A Point of Correction

I've referred to Bones as "the best crime drama I've ever seen" in this blog (twice, actually), but I'd like to correct that statement.

You see, I forgot about the critically-acclaimed, scarcely-watched, and ultimately short-lived Boomtown. It starred Donnie Wahlberg (of Band of Brothers and New Kids fame), and is, by far, the best crime drama I've ever seen. There were about 7 or 8 main characters, and we got to know them all over the course of the show. The most interesting thing about it was that each episode looked at one crime from a number of different points of view (the beat cops, the paramedics, the detectives, the D.A., the journalist, etc.), so that by the end of the episode, you figured out what happened just when everyone on the show did. Unfortunately, test audiences or something didn't like that setup, so they ditched if for a more traditional flow, and the show's second season bombed 2 episodes in. They've released the first season on DVD, and it's definitely worth picking up.

To recap: Bones is the second best crime drama I've ever seen.

What?

Fuck.

Dammit all to hell.

Son of a bitch.

FUCK!

I just got taken on a roller coaster ride, and ended up with the mental equivalent of vomit all over myself. Why is it that I'm always disappointed at the end of the football season? Why does a game I love so much have to kick me in the balls every single year? Let me give you a rundown of the past few seasons.

2001-2: After years of lounging around in mediocrity, the Raiders are finally in the playoffs and looking to go all the way, only to be knocked out in New England on a bullshit "tuck-rule" call that is, was, and will always be a goddamn fumble.

2002-3: This time, there are no Patriots to fuck things up, but Tampa Bay and Coach Gruden manage to fuck it up anyway, and take a Super Bowl victory away from my team.

2003-4: With no shot at the Raiders making the playoffs, I jump on the Colts bandwagon (they're my Dad's team). But they meet those bastard Patriots in the Conference Championship game and go home losers.

2004-5: Once again, the Raiders miss the playoffs by a mile, and the Colts are riding high with a record setting Peyton Manning, an incredible offense, but no defense to speak of. They meet the Patriots again, this time in a Divisional game, and go home losers for the second time in as many years.

2005-6: The "What the hell's wrong with the Raiders" question can wait until later. The Colts got off to a stellar 13-0 start, and their defense was one of the main reasons. They ended up with a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, only to...lose a heartbreaker to the Pittsburg Steelers, who are the number 6 seed. That's not supposed to happen, goddammit. I thought all the talk about Peyton Manning not being able to win a big game was bullshit until now. I think he's a fantastic regular season QB, probably the best in the league. But come playoff time, he can't get it done. The circumstances were pretty much perfect, and now he has to sit at home until next season.

P.S. Turns out I was 2-2 for my picks this weekend. After the Colts travesty, I didn't even bother watching the Panthers-Bears game, but the Panthers won by 8 or something. Picks for next weekend? Not that I really care, but I'll take the Broncos over the Steelers, and the Panthers over the Seahawks. If Shawn Alexander plays, the Seahawks may win, but if he doesn't, the 'Hawks are done.

...And Justice For All

I was going to wait until tomorrow to make this post, but I can't help it. The Patriots are loooooooo-sers! Loooooooo-sers! Looooo-sers! Losersayswhat? Take that, assholes. Fuck New England, fuck Tom Brady, fuck Corey Dillon, fuck Adam Vinatieri, fuck Tedy Bruschi, fuck Willie McGinest, and fuck Deion Branch.

There's going to be a whole lot of talk about the pass interference call that gave Denver the ball on the 1-yard line, but they still won by 14. And even if that call was different, even if Champ Bailey did fumble into the end-zone on his interception return, so what? You know what that is? That's fucking justice, baby. That's justice for that bullshit "tuck-rule" call four years ago, Brady. That's fucking karma coming back around to bite you in your stupid ass. Suck on that, Patriots. You've got the whole off season to bitch and whine now. And here's a big middle finger to all the sports writers and analysts that didn't give Denver a chance in hell to beat the beloved New England Patriots. I bet that crow tastes real nice.

For those of you keeping score, I'm 2 and 0 so far this weekend, because the Seahawks beat the Redskins in the early game.

More Virtual Firefly

In what appears to be a weekly (every Thursday night) update, episode 1x18 of the Virtual Firefly series is up. There's also the "official" website that has the episodes in .pdf format, real purty like. I don't see the latest episode there yet, so be sure to read it off the blog if you can't wait.

