Warcadia

Matt Foley Motivation Speaker

2006-12-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

The Marketing/PR department was asked to provide the entertainment this year at PTCI's Christmas party. Some of my colleagues had heard I had done Matt Foley a few times before and asked if I would preform it.

Being the Video Producing Tech I asked if we could just film it so we could actually enjoy the party. So we filmed it. I used one camera and filmed it in many... MANY segments. We had another member of the department film while I preformed as Matt. It took quite a few hours to edit, and since it was such a fun capture of Chris Farley's character, I decided to share it with you.

I hope you enjoy it.

Frisby

the other week @ intendo: Oct 24th-29th

2006-11-07T21:39:00.000-05:00

Hi baby. I know. I know i'm running la--... stop.*sigh*...Can i get a word in? ... Who gives a shit what your mother thinks!? ... I'm sorry..i'm sorry, babe, it's just...it's just that i get so crazy without chu...C'mon, don't...don't cry...Listen i promise i'll be there. You have nothin to worry about. Ok? Everything cool? Heh, good. Love youuu.

Tues - Microsoft couldn't buy you a 360; American gamers should play American games (and vice versa)

Wed - Don't doubt the Head Seamtress; IE on your TV; Zelda to the 3rd power

Fri - I'd rather wave that wand than wave that bird; the Dick Cheney of handhelds (hierarchally speaking); Anti-petition to peition the petition petition (a recap)

Sat - Who? I'm sorry but he doesn't live here anymore

Sun - It's not over till the 360 overheats

Is that what the "M" is for?

2006-11-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, I made a trip with my mother to the game store so she could get a Zelda skin for her GameCube. While we were waiting on line to pay, I had the opportunity to see a dumb-ass parent buying games with her kids.

Apparently, she let 10-year old "Jimmy" run around and pick some used games since they were on sale. Never once did she look at the box for the rating or the content, she just looked at the price. Everything was fine in their world until she gave the empty cases to the clerk. He looked through the games and stopped at one and gave the mother a look. He then ASKED her if she was aware that the game had a mature rating. Not wanting to look stupid, she said sure.

He looks the kid and then at her again and repeats himself. She smiles and replies yes. So he then tells her that he has to ask her and then he asks her if she even read what the game was about. It was forward but as a gamer, I understand his frustration.

Not wanting to look stupid again, she takes the box and reads it. She tells the clerk, "OH,NO!" and gives her son an evil eye and tells him to get something else.

Now, my complaint is why is she giving her kid the evil eye. She is the parent. She probably buys him all the Nickelodeon and Disney movies but obviously doesn't take the time to educate herself about video games.

I was glad that the clerk pushed the issue. All we need is another (grand)parent suing because they didn't know about the (hidden) content of the game!

Oh, the game? Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP.

WARP>>

Deadbeat dad visit

2006-10-27T16:47:00.000-04:00

Feels like there's a restraining order against me here. I've been with my new family , what do you want from me? Eh? What do you want from meeeeee?!

Here's what went down 2 weeks ago @ intendo.

Mon- Is Wii Next-Gen (part 2); Launch day calculations

Tues- Jay Sherman vs Wii

Wed- Halo Thwii

Thurs- Shake their money-maker

Sat- Choosing teams, Cross-platform Miis, Kicking Wordpress' Ass

And last week:

Sun- Sony pulls media rug out from under Wii, Blog Masters, Weekends don't quit at Club Tendo

Mon- Keep your eye on that PS3 (40+ comments and counting)

Fri- Casting call for good writers

Sat- Enjoy your SDTV, Wii owners

I will try to visit you more often, babe.

Humanity's Obsession and Rejection of Death

2006-10-18T01:33:00.000-04:00

Two nights ago I saw at the Chicago International Film Festival the premiere of Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain", and I have to say, this is not only the best of Aronofsky's films, it is easily the best film I have seen in the last few years. In my opinion, the film is a trip through the obsession, and subsequent rejection, Humanity has for the concept of death.

I actually walked into the theater not knowing what to expect. I even had forgotten I was going to see an Aronofsky film, despite having enjoyed his previous films and having chosen the film among several available titles to watch this year in the festival. I realized who the director was before the film only because he was there to present his work.

The first and biggest word of advice for anyone about to watch this film, especially fans of Aronofsky's work, is that you are NOT going to see Requiem for a Dream part II, nor anything resembling the director's previous work. I haven't seen the previews, but my second word of advice is: try to avoid them! This film has to be seen with a completely open mind.

Having said that, keep in mind that this film is not for everyone. It is a true art film that requires from the audience to meet it halfway in order to connect with the ideas the director is trying to convey. It is visually stunning, but the images are more than just eye candy. They have a very profound meaning behind them. But what meanings and ideas you will carry with you after the film is over will depend on whether you can "connect" with Aronofsky's conceptual images.

Jackman's and Weisz's performances are very contrasting and Oscar-worthy, with Jackman's being especially intense. His character reminds me of the obsessive ness in Sean Gullette's character in "Pi", and that is probably the only connection you will find with that film. Some might even find it a bit over the top, but in my opinion, it is absolutely required for the subject of the story in this film, and Jackman delivers with credibility.

Here's hoping that Aronofsky gets a well-deserved Oscar nomination for this film!

2006-10-17T14:11:00.000-04:00

I'm tempted to make my own shirts and give 100% of the money to charity.

Tenacious D: free movie

2006-10-17T11:43:00.000-04:00

This fall, there's a Tenacious D movie coming out. But right now there's a free (and probably better) movie of theirs on iTunes. It was so good, it melted my brain .. seriously, after the microwave just beeped, I opened the fridge door.

It really reminds me of Channel 101 and some of the great stuff Jack Black did there.

[And that should definitely be the new slogan for iTunes.]

Last week @ intendo

2006-10-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

Little late, but...

Monday - PWoT

Tues - Pick Mii, Techno news-ic, Reggie buries his shaft, PSP gets brain

Wednesday - DS on smack

Thurs - Quit your cryin'

Saturday - Wii generation Part 1

The Invisible

2006-10-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

I can think of at least two people who will probably go see this movie.

I'm not the only one wrong!!!!

2006-10-09T23:06:00.001-04:00

Ever sing a song like you meant it. Totally feeling what the artist is singing about. Ever sing in front of someone and they say "Ummm thats not what they say in the song."

You get all pissed, you go and look up the lyrics and...*gasp*... its all a lie. Everything you thought you knew is WRONG. Its Tiny Dancer not Tony Danza??? No effing way. Its "Give me the Beach Boys to free my soul", not "Give me the beat boys".

Actual conversation with my mother in high school

*Jimi Hendrix on radio* (My mom is pissed she is not listening to Christian music...how..ironic)

Me: "Man, Jimi is sooo bad ass!"

Mom: "Pfff hes gay"

"No he is not. Where did you hear that"

"He says in this song, "Excuse me while I kiss this guy"

"No, he says excuse me while I kiss the sky"

"I was alive when he wrote it, I think I would know"

"Yeah you would think that" *I crank the radio"

Jimi * "(Riff) Excuse ME, While i Kiss the SKY (riff)"

"See, Kiss the Sky"

"sounds like he says kiss this guy"

So Go here, and know you are not alone.

frisby

Veinte Mujeres Con Pistolas

2006-10-06T16:34:00.000-04:00

This Summer, while attending Wizard World in Chicago, I met the New York artist Alberto Ruiz, in a booth where he was promoting his book, Veinte Mujeres Con Pistolas (Twenty Women With Guns, for the monolinguals).

Alberto Ruiz has the uncanny ability to draw incredibly expressive female forms with using the minimum amount of lines like no other artists I've seen. In some of his sketches, it even seems like he draw the whole body in detail using a single line!

Probably NSFW, even though these are just caricatures, but worth the risk if you don't have a computer at home...

Booster Cam

2006-10-06T14:51:00.000-04:00

Take 4 minutes and watch this .. the whole thing.

It's been a while

2006-10-05T22:29:00.000-04:00

MiisterIinviisiible

2006-10-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

I came late to this party, but here I am. (Even my wife said it looks like me.)

I rocked my ass off.. now you can, too!

2006-10-05T15:35:00.000-04:00

I went to see Secret Machines last night and it was amazing. The show was "in-the-round" which gave the audience the chance to stand right next to the band. I was literally standing two feet from the singer, watching him play his keyboard. The lights, the rock, the intimacy .. if you live in any of these cities, do yourself a favor and go see this band.

