Jumping in Headfirst

So it was something like, a few weeks ago that I claimed that I wasn't really digging the R&B scene and everybody I knew had pretty much fallen off. Well as it so happens I was checking out the Foxxhole just a few minutes ago and got introduced to a relatively new artist by the name of Melanie Fiona . Coming out of Toronto, Canada (catch up America...first Drake--who's a whole lot better than some of the dudes we've been coming up with, now Melanie Fiona...Canada is kicking your butt right now), Melanie brings a style that manages to hearken back to the old-school of R&B (everything from the Jackson 5/Motown heyday to the early/mid-90's where R&B was king) without being a slave to it. ...Y'know, there was a time when I didn't know what that meant exactly, but then one day I turned on the "oldie" station and they had on some really uninspired music that sounded like it was from the 60's or so...and then I noticed they were mentioning ...

The RPG genre has been in dire straits since about halfway through last gen. While AAA titles still sell a great deal without any trouble, and even non-AAA title are still profitable enough for us to see multiple RPGs each year, conversation between both reviewing critics and fans concerning RPGs continues to wander back to the state of one of gaming's oldest genres: Where RPGs are going, are they in trouble, can they remain relevant in the future? I doubt I have the answer to any of these, but a creativity bunny attacked me so I figured I'd do a post about it anyways. For years, RPGs have been the primary source for lovers of story in video games (along with SRPGs/RTS, which to me is all one big mega-genre anyway). This has been true dating all the way back to the original Nintendo Entertainment System, with Dragon Warrior and the original Final Fantasy games, and then going forward into the Super Nintendo with Final Fantasy III (VI) and Chrono Trigger, even up to the game t...

I don't talk about it very often, but one of my favorite movies is Ocean's Eleven. (Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen I've never really seen and never will unless poked.) For those who haven't seen it, its a surprisingly entertaining heist film starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts. I have a way of describing every detail of a movie when I summarize, so I'll try to keep this one alarmingly simple. George Clooney plays Danny Ocean, a brilliant con-artist/thief who rips off his ex-wife Tess Ocean's (Julia Roberts) boyfriend, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). He recruits the movie's remaining important characters (all specialists in the craft of ripping people off) including his long-time friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to help him rob Benedict's casino, and in the process wins his girlfriend back. What is it Dane Cook said? Yeah yeah, I know the entire internet hates him but he was right about this: Every guy wants to ...