This is how you get out of debt
[Via Bonnie and Clyde, Thanks Sara!]
I run this joint. Don’t know where to start? Let me show you around:
[Via Bonnie and Clyde, Thanks Sara!]
For any interested, here is a handful of my recently published video game works after my visit to Baton Rouge two weeks ago.
The 10 Most Underrated Consoles (GamePro) — The road to modern video games is littered with the corpses of noble game consoles who flew too high to the sun. Here are the 10 best under-achievers of all-time.
Not Every Politician Hates Video games (Crispy Gamer) — At a VIP game developer event in a secluded upstairs San Francisco lounge, a well-dressed man in his 50s is making the rounds. “Hello, I’m the mayor of Baton Rouge.” “Do you just walk around calling yourself a mayor?” asks one doubting attendee. “No, I’m really the mayor of of Baton Rouge…” Continue reading…
I had the opportunity to mix business with pleasure and attend Coachella in Palm Springs over the weekend. Here are my fragmented thoughts:
I’m a younger brother and LOL’d upon seeing this (via Digg).
Crispy Gamer examines the decline of printed videogame manuals.
Instruction manuals are on life support. If you haven’t noticed already, the once-precious and colorful booklets have recently been reduced to a few black and white pages. Call of Duty 4 is a fitting case in point. Despite containing just six paltry pages of printed user instruction (PDF here), the first-person shooter would go on to become the best-selling game of 2007. The undecorated manual obviously wasn’t missed.
“Not all 🙂 as informal writing creeps into teen assignments,” reads a clever AP headline. Here’s an excerpt:
It’s nothing to LOL about: Despite best efforts to keep school writing assignments formal, two-thirds of teens admit in a survey that emoticons and other informal styles have crept in… “It’s a teachable moment,” said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at Pew. “If you find that in a child’s or student’s writing, that’s an opportunity to address the differences between formal and informal writing. They learn to make the distinction … just as they learn not to use slang terms in formal writing.”
First of all, I love how avant guard the Associated Press was in using that playful headline in a formal news report. Secondly, I whole heartily agree that there’s a time and a place for informality. That goes for speech as well.
At a VIP game developer event in a secluded upstairs San Francisco lounge, a well-dressed man in his 50s is making the rounds. “Hello, I’m the mayor of Baton Rouge.”
“Do you just walk around calling yourself a mayor?” asks one doubting attendee.
“No, I’m really the mayor of of Baton Rouge.”
And he is. His name is Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden, and he was attending the Game Developers Conference for the second time in as many years. He wouldn’t be there (or be a sponsor) if he didn’t like videogames — or at least what they’ve already done and potentially will do for his city’s inhabitants.
BATON ROUGE, La. – While most U.S. cities push biotech to drive economic growth, one municipality is using video games to do the same — Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It’s an unlikely match, given the establishment of California as the nation’s video game capital, but one the fast-growing Southern city is convinced will be its future just the same.
The interest in bringing video game developers to Baton Rouge started in 2005, prior to Hurricane Katrina, to complement the area’s strong ties to film production. Louisiana is currently third in U.S. film production after California and New York, says the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which saw the overlapping opportunity of video games and acted on it.
American Way has a whimsical article in their April 15 issue which profiles distinct-looking, non attractive amateur models, and how they’re making one New York agency popular with advertisers seeking greater image authenticity.
DiNardo, at 6 feet tall and 170 pounds, with stringy locks held back by a headband and tufts of hair encircling his chin, could be any random guy you’d pass on the street. And that’s the reason that Simon Rogers, owner and CEO of Ugly NY, wants to represent him. “Tom’s very arresting, isn’t he?” Rogers says admiringly.
Ugly commissions range from an occasional few hundred dollars to $2,000/shoot — hardly substantial, but gravy for people who were never looking to model in the first place. I love seeing people zig while others zag and get rewarded for it.
My whole life I’ve been ridiculed by numerous persons for my taste in music, my wife Lindsey included. Imagine my satisfaction then, to discover her current iTunes playlist, of which 43 percent of the songs were introduced to her by yours truly (highlighted in blue). Not bad, eh?
I can’t take all the credit, however. The following individuals have greatly influenced my love of music from five years of age to my current 28: My mom and dad. My sisters Summer and Lexia (Cami and Sara weren’t the most vanguard at the time). My brother Brooks. Dylan Denney. Josh Rhine. Wesley Lovvorn. Tim Mobley. Chris Carrino. Chris Chatlean. Tim Ormond. Micah Alldrege. Jon Reed. Jared Richards. Lindsey Snow. Eric Larsen. Steven Smith. Matt Andersen. David Cole. Chris Morell. Kyle Crane.
