creative riff » Featured

Why is it that I long for NBA Jam?

Ruth Loose88 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:35:00 +0000

It has been a long time coming. Hi, I am back in the saddle again. The first semester at the VCU Brandcenter is long over and I am beginning to take back the physical detriment it caused my body. Weight gain aside, I am becoming so much more involved in the advertising process.

So where does that leave me for the second semester? Longing for some NBA Jam. Yes, the game franchise that began on SEGA Genesis has had more staying power than anything else I have encountered over the past month. Fans of Saturday Night Live will remember Andy Samburg’s turn as a victim of ADD ("Automatic Death Disease") fulfilling his wish to commentate a professional basketball or football

Oliver Stone to begin shooting “Wall Street” sequel

Ruth Loose88 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:18:01 +0000

Aptly titled "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," Oliver Stone is set to shoot the sequel to his movie that glorified excessive greed to some, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). To others it was a warning of the toll trading can take on an unwitting stock broker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen).

Stone laments how the first film resonated

For a good time, make it a Suntory time – Celebrity ads in Japan

Ruth Loose88 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:50:26 +0000

The reference in the title is from the sublime film Lost In Translation. Not only does the film depict the creepiness of Tokyo it also does a great job of examining how the city is both foreign and inviting at the same time. Simultaneously, it also features the best use of Scarlett Johansson's butt in film yet.

Caught up on a few photography blogs, and I found an article everyone should check out. I thought I would link the two Tommy Lee Jones television spots because they are too awesome to miss out on.

Oh, and this... Source: Michael John Continue reading

In space no one will change pants

Ruth Loose88 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 05:10:15 +0000

Here's an interesting article I just read via the Drudge Report so I thought I would link it here. Apparently Japan is interested in testing out a new prototype space pant to see how it holds up. The test: wear said pant for a month and analyze the results. Poor Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata was the unlucky guinea pig in this sick experiment.

Designed to resist the rigours of lengthy space travel, the anti-static, flame-resistant, odour-eating, bacteria-killing, water-absorbent smalls have been put through their paces as part of a project aimed at ensuring that future space travellers will need only minimal space in their suitcases. “We’re going to go beyond the Moon some day, and little Continue reading

Protect your SeXBOX from ‘truders with Master Lock

Ruth Loose88 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:00:13 +0000

How often do you find yourself staring down the barrel of a shotgun as you are forced to hand over the controller to your favorite video game system? If you answered more than once than Master has a deal for you.

A new Xbox 360 security kit enables the user to lock their TV to a nearby support post or table. Oddly enough the device does not protect the detachable hard drive or any other devices attached to said Xbox such as a Rock Band drum set or guitars. Some say money can't buy you love, but $29.95 can help you rest easy knowing your $299 purchase will be around when the forensics team is sweeping

My question made it on the Giant Bombcast [giantbomb.com]!

Ruth Loose88 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:24:53 +0000

Giant Bomb.com, for the unintiated, is a huge video game wikia that also licenses said database to companies and research firms while providing daily news and updates for surfers. The wiki part of the website just turned one yesterday and is now available as an iPhone application in the iTunes store. The site also has daily reviews, previews and content submissions by video game industry veterans Jeff Gerstmann, Vinny Caravella, Brad Shoemaker and Ryan Davis - all former Gamespot employees who left after the Eidos review bribery scandal in late 2007.

Each week the crew at Giant Bomb does a two-hour podcast wrap-up of the previous week and talks about upcoming releases, taste tests sodas and

Oy vey – Man goes on 50 dates to find “Ms. Perfect”

Ruth Loose88 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:10:55 +0000

The article might be a bit old [July 2] but the story is fascinating. A man, Ron James, who recently went through a divorce after thirteen years of marriage decides to "get back on the horse." He joins JDate, one of the largest dating sites for Jewish men to try to find his perfect match. Since his job didn't pay well he would often "stack" dates at the different Starbucks' near Grand Central Station in New York City. When he finally finds the woman of his dreams, Sheryl Daija, it turns out she got married on the same day he did back on May 30, 1993. Eeerie.

The strangest part of all this is that the

My take on a legend

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:38:48 +0000

The news of Michael Jackson’s death didn’t hit me at all yesterday. I was too busy being down in the dumps after not receiving $1,000 scholarship grant from H&R Block (not that big of a deal in the long run). So how do I feel 24 hours later? Different. This afternoon I re-listened to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Dangerous and parts of Off The Wall at work. Michael Jackson left a considerable dent on my childhood but in retrospect I’m not sure I enjoy what I remember of him.

It’s hard to hate Michael Jackson, well, it is hard to hate Michael Jackson if you knew him before the mid-1990s. I can clearly remember a VHS recording my

Pixar grants dying girl’s wish, gains Mother Teresa status

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:01:54 +0000

Pixar is the film studio that can do no wrong. With a better track record than the Japanese economy, Pixar now has... count them... 10 hit films under its belt. When your two worst received movies earn $825 million together (A Bug's Life and Cars) you would think the studio could begin slacking off (*cough* Dream Works) and we would be none the wiser.

Not Pixar. Colby Curtin was a 10-year-old girl living in Huntington Beach, CA diagnosed with vascular cancer in December 2005. At the beginning of June it became apparent that Colby would die soon. Her dying wish? See Pixar latest film Up.

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the Continue reading

New web multiplayer game pokes fun at Bernie Madoff, puts players in his shoes

Ruth Loose88 — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:22:20 +0000

Internet web game fans have something new to play this summer. Mobile developer Cellufun announces a free social multiplayer game that taps into the infamy of ponzi scheming Bernie Madoff in a game entitled Made Off.

Fans use fictional cellupoints instead of real cash as they try to duplicate the Madoff's success as a slimy fund manager. The idea is to deceive enough people before the Feds knock on your door with a battering ram.

Neil Edwards, chief executive of Cellufun, says that the game is intended to poke fun at Madoff and not at his victims. The game is supposed to be educational in helping people learn how not to fall victim to investment