President Carter gets his groove back.

Remember when I posted about President Carter's bicycles being stolen? Well, he was on The Daily Show recently and got a nice little surprise. Jon actually got it wrong. His bikes were stolen in the states while Carter was visiting China. The Chinese did not steal his bikes. Clip Below.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jimmy Carter Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Funny Political Videos

Important Things With Demetri Martin
More Funny Videos

Have you ever danced with the devil...

It appears that The Dark Knight may be tiring of being in shitty games. Lets hope this game kicks ass... it about time Batman kicked ass in a video game (the last time being on the NES)!

By the way, I think its effin' awesome that they used the voice actors from the animated series. Yes, that means Mark Hamill will once again lend his talents to the creep-tastic Joker.

Fallout 3, Operation Anchorage Reviewed

Operation Anchorage is the recently released downloadable content for Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360. There is also more to come (Sorry Ito). Needless to say, it was highly anticipated on my part. The DLC adds a whole new look and feel to the game. Is it worth it? Review after the jump.

I downloaded this dlc the morning it was released, played for an hour before I left for school and waited anxiously throughout the day until I could get back home. Needless to say I finished it pretty quickly. Who needs sleep when you are med student, right? Other than the fact that I'm an idiot, it was fantastic. I'm an idiot because I thought that the level cap and the end game was going to be changed with this dlc. I was wrong, it's happening with the Broken Steel dlc that is due out in March.

Interestingly, Bethesda knows what there two main problems were for Fallout 3, and decided to fix the issues with Broken Steel. Executive producer Todd Howard, interviewed by MTV Multiplayer, said:

"Greatest Lesson? Don't let the game end, and don't have a level cap."

Lead produced Jeff Gardiner had this to say on the matter:

"Along with removing the game's 'ending' with Broken Steel, we figure raising the level cap would allow them to [enjoy the game for longer]. We plan on raising it to level 30 - but it will be a long, hard climb to get there!"

So there you have it. They realized that they had the right idea in Oblivion all along.

Pros:

1) The feel of the game completely changed in the dlc. I almost felt like I was Sam Fisher or was playing a sneaking level in Call of Duty. I am usually a run and gun type of player when it comes to Bethesda games, so it was a unexpectedly nice change of pace. From the get go they lean on you to be stealthy. I'm glad they did. Fun factor was very high, imho.

2) New stuff is always nice, but what happens when you can't have it. Anyone who has played Fallout knows that the first thing you do after clearing out some enemies is loot their corpse. Kind of morbid I know, but hey, it's the wasteland and a vault dweller has got to get by. The point is that since the most of the dlc takes place in a VR sim the baddies kind of phaze out after you take them out. The effect is great but what about my new stuff? If you remember a past post, I really wanted me some ninja suit. I was very disappointed, but alas Bethesda came through and gave me all the goodies after the VR sim. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Just to make the sting worse for Ito, let me elaborate on the goodies:

1) M72 Gauss Rifle. I really wish that I had some in game screen grabs to show you. It is essentially a one shot sniper rifle that packs quite punch. If it doesn't take 'em out it will push them down to the ground, giving you a chance to take them out quietly.



2) Hei Gui Chinese Stealth Armor. Not only does this thing look great, it's functional too. When crouched it enables a "stealth boy" type invisibility. Also fun, you can wear eye wear and hats with it. I rocked my stealth suit with Button's Wig.



3) Jingwei's Shock Sword. What ninja would be complete without his sword? This weapon essentially looks the same as other chinese swords in the game but with a sweet electric light show. Not too special, but cool nonetheless. (Pic I have is crappy and won't upload, sorry)

4) Other wearable armor. There is a new Winterized T-51b Power Armor, meh. It really doesn't have any great perks, BUT apparently it never degrades. It is possible that the code written for the Power Armor inside the sim may have been used for the real world armor. Is that really worth carrying around some heavy armor? I prefer Reilly's Rangers Armor. Then there is also a not so cool looking Neural Interface Suit. It is used to activate the sim and has no added perk. There is also one other item, but I don't want to say so I don't ruin the way they bring this quest about. There is a trench knife that is essentially a combat knife with brass knuckles, but who uses knives when you have electric swords.

