digitaltaco.com

"SHANE'S BACK" OR "A VISIT FROM DAWN" OR "THE MESA EXPERIENCE"

today was a wonderful day... the best in recent memory. hell, the best in distant memory. why? well, i'm sure you've noticed that like desplechin and kubrick before me, i had a bit of trouble choosing a title... though neither of them ended up with three. i win!

• part one: where shane comes to gamespy: today shane returned to oc... and he came packin' a white chocolate kit kat and a curry pan -- my new favorite snack. it's like a roll filled with curry. rather, it is a roll filled with curry. i like rolls. and hey... i love curry so, yeah. rock.
  
  if you've clicked the above links, then you can likely tell the snacks were tightside. but it was even better to have shane back. he looks thinner than ever; that's obviously something we'll have to remedy... we do have taco mesa, remember, so it shouldn't be too big an issue. the day moved quickly. after a brief tour of the 'spy, a bit of mucking around on the ole' mac, we simply sat around my desk while our stomachs turned. that was, until...


• part two: where gamespy is brightened by dawn: yes, the sun looked immaculate early this morning, peeking around the corners of our lovely irvine office park... err, wait... no. so, shane and i were at my desk -- he was playing metroid: zero mission and i mgs: the twin snakes -- when the real dawn arrived. and it was great. we talked work... about arri light kits, beta sp, and about which hot corners to use with expose... about traveling and freelance work... and reality television... we talked about zach horton... for too long. we showed each other some recent work... and i neglected much of the actual work i should have been doing today -- like, for my job. oh well, i'll have plenty of time in vegas this weekend to nerd it up by being nerdy and staying in my nerd room doing nerd work.
  
  basically, yeah, it was wonderful to see dawn today, and as i told her before she left, i miss her even more now that we've finally come in contact again. i've learned that she was deemed "too beautiful" by several of my co-workers today, as well... but to compliment dawn simply on her looks would be a disservice. among other things, it's her passion for her work and her commitment to do so constantly that makes dawn so fascinating... that and her ability to wield a camera like no other. i can't stress what a fool i feel like for falling out of contact with her... dawn, i love working with you and you're a tremendously sweet human being. welcome back... i mean it.
  
  she's another of the fantastic people i'm leaving behind by moving up north... of course, i know it's for the best. but i can't help but think i'm making a mistake... you know, when i remember that i'm leaving the only county in the world with access to taco mesa. i mean seriously! what the hell am i thinking!!! seriously.


• part three: where all of the friends gather at taco mesa:
  

shane, it's wonderful to have you back. dawn, we're keeping in touch. daniel, you rock the taco... possibly even harder than i -- a frightening thought indeed. carlos, christian, raymond... i see you guys daily. but you're still rad.

i had a great day... it can only get bleaker from here on out though. tomorrow, sin city... yes, vegas baby, vegas. until then.

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT COMPUTING

in my opinion, computing should be a delightful experience. simple, elegant, productive, & creative. carlos and i have spent all day living in awe of our laptops. if you want to be convinced that apple's are the way of the future, head on over for a visit... we'll sell you.

...carlos can tell itunes to play a track from my computer... where those computers are connected via 802.11b... and he's issuing comands via his bluetooth-enabled sony ericsson phone...

on an unrelated note, i'm excited about spending my last goonie weekend here in orange county with a bunch of friends who all happen to be congregating in the LA area. dawn, ricky, oli, and carlos... it's gonna be a blast. i look forward to our adventure.

here are a few sweet photos of kevin and ben from a recent gamespy bbq. take a look. (thanks to todd for the photos!)

THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE...

...can be hard to cope with. this is something that many of my friends had to deal with on this somber day. you see, today, well... today eastside deli closed its doors for good. the costa mesa shop had only been open for a short while... its barebones staff and worse-than-bank hours no doubt aided in the restaurant's downfall. but two things remain true:

• the staff was awesome. the two girls that worked the register EVERY time we visited eastside are absolute dears. they always treated us well and never fouled up an order. not once. additionally, one of them even had a crush on carlos, i think... yes amber, you better be happy that carlos doesn't think with his stomach because...


