Popcorn Culture Review

Sadly...

2008-05-31T22:19:00.002-04:00

This blog has fallen by the wayside. However, a new blog has since sprung up here.

This one may still be resurrected. In the meantime, check out Gamer Tag 360.

Nostalgia #1

2007-11-29T00:05:00.000-05:00

Popcorn poll results

2007-11-21T03:11:00.000-05:00

Super Mario stomped on the competition in Popcorn's recent poll.

Popcorn asked which video game franchise people preferred. Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. took more than 75 per cent of the votes. Halo was No. 2, followed by Call of Duty and Guitar Hero.

Words to live by...

2007-11-21T02:16:00.000-05:00

The first time I heard this song, I was inspired. Called 'How you live' by the band Point of Grace, the lyrics are beautiful.

Wake up to the sunlight
With your windows open
Don’t hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress
Use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
Have what you want
But want what you have
And don’t spend your life looking back

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
Coz it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did
It’s how you live

So go to the ballgames
And go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children
Dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don’t run from the truth
‘Cause you can’t get away
Just face it and you’ll be ok

Oh wherever you are and wherever you’ve been
Now is the time to begin

So give to the needy
And pray for the grieving
Even when you don’t think that you can
‘Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
Make peace with God and make peace with yourself
‘Cause in the end there’s nobody else

‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did
It’s how you live

One ring to ruin them all

2007-11-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

One Ring to ruin them all, One Ring to fry them, One Ring to bring them all (in for repairs) and in the darkness bind them.

Xbox 360 owners fear Microsoft's infamous "red ring of death" - the sign that the expensive gaming console's insides are fried beyond repair - more than Samwise Gamgee fears the Eye of Sauron.

It's a fate that my Xbox 360 suffered late last week ... and something I've feared since buying Microsoft's second-generation console.

Now let's put this particular system meltdown into context. I'm a recreational gamer. I play for less than four hours a week on average. I own an intercooler to pump up the console's cooling system. Yet... my Xbox died at eight months old, extremely young for a $499 device to kick the bucket.

So I mourned. I wailed. I cried until there were no more tears.

Then I packed up my 360 into the original box, dug up my carefully filed receipt proving my purchase of a $100 one-year replacement warranty and headed for EB Games.

(Before I go any further, let's put the cost of the warranty into context: It cost me one-fifth of the purchase price ... for one year. I just bought a brand new video camera and accessories for about $1,500 from Future Shop. The warranty cost me just over $200, and covers the camera and all the accessories for four years.)

As soon as I walk in the door toting my system I get a dirty look from the guy behind the counter.

I get into line. It's very busy in the store. Finally, I get to the counter and before I can even say, "My Xbox suffered the red ring of death," the EB Games guy says, "That's not my problem. Send it to Microsoft."

"Uh, actually, I have a warranty with EB Ga..."

"We don't honour those. Send it to Microsoft."

"You don't honour them?" I asked in disbelief. I can only imagine he was confused by recent news stories saying EB Games was no longer selling warranties on 360s. "You don't understand; I bought a $100 replacement warranty from your store when I bought my 360."

I'm wildly flaying the receipt in his face, as several customers watch.

"I bought the warranty already. That means you replace it," I add, hoping he understands my message.

"Fine," he said abruptly. "We'll give you a refurbished one. But we have to order it in, so it may take a while to get here."

"What?" I said, my voice rising. "You're telling me I paid $100 for a warranty so you can order me a refurbished Xbox that I have to wait for? I bought the warranty so I wouldn't have to ship my console to Microsoft and wait for them to send me a refurbished one - which costs nothing."

I continued, a little louder so everyone in the store could hear me: "I was promised a new Xbox to replace the Xbox I bought new from you. That's what a $100 'replacement warranty' means."

Clearly annoyed, he grabs my Xbox and roughly places it on the counter next to him. "Fine. Wait until I'm done with the customers."

So I wait and he gets me a new Xbox 360 off the shelf, adding he'll give it to me this time, but next time I have to send it back to Microsoft. I leave the store flustered, but happy that I raised serious hell in front of a store full of customers - something I've never done in my life.

The experience showed me just how frustrated Xbox 360 owners and gaming industry workers are with Microsoft's fatal product flaw. The red ring of death better fade into oblivion soon; otherwise Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii will start to look extremely attractiveto those long considered faithful to Xbox.

And here's a little math: A 360 costs $399, plus $75 to get on to Xbox Live, plus $more than $200 for an HD DVD player. A PS3 now costs $399, online play is free and the system comes with a blu-ray player.

I know what I want for Christmas.

+++

Postscript: When I got home and plugged in the controller to my "new" 360, I noticed the front casing had a large crack in it. So I had to take it back again.

All I want for Christmas...

2007-11-11T09:22:00.001-05:00

It's polka time!

National Novel Writing Month

2007-11-10T19:22:00.000-05:00

Are you writing a novel this month? NaNoWriMo (Click here) has been gaining steam with more users and more budding writers. If writing a novel is your dream then this is a site for you.

Call of Duty 4

2007-11-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

Call of Duty 4 is certainly a masterpiece. It feels like a Hollywood movie that you have the chance to control. And, of course, it's refreshing that the Call of Duty franchise had finally stepped away from the Second World War, while keeping the feel of the previous titles. The game is both fun to play and fun to watch. 4 stars.

Graphics: ****
Controls: ****
Sound: ****
Fun: ****

How can you NOT like Paris???

2007-06-28T02:28:00.001-04:00

> She's humble: "I'm a good person. I'm a compassionate person. I have a big heart. I'm sincere, and they'll see."

> She's changed: "I've definitely matured and grown a lot from this experience. I could be a more responsible role model."

> She's literate!: "I read letters, I wrote in my journal."

> She's imaginative: "I would just close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere else."

> She's spiritual: "There was a nun who works at the jail for all the ladies, and she would come every day and we would pray."

> She makes time for work ... and play: "I am a social person," she said. "I love to dance, I love to go out, I love music. But a lot of people don't know that I'm a business person. I run several businesses."

> She has a nesting instinct: "When I have a daughter I have a lot of good advice for her."

~ Sources: All quotes from Larry King Wednesday, except first one, which is from a recent People mag.

WWE shocked by sensational media?

