Tuesday, December 27, 2011

BootLeG Year in Review

As another year near its end and a lot of stuff happened to say the least.  There have been much stuff happening around the world and, well, if you want some perspective for that, you could visit some other kind of credible place.  But for now, I'm just gonna place some of the things that I think were important to me and what impacted my blog.  So here's a year in review of the blog that just is for 2011.  Just for the record, it's not like I don't pay attention to current events and what not, it's just that it's my blog and I want to give myself a little praise.


First off, it was a good year in the fact that I try to be as proactive as posting as frequently as possible.  I honestly and earnestly made the valiant effort of doing a once-a-week blog here.  And for the most part (obviously some weeks were a little off because of scheduling and holidays) I did my part.  For 2012, I hope to continue with that effort and keep the caliber of the content at least at the level that it is now, but always trying to expand on it.  Which brings me to my next point.  I wanted to expand on more of a video aspect.  This also comes across as a time and scheduling constraints that I had.  Honestly, time management is something I still need to work on.  Hence why I'm gonna try my damnedest on 2012 to put up more video content.  Let's not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to see all the crap that I'd put up so far.


As far as gaming is concerned, it was all well for me finally experiencing the epic awesomeness of all that is the PS3.  Sure it's about 4 years too late, but still, it's badass.  The power of blu-ray and all the games I've played so far, it's gonna set me up for one helluva new year.  It's the main driving force for me to get back on what I stated for my 2012 resolution of playing Final Fantasy VII and complete it by the end of 2012.  It's just that friggin' awesome.  I'm in love with it, it's the only acceptable mistress that the wifie will allow me to have.


Music related, it's just been me listening and enjoying.  Although the urge to play have been great, I've been learning little by little how to play my 12-string acoustic guitar and also thinking of new instrumental accompaniments that also will help with my resolution of writing a new song a month.  So it's all good that I've been just laying it low, and feeling refresh for everyone.  Once again, it'll be a better year next year for that.


As far as other stuff, well, with the work that I'm still putting on the eventual transformation to a new design for the blog, it was pretty laid back.  I promise you, look forward to 2012.  Adios 2011, it's time had left us to a pretty damn good year and set for better times for the next year.  So I leave you with a line from of course one of my favorite bands, doubleDrive; "Give us some confetti here we'll have us a better year"  Hot damn it's almost 2012, see ya next year (or Tuesday, whatever comes first...)

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Early Start on New Year's Resolutions

Here it is getting towards the end of the year and I'm certain among the list of holiday parties and presents and get-together's, I'm certain that somewhere you might have contemplated about what you're trying to do to improve yourself for the next year.  The setting of resolutions and the eventual breaking of them by spring.  Hence why I didn't set any this past year, but I'm feeling a little different this year.  I was thinking about what I could do to improve personally and what goals I thought of what I should do that I haven't accomplished yet.  So I've compiled a reasonable list and this is what I think would be great for resolutions, at least for me.




  • Beat Final Fantasy VII, finally :: It was the RPG that changed the landscape of all other RPG's for a generation.  I remember when I first played it back in high school and was fascinated by how badass it was.  It's been a goal since I can remember for such.  So I figured why the hell not.  I've already downloaded it off of the Playstation Network and figured this will be the year I will beat the game that haunted me for the past 15 years.  I'll even post some updates about it later, but this will finally resolve my obsession of beating my white whale.
  • Read, something else that isn't webcomics :: As a homeschooling parent the wifie and I stress very strongly the importance of reading to my sons.  They see my wife read a lot, me not so much outside of articles online.  I feel that this is a personal resolution to not help myself be more literate, but be a good example to my sons.  I'm a strong believer that reading is indeed fundamental, and I want to take that example across the board to my sons.
  • Write a new song/lyric a month for next year :: I've been personally neglecting myself with writing new material for the past two and a half, well, close to about three years now.  A lot of stuff happened and I wasn't feeling much creative and that I was kind of depressed at that time.  But now since I felt that I've took a long enough hiatus, I want to bring my musical juices back and ripen them for the thoughts that I've had the past time.  I feel pretty good about this and I am assuring myself to put a new song/lyric up once I'm done by the end of each month in 2012.  Get ready for some kickass stuff to come out of this.  And to further on with this, by the end of the year, I will make sure that I learn how to play the guitar and preform one of my songs via a youtube video.  I figure guitar because bass solos, even though I like them, not as sexy as an acoustic guitar.  So look forward to some great content on that end.
  • Learn to manage all that's on my plate ::  Lately I've been trying to work on other web content manage systems such as Wordpress and Joomla to help with other's requests for sites.  I have been stuck putting my stuff on the back-burner thinking of other's need before mine.  Which is in essence a good thing, but I need to take some me time to get my stuff off the ground.  I didn't do as much as I thought I would do such as videos on this blog or even upgrading the look and feel just yet, but I will with this resolution.  I want to make time for me to do what's good for me while not neglecting any of the time I devoted for others.  Of course I still need a day job and family time, that's not gonna go away, but I feel that with this resolution, I can get something going for myself as well as others.
So those are just some of the resolutions I plan on taking.  It's not as serious as others like losing weight (which I do need to do) or stop smoking (which I don't smoke to begin with), but it's stuff that I contemplated for for a long time and I really want to get this going.  I love to continue on with this blog post but I really feel that this is enough for now.  It'll be a great year, and I hope that your's will be as well.

Happy holidays and a wonderful new year.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

WTF PEOPLE!?! Electronic Cigarettes

There's just something that I don't get at times.  Why to people try to gun a yellow light from 500 feet away?  What is the fascination of the lottery to most people?  Why the hell don't my kids listen to me?  But those are other discussions, well, maybe not, but it's open.  For now it's all about a growing trend that, well, just about as stupid as the one they're trying to abolish.  Electronic cigarettes trying to make way as the new trend to stop the hazards of smoking but making you look like a complete tool doing it.  I know there have been other things like patches, gum, twelve-step programs, and a bunch of stuff.


But these things now are like the big fad and they look stupid as hell.  I can't believe how popular it become.  Essentially the premise is that they charge from an AC outlet and you can puff and puff from your heart's content and blow out water vapor to look like smoke.  It's like a grown-up version of candy cigarettes.  Really stupid looking and impractical.  And not to mention it's like hella-expensive.  I've seen commercials for such going for a pack of e-cigarettes for $130.  A lot of money for smoke and mirrors (really bad joke, I know)  And for what, to look like this?!?


Of course I'm a big fan of good ol' going cold turkey.  I haven't had a cigarette personally for four years now.  Luckily for me I haven't been smoking all that long, so the process of going cold turkey was good.  And the fact that I was cheap just drove me to quit faster because cigarettes cost money; and that was money taking away from bills and family.  So one and one made two and that's that.


