Normally I try not to resort to dogmatic statements, but there is no reason Mecha Godzilla should not be winning this battle. He is plated in space titanium.

FACT: Space Titanium >>>>> Monster Skin

It's not that hard.

Go vote for Mecha Godzilla and make Don happy.

People have been asking me how the first week at GameSpot has been. To help answer the question, I present the following responses:

I couldn't sleep Sunday night because I was too excited.

You haven't seen On the Spot, until you've seen On the Spot being recorded in the studio.

I can't remember the last time I had a department meeting in a nightclub.

Playing Rock Band in the GameSpot studio = Metal. Thanks Alex, Shaun, Lark, Chris, Aaron, Stanley, and Brian for letting me bust in for a few sets. And a VERY special thanks to the GS Live Producers!!!!

Sony sent over a cake. It had an edible silkscreen printing of the PS3 on the top. We ate it.

I have a Community report I am compiling this afternoon I need to finish, so I will add additional insights/experiences some other time.

Here's a pic of Dan at the TTV video editing board:

Go Dan!

Evidently my 360 is disappointed with me. Had I logged on and played a game yesterday, I would have continued a 170-day streak of playing my 360 online. However, when I got home last night, I didn't really feel like it. It is a curious sensation. My wife was watching Two Weeks Notice. I had neither interest in watching it, nor interest in preempting her enjoyment of it. Since I hadn't eaten, I watched about an hour of it with both my daughter and my wife while I consumed dinner.

Dinner>>>Movie

Since I hadn't seen Monday's episode of Heroes, I figured I'd watch that. Had the producers started the season with that episode, I would have been on board from the beginning. Seriously. The series seems to be back on track just in time for it to end the season. It's a shame. Hopefully next Fall it will be back and stronger than ever.

This morning when I exited my train to begin my uphill migration to the office, I was welcomed to San Francisco by the sound of opera. At first I thought the uber-cultured audio was being piped in via the speaker system. Then, as I turned the corner to exit the train station, I discovered a boom box blaring the music and two vocalists belting out the Tenor and Soprano parts. I was duly impressed. When somebody left the tuxedo and dress-clad performers a tip, I thought, "Only in San Francisco."

After beginning my trek across Townsend, I passed a line of cars with broken auto glass debris littering the curb next to them.

Ah, city life.

Some of you may already of heard.

I now work at GameSpot. . . as an employee.

Happy Blog 555.

As some have heard, Blog entry 555 will be the final entry I post on this GameSpot account in my current capacity.

Considering this is entry 554, you can be sure you won't be waiting long for the next one. What you don't know is the final entry will be posted from a very special place. So, stay tuned and await further instructions. those of your holding out on feedback from my meetings with Game Developers will, no doubt, be satisfied with the next entry's results.

Unless GameSpot decides to pull the plug on this account, I will have some startling revelations to share when next I post.

I can't sleep. . . It's like the first day of school all over again.

So the title might be a tad rhetorical, or perhaps hyperbole-laden, but I love to play Puzzle Quest. Since going down to Comicon in July, I haven't been able to find my copy of Puzzle Quest for the PSP.I was pretty near the end. Plus, my wife's briefly played character is attached to that copy. I've taken multiple opportunities to scour our domicile for the missing disc, but to no avail. Lately, I have been getting a serious hankering to play. In order to satiate my longing for crunchy, Puzzle/RPG gameplay, i broke down and purchased the XBL version. I guess that would bring my grand total of money spent on Puzzle Quest to almost $60. In my opinion, it is worth it.

. . . especially when defeating the first boss of the game brings me to a delectable 43234 gamerscore. Mmmmm, palindromes.

Goals for this morning?

1. Shoot the gnome into space. Done.

2. Light 15 zombies on fire with flares. Done.

3. Finish Episode 2. Done. That was a very sad ending.

4. Save all the buildings from the incessant attacks of the striders . . . Why do I not feel like doing that anymore?

. . . and don't get me started on the grub squishing.

