A proposal (not sure on the degree of modesty)

Freshly flush with xmas cash, I began looking for deals on video games; including my fuel for my addiction to plastic instrument-based rhythm gaming. Looking at the most recent entries Band Hero and Lego Rock Band to realize that between both games there were about ten songs I liked and around one hundred songs of varying degrees of crap. As I pondered this I realized the same thing about the on-disc songs of the games I own (Sturgeon's Law triumphs again!), but that 90% of the songs I had bought as DLC were awesome.

So he's the proposal: next major iteration of each franchise (GH6, RB3) ships with the no songs on disc, you get the full game engine and all the modes, but no songs just credit to download 60-80 songs from the online store and all the songs you would have put on a disc launching as DLC on the same day, allowing the user base to pick and choose what they want, making everyone happy. Or at least make me happy, which is all that really matters.

One more thing...

As a follow-up to the last post, have (select one of the following):
Merry Christmas
Happy Hannukah
Krazy Kwanzaa
Tip-top Tet
Cool Yule
Superb Saturnalia
Awesome Afflux
Bodacious Bhodi Day
Egregious Emperor's Birthday
Lovely Life-day
Hopped-up HumanLight
Extreme Eid al-Adha
Festivus for the Rest of us
Groovy Global Orgasm Day
International Sweater Vestival
Non-Heinous Ninja Day
Majorly sweet Monkey Day
Righteous Regifting Day
Nice Nickanan Night
Cooky Cookie day
Happy New Year!

And all you Atheists out there can enjoy the weather!

An open letter

Dear conservative Christian types,

It the time of year you guys stop uppity about the lack of passages from Exodus in the constitution, and start getting annoyed with the phrase "Happy Holidays" and begin ranting about the increased secularization of this time of year, which used to be all yours. This is not an attempt to marginalize or insult you all (for real, seriously) it's mostly just decent people trying to avoid insulting all the non-christians as the western world becomes increasingly multi-cultural and more and more religions seem to pop up.

On the other hand, I can see how you'd be upset that one group is co-opting one of your biggest festivals of the year, isn't that right guys?
Irony is a bitch, isn't it?

Pulps vs Supers and Why Atomic Robo is the best comic in print.

Yes I was among the people who tweeted about Robo which lead to this article. But I'm not really talking about the article itself but one of the comments to it:

Dolphinandrew wrote:

Sounds good. But I don't really see how it doesn't fit the description "superhero comic".It sounds very superhero-y.

And based on the description given in the article I can understand his confusion, which brings to mind the fine distinction between pulp fiction and superhero fiction. Superhero stories, in broad terms, are about costumed, superpowered, individuals fighting crime incognito, while pulp is more broad including S&S fantasy, lovecraftian horror, noir detective, and over the top two fisted action. Sure, Robo is more resilient than the average human, but Indiana Jones got dragged behind a truck for a mile without so much as a bruise, and he can heft a Buick, but the stories in Atomic Robo aren't about his powers it's about crazy awesome adventures and larger than life situations.

While I'm on the subject I may as well review the first two volumes of the series. I could talk about clever dialogue, endearing and interesting characters, great layout,and art that reminds me of the best of Mike Mignola and Genndy Tartakovsky, but anyone who knows me knows when I recommend something I do so by listing all the Awesome shit that happens in it so lets roll with that.

Volume 1:

* Robo blows up an immortal Nazi occultist while dragging a squad Nazi infantry
* Hurling Buicks at giant ants
* Steam-powered pyramid with a solar powered death ray, staffed by mummies.
* Robo, stuck on mars for a year without anything to do for year spends his time using rocks to spell out "Stephen Hawking is a bastard" so large its visible from orbit
* Nazi cyborgs, lead by a cackling mad scientist
* Edison summons the ghost of Rasputin to discredit Tesla

Volume 2 (set mostly during WWII):

* Dieslepunk mecha
* Slavering, mad, genetically engineered super soldiers
* Train-top fight
* Incomprehensible Scottish commando kicking 17 kinds of ass while dragging a disassembled robo
* A freaking weather cannon
* Giant enemy crab
* 60 ft tall robot created by north koreans invading Seoul

Yeah, the comic runs on mad science and coolnees cranked to 11, and I can't wait for volume 3.

Tvtropes has ruined my life I waste altogether too much on that site. when i could be wasting my time watching cartoons or something. Also most of the tropes have crept into my regular vocabulary, making it awkward for anyone not familiar with the lingo.

Trends

Cruising through the fantasy section of of a bookstore the other day and noticed that a lot of urban fantasy/paranormal novel cover all seem to have one of the following two elements:

A Full Moon
A shot of a woman from behind
A tramp stamps to go with that shot
Woman looking over the shoulder
Bladed weaponry for no discernible reason.

What's the deal with that?

Soundtrack of my life

MY LIFE ACCORDING TO The Who:

Are you a male or female:
Dreaming from the Waist

Describe yourself:
Mike Post Theme

How do you feel:
Whiskey Man

Describe where you currently live:
The Good's Gone

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Run Run Run

Your favorite form of transportation:
Glittering Girl

I suppose I like to
Cousin Kevin

Thought for the Day:
It's Hard

Your closest friend?
I am the Sea

I think Sunrise sums them all up.

You and your friends are:
We Got A Hit

What's the weather like:
Fortune Teller

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Cooks Country

What is life to you:
Too much of Anything

Your relationship:
Christmas

What do think of when you think of love:
I've Had Enough

Your fear:
Odorono

What is the best advice you have to give:
I Can't Reach

How I would like to die:
Batman

My soul's present condition:
I'm One

My motto:
Baby Don't you do it.