GameSpoon - Zero Punctuation XBLA Double Bill

Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Castle Crashers. Classic!

RandomSpoon - Man Punches Shark

Yeah, that headline got me too. Actually, it is a very touching story of a guy who saved his dogs life...from a shark.

Courtesy of CNN.com

TechSpoon - Fall Design

It's that time of year again...like every year, it is Fall! The folks at Smashing Magazine have posted on some current Fall designs. It's a great post, definitely time to start thinking in that mode; break out your leaves!

Read up on the Fall design post here

GameSpoon - The Force Unleashed DLC

Fantastic news from Kotaku...well, at least I think so! The (amazing) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will have DLC available for it soon. What will this encompass?

New Campaigns and New Characters!!

This is fantastic news. According to Kotaku, LucasArts plans to release four new characters and a campaign mode that is set in the Jedi Temple. The DLC will be available for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

This begs the question, "when?" Answer: the coming months. I know, I know, but in the next month, LucasArts will be releasing some different content - new costumes and charater models that are fashioned after Luke Skywalker, "help me" Obi-Wan Kenobi "you're my only hope," Ki-Adi-Mundi and Kit Fisto.

Read more here and big thanks to Kotaku!

GameSpoon - Activision to Music Industry, "go f*ck yourself"

Ah, the immense greed of the Music Industry. When will those poor souls learn? CEO Edgar Bronfman (Warner Music) has basically said that the video game industry needs to pay up for the music they are using in their games...specifically games like Guitar Hero. They feel that they are not getting paid enough money for what they are providing to these games.

Now, how do you think an industry that dwarfs the pathetic music industry would respond? Would they fall to their knees to beg for forgiveness and pay the music-man his dues? Hell no!

As CEO Bobby Kotick (Activision Blizzard) put it:

"There's a misunderstanding of the value we bring to the catalog...When you look at the impact it can have on an Aerosmith, Van Halen or Metallica, it's really significant, so much so that you sort of question whether or not, in the case of those kinds of products, you should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse."
Gamasutra

Hell yeah Bobby! Put those greedy bastards in their place, they definitely do not appreciate the revenue your company has brought to their industry. For this, I award you with the very rare, yet very special 5 Spoons Award of Greatness. You bring us hope, my Jedi master.

Read more here - Gamasutra

TubeSpoon - History Hacker

Edison sucks, Tesla rules! Wanna fight about it? Let's go...

Check out History Hacker on the History Channel, tonight!

FlickSpoon - W. (Dubya) Trailer

This is so fucked up. The actors look exactly like everyone...yet look nothing like them. It's so surreal it borders on brilliance.

RandomSpoon - My car, the Tie Fighter

So the Tie Fighter, which I just got in April, had it's first "indicator" warning popup last night. It freaked me out a bit, because I couldn't decipher the cryptic Sith-symbol. I consulted the users manual and discovered that it was only a warning light for low-pressure in one or more of my tires.

Low-pressure, eh? Well, to be safe, I called the service department and verified that I did NOT need to bring my car in. But I have a sneaking suspicion that something may be wrong. Why would I have low-pressure in my tires in car that is almost 6 months old?

We'll see what happens! My the force be with you...and me

TubeSpoon - Season Premiere Of CHUCK!

Once again, thanks to HULU.COM, The Spoon has landed an early season premiere.

Enjoy the full season premiere of Chuck!

No spoilers, SpoonRock would kill me.

Just this...

"Is that a Crown Victoria?"

GameSpoon - Wario Land

Best video ever? You tell me.

GameSpoon - The Force

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is selling fast...REALLY FAST. In fact, the game is the quickest selling Star Wars game ever! I know I am full of glee to know that I helped contribute to this historical event...is this an event??

So, how fast is FAST? Let's find out...

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has become the fastest-selling Star Wars game of all time, according to a release from LucasArts, with the title selling 1.5 million copies globally across six platforms in the first five days of sale.
Gamasutra

$$ Cha-ching $$
That's fast and I'm sure Lucas Arts is pleased with this. This game is fantastic though, I enjoy it very much and I highly recommend it.

RantSpoon - RRoD round 2

So two people I know just recieved the old Red Ring of Death. Is this news? Nope, but this is their second round of dealing with the RRoD. It amazes me that after all this time and all the millions lost because of the RRoD, that Microsoft is still putting out a product that will fail. So, does this mean that people can expect the RRoD annually? I don't know, but it sucks.