Me, I'm so damn tired I've gotta wait, even though I really don't want to.

People's Choice Awards

Normally, I hate awards shows. In fact, scratch that, I always hate awards shows. Nothing but pompous, spoiled, and overpaid actors, directors, and producers having a circle jerk. The only awards show that I can remotely tolerate is the People's Choice Awards, because it's the fans voting for their favorites. You know, the fans that actually pay the money and spend the time to watch the "stars" do their thing? The people who are the very reason that celebrities are famous?

Anyway, the People's Choice Awards were last night. The only award I gave a damn about was Favorite New TV Comedy, because My Name Is Earl was nominated. Those who know me know that my favorite actor, by far, is Jason Lee. He's known primarily for comedy, but he's more than capable of doing drama as well. When I first heard that he was going to star in his own TV show, I knew that it would be his chance to show people (and when I say people, I mean big-time movie producers and directors) that he had serious chops. He hasn't disappointed, and by snagging the award, I think it's fair to say that the fans love him.

So big ups to Jason Lee. He's ten times the actor that other, much more famous Scientologist is.

PSP: WTF?

First of all, let me say that I considered buying a PSP just to play GTA: Liberty City Stories. Until I looked at the price, and realized I didn't feel like plunking down 300+ bucks just to play the new GTA game.

And don't even think about pulling that shit about how you can do so much more with a PSP than play games on it. I can wait until I get home to watch a movie or surf the internet.

But enough about the PSP itself. This post is actually about the new ads for the PSP. I'm sure you've seen at least one of them. Black and white, pencil drawn animation, with talking rats, squirrels, dustballs, or fucking turds, who knows. Let me give you the basic formula.

Animal/Inanimate Object 1: What are you doing?
Animal/Inanimate Object 2: What does it look like I'm doing? I'm watching/listening/playing/jizzing to/with/on nut/cheese/carpet/your mom!
Animal/Inanimate Object 1: Don't you know they have portable nut/cheese/carpet/my mom?
Animal/Inanimate Object 2: No way! Really?
Animal/Inanimate Object 1: Yeah. It's like nut/cheese/carpet/my mom you can watch/listen/play/jizz to/with/on...outside!
Announcer: PSP. It's like nut/cheese/carpet/somebody's mom you can watch/listen/play/jizz to/with/on...outside.

So WTF? Does Sony really think that shit's going to move PSP's? I'll tell you what would move PSP's. Lowering the fucking price. Can't do that because the components involved are too expensive? Too fucking bad, you're the dickholes who thought people wanted another NGage. Remember the NGage, Sony? Nobody bought it because it sucked ass. And it was actually affordable, unlike the PSP. Fuck, if I wanted to pay 300+ bucks to play games, I'd buy a fucking console. Jesus.

Ready for some football?

Wild Card Weekend is over, and while I correctly predicted there would be 3 upsets, I was mistaken about which teams would be involved in those upsets. I was confident that the Washington Redskins would prevail over the Tampa Bay "Yuks," and the Pittsburg Steelers would beat the Cincinnati "Bungles," but I also figured that there would be no way the NY Giants would let the Carolina Panthers blank them at home, and that the Jacksonville Jaguars would manage to beat the New England Patriots at Foxborough.

Of course, since I didn't get around to posting those predictions on this blog, you'll have to take my word that I correctly predicted the outcomes of 2 of the 4 games, and that there would be 3 total upsets.

Now, let's look forward to the Divisional games next weekend.

Redskins at Seattle Seahawks. Sorry, Coach Gibbs, you're not going any farther this year. It'll be close, but the Seahawks will come away with the victory.

Patriots at Denver Broncos. So the Pats squeaked into the playoffs, came away with a win against a team that is a shadow of it's former self, and now everyone's lining up to suck Tom Brady's cock again? No thanks. The Patriots haven't beaten a good team yet, and they're not going to start now. Broncos FTW (for teh win).

Steelers at Indianapolis Colts. The Colts started the season 13 and 0, and they're still the best team in the NFL. They've also got Peyton Manning running the offense. Enough said. Colts win a barn burner.

Panthers at Chicago Bears. Sure, the Panthers have Steve Smith, but he's going up against the Bear's D. Just like earlier this season, the Bears will beat the Panthers.

So there you have it. No upsets, which is why you play for that first round bye. Tune in next week to see how accurate these predictions were.

Still Flyin'...Sort of

It's time for a Firefly/Serenity update. First off, were you aware there's a porn star named Serenity? She's fucking hot, too. I'd be her captain anyday.

