January 18th – SOPA/PIPA hearing at the House Judiciary Committee

There's a reason why I haven't been blogging as regularly as I should be (shame on me!), but I can tell you it has nothing to do with what I want to talk about today.  

If you know how to use Google, let alone turn on a computer, then you're probably aware that there is a bill that's quickly making its way toward Congress and if it gets passed, then it'll eventually make its way toward President Obama's desk and he'll probably sign it in to law (forgive me if I'm missing a few steps; it's been over 10 years since American Civics class). That bill is called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)/Protect IP Act (PIPA).

SOPA/PIPA is a huge deal and if you don't already know about it, Wiki it before it gets blocked.

"Blocked? That's ridiculous…there's no such thing as censorship here in America; we have the First Amendment (Freedom of Speech) to protect us from that! Ha!"

…if SOPA/PIPA passes, then that is what will happen. And it won't just happen to Wikipedia, but to every single media outlet, blog (gulp), and any random site that happens to have shared content or criticism of any kind, negative or not. Any sites that meet these criteria will automatically be pulled or blocked, whether or not the accusation that the content on that website was indeed taken without permission from the author/creator, or if it just happened to rub someone the wrong way.

2K Games Blacklists Eurogamer - A Call to Action

You may recall yesterday's small rant about The Redner Group openly threatening any game review sites that would dare give the highly anticipated game, Duke Nukem Forever, a bad review by blacklisting them from receiving any future games. Well, in a turn of events, I just read this morning that not only has 2K Games (the company behind Duke Nukem Forever and BioShock) dropped their business relationship with The Redner Group, they've also blacklisted Eurogamer.net. According to @tombramwell of Eurogamer:

 "I feel sorry for @TheRednerGroup today. We are blacklisted by @2KGames and it seems to be standard practice."

Are you for real?

What has happened to our beloved industry? In a day and age when we're trying to eliminate bullying in our schools, workplace, and homes, are you telling me we're gonna let these guys get away with this? Listen up, kids: what 2K Games is pulling is not right, not fair, and puts gamers and writers out there like you and me in danger. 

2K Games has yet to release an official statement over the real reason why Eurogamer was blacklisted. Regardless, we as a community CANNOT LET 2K GAMES GET AWAY WITH THIS. I'm not telling you to boycott 2K Games; all I'm asking is that you open up a valid, NON-PROFANITY LACED discussion on their forums, blogs, reddit, Twitter, anywhere really, and let them know that what they're doing is WRONG and a disservice to the gaming community. If it weren't for us and for our reviews, 2K Games and every gaming company—big, small, start-up, indie—wouldn't exist.

Read Eurogamer.net's detailed review for Duke Nukem Forever here.

Xbox Live Gamer Looking to Surpass the 1/2 Million Gamerscore Mark

I just read this amazing article about Stallion83, an Xbox Live gamer whose mission is to reach 1 million points!! He's currently got a Gamerscore of 500,000 and is recognized by Guinness World Records for having the highest Xbox Live Gamerscore IN THE WORLD!

How does he do it?! Well, according to Stallion83, he says that consistency is key. Some days he'll play 8 full hours, and other days he'll just play 10 minutes. In the end however, he admits he'll play any game to death.

I'll be rooting for this guy to make his goal and will be following him via his blog 1 Million Gamerscore.

Game Laws, Schmame Laws

Thanks to @fragdolls for posting this on Twitter earlier today:

The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled earlier today that a Calif. law restricting minors from renting and/or purchasing violent and/or mature content video games as unconstitutional, as it violates Constitution's right to free speech.

So, HA! To those irresponsible parents out there who believe that violent video games = violent attacks from their own spawn!

Read more about it here.

Honoring the Geneva Convention in CoD

I've never, ever played Call of Duty but have seen tsudoku spend many hours laboring over it and to me, it looks like just another first-person shooter game (I really suck at those). But, it's one of the most popular games out there and it's probably one of his favorites, next to Lost Planet and Halo, of course.

