A Living Punchline I remember when Pee Wee got busted for diddling himself in public and how the jokes circulated like wildfire. I also remember the first time Michael Jackson got busted for child molestation and the subsequent avalanche of Jacko jokes.
I understand that Michael Jackson has turned into something of a public freak, seeming to only be there for our bemusement and wonder. We’ve all seen the television specials, the burned hair, the baby-dangling incident, the MTV Music Video Awards pre-show kiss, the monkeys, the bizarre friendships with child actors, etc. The list goes on forever.
I’m not going to discuss this thing too much as I’m sure we’re all “enjoying” the minute-by-minute coverage the story is probably getting around the world. But I did hear the press conference given today by the police in California and was incredibly disturbed by how informal and almost jovial it was. The authorities seemed almost as eager as the press to turn this into a light-hearted affair by cracking jokes and making light of what is still a multiple child molestation charge. I don’t care who the accused is, this is serious stuff.
Perhaps it’s the fault of our lightening-fast communication technology and our 24/7 coverage of the scandal of the week that our senses have perhaps been dulled to the point of apathy when something as potentially tragic as multiple child molestation occurs.
Just stay the hell away from my inbox with the new wave of Jacko Jokes.
Hoosegow Do I bother to apologize for not updating since Sunday? Nah. Hopefully from Sunday’s entry no explanation is needed.
So when the GWX staff isn’t at eachother’s throats regarding the new layout and the impending relaunch, I’ve been spending a great deal of time actually playing video games. I know, it’s a strange concept, but it turns out that every now and then I actually do get time to sit down and play one of the games that is in my cue. And believe me, that cue is growing by the day.
I’ll have my Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando review for you shortly, but in case you’re interested, and in case your decision to purchase this game hinges on the questionable value of one man’s opinion, I will assure you that Going Commando is the single best platform game released in 2003. And they accomplished that feat by not trying to create Ratchet Theft Auto, like some other franchises out there. Instead of reinventing the wheel, so to speak, Insomniac beefed up and refined last year’s excellent adventure, nearly perfecting each aspect.
Onto Mario Kart. Joe’s review will be up by Thursday, I’m told, but in the meantime I’d like to share a few thoughts. Perhaps by now you know the negatives: no hop, no drag and drop technique, and the multiplayer courses don’t seem as enjoyable as they were on the N64. Of course, I’ve only played for about two hours thus far, but that’s my early impression. So not only have they ditched the hop and the drag and drop – two features that I used regularly – apparently, surrounding oneself with the three turtle shells doesn’t protect you anymore. Again, I may be wrong in this, but it didn’t seem to work for me last night.
Despite these glaring omissions, just playing Mario Kart makes me giddy. I’m not talking giddy as in “I just found a quarter!” giddy. No, I’m talking “My name is Aaron Hilden and I just found out they’re giving away free sex-change operations at the clinic!” giddy.
He’s going to punch me for that.
Anyway, points can be made about how Mario Kart is another example of Nintendo’s hypocritical rehashing and franchise-mania, but the sheer joy you feel when zipping down DK Mountain cannot be argued with. Double Dash is a stellar game and if that makes me a blind Nintendo fanboy, then call me Stevie Wonder.
I hope you remember Jacob “The GameCube Guy”. He’s written in a few times and provided links to his Cube fansite. His reviews are not only well-written, but they’re also amusing as hell. He does great parodies and I fully encourage you to visit his site. Also, make sure you check out his F-Zero GX review.
Alessandro writes:
Ciao John, I finally watched Ang Lee's rendition of The Hulk on DVD and -guess what- it's a good film. I expected a dumb movie with CG overkill and lots of cheap characters, but Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly (not to mention Nick Nolte) amazed me in a positive sense. I'd say that the second part becomes a little too action-oriented, while the first part is too much brains, but as a whole package the film stands on his own, big, feet. Way better than Daredevil, a great disappointment which underlines Ben Affleck's inability to act.
Keep on cookin'
-Alez-
Actually, I’ve had a Hulk screener sitting on my desk since late summer but haven’t had a chance to watch the damn thing. I’m not expecting a whole lot from the movie, so I don’t imagine I’ll walk away from it as “outraged” as your typical comic book geek. Alez, I’m guessing that your take on it is probably similar to what mine will be once I actually get around to watching it.
Regarding Daredevil, the fact that I never got into the comic and I have no desire to see Ben Affleck in red tights pretty much means that I’ll probably never watch the movie.
I feel that I should let you know that I will be holding off on the regular contests until after the relaunch. I hope that doesn’t mean you’ll all desert me until then.
Gadgets are great. I love little electronic toys and gizmos. I love fancy cell phones, PDAs, and laptops. Discovering a new feature or Star Trek-like do-dad makes my left nipple tender. Yes, I would say that all in all, I love technology.
When it works.
When it doesn't, I turn into a drooling, cursing, rage-aholic that cannot be reasoned with until I destroy everything in my path. In fact, at this moment, it's all I can do to peck out this little message to you without throwing my fist through my monitor. So please understand that the brevity of today's entry is necessary for my health. Just one extra moment could cause the vein in my forehead to burst.
However, I do have to relay a very important message to you all before I toss this friggin' thing out the window. As many of you may know, GWX has been promising a relaunch of the site for many moons now. I'm sure those who were actually somewhat enthusiastic about the relaunch have since lost interest. The good news is that in the next couple of weeks we will be putting the final touches on our new layout and our new site features and we hope to roll out the upgrade by the end of the month. Now don't come back to me on December 1st and complain that the new layout isn't up as this deadline is far from final. However, we hope the wait will be worthwhile when you see what we're attempting to do.
The bad news is that content may be a bit slim as we concentrate our efforts on the relaunch. Don't fret, we'll still have plenty of news, previews, and reviews for your entertainment. Unfortunately, the features like the Editor's Roundtable, Brendon's Editorials, Classic Game of the Week, and Week in Review may slip off the radar momentarily.