3) It is a pretty decent size. I wish I could tell you more, but I don't want to spoil it for Ito. The dlc feels like a mission. It doesn't necessarily leave you wanting more. In trying to come up with more positive things about the length, I find myself writing negatives. So...

Cons:

1) Length. 10 bucks is a lot of money, especially seeing as how the other two dlc's are going to be ten bucks each as well. Of course I am totally going to get them anyways. Throughout the sim mission I kept thinking to myself, when is this going to end? Now?... Now? Maybe I was being too hard on it, expecting it to be too short. It doesn't take the 4 hours that Bethesda claims it does. Maybe if you are using a new character that you haven't leveled up yet. Which bring me to the next issue.

2) Difficulty. It's too easy. I never died once. I only came close once, and even then it was due to my stupid AI army buddy running in with guns blazing. What an idiot. They should have definitely done something to make it equalized for all levels of characters. Maybe even make the rank a set level just for the sim. I wouldn't have minded. Although I can see some annoying nerd types getting angry that their character that can take 50 direct shots to the head with an assault rifle is now a weakling.

3) You can't do the mission again. Yes, I saved before hand, duh. But I missed one of the intel cases that you need to recover to get the covert ops perk. I can't get it now. I was planning on being more thorough with my second character, oh well.

I feel that I have made this too long already. Hopefully I made Ito just jealous enough without spoiling too much.

See you in the wasteland, CHHIILLDDRRRENN!

Get a Little Mac in your diet...

...with the upcoming Punch-Out for the Wii. Damn! This franchise takes me back! I can remember watching Ito (our absent third chimp) bust his way up the chain of would-be contenders and making it all the way to the second time you fight Soda Popinski. I doubt they'll bring back Iron Mike Tyson for the "Wii-make" but I really hope they bring back other classic opponents like Bald Bull and Piston Honda. Your thoughts on retro remakes?

Efren,, you are going to Love this!

The news guys are really annoying at the end, but fast forward a bit for a small laugh.

Dont forget the Bowl this Sunday...

...The Puppy Bowl that is!! Thats right ladies and gentlemen, the Puppy Bowl is back for its 5th year, and its sure to be a winner. Take it from me, if you get bored with the Super Bowl then just switch over to Animal Planet for some puppy action. From the Animal Planet website:
"Puppy Bowl is back with more puppies and more adorable action in Animal Planet Stadium! Kick-off of Puppy Bowl V begins February 1, 2009 at 3PM e/p."

For those of you not in the know, this show is essentially a several-hour-long puppy lovers dream. These puppies play with a variety of toys, play with each other and occasionally take a nice dump in the middle of the "field." Look out for the bowl cam located in the end zone. 

Isla de Pascua

For reasons I cant explain (but will attempt to), I've always wanted to visit Easter Island - you know the island with all the Giant heads. I think this interest has been renewed by recent episodes of Lost. Thats not to say that Easter Island has become unstuck in time or that its near impossible to locate or even that it has menacing smoke monster protecting it, however, to say that it has no mysteries of its own would be a disservice. 

A special territory of Chile, the island located 3,600 km off the coast is one of the most "isolated inhabited islands" according to my good friend Wikipedia. However my reason for being so fascinated is of course the famous Moai statues/sculptures or "Easter Island Heads." In all a whopping 887 Moai have been found with the heaviest weighing in at 82 tons! The working theory is that they were carved out of volcanic ash from a single site on the island. Apparently they are "memorials" for deceased leaders. The fact that a large cache of these monoliths was found near the volcano site seems to indicate that they were eventually gonna make a trip to another location.

Ok, thats enough about Easter Island... and yes, I did make this post extra long because I didnt want to see the "stick-through-leg" picture everytime I booted up the ol' blog. Hasta Luego!

Why you shouldn't mountain bike...

'nuff said.

Why I Dont Enjoy Pooping at Work...

Here are a few reasons why I hate having a BM while at work in the lovely Edinburg City Hall.

• without fail there is urine on the toilet seat.
• the paper is rough as hell.
• the state of the art Niagra Falls flushing system (thats not really what its called) always splashes water onto my hind quarters.
• and if that isnt enough, the lights are on a timer which means that if I take a long time on the can, ill soon be in the dark. To make matters worse, the damn sensor doesnt see into the stall. I have to take my coat into the bathroom so I can wave it around in the air in order to get the damned lights to come back on.