Anyway, while on Twitter @fourzerotwo posted a link to a really interesting article that he came across on BoingBoing.net (fourzerotwo, if you're not already following him, works for Infinity Ward, which made CoD, Modern Warfare, etc., so go figure he'd be the first to bring this article to light). Written by regular joe Hugh Spencer, he talks about how one day his son Evan came up to him and said that he really, really wanted to play CoD - can I Dad, can I? Now Hugh, who's done some research on military history, took a look at the game and thought, yeah that's pretty accurate, but you're still blowing stuff up! What's in it for my kid?

Sooo, he asked Evan to Google "Geneva Convention" and essentially told him after he's done his research and discussed what the Geneva Convention was all about, allowed him to play CoD online with his buddies. The catch: Evan and his friends have to play by the rules of the Geneva Convention; any violations mean dismissal of the game for awhile.

Now THAT is what I call responsible and creative parenting. BRAVO!

Read the article here; oh, and the comments couldn't be more off-topic.

Wood-n't you know it?

Horrible pun indeed. Someone actually sent in a wooden version of the PS2 and it made it all the way to Sony before anyone realized, Hey, this here's wood! LOL

Check out the article here on Joystiq. Photos included on the site--not bad for a wood shop project.

Oh doesn't this totally suck...

One of my coworkers sent this to me - he found it from the Gizmodo blog. Let's just say it sucks to lose your pants in the dead of winter. Dude, I'm glad you had the sense to tuck your dingy in but, uh, I can see it from here.

Robbed!

My sister just finished telling me and my mom that she was robbed at supposed gunpoint earlier today while she was working her register at the Rite Aid in Costa Mesa. Scary stuff...I'm so proud of her though; I mean, she completely kept her cool, did what the guy told her to do, and all the while she was getting a really good look at the guy. (Older white male, wore dark sunglasses, about 6 feet tall, maybe 40-60 years old, and calmly left in a white truck driven by another male).

It turns out he's been robbing several different markets and CVS's around Orange County. I even found an article in the OC Register that talked about how he unsuccessfully tried to pull the same thing at two 99 Ranch Markets in Irvine (they're like miles apart from one another). Check it out, there's even a link to a video of the whole incident at one of the 99 Ranch Markets - take a good look at him and if you've seen him before, contact the local authorities.

Even after she gave the police her account of what happened and they collected all the evidence, she went to lunch and came back to finish the rest of her shift. That's ballsy right there.

Missing Runaway Xbox Gamer Body Found

Xbox Gamer Brandon Crisp Likely Froze To Death

Crisp's body was found undisturbed in a wooded area near his Canadian home.

By Paul McDougall InformationWeek November 7, 2008 09:24 AM

Investigators eyeing the death of gamer Brandon Crisp are speculating that the 15-year-old likely succumbed to hypothermia, according to media reports Friday.

Crisp's body was found Wednesday in an undisturbed condition by deer hunters in a wooded area several miles from his home. Police said they do not suspect foul play. A post-mortem was scheduled for Friday.

Crisp had been missing for about three weeks from his house in Barrie, Ontario, a small Canadian city about 60 miles north of Toronto. Crisp bolted after a dispute with his parents over the amount of time he spent playing Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on his Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Xbox.

Crisp was "addicted" to playing online video games, particularly Call Of Duty 4, over Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service, according to reports. The game allows players to assume the character of a contemporary combat soldier.

The Center for Online Addiction estimates that between 5% and 10% of the population suffers from some form of Internet addiction. It defines the condition as "any online-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment."

Microsoft contributed $25,000 to a $50,000 reward fund for information on Crisp. Beyond the funds, Microsoft aided the search by turning over to police Crisp's Xbox Live account information. One theory that made the rounds was that Crisp had run off to join a "clan" of fellow gamers.

In releasing the information, a Microsoft spokesman told InformationWeek that the company "expedited" its standard privacy procedures.

The move came following the launch of an online petition, called "Project Red Tape", that asked the software maker to hand over the youth's account data. Microsoft's spokesman said the company began cooperating with police as soon as it was asked to do so, and was not influenced by the petition.