I’m forgetting several more, but those are the ones that stand out. Thanks for tipping me off to distinct tune-age, all!
I work as a volunteer youth leader in my not-so-spare time. Last week, I offered to chaperone a campout for the following Friday, even though I hadn’t been camping in more than five years (note: I define camping as at least sleeping in a tent).
To be honest, I initially decided to go to merely show my support for the younglings. Up until then, I had largely written-off camping as a boring activity I’d like to avoid in favor of sleeping on a comfy Serta mattress in a controlled environment.
I have since changed my mind, however, taking a strong liking to the removal of technology and simple satisfaction found in pitching a tent, cooking a limited meal, and surrounding a fire with friends. My recent experience was so positive, in fact, that I convinced Lindsey to let me splurge on a complete camping set the following Saturday.
Suffice it to say I’ll be going more frequently now. I’m still camping retarded, but I’m anxious to become one with nature again… and then return to my comfy Serta.
The road to modern video games is littered with the corpses of noble game consoles who flew too high to the sun. Here are the 10 best under-achievers of all-time.
I returned home from a press junket to Baton Rouge on Wednesday, and here are some thoughts I haven’t had time to talk about:
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Mr. Bright Side, here, back with more. This time, I focus on the increasing role of videogames as rehabilitation products, surgical guiding lights, brain developers, an aid to cancer researchers and tools for paramedics training — no, I’m not making this stuff up.
Videogames have seen their share of forgettable taglines over the years. In 1993, Atari challenged prospective buyers to “Do the math” when considering an upgrade to their not-quite 64-bit console, the Jaguar. Gamers “did the math,” weren’t impressed, and decided to wait another year or so before upgrading to a PlayStation. Similarly, Nintendo told gamers to “Get N, or get out!” while promoting their third-generation console, the Nintendo 64- to which most people “got out” when compared to unit sales of Sony’s competing system.
But the industry has also seen its share of amusing, intelligent and effective taglines. Here are Next-Gen’s top 10 pics:
According to Wikipedia, milk was first delivered in bottles on January 11, 1878. As of April 14, 2008, it is still delivered to Wasatch Front doorsteps in plastic jugs.
Though Lindsey and I had heard and tried Winder Dairy in the past, we recently become customers in a cooperative with our downstairs neighbors, the Johnstuns. We pay about a dollar more per gallon than we would at retail. The milk (not to mention bread, cheese, and whatnot) is not only deliciously fresh, but it’s delivery method is loaded with history, something I’m convinced makes the cow extract taste even better.
To my surprise, milk is still delivered in isolated regions of the United States, but it’s seemingly a rare luxury for most. It’s amazing how long older technologies can endure, and with the quiet resurgence of web-to-order grocery delivery, the milkman may still have a future.
Fun Fact: I was in talks with Winder Dairy many years ago as a web consultant to redesign their website.
Every so often, when my technology gets out of hand, I trim fat to reduce unwanted noise — to simplify my life.
Last year, I put my RSS reader on a diet, going from over 400 subscriptions to just 67 (I’m down to 46 currently). This year I’m cutting two “unsociable” networks from my geek intake: LinkedIn, the high school year book of web professionals, and My Space, the new Hotmail of social networks.
LinkedIn is stale, lifeless, and has yielded zero fruit for me personally since first joining in 2004. So I’ve begun the archaic process of deleting my 90 connection account via email, as opposed to a simple button click and confirmation (I told you they were stale). I’ve heard the removal turnaround can take weeks. I’ll update if and when it happens.
Additionally, I’m deleting my unused My Space account after less than a year of membership. Sure it let me connect with old high school buddies, but the site is trashy and far inferior to Facebook.
So long, suckers.
Blake Snow examines gaming benevolence and creative development twice monthly. The color of next-gen is bright.
Mr. Bright Side, here, back with more. This time, I focus on the increasing role of videogames as rehabilitation products, surgical guiding lights, brain developers, an aid to cancer researchers and tools for paramedics training — no, I’m not making this stuff up.
It’s easy to understand how conventional gamers and industry pundits may have grown tired of the positive media coverage enjoyed by Nintendo Wii since first launching more than a year and a half ago. Indeed, Nintendo took press clippings to a whole new level at E3 2007, when it incessantly showed a stream of favorable “we told you so” videos, but if you don’t get warm and fuzzy watching the “Wii Being Used as Therapy” story that was televised on “The Today Show” in March, you have a heart of coal.