• ...eastside deli's sandwiches were amazing. the pollo caprese on squaw was my first love. the chicken was always grilled to perfection -- moist and tender -- and seasoned with just a hint of basil and oregano. its 1/2" thick fresh mozzarella often slid out of the roll... though this never bothered me. just the sight of such a lovely piece of cheese is magnificent. to eat such a thing alone is nearly as much of a treat as the sandwich itself.

the hot turkey sandwich on stuffing bread was my most recent eastside obsession. carlos had already formed a habit of ordering this wonder while i remained unadventurous and stuck with the classics. but this monster is a force to be reckoned with. hot turkey is obviously choice. especially when there is a giant mound of it piled atop a piece of bread crafted with not only flour, yeast, salt and water... but also with diced carrots, celery, and other such stuffing-related vegetables. the sandwich often ended up rather soggy... but in this case, that was a good thing. those lovely pieces of stuffing bread were like sponges soaking up every last drop of flavor that happened to escape the tender meat. and... actually, i need to stop now. i'm making myself both sad and hungry.

when i say that i miss eastside deli, know that it's quite true. i feel as if i lost an acquaintance to some dark disease today. i tried thinking positively... "you're moving away..." i reminded myself. but in reality my efforts to sooth my sadness are for naught. i'll never see a turkey on stuffing bread sandwich ever again... let alone taste one.


eastside. i'll miss you. goodbye...

ON CLASSY HOTELS:

more and more... i'm really starting to question the practice that videogame publishers have adhered to at every press event i've yet been invited to. you see, they put us up at ridiculous hotels...

...and it's absolutely pointless. well, for me anyway.

sure, i'm always bummed if i can't get a broadband connection in my room...but jesus, some of these places are obscene. the viceroy, our hotel from the previous evening, is no exception. basically, it doesn't work on me, i've decided. the rooms are nice, sure...but i simply spend the whole time questioning the point. and, personally, i'm rarely impressed that a giant corporation can afford to put us up in nice rooms...

but really, i realize that in actuality... i just need a girlfriend. maybe a nice young lady would be impressed by such glitz and glamour. if nothing else, it'd be nice to have somebody to share the experience with. what a waste...

marble bathrooms, king-sized beds, and sunken living rooms are no cure for loneliness.

A BRUSH WITH STARDOM

i'm once again stationed inside one of this earth's many starbucks... relying again on the wonders that a t-mobile hotspot bring. today's update should be rather exciting; i met a movie star.

raymond and i left the office early this morning with the intention of eventually hitting the viceroy, the hotel we're crashing at this evening prior to tomorrow's sony event. but first, raymond had scheduled a super-secret interview with an exremely popular young actress who must remain nameless. ...she'll be co-starring in one of the largest grossing films of the summer... anyways, we were to meet up with the actress in question at a sound recording studio where she was throwing down a voice-over for an upcoming project.

what surprised me was just how swiftly and simply the operation ran. the actress sat in the studio with a few sheets of lines. she spoke each one a few times, often with a bit of direction from one of the game's producers. the entire session took no more than an hour. the entire track was recorded into protools with minimal tweaking from the sound designer. he burnt the aiff to a cd with toast and handed it to the producers before they headed back to the office. swift? surely... but i couldn't help but wish a bit more direction would be given to the actors. i want voice acting in a videogame to be recorded with the care that an actor would give to a role in a film. it's that simple. that said, i think the actress we witnessed today performed rather well.

so yeah, about her. she looked exactly as i imagined... her hair was noticeably lovely, much shorter than usual, but still that lovely golden color that miss coppola captured so well in... whoops. so yeah.... raymond and i were both impressed that she introduced herself... "hi, i'm..." we did the same and shook hands.

when raymond went to interview her, i stayed behind knowing that having me sitting there, doing nothing would have been awkward. i could have asked her a few questions, but really only about the two films of hers that i really enjoy. not pertinent information to anybody except film nerds, i'm sure. so i waited. what was perfectly hilarious was that ray had only been in the room with her for a minute when he returned... the batteries in his recorder had died! yup, that's the gamespy way of blowing it in public. don't take offense, ray... nothing could possibly beat my blunder with the blizzard folks at gencon this year. i just couldn't get that camera working... until i got home and fixed it immediately.

he ended up getting replacement batteries and the interview went off without another error. i even heard the actress giggling from behind the door of the adjacent room. and then, i knew that raymond was working the magic. is there any lady he cannot make swoon?

yeah, so it should have been rather exciting... it should have been, yes. but really, nothing happened. pretty unexciting. but i did shake a movie star's hand.

...hmm, if only i could now get one to act for me... i better get busy.

