NES EMULATION

Ben emailed me the address for Vimm's Lair. When you visit Vimm's page, just follow the link on the left sidebar to the "Emulation Lair." According to Vimm: "Emulators are software which allow one system to simulate the functions of another. Many people have written freeware emulators which allow your PC to emulate many different video game consoles. While emulators aren't perfect and can never replace the real thing, they can often perform most of the functions of the system they're emulating. Here you can download emulators for systems represented in The Vault. While there are dozens of emulators available, these are the best!"

PIRATES

pirate boy, originally uploaded by krissie p.

I talked to a theatre employee about the new "Pirates" movie coming out today. She previewed it on Tuesday and loved it. Ben and I will see it tonight.

Here's a survey to gauge how excited you are about the newest Depp flick:

__ I'm with you - I'll be there opening night.

__ I might see it with the kids sometime.

__ I'll rent it.

__ I'm avoiding it like the Black Death.

__ What Pirates movie?

NINTENDO, REVISITED

I'm visiting my brother Steve's family for the holiday/his birthday (Happy #49, Chief!) and my nephew, Ben, and I have been discussing growing up playing video games. He's a member of the Nintendo Generation, while I'm an Atari guy. If you are ever in the mood for old skool gaming nostalgia, you should check out what's available online. Ben's downloaded all the classic Nintendo games, along with covers of the theme songs done by a band called the Minibosses (other bands cover the songs, too).

The timing was perfect when I checked my inbox and found this Mario video. Thanks to Terry for sending me the youtube link.

Of all the 1st generation games, Super Breakout is still my favorite. Which of the old games tops your list?

CRAVING

Marzipan stollen, originally uploaded by schönwandt.

Last night, I dreamed of marzipan stollen, so I awoke craving it. I wish I had brought some back from Germany and stashed it in the freezer.

Ever had a strange food craving that you couldn't satisfy? What's a good substitute for stollen?

SKETCH IDEAS & GHOSTS IN THE SQUARE

I've been bouncing ideas around with friends for some future youtube sketches or short podcast bits. I'm jotting them down here before they go to mental la la land.

(1) an ad for Emo Elmo - complete with black eyeliner, safety pins in his lip, and depressing sentiments. Who wouldn't rush out and buy one?

(2) little kids prank calling 911 - admit it; you did it, too. How mad was your mom?

(3) oh man, this one is gone already, and I knew it when I started typing this list...Does that ever happen to you?

On Friday, I got an unexpected invitation from Ryan to drive up to Oxford for Ole Miss' Shakespeare Festival. I enjoyed the plays and meeting his friends from the theater department there. We saw Rowan Oak and walked around the Square.

My mom's family is from Oxford, so while we walked around town, I started reading the dates on the buildings and thought about my great-grandparents and grandparents walking those same sidewalks seeing the same sights. There is a DVD store that has a display of antique TV's in the window. As I stood looking at them, I remembered that my mom first saw a TV in an Oxford Square storefront window. There I stood over 50 years later looking at a similar set. I liked experiencing that feeling of history.

We stayed at Ryan's college roommate's century-old farmhouse in Water Valley (about 20 minutes away). My dad's family lived in that town for many years; his grandfather ran the railroad there. So this weekend turned out to be a bit of a homecoming for me.

DECLAN GALBRAITH

Declan Galbraith is a British phenom. Here's his wiki article. What a voice!

Here's Part 2 of that interview. These are 2 longer clips of his songs:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MRS B!

Birthday Cake, originally uploaded by catsper.

XMAS IN JULY

I Know it's not quite July, but I had a strange craving for holiday songs today.

FREE KYLE XY PILOT

Visit iTunes' store today or tomorrow, and you can pick up a free download of the premier of ABC Family's Kyle XY. It looks like it will be a fun show.

Growing up, I remember the Summer as a rerun wasteland. When did the networks start airing brand new shows during this season?

Speaking of pilots, here's one you won't find on iTunes. I was browsing youtube and ran across a profile with the first episode of a show called "Nobody's Watching" (bitter irony) that didn't make NBC or the WB's line up. Too bad. Here's an article about it, in case you're interested.

DIET COKE AND MENTOS

Last Sunday, Kate blogged about trying (unsuccessfully) to duplicate a Diet Coke and Mentos science experiment she'd heard about. It was the first I've heard of it, but apparently, it's a big thing now. Terry sent me this video tonight and clued me. Check it out!

WIRED

FIRST LINE
Go buy the July issue of Wired. I'd send you a copy, if I could. Why?

*Youtube is changing the face of baseball (p. 24)
*Blockbuster movies and hit songs are dead (p. 122)
*Blogs are driving the global economy (p. 132)
*Rupert Murdoch bought your favorite website (p. 142)

Want to know what I talk about when I'm not blogging? No need to fork over the dough for Big-Brother-style equipment! For a few bucks you can read about every trend that I've been discussing offline for the past few months. (Man, I want a podcast so bad I can taste it).