Secondly, I checked up on the fanfic virtual seasons I posted about earlier this week, and to my chagrin, one of them's disappeared. And I never did get around to reading it. Oh well, the other one's still going, and they recently posted Episode 17.

Finally, I heard tell that FUX (you like that? See, it's a jab at FOX where I change a letter and it sounds like "fucks." I think it's hilarious) is going to bring back Futurama. They cite DVD sales and repeat airings as reasons it's gained new fans, and hence, a new life.

Wait, what? I don't know official numbers here, but have the Futurama DVDs sold as well as Firefly has? Because if they haven't, what the fuck? Has there been a Futurama feature film, along with a DVD of said film that's been at the top of Amazon's sales rankings since it came out? I don't think so. Futurama licks donkey balls, and it's going to slime it's way back onto television? Fuck that. Fuck you, FUX. That's bullshit.

Just Win, Baby

Time for some impressions on a game I picked up today with a gift card.

Blitz: The League for Xbox is the first time in about four years I've actually had fun playing a football video game. Blasphemy among gamers, I know, as Madden is the best of the best. But I just haven't seen it from Madden recently. The last Madden game I played for more than a half hour was the 2002 offering for Gamecube, and even that was a far cry from the best of the best (for the record, Super Tecmo Bowl for the NES is the best pure football game ever, with Joe Montana Sports Talk Football for the Genesis a very close second).

I've only played two complete games in B:TL, so let me run down some of the things I've noticed so far.

Calling and running plays is quick, easy, and painless. Select a formation, scroll through the available plays, pick one, and get ready for the snap. Simple, intuitive controls on both sides of the ball = no broken plays because you accidentally called an audible. Did I mention there are no audibles? You pick a play and you run it. Done.

Custom teams that I can have fun creating without spending a month of Sunday's. Pick your location, team name, logo, and colors, then hire coaching staff (head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator) and one star player each on offense and defense, and you're in the game.

Football. Seems so simple, doesn't it? Too bad modern football games have become more like coaching simulators than fucking football games. I want to get my team on the field, throw the long ball, break some tackles, and bust some heads. Is that so hard?

Hard hits are so much more fun in this game than other football games. Lay down a particularly nasty slam on the ball carrier, and you'll get a nice cutaway shot of the guy's bones breaking or cartilage snapping. And since we're not dealing with the NFL here, your trainers can treat the injury, or "juice" the player up to get him back in the game. Sweet. Get the opposing team all riled up with a succession of dirty hits, and you'll spark a full on brawl, where you can cause some serious damage. It's like hockey without all the Canadians!

Like I said, I've only played two complete games, so these opinions are subject to change. But I'm having way too damn much fun laying the smackdown.

Oh, and I mentioned earlier about the best pure football game ever. What's the best arcade style football game ever? Mutant League Football for the Genesis. B:TL reminds me so much of Mutant League it makes me giddy.

Mid-Season Roundup

We're halfway through this year's broadcast television season, and I feel like running through the shows that I started watching at the beginning of this season, and those that I'm no longer watching (mostly because they were cancelled).

Monday night:

How I Met Your Mother, 7:30 pm, CBS - Despite my early prediction that this show would get a quick axe (it really doesn't strike me as the type of show the over-50 set would watch, which is what CBS's audience is primarily made of), it's been picked up for a full season. Thumbs up.

Arrested Development, 8:00 pm, FOX - I jumped on this show's bandwagon very late. The previews always made it look like shit, but once I actually watched an episode, I was a convert. Of course, I got to watch about 3 episodes before FOX cancelled it. Great job, FOX. Thumbs up for the show, thumbs down for the decision to can it.

Kitchen Confidential, 8:30 pm, FOX - Ok, call me a fan boy if you will, but the only reason I checked out this show is because it co-starred Nic Brendon (of Buffy: TVS fame). But it was actually not a bad show. It didn't get the ratings, however, and that doesn't sit well with FOX executives, who axed it. Thumbs down, FOX.

Prison Break, 9:00 pm, FOX - Yet another innovative show on the FOX network, and this time, the people watched, so it was picked up for a full season. However, in their infinite wisdom, they've decided to put it on "winter hiatus" until late March. Jesus Christ, I don't know how many viewers are going to return after 3 months with no new episodes, but if FOX cancels it because of poor ratings, heads are going to fucking roll. Thumbs up for the show, and a sideways thumb for FOX's handling.

