♥ “SMACKDOWN” GOES OFF THE AIR AFTER THIS SEASON ON CW
Mr. Macmahon has already begun negotiations with other networks. I’m surprised they didn’t try to use the walls of Jericho to block the contract from going sour.
♥ SCIENCE JOURNALIST CONTEST
Writers looking to have a career reporting on Science and Technology should take a look at this internship program located in London.
♥ A LOOK INTO FASHIONCLOPEDIA, “THE MEANING OF SUNGLASSES” BY HADLEY FREEMAN
Excerpt from book (taken from original post), “Cocaine may well have been created for moments such as these, helping to keep one’s chin up, if nose down, when you see Anna Wintour clocking that you are in the eighth row.”
It only took a whole day to donwload and put back up on the internet to share with y’all. Judging by the demo, the charm of the original game is still there for the most part there, minus some of the dry sense of humor the King of the Cosmos used to have (maybe he’s started going to AA meetings or something).
Now on a stronger system and looking cleaner than ever before, it’s a bit surprising that Namco didn’t attempt upgrade the style of the characters and objects as well because now everything seems more square than ever. Although Beautiful Katamari seems flatter than it did before, I am actually that bothered. This isn’t exactly one of those games where I have expected mind-blowing ingenuity in the sequels. I have always just wanted to play MORE Katamari and more levels at an alarming rate.
Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I’ve come to the realization that when you spend all your time writing about video games, you actually have less time to play them. Let’s go back and take a look at some of my favorite posts:
Avoiding tourists in a city like Amsterdam can be the only insurance you have to keep your fists in your pockets, and your sanity in tact. Between the groups of bachelor parties that crowd the triple-X Dutch Disneyland they call the Red Light District, and the geriatric attraction-seekers who will run you down to get a picture of a bicycle that has been chained up to the same bridge for the past three years, ducking down alleyways can be the only way to get around in Amsterdam. It can also be the only way to see the city outside of the way Rick Steves wants you to. Read the rest of this entry »
Amsterdam has been one tough bitch to crack. I’ve been understanding up until now, but with my visa just out of my reach and our posessions not yet arrived, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in the obstacle course that is being an expat.
ARE YOU SHITTING ME? WE’VE ONLY HAD IT FOR TWO WEEKS!
After getting the notorious “Red Ring of Death” on the Xbox 360, we were told to call Xbox in Germany and have them fix it, which was great news. I can’t get my internet fixed in Dutch, so surely I’ll be able to get the Xbox fixed in German.
OUR NEIGHBORS ARE DRUG ADDICTS/DEALERS/VAMPIRES
And when I say neighbors, I mean the people sitting outside of our house. As our rental agent, Don “Johnson” Wolfrat, has stated, Holland as a whole does not believe in the undead. Sure enough, when we went online to find haunted Amsterdam, we found one unconvincingly weak excuse of a walking tour complete with tea and biscuits at the end.
Perhaps the reason those in the afterlife choose not visit Amsterdam is that on top of the fact that everyone here is too level-headed to believe anything that doesn’t exist (so to speak) could have any cultural relevance, the entire city is built with sand and spit. Tap the bricks on the sidewalk, and you’ll see that they come right out. Paranormal theorists believe that ghosts like to attach themselves into the very thread of three dimensional objects, but I think a poltergeist would find it challenging (at best) to try to demonize any of the sand castles they call canal houses here. Apparently, superstitions are figment of the Western world’s imagination, best left only to countries who have had the good fortune to invent cement.
The living undead instead takes the form of the drug dealers and drug addicts who, much like vampires, only come out to prey in front of our house only after the sun goes down. After puncturing themselves no less than three times with a needle a la heroine, they too think they can fly, bite people, take on strange accents, and keep us up all night screaming, “BOOGEDY-BOOGEDY!”.
THE AMERICAN CONSULATE
Keeping Americans out since 1985.
We were told by the people who know to stop by the American Consulate and declare once again to the Dutch government that we do not love each other in the form of a non-marriage certificate (because once is never enough).
After that was done, we had to take it to Den Haag where all the rich people in Holland live and get it stamped by a government take-out window. The night before, a disgruntled employee had actually climbed up to the ninth floor and attempted to commit suicide, making our entrance into the building the next day frustrating at best.
BUT THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
Apparently all we had to do rip the Nintendo Wii out of the TNT Post’s hands was to cough up €65 for their troubles and pay another €29.95 just to get a transformer that will allow me to turn on the thing without it smoking up like a barbecue.
Our things are finally being moved in Tuesday, but I’m sure there will be a story to tell after it’s all said and done.
The Xbox came back and is working, but it chewed up our Gears of War, so we’re on CD number three. Don’t try to tell me that Bill Gates isn’t a cocksucker. Because he is.
My brother sent me a Wii from San Francisco and I told him that sometimes customs in Amsterdam takes away the contents of the box if they think it’s illegal.
I’m sure a lot of people have seen this, but I’m posting this for Pierre, who probably needs to watch this embedded on a blog so it looks like he’s doing work. There’s a better looking version of it here which I highly recommend watching because the quality of the graphics during actual game play is phenomenal (and in some cases, disturbing).
Sometimes blogging is like finding an apartment. You go on Craigslist, you narrow your preferences, you look at some posts. Every once and awhile you’ll see something that sounds interesting (“Large Room in Manhatten – Cheap!”), but then you look at the photos and wonder why the biggest photo of the bunch is of the bathroom, or why they decided to strech one of the pictures about 20 pixels too wide.
Well, I’m experiencing the same thing with this story breaking news. Sure it’s for the Olympics. Ok, you’ll release it this Christmas for DS and Wii. Oh, and you are putting Mario and Sonic head to head in a competition game. Whhaaattt? Have you got any marginally convincing quotes to back this up with? Oh, you do. Great…
“Bringing together intensely competitive and fun characters like Mario and Sonic in an Olympic setting helps showcase the sports of the Olympic Games in a new and compelling way for all generations.”
I don’t know, it sounds kind of hokey to me, and even if the game does exist, it still falls under “borderline retarded” on my list of things I’m willing to put on my credit card.
From the description of the youtube video:
“Semi-fictional character known mostly for his appearances on ExtraLife Radio, Ding Pong gives the Wii a spin for himself. Those easily offended by Asian stereotypes need not apply. My Korean brother laughed and so should you.”