2007-06-27T00:57:00.000-04:00

Did anybody else find it odd that the WWE berated mainstream media for “sensationalistic reporting”?

In a statement released on its website, WWE announced it was “shocked” that the press was suggesting the double-murder suicide involving one of its premier wrestlers was linked to steroid use.

On Monday the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department found the bodies of Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and his son, Daniel inside their posh Atlanta home.

Police said Tuesday Benoit had strangled his wife and smothered his son, leaving Bibles beside their bodies. He then went into his exercise room and hung himself.

“WWE strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time as to the motive for these acts,” said WWE.com.

Never mind that the WWE survives through its sensational content.

Never mind that the WWE has done nothing but advertise itself through this tragedy.

Never mind that the WWE ran an advertisement for its wrestler “The Undertaker” beside one of its statements about Benoit’s death.

This seems a clear case of the kettle calling the pot black.

This week's game releases

2007-06-25T12:51:00.000-04:00

Good list of games being released this week for those who like to be in the know. Compiled by Gamestooge.

Click here.

Pretty fishy

2007-06-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

Overheard in a Starbucks: "Have you guys heard of the new trend? ... It's called fish painting. You buy a real fish and you paint it. The point is touching the fish."

I was about to blog about the iPhone's release date (June 29) and how it's another checkpoint in the amazing way technology is changing how we interact, when I overheard the above quote. Writing about perhaps one of the most important technological revolutions of the past year was completely trumped by the intriguing idea of fish painting.

I thought she was lying. However, a Google search revealed that fish painting is also known as juicing or dying the fish.

My first thought was, 'where do I buy a fish to paint?' Visions of a happy childhood painting Easter eggs melded with the idea of the joy I could have painting and showing off my proud, swimming little painted fishy.

Alas, Wikipedia sunk my fun. The party-pooping online encyclopedia says fish painting is a "stressful, painful process" that leaves fish susceptible to disease. And apparently, it's not a hobby at all. Some pet stores inject the fish several times with a syringe to make their tropical fare more colourful, and therefore more pricey.

As suddenly as they appeared, visions of me holding a squirmy little koi, while trying as hard as I can to keep my paintbrush between the lines, faded.

So Starbucks girl had her facts a little mixed up. But it's for our benefit because we now know of the savage cruelty to our cuddly, splashy friends. There are groups which lobby against this aberration of nature: "The British publication Practical Fishkeeping started a campaign in 1996 to ask retailers to stop selling dyed fish," says Wikipedia, adding the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has also condemned the practice.

So hooray! And don't give me Kurt Cobain's attitude that "fish don't have feelings" because Finding Nemo taught me otherwise.

Take a hit from Nintendo's crack pipe

2007-06-23T00:36:00.000-04:00

So some doctors want to create a formal classification for video game addiction.

In fact, they suggest sufferers of this addiction - those who show severe dependence on games such as World of Warcraft - be able to access insurance in the U.S. to pay for treatment.

No, you didn't pass out due to lack of sleep from playing too much Xbox. This is a true story.

A leading council of the nation's largest doctors' group wants to have this behavior officially classified as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness and enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment.

In a report prepared for the American Medical Association's annual policy meeting starting Saturday in Chicago, the council asks the group to lobby for the disorder to be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. (Associated Press)

Video games have had their detractors for many, many years, naysayers which include religious organizations, special interest groups, politicians and perhaps millions of moms and dads wondering why their kids aren't out throwing a baseball around. They've been labeled a waste of time, bad for your eyes, bad for your character, bad for your morality.

But let's be honest with ourselves: everything in moderation. Only the most extreme cases have been used to "prove" that video games are as addictive as crack cocaine. Take this entertaining excerpt, for example, from the AP story:

Joyce Protopapas of Frisco, Texas, said her 17-year-old son, Michael, was a video addict. Over nearly two years, video and Internet games transformed him from an outgoing, academically gifted teen into a reclusive manipulator who flunked two 10th grade classes and spent several hours day and night playing a popular online video game called World of Warcraft.

"My father was an alcoholic ... and I saw exactly the same thing" in Michael, Protopapas said (of her 17-year-old son). "We battled him until October of last year," she said. "We went to therapists, we tried taking the game away.

"He would threaten us physically. He would curse and call us every name imaginable," she said. "It was as if he was possessed."

In another example, one poor guilt-stricken mother lamented buying her son a video game system, saying she felt like she'd bought him his first bottle of Jack Daniels.

These are rare scenarios. Few people are holed-up in their parents basement, forsaking food and friendship so they can reach level 30 in Halo. Of course, some people will become addicted to video games, just as others become addicted to e-mail, MSN, Facebook ... or how about junk food, porn, TV, etc. Other fortunate souls get addicted to things such as exercise or reading. Extreme cases of such "addictions" already have a name: obsessive compulsive disorder.

The difference is video games are easy to slag, and saying they lead to a disorder further stereotypes the average gamer.

Let's paint a picture of the average gamer (and it's not a pimply teenager who's never talked to a girl):

A huge portion of gamers are in their 20s and 30s, with an increasing number entering their 40s and 50s. They lead productive lives in every industry. They are married. They have children. They play in sports leagues. They are both men and women. These are not people who are playing hookey from work for one more hit from the Nintendo crack pipe. And, likely, some resent the idea that maybe they should enroll in some Gamers' Anonymous because they have an addiction that needs be be broken.

Gaming has become a massive industry, challenging blockbuster films in earning power. They are interactive works of art, with the ability to bring people together from all over the world to laugh and play. They are a hobby. Not a stigma that needs to be treated.

Television 2.0

2007-06-22T00:44:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting yarn from the Tyee.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Is television dead?"

That was the question that kicked off a panel called, "International Broadcasters Talk Trends" at the 2007 Banff World Television Festival. Not surprisingly, the panelists -- who make their living making television -- agreed that it wasn't. But their thoughts on the future of the medium definitely didn't sound like TV from the old days, like, say, last week. It was more like TV 2.0 -- a world where CBC has a Facebook page and wants you to sign up as their new friend.

Trying to tap into the zeitgeist at an event where everyone's livelihood depends on tapping the zeitgeist, it was clear there were two things most of the 1500 "content providers" (formerly known as writers, directors, producers and broadcasters) were talking about -- the web and The Sopranos.

