Goodbye GamePro – Thanks For Teaching Me To Read
GamePro Magazine taught me to read.
Growing up my parents pretty much only purchased toys on birthdays and at the Holidays, but they would buy reading material whenever we asked. The thing was, I hated reading. I didn’t enjoy reading mostly because I had a very difficult time learning to do it. GamePro was the first written material I encountered that helped me see the immediate benefits of reading. Best of all, I could get a new one every month!
I persuaded my mom to buy me a subscription when I was in second grade, and I read every issue from then until its recent cancellation. There were times where I didn’t own any current gen consoles, and couldn’t play the games they wrote about, but I still kept and read the magazine (I’m looking at you Playstation 1 era). GamePro introduced me to geek culture and quirky writing. I discovered satire through the magazine’s April Fools LamePro editions which initially confused me, but clearly impacted me.
I thought about canceling a few times over the years, but I am a man of few rituals, and reading GamePro every month was probably the only life-long ritual I’ve ever had. I’m bummed to see it go.
Goodbye GamePro, thanks for teaching me to read.
(Via IndustryGamers)
Arm Cannon = Metal + Classic Gaming
Instrumental music (acoustic or electric) is my personal preference for work time for all of the reasons your would assume. I’ve been working a ton lately, so I’ve been listening to a lot of instrumental artists ranging from Bela Fleck, to Rodrigo y Gabriela & Jake Shimabukuro. On the geekier side, I’ve also discovered an awesome band called Arm Cannon.
Arm Cannon takes their name from Mega Man’s primary weapon, they combine metal and classic 8 & 16 bit music in creative and fun ways. There’re a lot of bands out there that do this, but Arm Cannon is my new favorite.
If you like that, consider checking out two albums; they’ve got a lot of great music.
In other news, I was off the blogging wagon for a while, but I’m back on.
Stunning Flute/Guitar Duet of Mega Man 9 Song
I’ve been listening to this Flute/Guitar Duet of Splash Woman’s song from Mega Man 9 on a loop.
FYI – For no reason the last minute minute of this song is dead air.
Enjoy!
(Via Kotaku)
Stunning Live Action “Portal” Short
Portal fans, prepare to have your mind blown.Dan Trachtenberg’s seven minute short film.
Full-length feature please… But only for science.
Why I Gave Up On Online Gaming
I truly enjoy first person shooters; 2D fighters; and real-time strategy games. I grew up playing them, and when I say I grew up playing them I mean I played them until the laser in the CD drive practically burned a hole in the disk.
I used to play so much that I could be competitive online.
That is no longer the case. I’m one of those people who has natural gaming ability (it makes up for my lack of athletic ability), but I just don’t have the time to be great anymore.
The Oatmeal perfectly captured what it’s like playing competitive online games as an adult.
(Click through to read the whole comic)
(Kind of) Growing Up!
My postings have been inconsistent this week to say the least. It’s mostly because my girlfriend Lindsay and I have been busy moving in together. It’s been a hectic week, but we’ve pretty much moved everything.
In other news:
I should be back to form tomorrow.
Actor Wil Wheaton Explains Why the Entertainment Industry Causes Piracy
Actor/ geek Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me, The Guild, Eureka) explains why the entertainment causes piracy through stupidity.
I haven’t really pirated anything in a very long time because I earn enough money to pay for my own stuff. However I have bittorrented movies, music & games after purchasing legit versions simply because the cracked versions were more user-friendly than the locked-down crap I paid for.
Also, it’s become clear that pirates are also the best customers.
(Via techdirt)