Anyway, thats enough about pooping.

Painful Crash

So Henry, our faithful fifth reader sent me an email today. He insinuates that it is I in the video linked to in his mail.

Here it is for you to enjoy. Or cringe to.

Biker Goes Bye Bye - watch more funny videos

Dallaframa!!!

Oh me, oh my! How could I have not known this!?! I came upon an article on a cycling blog by chance that Macaframa are holding a free screening here in Dallas. To say I'm excited doesn't suffice. I cannot wait. I would totally ride my bike over there if it weren't Lady Belzer freaking out about me riding in icy conditions. Some vids here and after the jump.

PS Ito, I played the DLC for Fallout 3 for an hour this morning before I left home. Its amazing!! I'll review it as soon as I get a chance.


MACAFRAMA Trailer from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.



Macaframa from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.


Macaframa from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.


Macaframa from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.

Flow(er)!

Since Adrian started off the day with a dash of artistic expression I figured why not stick with the theme. If you guys are familiar with the game Flow (which I believe was originally free to download for the pc) then you may have heard of their upcoming and highly anticipated project Flower. I first played Flow on my PS3 and to be honest I had a blast with it. Considering the simplicity of the controls - all you do is tilt the controller to make your guy move - even my father got into the fun! Anywho, if you've played Flow, I imagine you will understand the control scheme on Flower. Here is a Wired.com video blog with the creator of the game.

Pilobolus

So Belzerino took me out last night. Her boss procured some tickets for us to see Pilobolus at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. I have to say, it was pretty amazing. You might have seen this troupe in commercials or performing on The Conan O'Brien show. Actually only one of their acts involved shadows. It was a god breathes life that eventually turns into humans act. Hard to explain, very spiritual. It actually made me think of Ang going avatar state at one point. Before they turned human they had this amoeba thing bit where one was swallowing the other, one of my favorite parts. All in all a great show. Here is one of the better shadow vids I was able to find on youtube. Two more after the jump.









There you go, Efren!

"I cant believe..." "I cant believe..."

What the crap?! Has Capcom forgotten which platform helped catapult Resident Evil into one of the most succesful franchises in recent video game history? It stings enough when PS3 gets the crap end of the deal on a "timed exclusive" release of a video game, but now even the damned demo is a timed exclusive! For those of you not in the know regarding the topic of my rant, Xbox 360 owners can download the demo for the highly anticipated Resident Evil 5 today but PS3 owners have to wait a full week.

I cry foul, Capcom! Resident Evil 1, 2 & 3 where originally only for the Sony Playstation, but in recent years remakes and ports of the games have made there way to the Nintendo (Game Cube and Wii) as well as the Xbox 360. Where is the Sony love I ask?!

Oh wait! Adrian gave me his old 360... nevermind! Full review of the demo tomorrow! :)

Something awesome this way comes...

Good Afternoon, my name is Efren Salinas and I love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... kick some shell after the jump. 

The Wired.com video gaming blog "GameLife" is pretty badass and I recommend you guys check it out (aswell as all their other blogs ranging from automobiles to new military technology). Anyway, they just posted a story on a new Ninja Turtles fighting game being produced by the makers of Super Smash Bros. and I couldnt be more excited. 

For starters, the Super Smash Bros. series of games kick total butt. Take that formula and mix in our favorite heroes in a half-shell and you got a recipe for one heck of a good time. The game is being developed by Ubisoft for the Wii. It is scheduled for release in Fall of 2009.

p.s. Shotgun Michelangelo!

Someone stole my bike!?!

Nice post, Efren. I can't decide whether or not I like the show. It does remind us of the fact that we are a nation of fat people. Apparently fat sells just as well as sex. Anyhoo, found this cool website. It's stories told by people who have had their bike stolen. There aren't many, and they are short vids, so watch 'em all. Long week coming up, hopefully I will have time to post.