In closing, the point of this rant is smoking is stupid.  No matter what medium you use, it's friggin' stupid.  Unless you're that guy in the video, and then it's funny and stupid.  The easiest thing is if you don't smoke just don't, and if you do, stop.  You'll thank me and everyone that's been telling you to stop later.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, November 28, 2011

What The Phuck, Eagles' Season is Over

Welcome to another installment of What The Phuck, my perspective for Philly sports as a Philly fan, and an excuse to rant about it in a general forum.  The 2011 season for most NFL teams and fanatics have either been filled with wonder, awe, or heartbreak.  Sometimes a mixture of the three.  For me being a Philly fan, it's just been God-awful.  Let me emphasize on this a little bit.  It's week 12, there's 5 more to go, and a team that was held high for so much of the season even after failed ridicule and a hell-gauntlet of a division, the NFC East, to end up at this point being 4-7 is all but humbling at this point.  It's damn right embarrassing.  I like to point out my views on how come there is so much fail in the organization.


I'm not gonna point fingers to the players, yet...  Don't worry they got their share in this BootLeG approved ass-chewing, but the bulk of it have to fall on the coaching staff.  Andy Reid can't seem to place the players he have or lead them in a way to constantly perform.  The defensive coordinator can't seem to get their front line to hold a rush for anything.  Can't really place blame on the offensive coordinator, that's realistically the players fault.  But I've seen the decline of Andy's coaching performance throughout the years.  Hell, even when Donovan McNabb was still flying high and wearing green, it seemed that he couldn't even coach a kindergartner to eat a pizza at a Chuck E. Cheese.  This guy is really gone down the shitter in the past years and now here we are looking down the barrel of our first losing season since the late 90's, it's real disappointing.  I hope Jeff Laurie is reading this cause this should not continue if he wants his organization to be successful again.  Now, that's just the tip of the iceberg that I want to get out of my chest.  Let's dig a little deeper in the rabbit hole.


Sticking to what I love (now loathe) the most of my birds are is the offense.  I just can't wrap my head around such atrocity that have came into them.  Starting off with the QB that PETA and dog-lovers love to hate, Michael Vick, out with a rib injury because he want's to be a big tough dumbass and take every hit that comes to him instead of trying to keep away and stay healthy.  I swear he's about as useful as Matt Leinert to the position, not much for anything long term.  Not to mention the interceptions, on God, the interceptions that he threw.  It's not all his fault, but it's safe to say that 70% of all the picks that occur is because he can't or won't throw to the boys in green.  Almost like he doesn't give a crap now that he got his contract.  I got news for ya, that crap does not fly with me or any fan, and I'm sure it's not gonna fly with the organization as well too.  And speaking of QB's I'm really pissed at Vince Young pretty much jinxing the team calling it the Dream Team in the preseason and eventually dooming themselves to a Nightmare on Broad Street.  Finally bringing in something to the picture in the past two weeks now that he's been off of his injury in the preseason.  Ugh, these friggin' guys.  And keeping up with the pace with being offensive heavy, how about DeSean Jackson.  He's been on-again-off-again most of this season not being in top form for as long as I can remember.  When was the last time he made a decent punt return, oh yeah, the Miracle at the Meadowlands last year.  Also he's been dropping passes left and right, and when he does catch, it's for little yardage.  In fact, all of the Eagles' wide receivers are playing like crap this year.  The only decent player is LeSean McCoy.  Just about the only solid performer we have this year.  I have to say that he's the only pro-bowl athlete on the Eagles roster this year.  


But now, let me shift your attention to an extremely lacking Eagles defense.  I mean, the front line offers nothing to rush the opposing QB like what Trent Cole used to do a season or two ago.  It's just so pathetic and even worse the ones that do bring up effort in when it supposed to count, in the deep end where you should find the likes of Jason Avant and others that seem to have a hard-friggin' time catching up to the opposing teams wide receivers.  Especially in the forth quarter where they seem to forget that the game actually has that many.  That I think is what pisses me off most of all, is the fact of all the fourth quarter blown opportunities, hell, you could contribute to the fact that after the half they start to decline.  I think Andy Reid gives them stupid pills threatens to stomp on their balls if they actually start giving a damn after the half.  It's almost like their half time preparations consists of booking their bus tickets and hotel stays for the next loss in the next place.  Regardless, the only thing worse than the defense, but still in relation to it, is their special teams.  No real good returns for position, or touchdown for that matter.  And as for the kicking team, well, lets just hope to God that the other team either call a fair catch or take a knee.  All I have to say is please for all that is good and decent, just show up for jeebus sake.


So I'm willing to concede that the Eagles' season is over.  There's no way to compete in such debotchary.  It's not to say that we have the worse record this year so far, that's goes to the Colts being at 0-11.  But that could be easily contributed to the fact that they aren't shit without Peyton Manning which is true; versus that we have a slew of Pro Bowl contenders and with out a doubt completely blow it out their butts.  It's ridiculous and I'm pretty much done with it.  Thank God that I'm a football fan overall, and yes true my alliance is with all sports Philly, it's just that like all hardcore Philly fans, when shit hits the fan, we make sure they know about it, HARD.  Thank God the Flyers are doing well and hopefully the Phills can go for another 100+ win season next year.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, November 21, 2011

WTF PEOPLE!?! Gameshow Videogames

It's been a long friggin' time since I've done anything videogame related.  It is indeed a part of my roots obviously, and it wasn't my intention to abandon it for other ventures such as music, television, and other random stuff.  Even though those things are indeed awesome, I digress.  I want to get back to the root of why I started to blog.  I wanted to present an obscure look into videogames and other subsets as well.  And what better way to do that than to bring back an old classic, the WTF's.  Now the last What The Phuck was not an official WTF PEOPLE!?!, so this is bringing it back with a vengeance.  So that's why I'm bringing to the table a view on videogames that I feel that have been lacking by most people and professional reviewers, the gameshow genre.


I know, I've done a Gameshow Month earlier this year, and well, this is not something that I forgot to include with that.  This is indeed something in relation to my choice of videogames that I play and, well, it's just damn good, so deal with it.  So without further ado, here is my rant of all things gameshows to ever graced upon home consoles.


Of course you know about my obsession with gameshows if you follow me at all (BTW, happy belated 7,500th. episode to The Price is Right) but when it enters in a home in any other way besides the television set, the end result is questionable at best.  Board games aside, you have to also look into the main heart of what gets my attention; an interactive method where I become part of the show instead of a houseparty rendering when we don't want to break out Scrabble or Monopoly (both of which gameshows that did not live a long as they should've) is the ticket.  And what better way to become interactive with a gameshow outside of being a friggin' contestant is to play it's videogame.  But there's some flaws in such, and sure as hell, I'm here to exploit them.  Not to be a complete douche (which I can be), but to make the experience better for the end user at the end.  One main culprit is the Merv Griffin duet of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.  It does bring the table the richness of it's game, weather it is questioning an answer or buying a vowel, it's no different than it's board game doppelgangers.   It just allows an error-proofing method with having a virtual host be a proxy between the player and the game's objective.  I remember the first Jeopardy! game for the NES way back in '87 or '88.  I played the begeezus out of that as a youth because I was a fan and a trivia whore.  My friends had Wheel of Fortune for the Genesis and N64 when we wanted to take a break from Mortal Kombat and Madden.  It was fun to a point.  


