The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best line of the film:

Daisy (Cate Blanchette): Sleep with me.
Benjamin (Brad 'Man-Cake' Pitt): Absolutely.

Now if we edit that just a bit for it to say.....

Brad: Sleep with me.
Me: Abso-freakin'-lutely!!!



WHY IS HE SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOT!?

The movie was lovely by the way; cinematography was excellent and from what my friend Darkhorse David told me, it was shot using digital film. Overall, it was a prettily filmed movie. I cried like, every half hour, and I managed to question my own mortality. I'm sure F. Scott Fitzgerald didn't have a god like Brad Pitt in mind when he wrote the story, but I should applaud David Fincher (director, Fight Club), for always keeping my Man-Cake in mind for roles where shirtless, wet, gyrating men are needed.

Go see the film; 4.5 stars out of 5; 2.5 hours. Better go use the bathroom before the previews hit, folks.

One liner of the night

Sometimes RL just plain ol' sucks. (fin)

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.

She & Him concert review

Hey all - here's a copy of my review of the recent She & Him show at the House of Blues. Once in awhile I'll contribute some musical thoughts to my friend's LA indie music scene blog Eight Track Hero. Whether she put this one up on the site is totally up to her but I thought I'd cut her at the pass anyway and post this one up here too! =)

She & Him with Lavender Diamond at the House of Blues, Anaheim, November 5, 2008



Could it be possible that there’s musical talent out there that proves to your eyes and ears that the live performance will completely blow the studio album out of the water?

Yes.

Wednesday night’s She & Him show at the House of Blues in Anaheim proved just that. Lavender Diamond, a peace-loving, the world is magnificent band started off the night with their soul-capturing borderline country-esque melodies and their Harriet Wheeler meets Tracyanne Campbell vocals. Lead by Becky Stark, it’s simply hard to imagine that such a haunting, ethereal voice can come out of this lil’ lady. But it’s true! And I’ve quickly become a fan.

Accompanied by a pianist, drummer, bass and acoustic guitarists, and a backup vocalist, Stark portrays a Western atmosphere in her onstage presence and band’s musical composition, and surprisingly enough, her “accent.”

After a half hour set with Lavender Diamond, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward strode on stage, opening their set with “I Was Made for You.” Starting off the night with one of their stronger tracks off of their Volume One album, Deschanel, Ward and their accompanying band did not disappoint. Deschanel, who doubled on vocals and the piano, graced the audience with her sweet voice and humble stage presence. Throughout the night, she would banter with audience members, commenting, “I only hear what I want to hear. I have a filter,” after someone yelled out, “Zooey, I love you!”

And of course, she like most everyone else in California, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Oregon, and Washington, was thrilled that Barack Obama was voted as president-elect for the next four years. “Change is one the way,” she exclaimed. “Not for the better,” yelled the handle-barred mustached guy standing behind me. “Yes for the better,” prompted Zooey, “because we love Barack Obama!”

Performing most of the songs off of Volume One and new material that may be included on their upcoming Volume Two album, in addition to a few cover tunes (e.g., Screamin’ Jay Hawks’ “I Put A Spell On You,” Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me”), She & Him performed an excellent set infusing ‘50s inspired melodies coupled with the powerful guitar riffs of M. Ward. And even though this is my first time seeing M. Ward on stage, he proved to me that it’s 100% possible to add a hard-shredding edge of electric guitar on such a classic tune as “You Really Got a Hold on Me.”

Before their encore set, the band performed an impressive rendition of “Sweet Darlin’,” with a terrific run-on by the accompanying band; I personally felt like I was at a good ol’ fashioned ho-down at a local barn (in Downtown Disney)! All we needed was the sweet tea!

An interesting tidbit of the night: after the encore performance was over and the band started to walk off stage, an unidentified girl (who looked like she was about 17) jumped on stage and ran toward Deschanel and made it look like she wanted to either get a hug from her or jump her for a lock of her hair. Deschanel in turned gave her a look of, “Who the hell are you???” Security then came out and got in the way between the fan and Deschanel. Since I was in earshot of the girl, I heard her (or one of her friends) exclaim, “Who the **** does she think she is?” Whether it was directed to the fan or Deschanel, I wouldn’t know.

Aside from the possible paparazzi-inspired scene of the night, She & Him, along with Lavender Diamond, put up an amazing performance that didn’t leave one person standing still or a dry eye in the house. Five out of five stars.

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.

Red vs. Blue Rock The Vote PSA: Election Night

Have you registered yet?

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.

Chuck of Duty?

It's been years it seems since I've watched a weekly series on basic cable (remember Friends?) Indeed, I used to watch a show like Grey's Anatomy, it was called ER. Is that still around? While eating my pizza for one frozen dinner, I happened upon a show called Chuck. Don't know much about it, other than the basic premise of an awkward geek who becomes an awkward CIA agent. It's cute. There's a hot chick in it and everything.

Anyhow, what struck my fancy was the fact that in tonight's episode Chuck's coworker-slash-friend (the one pictured in the green shirt, is his name Morgan? And by the way, Chuck is a not quite higher up at a store called Buy More) unrolled what was basically a game map to (drumroll) Call of Duty. In fact, Call of Duty played a recurring role in the first half-hour of the episode (if it came up again after that I wouldn't know...I had dishes to wash at that point). Morgan had a strategy and everything, including x amount of foot soldiers, x amount of helicopters, etc.

If it sounds like a product placement, looks like a marketing ploy, or smells like a deal between NBC and Activision, it probably is.