Profile - both people game differently, one plays more frequently than the other, but both people watch DVDs on their systems frequently. One has an Elite and one has a Premium 360. What do they have in common? I'll tell you, they use their 360s, because they use them, they suffer the agony of the Red Ring of Death. WTF

TubeSpoon - Emmy Winners

This is a few days late, so I apologize, but congrats are in order to three deserving series that swept the Emmys on Sunday.

30 Rock landed Best Comedy, Best Writing For A Comedy, Best Actress (Comedy), and Best Actor (Comedy). There will never be enough praise for Alec Baldwin in this show.

Mad Men, A&E's flagship drama series won Best Drama and Best Actor (Drama).

John Adams, HBO's juggernaut, in my opinion was the best thing on tv in the past ten years. It kicked ass on Sunday by setting the record with 13 Emmy wins! Best Mini-Series, Directing, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor...the list goes on. It deserves them all.

TubeSpoon - Heroes: Villains

Heroes premiered last night with a bang. The exciting twists and turns already make up for the--in my opinion--piece of shit Season 2.

No spoilers here for the Tivo culture, so I'll make it brief.

Nathan's gunman is revealed right off the bat, Peter learns the brutal effects of The Butterfly Effect, and Hiro meets his arch-nemesis.

It will be a great season. Feel free to discuss when everyone watches the two hour premiere.

TubeSpoon - Further reasons why Dwight K. Schrute is one of the best characters in Televison history.

It is worth it to everyone to read Dwight's blog post entitled "Swimming is Not for Me (or Why I’m an Amazing Lifeguard)"

FlickSpoon - Seth Rogan finally got Stephen Chow for Green Hornet

Seth Rogan and his Superbad co-writer Evan Goldberg have been working on The Green Hornet for about a year now. The update of the 1930's radio serial and 1960's tv series has had Rogan attached since he became a star.

The only question was who he would get to play Kato, the Green Hornet's sidekick. The original part was brought to life by the legendary Bruce Lee.

Rogan has said that he only wants Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) to play the part.

He finally got his wish. Chow will not only co-star but direct the superhero comedy.

Tune Spoon - The New Quantum of Solace Theme Song

Click the link and enjoy the song.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE THEME

LINK PROVIDED BY FILMDRUNK

TubeSpoon - It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny is back on. Yet another show everyone should be watching...but won't be watching until it's cancelled.

4th Season just premiered and was hilarious as always.

"Whoa, the breaks are out! What's wrong with the breaks!?"
"I cut the breaks! Wild Card, bitches!"

TechSpoon - A Brilliant Kid

A twelve-year old kid, future-scientist/engineer (we can only hope), has developed an innovative three-dimensional solar cell! This new solar cell design absorbs both UV and visible light, in the hopes to create a more efficient cell. Who is this kid? His name is William Yuan of Portland, OR.

According to an article on Wired.com, William stated:

"Current solar cells are flat and can only absorb visible light. . .I came up with an innovative solar cell that absorbs both visible and UV light. My project focused on finding the optimum solar cell to further increase the light absorption and efficiency and design a nanotube for light-electricity conversion efficiency."

His scientific ventures not only nabbed him a $25,000 scholarship, but also a trip to the Library of Congress to receive the award for his work. It should be noted, that this award is usually given out to Graduate students.

Good work William! Keep it up and stay away from drugs and alcohol, your mind is too important! ;-)

RandomSpoon - Family Guy quotes

This cracks me up, popped into my head for some reason, love it:

Lois: Okay, one more minute, and then if there are two pink lines...
Peter: Oh god, I hope you're not pregnant, we can't afford another kid. We already got Chris, Stewey, Richie, Joanie, Greg, Marsha, Bobby, Jan, Mike Seaver, Carol Seaver, Boner, Urkel, Mr. Furley...
Brian: Peter those aren't your kids, that's the Nick-at-Night lineup.
Peter: Blanka, Zangeif, Chun-Li, Guile, E. Honda...
Brian: That's Street Fighter.
Peter: Red, blue, green...
Brian: Those are colors.

Family Guy, what a show!

TubeSpoon - Knight Rider - This. Shit. BLOWS.

TuneSpoon - Metallica Tops Charts

Metallica's Death Magnet debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. This is impressive considering how long the group has been around and how Hip-Hop Dominated the list has become over the years.