Oct 6 2006 8:00P
Higher Ground South Burlington, VT
Oct 7 2006 8:00P
Theatre Of The Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
Oct 8 2006 8:00P
Mr. Smalls Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 9 2006 8:00P
Park West Chicago, IL
Oct 11 2006 8:00P
The Rave Milwaukee
Oct 12 2006 8:00P
First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
Oct 13 2006 8:00P
University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
Oct 14 2006 8:00P
Fox Theatre Boulder, CO
Oct 17 2006 8:00P
Showbox Seattle, WA
Oct 19 2006 8:00P
(McMenamins) Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
Oct 20 2006 8:00P
Grand Ballroom San Francisco, CA
Oct 21 2006 7:00P
Soma San Diego, CA
Oct 23 2006 8:00P
Avalon (Hollywood) Los Angeles, CA
Oct 27 2006 8:00P
Lizard Lounge Outdoor Amphitheater Dallas, TX
Oct 28 2006 10:00A
Voodoo Music Festival (Voodoo Island) New Orleans, LA
Oct 30 2006 8:00P
City Hall Nashville, TN
Oct 31 2006 8:00P
Center Stage Atlanta Atlanta, GA
Nov 1 2006 8:00P
Music Farm Charleston, SC
Nov 3 2006 8:00P
Warsaw Brooklyn, NY
Nov 9 2006 8:00P
Salon 21 Mexico City, Mexico
Nov 10 2006 8:00P
Teatro Estudio Cavaret Guadalajara, Mexico
Nov 11 2006 8:00P
Cafe Iguana Monterrey, Mexico

Last week on...

2006-10-04T17:35:00.000-04:00

Reggie's a compulsive liar

One I-ed Wii

Wii's love muscle

Regginator the Originator

Wii Crosses the River

Introducing...

InvisibleMii

2006-10-04T11:42:00.000-04:00

Good show

2006-10-04T02:34:00.000-04:00

Some blogger's funny incident.

No Mack For You

2006-10-03T23:47:00.000-04:00

Mii and Mii Wiife

2006-10-03T18:21:00.001-04:00

No good curly hair for my semi fro I got going.

But I know its me.

If Wii Sports Tenis is WiFi watch out for these two Frisbys.

Here is a refrence photo from chucky Chesses with my niece.

Mii and you and everyone Wii know

2006-10-03T03:04:00.000-04:00

Some guy made a badass flash version of the Mii Channel. Feels just like the real thing (should)!

Do i need to tell you to share yours?

Mind and Body (Paragraphs)

2006-10-02T22:52:00.000-04:00

You've certainly seen this before, but try reading it as fast you can and really be amazed.

Peaceful Means and the Milky Way

2006-10-02T22:48:00.000-04:00

Death of the Fansite

2006-09-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

Formalities on the other side.

Warp already.

Guess Which Movie

2006-09-26T15:19:00.000-04:00

20 movies a round, going off of screenshots like this.

Ten Useless Shaving Facts

2006-09-26T15:10:00.000-04:00

"4. The Pharaohs of Egypt probably liked a good shave every now and then, of course using nothing less than the best made from gold and silver. Archeologists have found razor relics that date back as far as the fourth century."

Katamari Muse

2006-09-26T02:41:00.000-04:00

Fast Films

2006-09-25T22:42:00.000-04:00

Classic movies condensed and stripped down to a 1-minute version of just the bare essentials.

Concentration Test for Guys

2006-09-24T22:41:00.000-04:00

Also: Playthings.

Rollin's Got a Secret

2006-09-24T13:20:00.000-04:00

I was filming a tailgate party last Friday and in the crowd a child caught my attention.

Has Rollin been in the Oklahoma Panhandle? Did this child's mother go on a trip to NYC and meet up with the Rolls and come home with this child?

On Ricky Lake could tell us for sure

--
Charlie Frisby

Shadow Caravan

2006-09-23T21:36:00.000-04:00

Click picture for true story.

Centerpiece

2006-09-23T19:05:00.000-04:00

Nickelodeon Creates New Stereotype

2006-09-23T01:15:00.000-04:00

While being a fan of well written shows, some of the best shows (sadly) are for kids. And some of the best kids shows are found on Nickelodeon.

When I was growing up almost all TV shows had some diversity issues. You had shows with animals and shows that had people with absurd colored skin and hair to also avoid racial stereotypes. You ask me personally, I don't really care about stereotypes. I grew up in a very....diverse neighborhood, so I never had a problem knowing that not all people are the same according to race or gender.

When I came out here to the "Heartland" I discovered majority of the population was White, Republican, loves Fox News, and will kill you for talking bad about George W.

I ended up here some how and my wife confessed that she knew nothing about (in a whisper) black people. I had to explain that "they" do not have a different "culture" as in way of life, but just live life like everyone else. She basically had never really known anyone black. So if she is watching Cop's she may have a misconception, but Nickelodeon has fixed this for us.

BLACK KIDS ARE COMPUTER GENIUSES!!!!
Now three Nick shows I watch regularly via TiVo imitation are...
Danny Phantom
Fairly Odd Parents
and Ned's Declassified.

All well written hilarious shows. But there is one connection. A connection that is quite odd regarding one of the characters on each show.

These three kids are all black (gasp), and are all at least level G7 computer nerds. That's pretty advanced for any child in their age groups but since we know each show has a team of character writers we also know these writers must create characters and in the way of Power Rangers. They must have at least one minority person or more. Now in Power Rangers the black guy was a break dancer...so its been done. We have to come up with a positive stereotype for our shows...hmmm....COMPUTER NERDS..BUT COOL!!!!

Now I am not saying that there are not black nerds, in fact i know a few. But three nick shows, three computer nerds, all three of them black...dammit.

So the question is...will this stereotype get the attention of the NAACP. Will Nick be responsible for creating yet another black stereotype. Please contact your local NAACP rep before people start harassing black people for answers to their computer problems.

Frisby

Macintosh Windows

2006-09-22T18:42:00.000-04:00

Circle of Life

2006-09-21T22:46:00.000-04:00

Vacation Spot

2006-09-20T22:47:00.000-04:00

Root Vernacular

2006-09-20T01:50:00.000-04:00

The Miniature Earth

2006-09-16T15:14:00.000-04:00

Ronald's Got Mario's Back

2006-09-11T14:46:00.000-04:00

So I got on lunch break and me and my wife see a kick ass Nintendo commercial of some kids kicking koopa ass. And then all of a sudden McDonald's kicks in.

Apparently McDonald's has Ninety's back.

We decided to pick up a Happy Meal and a smile for lunch and got a kick ass Donkey Kong fan spinning top thingy.

Pretty kick ass actually.

The Mario Happy Meal bag had a bunch of challenges to trick kids into exercising. The lamest one was get your friends to throw different sized things in the air and you have to run and catch them like Yoshi...

With your tongue???

Eh, go get a happy meal and take the Ronald Challenge and get a kick ass toy.

Sony is on fire...in a bad way

2006-09-10T21:22:00.000-04:00

It is no big secret that I am not a Sony fan. Every Sony product I owned (except my $150 studio headphones) has broken and been replaced only to be broken again. I could make a list, but I may have done it before.

I saw on Infendo that Sony's stock has dropped significantly, and the change started around E3, but Sony has a lot more issues right now what an overpriced console and a shortage of blue lasers. I read here that Sony just got hit hard by a 6 million battery recall. Apple and Dell got egg in there faces due to poor product testing on Sony's part. Are Dell and Apple going to look elsewhere for future laptop batteries. I hope so. Why? It's not that I hate Sony, I just have an issue with poor quality products.

The TV I grew up with was a Curtis Mathes. This one to be exact... It came to the Frisby Clan in 1978 as a wedding present for my parents. It lasted all the way until 2004. It was there for me when I watched TMNT and GI Joe, it poped my console playing cherry with Super Mario Brothes and was still there when I beat Ocarina of Time for the first time and even worked when my parents said we should trow it away since they where moving far away and it took up a lot of space.

When I first met my wife's parents in there living room was the exact same TV. Still being used to watch Walker Texas Ranger on the Hallmark channel exclusivly.

I got this TV in my room in 1992 when my parents bought a nice new Sony 21 inch TV from Sears. By 1995 the magnets from the speakers had made the bottom of the screen discolored (poor design 101). The power button was broken by 1996 and it didn't even make it past my dad playing Madden 64. I know not all Sony products suck, and I know not all CURTIS MATHES's last forever. But I do know I will not be burned by Sony again, and I know I am not alone.

Frisby

Edit:

Also, even if all of this does not turn you off to Sony, remember this!

Spam inbreeding

2006-09-10T13:26:00.000-04:00

At my job, I deal with hundreds of email messages every day. To be more precise, I deal with upward of two-thousand messages a week of which 75% are spam. I'm willing to accept the fact that being on public mailing lists will result in most of these messages. What disturbs me are the bizarre, nonsensical ramblings that fill my inbox every day.

You've probably seen messages for various enhancement drugs written in pseudo-leetspeak. Maybe you get spamoetry or just the occasional 'hey bro'. My favorites lately include a white GIF with random linty flecks strewn about, making me think it's time to clean my monitor.

Today, however, both MissusInvisible and I received a message from ourselves to ourselves, subject "Hello", message "success". It's creepy ... and completely pointless.

Junk mail has become non-neutered pets running in the streets and breeding to the point of mutation. We are fully submerged in an ocean of inbred spam.

The time has come, the chip is going out

2006-09-08T12:18:00.000-04:00

Got this from Mac World. It has begun

"IBM has begun shipping millions of microprocessors to Nintendo, keeping the gaming company on track to launch its Wii gaming console as early as November.