Tuesday night:

Bones, 8:00 pm, FOX - I've called it the best crime drama I've ever seen. FOX picked it up for a full season, but is proceeding to throw it under a bus later this month, when it moves to Wednesdays at 9:00 pm, up against two sophomore behemoths, Lost and Veronica Mars. Look for it to be cancelled 3 weeks later for poor ratings. Middle finger up, FOX.

My Name Is Earl, 9:00 pm, NBC - The best new comedy on TV, and perhaps the best comedy of the year. NBC is moving it to Thursday's this week as part of the new "Must See" Thursday comedy lineup. This would have upset me, as it would have fucked up my viewing schedule for Thursday nights, if it weren't for another boneheaded decision by FOX (you'll see below). Two big thumbs up for Jason Lee.

The Office, 9:30 pm, NBC - Last year's best new comedy, and the second best comedy of the year, in my opinion. This one's moving along with Earl to Thursday. Thumbs up.

Supernatural, 9:00 pm, WB - Interesting new show that I was taping until I discovered it replayed on Sunday nights. I'm pretty sure this has been picked up for a full season, no doubt because of adolescent girls getting wet over Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Thumbs up.

Wednesday night:

Lost, 9:00 pm, ABC - I discovered this show on DVD. As with AD, the only reason I wasn't converted earlier is because the previews made it look like shit. Great show, but the best drama on TV title belongs to the next show on this list.

Veronica Mars, 9:00 pm, UPN - Holy fucking shit. Why was I not told about this show earlier? I discovered it on DVD, and then devoured reruns to get caught up to date. I can't wait until the 18th, when I actually get to watch a brand new episode for the first time on TV. Two thumbs up.

Head Cases, 9:00 pm, FOX - Seriously, why do I even start watching shows on FOX? They're just going to get cancelled, like this one did, after 2 episodes. That's right, 2 episodes. Why even bother, FOX?

Invasion, 10:00 pm, ABC - This is what's called a "Lost clone." It's also what's called a lousy TV show. Lost grabbed me during the first episode. This piece of shit dragged on and made me question why I was wasting my time. I actually watched the entire first episode, and didn't bother after that.

Thursday night:

Smallville, 8:00 pm, WB - Yet another show I discovered on DVD, and devoured the first four seasons over the summer to get ready for the new season. I'm so glad I did, because none other than James Marsters guest starred as Brainiac. Plus, it's Superman. Who doesn't like Supes?

Reunion, 9:00 pm, FOX - The story of six friends from high school, one of whom was recently murdered mysteriously. We're taken back 20 years to graduation day, and told the story in flashbacks, covering one year in each episode. But we're never going to solve the mystery, because it's been cancelled. Why, oh why, did the producers pitch it to FOX? I was looking forward to finding out who killed Samantha. Now we know FOX did. Fuck you, FOX. Fuck you in your stupid asses.

Friday night:

Threshold, 9:00 pm, CBS - I think this is another one of those Lost clones. It's also another one of those shitty TV shows. I watched the first episode, which was sort of interesting, but I just don't have time to watch TV on Friday night. And from what I've heard, the show went on to have all sorts of stupid pseudo-science and just plain non-science, brain bugs, and Treknobabble (what else would you expect from Brannon Braga?). And now it's cancelled. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

So there you have it. Four months ago, I was watching six shows on FOX. Now I'll be watching one of two remaining, which will get axed, and I'll have to wait until March to watch the other. *deep sigh*

Virtual Firefly

First off, Happy New Year! I hope your New Year's Eve was as good as mine, because mine rocked. Also, I hope you didn't have to participate in the annual Holiday Death Bowl on the freeways and made it home safe no matter how much or little you had to travel.

Now, on to the business for today.

I've never been big on fan fiction, mostly because I've never been a big enough fan to care about crappy, fan-made garbage.

But then I was browsing FireflyFans.net, and ran across a thread about a "Virtual Firefly" season. The idea was to finish off the first season (starting with episode 16), and then do an entire second season, in order to bridge the gap between the end of the TV show and the beginning of the movie. To my surprise, an entire episode had already been written and posted. Go here if you'd like to check it out. Scroll down, and click on "Teaser" then "Chapter 1" then "Act 2" and so on.

I think it's awesome. With any project this ambitious, I really want to see it come to fruition, but it may very well fizzle out. We'll see, but for right now, I'm looking forward to Episode 17.