It also helps that the new album is amazing.

Welcome back, 'Tallica. We forgive you for St. Anger.

TubeSpoon - 24: Redemption Trailer

Trailer for the two hour 24 tv-movie that will serve as a prequel to the upcoming season.

FlickSpoon - Inkheart

GameSpoon - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

A Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
So, I've finally be able to sit down and log some quality time with this game; a game I've been waiting a long time to play. What are my initial thoughts? How do I feel about the game now that I've tried it? Are there any problems that I experienced? Let's find out:

This game is awesome. Really, this game is truly awesome. "The Force Unleashed" is just plain fun to play, period. This game is also about THE FORCE. I know some people are all hyped-up on playing this game on the Wii, because EVERYONE (self included) wants to wield a light-saber....on the Wii, as if the entire system was built only for Star Wars. I love that idea! But, this game is about kicking ass with the Force.

At the start of the game you find your first playable character to be none other than Darth Vader, with the extreme power of the force at your command. Experiencing the power of controlling the force through Vader for the first time literally made me say "wow," which was then followed by an uncontrollable urge to unleash "giddyness."

Okay, so back to the game. The point of the prologue is to setup the foundation of the game, which - as we all know - is about Darth Vader's dark, secret apprentice. So it's not long before the game passes the once mighty control you thought you finally had over Vader to his apprentice; no worries, he is pretty badass himself.

I am a huge fan of the "Knights of the Old Republic" series (KOTOR for short), so this game clicked for me instantly. I found many similarities between KOTOR and, believe it or not, Lego Star Wars - another series that I love. Due to these connections/similarities, I felt very comfortable with "The Force Unleashed"; I had a familiar sense of the game mechanics. "The Force Unleashed" may share concepts from those other games, but it is an entirely new game to experience.

Yes, I've been praising the game non-stop here, does that mean that it was perfect? No, of course not. I saw quite a few glitches during the game - loading screens would quickly flash various things across it, the cut-scenes had choppy transitions at times, and I even saw a twitching body of a stormtrooper that completely reminded me of Halo 2...anyone? I also experienced a strange visual issue, as if my Xbox/HDTV couldn't handle the graphics requirements or something. Lastly, using the Force Grip took some getting used too, but after a while, it wasn't so bad.

Would any of those pseudo-issues prevent me from recommending the game? Hell no. BUY THIS GAME - support the developers that put this out, it is fantastic. I really think that you'd enjoy this game.

TOTAL SCORE 8 out of 10

GameSpoon - Zero Punctuation: Spore

I think it's safe to say, we've all been waiting for this one!

"Can brightly colored monstrosities really compare to Batman?" (Yahtzee)

TubeSpoon - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Ah, to go back in time and relive the greatness of Star Trek: The Next Generation. SpoonRavis and I were just talking about this series, I thought I'd remind people that it exists (you can still catch episodes on the SciFi Channel). Watch it, remember it, bask in the glory of the once, mighty Enterprise-D!

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D):

GameSpoon - Gears of War 2

There are two kinds of people in the world, those that are so diehard for Gears of War 2 that they'll sign their life away for a Gears of War 2 reality TV show, and those that won't.

Which one are you my friend?

Sign up here: http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/superfan.htm

TubeSpoon - Heroes

Hiro Heroes season 3 begins in just a few days; Monday, September 22nd! On NBC of course!

This season will consists of two volumes. A 13-episode story arc called "Villans" and a 12-episode story arc entitled "Fugitives." The titles of these two volumes excite me, about damn time!

Looking at what Heroes has accomplished so far, my expectations for this new season are set very high. I look forward to seeing this psudeo X-Men world come to life and answering the "what if" question - "what if you had super-powers, would you use it for good or evil?"

I am expecting a lot from this season. I would like to see "good" characters change, have "bad" characters justify their reasons for being evil, seeing the three-way split occur between "normies" (normal people), heroes and villians; where the heroes (like all super heroes) must endure their social rejection from the normal people, yet constantly risk their own lives to protect those people from the evil villians who do not play by any rules, completely disregarding the safety of anyone other than their own.

How will this season turn out? Will I end up completely disappointed, giving up on the greatness that was heroes? Or will I be so enthralled with the fantastic-ness of this TV show, that in my drunken celebration of a great season, I'll find myself in the chair of a tattoo parlor, gleefully rummaging over a pile of potential Heroes-themed tattoos...for my face.