With these types of games the only flaw, which is a big one,  is that once you're done with all the questions they present to you, you know what to expect.  Like I said, I played the begeezus out of Jeopardy! for the NES, and played it enough that I could get close to $50,000 in a single game if I time my daily doubles correctly.  Even with the computer at Kamehameha-Hard mode, I buzzed in within seconds of the question entering it in and keying it with my controller to become the Ken Jennings of the cartridge before there was even a Ken Jennings.  Ok I lied, there's a second flaw to this debauchery.  Keying in the friggin' answers are a pain the ass at best, especially on an NES controller, and with NES's limitations.  It pissed me off to no end playing my copy of it that the game's letter layout is alphanumerically listed and not QWERTY based.  It was even more of a pain because of system limitations (even stemming up to playing Wheel of Fortune on the N64) that the letter-selector-thingy wouldn't let you go to the other side once you're on the edge of a row of letters.  Obviously these games would be great for individual use on a PC or hell, even throw up a LAN party and play the hell out of that, of course if you were a bad ass back in the days of LAN parties, you were probably playing Unreal Tournament and I can see your point not picking up that.  I just know that with word games like these, a keyboard is a helluva good way to play it.


Now I bring to the table other gameshows that have entered into the realm of videogames.  The prize shows, most famously noted by that long running gem of a show, The Price is Right.  I grew up with the show, one of my earliest memories is watching this at my baby sitters while my parents were at work (said that watching the big wheel and screaming out "ONE DOLLAR" is a childhood memory of mine, but that's just me).  And since I never gotten to play the Atari version of the game I was crushed because there was not a console release of it for me to play, otherwise I would've done it in my youth.  Luckily when I bought my Wii about 3 years ago, one of the first games I got for it was The Price Is Right.  I was in Nerdtopia with I thought was the most original console out in the market and my most cherished gameshow that I watched for all my life in all of it's home console glory.  I spun the Big Wheel, I won both Showcases, I bid one dollar and won a chance to play, I played Plinko dammit, PLINKO!!!  The only thing missing was Bob Barker kicking the living crap out of Adam Sandler in tournament fight mode, but I digress.  It does have it advantages being the age of easter-eggs and all where if you unlock something you get to see an epic classic clip of the show.  Alas, it to fell to the monotany of once you've played everything, it doesn't present new stuff, just recycle the old prizes, hell, even the prize amounts are the same so I could get $65,000+ on a single game if the cards were right (I usually average around $32,000 if I make it past the Big Wheel).  And other games like that also fell to this trap like Press Your Luck and Family Feud, pretty much anything owned by Fremantle Media in this current age of gameshows.  It's not expansive.  Which is why probably the only app I play on a social network outside of Words with Friends is the Price is Right app on Facebook.  It's online, so there's always room for expansion.  


There's just need to be a way, and I'm pretty damn sure they could but either the game developers or the game producers don't want to include it, but have it so that if people want, they could pay for updated content.  In an age where gamers are on Steam to get new mods and there's an expansion pack for an MMORPG every friggin' week, what is stopping them to add such a thing on.  Hell, I would love to pay five bucks to get online expansion content on my game console for Jeopardy! or The Price is Right until the next version of the game comes out.  I'm sure that there's a lot of game junkies that would love to have that fix.  In an age where gameshows are interactive in the fact that they have play at home contents where people could call or text for a chance to win a prize or free third party advertising crap, why the hell not incorporate it for downloadable content on my PS3 so that I can beat Ken Jennings or play the accordion with Drew Carey on set with the Price is Right models.  Why deny us unsung sect of gamers that joy.  I think it's because the producers of the show don't give a damn about anything else but the show and just think that they could get a few bucks with a cheap-ass game.  That's a whole load of bullshit, and I don't care for it all that much.  Jeopardy! and Sony have a marriage on how it looks on set, they blatantly make sure that Sony is a presence on the show.  Why not bring a game and give me content to update via the Playstation Network, how friggin' ingenious!  But that would be logical, and we live in a would where videogames about gameshows are completely for the illogical, and that's just bullshit in my book.  In short, I do recommend that you at least try and pick up the games and play them.  I just with that there were more content to offer than what was, and that there was more of a following than just me and a bunch of desperate housewifes that watch nothing but soaps and GSN all the time.  So I'm just gonna leave you with that thought while I bring up my Price is Right mobile app and see if I can make it to the Showcase.  That and this following youtube video because it's funny and it's about gameshows.




BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Can't get the words out of my mouth...

Quite frankly, I feel like crap right now.  I came down with something this past week and now I'm writing with all my strength just to say hey, I'm human and I get bugs just like everyone else.  I had something great lined up as far as a great video game review, but it's just gonna have to be delayed for another week now.  My bad.  I'll have it done and give it 110% once that comes out.  I feel really bad not bringing it out for anyone that actually reads this.


So for now here's my apology on record to say that stay tuned.  Here's to something that's gonna be mind blowing or just plain stupid.  But stay tuned none the less.  


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Why we Still Listen to Bush

So here's another installment in my attempt to understand music that just doesn't seem to die. Here we listen to Bush and some of what makes them still producing stuff for the masses. And since they just came out with an album recently, their first one in a long time, I figure what the hell. Let's not delay much longer ladies and gents. So here is my synopsis of why we listen to those crazy ass Brits, Bush.


• They're the only other good music act besides the Beatles and The Who that came from the UK : When it comes to rock, I tend to stick to stuff that's stateside.  not to say that acts outside of the states aren't bad ass either.  I know for a fact that music is an international language, and since I'm stateside, I figure why not profile something abroad.  And I've been a fan of them since I got interested in rock back in the mid 90's.  It seems that every decade or so something big comes from England, like in the 60's you had The Beatles and The Who, 70's you had Queen, in the 2000's I was a little fascinated by The Darkness, well, not much, but their b-sides were decent.  But I'm a ninety's cat and I liked the sounds of Bush back then.  They were the it sound back then, and made themselves known for their fusion of alternative and quasi-electronic sound in later years.  Take it as you wish, but I like it.


• Gavin Rossdale is married to Gwen Stefani : The sunnuvabitch, you know the saying some guys have all the luck.  Well this is one of those guys.  A talented hottie like Gwen Stefani of No Doubt fame with the likes of Gavin Rossdale. I mean I guess I still liked her when she was still punk not pop and all chic.  Not to say that she isn't a hottie now, but she was then and I was in to their music with the whole punk/ska thing back then too.  It just does not compute in my book.  But then again look at Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons...  But that's another topic.


• A refreshing change from the 90's grunge movement : By far the best part of 90's music in my opinion was grunge.  With greats like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and a whole slew of others, it's kind of hard to like one from another without pissing some people off.  So you look for new sounds that are just a little off the beaten path.  The second I heard Machinehead I was hooked.  I was 14 and bought Sixteen Stone and the next year Razorblade Suitcase which I thought was their best work.  And like most things 90's had to change for something stupid.  Metallica were becoming less and less metal.  Rap music became more about cash, cars, bling, and bitches.  Ska music had a revival for like an 18-month span and then crapped it's bed hardly to be heard from again.  Grunge music were slowly turning for more ballad and alternative stylings.  And Bush became more electronic and stupid with The Science of Things, and eventually their whale of a fail in my book Golden State.  Which leads me to my next bullet point.