MYSPACE: THE NOVEL

A novel based on the myspace phenomenon is overdue. I want to (help) write it, but my poor brain can't even come up with the main characters, much less the conflict. Hey! I did the hard part by cooking up the big idea. Now it's up to you to help me fill in the details. Any suggestions?

WARM IT UP

If you haven't heard Goodnight Nurse's version of Milkshake, you don't know what you've been missing. Of course, iTunes doesn't have it (yet? ever?), but you can hear it on the band's myspace page. Parody covers are the silver lining of the overplayed-pop song!

ADVERTISING OVERLOAD

Ever see a billboard and wish you could tweak the message a little? Maybe add a new caption? Now you can.

Graphic designer Ji Lee noticed the ads blanketing his city and decided to turn some of them into public forums. He added 35,000 big blank caption bubble stickers to ads around NYC. Pedestrians were then free to scribble their own captions. Lee went back and collected photos of the results for his new book, Talk Back: The Bubble Project.

I have two favorite ads from the book. The first is a perfume ad featuring a fashion model. Her caption now reads, "Please, save me from objectification." The other is an iPod ad. The headset-wearing silhouette now says, "I steal music, and I'm not going away!"

The project is now online. You can dowload a template of the bubble sticker to make your own. You can also view some of the photos that Lee collected. They're organized into groups like Social Commentary, Politics, Philosophy, and Humor. While you're there, be sure to check out his manifesto.

Ads blanket public places. Businesses have even stooped to putting ads on the white lines between parking spaces. Everywhere you turn there's a glossy billboard telling you what to eat, what to wear, what to be. So, why not take the opportunity to talk back?

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...

bookshelf and chair, originally uploaded by Patrick Q.

I spent too much time straightening and cleaning. Now I'm too tired to blog, but here's a photo. Behold the fruits of my labor.

BROOKERS

Have you heard of Brookers? Maybe you've stumbled across her myspace page or watched one of her youtube shorts. The 20-year-old is the first person to sign a talent/development deal based only on her youtube videos. Following in the footsteps of Andy Samburg, Andy Milonakis and other entertainers surfacing online, Brookers (aka Brooke Brodack) has just been signed by Carson Daily. In an interview with Variety.com, Daly said, "Several things immediately caught my eye watching her videos. She's got a fresh point of view, considerable directing skills and a great sense of music and how to use it."

I'm inspired by her story, and by her amazing resemblance to Screech from "Saved by the Bell." It makes me want to post my own videos on youtube. Here's a sample of what she's posted:

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

My dad and I spent the day with my mom and several other members of my family. We shared a nice meal and spent some quality time together. It was a relatively uneventful day.

There was a little drama in my inbox, though. Today, I read the first negative feedback I’ve gotten on this blog (in response to the other day’s entry). Because it is more an anonymous personal attack than a critique of my writing, I am tempted to ignore the critic or to pen some witty retort (Like, “Do you work for Hallmark? Is that why you’re so mad?”) In the end, I’ve chosen a third option. I will address each aspect of the attack to sort it out so I can dismiss it/learn from it. (Don’t expect me to do this again. This blog's written as monologues not dialogues, for the most part. But today, I thought, “Why not?”) So, here goes:

“Your point is that you couldn't find a card that simply said ‘You're a great dad.’”

You oversimplify my point.

“You are a liar.”

In the sense that all men (apart from Christ) are liars, this accusation is true. However, I did not knowingly write any falsehoods in the blog entry in question.

“I almost doubt you even went and shopped for a damned father's day card.”

If I were going to sensationalize my life, wouldn’t I create experiences more compelling than running an errand?

“If you did, you had made up your mind to write this inane "any-person-usa" blog entry long long before you picked up the card.”

I don’t think of myself as qualifying as a spokesman for “Any-Person-USA.” I hear he/she has a good job with benefits, a nice home, a spouse, and 2.5 kids. I don’t have any of those, so why would I presume to speak for that demographic?

“What on earth did you think you'd accomplish by saying what you said in this entry? Just stop. Next time stop and think to yourself ‘so what?’"

What did I hope to accomplish by writing this entry? This question is the only helpful criticism you offered. I do need to consciously consider my purpose in writing while I compose these entries. I’ll try to do better with that. I suppose my reason, in retrospect, was to work through a frustrating experience so it wouldn’t just be an unhappy memory.

