"Your GameSpot Total Access subscription has been successfully cancelled, and your membership will not be renewed."

And you all know why.

I've been having withdrawals from Xbox Live, the community that I hold in such high regard (in many ways literally, others sarcastically). This has led me to pursue a number of different avenues to quench the thirst for online gaming satisfaction. The deprivation began when I moved (for the month of August only) to my parents house in order to save some cash (and spend some time with my family) before I go off to the Land of the Rising Sun for four months. [more on that in subsequent blogs, as I'll be attending Tokyo Game Show! ]

Anyway, the parents have a decent intarwebz conexshon but my room is somewhat of a far cry from the router, so I go wireless. Considering that I do not quite yet want to shell out $99.99 for the I'm-sure-its-amazing -I've-read-the-reviews Xbox 360 Wireless dongle, (Love that word, dongle) and I do have such a thing for my once-spectacular -now-very-decent PC, that is what I'm choosing to work with.

So for the first two weeks of August, in between the trip to Catalina (a small island off the coast of Los Angeles/Orange County) with the lovely girl and the weekend get-away to Palm Springs (a large patch of desert in Southern California once famous as a crooners retreat [think Frank Sinatra, etc.] now famous for its lavish hotels and ample pool square-footage) with the sibs and mother, I decided to mess around in Azeroth for a bit. That, as well as Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, held off the deblilitating hunger for the time being.

Now, lo and behold, appear the final details for a game I anticipated yet was somewhat unsure of, Bioshock. The key word here is was. At this point it has really come to, "Should I get it for 360 or PC?" Apparently a large change has taken place in my mind. Here's why:

Scary Games Scare Me: Call me whatever you like, I love scary movies, but games are a medium that I really put my entire psyche into. Case in point, when I owned a Gamecube a year back, I also owned Resident Evil 4. One of the greatest games in history, right? Yes! but, for me everytime I had my head cut off by happy-Mr.-Chainsaw, I felt as if my own was being lopped off. (Disclaimer: this does not work from the other perspective, e.g. when shooting someone, I do not feel as if I'm really shooting someone, nor do I feel as though I ever could. Truth be told, I'm afraid of guns in real life.)

That is not to say I now think Bioshock is a scary game (though I did think it could have turned out to be one). Yes, it is intense and at times startling, but not in the grotesque or traditional sense of the word. Here's the difference: Ever notice all the scary children in movies these days? Well, in my opinion, the scary children in movies such as The Grudge or The Ring differ from those in Bioshock in that the Little Sisters' main role is not to incite fear, but rather call out to her Big Daddy if you try to harm her. In addition, it is now clear to me that this is standard for most characters in the game, they're raving madwomen, wallowing masked fools, and overall a distraught group in the same situation the main character is in. In some cases I would consider pity a relevant emotion to feel for these virtual individuals.

Okay so let's compare this game once more but the with pop-gaming-culture icon, Doom. Why do the spiders and demons and strange malformed creatures attack you? Well, because they're evil. Wait, that's it? On the other hand, why do Bioshock's denizens of Rapture attack you? Too many reasons to list. Scary? No, I think I like this. How about you?

...but breathe it in through your eardrums.

As you may or may not know, my absolute favorite music artists are a small two-man group from France, who go by the name of AIR.

These musical geniuses, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel, have been soothing my ears and soul for years. No matter the mood I'm in, if listening to AIR, I can breathe, and be swayed into its electronic paradise of both symphonic and simple sound. Pure delight.

So if you're living a stressful life or living any life for that matter, I suggest you pick up an album, any album by these fantastic formulaic Frenchmen.

For more info, check http://www.pocket-symphony.com/

That's right, you cult-film fans out there know exactly what I'm talking about. REPO MAN. This epic film was one of a double feature I had the honor of seeing last night at the AERO theater in Santa Monica. The other was This is SPINAL TAP. What a double feature!!! You're thinking to yourself right now, "JohnnytheFuture, you've gotta be sh*tting me!" Well, just for that, you're not in the gang anymore!

It was truly a feat to view these films in succession, without my own cranium exploding as a justifiable result of their awesomeness. Spinal Tap, with all its subtleties, had me confused in my hilarity, or hilariously confused, I'm not sure which one. Especially when read their own reviews on such album titles of "Shark Sandwhich" (or Sh*t Sandwich), "Intravenus de Milo", or "The Gospel according to Spinal Tap" (or a "pretentious ponderous collection of religious rock psalms is enough to prompt the question, 'What day did the Lord create Spinal Tap, and couldn't he have rested on that day too?")The movie was endlessly quotable, and I was struck by the Gumby placement in the film, (David wears a Gumby and Pokey t-shirt, Nigel wears a Gumby bendable-figure in his black shirt's front pocket) I now must have these items! Either way, two thumbs up, an A-Ok hand gesture (Which I'm in the process of bringing back) and on a scale of 1 to 10, this film goes up to eleven.

Repo Man, oh where do I even start with you? A very different type of movie in terms of humor when compared to Spinal Tap. Though, in my world, both senses are equally hilarious. I know Quentin Tarantino used elements from this film when making Pulp Fiction, I mean, look at Samuel L. Jackson's character, and compare him to Repo Man's "Lite", here we have the origin of "Jules". And deservedly so that this film be referenced by another film, for every filmmaker should reference Repo Man when making their film, its the kind of movie that honestly respects its audience, allows it to build a fanbase, and is completely re-watchable.

That being said, I think I'm gonna go do some crime. Yah, I'll go get sushi, and not pay. King. God.

Well, my 4th year Spring Quarter has come to pass, as well as my 22nd year of life, and with it I was brought (through the giving nature of my gf) into the new console generation, by way of Xbox 360 of course (what other console is there?). After much evaluation I decided that the Wii wasn't quite the experience I wanted, and the PS3 is something that for me is a console that will become very relevant in the coming years (but not now). I'm sure Nintendo and Sony fanboys out there can respect that.

My preference lies with the well-developed online play via Xbox Live, which provides not only arcade games that my gf and I can play together, but awesome games like Rainbow Six Vegas, where I can get my multiplayer FPS fix. That being said, Oblivion and Lego Star Wars (very nostalgic) are great games too. For the Gears fans out there sorry, though the graphics engine is indeed spectacular, I get kinda bored jumping for cover and sawing giant alien insect heads off (back to Gamestop with ye).

And on the horizon! Oh the games are only beginning! Bioshock, Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Assassin's Creed, Halo 3, GTA IV, Fallout 3, Soul Calibur IV, Beautiful Katamari, all spread out over the next year, surely enough to keep me busy. The real sad part is, I'll be in Japan from September to end of December, and will miss the frenzied release of the main two aforementioned. But oh well, I'll just have to go to the Tokyo Game Show from September 20-23 to make up for it!

Well friends, you know my gamertag, let's have a match sooner or later, eh?

It has happened. That's right, I've succumbed to the will of WoW. And yes, wow is the expression I would use for the online giant. So now I run the grounds of Azeroth, beating down the powers set on ruining my new homeland. Leveling up, crafting the latest armor, acquiring the most ruthless minions. All for my second life, yes, second life. Luckily, I've retained my sense of reality, I have my girl to thank for that, and a close set of friends to keep me from a constant attendance of my eyes to this 19 inch other-worldly portal. See you there.