Mark-of-the-Ninja

Even the Pittsburgh Pirates played video games this year. Knock on wood, you guys, but I managed to get through 2012 without having all my video games stolen from my house while I was sleeping [EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s 2013 now, you dummy. You don’t need to knock on wood]. Should that even be an achievement? 2012 seems to be a shift in the status quo. Perhaps it’s because the new console generation hasn’t yet kicked off, but I feel like fewer and fewer AAA, big budget titles have been grabbing my attention lately. Of the 56 games on this list I feel like very few (about 12) were big, huge landmark games. Maybe that’s not all that different, but it feels different… ...

Sunny Isles Beach, FL. Summer’s gone and the regular baseball season ends this week, but that doesn’t mean the fun is over. Movies Almost, but no. TV Sherlock - The Hounds episode was terrible. I like Sherlock when his mysteries are solved with thorough detective work and deduction, not the kind of gobbledegook that we had with the hallucinogens and the weird hound. Very disappointing episode, way more so than the Chinese smuggler episode from the first series. ...

Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation Lino Block Print Not everything’s back yet, but TV! It’s back! Movies Cabin in the Woods - Watched about 20 mins while Scarlett was napping. I wonder what Danielle’s gonna end up thinking of the movie. I’m a huge fan. Love Fran Kranz TV The Daily Show - The Romney gaffe-fest made for some interesting commentary this week. Love the bit about how being Latino would make everything easier. Yeah, try being a minority for real Romney… ...

Dead Redshirt It was a really video game-y week with (nearly) finishing Mark of the Ninja and the Friday launch of FTL: Faster Than Light and I don’t think it’ll get any less video game-y with Borderlands 2 coming out tomorrow. I’m actually glad FTL didn’t come out until Friday because I would have gotten nothing done otherwise… Movies The Words - The movie tries to be poignant and interesting as it examines the consequences of decisions that none of the characters suffer very much for making. In fact, the framing device is clumsy and not nearly explored enough so no one cares that Quaid was really Cooper. No one understands why Olivia Wilde is so obsessed with Quaid either. Additionally, it suffers from that problem where this book, The Words, is supposedly an excellent piece of fiction, but the narration which is presumably prose coming straight out of the book is stunted, weak, and unimpressive. ...

2456259-psy-ladies-gangnam-style-617-409 This week was ridiculous, guys. I mean, so much K-Pop and so much Jazz! It’s like highs and lows here. Add in some fantastic TV shows and ninjas and you’ve got my media week. Movies Sleepwalk With Me - Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass’ first joint movie project was a resounding success. It’s pretty much an adaptation of his stage show, but, as Min pointed out, we’ve seen this performed two or three times and it still feels really fresh. An excellent freshman effort. Catch it if it hasn’t left your city. ...