I didn’t like the fact that every card I found held my father up to ideals that he couldn’t meet. It hit a nerve. The more I shopped, the more I started to feel angry and like a failure because I couldn’t find the “right” card to suit our relationship. I moved back in with my parents this year, and I’ve started to worry that I’m disappointing my father, on some level, because I’m not 100% financially independent. The self-doubt is just one aspect of some hefty depression I’ve been battling. Each card was an invitation to feel disappointed in my Dad and in myself. And I knew that if I handed one of those cards to him on Sunday, that he would open the envelope, read the card, and be disappointed, too.

Other people’s high expectations for me are part of a lifestyle that led to this depression. So why would I want to subject my Dad to anything like that? I was mad at the world for putting me on a pedestal and then pushing me off of it, and I took it out on the cards, OK? It was easy to come home and say, “It’s that the cards stink.” You are free to disagree. Maybe you think I couldn’t find a suitable card because my Dad and I are losers. That’s what the cards would have you believe.

But, back to the original question. The primary reason I’m writing here is to try to socially reconnect myself mentally to the outside world – reaching out in a way that feels safe. I’ve been fighting feelings of isolation. But the blog lets me have some human contact and introduces me to new people – like you.

“Look at the last line of your penultimate paragraph, you start to bring up a good point about the nature of the cards you did find. Why didn't you explore this more in the rest of your entry?”

I was tired and wanted to go to bed.

“Instead you handed us pure unadulterated blandness.”

My blog is purposefully mundane. Here's part of why I write this thing – the reason I analyze my everyday activities here - it helps me maintain some sense of normalcy in my topsy-turvy life. I’ve been through several traumatic experiences recently that have made my life feel fragmented, so I want someplace to piece together and reflect on the normal things in my life. They are few and far between – but they are there, a little each day. I embrace the blandness and showcase it here! If you want something exciting, go elsewhere. I’ve had enough excitement this year.

“Next thing you know, you will be telling us that ‘there is no light at the end of the tunnel.’”

How fatalistic! Isn’t that statement exactly the opposite of “unadulterated blandness?”

“Just stop. Pause. Rethink. Adapt. React. Readapt. Apt.”

Huh?

HAPPY LIAR'S DAY?

Well, like many Americans, I shopped for a Father's Day card this week. After looking at five stores for the perfect card for Dad, I'm left with this burning question: Why do greeting card makers lie? They don't just fudge a little or embellish the truth a hair. They flat out lie when they write these cards. I have never met a father anything like the uber-dads these cards fabricate. Card after card carried sentiments that I would never express to my father.

Each year, I've been able to find a card that said something like, "Dad, happy Father's Day. I love you." It's usually a search, but it's never been like this before; I mean, five stores! It took that long to find a card that listed qualities that my dad actually posesses without sinking into hyperbole.

Is my Dad a criminal? Is he an abusive animal? No! He's a stand-up guy: honest, brave, caring, true (a real-life Boy Scout - literally, he was a troup leader and everything!) One of the things I respect the most about my father is that he is a great Dad, always giving me the best he had - always there for me - in spite of his weaknesses and shortcomings. And because he isn't perfect, he doesn't expect me to be. But the cards I found this week were written about somebody who doesn't exist - a super father who never makes mistakes. Or else, they were crude and insulting attempts at juvenile humor, or something meant to be given by a five-year-old.

So, I'm throwing this wish out into cyberspace: I'd like a line of Father's day cards with realistic, honest, simple sentiments. Or even better, a nice card that says, "Happy Father's Day" on the cover and is blank on the inside. Maybe next year, I'll just write him a letter. He'd probably like that better, anyway.

DINNER TIME

Tonight, my parents and I sat together for dinner at the dining room table for the first time in over six years. Occassionally, we've shared a quick meal at our kitchen's bar or eaten together in restaurants, but the dining room has sat abandoned. When I left home for college, I knew that my parents and I would grow distant, gradually losing the daily habits that had always kept us close.

But when Hurricane Katrina brought me back to live with them, I never expected things to be as different or as difficult as they have been. In many ways, we act like strangers, uncomfortable sharing a kitchen or a bathroom. So tonight's meal was remarkable.

I'm straining to memorize every detail of the evening. Can I keep this memory close? There we sat, pleasantly sharing a meal in the forgotten dining room. I felt like a rusty singer, surprised to find myself in the middle of a song from a past performance, struggling to remember almost-forgotten lyrics.

Six years ago, my parents' farmhouse burned. I lost my boyhood home, and I felt my life slip into a strange groove. Like a broken record, each year has brought another version of the same sad song. But tonight, I was nudged out of that groove, and my heart got to hum an older song. I couldn't remember the words well enough to sing along, but it did my heart good to hear its melody.

I know I can't live in the past, but I'm going to try to sing a little of that song tomorrow. Maybe I'll even write some new lyrics for it.

THOSE GUYS

Ever met anyone like this or this? Don't you just love those guys?