MOVING ON...

today was ben's last day at the office in irvine. he's the first of the gamespy editorial crew to relocate up to our shiny, new, ign-occupied brisbane base camp. i know it shouldn't matter -- as we'll all be reuniting up north -- but i can't help but feel like ben's absence will be the first major blow to the irvine office caused by the merger. sure, he's not leaving gamespy, but he's a big part of the company's character, and i'm sure the rest of the irvine office will miss him... i know i would.

yup, it's gonna suck without us there... hehe.

i want all of the orange county readers to listen up for a moment; if you happen to be a gamer living in the area, i urge you to do all your shopping at the gamestop in costa mesa located at the corner of harbor and wilson. as some of you may know, i used to work there previous to my employment at gamespy. what you may not know is that the store is run by a fellow named ivan who rocks quite hard. he's always giving me the hook-up and i thank him kindly for it. and i'd like nothing more than for you to take your business to him. trust me -- he know's his stuff.

i've got a ton of games to play and less time than i'd like to play them in. first up? the online beta of syphon filter: the omega strain... that is, if i can stop playing the twin snakes for a few hours. and sony gamer's day is happening tomorrow.

...please, please... something new from the ico team, please... yeah, right. it's nice to dream though.

anybody ever realize how awesome carlos is at designing websites? he's really good... i'd hire him.

#24

updates have been sparse, i know... i suppose i'd blame my busy schedule. in reality, it's probably that i spent most of the week at the office. i'm much more inclined to feel the need to update from the road. yet this is something i'm working to remedy.

earlier this week, i mentioned my trip to bend, oregon. i spent an interesting evening with ricardo and ryan as we attempted to make it to the hotel from the airport. the one cab that travelled to the city had already departed as we arrived at the terminal, and we had to fetch another random taxi with a talkative local woman who ryan had befriended. when we arrived at her place, our cabbie reazlied we had a flat tire, and we were thus forced to wait out in the cold, cold, night for a replacement vehicle. when we did arrive at the hotel, it had just passed 1 AM... fun, indeed.

of course, while in bend, we saw syphon filter: the omega strain. it looked fantastic. additionally, i spoke with many more of my colleagues from the industry. importantly, i met ed from ign who will soon be an officemate. he seems cool, and bryn vouches for him. i also met julie from electric playground. (yes... and the real world...) she's quite an upstanding young gal... hyper-friendly.

any chance that i wasn't moving to san francisco has now been squashed. "the job's up there...." that's what i was told. i've asked for the mentioned raise... i've done my part... it looks as if i will have to attempt to survive on my current wages, though the company could surprise me. yet, i'm not holding my breath. the boys who will likely be my future roommates intend to help me slightly financially if necessary -- by incurring a slightly larger portion of the rent -- that is much appreciated.

carlos and amber went to SF for the weekend to kick it. he's planning to swing by the qloft to give it a look... it's the sweetest apartment i've ever seen. too bad i won't be able to afford it.

i also hit my pal chris's cabin in running springs with the folks from orange last night. we had a blast, as you can imagine. and it was great to see those guys. alex, chris, song, nick, paul, morten, dave... it was fun. i've also now heard one of alex's new tracks... whew.

and now, it's the evening of the ultra-fabricated holiday we call valentine's. and for the twenty-fourth year in a row, i'm spending it alone... well, not completely. i spent a few hours with dogville -- the ending was a bit unexpected... i enjoyed it -- and now lost in translation for the 22nd time or whatever. neither film is cheering me up.. and my original plan to spend the evening working on my metal gear solid: the twin snakes review has fallen through.

oli even messaged me. and she could tell i was down. and she tried to make me feel better. but there was decidedly little she could do. thanks for the effort, dear, but i've got to become stronger on my own. that said, i would've made you dinner.

#25. 365 days to assure that i don't feel this way again next year. i've tried every year...

...but that won't stop me from trying again.

THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE...

i'm very tired, so i don't plan to really get into it right now... but tonight i've suffered through prop planes, flat tires, and snow... besides, you know there's something very wrong when three game journalists (from different pubs, no less) are standing out in the middle of central oregon... at midnight... in 30 degree weather... with at least 2 canon xl1s and a bunch of other miscellaneous gear.

yup, it's been quite a night... more on it tomorrow, i'm sure. err, later today. whatever. oh, and i finally spoke to my good friend dawn this evening. if you're reading, know that it's been so great to hear from you. more soon.