The paltry entry on video games from the Microsoft-owned encyclopedia currently has only one sentence regarding Wii’s popularity: “The introduction of Wii made Nintendo once again a major player in the video game industry.”
That’s accurate. And I wouldn’t expect up to date specifics — this isn’t Wikipedia, after all. But the language seems to deemphasize reality upon further reading from the same paragraph which quickly shifts gears:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMSinyx_Ab0[/youtube]
I just finished watching IJsbrand van Veelen’s excellent 50-minute documentary on the glamorization of amateur content producers and the potential negative effects that it may or may not have on society, especially as experts (informed individuals who work for, reason with, and experience wisdom) are waning in popularity. Here are some thoughts: Continue reading…
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=CrvFo2VosO0[/youtube]
I’ve never liked Pontiacs. At all. On the contrary, I’ve always loved BMWs, and still do. So its a powerful thing when a clever, photo still, and fresh commercial makes an American automobile look somewhat compelling when compared to German engineering. Very nice form.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=_unHjRntc9I[/youtube]
After much deliberation, and nearly two decades later, I have finally made up my mind: The Promise by When In Rome is the greatest one-hit wonder from the Eighties. It’s better than Devo’s Whip It, better than A-Ha’s Take On Me (A-ha), more lasting than Come On Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, more diverse than Tainted Love by Soft Cell, and has more heart than Rapper’s Delight by the Sugarhill Gang. It’s so choice, as is the beat, the contrasting vocals, and the splendid synth bass.
The hair? Not so much.
It pays to embrace inventive controls — just asked Nintendo, Activision, MTV Games, and Electronic Arts. The latter of which did so using a traditional controller even when in 2007 it released Skate, a game that outsold Tony Hawk’s latest by 2 to 1. What’s more, Skate was available on three fewer systems.
The reason for its success is simple: more gratifying controls.
Unlike the once-pioneering Tony Hawk series that relies heavily on button mashing, Skate lets players capture the feeling of skateboarding by executing timed gestures onto dual thumbsticks, with little dependence on buttons. EA calls it “Flickit” controls.
From the Associated Press:
Alex Rodriguez makes more this year than his hometown Florida Marlins. Boosted by his new deal with the New York Yankees, A-Rod tops the major league baseball salary list at $28 million, according to a study of contract terms by The Associated Press. The 33 players on the Marlins’ opening-day roster and disabled list total $21.8 million.
“The Marlins? It’s amazing,” said Rodriguez. “And they still seem to find a way to be very competitive.”
It is amazing, A-Rod. It really is.
I always get a good chuckle hearing people say something other than “Internet.” Having personally celebrated over 50 years* online, these are my favorite alternatives:
Engadget tells the story: “So last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Yep, seriously.”
If you read the legalese, the company says it “holds trademark protection for this use of this color in connection with its products and services around the world.”
Since when could you copyright a color, even in connection with a product or service? Ridiculous — otherwise Apple could sue any computer-maker that used the color white (though white’s not really a color, so that opens another can of worms).
Atta way to exploit legal muscle, T-Mobile. Nice form. Really. This totally makes me want to stay with you instead of jumping to AT&T’s iPhone.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCRimwRGLs[/youtube]
IDG News (whom I freelance for) reports: “Microsoft’s brand power has been in sharp decline over the past four years, an indication the company is losing credibility and mindshare with U.S. business users, according to a recent study by market research firm CoreBrand.”
I enjoy seeing fat business cows get a proper market cleansing.
Arcade golf games haven’t changed much. You mash a button to start a swing, hit it a second time to mark your power, and press it third time to dictate shot accuracy. The fifth version of the long-running Hot Shots Golf series for PlayStation 3 closely follows this formula, and that’s not a bad thing — after all these years, the simple gameplay continues to satisfy, and a fresh coat of HD paint is just gravy.
I’ve always thought these two looked eerily similar, and now I have proof. Ferriss is clearly a strawberry blonde Steve-O. And with that, I have finally become a niche celebrity blogger. It only took me three years.
See also: Book review: The 4-Hour Work Week
Contrary to popular belief suggesting that radical transparency is the best modern way to operate a business, Apple has circled its competition by being radically opaque, according to Wired Magazine.
