This Is Creepy....Really, Really Creepy

Think happy thoughts! Second star to the right, and straight on till morning!

Finally, Something You Can Do With a PS3 That Doesn't Cost $80

I'm always skeptical of these programs, but evidently they're popular with do-gooder nerds.

Second Life - Home to Z-List Celebrities

CNN.com has an article about the Penn brother who isn't a) dead, or b) a self-righteous, humourless tool.

The Madden Curse

For those of you who don't want to READ about the Madden Curse, here's a convenient video.

Blech, Business Journalism

Despite the unpleasantness of business journalism, CNN Money has a very good article about the Wii and its continuing success. Also of value are the links within the story to other articles.

What If Your Pimp Hand Is Also Your Gaming Hand?

Can you get carpal tunnel trying to keep your pimp hand strong?

Try this new game to find out.

Madden 08 Cover Revealed

Vince Young, second year quarterback for the Tennessee Titans has been named the coverboy for this year's installment of Madden NFL. Seriously, Madden gamers follow this stuff. There's all kinds of stories about the curse already.

You Don't Have To Hear Bruce Willis' Voice In Your Head If You Don't Want To

Gamers Get Together To Combat Negative Perceptions...Hopefully They Shower First

Sticking with the Virginia Tech theme, it seems that everyone's favorite nuisance took advantage of the deaths of 33 people to promote his own political agenda.

Using this as a rallying point (literally), some NY gamers are getting together to demonstrate about gaming culture.

Other stories can be found here.

And here.

And there is a MySpace page here.

There is also a Facebook page. But you have to login and such. Do a search for Empire Arcadia on Facebook, and look under events.

If It's On The Internet, It MUST Be True

For those of you not in the know, the Madden NFL series has a certain amount of cultural capital. By which I mean, the game has achieved a certain folk legend status, revolving around what is called the Madden Curse. Basically, it is believed that the player who appears on the cover of Madden Football will suffer in the coming season. Sports Illustrated has now provided a photo gallery outlining the Curse and its victims.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the Madden Curse is very similar to the SI Cover Jinx (which I believe was once discussed on the woefully underappreciated sitcom, Coach, starring Craig T. Nelson.)

And for the truly superstitious, don't forget about the Chunky Soup Curse.

Of course, all this is leading up to EA's announcement of who will be on the cover of Madden NFL 08. That's right, people are waiting with barely contained excitement over who will be on the cover of a video game. Okay, maybe not people. But Madden nerds are.

[EDIT] April 19, 2007. Just so it can't be said that I am favouring CNNSI.com over ESPN.com (which I do, but that's a different kettle of fish...mmm, fish) here is ESPN.com's story about the Madden curse.

This story doesn't actually use the words "Virgina Tech," but the timing of this story's release is interesting.

For Those Who Can't Wait Until November

So evidently there's some popular game called Halo. Which I guess spawned a somewhat successful sequel. And evidently there's a third iteration coming out in November.

Beta testing begins May 16th.

And don't forget to pre-order the Legendary Edition now. Just so you don't miss out.