The news comes two days after Nintendo competitor Sony revealed it would deliver only half the number of PlayStation 3 video game consoles by the holiday shopping season that its customers had expected.

IBM has been shipping chips through the third quarter, and has reached high-volume production, the company said Thursday."

Go on, hit the warp and read on.

Screaming into the wind

2006-09-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else ever feel like blogging is very similar to screaming into the wind? It feels good, very few people can hear you, and most think you're nuts for doing it.

Anyway, hit the warp for an article that made me spray lukewarm coffee onto my now-beige Apple keyboard.

Back to Basics

2006-09-01T11:09:00.000-04:00

Today I had the displeasure of finally listening to Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics album. One thing everyone can agree on is the ~~girl~~ woman can sing. The styling of many of the tracks are to show off her vocal skills but that is not enough for me. The few kitschy tracks that she has are targeting her proclaimed Back To Basics - 20's, 30's and 40's style of music (Ain't No Other Man, Candyman). Then there she gives us a couple of tracks that seemed more 70's R&B (Back In the Day, Understand, F.U.S.S.) and 2000 Pop/R&B (Slow Down Baby, Oh Mother). I did like the Stevie Wonder-esque track (Without You). It's definately a "blue-eyed" soul album.

Personally, I felt that album is so overdone, extremely kitschy and somewhat boring. It is an overproduced waste of $20. I am glad someone loaned me the CD. Otherwise, I would have to post it on half.com to try and get some money back.

Warcade Time

2006-08-31T00:16:00.000-04:00

It's time again for some good ol' fashioned WiFi gaming (as olf fashioned as WiFi is)

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!

<=====THIS WEEKS GAME OF CHOICE

All Day, make your reservations and call me out, as well as your fellow Warcadians.

Frisby: Tetris DS
646-349
371-115

Paid support pays off

2006-08-28T19:46:00.000-04:00

Linux support? Ha! Just get help from the online community, right? Well, twice now I have relied on some Red Hat Premium Support and was it ever nice. I had always been against that sort of thing .. you just Google for answers! With little time for screwing around online, I picked up the phone and called the toll free number. A real person answered, asked for my ID, and asked what problem I was having. At this point, I fully expected to be handed off to any number of people in 'another department' without any doubt that my call would be lost. But this guy immediately starts asking questions, having me look at various system files and processes. Maybe he's just making a list to put in their system and will have someone call me back. Oh, he's giving me something to try right now and it works .. the first time. Total call time? Less than five minutes.

Sometimes a solid lifeline is worth the price.

Saga's give life meaning

2006-08-27T16:47:00.000-04:00

It took me a while, but I am officially pissed. And I know its for a stupid reason. Legend of Zelda: Twilite Pricess.

Stupid I know.

I feel soo freaking hungry for it. I have a pain in my stomach. Its just a effin game.

Why should I care?

I feel screwed over. Its like maybe its done for Game Cube but not for Wii. I feel like it will never happen.

Someone at Sony is going to hack Nintendo and delete all the code. It will be lost.

I feel sick. Over a effing game. Someone put me out of my misery.

I finished watching all of season 2 of Lost. And now I need something more.

I am a saga fiend.

No new Potter books, no more Zelda, no more Lost.

I need a release date.

I need something.

Im gonna get drunk tomorrow night, and have a board game party.

Thats it.

Frisby

Snakes on my Blog!

2006-08-18T12:08:00.000-04:00

Alas, last night was the nationwide premiere of the film that has become the poster child for viral advertising, Snakes on a Plane!

Even before ticket sale figures are announced, this film has proven once again that you don’t need to make a great movie in order to have a successful movie. This time, however, it was in part due to some clever interaction from the producers with internet bloggers, to the point of making additions and changes to the film up to the last minute based on comments found on blogs. Trend, or once-in-a-lifetime occurrence? This blogger thinks that, like with the indie fake documentary The Blair Witch Project, you are not likely to see this kind of thing happen ever again, at least not with this kind of success.

In any case, I did attend the film premiere at the Chicago downtown loop last night, and let me tell you, I hadn’t seen an audience have this much fun with a movie since The Rocky Horror Picture Show! But unlike the famed rock opera farce, don’t expect Snakes on a Plane to maintain the party atmosphere for decades to come. You only got one shot to enjoy the celebration, and that is this opening weekend… if you like that sort of thing. Me? I had a blast! And like Randal Graves from the much better film Clerks, “I hate people, but I love gatherings… isn’t it ironic??”

Counter Counter Strike

2006-08-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

On the outskirts of the savage jungle i´m living in, my cousin operates a cyber cafe. It´s completely overrun with the kids of the neighborhood who play Counter Strike ALL DAY, and as i type, the 2 PCs next to me and the 3 behind are all blazing guns with terrorists.

Since i game and come from ''The Power Up North'', i wanted to suggest 1 or 2 new games for them to make some extra dough. Something as exciting as Counter Strike but not so intense as to warrant a total overhaul of the machines. I thought of Half Life 2, but they already have Half Life and it´s not too popular. I´m thinking another FPS that´s more recent yet a few years old to ensure decent performance.

I´m not a PC gamer at all, so i need y´all to gimme some good-uns. Doesn´t need to be FPS, just as long as it´s a few years old, won´t crush the CPU, and is fun. They also have Gunbound, to sort of give you a picture of what they like. Shooting and death. Y´know, cutesy stuff.

PS- NO RTS.

-----------

Update- I wrote this a few days ago but the time ran out before i got to post it. Give me what you can in these last 30-somethin hours.

Why does everything Sony makes have to cost so effen much?

2006-08-17T00:39:00.000-04:00

Holy F***ing crap. Sony pushs blue ray on its faithful who just HAVE to have their PS3 and charge them up the a$$.

"The players alone would cost $1000, LOL".

Yeah, right now since Sony sits on the technology, of course they won't let other people sell stuff cheap, or even affordable when they can get tools to buy a $500-$600 PS3.

But this is what the rant is really about. Remember when a spindle of 10 DVD's cost as much as a 50 pack of CD-R's. Yeah well one...ONE Blue ray disc will cost $50

Hit the warp and be offended.

Frisby

All I wanted was a game, but thats not good enough

2006-08-13T15:03:00.000-04:00

GameStop
Sunday, August 13th 2006. 12:23pm
Liberal Kansas

After a delicious Spicy Chicken Crunch Wrap Supreme (a longer name than any food item should have) I say to my loving wife "Honey, I am really hankerin' for a racing game, a hot, nasty racing game with great crashe and speed effects". My wife smiles and says "That would be nice dear, but you still haven't beat Paper Mario". I reply "But honey, you and I both know racing games are only good in 20 minutes spurts. I will just get it out of my system and return to a game with some serious game play". She smiles and says "Okay honey" and we pull into Gamestop.

You walk in and you hear a low ominous boom as you realize you are the only people in the store...and the salesman has an itchy trigger finger.

"WELCOME TO GAMESTOP!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY GAMES YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRADE IN FOR STORE CREDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I look down at my hands, my pockets and around myself and my wife, then look at him and say..."No?"

"WELL IF YOU NEED ANYTHING JUST LET ME KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Thanks, will do." I reply.

I walk over and grab Burnout 3 and Burnout Revenge on Xbox.
"YOU KNOW IN A MONTH THE GAME COMPANY WILL BE RELEASING A NEW BURNOUT TITLE!!!!!!!"

"Yeah, I like it because it's cheap"

"WELL IT WILL ONLY COST $30. GAMES ARE GETTING CHEAPER"

I snap back at him,"Actually since its a EA game and its made for a dying gen console it will just be the same game and the same game engine and will have maybe a new feature or two that would not be worth $10 extra or the wait"

He is stifled. I grab Revenge since its newer.

I get up to him and hand him the game.

"YOU KNOW IF YOU BUY IT USED YOU CAN BRING IT BACK AND GET A FULL REFUND IF ITS NOT THE GAME YOU WANT"

I think to myself, "Support a retailer instead of a game company to save $3 and keep EA from making 20 lame games to 5 good ones!!!!"

I Actually say, "No its cool". I have already snapped once, i don't need to do it again.

"WHAT KIND OF GAMES DO YOU USUALLY GET????!!!!!"

"This is just a game to hold me over till Zelda comes out"

"HAVE YOU RESERVED IT YET!!!"

"A year and a half ago."

"DO YOU HAVE A DS"

"Yeah"

"HAVE YOU RESERVED PHANTOM HOURGLASS"

"Does it have a release date yet, so I know when it is reserved for"

"I THINK JANUARY!!"

"Yeah, 2007 until I get another automated call saying its been delayed, I try to reserve one game 2 years in advance at once"

"WELL SINCE YOU RESERVED THE TWILIGHT PRINCESS WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESERVE A STRATEGY GUIDE FOR THE GAME AS WELL, THAT WAY YOU CAN GET BOTH AND KNOW FOR SURE THEY WILL BE HERE WITH YOUR NAME WRITTEN ALL OVER IT."