No other company has proven as adept at giving customers what they want before they know they want it. Undoubtedly, this is due to Jobs’ unique creative vision. But it’s also a function of his management practices. By exerting unrelenting control over his employees, his image, and even his customers [while endorsing secrecy], Jobs exerts unrelenting control over his products and how they’re used. And in a consumer-focused tech industry, the products are what matter.
Though I believe Steve Jobs is a management anomaly, there’s obviously more than one way to make an honest buck. In any case, follow the Wired link for an insightful and challenging viewpoint on closed communication.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9eAiy0IGBI[/youtube]
I like Vampire Weekend. A lot. I’ve listened to their eponymous debut album at least 30 times in the last four days since first discovering it on Friday (Thanks, David!). It is talented, fresh, clever, catchy, concise, smart, dance-inducing, daring, abnormal, and familiar all in one. It’s the “newest” kind of Rock N’ Roll I’ve heard in 10 years.
File Dropper: Great for sending large files across the internets in two easy steps. Get that cumbersome FTP upload process out of my face!
I nuke hard sell comments as soon as they are published to Smooth Harold (read: “Nice blog! Check out this really cool snake oil!”). I also reserve the right to delete profane or otherwise mindless provocative comments while Akismet takes care of the spam.
But what do I do with soft sell comments? The comments that are relevant and might add value to some readers even if a salesman is behind them.
After a quick and entertaining three days, I finished reading The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself by Rodney Mullen, the most influential skater in history. No, it’s not a how-to book, as my wife first believed
Written in 2004 with the help of author Sean Mortimer, The Mutt has less to do with skateboarding and more to do with lifehacks, storytelling, business, relationships, and trying to please an impossible father. Mullen is obviously neurotic, but he comes off being genuine and likable in the book. And it’s easy to see how he became the greatest in his field, arguably more so than Tony Hawk, due to his insane work ethic. Just reading about his stingy regime makes me feel lazy, but it’s also motivating.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrlIhO7bJgI[/youtube]
Without marketing dollars which he sorely lacked, Ron Paul didn’t stand a chance at becoming U.S. president. But you can’t deny his message, which is the federal government has grossly overextended itself leading to a decrease in privacy, liberty, security, and economic stability.
Smaller government and fiscal responsibility, please. Please — it’s the only way we can get back on track, like putting an oxygen mask on yourself before helping others.
A closer look at the rise of lengthy videogame names by Blake Snow.
In the second week of November 2007, publishers released an unprecedented number of multiplatform videogames at the height of holiday shopping. Interestingly, more than half of the listed games employed subtitles in their titling, via the use of colons. This represents a far cry from the use of subtitles 10 years ago, which stood at just 30 percent of games.
Continue reading… [Crispy Gamer]
After four years, I canceled my Vonage line on Friday. I only used 20 minutes per month on average over the last year, so it made sense in my case to ditch the service, even though it works fine. Instead, I will rely solely on Blackberry and Skype for voice chat, as I have done for personal use since 2003.
I have so far managed to cut back my phone use by only answering expected or known calls. I check voice mail as soon as I’m notified, and I have a policy of returning both calls and emails within two working hours.
I tell my professional contacts that email is “preferred,” and my cell phone is “secondary.” To further encourage asynchronous communication, I reward emailers with faster response times. It works cleverly well, and I’m one step closer to my goal of ditching web access for an entire year. Whatever it takes.
For whatever reason, Lindsey started making delicious cheese and chocolate fondue for dinner last December. We’ve had it five or six times in little more than three months now, and I’m in love — particularly with the cheese dipped French bread.
My wife’s recipe is even better than the Melting Pot (no kidding) and comes at a substantial discount. For a mere $40, you can feed six adults fresh bread, strawberries, apples, bananas, lil’ smokies, pound cake, pretzels, marshmallows, and oreos with chocolate to spare. It’s so win.
So dust off that fondue set you received as a wedding gift but never used. You won’t be disappointed. In the off chance you are, I’ll harass you like sushi-junkie.
Fun fact: The Swiss invented fondue to enable the digestion of stale bread that had become so hard it could be “chopped with an ax.” Oh, and don’t mouth the dipping fork, you pig.
If you haven’t listened to Spoon already, I exhort you to do so immediately. They are quite possibly my favorite indie band of the decade, and their appeal spans generations (read: is accessible to all), I promise.
Having said that, here are my top 10 favorite tracks from the Austin-based band, independent of albums: Continue reading…
When will software executives finally learn that speed of functionality will always trump bells and whistles. You’d think RedZee and SearchMe would already know this after the “we’ve got more glitz” Ask.com called it quits last week.