WIPEOUT 2097X

...so, this morning, i've been playing the lovely wipeout 2097 on my powerbook with a keyboard. and it's perfect. that's so hilarious to me.

UNCERTAINTY

this week's been emotional. raymond thought he was going to get fired. i travelled all over the place. i found out i was finally going to get to move to san francisco. i realized i wouldn't be able to afford it. i waited to talk to our president all day yesterday about the move and a possible wage increase. without the extra scratch, it looks like i'll be grounded here. i wanted to have the chat yesterday, but it never occured. the waiting is really killing me. "battle royale II" sucks. tarkovsky's "stalker" is amazing. i finished metroid: zero mission in 4 hours, eight minutes. much was left unexplored. i'll hit 100% my second time through. it's really incredible, despite it's length. if nintendo would trust our skills and not direct our progress through the game using checkpoints, the game would be much longer. trust us, nintendo. later tonight? into work to make metal gear: the twin snakes movies. it's great, btw. tomorrow? sessions covering champions of norrath. monday? the ut2004 lan party at atari, a 6:30 flight to bend, oregon out of lax, and hopefully that phone call. i'm really worried. end transmission.

BATTLE ROYALE II...

...is the most dreadful film i've seen since laurel canyon. and that goddamn movie was atrocious.

battle royale II should not share shelf space with its predecessor. anybody want my copy?

"BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - PART III - ALBUMS

we're back, err... i'm back with another chapter in the fabulous first annual "best thing ever" awards here at digitaltaco.com. tonight we're gonna take a quick peek inside my head and extract the memories that contain my favorite albums of 2003... ooh, that tickles!

ready? set? then by god, let's go, child!

THE 1ST ANNUAL DIGITALTACO.COM "BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - 2003

• tujiko noriko's "from tokyo to naiagara:" this is, without a doubt, the finest album mine ears did have the pleasure of hearing last year. when shane introduced me to the record, he did so by telling me that it was more poppy than noriko's previous release, "make me hard." that, and that it had totally gotten stuck in his head. yet, on my first listen, the record was unremarkable -- though still as good her previous effort, which is actually quite good. but nothing could have prepared me for the way it took over my mind.

  every single track on that record is memorable... whether it's her mellow delivery, a catchy melody, or an unforgetable bassline, not one of the tunes seems to be weaker than the rest of the pack. yet, that doesn't mean that there aren't a few standouts. "kiminotameni," in particular, is mind-numbingly awesome. this goddamn song has been stuck in my head for months. when i visited tokyo for tgs last year, the track was nearly perpetually looping on my ipod. also, i can pretty much sing the song in it's entirety now... keep in mind, though, that i basically understand no japanese. i'm still working on this english thing, as it is.

  buy it at tomlab now!

• lexaunculpt's "the blurring of trees:" yep, i've been listening to t-bot for a good long while now... and you know what? it still does the trick everytime. "the tuning of miniature modems" is gorgeous... the way it slides into "has been trying not to wonder" is completely perfect. i get goosebumps everytime. listen everybody! that's how you start an album... seriously.

  for me, there was no better track to rock in my auto than "ninety-seven cars and free love..." those electronics make me want to boogie... or at least drive really, ridiculously fast. and what can really be said about "le elancholia?" it's silencing. an amazing song about an amazing person by an amazing composer. alex, you own my ass.

  yup, he's my friend... but my love for "the blurring of trees" is mostly unbiased. i know good stuff when i hear it. this, my friends, is oh so much better than that.

• outkast's "speakerboxxx/the love below:" god is this record ever sick... thank you, ricky... never has a night of listening to vinyl been so fulfilling. outkast's latest blows my goddamn mind for so many reasons... as shane has said, the record is genius both lyrically and melodically. i agree wholeheartedly. the first time i heard the chorus of "the way you move," i honestly giggled with glee. it's pure ear candy. and the fun only continues. 40 tracks later, you're ready for another go... and another... and another... and...

  my favorite part about "speakerboxxx/the love below" is that either disc would be a tremendous record on it's own. it almost feels unfair to be served so much goodness all at once. what are the chances that andre and bigboi can top it? i'll tell you one thing... i can't wait to hear what they come up with next.

  from "happy valentine's day"

  "when arrows don't penetrate, see, cupid grabs the pistol.
  he shoots straight for your heart, now, and he won't miss ya."

  from "hey ya!"

