The Best Kissers Eva

I am diving back into some older stuff tonight and decided to throw in 10,000 HZ Legend by Air. The more I listen to these Frenchies, I get a bigger smile on my face. My favorite album of theirs is Talkie Walkie, but you cannot go wrong with anything that they do. C'mon, they are doing a song with Beck right now. You cannot go wrong with a French-Beck hook-up.

What are you listening to right now? Don't be shy.

The Sundance Era for Games

The video game industry is on the cusp of the most fruitful and creative period that it has ever experienced. It has been building for the last couple of years and it is about to explode because the perfect storm is on the horizon.

1. There is a lot of talent that has been laid off from the big studios, because these companies are trying to weather the economic downturn. Red Dead Redemption is one of the biggest hits (critically and commercially) this year and they laid off a big portion of the development team.

2. Game delivery systems are in place (XBox Live, iTunes) where companies do not need space on Game Stop and Best Buy shelves. I have downloaded more games this year than I have purchased at a big box store and I am not alone.

3. The games that are coming out are fun and inexpensive. The companies can take chances on stories and characters and they do not have to spend millions on a license and pass it along to the customers. Angry Birds and Words With Friends are 99 cents and free respectively.

The games that are getting most of my play these days are downloadable titles that do not break the bank. I no longer have to choose Mario over Huggies. By the way, Mario won. 

The Blue Bomber

Mega Man is a franchise that has always meant a lot to me ever since my father gave me the first couple of games in the series as a Christmas gift. The folks at Iam8bit brought out all of my nostalgic feelings with this stunning trailer. I have had the chance to work with Jon over at Iam8bit and he puts his passion in everything he does and this is some of his best work. Even if you are not a huge video game fan, you will enjoy this.

Cheap Cheap

Another reason why it is getting harder to think about buying the Nintendo 3-DS, is Angry Birds. Most people have been talking about this game for awhile and it truly is fantastic. However, the most interesting thing about that game is the price and the fact that for the 99 cent charge they keep updating the game with more levels for no additional cost. How does Nintendo counter that? 3-D seems to be a passing fad as the in-your face movies have been making less and less money since the blue folks went to DVD. The big N is throwing everything at launch with some evergreen properties, but they better be worth the $39 up-charge.

If anything, the Nintendo folks really need to take a hard long look at casual games. Especially ones that allow you to hurl birds at pigs.

The Unloved Guys

The summer guilty pleasure has been The Good Guys, but apparantly, I am the only one hooked on it. This is a show that is a throwback to the old buddy cop shows. There are a lot of explosions, great music and Bradley Whitford is fantastic as a washed-up Super Cop. The main reason to watch it, the 'stache.