TubeSpoon - The Office, "That's What She Said"

The Office starts up next week; so here is every single "That's What She Said" moment.

Michael: "I want you to think about this long and hard."
Dwight: "That's what she said."
Michael: "Don't...don't you dare."

GameSpoon - Even the Minnesota Twins are excited for "Star Wars: Force Unleashed"

Star Wars: Force Unleashed is generating a lot of buzz these days. With today marking the games release, people have been seeing appearances by the series main characters all over the place.

Like here... The Tuedsay September 16th Minnesota Twins Game against the Cleveland Indians is brought to you by none other than Darth Vader.



You can see the full schedule at www.MinnesotaTwins.com

RantSpoon - McNuggets

WTF People.

So last night, like every night, I was hungry. However, unlike most nights, I didn't have any food at the place - no time for groceries Dr. Jones. Thankfully, to my delight, there is a McDonalds close by. So the wife and I headed out the door, in pursuit of the mighty McNugget.

We pull up to the drive-thru and everything went wrong. My brain failed me, my past ordering-experience meant nothing to me at that moment, I was in a state of panic. In my state of distrot, I said "6-piece McNuggets and a cheeseburger!" Instantly, I cooled-down, gain control over myself and felt smug over the thought of my upcoming meal venture. Meanwhile, the wife - calm, cool and collect - politely orders the "4-piece" McNuggets.

I realized that I actually wanted the 4-piece and pondered where I got the concept of a 6-piece. "Was it old menu item I used to order?" I thought to myself, "did I just rattle off the first thing I saw on the drive-thru menu?" I had no answer to justify my order. I decided to just let it go.

We picked up our order and started our journey home. Before getting back to the place to sit down to a nice, elegant meal infront of the TV - Family Guy, baby - I took a look at the receipt...

4-piece McNuggets = $0.99
6-piece McNuggets = $3.10!! what the hell?!

Two extra friggin' nuggets cost and additional $2.11!! So, if I were to have ordered THREE 4-piece McNuggets, for myself, that would have only cost $2.97 before tax. That'd be a total of 12 nuggets for LESS THAN the cost of 6 nuggets!

McDonalds, why?

ClassicFlickSpoon - The Pink Panther

Still my favorite moment, still cracks me up after all these years.

RandomSpoon - That thing that made us all laugh.

"Would you like to go to the movies?"

"I'm feeling fat, and sassy."

"DOY-OH!!!!!"

GameSpoon - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: Badass-ness, aka The Force Unleashed, launches tomorrow (9/16)! If you are not already planning on getting this game, then you need help. Sorry, it's just the way it is. This game will be fantastic.

BUY IT!

Learn more at LucasArts.com

FlickSpoon - Coen Bros. Are #1

Congrats to Minnesota born Ethan and Joel Coen for scoring their first #1 weekend. Loved and respected worldwide for their smaller independent efforts (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, etc.), their stock went through the roof when their unstoppable force 'No Country For Old Men' won them Best Director and Best Picture oscars.

Now, while they are currently in Minneapolis filming 'A Serious Man', they have scored their biggest opening weekend of their careers with 'Burn After Reading'.

The story of two idiot (what the Coens do best) gym employees who attempt to sell a disk of governement secrets grossed an estimated $19.4 million. With the help of stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, the $37 million movie should have no problem finding profits in the weeks to come.

TechSpoon - 4th Gen iPod Nano: Redundant?

Um, cool? I guess. This is obviously for people who don't trust the iPhone to handle their music capabilities. This simply feels like a novelty--like buying the Touch (ZING!). The new (and random) aerodynamic design of the Nano is intended to aide pretentiously long playlists and the browsing of said lists.

In addition to the new compressed cyclinder shape, the Nano will come in a wider variety of colors...you know, for the hippies. Up to 16 gigs of storage will be available and a new Genius Playlist option that allows faster On The Go Playlist creation.

Ready for the icing, babies? The new Shake To Shuffle option.



Are you f'ing kidding me? Look at that. What am I, an asshole? I'm gonna sit there and shake my iPod NANO to give me a better selection of music!?

No. I'm not.

Everyone over the age of sixteen is rolling their eyes right now.

TrailerSpoon - The Soloist

I swear to God, Robert Downey Jr. has been reborn. You can't stop that dude now. Here he is as a mentor (and best friend) to a down on his luck cello prodigy played by Jamie Foxx.

