Monday, July 26, 2010

Spy & Pyro



One of the greatest video game fan films ever, its creators have clearly played a lot of Valve games and watched a lot of classic WB and Ren & Stimpy cartoons.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

When It Comes To Music, Try Harder



Your taste in music needs work - even if its already very good. You need to buy more new music, and explore new horizons. Im not saying that to any one person who reads this blog, Im saying it to everyone, because its true - and it applies to me as well.



Listening to music is extremely difficult. Anyone who tells you otherwise isnt really listening. Sure they may "hear" the music thats playing in the background, but they arent listening to it.



Truly listening to music, as an activity, has pretty much died off. Nowadays, people just throw on some MP3s while they surf the web, play some games, do work around the house, or exercise.



But how many of us really dedicate time not only to truly listening to music, but listening to new music or music which we dont think we like?



The answer is very very few. What was once an activity for the whole family in the 1960s, 70s and 80s has morphed into a pursuit for elitists and freaks - musicologists and audiophiles.



How many of us have an exhaustive collection of punk, rockabilly, jazz, hip hop, trance, dub, metal, funk, classic rock, bubblegum pop, classical, avante garde, blues, modern rock, reggae, world music, classic rap, and country - let alone the dozens of other genres I didnt list? None of us - and its shameful, and its simply because we are lazy.



You think music type X sucks? No, you suck, because you are too lazy and too closeminded to open your brain to trying something which is radically different.


You dont want to put in the effort to retrain your brain to like country music, or rap, or bubblegum pop, or whatever it is that you find unlistenable.



Im not saying that everything ever recorded is great. Im simply saying that for each genre, there are great artists and great albums, and if you cant appreciate them, its simply because you are either genetically defective, or you arent trying hard enough.



So stop making excuses and stop listening to the same thing over and over. To paraphrase the great George Clinton, Free your mind, And Your Ears Will Follow.



Monday, July 19, 2010

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty Trailer



So after over a decade of waiting, Starcraft 2 is finally coming out next week. The beta test formally came to an end today, and having played it a fair amount I have to say Im excited for the full release. I think Blizzard is making a mistake by not launching the game on the 360 and PS3 at the same time as the PC version, but they have their own way of doing things and if the game is as successful as anticipated then even the Wii will probably see a port. Between this game and Civilization 5 coming out later this year, and The Old Republic next year, I have to say Im excited at the possibility of getting back into PC gaming. As you can see from my Steam card on the right, I havent been playing much at all lately, mostly just indie games and coin-op MAME stuff. Starcraft 2 has a great chance of being the game that finally pulls me away from my 360 for a while. Halo Wars is a great game, but Starcraft is a sport.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

MegaMan Universe Announced


Capcom has announced a "revolution in classic gaming" - MegaMan Universe. There are no real details about the game so far, but we know that its not a continuation of the 8 bit series. Is it a MegaMan MMO? LittleBigMegaMan with user created levels? Who knows. After the last two games in the series, its clear that the people at Capcom know what they are doing with this franchise, and personally I cant wait to see what this new iteration actually is, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Duck Tales - The Moon



One of the greatest 8 bit songs ever put into a ROM, by Capcom of course.

Monday, July 12, 2010

You're In Trouble WSOP 2009


This year one of my good poker buddies is playing in the WSOP Main Event, and believe it or not 97 year old Jack Ury is playing in it as well again in 2010. Thats the true beauty of poker - anyone can play it, and its a game you play for life. If you play basketball or football into your late 30s, you'd be considered lucky. Baseball players start to lose a step in their mid 30s, although some can play into their 40s, unlike other major sports. There are professional pool players in their 50s and 60s. Some folks can play games like tennis or Halo well into their 70s. For highly complex games like Chess or Bridge, the upper limit for competent play might be your late 80s. But poker is such a simple game, and requires no real physical effort other than sitting at the table, that there is no age limit. Something tells me I might not make it quite to the century mark, but but if I do, rest assured I will still be playing poker.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch Trailer



Fan created DOOM mod that allows multiplayer 2.5D megaman.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Portal 2 Trailer


It appears GLaDOS is still alive, how about the "readership" of this blog? I know you guys are out there lurking, you dont have to comment much just a one sentence quip will suffice to let me know if you find a post interesting. Ive been trying to post more, but its hard to get motivated to actually write, so its been mostly videos lately, and pretty random ones at that. Im still trying to get MD to create a new blog header. You guys have any ideas? Im thinking something along the lines of, CrunchyBlog 2.0 A completely random assortment of videos, game reviews, news, politics and poker.