Dark Castle

I never had the (mis)pleasure of playing this game for the Genesis (one of the few it seems I haven't played) but The Fat Man Judgeth has a pretty good video of it, which I've managed to find and download onto the blog. This game should be a punishment in lieu of prison in some countries.

This guy's been in office for nearly 7 years, and he's still a buffoon.

While speaking at the APEC summit last Friday, Bush made a multitude of errors in minutes. He first referred to it as the "OPEC summit". Then he joked that John Howard (Australian PM) "invited me to the OPEC Summit next year", an impossibility since neither Australia nor the U.S. are in OPEC. He referred to Australian troops as "Austrian" troops. Finally, he walked off stage the wrong way.

Even the Iraqis don't think the "surge" is working

I've made a silent pledge to myself not to post that often in Iraq, not because it isn't important, but because it's always the same shit. How often can you point to something and say that it's an utter failure? But, I did feel this deserved mentioning. Bush, Petraeus, and a few other prominent people think that the surge is working. However, not only most Americans, but even Iraqis who were polled don't think it's working. In a poll conducted by the Washington Post, 7 out of 10 Iraqis say that the buildup of U.S. troops has made the security situation worse. Now, if we did this to give democracy to Iraqis, if that's really true, than why don't we heed these results that they don't want us there, and leave? But, I almost forgot, Bush doesn't govern by polls (the will of the people).

Advance peek at 24 Season 6 DVD cover work (let's hope it's geniune)

This is an image of what 24's DVD set cover could look like. I don't know whether it comes from a genuine source or is just something a fan created, but it looks fantastic. It'd win my favorite cover hands-down. I think I'll be pretty upset if Fox goes with another design.

24 Named one of the best shows ever by Time Magazine

What a milestone, and well deserved for my personal favorite show of all time. From Time Magazine:

I was hesitant to include this show after its sixth—and admittedly terrible—season. It's easy to forget, though, how new and bracing the format that's now routine once was. Created before Sept. 11 and debuted just weeks after, 24 captured the country's edgy mood, and not just because it was about terrorism. With its breathless real-time format and multi-screens, 24 reflects the same information-overload media culture that gave us the zipper and screens-within-screens on cable news. The computers work a little too efficiently, the LA traffic is suspiciously light and Jack Bauer never has to take a leak, but Kiefer Sutherland gives Bauer psychological weight in the most outlandish situations, racing against a ticking clock that tolls for us.

You'll soon be able to download music at Starbucks

Apple and Starbucks have reached a deal where you can use ITunes to download MP3's to your Ipod, Iphone, or laptop while you're sipping your latte at Starbucks, with no additional charge. But if you want to write a research paper or post a blog, you still have to pay 30 dollars a month for the pleasure. Together, they don't make sense. I really hope Starbucks gets out of the 1990s soon. I'm a fairly regular customer, but would go there more if they had free wi-fi.

Alaska's global warming problem

This is an article I found (via Cursor) about an Alaskan village's shoreline being swallowed, little by little, by the sea each year due to increased temperatures. Solutions by the Army Corp of Engineers don't work, and the senior senator from Alaska says that there is hope; you see, we're approaching the end of the warming "phase" that has taken place for the past 700 years, and so the "cooling phase" should start very soon, and the village of Shishmaref will be saved. It's all so hopeless.