• Their new stuff sound like their old stuff : This isn't all that bad.  Very Razorblade Suitcase-ish in it's delivery.  It makes me want to listen to it more and more.  Maybe they're not trying to gain new fans, just regain the ones that were wanting more from them during their breakup.  It seems pretty damn good in my book and I would recommend it.  And I think that's why we still listen to Bush, because they do have potential if they don't try to alter their formula.  Stick to what you know works, look at AC/DC.  They haven't changed shit since the 70's on how they deliver their music and still people friggin' love those Aussies.  Just goes to show the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.


So there's my perspective on why we still listen to Bush.  It isn't really much like the greats like I profiled from before with Biggie and 'tallica, but still, it's pretty damn good in their own rights, and I have my reasons on why I picked them.  Mainly because I'm a 90's junkie when it came to music and that's just my thing.  Now to break out the guitar and start playing some Everything's Zen.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

What The Phuck, Philly!?!

I just don't friggin' get it.  What is it about Philadelphia sport teams that always seem to bite the bullet at the end.  Even with all the hype, even with all they shown coming up to a point, it always seem that when it comes to close the deal, they phucking choke.  And I am nothing short of a die-hard Philadelphia fan.  I love my Phillies, I love my Eagles, hell, even the Flyers and Sixers (when the Sixers had something to make of themselves).  I am just disgusted like other true Philadelphia sports fans are right now.






Take the NLDS and the Phillies.  Coming in to this they had the best record in MLB, 102-60.  They were favored to breeze into the NLCS past the wildcard Cardinals.  And what happened, they choke a few games and wasn't able to score shit for game 5.  Thus, pissing away a sure thing.  Now I'm thinking with such a great lineup like Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, and, well do I have to spew out the entire lineup.  It's friggin' mind blowing how such talent produce such little profit.


And speaking of talent pissing away, how 'bout them Eagles.  Starting the season off at 1-3 after the so-called Dream Team they have been hyping up is now becoming a Nightmare at the Linc.  With the acquisition of star players like Vince Young and Nnamdi Asumugha to an already stacked lineup of Vick, McCoy, Jackson, Avant, Celek, etc., it was a shoe in for at least the playoffs.  Now it's a laughing stock of the NFC, if not the entire NFL.  I'm practically ashamed to support such a crap team.  And it's not really even the team, outside of those that are inactive to play and Vick's inevitable series of interceptions each game, it's the coaching that need to take the blame.  Many of years we stuck with Andy Reid taking us to the playoffs and when it counts, it fails.  We need a new coach.  We need new coaches.  We need a new dream here in Philly.


We need to wake up and smell reality and do something about these accusations.  It's too late for baseball, we got next year.  It's still not too late for football, but I"m not gonna hold my breath.  the NBA is postponed for at least two weeks for the strike, so it's not like the Sixers are gonna fill that void.  Hell, I'm just glad that hockey starting up and here's to the best for the Flyers.  So I ask again, WHAT THE PHUCK, PHILLY!?!


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, October 3, 2011

Death to Farmville

I believe you all know my stance of flash games by now...  They are meant to be enjoyed at short spurts to pass the time between one task to another or a quick release from reality.  But once it becomes an empire where it requires your undying allegiance to it to just continue and maintain your virtual world, that's when it becomes more of an obsession and even worse, an epidemic to the masses.  And now, Zynga's Farmville finally pushed me to the point where the only acceptable place for it is the scenic underworld of the corner of Hellfire and Brimstone.  This I present to everyone is another installment of my Death To series; Death To Farmville...




(Special thanks to Jack Brimstone for the kick-ass illustration.)

Now, this isn't an attack on Zynga itself, I'm a big fan of some of their products.  I played Zynga Poker and Mafia Wars once upon a time prior to Facebook being nothing more than a social hub of flash games as well as some of their mobile fares with their "With Friends" line of games.  Which you can find me and start up a game with my twitter @BootLeGsampler, but that is just a testament to what they have done.  But none of which compare to what they have done with the onslaught of idiocracy that is Farmville.  So what's wrong with Farmville, what isn't wrong with it is the shorter answer.  But I'll try my damnedest to explain why I'm laying down the law and sentencing Death To Farmville.


If you don't already know I'm totally anti-gaming on Facebook, it's meant for networking and socializing, plain and simple.  Banter and contacts, that's what I see it as.  And from the last time I check watching The Social Network, they did not mention crap about games.  I was tolerable about the games and all.  I tried it, sure I was suckered in, but I blame the wifie on that.  It was just a thing I did to help with the wifie  But I was soon to notice that it was just a tedious load of crap that sucked more of my time that needed to be wasted.  It started innocently as plant some potatoes, pick some apples from some trees, and maybe milk a cow or two.  That's it, not much more to it.  Maybe, and just MAYBE, you would help a friend or two with their farm.  But then, like all things Zynga, it got friggin' ridiculous.


I was a fan of Mafia Wars too, and I weened myself out of it when they started introducing different missions and locations for quests and all.  It loss a lock of it's luster and became weak in my opinion and flooded with a bunch of bots and cheaters trying to rack up a bunch of points for what, nothing more than notoriety from Zynga at best.  Fast forward the couple of years since and all of the popularity of people on Facebook just for the fact of playing a game, it's overbearing and stupid.  Now Farmville just introduced it's third world of playing, it has quests among quests of doing, and it's ridiculously stupid on how much time it takes to maintain all of the stuff it presents to you.  Seriously, it's an old, blue haired ladies version of WoW, and I've already did a Death To about that earlier.  It is too damn much work and maintence to keep up with all the crap.  I knew of people that spend so much time and effort in the game that it became practically a second job for them with all the man-hours they did.  And let's not forget the factor that some resources you have to pay to complete.  You might not have enough of one thing and needing to buy it from them, thus feeding into the monopoly of flash games that is Zynga. Okay, so this post did become somewhat of an attack on Zynga, but not fully, I'm still focusing on the precedence of it being that Farmville will suck you of your time, money, and eventually your soul.



(Thank to The Oatmeal for providing such kick-ass content, really, you should be here more than you're on Farmville people.)




But I digress, I mean if you really don't have anything else to do, and you don't have any means of communicating with anyone in the world, and all the time in the world to do nothing but click on a mouse and burn though your paypal, sure, go for it.  But keep in mind, there are better addictions, like gambling, drinking, or interacting with a healthy relationship with actual people. But if you plan on going on with this abysmal existence, I suggest you pick up this...



BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Ceiling Rat and Basement Rat

Sorry, not much for posting this week, looking into stirring up the pot for something pretty damn kool next week.  As for the mean time, I wanted to share this with you guys...


Since there's an influx on Cheezburger about basement cat vs. ceiling cat, I figure I put out my own spin to the matter.  Since I have rats as pets (well, the wifie and the kids do, I live with them), I present to you Ceiling Rat and Basement Rat...