Read the rest 'here'.

Halo 3 impressions

2007-06-21T03:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is long overdue; but you still care... it's Halo 3.

I had the privilege of logging a few hours of gameplay on the Halo 3 Beta a few days before it ended. And I must say, I can't wait for the full game to come out.

Bungie has managed to keep the feel of Halo 2 while adding a massive dose of character into the game. The graphics are beautiful, especially for a test version. One player remarked you could just stare and admire the running water (that is if people weren't shooting the improved SMG at you).

The weapons still need some tweaking; however, they seem much more balanced. There is a strange weapon that's a cross between a pistol and a brute shot that shows a lot of promise. They're fun to dual wield and just plain fun to use. The sniper rifle is very comparable to the Halo 2 version, but I kept catching myself staring at the detail of the gun rather than scoping for targets. I didn't pick up a needler, but heard the weapon has been vastly improved. And of course everyone's favourite weapon, the battle rifle, is still as deadly and as fun.

The maps will change, but one map in particular – Valhalla – is striking. It’s been compared to Blood Gulch, but reminded me more of the second level in Halo 1’s campaign. I’m getting giddy just thinking about playing it when the full version is released.

So overall, the gameplay in multiplayer is just like Halo 2, only much improved – as Bungie promised.

The REAL treat for me with this game was the pre-game and post-game lobby. This is where avid Halo players spend a lot of time, chatting with teammates, berating the competition and checking out medals. It just plain looks sleeker. But the post-game stats are excellent, with more emphasis on the medals. I love earning medals. They’ve also added a couple new ones, including the killjoy medals, awarded when you end someone’s killing spree.

That’s my primer. And from what I saw, this game will be well worth the wait.

For a much better, and more thorough, review than mine try clicking here.

Groundhog day

2007-05-19T23:17:00.001-04:00

Apparently there are many here.

Now a word from our sponsor

2007-05-19T02:54:00.000-04:00

I was thinking today… Perhaps it’s time for an update.

My wife and I made it to Ottawa; in fact, we’ve been here for about three weeks.

The trip across the country, as always, was breathtaking. Canada is such a beautiful country. For those who haven’t had the chance to travel across and see it, if you don’t before you die, you’ll regret it. So do it.

It took us six nights and seven days to make the trip. We stopped in:

Golden, B.C. – the Rocky Mountains take my breath away every time with the depth, width, breadth and height of their grace.

Edmonton, Alta. – we stayed in the West Edmonton Mall in a Victorian theme room. A Hollywood crew was filming a Leslie Nielson movie with a Christmas theme at the time so the halls were decked with bulbs and tinsel. The mall is still big.

Yorkton, Sask. – wow… it’s… still flat.

Kenora, Ont. – I love the drive from Kenora through Thunder Bay; it’s easily one of the most beautiful parts of Ontario with the hills, water and rugged landscape.

Sault Ste. Marie – fourteen hours of driving and we’re still in northern Ontario, shows the magnitude of the province’s size.

Brampton, Ont. – My home; we saw my parents, sister, grandmother and our dog, Moses, who we shipped to my parents via Air Canada a couple weeks before hitting the road.

Boy was our dog mad at us when we packed up the next day to leave for Ottawa. He stood at the door barking at us as we left.

+ + +

We’ve been staying at a hotel-apartment since we arrived here. It’s clean, for the most part, but certainly not home. Our first mission was to find a place to buy. It took us a week.

We put an offer down on a townhouse in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, home of the Ottawa Senator’s rink. It’s about a 25-minute commute from the downtown office where I’ll be working in July. At the moment the newsroom where I work is set up in a temporary office. It’s squishy, but comfortable. And we’re forced to get to know everybody.

For those who don’t know, I’m working for CanWest News Service on the B.C. desk. I write and edit. If you want to keep tabs on what I’m writing, Google “David Wylie" CanWest, then go to the last page of results and click repeat the search with the omitted results included. Chances are, you’ll find my stuff.

But I digress…

We move into our new home on May 29. It’s a two-storey building, with a finished basement. It’s nice, and much bigger than out home in Vernon, B.C.

And real estate is cheaper out here!

First step is to set up a nursery ... Oh, yeah, for those who don’t know, Megan is pregnant. She’s due in October. Sorry, if I forgot to tell you. If you want to send cigars, e-mail me and I’ll pass on my mailing address.

We get our first ultra-sound done on May 22… I think.

+ + +

On other random notes, my Xbox has been gathering dust because I have nowhere to hook up to Xbox Live. I shall return to bust heads in about a month once we get high-speed Internet at our new place … I haven’t been writing a weekly column like I did in Vernon, so I may do that for fun on popcornculturereview.blogspot.com … On a similar note, I haven’t been taking pictures and I’ve been getting the itch, so you may see some pix popping up on there.

If you’re bored, e-mail me with your updates! Or even better, leave a comment.

Deep thoughts...

2007-04-27T07:26:00.000-04:00

We've stayed in hotels and motels in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan over the past week. We've also stayed in two motels in Northern Ontario. All of them had their ups and downs, but both rooms in Ontario stank. One smelled like vomitous mass, the other like cologne bought at a Husky station.

That's why Northern Ontario has a dumpy reputation. Their motels stink.

On the road... again

2007-04-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

My time here is officially up, after five years in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley.

The cliche term "bittersweet" is a perfect way to sum up my feelings as I stood before the front door of the first house I've ever owned, touched it one last time, and then turned away.

Vernon has become a memory.

Now my wife and I have sent most of our stuff via moving company to Ottawa, Ontario where we'll catch up with it after a five day trek across Ontario. I will try to update this blog as we drive across. But the tagline "updated daily" has been replaced with "updated whenever I feel like it -- or whenever I get a pit stop where there's a wireless connection."

This will be the fourth time I've driven across Canada.

I said 'dildos'... are you offended now?

2007-03-16T01:07:00.000-04:00

I printed an article in today's newspaper about well-known and (apparently) well-endowed porn star Ron Jeremy, also known as “the hedgehog”.

Read the article - exact same article and photo - here on CTV's website

I paid for it this morning with aggravated (and aggravating) phone calls from several angry readers wondering why I would put such "sex and filth" in the newspaper. They prodded me for tainting the minds of the youth who may be reading the paper. Then they threatened to cancel their subscriptions – all over one article with references to dildos and fellatio.

