, who doesn't?
there are people all over the world who are starving, homeless, have too many kids, suffering from dementia and the clap, are dying for a drink... but ya know, that's not really my problem. i take that back- that sounds exactly like my problem. nevermind! anyway, i've got a house payment to worry about, yes, but what i desperately need is a fiber optic cable to connect my 360 to my monitor. i love the hi-def that the setup already gives and my solace is that until the day i am able to purchase said cable, i have 22 inches on which to view my game. (that's what she said.)
the point i'm getting at is this: my friends, if you are going to show me stuff on your home computer, you need to upgrade your monitors for the sake of my personal viewing comfort. i encourage you to go to at least a 19' flat panel. if you don't do it for me, do it for yourself. your life will be better, much like in commercials where people are perfectly happy and beautiful because they eat at McDonalds and drink Coke.
come to the dark side. once you go black you never go back. the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence? sides and black and green and fence. words and words and words. somethin' er another.
it's a cool thing, at least that's how i feel, so please go check out both sites and add them as your friend / subscribe to the blog so you get a feel for what kind of story you're getting into. the aim is to update every Monday, but hopefully it'll grow enough to have at least 3 updates a week.
and please check out all the authors' work! the featured story is not the only new one up there... the RAW contributors did (and will continue to do) an incredible job with their writing and i'm sure they'd love some feedback.
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if you're looking for a steady creative writing outlet and think this would be a good medium for you, please submit a minimum of four stories (preferably in Word format) to contact@randomactsofwriting.net where it will be reviewed by one of four RAW members. if it's accepted, be prepared to write on a consistent basis...
RAW is also looking to add a cartoonist to the site and an illustrator to design the cover for the eventual printed work. contact RAW via e-mail if you or someone you know would be interested.
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thanks, everybody! feel free to help promote us... we'll find some way to thank you...
xo
Currently
playing
:
Crackdown Release date: 20 February, 2007
who reads bulletins?
Current mood: determined
Category: Pets and Animals
we've all got that one friend who will do anything for money, right? oh wait, that's YOU, isn't it? ahhhh. well, we'll figure out something for you later.
here's the thing: i've got a friend who seriously needs to shave. all of it.
introducing: SHAVE THE SHOOPIE!!! (a myspace profile dedicated to a cleaner, gentler face and head. oh, and education as well.)
the bonus is: if you help contribute to his going away to school fund, i get to see him shaved like a Sphynx kitten!
okay, that was scary. Shoopie's not that ugly.
anyway, think of all the hot bald dudes out there and then... decide you wanna see him shave it all off!
eyebrows as well.
what's he got to lose, huh? the kid is ITALIAN for chrissakes. if we shave him at 8pm, he'll have his 5 o'clock shadow by midnight!
all my personal amusement aside:
donations are to help the kid move to England for the next 3 years he'll be attending school. got five bucks to spare? help a kid get an education.
hell, just send a friend request to the page and heckle him in the comment, blog and picture sections!
to celebrate the pagan first day of summer: it's fucking HAILING right now.
to celebrate the working class: i slept all day. after i'm done writing this, i'm going to take a nap.
to celebrate the labor movement: this is what Mexicantown is up to.
watching the downriver thunderstorms (the lightning, anyway) last night from the Ambassador Bridge was a sight to behold. wish you coulda been there.
i know i'm coming in late, but Gears of War is a beautiful, beautiful game that is sucking the very essence of time itself from this thing i call life. new maps are coming available. the new rig is everything i dreamed of and more. high definition gaming is, in my opinion, glorious.
(but i still hate videogames. with a lotta love, though.)
ya know, just stop it. STOP.* all of you. intelligent discussion is allowed, but not this crap you're trying to sell. a few hypothetical questions: why do you care so much about what someone else believes? how on earth does it affect you in any sense? and why does it matter to you? who really cares??? hell when i put it that way, i shouldn't even be mentioning any of this in a blog!
in short- give it up already. when people enter into a contest like that, their minds are already dead-set against change. blarg!!!!!!!!!!!! /frustration (no, i don't want to start online theological anything with anyone who drops in to read this. catch me in person. preferably: when i'm mostly drunk.)
*it's stupid stuff like that which makes me want to spread the influence of all my years of videogame training onto everyone i know. that is, of course, having the Live Action Tetris party in my backyard.
i'm still dressing as the annoying green piece.
who doesn't love parody?
last but certainly not least! my K-Zoo brother is going to be doing an internship in Center Line (10 Mile & Mound area). he'll be moving here in about 2 weeks. if you've ever wanted to show someone a good time, this is the perfect opportunity!
xo
Currently
playing
:
Gears Of War Release date: 21 November, 2006
determined