P.S. There's another Virtual Firefly project on the FireflyFans.net board that I haven't read yet. It's also the second season of Firefly, but it continues the story after the events of Serenity. The website for that project is here, and they already have the first episode posted.

Pic-a-ture

Yep, new avatar picture. That's me. It's highly stylized (oh how I love thee, Photoshop), but I think it looks badass. Very Marv-ish.

That's all for today, just the pic. For New Year's Eve I'm heading down to the Bob Hope Theatre (formerly the Fox) with Justin to rock out with some Van Halen and AC/DC cover bands. Should be awesome. Have a safe one, folks, see you in 2006.

This is your life

Ran across a link to a "Life Rating" quiz today, right here. Of course, I had to take it.

My results look like this.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	6.7
Mind:	6.5
Body:	5.5
Spirit:	6
Friends/Family:	4.7
Love:	0.8
Finance:	6.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

First off, don't cry for my love life. Sure, a .8 looks bad, but that's because the questions were loaded. Yes, I'm single and don't have prospects on the horizon, but that doesn't mean I'm unhappy with my situation. Far from it, actually.

I also have to take issue with the Friends and Family score. I love my immediate family, don't need my extended family (bunch of redneck, racist, bible-thumping assholes anyway), and I have a great core group of friends.

Now that I look at it, most of these scores are a bit off. The Body score could actually be a bit lower. I suffer from FBS (fat bastard syndrome), although I don't necessarily care who knows it, and it doesn't have an effect on my self esteem. And the Finance score shouldn't be that high. I have a steady, decent paying job, but I'm working on a mountain of college debt (not as big a mountain as some people have, granted, but it's a mountain to me).

So my life, rated, isn't very accurate. But it was a fun time waster.

Guitar players: Heroes of our modern age

I have a newfound respect for guitar players. I always knew, on some level, that the skill necessary to play a guitar was one worthy of reverence. That became more evident when I got my first "real" guitar and began the long journey of learning to play (one which I have stalled on, but that's another tale). But today, I look upon guitarists with sheer awe.

For I have attempted to play "Bark at the Moon" on Medium difficulty in Guitar Hero. I know what you're thinking. Medium? You're a chump who doesn't deserve to call himself a gamer. But I ask you to pause in your verbal bashing of my gaming skills. Bark at the Moon on Medium is incredibly hard, almost impossible. The speed and precision required to even get halfway through the song is incredible. And this is with a guitar shaped controller with 5 fret buttons (of which only 4 are used on the song) and a strum bar that replaces the 6 strings commonly found on a guitar.

Zakk Wylde, the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne on Bark at the Moon, is a god among men. If you've heard the song before, you have an idea of the flurry of notes he plays, particulary in the solo. For a better idea of what playing the song is actually like, check out this tablature. A quick primer on guitar tabs: The table is laid out where each row represents one of the 6 strings, and each column is a note or chord that's played. The numbers represent the fret the guitarist places his finger on the string in order to produce that note or chord. A 0 is an open string. The lower the number, the lower the note (higher on the fret board), and frets are numbered from 1 to 20-something.

The tab doesn't give you any idea of the tempo, but it's fast. Just looking at that tab gives me the shivers. It's a bit hard to visualize if you've never practiced fingering on the fretboard of a guitar, but take it from me: Bark at the Moon is a finger-melter as much as it is a face-melter.

There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity

For any of you who have been living under a damn rock, Serenity hit the streets today (actually yesterday according to the post time, but WTF) on DVD. I haven't gotten my copy yet, as I heard tell it's something of a Christmas present, but I did purchase 3 copies to give others as gifts. So what are you waiting for? Go forth, and buy.

Just one of them days...

I promise I'm not going to whine and bitch about work like I used to on this blog, and most people do every day on their blogs, but allow me this one tiny complaint. Is it too much to ask that we be nice to each other? I'm not requesting we blow smoke up each others asses, but at least be civil, and polite.

After all, it's the holiday season. If we can't be nice to each other now, when can we? There's no need to yell, or be rude. For the record, I have no problem with cursing (is that obvious? Fuckin A it is). But if you're going to get all worked up over something, why not tell someone who can actually do something about it? I just work here, buddy. You got problems with the man? So do I. Take it up with him, but don't get all pissy with me about it, and threaten to sue, or cancel your membership, or hang up on me because you don't like the truth. Fuck you.