(Best part)

"Naw, strategy guides are for pussies. Ocarina of Time took me 3 months of hardcore gaming because didn't have a guide. I want to get the most out my game. Strategy guides make non-linear gamplay into linear gamplay. "

"But it helps you find the secrets and hidden quests"

"They wouldn't be a secret if some book told me now would it."

I grab my game and leave. It felt good to tear into an annoying Gamestop CSR suggestive selling me into a rampage.

Boredom is DOOM3D

2006-08-09T23:48:00.000-04:00

Well I gave up on Fable due to boredom, and if I was called "Chicken Chaser" once more I would kill every Britt in site. So I returned my borrowed games and wasn't in the mood to keep going with Paper Mario so I hit the used game section. $10 a tough decision, and 5 minutes later I have officially bought my first XBox game titled: Doom 3.

Anyone who grew up with computers around my age may have not been able to type fast but you know damn well you can type "doom.exe " on your DOS prompt without hesitation.

So I loved Doom growing up, big deal. Doom on N64 was a nice remake, that's nice. All I have to say is after playing many games recently with in dept plots and nonlinear sandbox game play, Doom 3 was very refreshing with.

The game is excellent. Great controls, great graphics, scary as it needs to be, and pretty damn cool too. Many people say "It's better on the computer", and I have to agree but...

When I look at a computer after a long day of editing, motion graphics, web, blogs, free lace work and "Do you think George Bush is a good leader" pop ups, all I want to do is plop my ass down on my big cushy couch, grab a controller and start having a good time. While I agree I would prefer hitting 7 to get my plasma gun rather than taping some XBox button I really don't know, I have to say I still prefer consoles.

Back to the game.

A great game play resurrection. 5/5. It is what it is.

I have to say I had a friend in college that told me something really cool. I heard rumors when I lived in Dallas that Doom was made in Mesquite (a Dallas suburb 1 mile away from my house). Turns out this guy's brother is a coder for Doom 3 and he does in fact live in Mesquite. While playing I smiled at the repeated use of the code 972 on the storage lockers. 972 being Mesquites area code, it felt like home... wellllll... almost as much as when I was wielding the yellow chainsaw.

Get Doom 3, its cheap and well made.
--
Frisby

You better cry for him...HE REALLY IS DEAD!!!

2006-08-03T00:07:00.000-04:00

Once I saw this Polaroid, I knew something was fishy. We aren't seeing everything that is there. For instance...

Pictured below is what I believe was confidently cropped out.

His hair is actually pulled back and held up by a bloody knife that was used to open his chest cavity so the damn refuges could take a big bite out of his heart.

He was caught by on of there oh so clever "arm traps" which i believe Rollin had to chew his arm off to escape but he was too late. They beat him to death with his own arm, and were careful not to bruise his face so we would be lead to him, to go by and see whats up, thus falling into their evil Hostel-esque trap.

I am pretty sure a Wii controller was the bait for the arm trap. I don't blame you Rollin, I would have fallen for it to. R.I.P.Homes.

Frisby the Detective

Don´t cry for me

2006-08-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

I´m already dead.

Someday, you can all be invisible, too!

2006-08-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

Ahhh... Now that Rollin and Frisby are out, we can play posting silly stuff on this 'ere blog!

Anyway, in case some of you were wondering: Yes, you can all achieve invisibility someday, just like MisterI and me, if the physicists at St Andrews University in Scotland are correct! It won't be by taking off your clothes and your skin-colored mask and gloves like in my case, but by means of a force-shield, like Jessica Alba in the Fantastic Four.

Now, if we could just get these scientists to work on something more attainable and actually practical, like, say, a cure for AIDS or cancer...

Anyway, this reminds me of the age-old question: If you were given a choice of having one of two super-powers, invisibility or the ability to fly, which one would you choose?

The real Game Killer... CAUGHT! (or... 'Have game studios finally seen the light?')

2006-07-31T11:34:00.000-04:00

Finally, it looks like game studios and console manufacturers have opened their eyes and saw E3 in the light of truth for the travesty it actually was, according to an article on Next Generation...

In my feverish dreams I put the blame on a previous blog article I had written two months ago, but given the pitiful size of our audience, and my total lack of journalism skills, I'll have to file that one under "As likely as Rollin getting the Customer of the Month award at the Nintendo World Store".

No, more likely, game studios probably saw that this event that was supposed to be a showcase for real journalists to give some free positive press to the year's products, and for game system distributors to pick the product they would place their marketing machine behind, was actually generating negative viral publicity to their products and leaving a bad taste in fanboy's mouths. No good return for the millions of dollars that you end up forking over to the event's planners...

If you want to know more, Next Generation has an excellent article on the Top Ten Reasons why E3 must have been cancelled by the big gaming guns. My vote goes to #4: The 'E3 winners' farce. That one must have hurt Sony the most this year, I'm sure!

Goodbye, E3! You won't be missed!

"Domniophobia" ..or.. "Fear of F.E.A.R."

2006-07-27T10:28:00.000-04:00

I've played my fair share of FPS titles back in my PC gaming days. In the last two or three years, my interest in the FPS genre has all but disappeared due to increased realism in games. Sure, realistic environments can be beautiful, but they are more often the place of nightmares.

At first I thought I suffered from Kinetimortophobia, but it turns out to be more along the lines of domniophobia.

The first real indication that I had a fear of dungeon-like environments was during an attempt to play Doom 3. I started the game, got suited up, went into the first room where you turn on your flashlight, promptly stopped, and uninstalled the game. The environment alone was just too freaky. Monsters and zombies, no problem. A dark room with a fairly realistic flashlight and surround sound creepy noises, forget it.

Recently I have been testing Windows XP on an Apple iMac 20" with an Intel processor. I decided to see if it could handle some high end game graphics and set out to find a meaty demo to throw at it. Most sources pointed towards F.E.A.R. The iMac held up quite admirably, but my nerves did not. I didn't even get to shoot anything before the quit-and-uninstall reflex kicked in.

Oh, well. Back to what I do best.

Gone for 2 days

2006-07-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

My wife is getting her cornia brned with a "Laser" so she can see withouth glasses.

I will be out of town.

Take care.

Frisby.

WiFi Cell Phones?

2006-07-22T18:18:00.000-04:00

Everyone who is familiar VoIP (voice over IP) knows that with different VoIP service providers you use your Internet connection substitute a LAN line phone and also get free long distance for a low low price. Skype is taking the next step and introducing WiFi cell phones.

"The phones feature integration with your Skype contact list, up to three hours of talk and 50 hours of standby time, and the NETGEAR handset also features support for WEP and WPA, so you're not just limited to open networks"

Great for college kids on campus. Whats next, instead of cell phone towers we will have WiFi across the nation. Sounds cool, but LAN based phone companies could crumble and then we would all have to use cell phones or nothing.

While Rollin is away...

2006-07-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

Frisby will play. Just got done funk-ta-fying Warcadia. Like the new Design? The Warcade bidding open for bidding. Today, tommorrow, next week. Let us know when you can play.

Let us know which game, friend codes, time, date, place, EVERYTHING

Frisby: Tetris DS
646-349
371-115

Metroid Prime Hunters
2792
4053
6626

Animal Crossing
2792
3826
0491

Mario Kart DS
253-465
442-704

Feel free to call me out to any of these games Today (7/22/06) or tommorow.

Back in 30

2006-07-22T11:04:00.000-04:00

Hasta la (Windows) Vista, my nukkas.

Too Hot for Website

2006-07-22T02:58:00.000-04:00

You see that? Blake claims Infendo is PG, but look at those adverts. "HAVE SEX TONITE!", "Cheat At Online Poker", and "Hot Local Ladies"? That 2-faced lyin' bastard.

But in all seriousness, click them to donate 3 cents to my Inf salary.

Goin' Down South

2006-07-21T04:03:00.000-04:00

And i don't mean downtown Manhattan, Dixie, or on you. The beloved Rollin-with-an-e is going away for 30 days - (if any Inf people stop by now, great timing) - to try and diplomate with Hugo Chavez. That great man doesn't compromise, but hey, neither does Chavez and that's why i like em both.

While i'm being sequestered by guerilla rebels to assimilate and rise among their ranks to become their leader and then take down all of the Americas with a spiky 'stache, a mango, and that trusty latin lethargy, i'm leaving Warcadia in the hairy hands of my co-authors.

MG, I-man, Mr. I, Dave (*echo*), and Frisby will take care of your random needs while i'm fighting the good fight. I hope you guys are able to post about a couple times a week at least, get people involved somehow, and take care of business. Remember that news is cool, linking is cool, but boring is UNACCEPTABLE (*reverb w/ delay*).

Stay righteous, peeps. See you in 30.

Para La Revolucion (*wammy effect*).

Hell hath no real fury...

2006-07-20T15:37:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, while commuting home from work I saw the most interesting billboard. Some guy cheated on his wife, she has him on videotape and she paid for the billboard from their joint account. So for once, I was glad that the traffic was slow and I snapped a shot of it. I found it incredible that someone would go so far to ~~spank~~ expose someone.