Glutton vs. Food

Have you guys seen this show Man vs. Food? For starters, considering the day and age we're living in, I might be embarrassed to host a show like this. Adam Richman, the host of the show, goes around the country tackling eating challenges. Here is a fun list of crazy shit that this guy has eaten: 

• a 72 ounce steak accompanied by a bread roll, a baked potato, ranch beans, shrimp cocktail and a salad.
  
• a 30 inch, 11 pound "Carnivore Challenge Pizza" which consisted of 6 pounds of crust and sauce plus five pounds of pepperoni, ground beef, italian sausage, ham and bacon. And...
• his upcoming challenge is 15 dozen oysters... thats a whopping 180 oysters. (Im pretty sure hes gonna barf on this one, fo sho!)

To be honest, I really dont like this Richman fella. However, my favorite episodes are the ones in which he eats unbelievably spicy stuff. Like the "spiciest curry in the world" which according to the restaurant owner who serves it actually made someone start bleeding from his nose. Here is a promo for that episode.

I think this post was inspired by Adrian's newfound wealth of gastrointestinal knowledge.

Gastrointestine, done!

So, done with another block. Anybody want me to diagnose your abdominal pain? Call me. I actually ended up staying awake for about 16 hours. I studied through the night. Which was good, cause I wasn't ready. The thing is, I didn't do it on purpose. Ever had Jolt Cola? Well, don't. I was wide awake until I crashed on the couch trying to watch Lost. I tried so hard to fall asleep, but I couldn't. Oops, rambling. Some nice fixie vids after the jump.

PS, Hilarious






Kolture Vulture Trailer 2 from tyler lonsway on Vimeo.


Lake Street Death Race from Mr.Do on Vimeo.


Pretty awesome at 3 minutes. Not a track bike, but sweet nonetheless.

Zombie Nazis are coming to town.

YYEESSSS!!!!!! According to indieWIRE, the US rights for Dead Snow has been purchased by IFC Films. I cannot wait to force Belzerino to come watch this with me. I can hear the screams now. (Evil laugh) Ha Ha Ha!

Who knew...

...that Dr. Manhatten "moon"lighted as a photog? Here is an image from the viral ad campaign for the upcoming movie Watchmen. The reflection on Neil Armstrong's helmet has a black speedo clad Doc Manhatten taking a picture of the momentous occasion. Regular readers will note that I can not wait for this flick.

360's to aspire to...

How sweet is this? Keep in mind that this is a fixed gear bike. Wonder if I'll ever get to this level? I don't think Belzerino would like to know that I try this kind of stuff. Haven't fallen on my butt... yet.


360s kid from james newman on Vimeo.

Better Blue than Red...

Check out this fake vintage newscast promoting the upcoming release of Watchmen. Is it weird that I wish I was Blue?

Would you answer that...?

It appears that Destiny is on the phone. For those of you who havent set your DVR's yet, Lost season 5 begins TONIGHT! Though I doubt it'll happen in the first episode of the season, I hope we'll find out why these A-holes that got off the island now seem "destined" to return. Will the law finally catch up with Kate and her "son?" Will Sayid continue his bid for title of "cooler than Jason Bourne covert ops super-chingon?" Will Hurley shed a single pound? Will Eleni accidentaly call Jack "Jake" again. We will soon find out!

Also... where the hell did the island teleport to?

This is my lane, bub!

The standard for night riding is the blinky red light. In Texas, it is illegal to ride at night without a front white light and a red reflector in the back. The reflector may be substituted by a red light. I would like to think that I am pretty safe with my blinkies. You can even get some nice battery less lights as well, although a bit expensive. A nice new concept from Yanko Design adds not only a stylistic touch, but some much appreciated safety. I wouldn't use the "light lane" by itself, but it would be nice in conjunction with my current set up. Not sure if it will ever make it to production, but we can hope.

No Cyclops in these X-Men

I wonder how these guys would feel if they watched themselves now.



PS I found this vid. Remember that tattoo I showed you guys before? It's REAL!! I couldn't figure out how to embed it, so here is the link.

PPS Those chicks can definitely ride.

Do not pass GO...

This is how my work place network makes me feel. :(

Play Street Fighter on YouTube!