Last night my wife and I watched Michael Bay's adaptation of Transformers. I was left wanting. My wife was disappointed that despite volume of stunts and special effects, the DVD didn't include any special features. I was let down that despite the volume of stunts and special effects, the movie had very little substance. Others have observed the power of Optimus Prime's character. Even though his looks have changed over time the integrity of the character remains intact. He is a noble, self-sacrificing leader who not only believes in his cause, but in the sanctity of life. He calls his most bitter opponents brother and treats those of significantly lesser power with respect and kindness. Regardless of what culture you come from, the archetype is recognizable.

More than 20 years ago, when the original Transformers series aired, I saw a very different American society. Some may say my reflection on the past was the naivety of youth or hindsight through rose-colored glasses, but our pop culture and art from those days bear witness to ideals that today may seem very foreign.

Earlier this evening we watched The Lady Vanishes, an Alfred Hitchcock film released in 1938. I couldn't help but feel amused by the reactions to situations of the day. Men stood when a lady got up from the table. A man walked into a room where a handful of women are holding an impromptu bachelorette party. He is uncomfortable by seeing them in casual clothes, particularly as one woman is standing on a dresser hanging decorations. Their knees are laid bare for him to see. Very adult situations of fidelity (or lack therof) are only inferenced in the interactions between two characters. Predictably enough those characters do not meet a particularly pleasant fate. While not as powerful of a reflection of the sinister side of humanity as other Hitchcock films, The Lady Vanishes provides an interesting narritive into the selfishness of people and the rationales by which they dismiss doing the right thing (or for those that want less judgment in an opinion piece, the decision to not withhold that which is good from whom it is due when it is in the power of your ability to make it happen) when it may be inconvenient. For someone to lose very little yet provide something great for another person who may be in peril, I wonder why those characters or those of us who can, don't do the right thing.

With The Lady Vanishes as a benchmark, I was curious to see what Eastern moorings Samurai Champloo had woven into its pop-culture confection. Yeah. Needless to say, growing up watching Battle of the Planets (aka Gatchaman), GI Joe, and Transformers, Samurai Champloo fell far from the tree of deep social reflection. It's use of grey-scale morals in a full-color animated series made me wonder where the integrity of the Samurai code had gone. I understand Samurai Champloo is intended to be an off-beat fusion of music, action, and satire set in feudal Japan. When the characters are wearing glasses patterned after modern spectacles, clues are given that this is a commentary on society as much as it is a springboard to help modern viewers relate to a day long gone. From what I know of Japan, the brothels of yesteryear are still operating and the Yakuza are still vying for financial and real estate control. Aside from telling a muddled tale of two irrationally opposed rivals married by a seeming damsel in distress, the show only made one impression: the creators think self-sacrifice and noble atonement for one's mistakes are a thing of the past and individuals should be beholden to nobody for the consequences of their misguided actions.

It seems that Transformers and Samurai Champloo have a lot in common: spectacle over substance.

Lookit'im with his wee, beedy eyes and that smug look on his face.

"Oh, yer gonna take me to White Forest are yeh?" he asks.

I carried his chipped clay form from Chapter 1 until he decided to bail in Chapter 5 of Half-Life 2, Episode 2. That finicky little clod. We were doing just fine, on our way to White Forest. Just because we were pinned down behind a line of cars with Combine shooting at us with bifurcated headcrab zombies circling, about us, that is no excuse for him to jump out of frame and into who-knows-where. Then he decides to up and leave! I was infuriated. I looked for the little imp well on 15 minutes before i decided to leave his sorry assets behind.

Forget the myriad of times I had to get out of the car and bring the little sucker back in. Did he ever once thank me? No. He just stared at me with that permagrin mouth agape. turns out this buffoon (yeah, you read that right) decided to open up his own blog (SPOILERZZZzzz)! Arrogant, little-person replica.

Truckin' him all over creation should be worth more than a scant 30 points. Especially since I am going to have to do it alll again. Man, I am going to be so glad to shoot the little lawn idol into space.

***fumes***

Stay in the car Dangit!!!!!