The petition appeared on a Web site that was established to help the search effort. It noted that Crisp was 5' 3", 100 pounds with dirty blond hair and green eyes. He was last seen alive on Oct. 13.

Microsoft to double reward for missing Xbox gamer

(story by Michael Comte, AFP)

US software behemoth Microsoft has doubled a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of a Canadian boy who ran away from home after his father took away his Xbox game console, it said Tuesday.

Brandon Crisp, 15, took off on his bicycle from his Barrie, Ontario home on October 13 -- Canada's Thanksgiving holiday -- and rode east along an old rail line.

He has not been seen since.

His father told local media he had removed Brandon's Xbox, built by Microsoft, after noticing changes in behavior since Brandon started playing "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" online.

The boy started skipping school, stealing money and ignoring his studies, his father said.

A local newspaper, the family's Internet service provider and Child Find offered a 25,000-dollar (19,500-dollar US) reward for information leading to his return.

Microsoft topped it up with another 25,000 dollars, the company said Tuesday in an email to AFP, "hoping for his swift return."

"Like everyone, we are deeply worried about the disappearance of Brandon Crisp," the company said.

Exhaustive searches have not turned up a single clue beyond the boy's bicycle, found last week with a flat tire.

Police are said to be examining who Brandon played with online. "Law enforcement has contacted Microsoft about this matter and we are cooperating fully with them," said Microsoft.

On Sunday, 1,600 volunteer searchers packed up their reflective vests and ended their efforts to find him, while police stopped their air and water search.

In an interview with the daily Globe and Mail, the boy's father, Steve Crisp, said he had not known how important the gaming system was to his son and how he would react when it was taken away.

Experts commented that gamers may form bonds with fellow online players.

"This had become his identity, and I didn't realize how in-depth this was until I took his Xbox away," Steve Crisp told the Globe and Mail. "That's like cutting his legs off."

"This is such an issue that hits every parent out there, with video games that are starting to control our kids' lives," he said.

"I just took away his identity, so I can understand why he got so mad and took off. Before, I couldn't understand why he was taking off for taking his game away."

Now, Brandon's father says he just wants his son to come home.

Copyright (c) 2008 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of AFP.

I'm completely floored. BTW, if you go to the original Yahoo! article here, you'll notice that there's an ad for the new Call of Duty game. Brilliant.

Gamers - Early Voting Has Begun

PSA: Early voting has begun - tell your friends you'll be right back, pause your game, and head down to your local city hall, school, post office, or neighborhood polling place. If you're not yet registered to vote, you still have time, albeit not much. Go here, here, or here to register or to double check to see if you are in the first place.

Remember, Election Day is on November 4th. It may not be a good idea to write "Caboose" for your write-in candidate. We're looking at real world candidates to be our next President.


To learn more about the ad above, read more about it here.

Max Payne

Starring Marky Mark and Meg from Family Guy. Out in theatres Oct. 17, 2008.

We Didn't Start the Fire

How'd I miss this piece of the pie? An overheated 7-year old Xbox is to blame for burning an apartment in Clio, Michigan to a crisp. The console was apparently left running for four days straight in the apartment, igniting a spiral-bound notebook near or on the console, and the rest, as they say, is crispy.

Well, this could've easily been avoided. First of all, don't leave any electronic device running for more than the amount of time needed (e.g., leave the console on for the length of ONE game = one hour max, 'doku). Second, can you recall of any recalls for your console? Not sure? Google "(name of console) recalls." Everyone knows (well, not everyone, apparently the folks who left the Xbox running weren't aware but I'm sure they are now) that Xboxes out on the market before 2003 were recalled for defective power cords. Not too many were recalled...about 14 million.

Read more about it here and here. Please note: my favorite part of the report is that the kid's parents mention he's autistic. I just want to clarify to everyone that his being autistic is NOT the problem; the problem is that the console WAS NOT turned off, thereby setting the apartment on fire.