  "hey ladies? we gonna break this thing down in just a few seconds.
  now, don't have me break this thing down for nothing...
  now, i wanna see ya'll on your baddest behavior.
  lend me some sugar, i am your neighbor.
  shake it, sh-shake it. shake it, sh-shake it. shake it like a polaroid picture."

  freaking awesome.

tons of great stuff this year, huh. i also totally enjoyed the following:

• "lost in translation ost"
• radiohead's "hail to the thief"
• the white stripes' "elephant"
• prefuse 73's "one word extinguisher"
• the mars volta's "de-loused in the comatorium"
• autechre's "draft 7.30"
• medicine's "the mechanical forces of love"
• the strokes' "room on fire"

yup, this was a decidedly great year for music... at least if you were me. look at all the stuff i like! anyways, it would be in your interest to check out the listed records... i ensure you, they are quite entertaining.

tomorrow: best dvds ever.

BLEEP!!!

like salmon -- or burt lancaster -- we've been moving from "HotSpot" to "HotSpot" in search of the best wireless connection. although, nothing beats the free connection i swiped last night from the 9th floor of the Sir Francis Drake hotel... that'll teach you to sport rooms unequipped with broadband! Unfortunately, Raymond didn't have the same luck in his room. And as he must finish his review of final fantasy: crystal chronicles, we've hit the local starbucks for our current 'net fix.

i've got a couple of hours to kill before grabbing a cab to the oakland airport so i just decided to give warp's new digital distibution site, bleep.com, a whirl. guess what? it works! now, i doubt i'll utilize it that often, as i'm more inclined to purchase a cd for collection purposes, but downloading squarepusher's vinyl-only single in a nice, high-quality, mp3 format just seemed too good to pass up.

fan's of mr. jenkinson's work will likely appreciate his latest release. it sounds every bit as good as the last record, with the first track reminding me of a more subdued version of the first track on "big loada" (the warp release, not the nothing version that moves "come on my selector" to the top of the track order.) the first two cuts are exclusive to the single, while the third is pulled from his upcoming full length -- which has the sweetest artwork i've seen on an electronic release in awhile. i highly recommend checking out both the music and warp's little site. and you can download all three tracks for just under five bucks. not too bad.

HI, OLI...

:)

[to those who are not oli, you may disregard this message... and if you happen to, in fact, be oli... then do not, and know that i miss you.]

i'm a nerd.

"BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - PART II - FILMS

Welcome back to the slightly belated second section of digitaltaco.com's "best thing ever awards." Today, we're looking at the best films that hit theaters in 2003... that i happened to see. unfortunately, this will the hardest section of the awards for me, as i've been to the cinema fewer times this year than in probably the past ten. and if my choices appear to be a bit mainstream, i apologize. i did get introduced to a bunch of great new pictures this year on dvd, but i'll get to that later. for now, my film picks for 2003.

THE 1ST ANNUAL DIGITALTACO.COM "BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - 2003

FILMS:

• sofia coppola's "lost in translation:" i don't care how "cool" it is to like this film right now... in fact, i don't care if the film is so well liked that it's not cool to like it anymore. to be blunt, "lost in translation" sits with "rushmore" at the absolute top of my list of favorite films. while i didn't see much of anything else in theaters this year, i did see miss coppola's latest five times... i also picked up the dvd last week (i've got my sources...) and have since seen it at least another six times since then. if you're reading this site, then you've probably already seen it... and if you haven't, go buy that dvd. the special features are quite well done, as well.

  oh, and if you're one of those that doubts sofia's quality as a writer/director, and you feel that she likely had tons of talented help crafting this piece... i both agree and disagree... yet, i would still enjoy this picture... whoever is responsible, i salute you. it's exactly what i want to see. in fact, the first thing i said after watching the film for the first time was that i was kind of glad i ended up in the gaming industry instead of making it as a filmmaker. nobody's doing good gaming television... on the other hand, somebody crafted the exact film i would've made. tokyo? check. bill murray? check. the lovely and until now underrated miss johansson? check. kevin goddamn shields? CHECK! a genius DP... and the most beautiful subtle screenplay and direction i've seen in awhile. yup, i like it a bit.

  oh and sofia? i'd like to know how you knew that my bloody valentine + a drowsy cab ride + tokyo's streets during the evening would make such a perfect combination. i knew... how did you!?