Just as an FYI, these are just two of the seven female rats I have (I have three boys in a totally different cage), I figure I would just share them.  That and it was pretty damn funny on what she was doing last night.  Enjoy...


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, September 19, 2011

Forgotten Freshness

If you don't already freakin' know I am a huge fanboy when it comes to some kick ass music.  And one of my favorite bands of all time is doubleDrive.   You might have heard me mention them a time or two.  So now that I got that out of the way, I can segway to what I wanted to present to you guys.


A couple of days ago I was browsing YouTube just for shiggles, and every so often I do a search for my favorite things, some times there is new content.  And just so my luck, there is new stuff from the band.  I don't mean just bootleg concert footage from way back in 2003, which I don't mind, trust me on that.  I mean new material, well, sorta.  They're not getting back together anytime soon, they all moved on to other commitments, but it seems that some guy leaked unreleased material from them.  'I can't believe it, so friggin' awesome, new shit from dD' is what I initially thought.  So being the sucker that I am, I had to give it a listen.  And from my ear for music and memorization of all things aural, I can say without a doubt that at least one of them is a genuine doubleDrive unreleased track.


The one that I am doubt a little bit is the track listed "Hey Hey".  It sounds like Donnie Hamby's vocals and after listening to it a couple of times, I can see why if it was an unreleased track why they didn't put it on any of their albums.  The style was off as far as how as guitar and drums accompaniment, but it's still a good listen, so here it is if you want it...





Another one which I am certain is the true genuine article that is doubleDrive is a track called "Fed Up".  it sounds absolutely right and fitting for it to be one one of their albums, most likely Blue in the Face.  It's heavy yet melodic and the way all the instrumentals play is true to their form.  Here it is for your enjoyment...



So that's that in a nutshell, me being all fanboy out for such a kick-ass band, and now I can get to my regular scheduled mondane music listening.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

I remember...

I remember where I was and what I was doing ten years ago today.  I'm pretty sure that everyone knew what they were doing and where they were that day.  It was traumatic for everyone here in this great nation and we as a nation did not let it cripple us, but used it to strengthen our stand and our beliefs.


I was enlisted in the Marine Corps and stationed in Okinawa that day.  I was watching footage in disbelief and awe that our nation was under attack.  I was hoping that my wife, then fiance, was safe since I heard of Flight 93 crashing in western Pennsylvania not knowing if she was anywhere near the site.  I was mentally preparing myself for the worst and praying for hope for my friends and family.  I was awaiting orders on what to do next due to the base being locked down in the middle of one of the worse typhoons to pass though the island.


I was terrified, scared, angry, hurt, angst, ravage, wanting revenge, wanting to take action, and most importantly wanting to be with the ones I love.  I see people in tears of this day due to sorrow.  I feel sorrow, don't get me wrong, but I also feel a since of readiness, as well as a since of being proud of taking a part of the defending our nation and making it safer due to the horrible attacks in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania.  I feel honored to have done what I could have done and look at the men and women who still out there protecting us.  I feel the pain and angst of those who loss love ones in the rescue efforts in NYC and the Pentagon and the heroism of the passengers of Flight 93.  I feel pride and sense of relief for those whom survived.


I remember Tuesday, September 11, 2001 like it was yesterday.  I can't speak for anyone else but for my own actions and my own feelings.  I hope that you feel the same as well, but I can't control you.  All I can do is preach on what I remember.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What I have my PS3 doing for me

It's pretty much doing just about everything for me.  I gotta hand it to them, it really does do everything.  It's my media center, my game console of choice, and my gateway to all things HD.  It's so bad, and I remember from previous posts bitching about not having one and maybe I didn't know what I was missing.  Man, did I miss out.  Here's a quick synopsis of me and my PS3 these past few months.


1)  BLU-F'N-RAY!!!  Man, I figured well, the upscale on my DVD's are pretty damn impressive in among itself, I figure that I didn't need to search for Blu-Ray titles.  That is complete crap... I am on the hunt for some of the best and most bad-ass titles I can get my hands on in Blu-Ray for all that is good and 1080p.  I've rented stuff and it's making me wish that I had it in my collection.  I'm a friggin' noob again in getting my collection to match what I've done in DVD's.  I figure The Dark Knight is a good start and as soon as I'm done, I'm poppin' that bad boy in and rock it like Bruce Wayne in a fancy Gotham gala.  Okay, maybe like Bruce Campbell, but still, it's still pretty bad-ass...


2) Netflix.  It's such a great upswing from watching it on the Wii or on the laptop (which does do HD) versus the comforts of the PS3 powering my television with 1080p streaming video.  Watching some awesome movies and shows on it fills me with so much awesome that I at times have to change pants during the middle of a show.  Sure they rape my wallet with price hikes up the ass, that's why I just do only streaming for now on.  No more DVD's from them and I can always rent Blu-Ray's from Redbox or Blockbuster.  But for my instant gratification, Netflix all the way, baby...


3) The games, oh jeebus, the games.  They are so what this gamer wanted and more.  Pretty, fluid, controls for the most part, and the selection is great.  Now I'm not your typical gamer, but I'm a gamer nonetheless, so I stick with my RPG's, maybe a little Madden, and I've been on an Assassin's Creed kick for like since I got the damn thing.  I'm in love with the games the PS3 have to offer, but I'm not gonna ditch my Wii for the highest bidder, it is still intrinsically valuable in this household with my kids, and I love playing the hell out of Madworld still after all these years.


4) Finally a console for myself while the kids can have their Wii.  They know not to touch my stuff and I filtered out my Wii titles from theirs so they can only play their stuff.  It's just that now, while they're playing Super Mario Bros. Wii, I can get my Final Fantasy XIII on.  Maybe once they become a little more responsible, I'll let them play a little Little Big Planet... maybe...


And that's what I have been up to, outside of the normal and working on a new design for this blog of mine as well as for the wifie.  Let's bask in all that Sony had to offer and hope that the Vita won't be such a disappointment when it releases.  Man I'm still pissed that it's still only 3G with AT&T, friggin' stupid...


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Kudos to the wifie

I might poke fun and all that other stuff to my wife, but really she's a gem.  Without her I wouldn't know what to do with myself or my family.  She is truly the glue that holds us together. The wifie is more than just my spouse and the mother of my boys, shes the figurehead when I'm not home.  She handles all household relations that are just too overwelming for me because of my workload.  I couldn't exist (well, sanely) without her.

She does so much for keeping the family together, I'll try to keep the list short for purposes of if I keep bragging we'll be here all night.  She's teacher for the older boys because we believe that homeschooling them is best for their morale and the one-on-one interaction with their teacher is more than most students get.  She's personal chef to the fam from everything from simple sandwiches to gourmet 3 course meals.  Great in keeping order with the boys when they become rabble-rousey and what not.  She's the law when I'm not around, and together we keep order in this house.  But she's more than just mother to my sons, but my dear and lovely espousa.