FlickSpoon - Marvel Runoff

With the success that Marvel Studios has had revamping their own products, Fox has been left twiddling its thumbs.

"What to do? What to do?" The Fox Corporate fat cats say to themselves.

"Do we squeeze every last drop out of--?"

"YES!" The fattest cat of them all screams.

So they released this statement:

Though Fox has no plans for a major overhaul, the studio has scheduled a strategy meeting to assess the status of its superheroes, a group sorely missed this summer. On the agenda, Fox will mull the possibility of more "X-Men" spinoffs, including a young-X-Men project as well as "Deadpool," based on a character played by Ryan Reynolds in "Wolverine." The studio is even considering reviving the "Daredevil" property.

Another X-Men? Ugh.

YOUNG X-Men? Fuck.

Deadpool with Ryan Reynolds? Whooptie-shit.

Daredevil DOES deserve a solid shot, I'll give them that. May as well do it right.

But no more X-Men. Ever. We're getting a Wolverine movie; that's all we really wanted. Disagree? Watch f'ing X3 again and get back to me.

TubeSpoon - Chuck (redux)

At first I thought SpoonRock and myself were the only two people who watched Chuck. Turns out it was a huge hit with everyone! I also look forward to the show starting up again.

UPDATE: And I agree...Yvonne is hot all day long.

TubeSpoon - Chuck!

NBC's Chuck is one hell of a fun show and you need to watch it. Keep a couple of things in mind here:

* Chuck - season 2 begins MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22nd. If you won't be around, set the DVR.
* Chuck - season 1 will be out on DVD in THREE DAYS! The DVD comes out on September 16th

You, nay, everyone needs to watch this show, it's fantastic. If you still aren't too sure? Then at least check out the show for Yvonne Strahovski; she is gorgeous. Did I mention that she is Australian too - that accent, good lord...

Check out Chuck at NBC.com

GameSpoon - COD4 double XP weekend

Welcome to the weekend! Starting today, Call of Duty 4 will offer up DOUBLE XPs for the weekend! I don't know about you, but I'll be working on ranking up my profile...good times.

Keep an eye out for the following Gamer Tags this Saturday:

Fourzerotwo
COD4artistWill
COD4qaEd
COD4qaJustin
COD4designerJon
COD4designer1
COD4designer2
COD4studioVince
COD4studioJason
Thanks Game Informer!

These Infinity Ward employees will be out in the wild, gaming with everyone. Also, as an additional bonus, for those who have yet to purchase the COD4 map pack, your time has come. Infinity Ward will be selling the new maps at 50% off the normal price!

Enjoy

GameSpoon - Guitar Hero World Tour finally gets a track list.

This IS what Guitar Hero feels like!

The wait is over folks. Today Activision released their Guitar Hero: World Tour track listing. A total of 86 [2 more than rival Rock Band] songs make up the list. An interesting thing of note is that all of the songs are the master tracks, with a few live versions thrown in. You will notice that the list is less about face melting guitarists, and geared more towards the full band experience. I guess that is the price you pay with adding a drummer and a vocalist.

