You might remember Tycho mentioning Todd Goldman and a story about him stealing some artwork from a web cartoonist. We covered it in a comic and a post and our point of view was essentially “yeah it sucks but you can’t sue the guy for being a douche bag.” I would have left it at that except, well the latest development in the whole ordeal is actually super funny. It’s important to point out that Todd’s initial response to the article about his thievery was to call Dave Kelly a Pedophile. I’m not joking here he actually said “Here’s my inspiration! Every month I paint the works of a pedophile.” The letter goes on and it’s obvious that he’s just being a smart ass and blowing the whole thing off. Honestly I chuckled at the letter when I read it because (being a professional asshole myself) I thought it was a funny way to respond to the accusations. However, if you call someone a pedophile in a public forum you can’t turn around a few weeks later and threaten to sue that same forum for slander.

Humiliated at the table for the last time, we are now determined to secure victory at any cost. We briefly considered more training and practice, but I believe these solutions were presented in a humorous context. Once the fits of laughter had ceased, we began to research toxic amphibians and the ochre sap one might squeeze from their drooping pustules. You may find the results immoral, but you need to consider Ping Pong as a global phenomenon. For example, when playing by Djibuti Rules, it's considered perfectly normal to release a hungry lion.  Like clay or grass, each venue presents unique challenges.

In case you thought I was exaggerating in my earlier post here’s some proof. These were taken by Amaze. Kiko should have his photos from the event on his Flickr pretty soon.

As Tycho mentioned we lost another match this time to Amaze. We’ll have pictures soon and I’ll have proof of the story I’m about to tell you. Until I can show you you’ll just need to trust me. This is all 100% true.

Doki Doki Majo Saiban is a game for the Nintendo DS where the player - as a concerned citizen, presumably - must closely examine potential witches at your school. This analysis is performed with the stylus. We have produced a comic on the subject, in effect purging it from the mind, making a pure life possible.

Caught it over at Joystiq this morning.  Exquisite.  Just exquisite.

(CW)TB
 

As for the strip, minstrels are actually a perfectly fine choice - they are the "priest" option in Lord of the Rings online, just like their Hunter class deals the damage we associate with "wizards" elsewhere in the genre. Many MMO tropes are rejiggered for the setting - it's not a place where people cast fireballs or rain down frozen shards before they hop on a gryphon. I tend to suck the marrow out of these late-phase open betas, discarding the shattered bone once the game is launched, because Massives create desperate brain hungers with their insidious reward schemes. I'll be curious to see how long this terrible appetite persists beyond the launch.

We have altered the name of the product, but we were approached to advertise, um... something. I'm not exactly certain why he thought we would be a good match. We did run ads for Drakengard, I suppose - perhaps he thought we were amenable to objectionable content.

Reading a preview of the newest Harry Potter title - the one for the Wii, with motion sensing wand controls(!!!) - I've begun to make certain preparations for its eventual release. I've had my robes pressed, my scarf of blue and bronze dry-cleaned. I've also endeavored to secure certain... materials, shall we say, of a mystical nature to augment the experience. I was aware that Gabriel owned a unicorn, but I was not aware that he was operating some kind of supernatural zoo.

The ability to extend Guitar Hero with downloadable songs was main reason I made the investment in the next-gen version.  Investment is the right word, too:  I choked down that ninety dollars with a lot of twisting and full-body spasms.  It was like an anaconda swallowing a sheep.  But the idea that I'd be able to snag expansions and classic tracks straight over the wire was some comfort. 

The pricing on these new songs is simply a bad call - and knowing that Guitar Hero III is going to hit in a few short months makes me wonder how valuable this stopgap content actually is.  Five hundred points (or $6.25, in human money) for a three song pack is the work of a diseased mind.  These things should be priced like gumballs, obvious to any person who passes by.  Bundle them together.  Something.  Something that would make me feel like less of an idiot for buying your product again.

I understand that the songs are now 5.1, and that they include the second track for co-operative play - it isn't just the old shit hurled up on the auction block.  The pricing is still extortionary, and I've bought my last track. 

(CW)TB

Any opportunity to denounce my nemesis and his reprehensible Franzibilia is welcome - and I have seized it, just as King Ronard once seized his sword of gleaming rubian.

Sakuracon occurred, and we attended it. It was good to see Sam and Claire, to the extent that I actually did. The extended Questionable Content "kroo" also provided mechanically detectable amounts of joy. This was until I had to leave the convention unexpectedly, taking to the air in order to return to the ancestral homeland. This left Gabriel to manage a two-hour panel by himself in the convention's largest hall. I was distraught, but only regarding my dereliction and not because I thought he would be unable to manage it. He is the funny one, after all. It has ever been thus:  he the damaged genius, and I the loyal archivist who scrambles to collect his mad prophecies.

I don't believe it was ever referred to as Doobie Howser - even when the show was really big.  The news story we "reefer" to in the comic concerns a young schizophrenic who murdered someone after being high for a period of several years.  The article mentions Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in the body of the piece, but if we're trying to cook up a reason why this might have happened I don't think we need to work quite that hard.