When they asked why I would put such garbage in the newspaper I answered that it was an excellent story about a person you wouldn't normally hear about. I also said I print Christian articles twice on Monday and in sporadic columns throughout the week. I defended it's an editor's job to give readers insight into areas of life they may never encounter and give people of all stripes something that would interest them. I asked them why they don't call to praise the editor when they like something, yet call to berate the editor when a published article offends their values. And most importantly, I asked why they'd cancel their subscription over one article that appeared in one edition when hundreds of other papers they’ve received over the course of two years did not offend them.

To my impassioned argument, one caller answered: “Yeah. Well, I think you owe your readers an apology because they don’t want to read this.”

I admit the article was racy. I admit it may offend. I admit many of my readers are older and conservative and would not enjoy reading about a porn star. But I will not apologize. Perhaps I’m being idealistic here, or maybe just plain self-righteous; but it’s an editor’s job to push the boundaries at times – sometimes just for the sake of getting a reaction. Mostly they should venture into territory unknown to draw a line in the sand, saying, “We will print things that offend some readers because freedom of the press is founded on printing viewpoints that some readers may find downright dastardly… or immoral.” It’s a freedom that must be exercised because it’s easily lost in the show of reader intimidation. A few cancelled subscriptions is a small price to pay to show people we are not intimidated by angry phone calls.

Oh, and next time you’re upset with an article, write a letter to the editor. We like that.

The Inheritance Trilogy Part 2

2007-02-23T00:47:00.001-05:00

So Eragon … So Eldest … Why do I like them?

Well, that can be summed up in seven words: Who wouldn’t want to own a dragon?

Christopher Paolini is roundly criticized for stealing plots, names and history from J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), George Lucas (Star Wars) and Anne McCaffery (Dragonriders of Pern); though if he may be carped on for his (at times liberal) use of such references, he may also be commended on his ability – similar to the prolific authors previously mentioned – to create rich fantasy worlds and memorable characters.

That’s where Paolini shines. And it’s why there are scores of fans eagerly awaiting the third, and final novel to the Inheritance Trilogy.

Paolini brings his readers into a world where a farm boy can become a dragon rider; where elves and dwarves exist; where magic is alive. The plot moves fast and the big battles are just as interesting as Eragon’s training, where we learn bits and pieces of the history of the land.

The legacy left by Eragon is a whetted appetite for all things fantasy, and if that’s not proper tribute to his muses, what is?

Inheritance Trilogy Part 1

2007-02-22T03:12:00.000-05:00

So I finished Eragon.

And then I went online at Chapters.ca and bought Christopher Paolini’s second offering in the Inheritance Trilogy.

And then I raced through that and finished it.

And now here I am wishing the third book was already released so I could read it rather than pass the time updating The Popcorn Culture Review.

From the first few pages of Eragon I was sold. Sure the writing was a tad rough; the fantasy novel was started by the author when he was only 15 years old. It was released when he was about 19.

Very briefly, here’s the plot: A farm boy named Eragon finds an egg which hatches revealing a dragon, which he names Saphira. He and the dragon then embark on an epic journey which leads them to meet kings and queens, dwarves and elves. If you want an in depth description of the book, just Google search “Eragon + Wikipedia”.

Not since Harry Potter was released have I seen a book so widely hated and viciously criticized. And yet, so deeply loved and treasured.

The plot, which incidentally resembles Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings, has been the centre of the firestorm. Accusations of plagiarism have even been leveled against Paolini for his use of certain plot anchors, as well as place and people names. Paolini’s awkward dialogue and flowery prose are also a big bull’s eye for critics.

Some of the most dedicated critics of the Inheritance Trilogy actually created a website called www.anti-shurtugal.com, a parody of a fan site called www.shurtugal.com… more on that in the near future.

You probably guessed by my first few paragraphs that I really liked Eragon and its sequel Eldest.

You’re right. Tune in tomorrow to find out why.

Halo 3 release date

2007-02-20T01:20:00.000-05:00

Finally! Bungie.net has given us an estimate on the launch of Halo 3, just in time for the release of the second generation Xbox.

Saturday morning cartoons fading

2007-02-20T01:12:00.000-05:00

There are certain customs we're supposed to renounce when we grow up – that is until we have kids, and then some of those things are fair game once again. In the meantime, if we don't quit it, we're labeled "immature", "juvenile" or "just plain in denial that we're getting old".

Those habits include potty jokes, pretending we're superheroes (or villains), making funny faces, etc. But the greatest sacrifice is no longer being able to watch Saturday morning cartoons.

I admit it: I love cartoons, and I have ever since I started watching Transformers, GI Joe and Thundercats. I even got up at 6:30 a.m. so I could watch Hercules before going to school.

Back in the '80s, when Saturday morning hit, kids would fill a bowl with Cap 'N Crunch, Count Chocula, Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms fetch our Teddy and blanket, then curl up on the couch and enter the cartoon zone. It was as sacred to kids as going to church on Sunday morning was to adults.

And lo, as we grew up, Saturday morning morphed from a time to watch cartoons to a time to recover from the previous night's pub crawl, to a time to sleep in with our spouse, to a time to mow the lawn and make repairs around the house.

But I bear a warning – for those of us who don't yet have kids as an excuse to once again take up the mantle of Saturday morning cartoons, time may be running out.

Both Fox News and The Christian Science Monitor, among other, smaller news media have over the past few years predicted the slow death of Saturday morning cartoons. The reason, according to the Science Monitor, is that kids' schedules are getting too busy to indulge in front of the TV Saturday mornings.

Some may argue that's a good sign. Why should kids sit in front of the TV on Saturday mornings anyway when they could be outside getting some exercise? A valid point; however, there must a part of every Gen X'er that mourns the slow decline of the Saturday tradition.

Lately, Canadian kids network YTV pushed its "take back Saturday morning" campaign, urging kids to relax on Saturday and enjoy its array of toons. And I confess: I did, and I still do. I'm a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and have made time on Saturday mornings to pour myself a bowl of cereal and be a kid again.

And sometimes I still tell potty jokes and make funny faces.