• quentin tarantino's "kill bill: volume 1:" i loved this film the first time i saw it, but i had to go back again to be sure. and yeah, it's slick. i hardly know where to begin -- mostly because it's been months since i watched the film -- but i don't know. it's just a smart film. it's always catching you off guard.... always trying something new... something silly... the dialogue, while sparse, is entertaining to me... i know some aren't down with getting "these other piggies wigglin'" but i sure am...

  the soundtrack is totally genius, in my opinion. the two standout moments for me are when uma is choosing her sword (seriously, hilariously awesome) and when oren ishii and her crew make their entrance at the restaurant/club thing. seriously, that's the slickest entrance since the brothers decide to join the team in "shaolin soccer." thank god for rza.

  and yeah... so we're all still waiting to see "volume 2." man, does that seem to chafe people. the split doesn't really bother me. why? i fully enjoyed the first bit... and i'm glad that i'll get to watch more in a few months. sure, the story's not completed in "volume 1," and everybody likes to talk about conspiracy theories and miramax charging us all twice, etc, etc. none of that bothers me. i just like the film. it's fun.

i'm only prepared to call out those two films. in fact, the only other film i'd even consider from 2003 was "winged migration." it's great... really... see it. oh, and "return of the king" is solid as well.

tomorrow: best albums ever.

A DAY WORTH REMEMBERING

written at 6:11 PM PST, 02.03.2003 while flying somewhere over central USA...

as you can probably gather from the headline, the last 24 hours have been quite memorable. the day began with the aforementioned trip to epic. ut2004 looks fantastic -- quick, arcade style deathmatch... stupidly awesome vehicles... tried and true weapons -- it's right up my alley. sal will no doubt post his preview rather soon, (hopefully next week) so be sure to check it out. of course, because i was present, we'll have video footage, in addition. cliffyb was kind enough to let us shoot a nice little interview and drive some direct-feed, so look for that piece to run with the preview.

cliffy was super-cool, unsurprisingly. he seemed to be quite in-tune with the fps scene, gaming in general, and man... the boy knows his pop culture. but as mr. cusack relates in "high fidelity," it's not who you are or who you know that's important, but rather, what you like. ...the boy has a copy of herzog zwei in his genesis and miyamoto's business card tacked on his wall. cool? hellz yeah.

unfortunately, our play time was cut short as we had to catch our flight home. upon arriving at the airport, we were informed that all flights into and out of chicago/o'hare (where we were planning to hit our connection) were suffering a delay of about an hour. since this applied to all flights, missing a connection should not have been an issue. yet, john wayne airport closes at 11:00 p.m. thanks to the rich, white, elite living in newport beach's back bay area. so it's off to LAX... yippie.

also, raymond called to inform me that yes, we are in fact going to be moving to san francisco... by april 1st, he relayed. excited? you bet... now i have to figure out how i'm going to be able to afford it...

so, yeah... my head's all over the place right now. as i type, we're about an hour away from dallas, where sal and i will hopefully hit our connecting flight -- though a bit of "home alone" flavored sprinting may be necessary. all i know right now is that by the time my head hits the pillow tonight i'll be quite famished. and more importantly, i'll be up early again tomorrow to hit another flight to SF. am i tired? quite. am i happy? at least a little bit. am i excited? most definitely? what will the future hold? who knows.... well, a home in my favorite city in my favorite state in the country, to begin with. and by god, i'm ready for it.

DIGITALTACO.COM'S 1ST ANNUAL "BEST THING EVER AWARDS" PART I

as you well know, 2003 has come and gone. the coming of a new year brings many things: plenty of good-hearted resolutions, one night of absolute drunkenness, and everybody's best of the year awards. i realized something earlier today... i like stuff too! so... why not throw up my top choices for 2003? why not, indeed...

anybody who's known me for any length of time will tell you that i can be a rather annoying critic of stuff, in general. i either flat out hate this "thing" or downright love it. to get to the point, i think i've named probably around 1000 things the "best thing ever," over the course of my life... so now, i thought it appropriate to gather a list of recent things that have been deemed "best thing ever." you know, like stuff that came out in 2003, for example.

my friends, without further adieu, i present to you part I of...