Ok, so I am totally ripping this off of Kotaku, but it is amazing nonetheless. Patrick Boivin has a pretty interesting YouTube Page, check it out if you have the time. Best of all, he has made an interactive YouTube Street Fighter. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. Start with the vid below. Follow the instructions. Literally click on the video to decide what to do. Don't forget to fight back.

The Centennial has come and gone. (Updated)

It's about time, Efren. I was waiting for you to post before I did again. Why? Cause I wanted you to have the 100th post. To be honest I thought that we would post a few times and then forget about it. I'm glad I was wrong. By the way, I would like to thank our four readers (we don't count). Who are those four? Why each of our girlfriends of course. And Harry. Thanks for the support. Back to the centenary... Is it weird that Efren disclosed his cold black heart to us on the 100th post? I think so.

Anyways, I'm sorry that Bush post made you angry, Efren. I just felt embarrassed. Maybe this will make you feel better.

PS. I don't think that it is a coincidence that today marks the 500th episode of The Colbert Report.

UPDATE: We have five readers (see comments), and I'm a jerk.

One last post before going to bed...

Is it odd that the best part in Call of Duty: World at War is the bonus game at the end ¨Nacht Der Untoten¨? I´ve spent more time playing this mini game in which all the dead Nazi´s return as zombies than I have the actual game. Dont get me wrong, the game proper is amazing, (plus when you have Jack Bauer and Commissioner Gordon barkin´orders in your ear things get tense in a good way!) but DAMN if it isnt fun killing zombies. I´m happy to report that my head shot ability is rapidly improving. Tell me this doesn't look cool!

Hello...

my name is Efren and I love video games. My boss was out today because her mother had a stroke and unfortunately seems to be on the way out. My thoughts are with her. On the other hand I wanted to take advantage of the situation and get some DS action in while wasting away in my office. Frequent readers will note that I have a lot of down time. Anyway, a massive fire broke out north of Mission, TX and I had to go cover it dashing all hopes of getting in a gaming session. I realize that this makes me sound insensitive, however... I just love video games. Here is a trailer for my current favorite game (the one I wanted to play) Castlevania: Order of Occlesia.

The chick in the intro movie is the main character. Her name is Shanoa.

Farewell, George Bush, We will miss your...

Bushisms. Letterman had a fantastic clip showcasing our president's eloquence last night. Enjoy.

Oh well...

As you guys probably know, the work place is where I get my blogging in. Unfortunately the city of Edinburg has just installed/updated their filtering software for their network. This basically means that I can only check my e-mail and not much else. Its not that I don't do my actual work, it's just that I finish so quickly and then need something to occupy my time with. Anyway, here is a cool music video I saw on youtube (another blocked website).

Japan, holding it down!

Haven't posted a trick vid in a while. Happy Saturday.

Cocoa, the brain substitute!

Fantastic, we no longer have to fear Zombies! They're just a little cold. Little bit a warm cocoa to warm you up? Who would have thought that Nazi Zombies could be used to sell such an item.

Star War... retold!

Here's a quick little vid of Amanda retelling the Star Wars Trilogy, in under four minutes no less. Yeah, it's "cute" but watch it, you'll enjoy it. Ms. Belzer, you could watch this too in preparation for our full day Star Wars marathon after my next exam.

Enjoy!


Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

An offer I'm sure to refuse...

Seriously, what part of this reminds you of The Godfather?


I guess it doesnt look all bad, just nothing like what I would expect a Godfather game to look like.

Fallout Love

Yo!  ZombieR stopping in for a quick post, here...  So Adry's really been spreading the Fallout 3 love around this joint.  So much so, in fact, that it was HIS review that lead me to purchase this incredible game.  There's little that I disagree with in Adry's review.  He's pretty spot on.  And he's right about the ungodly time-suck this game has become for me.  "Just a quick quest" so easily turns into a 6-hour game-a-thon.  This being my first real venture into games of this genre (adventure/rpg/action), I have to say that the breadth with which Bethesda Studios has created a truly living, breathing virtual world is remarkable. Forget GTA...  It was a breathtaking (and intensely intimidating) experience catching your first glimpse of the Capitol Wasteland... "You mean I have to explore this?!?" To make a long story short, I'm in love. Some personalized Fallout 3 fun after the jump...

