Life's Spoiler Alert

Do your damnedest to act like you didn't read this here (Ben and Shelley, I'm talking to you two since I believe you two are the only ones who ever read this thing besides those who already know) in case they really, really want to tell everyone in person like they did Jeremy, Lauren, and I, but I just really, really wanted to document the fact that I am quite stoked that Mike asked Rachel to marry him and she said "yes."

You gotta lock that down.

And he has.

Good one, Mike.



"Mr. November"
The National

Things to Remember: Shelley, Part One

Remember when we all went over to your dad's place for a summer barbecue thing? Remember how much fun that was?

What time did we all go home that night?

I think that might have been the first time we all hell of gossiped for that lengthy amount of time.

I find fighting nostalgia with nostalgia works alarmingly well. Does that make sense?

It was a red-letter night, that's all I'm saying.

Feel better, Shellphone.

Things to Remember: Mike, Part One

I can recall a day between second grade and fifth grade that Mike and I had a very, very heated discussion (read: pissy argument) about which conference the San Francisco 49ers belonged to.

He insisted that it was the AFC, but I knew better. It wasn't enough that I knew better, though. It was that I was a huge, dicky brat about it. I stormed into the kitchen and asked my mother and father. They backed me up, of course, but I could tell even then that they were appalled at how demonstrative I was about something so inconsequential.

In my defense, Mike was being a dicky brat about it, too. He just wouldn't let go of the idea that if the Cowboys and 49ers played each other in the playoffs, it meant that the 49ers were in the AFC.

It wasn't horrible logic for an elementary school student who knew the Super Bowl was always played between the NFC and AFC and that the Cowboys and 49ers almost never played each other during the regular season.

I wouldn't let it go, either.

I really, really doubt he remembers that. Maybe I'll post it on my Xanga to see if he does. In a way, I still feel bad about it to this day.

It was the kind of stubbornness that brought us back together after a year of fighting in fifth grade, though. I have to be thankful for that.



"Here Comes Your Man"
Pixies

The Band

1) A male singer.
2) A female singer.
3) A guitarist.
4) A bassist.
5) A keyboardist/pianist.
6) A drummer.
7) A violinist.
8) A brass/woodwind player.
9) A good songwriter.
10) People with eclectic tastes.

Obviously, there can be some overlapping here. I'm sure we can compromise on what's necessary and what isn't.



"Squalor Victoria"
The National

An Inconvenient Poop

I got in touch with the co-producer of An Inconvenient Truth today so she could help me with an email campaign for The Unforeseen. It's just bizarre. I sent off this email to a woman who made millions for this documentary and I got a reply in less than ten minutes.

It makes me feel good about the industry, I guess. I guess I know that some of these people still check their email, aren't dicks, etc.

I dunno, I just thought that was neato torpedo.

Ah, Folklore. If you like a more strategic Devil May Cry with Pokemon/Kingdom Hearts elements and stellar dialogue and art design, then the game is probably for you. I'm enjoying it a lot.

I think I'll get Lost Odyssey when it comes out next week. I actually enjoyed Blue Dragon quite a bit, so Mistwalker hasn't totally left my radar as far as good 360 JRPGs go. And can you really go wrong with Uematsu? I hear the story is pretty fucking trite, but show me a good RPG that hasn't already been done to death in some fashion and I'll show you twenty more where that came from. It's ultimately all about writing and design for me at the end of the day. Ultimately at the end of the day. Come on.

Anyway!

I've had a love/hate thing with the Devil May Cry series. I'm intrigued about the new entry (as well as the new Penny Arcade strip about the PS3's installation thing, which I approve of, by the way), but definitely not enough to buy it until a drop in price. I enjoyed the first entry and the third entry (which I haven't played through yet), but the second was so absolutely vanilla, but gross and heavy vanilla, that it's been hard for me to go back to the series with open arms.

Also, listen to The National. Please. Thanks, Peter.



"Slow Show"
The National

Seeking Brass Bolts

Maybe the honeymoon will be over soon, but so far I'm actually quite happy to be back in Sherman. I hooked up my computer to a little TV monitor so I could have my iTunes on one screen and the rest of my shit to the computer monitor itself. I like this setup. I actually think it'll help me be more productive.

Cool story, John!

I'm really happy that everyone (except maybe whiney Pats fans, of which there are many of those in the known universe) is finally seeing Belichick for the sore loser shit he is. Even Randy Moss was being a gracious loser. Incredible. Having said that, I could probably go forever without seeing either of those teams win another Super Bowl. Here's to hoping the Cowboys wise up and try to sign Randy Moss out of free agency instead instead of trading Marion Barber to the Dolphins for a totally untested rookie RB. Jesus.

My plan is to have a totally finished, "not gonna touch it again until after I hypothetically sell it to a big movie studio" copy of my first screenplay, tentatively titled Nerdy Hopeless Romantics, ready for everyone's reading pleasure by next weekend.

Cool story, John!

Oh yeah, maybe you can answer me this one, Ben, but why the hell would anyone actually do Prestige Mode in COD4?