Friday, September 30, 2005

Sequential gamers it’s always greener on the other side

I was reading an article on the escapist magazine (which I found via Penny-Arcade) that was talking about the current business model of the video game industry is destroying smaller developers and creativity, when something struck me. In the article Costikyan states that one of the problems of the video game industry is that video game industry is lacking a fan base that buys more independent artistic products like the movie and comic book industries and games need a market to sell those types of games like the other two industries have.

The reason why this statement stuck out is being a fan of comic books and reading comic book message boards and many in the comic industry are envious of the success of the video game market. You see while everyone is talking about how the video game industry has boomed (the video game industry is now making more money then the movie industry) the comic industry is very far past it’s apex. So both industries need what the other has at the moment.

It also should be noted that the smaller comic book publishers in a similar position as the video game industry in the terms of retail. Both the majority of retailers focus most of there effort of the bigger selling titles (that more then like come from the bigger companies).

The biggest advantage (maybe more so then the comic shop since the game industry does have a few stores that only or mostly sales games) that comics have over the video game industry maybe the fact that they are much cheaper to produce then video games. So they don’t need to sell as much to a profit as the video game company does. If it cost some where around 10 to 20 million to make a graphic novel I would bet that the smaller publishers would be in the same spot as the smaller game developers. Because most of the comic fans stuck to the big two publishers and many retailers keep most if not all of their focus on those companies.


*Hmmm I wonder if a number of retailers popped up that focused on the indy games and comics would they do well and would they have any effect on helping both markets. I could see cross over in both markets.

Killing Black Babies will Lower Crime?

Bill Bennett has state that"aborting black babies will lower crime" on his radio show.

ok, it is even scary that some on would think about something like this.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Two cute drawings



I thought I would post some drawings I did the other day.

ok they are the same drawings but the last I added a mouth do to the fact that when I looked at the first picture my mind kept going back and froth as seeing the characters noise as a mouth then as a nose again.

I guess the mind just expects to see a mouth when it looks at drawing of a face.

but maybe it was just me.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

I'll judge myself

Michael Brown has been rehired by FEMA to help figure out what went wrong when HE was in charge.

Why is fema wasting tax payer's money? This guy part of the problem why have him be part of the council that is looking into the wrong doings, It seems way to easy for him to hide his mistakes and blame it all on the Louisiana.

The next thing you know I'm going hear on the radio that Brown says he is doing a wonderful job...oh wait to late.

I can't believe this ish.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Ronnie Harris speaks.

at http://helpychalk.blogspot.com/2005/09/skynyrd-did-what-they-could-do.html there is an interview with the mayor of Gretn (ronnie harris). For those who don't know Gretn was the city that didn't let any of the victims of Katrina from entering it's town. It kind of gives a human face to someone that did something that many would like to see as being inhuman.

What sticks out to me in this interview is the fact that he doesn't feel what he did (having his city's police guarding the bridge and forcing people to live in the flooded city at gun point) as wrong.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

who's in control

Nintendo has reviled what the controller for their up coming game system would look like.

all I have to say is...It's a f'ing remote control?!

odd

I can over that but the fact that the D-pads is on the remote along with the action buttons makes it look like it would be hard to play games. For years (most of my life) I have been use to playing game where the controller needs both hands (one for the d-pad on for the other buttons). I'm having a hard time picturing that d-pad being useful. With the analog stick attachment and the fact uses light gun tech I guess that may not problem to move around.

Friday, September 16, 2005

awww yeah Boooyyyyyyyyyeeeee

As reported on the beat rap group Public Enemy is releasing a graphic novel/CD.

It rare that both the hip-hop head and the nerd in me both get happy over something.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

The sell of fear

In the last few years, I have noticed a small trend in commercials. And that is using a state of fear to sell their product or message. Which if you ask me is a trend that is in very bad taste.

I think the reason that these types of ads have appeared is that as a nation we are still in a state of fear since 9/11. We are still jumpy over the ideal that we could be attacked again at anytime. Just the other day they're where many people thinking that the power outage in LA was due to a terrorist attack (and two years ago people thought the same thing when the power was taken out on the east coast). Thought it may just be that I have just started to notices these types of ads around that time.