                      

                          Handsomest devil in the Capitol Wasteland?

You have to love the character customization features in Fallout 3.  Don't think I've ever gotten so close in any other game.  Plus then I found some specs in-game...  Icing on the cake!  If I re-grow my mustache, I'll make the appropriate adjustments to my in-game avatar.  Pretty great resemblance, though, no?  Better than my Mii, anyway...

The Minigun, a multi-barrel machine gun with a high rate of fire

Ohh hell yes, I cannot wait for this DLC. Bethesda juts released three more images for its upcoming Operation Anchorage missions. If you haven't picked up Fallout 3 yet, go get it. Check out my review here. Two more pics after the jump. Can't let Efren have all the posting fun, right?

Street Fighter IV is NIGH!!!

It appears that I have Street Fighter fever this morning. I apologize to no one! Check out this super-sweet Collector's Edition of Street Fighter IV! Product Description courtesy of Amazon.com:

The Collector's Edition for Xbox 360 or PS3 will include a bonus disc with a 65-minute full-length Anime movie and promotional trailers; a CD soundtrack; a collectible Ryu figurine for the PS3 edition; a collectible C. Viper figurine for the Xbox 360 edition; a Udon/Prima Hint book; and 5 downloadable characters.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

As previously mentioned, the Street Fighter animated movie is super awesome. After that Bison heavy post I couldnt resist posting the best scene from the movie which of course is the fight between Chun Li and Vega. Slowly peel the rabbit you catch after the jump!

Too bad about his beautiful face. HA!

M. Bison is a JERK!

I dont suspect that this would be as much fun. Ill take the Italian plumber any day over this OGT.

M. Bison in Super Mario Bros.

More M. Bison shenanigans after the jump!

As you can clearly see in this next video even Bison hates Bison.

M. Bison 'Team' battle

In this next clip Hugh Hefner... I mean M. Bison gets man-handled by Chun Li in the academy award nominated Street Fighter: The Movie.

This movie was so unwatchable and M. Bison sucks so bad that it killed Raul Julia. We'll always have the Adams Family movies...

And last but certainly not least we have a clip from the Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie... which totally rocks. Fast Forward to 7:10 to see Bison dodge a soooniiiiic boooooooooom!!

It appears that I may finally...

... have a reason to plug my Wii back into the internets. A new WiiWare title by the name of Bit Trip Beat has caught my eye. What say you?

Ever thought you would feel bad for Jimmy Carter?

President Jimmy Carter and his wife's bikes were stolen recently. I wonder if it would have made more fuss if it was Dubya's mountain bike that was stolen. Apparently he rides with headphones in, what a dork. I definitely wouldn't call him a speed racer. You can read more about the Carter's here.

Loaded... a tough effin' game

Remember this crazy ass game? One of the first PlayStation memories I have is playing Loaded. In the vein of games like Smash TV and Guantlet, Loaded took it to the next level with a nightmare inducing cast of savory characters including:

Fwank: A Clown-mask wearing psycopath who carries around a teddy bear which doubles as an explosive homing bomb.

Cap'N Hands: A wierd pirate with massive arms and six-shooters. His rib-cage is exposed which makes him look extra cool. He was Rogelio's favorite if I'm not mistaken.

Butch: A cross-dressing cannibal. For some reason I always played as him... her... IT.

There is a few other memorable characters... reminisce after the jump.



Music is pretty badass if you ask me.

The sequel to this game, aptly titled "Reloaded," was just as much fun... and hard. I recall complaining about the long load times to which Adrian urged patience citing that it was "reloading."

Nazi Zombies and Hot Norwegians!

I have been anxiously awaiting this movie for a while now. Dead Snow (Død Snø) involves a group of vacationing students that somehow awaken an undead troupe of the Third Reich. So what do they do? Put a massive gun on top of a snowmobile, of course. DIrected by Tommy Wirkola, I think this upcoming Norwegian Nazi zombie comedy will really deliver. The trailer is subtitled but was that an Indian Jones reference? Also, I really hope the ominous words at the end of the trailer translate as ready, set, die!



As an added zombie bonus, here is a link to an amazing Lego zombie diorama.

Doof Gui!!