Ideally she's the love of my life.  The only one that would put up with my crap on a daily basis. She's loving in all of my mistakes; and there's plenty of them, and forgiving of my shortcomings.  Sure I provide the bacon in the house, but she's the one that cooks the bacon and even put syrup on my plate for dipping.  By that yeah, I mentioned the cooking, but she handles all the heavy lifting in the house while I'm not here.  And the only things that heavy besides my fat-ass is my bank account (or at least it is before she's finished with the bills.)  Sure I could handle it but I rather live with her handling it versus the ulcers I would get by looking into the stacks and stacks of debt I've taken.  Mainly she's my earthly rock and my spiritual compass to remind me when I'm straying away from a righteous path.  I don't always say the right things and do the right thing, but without her, I wouldn't have as much restraint as I do now.


So in closing, this is just my public way of saying "I love ya, babe!!!"  You're everything I want in a woman and I just hope that someday I could be everything in a man for you.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Do a little dance...

Really, it's been an odd week for me this week.   Lots of personal stuff brewing up such as getting a summons for jury duty, which I might post about after the fact.  Also, I've been working on not one, but two separate websites.  I've been trying something other than blogger to customize the format and flow of such, and I'm thinking of moving over to wordpress for a blogging platform.  No, no, no, not wordpress.com, but actually looking int designing my own in that fashion to host myself and not be under the mercy of free blogging limitations.  That, and I have some experience in such in my line of work.  Another reason why is that the wifie wants to have something easy to manage and look beautiful to boot.  Hence why I'm designing everything locally prior to getting it up live for anyone else to view.  Expect something good within the next few months. 

On other notes, there have been birthdays after birthdays to celebrate during this time of year for me and the fam, so I've been trying to get stuff situated in that fashion while the normal workload of the day job, my family life, and any new venture that comes my way that I just seem to be a glutton for to add on for myself.  That, and I've decided to go a little greener and ride the bus to work instead of driving.  One good thing about that is that I get some me time to get stuff in line, one bad thing is that this is monsoon season here in the valley and rain, lightening, and dust storms are a big pain in the ass during my commute.  But they are phenomenal to watch, so here's a little snippet of post rain from a day and night of storms.  Keep in mind this was shot from my mobile and not the best lighting around.  I was hoping for more from mother nature.


Anyhow, that's life for right now, and I promise you that next week will be a little less pitiful and a little more humorous like we all like it.  But as for right now, that is the current state of affairs.  Until next week.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, August 1, 2011

Why We Still Listen to Notorious B.I.G.

So that we're finally done with GAMESHOW MONTH, we can get back to basics.  And what's more basic than a little old school rapping.

Honestly this should be titled "Why We Should Still be Listening to Notorious B.I.G." because honestly after he died, rap music in my opinion started to die as well. I'll admit that I didn't care much for any newer crap that came out after that. I'm certain that some of it is good (listening to the Office Space soundtrack right now), but I'm willing to bet that at minimum 90% of the stuff out now has gone so far from their roots that it's nothing more than auto-tuned vocals with drum beats from a machine so simple that my son could've created it and borderline pop music. And I'm not about to go down that road to hell again. So here's my tribute to one of the greatest rappers that ever lived and the legacy he left. I just wish these damn fools nowadays would learn and improve their crap to something close to what he'd done. 

He was Big Papa :: He was hands down one of the best rappers by far. And that's not just me, that's actual critics, fans, and other rap artists. He knew what to say and how to say it even if he was dissing who he was talking about they were still in awe and wonder. Biggie and only, ONLY a handful of other artists could make such an impact. He spoke of having more money and more problems cause it was true. He was straight hood prior to making it big. He didn't fake it like most of these fools talking about nothing but bling and bitches like it was a golden nugget that fallen out of their asses. If you believe that, I'm here to tell you that that ain't gold, that's corn cause it ain't nothin but bullshit. 

No Diddy :: Pure and simple, if there was no Biggie, Sean Combs would be just another wannabe wanting to do something. Maybe he would've done something because he's a pretty good producer now and one helluva marketing guru. But lets face it, if it wasn't for being Biggie's right hand man, those odds of all his success would not be in his favor. He owes his whole professional career to the life and death of Big Papa and the grace of God for associating them. 

East Coast vs West Coast :: You're probably wondering why I choose Biggie over 2Pac? Well that's simple. I'm an east coast brotha tried and true. Well, realistically I'm an old-school brotha but since most the great rappers came from the east coast I gotta represent. And back in the 90's it was just the same. That rivalry was like the Montagues and the Capulets of music. You were one or the other. And the feud was hellish, taking two greats in their prime; Biggie and Pac. In retrospect, it was uncalled for cause violence is nonsense. And both blends brought a helluva lot to the table. But the crap on nowadays can't even hold a candle in their presence. 

Not just talked about how pimp he was :: This mo-fo was pimp. He was the bridge from old school where they rapped about actual shit in their hoods and the government to nowadays where rappers who just start on the scene and aren't even established rap about bitches and bling. How ya gonna rap about shit like that when you don't even have the status to back it up. Biggie started small and had the hard knocked life, and he rapped about that. Then he got big and rapped about hoes and booze and money because he made it. Only a handful of rappers nowadays still rapping can claim that, and I think Jay-Z said it best; "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one". That sums up Biggie's life right there. 

Bad Boy Records :: He was the catalyst that started the label. Without him, we wouldn't have had such great acts like P. Diddy or Ma$e, well, Diddy at least... The label wouldn't be in existence pure and simple. And only a handful of acts can bring up that claim. 

And with all that being said, if you're listening to anything that's not old school when if comes to rap, you should be ashamed of yourself. These reasons alone should be enough for you to go listen to some of the forgotten freshness that was Biggie and anything before his death. You'll thank me later.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Gameshows pt. 4: Parting Gifts

We all know what the winner gets in the end of most gameshows, cash and luxurious prizes galore. It's the main reason why we want to be on gameshows and why we watch. We like to see the spoils of their efforts and take part in such. But as far as the also-rans, well, they get stuck with parting gifts. An atta-boy for participating and some lesser prizes. Now it could be like they do in Jeopardy! now and give $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third or even better like with Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right and keep what you won. But alas most gameshows don't follow that principle. Now I don't know if it's something contributed to production costs of the show, if the producers are just a bunch of cheap bastards, or they're really strapped for sponsorship and would want to have something, anything, to promote. But for as long as they're competitive gameshows, nine times out of ten there will be parting gifts. And what a better way to end GAMESHOW MONTH than to close with what they try to shove off for their losers. So without further ado, here's to parting gifts and all the blandness and atta-boys that they bring to the show. 