THE 1ST ANNUAL DIGITALTACO.COM "BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - 2003

VIDEOGAMES:

• warioware inc., mega microgames (GBA): what can be said about warioware that hasn't already been said? very little. it's simply the most innovative title of 2003. (eyetoy: play being the only possible exception... and also one of the best releases this year) but most importantly, it is nearly completely accessible to everybody, gamer or otherwise. i remember reading ben's review and being completely intrigued by his enthusiasm. needless to say, it was warranted.

  i just love the energy... the speed... the action! believe me, you may not know what to make of warioware if you're simply watching someone else play, but once you wrap your hands around that GBASP, you'll realize you're playing a game every bit as action-packed as a run-of-the-mill shooter... only it's completely new and completely addicting. and besides, any game that convinces oli, a good friend and non-gamer, that she needs a GBASP is a winner in my book.

• the legend of zelda: wind waker (GCN): my time with wind waker was interesting. i played through it just slightly more swiftly than carlos and matt who were playing in tandem. during my adventure, i absolutely adored the game... the dungeons and weapons we're so fresh yet so "zelda" all the same. and while some found the ocean boring and unmanageable, i found it wondrous and enchanting. during my quest for the triforce shards, i realized that i knew, and had visited, every nook and cranny of that vast, rolling sea... and goddamnit, i was it's master. and let's not even speak about the graphics and sound... nintendo must have been channeling miyazaki... and i loved it.

  yet, as i watched my friends finish up the game, i started to see its flaws... the gameplay is very similar to that in the ocarina of time and majora's mask. and any other zelda title would've had at least 2-3 more dungeons, at least. and the ocean, while vast, could've been a bit more densely packed with interesting stuff to explore. for example, wouldn't it have been great to have found an island as impressive as windfall or outset that was not a requirement to complete the game? sure, there are several really fleshed out locales in wind waker, but you are forced to visit all of them. i kept wishing i'd find some other gigantic place to explore whilst searching for hidden treasure... but it never happened... and finally, the glimpse of hyrule near the end of the game left me thirsting for more... hyrule rules, no?

  while i wasn't completely bummed on the game, i was sore as i felt that it could've been so much more. i later realized i was wrong. after allowing it to sit for many months, i returned to the wind waker and remembered just how wonderful it is... the beauty, the life... it is like a living miyazaki film... sure, the gameplay may be a bit derivative... but, that doesn't means it's not totally fun. i will never doubt the power of wind waker ever again. "why?" because, it's the best thing ever... doi!

• star wars: knights of the old republic (Xbox/PC): i didn't care about kotor at all until i watched kasavin's video review. this is because i hate star wars. star wars sucks more than it ever has and george lucas should probably die... but kotor rules... mostly because it's canadian, i'd wager.

  i'd gotten through taris before my adventure was interrupted by a family vacation to america's own midwest. it sucked, as you can imagine, but at least i had packed my xbox and my copy kotor. i spent the next six days slowly progressing through the epic despite the endless nagging my relatives (you all rock, by the way) forced me to endure. and i enjoyed nearly every last second.

  the game is clearly not without flaw. the graphics kinda suck, (though it can look quite good on the PC) the control is of questionable quality, there aren't enough alien models or voices, etc. and though it doesn't bother me much, carlos has convinced me that the dark side game contains far less intriguing dialogue than the light side game. regardless, kotor kept me busy for a week while i would have otherwise been toasting in the hot sun in the middle of nowhere. bioware, i thank you. with any luck, jade empire will be equally entertaining.

and that, my friends, concludes part I of the awards. be sure to tune in tomorrow for part II... best. films. ever... of 2003. whatever.

until then.

FIRST MAJOR SITE REDESIGN!

the site's been up for one day... and well, here's the first official site redesign. craziness. if we keep up the pace, the site will be bigger than the whole rest of the internet in about 1100 years. i think carlos is up for it.

tomorrow sal and i are headed to north carolina to visit epic's clifford "cliffyb" bleszinski. hopefully this time we'll make it all the way to nc... last time dallas was as far as we made it...

i'll also be headed to sf later this week with raymond. ladies and gentlemen from northern california, i look forward to seeing you all.

DOOMO

so, carlos was bored last night. now we have a new 802.11g network and i have a website. here it is. you'll find the usual content here: colorful comments, neat-o photos, and one-sided commentary... but it'll come-correct with that old-school, electro-mexican flavor that you adore.

hmm... a new month... hopefully this one will yield a few games worth commenting on.

...mmm...metroid....