creative riff

This one caught me by suprise. Apparently, you can’t kill off Circuit City completely. Their website even has a spiffy new layout. Check out the link below for a ton of deals if you are in the neighborhood for deals on electronics during a recession.

Source: Special Deals, Circuit City’s Home Page and Circuit City’s Twitter

Imagine if you will that you are an avid video game player and for years your mother or Santa annually renewed your subscription to Electronics Gaming Monthly (EGM). The magazine was known as the most circulated game magazine until Game Informer came free with every GameStop Edge card purchase.

EGM went the way of the dinosaur this past February due in no small part to the medium it was shipped in and the economy. The beauty of the Internet is that gamers can hear and see industry leaks as they occur. Unfortunately, subscribers and readers of their online site, 1up.com were completely caught off guard – some opting to renew their subscriptions in February.

Now, subscribers have an alternative to seeking their money back – Maxim Magazine. That’s right, Kids who once read EGM to discover the latest Pokemon release or find out codes for the latest Tony Hawk title now have something else to “thumb through.”

Subscribers will receive a note with the latest issue of Maxim that will allow to them continue the subscription or get a refund. My advice: ditch the frat softcore porn and prepare to renew now that the founder Steve Harris now has the rights to print and online distribution.

Source: EGM Subscribers Getting Maxim as Replacement

The Nintendo DS. The hand held system has sold over 30 million units in North America alone with three major revisions since its winter 2004 release (Source: http://www.vgchartz.com/). The DS is a big deal – much more so than even the colossal Wii (24 sold million in North America). So when, an established series on both Nintendo consoles suddenly finds its competition trying to elbow in on some of the ever flowing green it is easy to push the “lawsuit” button and call it a day.

Not Majesco. The Japanese/American video game publisher has become famous for cutting spending and creating profitable budget titles. Cooking Mama is a title wherein users stir, fry, saute and boil their way through mini-games designed to simulate actual cooking. Think Operation without the dying patient.

Activision/Blizzard recently stole the title from Electronic Arts (EA) as the largest video game publisher in the known universe. The two companies are known for publishing hits for both consoles and PC such as the Tony Hawk Skateboarding series, World of Warcraft and now the Guitar Hero series. So when, Activision announced Science Papa the other day there were more than a few people crying foul. Not only does the game share a similar title, but the description of the game sounds identical.

“With Science Papa, we’re taking real-world elements of science and giving players the chance to interact with them in safe and creative ways,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “While the focus here is clearly family fun, the game can stimulate interest and discussion about science.”

What’s the best way to respond to such a blatant IP infringement? Write PR in the voice of your titular hero “Cooking Mama” ’splaining the history between your character and your competition. Yep, twisted creative PR releases will earn brownie points (maybe Cooking Mama whipped some up?). So what exactly did the release say?

“So you want some dirt on “Science Papa” to splash on your site? I’ll shovel it. We dated briefly (when he had much better hair). And now he clearly wants a piece of the best-selling pie by associating himself with an incredibly successful, and I’ll emphasize, happily married, woman. Frankly, he never appreciated my cooking and I grew weary of his tedious “experiments.” You want real mind-bending science, go figure out how to make Toulouse Cassoulet for your next dinner party of 20 and let me know how it goes, Papa.

Mama’s still got some spunk left in her. The lesson learned here is that when your competition attempts to drive sales through similarity take the moral high road and explain how they were and always have been the whore. Works like a charm.

Source: Cooking Mama Dishes Dirt on Science Papa and Activision Introduces Science Papa, No Relation

So I just got in my bed to take a short nap around 4:50. Next thing I know I hear someone in the hall yell something to a friend. Then as I look over to my iHome it reads 6:35 p.m. I feel like I just had the kind of sleep you have when you are sure you have come down with something or possibly after the most passionate night of your life. Or whatever a trucker must feel after driving Route 66.