Well, a couple of days later it comes out that that billboard is a viral marketing ad for a CourtTV show. So yes, there is a woman scorned but more likely than not, their joint account is safe.

So I then combed through Flickr and one other person posted this image. In the description, they tell you it is from a blog called "That Girl Emily" (which details the actual relationship.) So by no stretch of the imagination, I can safely assume that this is part of the marketing thing.

We always knew that marketers were ~~dirty~~ ~~sneaky~~ ~~immoral~~ deceitful so I guess it wasn't that disappointing that this ad wasn't completely true.

The Decline of Inf Civilization

2006-07-18T02:49:00.000-04:00

For months, Infendo's higher ups have been deliberating a forum addition. Now they've jumped on and have created the Infendo Forums, beta edition.

I used to be against the idea-- thought it would breed trolling like stuff seen on, for example, GoNintendo or something like that. It remains to be seen whether that apprehension will be validated, but so far it looks to be headed in the direction of any other fan forum, should nothing change.

The boards themselves look fantastic. A simple, unified color scheme matches the forum to the main site. Like i mentioned before, the threads are already headed down the typical path of overabundant, pointless spam topics, but this is still the beta version. Once mods and such are hired, it could possibly be a higher than usual quality forum. Honestly though, i wouldn't expect it. As much as Inf is (for the most part) a high standard blog, trolls will be trolls. Give them a forum and they'll only get worse. Those are the types that usually linger there anyway, so it's hard to expect anything else.

I'm okay with the concept so long as Blake knows what he's doing and hires some great mods. Generally i think forums are blemishes on any fansite, so we'll see how it develops. Check it out through the warp link if you haven't yet. Tell me what you think.

Warcade Next Saturday

2006-07-14T00:39:00.000-04:00

DS Wifi with Metroid, Tetris, AC, Mario Kart, and Lost Magic at 8pm EST. Could i be any clearer?

Update- T minus 51 minutes till wifi.

Update 2- How'd it go?

ITALY 1-1 FRANCE a.e.t 5-3 PSO

2006-07-09T17:55:00.000-04:00

Don't know what exactly that title means, i ripped it from the FIFA site, but Italy won the World Cup. Yay Italia.

I missed the whole thing, but i hope to catch a replay later on tonight morning. Zidane went out like a bitch, though. Did you see that headbutt? Goool! Talk about sour grapes (get it?! he's French!?!).

Warcade Next Saturday

2006-07-07T21:38:00.000-04:00

You know the drill. Metroid, Tetris, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart. 8-ish pm EST.

Update- It's 8pm. Do you know where your tetriminos are?

Get on wifi now!

Update 2- Fuck all you guys. Try to make it next Saturday, bitches.

Germany: Out!

2006-07-04T18:41:00.000-04:00

That shot went in.

T'was a fun match during the last portion, when Italy scored twice. Those 2 golazos killed Germany dead. I wasn't rooting for either side, and the game was pretty boring throughout, but when Italy scored it turned into big fun.

Any takers on Portugal v France? That's a toughie.

Warp to check results.

Para Los Demas

2006-07-03T05:17:00.000-04:00

Un gran saludo para todos que visitan desde España, Argentina, y Francia, aunque los Frances no hablan tanto español (en ese caso, bonjourno monsieur/madame!). Ante de todo, dejame decir que llo soy nacido y criado en los E.E. U.U., y aunque soy latino, mi español castellano no es gran cosa. Si mis palabras salen un poco rara o mal escritas, lla pueden entender porque.

Bueno, supongo que me encuentraron buscando cosas de la Copa Mundial en Blogspot o Blogger. Ahora para introducirme. Este es mi blog que soporto con mis amigos. No tenemos reglas, pero hablamos de muchos temas diferentes. La unica regla es que tenemos que hablar de algo interesante. Quisieramos tener mas visitas para que alguien nos oigan, por eso deseo que pasen por aqui orta ves mas, si pueden.

Asi que pasenlo bien, y por favor, dejenme unas palabritas en la cajita a la derecha o abajo de aqui adonde dice "comments". Hablenme de la Copa o qualquier cosa. Digan lo que sea, pero diganlo.

Could bring you to tears

2006-07-03T02:57:00.000-04:00

The first few seconds almost kill me.

NPC Dialogue

2006-07-02T14:51:00.000-04:00

Every get irritated by lack of NPC dialogue variety. God knows I have. In fact when you play a game with a ton of different phrases you may find yourself poking an Orc over and over and over until he says really strange things.

So how about this. Describe your NPC, put him in a current or make believe game and give him 3 lines of dialogue, or more.

Here is mine

Game: Paper Infendo
Character: Rollin
Phrases: Sup bitch.
Fuck New Super Mario Brothers, it should have been on GBA!!!
Sick'em Frisby.

Give me yours biatches.
--
Charlie Frisby

Warcade Tonight

2006-07-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Let's meet at around 6/7/8-ish pm EST. As always, you can join early or late, as long as you join. I'll be around all night, till about midnight if anyone's around.

Post your times, friend codes, games, or threats in the com(ment)box to the right. Try to leave the time next to your name to keep everyone up to the minute. Check back frequently for updates. And leave your DSs on if you have to. Last week only 2 people hooked up. This time, every absentee loses a finger. No joke.

My Codes
Tetris
734-374-980-804

Metroid
1718-6624-0388

2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany

2006-06-29T04:05:00.000-04:00

I know y'all Americans don't appreciate soccer as much as other sports, but hear me out.

This World Cup is something to behold. After only 2 reaired matches, i'm in. Never been a soccer fan in my life - as latin as i am - but this is addictive. The pace; the energy from the crowd and players; the personalities; the acting that takes place when someone vies for a call; the footwork artistry; the actual world aspect. I'm not a fan of any team sports, preferring the 1 on 1 mind game of tennis, yet soccer snagged me-- i finally get it.

So now there are 8 teams left, 6 of them being past champs. That means it's only gonna get better. Brasil's on top momentum-wise, with Portugal, France, Germany, Ukraine, Italy, Argentina, and England on their asses. From now on, it'll be pure bloodshed. France is gaining steam, but nobody is messing with Brasil.

They're on break for a couple days and return on Friday with Germany vs Argentina followed by Italy vs Ukraine. Catch it on Univision or ESPN, with replays on FoxSports or ESPN Classic later that night.

And yes, Beckham is my hottie to trottie.

Headline of the Day

2006-06-28T03:31:00.000-04:00

Studios Threaten to Make DOA 2 & Castlevania Movies

Gave me a good chuckle.

..Hehe, it's still funny.

Melting away in the summer sun.

2006-06-28T00:08:00.000-04:00

Man I don't know about you, but I live in brooklyn and the weather is just killing me. It takes real courage to step outside. The heat is really getting to me. Every year I say that this is my last summer in the city and every year I end up staying. To stay cool I've been buying up cheap GCN games like hotcakes (ugh hot). I've been blasting my way through SSX Tricky and nearly finished with Mario Power Tennis. All the while my ac has been on full blast. So what have you kids been playing to pass the grueling, lack of new games, summer????

Phantasy Star Online... again!

2006-06-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

Last night, I finally got PSO working on my PC. Ok, so I had the software for a week but this was the first moment I had to set it up.

So you might be wondering how this is possible. Well, there is a private server hosting PSO called SCHTHACK. They are currently supporting the PC and Dreamcast v1 and v2. As soon as Sega closes the official server, GCN and XBox PSO will be supported.

It was easy to set up. Once I created my character Mel, a HUnewearl, I was ready to par-tey. At first it was really sloooww, but once I lowered the 3D graphics and something else (it escapes me right now) it was like the Dreamcast version. Some of the backgrounds were missing until I came up on them. Yeah it was good.

I met up with my sister and finished the Forest. Being Level 1, I got dropped by the monsters but it was all good. I was lucky enough to get a few hits in too. At the end, I believe I was a Level 4. (Yay!) Tonight, I plan to hit the Caves.

For those who love PSO or want to try it, this is a good way to go. Like I said, the set up was easy and I was on in a flash.

Super Surprised

2006-06-25T14:54:00.000-04:00

Having grown up watching Superman: The Movie, as well as Superman 2, 3, 4 on TNT I figured since it lost interest and they stopped making them that Superman was dead, at least the series of movies would end with the Rick Flair Superman Clone. To my astonishment they continued the series after Christopher Reeves finally died.

Being a comic book enthusiast you have to know quite a bit about Superman. All I really cared about was that Batman kicked his ass on several occasions and that his outfit was pretty fruity. Also, his secret identity could only fool completely dense idiots, not the worlds greatest reporters.

So get to the point. Last night I watched Superman Returns and was amazed at how true to the series it was. It was actually kicked ass. Basic premise is Superman left shortly after the end of number 4 looking for the remains of Krypton, his home planet, and he returns to find the world moved on..well at least Louis Lane did. She wrote a Pulitzer Prize wining article called "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". Drama huh.