* 311 - “Beautiful Disaster”
* 30 Seconds To Mars - “The Kill”
* Airbourne - “Too Much Too Young”
* The Allman Brothers Band - “Ramblin' Man”
* Anouk - “Good God”
* The Answer - “Never Too Late”
* At The Drive-In - “One Armed Scissor”
* Beastie Boys - “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
* Beatsteaks - “Hail to the Freaks”
* Billy Idol - “Rebel Yell”
* Black Label Society - “Stillborn”
* Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - “Weapon of Choice”
* blink-182 - “Dammit”
* Blondie - “One Way or Another”
* Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - “Hollywood Nights”
* Bon Jovi - “Livin’ On A Prayer”
* Bullet For My Valentine - “Scream Aim Fire”
* Coldplay - “Shiver”
* Creedence Clearwater Revival - “Up Around The Bend”
* The Cult - “Love Removal Machine”
* Dinosaur Jr. - “Feel The Pain”
* The Doors - “Love Me Two Times”
* Dream Theater - “Pull Me Under”
* The Eagles - “Hotel California”
* The Enemy - “Aggro”
* Filter - “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
* Fleetwood Mac - “Go Your Own Way”
* Foo Fighters - “Everlong”
* The Guess Who - “American Woman”
* Hush Puppies - “You're Gonna Say Yeah!”
* Interpol - “Obstacle 1”
* Jane's Addiction - “Mountain Song”
* Jimi Hendrix - “Purple Haze (Live)”
* Jimi Hendrix - “The Wind Cries Mary”
* Jimmy Eat World - “The Middle”
* Joe Satriani - “Satch Boogie”
* Kent - “Vinternoll2”
* Korn - “Freak On A Leash”
* Lacuna Coil - “Our Truth”
* Lenny Kravitz - “Are You Gonna Go My Way”
* Linkin Park - “What I've Done”
* The Living End - “Prisoner of Society”
* Los Lobos - “La Bamba”
* Lost Prophets - “Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)”
* Lynyrd Skynyrd - “Sweet Home Alabama (Live)”
* Mars Volta - “L'Via L'Viaquez”
* MC5’s Wayne Kramer - “Kick Out The Jams”
* Metallica - “Trapped Under Ice”
* Michael Jackson - “Beat It”
* Modest Mouse - “Float On”
* Motörhead - “Overkill”
* Muse - “Assassin”
* Negramaro - “Nuvole e Lenzuola”
* Nirvana - “About a Girl (Unplugged)”
* No Doubt - “Spiderwebs”
* NOFX - “Soul Doubt”
* Oasis - “Some Might Say”
* Ozzy Osbourne - “Crazy Train”
* Ozzy Osbourne - “Mr. Crowley”
* Paramore - “Misery Business”
* Pat Benatar - “Heartbreaker”
* R.E.M. - “The One I Love”
* Radio Futura - “Escuela De Calor”
* Rise Against - “Re-Education Through Labor”
* Sex Pistols - “Pretty Vacant”
* Silversun Pickups - “Lazy Eye”
* Smashing Pumpkins - “Today”
* Steely Dan - “Do It Again”
* Steve Miller Band - “The Joker”
* Sting - “Demolition Man (Live)”
* The Stone Roses - “Love Spreads”
* Stuck In The Sound - “Toy Boy”
* Sublime - “Santeria”
* Survivor - “Eye of the Tiger”
* System of a Down - “B.Y.O.B.”
* Ted Nugent - “Stranglehold”
* Ted Nugent’s Original Guitar Duel Recording
* Tokio Hotel - “Monsoon”
* Tool - “Parabola”
* Tool - “Schism”
* Tool - “Vicarious”
* Trust - “Antisocial”
* Van Halen - “Hot For Teacher”
* Willie Nelson - “On The Road Again”
* Wings - “Band on the Run”
* Zakk Wylde’s Original Guitar Duel Recording

The 86 song listing is the largest collection of videogame music to date.......until next september 2009 when they release 150 songs on one disc.

Check the comments for some views on a few of the bands

FlickSpoon - Iron Man 2

Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man, seems to be enjoying the attention he's getting these days. He can't stop talking about the sequel. Even though things were rocky in the beginning, Favreau and Paramount have ironed out their problems and gotten to work on the highly anticipated follow up set for a 2010 release.
In a recent interview, Favreau did confirm that they are "thinking" about having the Mandarin as the primary villian--although he was hesitant to make it 100% because he's not sure how the mystical origin would fit into the new HiTech world they have created. The entire cast is coming back and Terrance Howard may step up to the plate as War Machine like in the "Devil In A Bottle" storyline from the comics (Pops could tell you more about that than I could).
He also addressed the crossovers that have been happening in the recent Marvel flicks--Sam Jackson in Iron Man, Downey Jr. in Hulk, etc. He said that Captain America and the Incredible Hulk can fit easily into the world he is crafting; Thor, however--also coming out 2010--is a little different.
At any rate, audiences worldwide will be looking forward to the sequel that will inevitably be bigger in every way.

GameSpoon - Street Fighter Arcade Sticks!

WE LOVE KOTAKU. They bring us information such as this:
Street Fighter 4 Arcade Sticks

GameSpoon - The Dawn of the Age of Digital Console Gaming

GameStop's Merchandising VP, Bob McKenzie, makes the claim that by the year 2020, console gaming will be disc-less - everything will be digital. This definitely is the future, but will it happen by 2020 or will it actually happen earlier? After all, isn't this going on now?