The dream starts with me getting an e-mail informing me that I got into VCU or something. I have to get to Richmond. Prior to all of this I marked out on the forms that I have relatives that live in Richmond (I do) and that two girls have expressed interest in living with me. I am sent their information in this e-mail, but there is some information error and I never get to know their names until later (it’s important to the story).

I meet the two girls on a train or airplane. I am not driving. I somehow get a seat between the two. These girls are not over attractive but one is a brunette and the other is a red head and both have cute faces with gentle slopes for cheeks and noses. They are both slightly big boned for their particular body type. Not knowing these girls names I introduce myself and quickly try to bury myself in a book. Before long I am passed out. I wake to the sensation of these girls smiling at one another and rubbing my body with their elbows. This is a surprisingly nice thing to wake up to.

We get to Richmond and I take them and their luggage up to the two rooms upstairs. My grandparents are not home. We hardly bring up the suitcases  before we begin to make love. I would elaborate but for some reason this part of my mind only now remembers bits and pieces.

I wake up again. Crap, I have to be somewhere. Where? At UNC’s Keenan Flagler Football Stadium or at least a place that resembles it. Why? I don’t know. I awaken the two girls I am once again sitting between and we head over. For some reason my family is watching a game in the adjacent football stadium and I actually run into him while getting refreshments for the girls. He tells me that my whole family will be having dinner tonight and that my friend from sophomore year and UNC cheerleader, Jason, is coming along too. Also, my dad informs me that the two girls are named (Miranda) and (Lucy) and that they should wear something special.

I walk back to the girls who are laughing and giggling and tell them the news. We decide to leave early so we can head to the mall to buy new clothes. I love how the light reflects on the Miranda’s freckles and the sun dress she is wearing.

As the three of us are leaving the football game vs. University of South Carolina, I run in to Jason. He tells me that he will be over in my room (?) in an hour. I don’t question him. I take the two girls to the Shops at Willow Lawn in Richmond. The two girls decide to steal a dress they find and mall security does it job for once by giving chase to us. We manage to escape out of some roof exit and the two girls look at me in a longing manner as we descend the rooftop by some a fire ladder.

As we get back to my room (in Richmond), I let the girls get dressed so I can go meet Jason. I actually drive all the way back to UNC again to meet him even though he earlier told me he would just drive over in an hour. I find him and we discuss Miranda and Lucy. We get back to my room and I peek my head in first. For some reason, I am afraid Jason might judge me negatively if the girls were naked or worse when we entered. The two girls are in fact looking under my bed and laughing at one another. The brunette gazes up at me and says, “Did you mean to keep all of this stuff that is under there?” I mumble that I have been meaning to clean it out for some time. It felt like part of my initial passion for the two was beginning to already wear off.

I turn around and Jason is already dressed for dinner. He was not a moment before. My father calls for me to get ready. I hear a loud yell from outside my dream. I wake up. It is 6:35 p.m.

I am not sure what to think about this dream. I feel very rested. It also felt risque. I’m almost 23 and the two girls acted 17.

Great Rock Band-related video posted on Kotaku.com. Notice how the singer’s shirt comes off three quarters of the way through the video and then he is putting the microphone in his mouth repeatedly in the next scene.

Source: Kotaku.com

UPDATE: As expected, the first run of 33,000 copies of today’s Daily Tar Heel were scooped up – sometimes in large quantities by individuals – as soon as the delivery trucks pulled away from many distribution racks.

Calls and e-mails from all over campus started coming into the DTH office around 7:30 a.m. reporting the mass removal of papers from their bins and drop sites – some even still bundled waiting to be taken inside offices. The DTH considers such removal to be theft and intends to pursue legal remedies.

In the meantime, the paper will continue to be printed and delivered throughout the day. It will be available for weeks after today at the DTH office.

Please be patient today while delivery continues, and call the office at 962-1163 or e-mail dth@unc.edu if you witness a theft and can provide details.

So the best way to get rid of Daily Tar Heel newspapers is to win a national championship in men’s basketball. Go figure. I didn’t get to snag one. This might be the only time I will ever regret not picking up a DTH. Makes you wonder, who made the most money posing as a student?