creative riff » Sigh

Weirdness

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:13:01 +0000

Tonight I found out that a "friend" buddy of mine from UNC won Sony's Playstation Tester reality show. The contestant, Cyrus, or Will Powers went from being a waiter to now a video game tester after a series of events that have little to do with any kind of real skills or abilities a video game tester needs.

So what exactly does a video game tester do you ask? They are the people who sit in cramped cubicles and play early/unfinished builds of video games for hours on end for minimum wage. I repeat minimum wage. How many jobs can you think of that have the audacity to pay you $7.25/hour? I can count them

Hosing down the car

Ruth Loose88 — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:34:00 +0000

So spring is officially here. It greeted me this afternoon with a thick coat of pollen the color of mucus (no sniffles here yet). Also, the oak tree in my yard is spreading sap all over the place leading to sticky stepping stones out to the street.

Anyway, this evening I was hosing the worst of the weekend's "seasons greetings" off of my car when I thought to myself, "Am I washing my car because it is still new (a 2006 Lexus but I acquired it one year ago this April) or will that wear off after some number of years?" What is that point in time when you look out to your old car and think

IRS saves money by making advertising push in Second Life instead of with NASCAR(?)

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:32:40 +0000

They say there are two constants in life: death and taxes, so when the Internal Revenue Service decides to invade the virtual computer massively multiplayer online [MMO] game known as Second Life a few heads should turn (as well as a few eyes start rolling).

Virtual Worlds & Social Networking Project Manager Frank Stripe said, "In 2008, the IRS project team established a presence in the Second Life virtual world with the goal of exploring the potential use of this environment for recruitment and training purposes. The team has created the IRS Careers Island and constructed a sky platform with an IRS Careers Center and an IRS Education Center. A number of building

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

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

Apple says no to Microsoft “Laptop Hunter” ad campaign

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:45:40 +0000

In what could go down as one of the lamest attempt at corporate backlash, Apple apparently tried to get the latest Microsoft ads pulled from TV. Apple cited a recent "price drop" of $100 across their computer line that rendered the "too expensive" statements in the ads as slander.

Microsoft's response:

Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer said, And so we've been running these PC value ads. Just giving people saying, hey, what are you looking to spend? "Oh, I'm looking to spend less than $1,000." Well we'll give you $1,000. Go in and look and see what you can buy. And they come out and they just show them. Those are completely unscripted commercials Continue reading

Statute of limitations – political bumper stickers

Ruth Loose88 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:31:24 +0000

Nothing ruins a pleasant drive to the grocery store, the beach or the hospital like a political campaign bumper sticker that has long lost any relevance. Maybe it is just me but there really ought to be a statute of limitations on all political bumper stickers regardless of the outcome of that election. Yes, it is wonderful that you probably voted in the last election or the one before that, but it is not doing anything during the nearly four years interim where you are supposed to show some support for the currently presiding president.

I think the only situation that warrants a political bumper sticker is if it endorses either Barry Goldwater or Michael Dukakis. I get

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

Man spends $17.5k on a video game, not made of gold or bits of Jessica Alba

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:16:36 +0000

In the world of ridiculous collector's items there are a few well-known goods that anyone who is a true collector has to have. A suped up 1966 Corvette might fetch a good deal of money or possibly even an original work by Thomas Heart Benton. In the world of video games one of the rarest items is a golden NES cartridge known as the Nintendo World Championships.

26 of these cartridges were made for a sweepstakes in Nintendo Power in the early 1990s. The prize was a gold (spray paint) edition of the grey cartridge given to winners of the actual Nintendo Championship. According to Wikipedia, the gold version is considered by game enthusiasts to be

Viva La Revolución – Che’s Granddaughter Strips Down for PETA, Che rolls in grave

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:10:15 +0000

Che Guevera is on just about everything you can put a print on in stores ranging from Hot Topic to head shops and all the way back down to BustedTees.com. Heck, I saw Homer sharing his likeness on a shirt in Italy that read: Viva La Doughnut! I also saw Lisa Simpson dressed up like a whore so I guess I shouldn't speak.

"PETA's fight for animals was one of the reasons that I became a vegetarian. Moreover, this lifestyle has become a revolution that increasingly attract more people and is a healthier alternative to the planet and man, "added the girl [Lydia Guevera].

It appears that the granddaughter of the man who was