ROTTEN APPLES: You know those Mac ads where the geeky, chubby guy representing Microsoft is having a conversation with the hip, cool Mac guy?

Well, they're not going over very well in the U.K.

PC Retail Magazine is reporting that Apple's taken a big hit to its public perception, as measured in YouGov's BrandIndex, which says the company's "buzz" factor dropped from +14 to +8.

FINALLY, A RELEASE DATE: Bungie – the company behind the wildly popular Halo video games for Xbox – knew it was going to set off a firestorm with this week's weekly update.

"Interesting update this week, with the first ever look at the new imagery designed to tease and promote Halo 3 and a quick once-over of the current multiplayer control scheme," the company said on its website, Bungie.net. "Forum speculation meltdown, imminent."

Bungie released desktop wallpaper with an image of Halo 3 with "Fall 2007" on the bottom – finally tacking a release date to one of the most highly anticipated video games of the year. As predicted, the artwork set off a chain reaction of media buzz on blog sites and video game news sites, alike.

There, there...

2007-02-05T00:22:00.000-05:00

Dear blog,

Don't be sad. I haven't forgotten about you. In fact, you haunt my conscience because I haven't been posting lately.

The reason I've neglected you is that I've been enveloped in the latest novel I'm reading, Eragon. It's about a plain farm boy who one fateful day discovers a dragon egg. The egg hatches and with the dragon comes a new life of fleeing, fighting and magic.

I'm on the last 50 pages, so I'll start spending time with you again, blog.

I've still to write about my dog's anal glands, my wife's tongue ring and everything else that strikes my fancy.

Till then, cheerio.

Sci-fi no more

2007-01-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

Now that the three “next generation” video game consoles have been released, played, criticized and praised, it’s a good time to evaluate them and what they hint at for the near future.
For those living under a massive rock and have peeked out from underneath just long enough to read today’s blog, those consoles are Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. The most exciting and innovative changes come courtesy of Nintendo, which we’ll cover last.
Video games are big business these days – in fact, it’s a $50 billion market.
Even with all that cash to go around, however, it isn’t always profitable.
Take the Xbox 360 for instance. The next generation console from Microsoft was expected to sell 12 million units by June, 2007. A big number, for sure, but that projected sales figure is actually down from the earlier estimate of 13-15 million.
Microsoft also announced late last week that the company’s Entertainment and Devices group reported a $289 million loss this quarter. Keep in mind that big division doesn’t only include the Xbox 360, it includes many, many other devices, including the Windows Mobile and Zune.
The point being you can sell 12 million units and still lose money. Yet the name of game is to get the consoles out there and make money off the games.
Here’s where the future of gaming steps in.
Being released by Microsoft, it’s fitting that the Xbox 360’s strength and vision is in its Internet roots.
Microsoft has built an extensive and impressive online community, and the company has opened its “Marketplace” where gamers can buy and download video games. The most popular Marketplace feature is its arcade, where old school arcade games are sold for about $5 a pop.
It won’t be long before you start to see “bonus” levels to popular games, such as the Halo brand or Rainbow Six Vegas, sold in its online store. The next step would be the total elimination of the middleman, by selling complete games online or selling games level by level.
Some people have gone so far as to predict that games will be sold in “basic packages” and gamers will have to pay to upgrade weapons, unlock armor, etc.
For the next hint to the future, let’s turn to the PlayStation 3. The main selling feature of Sony’s new console is its massive hardware – which translates into very fast loading times, (for the most part) lag-free online play and amazingly crisp, detailed graphics.
If Microsoft’s strength is in its online play, Sony’s power comes from turning a video game system into a complete home entertainment package. PS3 includes the ability to upload and view photos, as well as download and play music and full movies from the hard drive. Users can plug in a keyboard and mouse and then surf the Internet. It also has a Blu-ray drive – which is predicted to become the next generation DVD.
And, like Microsoft, PlayStation has an online store where music is sold.
Where PCs were once the flexible machine that allowed people to work and play, the PS3 signals that gaming consoles are about to become just as flexible as a desktop computer.
PlayStation 3, however, has also had a rough ride in the bazaar. While the system was selling on eBay for three or four times the retail price after its release, the media is now starting to report that sales are slow.
Bucking that trend is Nintendo. The company that (excuse the gaming term) pwed the market in the early 1980s has as of late been labeled a producer of “kiddie consoles” and has been dismissed with a proverbial flick of the wrist by many older gamers, who have gravitated toward the graphic first-person shooters offered by Microsoft and Sony.
That “flick of the wrist”, however, has returned Nintendo to the cutting-edge with the most pioneering system of the bunch, the Wii.
Nintendo’s profit was up by about $1.4 billion – or 43 per cent – this fiscal, ending on Dec. 31, thanks to the Wii and the portable Nintendo DS.
Stores continue to sell out of the Wii within hours of getting new shipments.
Nintendo has offered gamers something different than its competitors: the chance to actually be part of the game with its motion sensor controllers. Who doesn’t want to control a character’s sword by actually slicing with their arm, or serve in a game of tennis by actually going through the motion?
Nintendo has begun to foreshadow what gamers have been dreaming about for years – virtual reality gaming. And the company, which has been tossed to the fringes in recent past, has been rewarded richly for it.
If these three consoles are any indication, the next generation of console will combine a massive, flexible online community, with an all-in-one home entertainment gaming system where players are actually “in the game”.
Ideas that were once relegated to science fiction are about to become real. The future is just arounnd the corner – it it looks bright.

Travel in my blood

2007-01-27T16:10:00.000-05:00

“The air is cool and dry. I smell the earth dried into dust and breathe this scent, this air; fill my lungs with it. I have been in Iran for ten days. My blood is made from the water of this place. I can feel it. How it slides through my body and shapes me.”

Alison Wearing in
Honeymoon in Purdah

God, I miss the scent of travel; sea salt smell of Halifax; dusty, acrid air in Alberta as it’s baked in summer heat. And my fingers ache to touch the old brick buildings in the narrow streets of Quebec.

I cried the first time I saw Canada’s grey, snow-topped Rocky Mountains reflect sunlight like craggy mirrors, just like I cried the first time I saw the lush green mountains of Austria.