The first ones I've notice where P.As on what people can dencasese of a terrorist attack. They basically just had the former head of Homeland Security just talking.

By it's very nature this ad will tap into our nations fears. If it was just that I wouldn't really think any thing about them, but it gets worst, there are also a number of ads that use fear and or the fear of children to get their point across.

For example, there are the more recent Homeland Security P.As that have a bunch of kids asking questions about what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Now besides the fact that really there is much we can in the event of a terrorist attack, it puts out something that will cause little kids to be afraid. So, you are now forced to tell your kid in the case of a really critical terrorist attack we are fucked.

Currently there is an ad in the same format (kids asking what they should do in the case emergency) but itÂ’s selling car insurance or an on-star like service or something of the like.

And commercial of horror that gets the prize is an ad for pet medicine. Yep that right they are trying to scare us into buying meds for your little pet. The ad features a mother, her son and their dog. The dog makes a little whimpering sound and the boy looks up at his mother and says what wrong with sparky? The camera then focus on the mother as doom music plays. An announcer then says, "don't let this happen to you buy such and such"

Now I don't know about anyone else but these ads don't make want to go out and buy their products. In fact I may avoid those products (and warnings) because of those ads.

I just really wonder do these ads work? I remember reading a report that a good percentage of America are overly fearful maybe these types of ads work on them.

Bush mans up

Bush is actually taking responsibility for screw up in the Katrina aftermath.

wow I did a double take when I heard this. Bush has been noted for NOT taking responsibility for his mistakes. I guess he isn't 100% arse. I am glad that he is taking some responsibility in what started out as a horrible recovery effort.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Say good by to your guns

The Louisiana branch of the NRA has posted an article on the fact that New Orleans authority are taking the guns of everyone still in the Big Easy.

And now we are going to get a while new group of people that are pissed off about the aftermath of Katrina.

Smart PR move people.

Gulf war III

It's been report that blackwater, a paramilitary company, has been hired by the both the Louisiana and US government to handle security in the NO region.

All I have to say is... IS THIS FOR REAL? And if so WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING?

I looks on their site and it seems to be real

Blackwater USA responds to the call for assistance in the Gulf
region.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 01, 2005
BLACKWATER
JOINS HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT!
This morning (September 1, 2005),
Blackwater USA joined the ongoing relief effort in the Gulf Region devastated by
Hurricane Katrina by dispatching a SA-330J Puma helicopter to help assist in
evacuating citizens from flooded areas.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Erik Prince stated, “At this time, all Americans should band together and assist
our countrymen who have been struck by this natural disaster.”
The following
services are available:
Airlift Services
Security
Services
Communication Support
Crowd Control
Humanitarian Support
Services
Logistics and Transportation Services
Anyone having a security
or evacuation request may call(252) 435-2488. All requests shall be prioritized
and acted upon as quickly as possible.

These are the same people that have been hired in Iraq.

So has the united states declared war on the people in New Orleans?


Since this company is called blackwater and not whitewater does that say Bush does care about Blacks? I mean if he was racist he would have hired a company with a different name right? ok bad joke, but it does seem Bush is really trying to prove the Kanye was right

Friday, September 09, 2005

Chappelle's Show Season 3

with a new host?

Not!!!

the blame game song

The new number one song in America

Trapped

The horrors of Katrina just don't seem to stop.

reading this article it seems that there where people who tried to leave New Orleans during the flooding only to be stopped (at gun point) by the police force of the surrounding towns.

Brown sent packing

Machael Brown has just be relieved of his duties dealing with Katrina. It's a bit late, but still good news.

Wetlands

As I was watching one of the many news shows that are talking about hurricane Katrina and how/if it could have been prevented it was mentioned the effects of the lost wetland do to development play in this. Which was something I never really thought about.

As we lose more and more wetland we also loose a natural buffer that help lessen the amount and severity of hurricanes that come in. Which made me release as important it is for people to give as much as they can to help the victims of Katrina, we also need to be a little more aware about are wetlands and do what we can to help make sure they are still around.