Console gaming, iPhone/iPod Touch and PC gaming already allow digital distribution of certain video games. Sure, the iPhone/iPod Touch games are not technologically advanced, but PC/console gaming sure as hell are. Look at the current state of console gaming downloads for the Xbox and Playstation. On top of the arcade games available, you can download entire games from the last generation! That's a remarkable feat to have access to digital versions of the previous generation games available for download.

However, because this technology may not be utilized in the next generation of console gaming. It most likely would be two generations out - unless, of course, you are Sony and on the ten year plan. Then it potentially would be their next console. Regardless, this would put us near that 2020 mark - good work Mr. McKenzie.

Read the article relating to this at Gamasutra

TuneSpoon - Cornford Harlequin

The Cornford Harlequin is a 6 watt, class A, all tube amp that will kick your ass...with outstanding tone.

The Harlequin runs 12AX7 (2) and EL84 (1) tubes, encased in a solid pine cabinet, that pushes a Celstion Vintage 30 12" speaker. And the electronics? Hand-wired. The amp allows you control over volume, master, bass, treble, voice and two inputs - "Hi" and "Lo" to control the gain output.

You can run any guitar you want through this amp, but personally, the tone that is produced when you run an American Fender Strat through it, is absolutely remarkable. The Harlequin responds extremely well to the power of your attack, making the amp just as versitle and essential to your playing, as a Fender Strat. All styles work with this amp - rock, country, blues, jazz. Need some more gain? Throw a boutique pedal such as the Fulltone OCD or the ZVex Box of Rock in front of it and you'll be able to play any gig that slides your way.

Check out Cornford Amps website for more information on their products and listening samples - I strongly suggest Frank Gambale's "Being Frank," recorded on the Harlequin; it's quality.
http://www.cornfordamps.com/

TuneSpoon - Django Reinhardt

As a musician and guitarist, it is extremely important to experience and appreciate all styles of music that relate to an instrument. You do not need to love what you are listening to, but you should have an understanding of what is going on in the various styles; if you choose to ignore other styles, you'll only limit your own growth and versatility.

Django Reinhardt. The Gypsy Jazz guitarist that revolutionized and influenced numerous individuals. His harmonic musical understanding and his amazing repertoire of chops, arguably makes him one of the greatest guitarists/musicians of the 20th century. And, after cutting his first recordings in 1928, he managed to do this all with only two fingers on his fretting-hand - can you imagine?

Gypsy Jazz is a complex style of rhythm and lead. Barre chords need not apply! Gypsy Jazz chords typically require two or three fingers to create major and minor 6ths, as opposed to major/minor 5ths. The rhythm used with these chords, follows an up-down, down pattern; similar to some non-jazz styles. The lead parts combine chromatic scales with arpeggios - a style that borders Classical music. Of course, the main ingredient to Gypsy Jazz is swing. The style moves, it swings, it's fast and it'll get you going.

Step up to the plate, check out Django Reinhardt if you've never listened to him before. Or re-listen if it's been a while. You may like it, you may hate it, but at least you know that his music existed. After all, his legacy has mostly likely played a role in shaping/influencing the modern musicians that you love so dearly today.

GameSpoon - Too Human

Courtesy of The Escapist and Zero Punctuation

Everyone makes submarines out of metal, let's make one out of bread! (Yahtzee)

The new Zero Punctuation covers Too Human; rock!

GadgetSpoon - PhoneSaber

Well I don't know about you, but soon, I won't have to think twice about entering a dark alley anymore. Why? Because I'll have my trusty light phone saber! Is the Force with you?

The ever popular PhoneSaber iPhone app is coming back and yes, it'll still be FREE!

Read on - MacRumors.com

RandomSpoon - The Office: Season Three

Hunter: "Do you have any messages for Jan?"

Michael: "Just tell her I want to squeeze them......... She'll know what that means"

FlickSpoon - Devastator in Transformers

I swear to God I won't be reporting on the Transformers sequel every two seconds. I didn't even like the first one. BUT Ainitcool.com just reported that Devastator will be featured in the sequel. As any child of the 80's will recall, Devastator was the giant machine that the Constructacons united to form.

Should be visually impressive at least.

FlickSpoon - The Dark Knight gets rerelease.

Warner Bros. announced that they will be giving The Dark Knight a rerelease in January. This move will serve as a reminder to people during the Oscar voting season. As if people could forget about it, there are STILL DK posters up all over Los Angeles.

When people talk about the best movies of the year the conversation usually starts like this:

"So which did you like better, Iron Man or Dark Knight?"