Build a better mouse trap, people — not a sexier one. Google is number one because it returns relevant results faster than others. It takes a lot more than good looks to be “cool.”
I looked outside my living room window last week to find quite the commotion. There were numerous service vehicles, police officers, firemen, and gas technicians eerily backing away from my condo. It should be noted that the department of transportation is widening the road in front of my place.
So I step outside my door to hear and smell a gas leak. A pretty sizable one, according to my senses. Continue reading…
What is it with sushi evangelicals? It’s as if rice rolls suddenly became the mana of the gods.
For the record, I’ve eaten at four sushi bars in my life, all of which were “the best” according to those who insisted I come. All attempts have been futile, however, because I don’t care for sushi — no matter what kind or who’s serving.
I learned a valuable and humbling lesson as a parent yesterday: the unharmed sister or brother isn’t necessarily the one to blame. In other words, don’t jump to conclusions.
After feeding both Sadie and Maddie early in the morning while Lindsey slumbered, I laid Maddie on our tall ottoman to perfect my laptop father skills. Moments later, while entrenched in technology, I heard a “Maddie’s falling” accompanied by a heavy thud. I looked up from my PowerBook to find a suspicious looking Sadie standing over a fallen Maddie, who was now crying loudly.
Thanks to Good Morning America, we now know that the popular Airborne cold remedy is nothing more than an “extraordinarily expensive Vitamin C delivery system.” A placebo.
The Alka-Seltzer-like mixture originally claimed to be the “miracle cold buster” that could “get rid of most colds in 1 hour.” The company has since watered down those claims, obviously to avoid further litigation.
While on a recent cruise, I played on-board tennis with a Belgian girl and a married couple from South African. It was decided that I would play doubles with the Belgian, upon which she asked, “Which side would you like to play?”
I answered her question with a question: “Which side would you like play?”
“No, I’m asking you a question,” she authoritatively said in a thick European accent.
“Oh, right — I guess you did. I’ll take the right side,” I responded.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the language confrontation. In trying to be overly courteous, as many Americans do, I complicated what should have been a simple exchange. The take-away: forced modesty should always be avoided.
2008 may end up being the year of the sequel. Just listen to this lineup of high-profile follow-ups: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Grand Theft Auto IV, Ninja Gaiden 2, StarCraft 2, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Resident Evil 5, Mario Kart Wii, Guitar Hero 4, Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, and Call of Duty 5. Hopefully these games warrant their existence, and we’re confident many will.
But what about new games, the ones that lead not just follow? Marketing types call them “original IPs;” we call them risk-takers. So in an effort to applaud their individuality, we profile the most promising ones for the rest of the year, based on first-impressions, breakout potential, and pedigree. A handful of titles are based on existing themes and ideas, but their creative spirit should not be overlooked.
Blake Snow examines gaming benevolence and creative development twice monthly. The color of next-gen is bright.
In 2007, a fictional food critic by the name of Antone Ego aptly described mass media and its audience when he wrote: “We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read.”
Ego’s definition couldn’t have been wiser. Indeed, positive news has long since taken a backseat to negative reporting, with the former often compressed to a 20-second closing spot in a 30-minute telecast.
The same is true of videogames, if not by more, which have long been vilified and blamed for idleness, poor grades, insensitivity and random acts of violence by the mainstream media. Interestingly, even the gaming press has become more grumpy in recent years, adding drama where there is none to be found, discouraging industry growth and change, and forgetting the playful nature of videogames altogether.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tIyt8oSLVs[/youtube]
Randy Pausch, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, clearly understands the value of life. His thoughts on carpe diem, achieving your childhood dreams, and materialism are precise, inspired, and honest (no gimmicks here).
At the time of his discourse (Sept. 2007), doctors said Pausch would have “three to six months” to live. As of today, he is still alive. His original full-length lecture at Carnegie Mellon can be found here.
See also: My attempts to be a shoe designer | You have a choice
In speaking with a 14 year-old boy at church a few weeks back, this was the reply given when I asked how he was doing:
My mom grounded me because I came home past my curfew last week. It sucks — she took away my PS2 and all my girl jeans.
The grounding and PS2 parts I can relate to. I was a boy not long ago (and still am to an extent). But the confiscated girl jeans as punishment? I just don’t get it, even if that’s what budding hipsters are wearing now.
Blake, I’d like you to meet Behind The Times. Behind The Times, say hello to Blake.