Near the end you realized why she was so pissed at him for leaving which I will leave one spoiler line at the end of this post. She also has a kid now (who is like supposed to be 4 I guess) and has a boyfriend/fiance. Singer drug Cyclops along with him to play the role. Basically Lex Luthor ( was Gene Hackman, now Kevin Spacey) got out of prison due to loopholes in his arrest and married a dying widow to get tons of money. He goes to the Fortress of Solitude and talks to Zordon..err, Jor'el, his father and learns all Superman's Secrets.

The rest you will have to watch if your interested. They poke fun at how Clark is obviously Superman but never follow up on it like good reporters. 3 out of 5.I will probably own this movie.

The Spider-Man 3 trailer was the best part by far. It starts off showing his red suit and then shows the black symbiote crawling up it and covering his body armor completely. Then it shows his bad ass spider logo on black. Asked the question about being good and evil and then shows some action.

Should be on the net next week, but it only showed Spidey with the symbiote on, Sandman attacking off a building and Harry Osborn looking really evil and pleased with something no doubt evil. The end is dramatic, showing Spidey looking at himself in the reflection of a building window. He is wearing the black suit and the red suit is in the reflection. I would have liked it the other way around. Maybe he has one of those weird moments like Norman Osborn when he talks to his evil self. Ehh.

SPOILERS**********************

Superman is the babies daddy. She's all pissed off because he hit it and quit it. Superman on Springer after Singer.

***********************************

--
Charlie Frisby

The money is for nothing

2006-06-23T22:18:00.000-04:00

So why do us United Statesmen and Stateswomen (since everyone on the continent is technically "American") waste our money so casually. And the More you make the more you blow it. Some people say you just have extra money but my theory is this.

Say you make 6 dollars an hour. You want to buy an entertainment device, say a PSP. That's $250 you have to cough up, which means you have to flip a fuck load of burgers. That's well over 40 hours with taxes taken out of your check and added to your purchase. 40 hours!!! That may not seem like much, but go to work knowing you aren't going to get paid.Know you will own this portable game device with no games or movies included. You would probably say fuck that, I know I would.

Say you make $10 an hour. In most cases, the more money you make the less you work. Say hard labor is scrubbing our grease traps and counting money in the back office while everyone else works is considered "$10 an hour hard work". To buy a PSP it would take damn near half the hours, way less "labor", and half appreciated. If the $10 an hour guy wouldn't be as pissed when he realizes he made a bad purchased as the other SOL guy flipping the burgers.

I'm avoiding a long post so I leave you with this. If you translated everything, EVERYTHING you buy into how many hours you actually worked to get the item, would you buy it. Would you buy sandwich meat or steak? McDonald's or Benehanas?

Damn, I remember when I used to break a sweat when I worked, and I made way less.

Word of advice,meet important people and become friends with them. Also, learn useful skills that you can fall back on. You can waste your money as much the shitheads that will get the better paying job over you with less experience and ability. The system sucks, but if you play it you can go further.

-- Charlie Frisby

iPod Nomo

2006-06-22T18:48:00.000-04:00

A few days back, Gizmodo showed me this new portable media player from Creative. They call it the Zen V Plus and it seems to bury the iPod Nano. Features:

-1.5 inch OLED display (emits light by itself, eliminating the need for a backlight). Can be viewed in any orientation- sideways, upside down- for control preferences.
-Photo and video playback; an FM tuner with 32 autoscannable presets; FM, voice, and line-in recording; an alarm clock and calendar; and even PIM functionality, with the ability to sync tasks and contacts from Outlook.
-Supported formats: MP3, WAV, WMA (including subscription), and Audible audio; MPEG-4, WMV, and DivX, among other video formats; and JPEG photos.
-Gets pretty loud.
-Battery life exceeds the rated 15 hours and actually goes for about 20.
-You can set any of your photos as wallpaper and choose from several color themes for the interface.
-Thicker but shorter than a Nano. Also curvier.
-Dedicated volume rocker and combined power/hold switch.
-Available in black or white; color accents indicate the size capacity of each player: orange for 1GB, green for 2GB, and blue for 4GB (black only).
-1GB model for $129.99, 2GB for $169.99, or 4GB for $229.99

I am so effin sold, this is virtually perfect for me. It's even a little cheaper than a Nano. Not cheap enough for me to run out and replace my perfectly working Nano, but worth noting for when there's a little extra green in the back pocket. Or for when this Nano meets its demise. Which'll be sooner than it expects...

Anyone looking for a low capacity iPod alternative or an MP3/media player in general, check this out instead of immediately flying to what's iPopular.

Joining My Club/Proof of Innocence

2006-06-21T08:06:00.000-04:00

I've had my beef with 4 Color Rebellion in the past. For reasons that i won't go into unless you ask, they left a sour taste in my mouth (and it wasn't the BJ). Anyway, that was then, and even though i still have my gripes with them - keep in mind that i have gripes with everyone and everything - they have just ratcheted themselves up a few notches on my Okely-dokely scale.

4cr member/writer/Korean spy Nick Rumas has written post-completion impressions of New(???) Super Mario Bros, proving that i'm not some anti-Nintendo hater for hire. An excerpt:

"I hate comparing, but I can’t help it. In relation to visual prowess and beauty on their respective platforms, take a look at Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island, then take a look at NSMB. All things aesthetic in the former two look to have been created with the utmost care and love, pushing the limits of the hardware to create a world that would truly immerse the player. NSMB, on the other hand, is hit and miss in this regard, and often looks like it was thrown together rather hastily. Fortunately, the gameplay is a different story, and that’s what really counts. Still, from the visuals alone, I can’t help but feel like I’m playing a product that wasn’t quite the labor of love that its predecessors were, and that just ain’t right."

I like him. He can join my club.

Should any of the idiots who flamed me on numerous sites for what i said before about the game read this, check the article's comments and the article itself: I didn't do it for attention, morons. Others agree and it's plain as day-- this game was a holdover to cash in on nostalgia.

They may not put it as harshly, but they still see what i see. I think it's a really good title and it can be fun as hell, but i'll be goddamned if someone tries to say it's the best Mario, or even that it comes close to the greats. Drop the rose-colored glasses for a second, ya jagoffs.

2006-06-20T08:27:00.000-04:00

Danny Trejo

Rollin, you better grow a handlebar mustache soon. Danny will be coming for you.

Antonio, I don't know if you got by Tony at all, but I have to many friends who do. Danny knows you as Tony.
--
Charlie Frisby

Restin Easy

2006-06-20T00:23:00.000-04:00

As of tonight I have completely finished New Super Mario Brothers. After collecting the last coin in the final castle and realizing I still had a warp pipe I never got the path to, I can rest easy knowing that I fully completed this spectacular game. I am sure most of you have long since finished it. But I had been taking some time off to play my other unfinished games: Osu Tatakae Ouendan, Phoenix Wright, Advance Wars DS.

I guess I should take my time with the rest of these since its gonna be a long summer. And a damn hot one if you live in the NYC, ugh sweaty.

Pet Peeve

2006-06-18T15:45:00.001-04:00

You know what i hate? When geeks spew geek knowledge to other geeks. Such as this:

1 said...
If only Nintendo completed the original Earthbound for NES. They had the cartridge, box art and, everything else ready for realese but, the SNES came out and they thrown it away because they thought it would not sell.

And another thing! Where Kirby's Adventure? And I LOVED Zelda II!
2 said...

They did complete Earthbound on the NES, but they didn't think it would sell well outside of Japan due to it's wierdness. And incase you go looking for more information, it's called "Mother" in Japan. Our Earthbound on he SNES is their Mother 2, and recently Mother 3 on the GBA was released.

3 said...
Nintendo translated the game to English, but never released the game. In 1998, a group of ROM translators discovered that Nintendo had auctioned off a prototype of the EarthBound 0 cartridge. They contacted the individual who had acquired the game, and made an agreement to borrow the game for a few hundred dollars so they could dump the cartridge to a ROM file. That is how we are able to play EarthBound 0 now.

The actual name of the game was "EarthBound". However, since the sequel to Mother, which was released in North America, is also called EarthBound, the game has been dubbed "EarthBound Zero".

I know that some people don't know, but goddamn, refer them to a webpage or something. Don't try to impress everyone else who knows this common Nin-knowledge. We get it, you're hardcore. Enough already. Go back to playing your Japanese ROMs.

Warc Update: Instant Feedback

2006-06-17T20:13:00.000-04:00

I added a shoutbox, which you can plainly see to the right (not the image, stupid). You can use it for anything you want, most appropriately quick messages and nonsense. We'll also be using it for notes and stuff, like "Out to Lunch" or whatever cheesiness we can think up. Maybe even as a link dump for anyone who wants to leave us a link to something cool or postworthy.

Hopefully Anons will leave some shouts in there if they feel like the comments are too much of a hassle. If not, screw em anyway.