Now I know why postal workers are notorious for going crazy and shooting a bunch of people. Dealing with the dregs of society day after day can really get on your fucking nerves.

Miscellaneous Stuff

Here's a couple of things that have been on my mind this weekend, that are important enough to write about, but not important enough to merit their own post.

I saw Syriana on Saturday. Good flick, closest compared with Traffic. I liked Traffic, but for some reason, found it harder to follow than Syriana, which many people have complained about. I didn't find Syriana hard to follow at all. The trick is paying attention. A lot of American theatre-goers like to shut their brains off when the lights go down, but Syriana's not that kind of movie, and it can't be faulted for that.

Even so, I can't complain too much about the American theatre-goers, as enough of them went to see Syriana in it's opening weekend that it opened at #2, up against the Christian behemoth that is Narnia. Good on you, folks, although you're still not off the hook for passing on Serenity (which is still the best movie of 2005, in my book).

I also got Guitar Hero delivered to my door on Saturday. If I didn't already own a PS2, I'd seriously consider buying one just for this game. It comes with a guitar, for chrissakes. Sure, it's a guitar controller, but damn if it isn't badass. And you get to rock the house with it. It's extremely satisfying to nail a complicated riff, then tilt the guitar vertically and melt the audience's faces with a solo. If only playing a real guitar was this easy to pick up and start rocking out with.

Finally, I recently discovered Farscape. Let me rephrase that. I actually watched the first few episodes of Farscape, as I'd never seen a single one before. I had heard about it, sure, and had even gone so far as to look up the boxed sets on Amazon. It was then that I took a step back, as the price was outrageous (something like 120 bucks a season). But I finally rented the first disc from Netflix, and it's pretty good. It hasn't blown me away, but it's certainly got my attention. Now the only problem is juggling all the TV shows I'm in the middle of watching on DVD and on broadcast TV.

Number 2 isn't as bad as you think

Rumors continue to swirl around Nintendo's next-gen console, code-named Revolution. We know what the controller and the unit itself will look like, but not much else. It might be twice as powerful as the Gamecube; it might use standard DVD5's and DVD9's as its medium; it might have free downloadable first party retro titles and pay-for-play third party retro titles; it might sell for $150 or less at launch; it might have free, wireless online play; it might have new games that sell for $50; it might come out in time for Christmas in 2006.

We just don't know for sure. Even if half those rumors are true, or have some bit of truth to them (especially the launch price), I think Nintendo stands a very good chance of coming in at a solid #2 in the console wars this time around. And #2 is not a bad place to be, especially for Nintendo right now.

I've said this before, but if Nintendo is in last place this time around, they're done as a hardware developer. It happened to Sega, and it'll happen to Nintendo. I really don't want to see that happen, since I think Nintendo has some truely interesting ideas, and I've been a fan or theirs since I was 5. But the console market only has room for two consoles, not 3.

I think Microsoft will come out on top, regardless of what I consider a very poor launch (though the general consensus seems to be "best launch ever"), for a number of reasons. They launched the 360 at least 6 months (probably closer to a year) before anyone else will launch their next-gen offerings, they've got (I believe) the most powerful console, they've got a solid list of upcoming titles, and they have a strong, consistent vision for the direction and purpose of their console. That last bit is something Sony is sorely lacking.

Which is why I think Sony is dead last. It takes balls to predict a turnaround from first to worst, but I got balls like you wouldn't believe. Sony would like us to think the PS3 will hit Spring 2006, but from what I've read, they're not even close to Spring 2006, and I would be surprised if they managed to launch next year at all. Scratch that, I think they'll bust their asses to launch at Christmas 2006, but it will be a huge mistake. There were manufacturing shortages of the 360, and it was actually ready to launch. If Sony tries to bring out the PS3 next winter, not only will there be shortages, the first generation of hardware will have serious issues (anyone remember the first generation of the PS1 having a heatsink that didn't work? I do). Not only that, but what compelling reasons are there to buy a PS3? Blu-ray? I can buy a standalone player if Blu-ray actually becomes the dominant format. Games? Sony has an exclusive with MGS4, but I stopped caring about the MGS games after the travesty that was MGS2. Sony also has Gran Turismo, which Forza Motorsport put to shame. And the Grand Theft Auto games eventually came to Xbox. Controller design? I don't need a fucking Batarang, thanks.

The way I see it, there's no reason for Nintendo not to end up in second place.