I can't wait to hunder hand slap the spit out of someones mouth when Street Fighter IV is released. If this video doesnt pump you up... check yo pulse Sucka, cause you may be dead!

Natali Del Conte

I have no idea who Sarah Austin is... but I may have a tiny crush on Natali Del Conte. Extra mousy and a nerd/geek. Eleni probably isnt as fond of her as I am. In my defense, I'm more interested in how she got to where she is, since its a career path I would love to follow.

Natali Del Conte from pop17 on Vimeo.

Tenchu Rebirth!

I am a HUGE fan of the original two Tenchu games on the PlayStation. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was arguably better than Metal Gear Solid (which came out soon after Tenchu), as far as stealth action games go. Hands down some of the best music in a video game as well. Tenchu: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (Tenchu 2) was an improvement over the first in that it included many more abilities (hiding underwater, re-sheathing your sword and hiding bodies to name a few). Acquire was at the helm for these first two installments, with Activision publishing. The reins were unfortunately passed on to a different company for all installments since... that is until now. Once again the original team (Acquire) is producing a Tenchu game, Tenchu: Shadow Assassins, and its set to land on the Wii on February 6th! Trailer after the jump, my friends.



An interesting bit of trivia: the original creators worked for Sony Music! In a recent EGM article, creators explain that at that time, Sony had a program in which any employee from any deptartment could pitch an idea. These roots may explain how they managed to have some of the most memorable music ever, composed by Noriyuki Asakura. Here are some selections from Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.

"Punish the Evil Merchant"


"Deliver the Secret Mission"


By the way, Asakura is back for this new game!

Thomas Edison rode fixed!

I've seen this video on several bike blogs, but always figured it was a fake. Well, the more I research it, the more real it seems. I've found some more reputable resources that also claim that it is real. Act like its a matter of fact, actually. Hey Belzerino, see any brakes on that bike? Nope? Didn't think so.



PS I don't think it's Edison on the bike, just his recording.

Bonus vid after the jump. I've got the second problem (in the vid that is).



Kinethic Fork Straight from Remixmj on Vimeo.

Mariopiece Theatre!

I wish we had at least one gameshow that was similar to Japan's many. I especially like where Mario grabs the mushroom.

Umm, what was she thinking?

I don't think that I would ever find a reason to get a tattoo myself but I hope that I would be able to come up with something better than this. I saw a vid not too long ago of an urban race. Lots of cyclists. One guy had pistons tattooed on the back of his calves. You know, so it would look like they were pumping as he rode. They actually looked pretty sweet. Other than this ladies cleavage, tattoo not so great.

Want...so...badly...

Here is Jeremy Clarkson from BBC's Top Gear driving the Koenigsegg CCX. It's been my favorite super car for quite some time. I happened upon this video this evening after not having seen it for months. It has the world record for a speeding ticket in the world. It was issued in Texas. Hooray for Texas!

Once you buy a bike, you want another...

Its hard to look at people riding around and not think about which bike you want to get next. This isn't something I'd ever buy, but it seems very fun to ride.

I would love too see one of these in person

Definitely watch this. I am so out of shape right now after the holidays I needed something like this to inspire me to ride more.

Favorite Music

Short post... Lots of Love. After the jump I've posted some youtube clips featuring some of my favorite video game music. Whats your favorite game jam?

Mario Kart 64 "Rainbow Road"

Street Fighter II "Ryu Stage"

Double Dragon

Final Fantasy VI

Im sure any gamer will agree that there is a million more songs that deserve to be up here... whats your favorite?

ABDC Returns!!

I am unapolagetically fanatical about Mtv's dance-off extravaganza, America's Best Dance Crew... and its coming back!! The JabbaWockeeZ (which you can see to the left) stole Eleni and my heart in the first season, SuperCrew won us over for the second season. Needless to say, I have my finger on the DVR's record button for the new season which begins on January 15th. Plus, I may have a secret crush on Lil' Mama. A BADASS promo featuring SuperCrew after the jump...


SuperCrew kicks ass! My favorite performance of theirs was the ninja one fo sho.

Here is the promo for season 2 which featured the JabbaWockeez. I think it's cooler then the previous video but that last shot with the flaming circle makes me think the show is about a cooking competition for some reason.

