Free Candy For Everyone

Just read that there’s going to be a press release tomorrow about some “restructuring” of E3 that basically sounds like it’s gone, kaput, no more, finito and all that. Check it out on Gamespot via Blue’s News. It seems that the powers that be have decided that it’s too expensive, this spectacle of glitz and geeks, and it will be replaced by, essentially, meetings.

There is probably a lot of merit to this idea and everything, but all I can say is “NOOOO!” I’ve been to several E3s now and I love it. It’s too loud, there’s so much to see that you can barely take anything in, and I’m usually too tired to process much of anything by the end. But the chance to see all those games hands on - this year I got to play with the Wii - and see everything that we’re going to be talking about for months to come is fantastic. It usually takes me several weeks to sort through my impressions, but once I do, I’m always very glad I went. This year I blogged a lot of it, so you can check out the kind of stuff I mean here, if you’re curious.

I was already thinking about E3 for next year and making plans. Now it seems like there won’t be anything to go to. I guess I’ll wait until tomorrow to hear the details, but it sounds as though we’ll need to look for another venue to try out games before they’re here. PAX anyone?

My car has arrived. Not just the wheels, in fact, but the entire car! But it was a bit more of an adventure than I had anticipated. You see, as I planned my move from Boston to San Francisco many people asked me “Are you going to drive cross-country?” This question was always met with a very assured “No!” I like travelling well enough, and seeing the interesting sights of the country. But the idea of spending multiple days trapped in a small metal box with only my yowling cat for company was not enticing. So I wisely (I think) decided to hire some car movers to transport my vehicle on a truck across the country.

It starts with the pickup in Massachusetts. They tell me they’re going to pick it up Saturday morning between 10 and 1. Ok, I say. I can live with that. Then Friday at around 3 they call me again, “Hey, the driver is a bit early, can he pick it up tonight?” Um. No. I had lovely social plans that required me to maneuver about the big ole state of Massachusetts. No problem, they’ll pick it up in the morning then. Morning comes and I get a call from the driver whose English language skills leave much to be desired. After a lot of confusion and ultimately a call from his dispatcher to explain things, it turns out he’s claiming he can’t get the truck to my home. Mind you, I was living on a state highway. It was plenty wide and would most certainly have fit his truck. But after arguing for 10 minutes, I cave in, drive my car down the big hill to the 7-11 where he’s parked. I give him the keys to the vehicle, he gives me a tiny little piece of paper. Fair trade, yes? Then I walk the 2-3 miles up hill in the hot, sweltering summer heat to get back to my condo.

Funny little story, you say, but not all that bad. Whatever, I walk 10 miles uphill everyday! Well, just wait, ok, it gets better!

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m here, I’m in California! And more importantly, now my computer is too! UPS safely delivered my computer to my uncle’s house yesterday, and I am now all hooked up again. I’ve been busy looking for an apartment, and making many trips from my stay with family into San Francisco proper to figure out the lay of the land. I think I’ve finally found my new home, and I now have some time to relax!

I haven’t had much time to catch up on the latest and greatest in news and gaming, so not much else to report. I’m hoping to log some time on World of Warcraft soon, and catch up on all the blogs out there! I’m slowly making my way through, but people write a lot when you’re not reading for about a week.

Ok, I’m not gone yet. I just watched the trailer for The Prestige, a film by Christopher Nolan (of Memento fame) with Christian Bale (yum) and Hugh Jackman (lesser-yum). It gave me chills. Seriously. Give it a look here.

Oh, and for you folks that love David Bowie, he’s in it too, as is Michael Caine. It looks like something of a Batman Begins reunion, with Nolan, Bale and Caine all hanging out together again. And I loved that movie. This bodes well.

[Via Cinematical]

I’m moving out to California this week. The packing proceeds apace. Well. At a slow pace. It’ll all get done, and that’s all that matters. My time for playing WoW (or anything else!) is severely decreased. I’ve been reading up on what’s going on for Patch 1.12 but it’s purely an academic interest at this point. I haven’t had much time in the game to get excited (or afraid) of the upcoming changes.

I don’t usually talk about me all that much because, well, you are all here to read about games, not my life! But had a little going away party this weekend and we had some fun busting into Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution. Harmonix makes some great party games! I also managed to pick up their one big title I was missing, Antigrav, for a mere $8.96 at a big Circuit City clearance sale, Eye Toy included! I haven’t had the time to give it a try, but I’ll know I have it waiting for me when I finally get my tv and game systems out to San Francisco. I don’t think you can go wrong with Guitar Hero - everyone loves that game. Or everyone should!

I’ll be hanging around a few more days, then packing up my computer for shipping out to the left coast. We’ll see how long that takes! I don’t know how long I’ll last without my 24″ Dell super-monitor-of-awesomeness. But I guess I’ll survive!