Sometimes I even miss vomiting for hours and falling asleep on a hotel toilet seat after drinking too much in Montreal’s packed pubs. I feel guilty confessing this, but I’d do it again if it meant regaining the freedom I felt wandering downtown Montreal with no agenda or schedule, just wandering for the sake of wandering.

It’s true what Alison Wearing says: if you stay in a place long enough, the water and dust of that locale works its way through your blood and shapes you. And it leaves traces of itself in your veins, traces that make your body ache to return.

Still, travelling can be a lonely pastime.

I was leaning against a wall in a third-floor hotel room in Halifax parting the blinds to look out the window. Halifax harbour was calm. Big boats were docked. A few smaller boats cruised slowly to and fro. I watched the empty streets below and slowly scanned the hillside of Dartmouth, across the harbour. I had travelled east from Ontario by myself. And for the first time since leaving I felt wholly alone.

Now, living in British Columbia with my wife, my dog and my cat, I rarely feel alone. That loneliness in Halifax, however, slit my soul and allowed the spirit of Halifax to seep inside me.

Tandoori chicken & avocado-grapefruit salad

2007-01-25T03:19:00.000-05:00

Top: Avocado and grapefruit salad.
Bottom: Tandoori chicken with mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts
and steamed carrots. Photos by David Wylie

This is a combination of two recipes from the Best Ever Three or Four Ingredient Cookbook. I love the Three or Four Ingredient Cookbook because it gives a simple foundation from which to build a meal.

First off, here's your shopping list for this meal:

Four chicken breasts
750ml container plain yogurt
Jar of tandoori curri paste
Two ripe avocados (they're dark green and firm, yet soft)
Two pink grapefruits
And whatever side: potatoes, rice, carrots, cauliflower, etc.

So, the night before you want to cook this, put 1 cup of strained plain yogurt in a bowl and mix it well with 3 Tbsp of the tandoori paste. Wash the chicken breasts and put them in a non-metal baking dish. Slice the chicken breasts so they can absorb the marinade, then pour the yogurt-tandoori mix over the chicken breasts and make sure they're well covered on all sides. Cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Next night, uncover the chicken breasts and bake them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cut both ends of the grapefruit, peel the skin and, working over a small bowl, cut out the grapefruit segments from between the membranes, being careful to catch the juice, and place the segments in a separate bowl. Repeat with the second grapefruit.

Now halve the avocado, twist it apart and using the tip of your knife, pit it. The peel it (if it's ripe, it should peel fairly easily. If it's overripe, it'll get sloppy.) Slice it and dip the slices immediately into the grapefruit juice - avocados tend to brown quickly, like apples. Then mix with grapefruit segments. Add salt and pepper. Serve chilled in separate bowls so juice doesn't flow into the rest of the meal.

Hopefully, you've been preparing your other side at this time. I tend to use an onion baked potato recipe I'll share in the future. Rice works well. Steamed carrots and Brussels sprouts (as pictured) go very well, also.

This meal pairs nicely with Summerhill's Pinot Noir.

Enjoy!

You've got to be kidding...

2007-01-24T23:24:00.000-05:00

I can't help but feel this is an early April Fool's joke, and there will be a follow up story saying, "Surprise! You've been had!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Military Shows Off New Ray Gun

By ELLIOTT MINOR
Associated Press Writer

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AP) -- The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire.

Full story here

Messing with your morality, a book review

2007-01-24T02:23:00.000-05:00

Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Rating: 4 & 1/2 stars

If you think differently after reading Freakonomics then the authors of this book have done what they’ve set out to do.

Sure most writers – simply by the nature of their craft – are out to change the frequency of your brainwaves with their prose. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, however, don’t veil their intention to change the way you see the world. Not for a second. And their methods are straightforward and intelligent.

The authors’ mix of statistics and clever writing are a perfect pairing, easy to consume and intoxicating like a glass of Riesling with baked salmon. Dubner, who writes for the New York Times and the New Yorker, met Levitt, a much-praised albeit controversial economist, in 2003 when the journalist was assigned to profile the young economist who had been making intellectual waves.

As the story goes, the economist found the journalist to be the exception to the rule that all reporters are dumb. And the journalist found the economist to be the exception to the rule that all number-crunchers are dullards. They got along famously.

Levitt is a journalist’s dream – someone who can analyze data, find strange and interesting trends and present them in an exciting way. If that weren’t enough, the “rogue economist” seems to stumble across results that stir controversy and buck the morality trend. Take his theory on why crime rates dropped dramatically across the U.S. in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Levitt suggests that one event on January 22, 1973 did more to slice the crime rate than innovative policing strategies, increased reliance on prisons, tougher gun control laws and an increased number of police all rolled up together: Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize abortion across America. Levitt says visible crimes are committed mainly by lower income, black youths – exactly the demographic dramatically reduced by legalized abortion.

Crack open the book and you’ll likely find several more theories that bruise your morality.

I saw the book long before I bought it. You’ve probably spotted it yourself. The cover is orange, green and white. On it is a picture of an apple sliced open to reveal the innards of an orange. A quote by a reviewer on the front says it all: “Prepare to be dazzled”. Being a bookstore browser – I love nothing more than to wander a big bookstore, touching books and reading covers – I picked up Freakonomics several times before making the decision to buy it.

Remember: A book isn’t only a financial investment; it will become your companion for the duration of its pages.

So what kind of companion was this non-fiction offering, which has peaked at number 2 of the New York Times bestseller list? One who would be fun to bring to a party where you could watch your friends’ reactions as he asks strange and silly questions, such as “Why do drug dealers still live with their moms” – then watch as their rolling eyes and sniggers turn into amazed looks as he smoothly answers the bizarre question with data, research and well-argued reasoning.

All of that said, what’s the point of reading the book’s 191 pages (it includes a hefty amount of bonus material, including excerpts from the Freakonomics blog) if you aren’t left with something?

The question is best answered by a quote from the book: “The most likely result of having read this book is a simple one: you may find yourself asking a lot of questions. Many of them will lead to nothing. But some will produce answers that are interesting, even surprising.”

If you do buy a copy or pick it up from the library, expect to be inspired, but don’t expect your IQ to instantly jump several notches. It will take effort on your part to start asking a lot of questions. If you want to go down that road, however, Freakonomics is a good start.

