i’m not going to apologize for not posting in 2 weeks.  just know real life kicked my ass for a a while, but i won the fight.  i hope to put some more detailed posts up soon, but for now all i can say is there has ever been a more perfect superficial reason to vote for someone than this:

every summer, the majority of the video gaming world, all come together in one epicenter of videos, demos, information, and hype.  that’s right, it’s e3 time.  the electronics entertainment expo is on, and while all the internet is abuzz with all of the haps, i’m not going to try and act like i’m bringing you some exclusive.  i’m just going to talk about what has caught my eye thus far.

first off, ds is back in the win column!  after last post’s ugly news that a “buffy: the vampire slayer” game was coming to my cherished handheld, good news came today in the form of organized crime and the rebirth of the most sought after classic, maybe ever.  first, joystiq has the official pics that grand theft auto is heading to chinatown and the ds.  while there isn’t a lot to this so far except for the title, it’s exciting to see nintendo welcoming a bit more grown up franchise.  not that what ds and even wii has done so far isn’t spectacular, it’s just nice to have a change of pace.

and secondly,  chrono trigger is back.  and no it’s not some emulator and i didn’t dig up an old snes and cartridge on ebay.  nintendo finally came around and made a remake of one of my all-time favs and honestly, one half of the reason i love rpgs to this day.  (final fantasy III on the snes (VI in japan) is the second).  I can’t wait to beat this game, and beat it again, and again, and again, since even back then, they had the vision to give you all your stats and gear back so you had a reason to persue the multiple endings!  here is are some screens on ign.  cue the salavation.

 nintendo also seems to be doing it up big on the wii.  while i don’t own one, i love my time spent with the console and i continue to be impressed by their innovation.  as if yesterday’s announcement of a even more accurate motion controller wasn’t enough, they are taking their already successful wii sports franchise on vacation.  kotaku, the best home for gaming nerdery on the net, has the pics of wii sports resport.  and yes, i do want to play wii frisby with a wii puppy.  does that make me less of a man?  if anything, i would say it makes me more of an american.

but i can’t leave sony out of this nintendo lovefest.  everytime i think i’m out, the bastards pull me back in.  thanks a lot sony.  just when i thought i was going to keep some money in savings for a bit, you have to go out and make the ps3 that much more attainable.  but i’m not faltering yet.  i need something besides mgs4 to get me to drop that kind of cash.  but then again, my stimulus check does come soon since i was part of the last group to have them mailed….snake?  SNAAAAAAAAAAAKE!

since a web dump.  but here we go.

we start at boing boing with a double shot from those guys.  first up, is something that might be the best thing i’ve ever posted on here:  an idea vending machine.  seriously.  i get so frustrated with an indecisive group who can’t figure out what do, and i’m just as much a part of the problem when it happens.  but now two quarters solves that problem in an instant.

the second hit from boing boing is a bit late, but i didn’t have time to post.  it’s pretty simple.  iran tested some missles, but then tried to lie about it by putting out some photos that were…doctored.  well, needless to say it didn’t take long for the fierce gavel of judgment to come crashing down on the site of the next season of “the war” coming to fox news, cnn and msnbc this call.  dear iran, you suck at photoshop.  thx, the internets.

in bike news, comes an amazing idea from trek, featured over at gearfuse.  the bike company has come up with the ingenious concept of a biking vending machine/repair station.  the one-stop-shop would have come in especially handy a couple weeks ago when i found myself stuck on the side of the road with a flat.

in something that needs little explination, lazarus has developed wine labels so the blind can get drunk a lot easier.  

in music news, radiohead keeps staying like 5 steps ahead of the pack and this time they are doing it with their music video.  apparently thom yorke and crew decided that they didn’t need cameras for their new video, just lasers.  the pics are amazing and the video should be coming soon behind.

and finally, for the first time since i decided i wanted one and persued tracking it down after christmas for three months, g4 has given me a reason to not want a nintendo ds anymore.

so i said see you monday, but it’s actually sunday now. new york was amazing but also exhausting. i got to go to so many cool stores that i normally just shop at in the virtual world. and i also ate great ramen and pinkberry. and word on the street is, starbucks just bought them so it will no longer be an “only in new york” thing soon. here is a link to their website, but be warned: the song is ridiculously catchy.

so getting to the title of this entry. there is an apartment in my neighborhood. well there are a lot actually, but i don’t have the time or reason to talk about them all here. this one in particular was special. because in the ground floor window that faced the street on my walk home from one of my favorite restaurants and also a local market, was the man himself. the leader of the autobots and quite possibly the greatest american without an actual heartbeat: optimus prime. and i’m not talking about some new rehash. this was the original. the same one i found in my mom’s closet around christmas of 1986 i believe.

it was always so comforting knowing that the best of the best in all of the transformers kingdom was there watching over the neighborhood. ready for anything. if the decepticons attacked, he would be there. if a dinobot got out of control, he would reign them in. or maybe you just wanted to say hello. optimus was always there for you. but no more. sadly, optimus prime and the other robots (which were cool but not transformers, maybe in training though) has moved on. there is just a curtain there now. and no robots to be seen anywhere.

i mean, sure. over the past almost two years i have lived in my current place, i have grown a lot. and i’m not saying i don’t need optimus there, but i think our little slice of rva is going to be ok. we have good people, and i know deep down inside, if we need prime and the rest of the autobots, they will come to our aid. but i will miss seeing his robot face, smiling at me under that cool looking thing that covers up where his mouth would be.

so one last time, in honor of prime, autobots….transform and role out.