Backwards compatibility, my ass

Backwards compatibility, for me anyway, has never been a strong selling point on a console. I don't get rid of my old systems, so if I ever felt the urge to boot up the original cartridge of TMNT: the Arcade game, I could; assuming I wanted to go to the trouble of hooking up my NES and cleaning both it and the game first. The point is, it's there, should I want to.

Like I said, I never really gave backwards compatibility a second thought until this weekend. Justin came over, and wanted to play some Bushido Blade 2 (which is, arguably, the best fighting game ever. I mean, ninjas and swords and one hit kills? Badass, man) for the PS1. Hey, whaddya know, my PS2 is backwards compatible, so I don't have to pull my PS1 out and hook it up.

So we were playing, trading off against the CPU, and unlocked some secret characters. At the end of the story mission, it asked if we wanted to save. Of course. The PS2 looked for the memory card, and then popped up with, "Memory card was removed." No, it wasn't. It had been there the whole time. I thought maybe it didn't like the PS2 memory card, so I dug out one of my old PS1 cards and tried again. "Memory card was removed." Bullshit, mother fucker. So I didn't save, and went to the memory card manager, thinking there might not be enough space on the card. Nope, that wasn't the problem, either.

So, even though Sony hyped the shit out of the PS2 being backwards compatible (the first console to do so, if I remember correctly, although I believe Nintendo might have beat them to the punch in the overall market with their handheld Game Boy something or other), it's really not. Why should I bother playing a PS1 game on my PS2 if I can't save my fucking progress?

Here's what really pisses me off, though: there are PS1 emulators for the PC that are capable of saving my progress just fine. Emulators, that, might I add, a group of folks coded in their spare time, for no money. Why did Sony bother paying their employees to emulate their PS1 poorly when they could have payed people that would have done the job right?

I love it, but TV sucks

It really does. For each one of the handful of shows that I watch on a regular basis, there's a vast wasteland of bullshit out there on the dial. For every Smallville, there's a 7th Heaven. For every Veronica Mars, there's an OC. For every Bones, there's a CSI: Hoboken. For every Lost, there's a Survivor 47: Guam. And for every one of the handful of shows that I enjoy that have played out their run in its entirety, there's a fuck-ton of great shows that have been mercilessly cut down in their prime.

I could run down the list of fantastic shows that Fox alone has cancelled, but we could be here a while. Instead, I'll talk a bit about two of Fox's newest shows that I really like, but probably aren't going to make it into their sophomore years.

1. Prison Break. Sure, the plot holes are big enough to drive a truck through, but who gives a shit? It's fucking entertaining, as long as you don't think about it logically. And it was doing real well for Fox on Monday nights. So what do they do? 13 episodes in, it's done until March. That's 4 months with no new episodes. 4 months? Americans would forget about their own kids if they didn't see them in 4 months, they're damn sure going to forget about a TV show. Why does Prison Break have to go on a 4 month long hiatus? So Fox can make room for "Ice Skating with the Stars."

2. Bones. Certainly the best crime drama I've seen, and that's not just because David Boreanaz is in it. Fox recognizes that they've got a hit with this show, but what are they doing? After a month long "winter hiatus" coming up at the end of this month, they're moving it from a prime spot Tuesdays at 8 to a murderous slot on Wednesdays at 9. Why is Wednesdays at 9 murderous? Because that's Lost's timeslot, not to mention Veronica Mars, who's no lightweight. And why, pray tell, would Fox do this? To make room for American Idol, that's why. American Idol has to take up two, count em, two prime slots: Tuesday and Wednesday at 8, one hour for performances, and one hour for results. I'll give you one guess why they're not putting the results show on Wednesday at 9, like they used to. That's right, so it doesn't go up against Lost. As if enough people didn't already get the results straight from the internet, they want to give everybody the opportunity to watch it on TV for a whole fucking hour, and let Bones deal with Lost.

Fan-fucking-tastic, Fox. Let me get this straight: you're intentionally killing (or at least, throwing to the dogs) two breakout hit shows so you can....put on more reality TV? People love the American Idol, they gotta have their Idol. But what the fuck is Ice Skating with the Stars? Who the hell watches this horseshit? I certainly don't. And why the hell is Survivor still on? I don't fucking care if it's not a Fox show. Did you know that piece of excrement is in its 11th season? It premiered in 2000, and has never not been on TV since for more than a 5 month stretch of time. That's enough proof for me that there is no god.