The way I'm seeing is that we should do everything we can do to help the victims of Katrina but we should also do as much as we can to make it less likely that we'll have to go through something like this more often.

so I would like to point out these sites.

a click-charity site to help save marine wetlands, for those that don't know. Click charities are sponsored by advertisers that pay the charity for every click a website gets and so it doesn't cost us a thing (but time) to help out a cause.

and also America's Wetland, a charity that is looking for donations to help save the Louisiana wetlands.

If the counter on the America's Wetland site is true we are loosing a yard of wetland every second.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Racist use Katrina as a fund raiser

I was listening to Rachel Maddow today where it was report that a number of websites such as katrinafamlies.com, internetdonations.org and a bunch of others, have been reported as being part of a white supremacy group.
Those sites are owned by Frank Weltner, the guy who also runs Jew Watch (which sadly is a site anti-semitism and not a cam girl site run by a Jewish girl)

Instead of giving the money to everyone that needs it they where only planning on giving it to white people. It a damn shame that someone would stoop so low and use an event like this to push their twisted means.

People where upset about the comment that Kanye West made was in bad taste but at least what he was trying to do was point out how race may have played a part in the way things had/have been unequally reported and the delayed response by FEMA. But at no point in time did he say only Black people should be helped out.

Clothes drive

Today me, my uncle and my cousin gathered about three car loads of clothing (mostly all of which belong to my grandmother, boy did she have a lot of clothing) to give to the victims of Katrina.

It almost feels like that should be enough clothing to cloth half the women and drag queens (You have to see some of the outfits my grandmother had to understand) in New Orleans.

It didn't cost me much (just a bit of time and breathing in a little asbostos), I'm only printing to show that we can all do something.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

As I am sure every body reading this already knows that last week we had on of the the worst disaster to hit America.

This natural disaster was made worst due to the delayed response it took in rescuing people.

This has lead to many people to wonder what went wrong. This question is a very valid one but the response of those in charge was "hey this is not the time point fingers"

And while it is true that it is a time that we a nation...as human beings need to focus on trying to save the lives of the victims of the storm, there is no reason to let the guilty parties of the hook.

So you may ask "who should hold the blame for the failures of Katrina aftermath?"

Is it

Mayor Nagin?

Governor of Louisiana?

FEMA?

Michael Brown?

George W. Bush?

and the answer is simple yes.

This event took the combined efforts of a lot of people dropping the ball.

Locally it's been pointed out that Louisiana had a poor evaction plan for the poorer members of it society. There should have been something in place to pick up people that had noway of getting out of New Orleans to safety. Also better a commidation could have been made for those staying in that sport's dome.

But federally FEMA and it's heads also have a lot to be held responsiable for. The fact that it took so long to start any resuce effort is a shame. as news gets out about who Michael Brown is it becames more and more clear that he is NOT the person who should be the of FEMA. Maybe if we had some one that was QUIALFIED for the jop maybe we would have seen a timely reaction to the threat, instead of waiting days after the fact for any one to do any thing.

And finally there is our President. He also holds some repsoniality in the horrable out come of the Katrina disaster. First he appointed Brown to be head of FEMA, Brown had no experince what so ever in natural disasters. His old job was judging horses.

Next of the fact that that FEMA has been detoothed and placed under Home Land Security instead of being a cabinet level postion. Being part of Homeland security may not sound so bad but the fact that HLS current focus as been on terrorism that the focas on natural disasters took a lower priority.

And finally the fact that the federal goverment has cut the funding for building the levees also played a big part. The levees was not 100% finished due to that fact and that is why the big easy got flooded.

People allready knew that the there was an exterme chance that the levees would break

So all the reports of people (BUSH) saying that there was noway anyone could have seen it coming is full of B.S.

It is time for all of these people to take accountablity for what happen. They need to step up and be the leaders this country needs. They need to be F'ing men (and women) and stop being cowards running around for photo ops, so they can still look good to the american public.

Liberal Blogosphere for Hurricane Relief

for those who haven't giving to a charity that can help the Katrina victims check this out Liberal Blogosphere for Hurricane Relief