Valentina's first glamour shots.

I have a new cousin coming soon. A little more than three months now. Her name will be Valentina, daughter of my mom's youngest brother, Rodrigo, and his wife Esthela. My brothers and I are the oldest on my mom's side so I am used to having little shit cousins either running around, pooping, or crying. It will be nice to experience it again now that I'm older. I wonder if I will be examining her when I first meet her, med school has to be good for something, right?

UTSouthwestern shows Hispanic Love

UTSW has been ranked the best medical school for Hispanics for the second year in a row by Hispanic Business magazine. We're pretty much awesome. Some of my friends were interviewed by the local Univision station. Just so you know, we don't EVER wear our white coats in the library. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever seen anyone use that room.

Update: Forgot to mention that its Alheli Garza and Nicole Vera that get interviewed.

EA Sports invades HOME

Well between this and today's release of the Red Bull sponsored area it looks like HOME might actually be worth a visit this week. The video for the upcoming EA "sports park" looks really promising to me. I wonder what HOME'll be like in a year?

Red Bull's Air Race Island after the jump.


This is cool, but I just wanna go to the docks that I can see outside my balcony window!

Nice (Ninja) Suit.

Here are a few pics from the upcoming DLC for Fallout 3. First thing that popped up in my head? I hope I can loot that guys armor after he dies (by my hands if necessary). Apparently I am not the only one with these inclinations, as Mike Fahey from Kotaku put it:

[The] ninja screenshot features a guy who is going to die so I can wear his armor. Dressing for success in the world of Fallout 3 is a dangerous game, and a guy in a ninja outfit isn't going to last very long. His death is a moral imperative.

Pics after the Jump.

E.G.M. R.I.P.

Long-running video game mag, Electronic Gaming Monthly, has come to the end of the road. To the left is the Cover for the February issue which unfortunately will never be shipped. Oh well, I suppose Egon was right when he declared "Print is Dead." Reminisce after the jump...

I personally have a lot of fond memories of video game magazines, primarily Nintendo Power which we had a subscription to. You may recall EGM was known for their annual April Fool's prank which were often hilarious. In fact I did a quick wikipedia search and found a full list of their pranks. Some notable standouts (from Wikipedia article):

1992: "Perhaps the most infamous of all the April Fools jokes was the Sheng Long trick for Street Fighter II. It was said that if one could get through Street Fighter II's grueling 11-character roster without taking a hit, and then get 9 "draws" in a row vs. final boss M. Bison, the player could supposedly fight against a special character called Sheng Long, who was said to be Ryu's master."

2001: "A small article in the April magazine advertised that Sega found a warehouse full of Sega Neptunes and were selling them off. There was a website listed where one could order a Neptune for $399.99. However, after one added it to their cart they were immediately directed to another web site that read "APRIL FOOLS!" and had a counter at the bottom of the screen showing how many people "fell" for it."

2006: "States that Apple Computer is making a portable gaming device called the iGame. The iGame would have been compatible with iTunes, Apple's music download store. Closer examination of one of the images revealed that the first letter in each game's title on the list spelled out EGMS APRIL FOOLS.
Coincidentally, current generation models of Apple's iPod device allow for the downloading and playing of small games through iTunes."

Oh well, another gaming mag bites the dust.
EGM 1988-2009.

Rap

Hip hop doesnt typically fall into the realm of my taste in music, HOWEVER, I did catch this song the other day on the radio and I coudlnt get it out of my head after a while. Can you guess what part caught my attention first? By the way this is a fan-made video for the song Move(If You Wanna) by Mims.

...Pretty much anything with references to Star Wars will win me over. Which is why you should hit the jump!

This isnt new, but its still awesome:

This also isnt new, but has some hilarious lines. Its NSFW so at least lower the volume.

Dont forget to use the Force before Intercourse, guys!

Save Energy, Ride a Bike!

Seeing as how my little bro decided to get political, I'll throw in my own two cents. What do people have against riding a bike? It not only saves on gas money, pollutes less and decreases the number of cars on the road, but it is healthy, fun, and a great way to get from point a to point b. I'm sure that I will not agree with all of the Dem's politics these coming four years, but I wholeheartedly support this one.