More bundles of joy galore this week, ladies and germs! The IndieGala Every Monday Bundle this week is a wild one, with eight assorted games about horse breeding in a fantasy setting, an AWESOME Tempest clone (nostalgia alert!), a fun minimalist puzzle game based on Alice in Wonderland’s first glorious chapter, a great little physics-based robot game and more. Yeah, you NEED this. It’s only two bucks for 24 hours (well, $1.99, you nit-picking penny-pincher!) and you’ll never forgive yourself if you let yourself miss this deal. More deals below the jump (look out belooooooow!)… Continue reading →
Oops. I was offline for a bit this evening being annoyed at something or someone or the internet in general or whatever and I realized I’d not seen any bundle news today. That’s because some of it was later than usual and the other stuff was a page of email away and I just got to reading about it. It’s supposed to be a holiday, but I got more email today than I did last Monday! Oh well. I’ll keep it short because I need to go get some rest. IndieGala Every Monday Sale is is here (BUY!), the Humble Flash Sale (and other cool Humble stuff is here, Bundle Stars is here Indie Royale is here and I like that site, keep forgetting to update my gog.com news because I haven’t been to either site in a while because I have too much stuff to do.
Gah! There are now MOVIES on gog.com? Wow. I need to maybe fins some time to check a few out, as they’re all game-related for now, but other stuff is coming. I think they need to snap up or come to some sort of an arrangement with the folks at Sinister Cinema and talk to some movie studios about getting the rights to see all those awesome “B” to “Z” grade flicks that old site has for sale.
Hokay, back to my whatever I was doing or not doing. See you all tomorrow!
Ah, I knew I’d forgotten something was happening this weekend besides people getting sick at (from and of) Comic-Con. Season five of AMC’s The Walking Dead kicks off on Sunday, which means I get to camp out in front of the TV and probably see that premiere episode twice if it’s really good. Yeah, I’ll have to sit through Talking Dead if I do that (okay, it’s not a bad post-show watch, but it can be if the guests are nuts), but that’s a small price to pay.
Anyway, STL Ocarina made me chuckle with this pretty neat rendition of the show’s theme. That’s reminder one. Reminder two is yeah, you probably need a nice musical gift for someone this year for the holidays or some other occasion, so you should think of STL if you’re in need of a nicely quirky yet fully awesome surprise. And hey, if you DO decide to go the ocarina route and do so before October 12, 2014, feel free to get a little discount thanks to STL’s Fall Sale! Save 15% by entering this coupon code: fall2014. As noted, this deal is only valid through 10/12/2014. Okay, that’s my plug of the day (and I only plug stuff I like!) – go do some kind of impulse shopping!
Actually, I heard about this yesterday, but it was after a long day of poring over email and plotting out today’s Alien Isolation run, I was too tired and amused to post anything. Anyway, today on PSN, Sony is finally releasing the original PlayStation game Vib-Ribbon in North America, but not for that old console. This port is headed to the PS3 and Vita, with a future trip to the PS4 in the cards. I’ll let you boogie on over to the PlayStation Blog to read up on this wonderfully cool little game, which retains its ability to use music CD’s to generate random levels on the PS3. It seems that the Vita version loses this feature (unless it can work with MP3 files), but even without it, the game is still quite whimsical and still a ton of fun to play.
I still have my Japanese copy of the game and a PS1, but I’ll most likely grab this for my Vita because it’s one of those quirky little charmers that’s an excellent traveling companion. Okay, back to being scared half (plus) to death…
Hmmm. So, here I sit with a sloooooooooooooooooow wi-fi connection, a just-dead wireless mouse, a full inbox and a nice hard table I can bang my head against, except I’m in a public place and I think the other people around me would want to go first with that head-banging stuff. If it’s because there are too many people using the signal here, I’d like to vote the wannabe “model” with the stack of fashion magazines in front of her “studying” how to get her dream job, the really funny guy who shows up daily with a HUGE stack of lottery tickets to fill out based on some numerical formula (it seems he’s trying every possible combination as it seems he fills in at least 100 cards a day) and the kids using library PC’s for gaming or facebook (when they shouldn’t be doing either during school hours) right off the island so I can get some work done.