Little help from my friends

2006-06-17T00:42:00.000-04:00

Just recently I purchased a Nintendo Gamecube for the 2nd time. Now that I have it, I need a little help finding some awesome games to play on it. Thats where you all fit in. I need some good reccommendations on games. No matter how obscure the titles are I'd be willing to try them out. So far I have Mario Kart double dash, Mario Tennis, Killer 7 (which is too bizarre to play), and Animal Crossing. I've played Wind Waker all the way through, and Metroid Prime. So please help me, I need some good titles to get me through the summer dry spell.

thank you

Voice of the People

2006-06-16T14:17:00.000-04:00

The people have spoken-- Rollin's special queer-alities will steer us right. That's not to say however that Friz's spelling, I-man's voice, and Dave's english won't guide this ship, too. It takes a village...of idiots.

Tune in next week where we'll hopefully introduce a better poll host, allow more time to vote, and deny me from voting 5 times for the same answer.

Mixing of the languages

2006-06-16T00:12:00.000-04:00

So I went out to dinner tonight and the restaurant next door had the most annoying menu I've ever seen. "Chicken con Bacon" and lets not forget the always ridiculous "Soup du jour". I hate that "we're a fancy restaurant" crap. Pick a language and stick with it. I mean even diners do it. No wonder other countries despise us. We can't stick to a single language we have to try to use as many as possible when it comes to describing food. If you're at a french restaurant, use french. Spanish place, use spanish. Diner, just put numbers next to hidious pictures.

Praying for nautical battle

2006-06-15T23:51:00.000-04:00

Now i know this isn't supposed to be a completely video game "blog" (hate that word). But I know I'm not the only one excited about Phantom Hourglass. But what I'm really pulling for is an awesome multiplayer mode complete with battling ships. I'm talking where you can direct your ship and then turn your turret and fire at your friends. Maybe even collect different items or different kinds of cannon ammo, fire bombs, spiked bombs, nets or something that freeze you in place. Who knows, i don't care i just want it done. Make me happy

Any Good Blogs Lately?

2006-06-15T22:23:00.000-04:00

The blogosphere is cool, bloated, and oversaturated. The percentage of good blogs is very small. Of course there's the occassional little, quirky, fun blog that catches your eye. Topical blogs, personal blogs, news blogs, thematic blogs, video blogs, whatever. I'm almost positive they exist, and even more certain you've come across a couple once or twice.

Know any? Hook us up with some linkage in the comments.

Rumble at the Warcade

2006-06-15T03:52:00.000-04:00

LADIES AAAAAAND GENTLEMEN! You are about to experience the greatest spectacle on Earth. Some call it the greatest show on Earth, we call it the greatest show-er on Earth-- golden shower that is. The first of the infrequently occurring, inconsistently happening Warcade. Let the (yellow) rains begin!

Alright dames and germs, tomorrow night we'll be having the first Warcade. For the uninitiated- and that includes everyone that's not me- the Warcade will be scheduled meetings for wifi encounters of the DS persuasion. Wii will do the same with We. Did that sentence come out right? Anyhoo, what it means is if you want to swap ~~spit~~ friend codes with us and meet us on the Wifi Connection, you're more than welcome. Leaving your codes in the comment box would be recommended, since there's no other way to do it. Let everyone know what you're playing and when, then we'll take it from there.

We'll "enter" the Warcade at around 6-ish eastern time and continue on throughout the night. Don't be afraid to jump in late. If you want my code, go find it on Inf ya bastard.

Whoooo Are You? Who Who, Who Who

2006-06-14T11:25:00.000-04:00

Psst. Hey, you with the sticky mouse. Yea, you. Silent reader. Hi! How's it hangin? Well, if you would just stick around for an extra minute, i have something to ask you.

So, um, i was wondering, where are you from? How'd you get here? I know i know, we just met and all, but we're new and want to know if anyone's paying any attention to the crap- and i mean crap- we write. If you don't feel like telling us, that's fine, too. I just wanna know where you hail from and how you found us, if you exist. As long as your not Blogger bots or something. We only care that there's an audience, however quiet or shy.

Just tell us a little bit about you, what you want or expect from us, and et cetera. Oh, and i promise, we're not a videogame blog. We might give you that kinda stuff (alot), but it's only one facet of our blog. Blah blah-blah blah blah-blah blah blah-blah blah. Enough of that. Hey, check out the matching image and banner, all symmetrically aligned. Aint i brilliant? Yea, i think so too.

Lost Magic got a bad rap

2006-06-13T22:46:00.000-04:00

Ok so this game didn't get the best rating anywhere on the net, Gamespot, Gamerankings or any of those didnt really love it. but after purchasing my DS lite on Sunday. I needed something new, something i haven't yet played that would be new and fresh on my white little friend.

I played through New Super Mario Bros in a week, Metroid Prime Hunters is only good for wifi, the same goes for Tetris. Now I must admit that i am one of those people who will buy a game, mostly finish it then move on when I get bored or something else exciting comes out. I still have yet to finish Advance Wars Dual Strike or Phoenix Wright, but it'll happen. Plus I feel like this is going to be a long summer without the release of any new games.

So I picked up Lost Magic used for 23 bucks. And so far I am pleased. There are some silly things about the game. like when it shows you talking to a character and say you are running to get them, it shows you run off screen. Battling is interesting in that its all free motion. Unlike AW you can send your units anywhere, and not just one type of unit but all units to one spot to kill one little bad guy. While you sit behind them and shoot spells at them. Which is the other part of battling. In the beginning you have about 6 spells you can use at all times. They cost mana which gradually refills over time. So no need for items to refill it. Same with your health, you have a healing spell to start with that you can use anytime on yourself or your monsters. The monsters you meet in a battle can be captured if weak enough and added to the small army you can command. You get only a certain amount of monsters depending on your level, the higher your level the higher the number. The only problem i've had with units so far is if you tell them to go somewhere and there is a rock in the way, they will stop and not go around it but just stand still. This can be annoying but if you lead them like children you should have no problem.

All in all so far this game is very entertaining. I am not that far into it and already it is starting to be a challenge. I recommend this game to anyone into RPGS like Final Fantasy or Advance Wars. Its worth a look and if you can get it used its a no brainer. If anyone has this game and is looking for an opponent let me know. Just be gentle I'm still figuring it out.

Lite-headed

2006-06-12T03:14:00.000-04:00

I am. I was regretting the purchase up until i opened it. Man, it was like taking the panties off some hot, clean shaven snatch and wanting to eat what you just uncovered. It really does look like polar ice. All nice and plasticy, too. I like it better than the navy blue one. The smudging is ok with me since it's easy to wipe off. Dirt on the other hand...we'll see.

More importantly than that, i love the new buttons. Everything except for the placement of Start and Select (it's harder to perform soft resets). The d-pad is a dream, the buttons are splendid, and the shoulders are comfy-er than anything you've ever considered comfy. Those screens are window-clear now. Oh so well-lit. Its size and weight are something you only really notice when you go back to a butch DS. The mic seems to work better, or at least my brain was tricked into thinking so, and the speakers sound a bit lower than the old beast. Maybe it was the environment, i dunno.

I got Big Brain Academy with it cause it surprised me with that 20 dollar price tag. It's decent, better than Brain Age, but it's definitely a $20 game if you know what i'm sayin'. Doesn't really grab you and all that. These days, a game has to have wifi to feel like it's worth my money. Anyway, it's a lot beefier than Brain Age. That has to be said.

The stylus gets an enlargement job, but it feels weird to me after all this time handling Kirby's pink rod. (Take that sentence however you want to.) It doesn't scratch like the original grey stylus did, and it feels a little weird using a bigger stylus on a smaller DS; it makes you not wanna rest your hand on it while you play. There are dots on the touch screen for a reason unbeknownst to me, so if you dislike invisible dots, stay away. Both screens' viewing angles are increased due to the readjustment of the backlights and the brightness, and games like Brain Age improve because of it.

I haven't manhandled it enough to tell if the left hand still cramps with Hunters, but controlling New Mario with it actually made the ~~travesty~~ game more fun. Squishy buttons rule. If only i had a great new game to play. Another important point: it fits great inside the pockets. Mind you, i wear women's jeans and they're not exactly baggy. Less effeminate owners may yield even better results. Oh, and the power switch is better than the power button. Yea, don't forget about that groundbreaking improvement.

Pictured below: me and my closest friends playing our Lites for the first time.

Are you Lite-headed?

I am scared of this console

2006-06-11T14:58:00.000-04:00

So, I have a friend who is feaning for a PS2 since he broke his and instead of buying a new one he got an Xbox for free. I say why don't we swap for a while since I don't play my PS2 and I've never played an Xbox. He agreed.

I want to start off by saying this SOB weights more than my computer. This system is (for the lack of a better word) pa-donk-a-donk. Son-Bitch scared my wife and animals. When you turn it on you feel like Microsoft just owned you. Damn.

So I can tell this friend never played it since he has nothing on the hard drive and never set the time and date. So I set it up and everything and find that the controller is the size of a Dreamcast console and has a big as logo on it that would make Flava Flav want to hang it around his neck.