Now a big thing with most gameshows back in the day were the board game version of their show. It seemed that everyone of them had the home version of the show. Yeah, like the one thing I want to do after losing on the actual show was to go play and lose the same game at home. They really tried to make it worth the effort and it worked as advertising for them away from the television. Some of more successful ones were of course Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, but others try to make a valiant effort. Two of which that sticks out for me were Fun House and Double Dare. Of course if advertising to kids (which I was at the time), you're gonna win with just about anything. But man, were they such a letdown. I remember I was five and it was Christmas when I got Fun House as a present. I was thrilled because the show itself was a gameshow for kids and Fox Kids (when they did have stuff for kids back then) played the hell out of that show. It was kids, chaos, slime, and prizes galore; everything that would've make me have a shit-eating grin for days on end. This board game however, was the epitome of 180 degrees. It was cumbersome to setup, the pieces would easily break or get lost, the actual activities in the game sucked in comparison to the gameshow itself, the whole friggin thing was a waste of my parents money to buy me. At least Double Dare had Gak or whatever Nickelodeon called their slime. Don't get me wrong, it still sucked in comparison to the show and all the other gripes were just about the same for both games. Not a smooth translation of the show to cardboard and plastic. And it was that way for most gameshow adaptations. I think I remember playing Name That Tune the board game and it totally bombed unless you were big into the swing and big band era of the 40's and 50's. Not to mention trying to listen to someone trying to hum a song they have no idea how; or if they do their tempo and pitch are so off that it was basically a totally different song. Basically, gameshows-to-board games are a lose-lose combination. 

Now just as you thought that that was the pinnacle of vanity, they stepped into the digital era with videogames. I still have my copy of Jeopardy! for the NES and I pretty much played the hell out of that that I was the Ken Jennings of my console. But there are many more than just that for take home incarnations. I remember when your only choice for gameshow videogames were Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (which were lame at best). As of the past decade or so it seems that every popular show had it's own game. Ranging from Price is Right to Millionaire to God knows what else. Hell, I got Don't Forget the Lyrics and The Price is Right app downloaded. It's just inevitable that they just seem to pop up in every medium. And I'm sure we all played a modified version of Jeopardy! in school for an interactive form of a study group. Or even when placing a bet with friends at one point someone might've used the term "Price is Right rules" to add a degree of not going over your wager. They just seem to be everywhere. The true parting gifts are that the fans take their favorite gameshow everywhere. 

But there were more than just the home game that were given to the losers. They received other useless crap like small appliances like phones, microwaves, or a lamp. Like they don't already have these. It's not even top of the line stuff too. It's stuff you might splurge on at Wal-Mart. Really, a damn cordless phone set for all my efforts trying?!? What really gets me is stuff they try to translate for monitory value like flowers once a month for a year or a $100 gift card for Home Depot or Applebee's. You can't buy me with power tools and tulips. It's just seems kinda cheap while others give out cash or their earnings the also-rans made in their efforts. All I want to know is that they should put more efforts in their parting gifts. Make it worth our while, at least $500 worth of stuff. Or hell, just cash. I don't need $1000 like Jeopardy! does now, $500 will work just fine. 

And that just about it for GAMESHOW MONTH. Normal ranting, randomness, and other bullshit will continue as normal next week. But as of now, I just want to leave you with one more tidbit, a parting gift for participating if you will. Because I'm such a Jeopardy! fanatic; next time you watch the Final Jeopardy! round, sing I'm a little tea pot with it. Yeah, who'd thunk that a moment of silence to write down an answer that could cost you thousands of dollars is related to a nursery rhyme. But for now, I'll think I'll stick with my Price is Right theme playing in my head... That, and Adam Sandler getting his ass handed to by Bob Barker...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, July 18, 2011

Gameshows pt. 3 Station Identification

Now how the hell am I not going to do a whole month of gameshow ranting and not mention Game Show Network? That's just about as off as James Earl Jones not being the voice of Darth Vader. It's just not natural. Anyways, GSN had gone though so many changes in the decade or so since I've been watching it that it hurts my head just thinking about it. But none the less the channel is still up and strong. So here's my ode to the reason my cable bill is higher than it should be. 

I first heard about the network in the late nineties when the ending credits would roll at the end of Wheel of Fortune and it peaked my interest then. Of course I was a teenager then and no say on what would my parents would subscribe to on cable outside of the occasional WWF Pay-Per-View event. Hell, even if I did have a say it wasn't available from my provider at the time. It wasn't until about 2002 is when I was on my own and found a cable company that did have it. And like a junkie it sucked me into it's addicting grasp. I was amazed of seeing some of my old favorites of my youth like Card Sharks, Let's Make A Deal, $100,000 Pyramid, and even some forgotten freshness like Press Your Luck and the all popular Match Game. It was a gameshow lovers nirvana at that point; and then it got even better. They had they're own original shows like Lingo, Russian Roulette, Friend or Foe, and even a remake of Press Your Luck (and it was a good remake too)! Then as time goes on, some execs like they always seem to do, turned a great thing and totally jacked it up. 

It was inevitable. It always seem to happen to good things. It's not proven law that it happens 100% of the time, but a good 80% is enough to piss me off when it's that many companies and organizations do that. And GSN is no exception. It first started by shortening the name of itself to GSN, which I thought was good. And then they stopped production of some of their originals like Russian Roulette, and Friend or Foe as well as scaling down the running of classics like Let's Make A Deal with showings of classic Family Feud and new Family Feud back to back. That pissed me off cause they were one of the reasons I would keep it on GSN 24/7. They also had it so you could play their games interactively online while the show is on for prizes if you signed up with GSN.com; which I liked. But when my shows went and left like I mentioned, so did that feature. UGH!?! That bites! And then, they try to introduce new shows, original shows. And, well, honestly I'm indifferent about that. Some were decent like High Stakes Poker and World Series of Blackjack (but that's another vise of mine we'll discuss). I likes the competitiveness of that and the strategic gameplay of it. But some were just, not. Their remake of The Newlywed Game and their own twist on The Dating Game, Baggage, is alright at best. They make attempts to make it hip and fresh but not to make them even remotely close to come up the censors radar. Don't they even know that some of the funniest shit is when they say the hell with the censors and let it fly. That's why there's YouTube. All I ask is if anyone can find a torrent of some of the cooler stuff I mentioned just hit me up on twitter or my email on the contact page. 

One more thing about GSN that wad good in my opinion, and I would've hoped they would've expanded on, was that they did specials if you could believe it. They actually had special presentations about things that were either a great anomaly in gameshows such as Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck scandal. That was the story of a man who was so obsessed with the show he studied the patterns of the board to maximize his winnings to a record-breaking $100,000+ for the show. Or the one they did as the in-depth history of Match Game. That went as far as cast interviews of how lucid and wild it wad to be on the set of Match Game and its feeble attempt to revamp it in the early 90's. Once again, I WANT TORRENTS OF THESE!!! They were fascinating since it combined two of my favorite things to watch, documentaries being the other. They also did a few others that I remember such as an ode to the career and life of Chuck Woolery and his accomplishments so far at that time and even an ultimate quiz show challenge where they pooled the top 16 winningest contestants in all quiz-based gameshows to see who's the best in the field of quiz shows. Obviously Ken Jennings won, but that's another topic. The point is that they should've expanded on these. I would've loved to see an ode to Bob Barker or even a retrospect on how Ken Jennings set himself as the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of Jeopardy! champions. Or even a side by side comparison of Brad Rutter and Ken biding for the most winningest contestant in gameshow history. They could play it out like The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters did in their efforts to prove that Steve Wiebe is indeed the highest scorer on Donkey Kong. Or hell GSN, just show that!?! That's at least as competitive as high stakes poker and it deserves more than the attention G4 given it. 

