Power of the Human Voice

Saw this on Facebook. (Jamal, I think it was yours.) I love musical instruments, but we often forget that one of the most effective and adaptable instruments is carried with us everywhere we go. A single voice can haunt or inspire, whether in a video game cutscene or in concert. You just need to know […]

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Another ACL TV Show Experience

Back to ACL TV! When it rains it pours. And in a good way. Last Tuesday, it was ACL TV show time again. I was fortunate enough (and yes, willing enough to wait in line for 45 minutes in the 100 degree heat) to land tickets to the ACL TV taping for Allen Toussaint. I […]

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Cheetah with Bolt – Now Cheesier

Cheetah with Bolt Makes My Mouth Hurt My friend Nicol and I were watching TV half-heartedly and we saw one of those Grande commercials go by, advertising some accelerated internet service in Austin called “Cheetah with Bolt.” I’m not sure what Cheetah with Bolt is. Sounds like a new costumed crimefighting team. Anyhow, Nicol admitted […]

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ACL TV Show Recap

An ACL TV taping is a once-in-a-lifetime experience You ever been to an ACL TV show taping? If you live in Austin, or visit Austin occasionally, you owe it to yourself to go to an Austin City Limits taping. It’s like a backyard concert with 320 of your closest friends, listening to an amped-up performance […]

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The Do Not Call List

The Do Not Call List Is Broken The Do Not Call List is another new feature on our modern communications landscape, and it’s one I’m not particularly fond of. You see, the Do Not Call List does exactly what you don’t want it to do — it makes your phone number readily available to telemarketers. […]

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Videogame Writing Influences TV?

EDGE Thinks Videogame Writing Is Affecting Television Plots Rely on EDGE Magazine to throw out some interesting memes. Today I stumbled upon this thought – that some of the hot new television writing is actually becoming more like videogame writing. And not in a good way: TV is yet another medium struggling to compete against […]

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EGM Magazine is Dead

EGM Magazine Closed by Buyer Well, EGM Magazine lovers… I feel guilty, although I probably shouldn’t. On Jan. 7th, Ziff Davis announced that they’ve closed down the entire EGM magazine publishing operation, only days after my post criticizing the clipping problem they had on their Gears of War 2 cover. Okay, I admit that there’s […]

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The videogame writing smackdown of the month

The videogame writing quandry Videogame writing often gets overlooked in the modern videogame development process. There’s no hiding from the raw facts. From EGM’s review of Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360: AITD wants to emulate the presentation of serial television, but neither the writing nor the “performances” compare to even TV’s least-essential shows. […]

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Gears of War 2 gets a new smoke grenade

Gears of War fans, rejoice. The gameplay for those previously useless smoke grenades is getting a facelift. In the first Gears of War, the smoke grenades were as useful as they would be in a Quake 3 deathmatch. There’s really nothing tactical about GoW; it’s a pure twitch game with zero stealth. And I’m not […]

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Best videogame monster

Best videogame monster: now accepting your nominations The best videogame monster. Now that’s a competitive category. Like best movie villain, except a heck of a lot more likely to make your palms sweat. Even if you’re a novice videogamer, you’ve probably seen your share of incredible videogame monsters. Some examples that spring to my mind: […]

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