Grrrr… back in a bit. That I’m even getting THIS post up (it’s got no images, so it’s easy-peasy) is a good thing, but I’d actually like to run something more… substantial.
Ha. My inbox, which is normally quite packed with invites to all manner of events (but not enough for my tastes) that usually require a bit of reservation time, was recently targeted by a few PR folks with some last-minute invites to events tomorrow and Friday that I may or may not make for a few reasons. I don’t mind going to any and all of them, mind you. But these days, a day or two is a wee bit too short to add, change or make plans to pop out to see something cool to write about because I tend to operate on a sort of semi schedule that I like to follow (sometimes). For short notice events, I tend to go with the musical selection below along with a coin toss:
THAT said, I’ll most likely see the Oculus Rift “transporter” setup down at the Marriott Marquis tomorrow, as I’ve been saying for well over a year or so that the Rift will get the most use outside of gaming as a consumer entertainment device that provides virtual vacations or short tours of famous places for a small fee. This event tomorrow is only a few minutes long total, but it’ll be the first time I strap on those goofy goggles and see what’s what in the company of others. I was around for VR’s first commercial go-round in the 90’s (ah, Dactyl Nightmare!), so this time I’m going in with no expectations other than to be surprised and even more immersed.
There’s another tech event later that evening I’ve already RSVP’d for a few weeks back to attend, but I’ll probably not stay for the full three hours, as there’s free booze and snacks and that’s always TOO tempting to fill up on even though I don’t drink much these days. Well, seeing new tech toys is always a plus, so that’s my main reason for showing up. I got a sudden invite to see a steering wheel peripheral for the PS3 and Xbox One and responded right away, but I’m still waiting to hear back from the PR guy who contacted me. Finally, my entrepreneurial brother is speaking at an event here in the Bronx in the evening, so we’ll see how long my driving experience lasts and if it bleeds into that time. I know pretty much what he’s going to cover, but I won’t ruin the surprise here, as it’s an idea that’s fairly simple yet quite grand if it takes off and goes where he wants it to. Anyway, let me stop here and go check my inbox again, as I just peeked at it and I saw a few more invites in there. Well, lookit – I’m popular again! Go me!
Stuff I think about while traveling around #452. I have no time, money or patience to do any of this, so I kind of bop about hoping someone asks me out of the blue for a good or weird idea. Like this one:
How come some really creative BioShock fan (and they are legion) hasn’t rewritten the lyrics to “Rapture” by Blondie and gotten together with like-minded folks to make an appropriately themed music video? I mean, the song is lying there waiting for references. “Fab 5 Freddy” can get a Big Daddy switcheroo, I’m sure one can easily work the Little Sisters in there, the assorted powers and yes, given the location of that game IS a place called Rapture, it should inspire those who know the game inside and out to get in on this one if someone decides to shoot a decent video. Of course, it has to be not for profit, as I can see the cease and desist letters dropping from the sky already…
Well, if you’re reading this and do attempt this feat of daring and potential tangled legalese, keep me posted. I need a decent bit of amusement these days and hey, you can always say you stole the idea from me when the lawyers come a-knockin’ at your door. More terrible ideas to come – stay tuned…
Yeah, yeah and holy crap – it’s SEPTEMBER already. Yaaaaaah! Anyway, I’ll get to updating the banners/backgrounds on both DAF sites later today or tomorrow at the latest. I’ve been catching up on some gaming and movies in the backlog this weekend, so I’ve been a bit busier than I thought I’d be. I got a nice surprise over the weekend in the form of a gift card from some contest I’d entered randomly ages back, so that’s going to go towards my pick for Game of the Month, Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U. Yeah, it’s a bit presumptuous of me to call this particular game out before it’s released, but all those videos and people who imported grooving on this latest Musou mash-up plus my own love for the two long-running series (The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors) means this one’s a no-brainer day-one buy for me. Hey, Nintendo of America may have forgotten I exist, but I’ll still support them with a purchase when I see games I like.