OTHER INFO:
Publisher: William Morrow
Released: April 12, 2005
Pages: 336 (hardback edition)
ISBN: 0-06-123400-1

Headlines, headlines, headlines

2007-01-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

Crown: Pickton admitted 49 killings, got sloppy
‘Castro is dead’ spam infects computers
Corncob Bob forsakes food over TV ad
Is global warming being oversold?
Finding love in a pillow fight

P-Day good for local tourism

2007-01-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

Tuesday is P-Day: the day that travellers are required by American-policy to carry a valid Canadian passport if they expect to cross the Canadian border into the U.S.

If you haven’t started the application process in getting a passport, there’s not a chance in vacation hell you’ll get one in time if you have a trip south scheduled in the next 20 days. If you have a trip across the border planned within the next 21-40 days, you better mail in your documents or get yourself to a passport office pronto, and pray that your application is endowed with blessings from travel angels on high.

Passport officials say they’ve been rammed by procrastinating Canadians, and that the normal 20-day wait time will likely be more like 25-40 days, according to a Canadian Press story.

Sure it’s inconvenient to stand in line for hours, gather the correct documents and straight-faced photo and pay the $87 (if you’re over 16 years old); but considering the headlines crying “Canada has a loosey-goosey border”, tightening security a notch can’t hurt our peace of mind.

In the short-term, the tougher security measures could be a bit of a boon for local tourism. Vernon counts on vacation traffic to bolster its visitor numbers. As dawdling Canadians put off getting their passports into the summer, that annual trip to Spokane, Wash. could easily turn into a trip to the sunny Okanagan.

But before we start jumping up and down while counting our tourists before they hatch, it would be prudent to note that Canadian passport applications spiked from 90,000 in November 2005 to more than 355,450 in November 2006. So some people have done their due diligence. We’d be optimistic for our local tourism industry, however, and guess that most Canadians simply haven’t bothered.

After all, there are careers to attend, bills to pay, sports to play, pets to feed, kids to look after, marriages to maintain. Who has time for a trip to the passport office?

It looks like it could be a good year for Vernon’s tourism industry.

– Managing Editor David Wylie
(editorial published in Jan. 22 editon of the Vernon Daily Courier)

A Sorro loser (updated)

2007-01-22T01:29:00.000-05:00

What a suck.

Michelle Sorro, a real estate consultant and candidate on Season 6 of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice reality TV show, resigned Sunday night in week three.

I wouldn’t normally rant about who got fired and who didn’t, but for Sorro I’ll make a special exception.

For those who haven’t been following the show, it tracks a group of uber-successful Americans (including publicists, attorneys, sales managers, etc.) as they compete through business projects in an attempt to be crowned tycoon Trump’s new apprentice.

Sunday night’s project challenged members of Team Arrow – which has been thus far romped by Team Kinetic – to break into two groups of four and put together an original tour that winds its way through Hollywood. The people who rode their double-decker buses and experienced the trip rated them.

Sorro, a case study in inept decision-making, was the losing project manager. And deservedly so; she did a remarkably terrible job and was about to get dressed down – and most likely fired – in Trump’s dreaded boardroom.

Instead of facing the consequences of screwing up a project, however, she resigned after she found out her team had lost the challenge.

She’ll now go down in the reality TV Hall of Shame as only the second contestant to resign from the show.

Sorro said she couldn’t handle living in the tent outside of the mansion, where the losing team (have nots) are banished, while the winning team (haves) languish in the posh Los
Angeles home. She added she wasn’t prepared for the pressure and couldn’t handle living in the tent.

Oh, boohoo princess.

It’s too stressful to live in a tent in 72 Degrees Fahrenheit weather on top of a hill outside of a mansion in L.A.??

Come on.

Poor excuse. Poor loser.

This is the first season of Trump’s show that I’ve watched regularly. During the first episode, before the contestants were introduced, I thought to myself, “Hey, I could do this. I’m creative. I could have fun living in a mansion in L.A. It would sure be a fun and challenging way to push myself to the next level.”

My jaw dropped once they started describing these competitors, for example Angela Ruggiero, a gold-medal winning Olympian; James Sun, an Internet company owner who turned $5,000 into $2 million by 23 years old or Martin Clarke, and attorney and professor.

Then I started watching how they cracked under pressure, yelled at each other, made terrible split-decisions and resigned because living in a tent is too hard. And I thought to myself, “Maybe I should have applied to be on the show.”

Sure I haven’t made $30 million in real estate over the past three months. But I can assure Trump I wouldn’t be a prissy loser.

Headline headhunting

2007-01-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

Jan. 21 roundup of important (and just plain interesting headlines):

Duck survives two days in fridge
7.3 Earthquake Rattles Northeast Indonesia
The woman who would be U.S. President
Borat's easy ... being me is odd
Tories announce energy efficiency plan

Why it's time to unplug

2007-01-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

When Apple announced the upcoming release of its new iPhone the story intrigued newspaper editors, TV news producers, radio reporters and Internet bloggers alike.

The follow-up story of Apple being sued over rights to the name iPhone has also drawn an abundance of column inches.
But what does all the attention focused on this product communicate about us?

Simply, it underscores how deeply entrenched technology has become in our lives.

Everywhere we look – on Vernon’s downtown sidewalks, in the Village Green mall, in high school hallways, etc. – people are talking on cellphones, listening to MP3 players or sending e-mails on their blackberries. When we get home from work or school we surf the Internet, then eat dinner as we watch TV; after supper, kids retire to their rooms to chat on MSN or play video games, while we watch a DVD or maybe do some after hours work on our laptop.

Certainly, new technology has proven its worth 1,000 fold through usefulness. Wishing to return to the dark ages would be nothing more than sentimental tom foolery.

It is, however, fair to say that we may have become overwhelmed by the speedy advances in technology and the head-spinning rate at which portable devices have become staples in our daily lives.

It’s required of us to make a conscious decision to slow down, and, take time to smell the roses, so to speak.

When was the last time, for example, you cooked without the TV blaring background noise? Ate with your family at the dinner table – and took time after the meal to drink a cup of coffee and talk? Drove home from work reflecting on the day in silence, rather than talking into a cellphone or listening to the radio? Enjoyed a quiet walk?

No doubt technology is a blessing, but it’s a mixed blessing. If we don’t take time to unplug, there’s a good chance we’ll overload.