So since I have no games I run around the OS and copy a CD to the hard drive just because I can. My friend Adam hooked me up with the S-Type controller (actually an usable size) and 3 games. I asked for Fable and received. No Bard's Tale but he did include Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (like i didn't already beat the crap out of this game on PS2) and Halo 2 (played it on computer once or twice)

So here I am with a Xbox. Never thought it would happen. I am Not going to be so stubborned as not to play a few excellent games on this system.

Games I plan to play are:
Fable (IGN 9.3)
Bard's Tale (IGN 8.2)
Halo 2 (IGN 9.8)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (IGN 9.5)

I have a feeling our swap pay be permanent. I may lose a DVD player, but I win piece of mind.

Got any XBox "must play" games let me know.

-- Charlie Frisby

Damn the French

2006-06-11T07:56:00.000-04:00

Open, that is. Does anyone know if i can watch the Men's Final anywhere at a later time? I know it's starting in a hour, but this is late Saturday night for me. I'm not exactly waking up right now.

Screw it, i'll stay up. If not, and Nadal is in it, i already know the outcome. Oui, he is good.

2006-06-10T16:07:00.000-04:00

Mindless Self Indulgence

I used to be real big into the concert scene when I was in high school. Started my way off with Pink Floyd and many other huge names and by the time I shipped off to college I was watching local shows in downtown Dallas every week. Came back after my first year at college and watched my last concert to date, The Burden Brothers (awesome live all 10 times I saw them)

Living in the middle of nowhere has its ups and downs, but defiantly no concerts I want to see. Actually other than new records from band I already love, I hadn't bought a new record in forever. I stumbled upon this fan made video (above) on you tube and fell in love

Bought the bands album and RE4 the soon after watching it 80 times (No PS2 version tho, still GNC)

MSI is a cool mix of heavy punk grindy hard core guitar riffs with an occasional Nintendo and Atari sound effects(but not a video game band). Most of all its different from what I am used to and it's like a kick in the nuts of freshness to what I have been buying.

I made arrangements to go see this band in Denver on July 8th and if every thing goes good I think it will kick ass. If it's not your cup O tea, more power to yah. Don't judge music, just listen to it and if you don't like it, respect the fact that for some reason someone does.

Also, downloading music is great, but i you really like a band, SUPPORT THEM. Buy their records, shits and go see them. Keep the good music alive and keep everything else the cost of your internet connection.

--
Charlie Frisby

Expansion Pack

2006-06-09T13:34:00.000-04:00

-Objecting Nintendo-

Let me expand on the first part a little bit.

"When Nintendo talks of delivering games that suit casual gamers and games that cater to hardcore tastes, those hardcore gamers tend to be the more, um, receptive kind."

What i meant by this was, if you lean to the casually hardcore side of the fan spectrum, Nintendo doesn't really care about you. They might put out some games that grab you once in a while, but when they say "core gamers", they aren't referencing you. They're talking about the other guys- the ones who go apeshit for anything Zelda. The same guys who run (most) fansites and rule Nintendo's message boards. Needless to say, they aren't talking about you when they say "casual gamers", either. Don't expect too much.

About the fan subdivisions...

There are much more types of fans than these, for any console or company. It just so happens that the 3 i mentioned are the largest groups: the people who care a little, those who care moderately, and the ones who care too much. Blake commented:

"Being a cult brand (which Nintendo obviously is like Apple, Harley, etc) has nothing to do with marketing. Nintendo is simply more cult than Sony, MS when it comes to gaming, hence there are outspoken, ilogical thinking fans, just like there are with Apple and Harley and the like.

That shouldn't negate the good things that cult companies do, which does help them achieve cult status, but you have to take what they dish out with a some salt. These companies are smart, and they play up their cult status, but I've said it before and I'll say it again. I AM a Nintendo enthusiast. That is, for me they're a good fit for the games I like to play. Period."

Nintendo is cult in every sense of the word. Their fans are devout, eat up (almost all of) what they're told, and march along. Apple has the same thing going, but that's an overused comparison that i don't want to perpetuate.

Their past successes, mistakes, and business decisions have given them cult status, but marketing and PR maintains the image. The way they're marketing Wii shows that they want to deliberately stay cult: undercutting the other systems with seemingly oddball tactics; releasing an underpowered-by-comparison unit with newfangled controllers; talking up the simplicity of new games as a hearkening to the past; playing to the current trend of being retro; and calling it a "new generation" console rather than next gen. That's all marketing, and it's all bull to keep the super fans rabid.

The problem with being an enthusiast is you more often than not leave yourself vulnerable to a company willing to blindside you with their stratagems, even if you're not "gung-ho Nintendo". Also, if all you know is consoles, the scope is limited to who's involved in that space, so being partial is dangerous. There's not much choice, therefore ignorance flourishes. We should look beyond the visions of 3 companies to find something more than just plumbers and guns, and i don't mean the mainstream PC scene. Nintendo's a nice fit for me, too, but they're way too far from perfect for me to invest so much into them.

Pac Man Rules You

2006-06-09T11:30:00.001-04:00

*Note: This is a post I wrote a few months ago on Xanga. IT's worth reading, printing and posting on you fridge.

Many people ask me about my game ideas. I have a few good ones, and the few I shared I always get a positive response. But all that aside, how come the greatest game ever played has a very lame story line.

Pac Man

This guy is hungry, and for some reason he is in a labyrinth of tunnels that he will eat himself out of just to go trough it all over again, and again and again. Someone once asked me if Pac Man is actually beatable.

Yes.

There are 256 levels and the last one is half invisible, actually it is only code on one half… as shown here.

One man has been known to have beaten the game without dying once and was the first person to achieve the maximum possible score. His name is Billy Mitchell.

This mutha trucka kicked those four ghosts asses all over them tunnels back in 99. He had a referee and everything. But enough about this "Demi Gamer-God". Lets talk about me.

I hate this game. I love it, but I could never ever beat it. I beat TMNT on nes and that was what I considered impossible. 256 insane levels of pain? Fuck that. I have a major beef with this game, and it all starts with a ghost named Pinky.

<== Pinky For some reason God smiled upon this bastard ghost and gave it the skill of speed. I hate this ghost more than any sprite in the history of sprites. If I ever met this crack head ghost I would resurrect it only to kill it over and over. I hope his original death was a very painful one. Much like the Buffalo Bills in Techmo Super Bowl, pink is the color of anger. You see pink is a girly color. No offence but if someone loses to something pink it is like a huge insult to your manhood. Pinky is an abomination to manhood world wide. And then there is the asshole ghost Blinky.

<== Blinky

So what makes Blinky and asshole? Blinky is the first one out of the house, in fact I daresay that Blinky is the ghost that is not house trained. I mostly just hate this ghost because it is a ghost.

<== Inky You ever get surrounded by a bunch of bad guys and decide to go across the area and regroup. That’s all fine and good but this bitch ghost likes to stay on the opposite side of the action in hopes of you to attempt to escape his three homies. He is the reason I camp today…because I can.

<== Ringo Star.

Clyde.
First off he doesn’t fit the rhyme scheme. So that makes me believe he is actually running the whole shindig. He also is the color of Flintstone pops and so then when I try to aviate him I get hungry and pissed off. Clyde sucks. Who named this guy? Its like naming the boss Bill. It may have worked for Tarintino...well.

I can imagine a Pac Man movie directed by Tarintino. Imagine Pac Man dancing around a tied up Clyde to Stuck in the Middle with You pouring gasoline and slashing him with a knife. Oh yeah Clyde, the Ringo of ghosts, you will get yours.

AwwwwwwwwwwwSleep.

--
Charlie Frisby

PSM No More

2006-06-08T23:18:00.000-04:00

I have been subscribed to PSM magazine for about 3 years now and still have about a year left. I always enjoyed knowing what was going on in the video game industry, and especially with Sony as I was big fan years back.

After an awakening I decided Nintendo was making more games I like to play, in fact Nintendo makes games because they want you to play games. I believe whole hearted that Nintendo wants people playing games (not that money is not the main incentive).

I subscribed to Nintendo Power more or less because I always wanted to and they also gave me 3 free issues and a shirt! NP may be decently bias, and the writers may have...different tastes, but I enjoy my monthly Nintendo Power. But today I canceled my PSM subscription.

The first major issue that made me laugh at Sony was a suggestion in their "pulse" section. Some kid was complaining that his UMD is loose and falling apart more and more every day. They suggested scotch tape. Yes, profession writers suggest you to TAPE YOUR UMD!!!

If I bought anything for 50 bucks and the suggestion I get is tape it, I would make it my personal mission to destroy the people who lead me to believe I bought a quality product.

Last months issue was disgusting banter about how Sony was going to blow everyone away at E3 (and all the did was blow). The issue I got yesterday had a last minute E3 printing update where they, the super fans, sounded like they wish they worked for a different magazine. But all the other stuff in the mag, Pre-E3 was more cocky "My shit don't stink because I can play Blue Ray" trash talk.

Formally professional, formally interesting, formally subscribed.

Bye PSM, IGN had better reviews anyway.

--
Charlie Frisby