Anyway, enjoy this Labor Day, anyone who’s not working out there and doing all that usual end of summer stuff.
Is there a party over there? “Yeaaaah!”
Well, there’s no party over here, tell you the truth!
‘Cause I’ve got so much stuff to do,
That if I stop to have some fun
I just might turn blue!
If you’ve never been exposed to the entertaining wonder that is Classic Arts Showcase, it’s time to upgrade your television viewing experience. I could bore you with a retelling of the history of this fully funded highbrow clip show that runs seemingly endlessly in eight hour blocks on cable networks across the country (and is now online for even more people to check out), but that’s what the link to the official site is for. Actually, CAS is rarely “boring” unless you COMPLETELY hate the arts and don’t want to see some of the most unique and completely RANDOM performances from stage, screen and even TV, many of which are unavailable elsewhere.
In case you’re THAT lazy, here’s what the CAS site says about their programming:
Expect the Unexpected
There is no program guide for CAS, because the beauty of CAS is that you’ll never know what to expect. One moment you might be watching a rare film of George Gershwin performing one of his own compositions on the piano, and less than five minutes later you might see Beverly Sills in a great moment from a classic opera. Each weekly eight-hour show is downlinked by hundreds of channels across the country at different times, with different schedules. The element of surprise — not knowing exactly what’s coming up next — is part of what CAS is all about. The goal is to generate excitement and build a new audience for the wide range of performances presented through the arts.
And I can VERY safely say that the randomness indeed makes CAS so much fun to watch. Yesterday I happened to flip by the channel here with about 45 minutes of free time floating about and caught a long clip from a Hitchcock film, a bit of Swan Lake, an aria or two, a clip from the film Aria, a fun bit of an old TV show that had a waltz turning into a sort of sock hop and back again, and part of a Nat King Cole TV performance before I had to head out the door. How cool is that? Sometimes you’ll see old animation, sometimes a musical performance or super-arty film segment, an brief interview with a long dead genius and more. This fragmented presentation recalls MTV in its early days when it played stuff seemingly at will, although if you watch CAS long enough, you’ll see there’s a method to the non-madness.
Anyway, if you’re bored this summer thanks to the TV dry spell, give Classic Arts Showcase a look-see and if you find yourself strangely addicted to it, well… my work here is done.
Fun fact: There are three live performances of “Uncontrollable Urge” on DEVO – The Men Who Make The Music/Butch DEVO & The Sundance Gig from 1978, 1996, and 2003 respectively and both the dynamism and choreography haven’t changed a bit. Granted, the younger DEVO was a slimmer, trimmer band way back when that first LP was released, but the more spud-like shapes of the band-mates doesn’t slow them down one bit when it comes to delivering what’s still one of their most memorable hits.
If you’re new to the band or maybe not so new but haven’t yet seen them live, this set of eyeball and ear searing old stuff will show you DEVO’s originality and rather special craft that’s kept fans around through think and thin. With a new tour and cool crowdfunding project happening, MVD is helping bring these guys to a new audience that needs to listen to something other than the radio-ready junk that sells in lower and lower numbers each year…
MVD Visual has done up a VERY entertaining DVD here that’s a combination of the long out of print 1981 VHS tape (DEVO – The Men Who Make The Music) and a complete 1996 reunion concert given at that year’s Sundance Film Festival along with two bonus DEVO clips from a pair of MVD’s other DEVO video discs. The Men Who Make The Music is a bizarre “documentary” of sorts that combines six 1978 concert tour clips, the two videos from 1976’s “The Truth About De-evolution” and three music videos (from the band’s first LP) as it spools out the story of the band dealing with music industry pressures of the time. In all the weirdness, I’m gathering the band may have been having some issues with Warner Bros. Records trying to control it to some extent… or perhaps this was all done as a send-up of this sort of thing common to the industry. In any event, it’s a hoot to see the young spuds, Booji Boy and General Boy “face off” against Rod Rooter and pretty much not follow his dopey orders to stick with those yellow jumpsuits. Continue reading →
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 