Well, thats the end of my seemingly endless rant on GSN itself. If I continued at that pace we'd be here all night. But now it's time for me to seek what will week four bring for GAMESHOW MONTH. It'll be a doozy I assure you. Stay tuned.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Gameshows pt. 2: The rant continues

I left off in the auspice of just describing the different type of gameshows, and not really getting into full on WTF PEOPLE!?! mode. Well, you're in luck this week. Here's my praises and multiple gripes on the state of the gameshow. 

Like I said, I love gameshows. They're highly addictive for the most part and it shows my prowess on how better I could be on a show versus the actual contestants (producers of Jeopardy!, listen up here). That and I'm a trivia junkie, full of useless knowledge. Well, some people might call it full of shit, but I'm calling it useless knowledge. And in that layout I would lay waste to any opposition in a game of logic, wits, lyrical prose, and general knowledge. There's just seem to be a very satisfying feeling to know that you're first to know something before your opponents. And shows like Jeopardy, Millionaire, and other incarnations of the such are my heroin. Hell, catch me at a bar during trivia night and I become the drunken master of the quiz bowl. 

But that's enough bragging about me (for now), there's always seem to be for every yin there's a yang. And for every shining star, they're a black hole of talent that somehow make it past auditions to the actual show. These people are the reasons Stupid Game Show Answers exist. These void of answers and skill I understand that maybe the producers selected to amuse the viewership, and for the most part they do. It jus that it pisses me off on how the hell do someone lacking so much common sense make it to the show and not me. Granted I don't apply for shows like Family Feud or Lingo and I don't make it a regular habit go be in the audience of The Price is Right, but for some dumbasses it seem all too easy. Just answer me this producers, why?!? Why the hell these people?!? I mean outside of viral videos on YouTube and the honorable (if you want to call it such) mention at the before-mentioned link wouldn't you avoid such calamity. It irks me to no end. 

So we'd discussed the good so far with my obsession over trivia and other useless facts; and we'd discussed the bad with the lack of cranial mass with dumbass contestants. Now we go on to the ugly. The commercials. Now I know that without commercials there would be no television shows free to watch on network television or our cable and satellite bills would be out-friggin-ragous in the bad sense of the term. But what the hell is it with almost every commercial about diabetes and term life insurance. The only time I really want to see Alex Trebek outside of Jeopardy! is on SNL, not about pennies a day insurance that I'm 20 years too young to participate for. I understand demographic and all but look at The Price is Right. The general commercials is about Depends, Metamucial, and the lady that fallen and can't get up. Now look at the contestants, young college students with a Happy Gilmore complex, Jarheads from Camp Pendelton, a Latino from East L.A., and the occasional Canadian. Now, does that sounds like anyone that those products are for. Well, maybe the Canadian (and I probably just pissed off some people with that one). But really, know your friggin audience. Know who are viewing and adjust is all I ask. That's not to say make every other commercial sponsored by onlinebootycall.com but to cater to something a little more pre-premenopausal. 

And that's it for now. Stay tuned for more exciting rants and the fabulous showcase, coming up on the second half of GAMESHOW MONTH!!! (Queue Price is Right theme music and the lovely ladies).

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, July 4, 2011

WTF PEOPLE!?! Gameshows

Back to some of my vices that I just can't seem to shake. And this particular vice is so massive that one post isn't gonna cut it. This is GAMESHOW MONTH in full effect people. So sit back and let the over-obsessive ranting begin!!!

What is it about gameshows that draws our attention to them. How have we as a well cultured society even fathom having so many of them that we have a television network solely dedicated to it. (Then again we also have networks dedicated to soap operas, chick flicks, cartoons, food, as well as multiple networks for news, sports, and porn. But that's another discussion). Are we really that addicted to the idiot box for these things. Simple answer is yes, and here's my stance on them. 

Now just before we continue down this rabbit hole, I just want to say that I don't have anything against gameshows. I find them pretty damn entertaining. Some of my earliest memories is me watching The Price is Right with my babysitter while my parents were at work. Of course I was two years old then and very impressionable, so you could say that I started young. It was fascinating for me because of all the bright lights, loud noises, and all those flashy new prizes just begging to be won. It was like winning the lottery and scoring big in the casino all rolled into one because it was filmed for a national audience. But as I matured, so did gameshows, as well as my taste for them. 

From what I classify there are 3 types of gameshows. The quiz show, the showcase, and the cause and effect genres. Each one unique in it's delivery and all resulting to a win/lose outcome. The simplest of the three to go over is the quiz show. It's pure knowledge and logic based and it could range from general knowledge to wordsmithing to even specialized topics like pop culture and the like. A perfect example of this (and my personal favorite in this category) is Jeopardy! It a game of wits, smarts, and not just any Joe Schmoe can be a contender (anyone can be a contestant). You have to have logic enough to outsmart a computer and thumbs so blistered you'll make hardcore gamers envious. Others try to imitate it's formula for success like Lingo, Trivial Persuit, and even to go as far out as Who Wants to be a Millionaire. But hardly able to duplicate it's potential. Granted Jeopardy! wasn't the first quiz show made, others even stood ground for a while. But when you have self made celebrities like Ken Jennings that pretty much showed the common man that with a little effort and a lot of know how, the skies the limit. 

Now for a more humbling effort for a gameshow, the cause and effect type. This one rely more on what human reaction and interaction in the making of the outcome of the game. This is more present in games that either involve physical endurance such as Wipeout, Destroy Build Destroy, or Fear Factor; and those games that require partnership with a second person or a team like Lingo, Family Feud, or Win, Lose, or Draw. Both subtypes have similar variables such as it is unpredictable on what might happen outside of what is mandated in their rules and regulations. The excitement aspect of this genre is also it's downside, the reaction of their contestants in the constraints of the game rules. It works for some where in the case of Fear Factor where to win $50,000 you have to do stunts or eat exotic insects in a trial to be the last man standing. But on the flip side such as being partnered up with an illiterate dumbass that can't spell a five-letter word to save their live as is the case of Lingo or some wild off-the-wall answer you would get from (even worse) a family member like on Family Feud. Either way, it makes for great entertainment for the most part and draws the most people to it versus any other genre of gaming; contestant or viewer. 

And now we look into the showcase gameshow. It's pure and simple. Compete in individualized tests of knowledge or skill to win instead of cash, prizes; such as trips, appliances, or even vehicles. The most well known of gameshow that this references is The Price is Right; but it's not alone with the likes of Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, Pyramid, and Family Game Night. They're all follow the same formula of compete for a chance to win big or go home. Once again a proven system and able to withstand the test of time given the right timeslot and network. But that's the fate of any gameshow. 

So that's my synopsis of gameshows in general. Tune in next week for a further look into gameshows and the commercials that are so damn awkward and yet so definitive to them. Happy Gameshow Month!

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

P.S. Shotout to my friend Rob Mancini who works as a producer for Destroy Build Destroy, great job bro...