– By David Wylie
(Editorial published in the Vernon Daily Courier, Jan. 15/07)

Profile of a rogue economist

2007-01-21T02:16:00.000-05:00

Finished the meat and potatoes of Freakonomics - by Steven D. Levitt (pictured left) & Stephen J. Dubner - while sitting in a coffee shop tonight.

Now I'm into the bonus material of the book, which starts with the original article written by Dubner, a journalist, in the New York Times Magazine (published in 2003) about Levitt, an economist. The article was the seed that grew into the bestselling non-fiction book.

It's an interesting piece that sets the stage perfectly for the book.

A full review will be coming this week. But for now, the article is noteworthy enough to post as a sort of prequel. I've put the first few paragraphs here to hook you.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Economist of Odd Questions
Inside the Astonishingly Curious Mind of Steven D. Levitt

By STEPHEN J. DUBNER
The New York Times Magazine (2003)

The most brilliant young economist in America-the one so deemed, at least, by a jury of his elders-brakes to a stop at a traffic light on Chicago's south side.

It is a sunny day in mid-June. He drives an aging green Chevy Cavalier with a dusty dashboard and a window that doesn't quite shut, producing a dull roar at highway speeds.

But the car is quiet for now, as are the noontime streets: gas stations, boundless concrete, brick buildings with plywood windows.

An elderly homeless man approaches. It says he is homeless right on his sign, which also asks for money. He wears a torn jacket, too heavy for the warm day, and a grimy red baseball cap.
The economist doesn't lock his doors or inch the car forward. Nor does he go scrounging for spare change. He just watches, as if through one-way glass. After a while, the homeless man moves along.

"He had nice headphones," says the economist, still watching in the rearview mirror. "Well, nicer than the ones I have. Otherwise, it doesn't look like he has many assets."

Click here for the full article

Obsessed

2007-01-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

Obsessed
TED DEKkER

Rating: 3 & 3/4 stars

It's an art for a writer to successfully blend the present with the past. Ted Dekker does this well in Obsessed.

The novel warrants only 3 & 3/4 stars due to the high-powered books Dekker has put out in the past - most notably, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red and White). I have high expectations from Dekker, and while the plot to this novel was a captivating and fast-paced story about Stephen, a Jewish man searching for identity after being orphaned in the Holocaust, it had parts where the main character acted so irrationally that the reader is lost scratching his head.

Being a fan of suspense novels that feature serial killers as the main antagonist, Dekker does flesh out a fairly believable villain in Roth Braun, a German who learned to savour lifting people's hopes as high as possible before crushing them. Braun's cunning keeps the reader on edge and keeps the novel moving forward at a speedy pace.

There are enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing throughout the book's 400 pages.

This book escapes the Christian stereotype completely by portraying God in a realistic way. The main character is Jewish, and not a Christian. He does believe in a God, and prays at times in desperation. One of the side characters is a Messianic Jew, who is refreshingly imperfect.

Overall, the book is a worthy read.

Fighting TMI!

2007-01-20T03:48:00.000-05:00

Back in junior high school, surrounded by my hormonal, pubescent friends, I was all too often exposed to some of their exploits surrounding the act of … making out with a girl (or boy depending on their sex).

The going saying at the time was TMI! TMI! – it was an acronym for Too Much Information!

That expression is subconsciously cried out by the masses throughout North America in one agonized cry – whether it’s over the excess choices in TV, books, Internet, video games, etc. etc., etc.

So to try and slice through the pop culture bologna, here’s a mixed bag of recommendations for getting the most for your time.

BOOKS: At the moment I’ve got three on the go. At the epitome of trying to fry my brain with TMI! I usually have a non-fiction, pulp fiction and literature book on my nightstand at all times. One of the best of the bunch I’ve read lately is the non-fiction thought-provoker, Freakonomics

Penned (or more accurately, typed) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics starts chapters by asking ridiculous questions, such as “What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?” or “How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?” Yes, the authors actually answer these enigmas, and at the end of each chapter I tend to scratch my head and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

WEB: Gone are the outdated days when I searched the Internet blindly, bereft of any aid in finding neat stuff. Now I Stumble. Sign up with www.stumbleupon.com (it only takes a second and it’s free) and this handy little program will bounce you from site to site based on your interests. You can click a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” icon on each site, and it will start to mould its search to your preferences. Very fun, but beware because you can literally waste hours this way. It also has a video search at video.stumbleupon.com

TV: I hate fragmenting stories, especially when they involve highly in-depth plots. I couldn’t imagine watching shows, such as 24 or Lost if I had to wait a week to see the next episode and try to remember what happened the week before. That’s why I rent them on DVD now. It takes a measure of discipline to keep from checking out what happens next on the Internet Movie Database, it costs a few bucks to rent them and it has me plugging my ears around the water cooler every so often. The pleasure of watching four episodes straight, however, blows those cons out of the water.

Speaking of plugging my ears, did anybody catch the season premier of American Idol? What’s that? Huh? I’m sorry I can’t hear you because I still have cotton in my ears from muffling the cracking voices of America’s worst tone deaf singers.

VIDEO GAMES: While all the gaming buzz still circles around the new PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii, Xbox is being ignored. That’s too bad. Anyone who’s in the market for a console system would be wise to consider Microsoft’s offering. The Xbox 360 is catching its stride and some of the games being put out on the platform are amazingly unique and beautiful. The big advantage to Xbox, however, is its rich online community.

Multiplayer games are all the rage. The only downside to playing online is having someone your kids’ age calling you names that would make you blush.

Then along comes 2 Old 2 Play, a website that only allows members who are 25 years old and up. If you’re looking for older gamers to play online with, this is the place to find them.

Happy reading, surfing, watching and gaming.

Lady in the Water

2007-01-20T03:18:00.000-05:00

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Tagged as "A bedtime story for a new generation"

Lady in the water is about a woman from "Blue World" who has come to an apartment complex seeking a special person she must meet before going back to her world.

Plot: strange, but interesting
Cinematography: good angles, pretty camera work
Script: funny at times, yet stereotypical

Who should see it: Anyone who enjoyed Big Fish; anyone who loves a strange fantasy story; anyone who is good at suspending disbelief