No one even remembers that an Indiana Jones movie came out. Good riddance.

The Dark Knight has made over $500 million domestically, $450 million internationally, and $55 million in IMax. DVD and BlueRay will be out around Christmas.

GameSpoon - MK vs DC roster announced!.......... through 360 achievement list.

Kind of reminiscent of Hogan v Andre?

What a way to end the suspense. Xbox360achievements.org has release a full list of achievements for the upcoming MK vs DC game.

Without further adieu:
Baraka
Batman
Catwoman
Darkseid
Deathstroke
Flash
Green Lantern
Jax
Joker
Kano
Kitana
Lex Luthor
Liu Kang
Raiden
Scorpion
Shang Tsung
Shao Khan
Shazam
Sonya
Sub Zero
Superman
Wonderwoman

Just imagine what kind of havok Lex Luthor and Shao Khan can cause.

Full list of achivements on www.xbox360achievements.org

TuneSpoon - Madden Tracks '09; Does over-sensitive editing make people happy?

I take offense to suggestive vowels


EA loves to tell you how much they love music and love music in their games. It is something they take pride in. Proof? See press release for Madden '08 here. Year after year they include established and new acts on their sports franchise games. It gets a little much, yet in my opinion it is not the worst idea....... until this year.

EA has taken it upon themselves to edit this years music free from anything that they have deemed "suggestive" or "offensive". For example, words such as "Guns", "Arms", and "Loaded" have all been removed from the song "Hammerhead" by The Offspring. If they wanted to remove suggestive themes from the song, they may as well have had no lyrics in it. Guess what EA, the song is about school shootings [song meaning]. Is that the message you want to send to people while they play your football game?

There are instances where they are not consistent with the editing either. Using the example of Hammerhead again, the line "I'll take a life" is edit free. Seems a bit suggestive, wouldn't you think? Especially when another song on the game, "Inside the fire" by Disturbed, had the word "life" from the line "Release your life" edited from the song.

I do not mind editing of songs, but it has to make sense. Randomly choosing "suggestive" words without looking at the context of how they are being used isn't the way this should be done. Swear words are one thing, you shouldn't have to worry about the rest.

So what do you think?

GadgetSpoon - iPod Touch

iPod Touch 'Featured Games' montage

Courtesy of GAMEVIDEOS

This vid displays the awesomeness of the iPod Touch - the future of handheld gaming! It'll be interesting to see how Nintendo and Sony respond to the functionality of the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch seems to be where the PSP wishes it could be...what will Sony do?

GameSpoon - Street Fighter 4

Street Fighter IV 'Hadoken' HD

Courtesy of GAMEVIDEOS

You: "Why did The Spoon post an old video of Street Fighter 4?"
Spoon: "Good question, just because it's awesome."
You: "Right on!"

Enjoy

TechSpoon - Pwnage

TechSpoon - iTunes vs. Pwnage



iTunes 8 was just released and Apple decided to take an approach to "attempt" to prevent their devices from being hacked. I question how hard they "attempted" this; whether the iPhone/iPod Touch is hacked or not doesn't really matter in the big picture, Apple still got the money for the device.

The PwnageTool, developed by iPhone-dev team, exploits a flaw in the hardware design of the iPhone and iPod Touch that, according to the team, can't be fixed without Apple making a hardware modification.

Right now, iTunes 8 will identify the hardware hack, throw an error message within iTunes and prevent the Pwnage of the device. However, for those of you who want to hack your gear, don't you worry. The iPhone-dev team already has a patch to fix this for the iPod Touch and plan to release a patch for the iPhone.

Check out more info on the iPhone-dev blog

Game Spoon - Crashing Castles on XBLA

After many years, the creators of Alien Hominid are back with Castle Crashers. Created by 'The Behemoth' the company formed after the success of their first title. Castle Crashers is a throw back to such famous games as Golden Axe and Knights of the Round. Allowing the player to hack and slash through thousands of enemies and acquire power-ups as they progress.

The player starts by selecting one of four knights. All having an elemental magic such as fire, lighting, ice or poison. The story of the game is that the knights have to go on a quest to save the four princesses of the kingdom from the evil horde. With the plot out of the way the player begins chopping through thousands of enemies using everything at their disposal to save said princesses.

This is where the game excels at the classic Golden Axe/Knights of the Round type of game-play. As the player progresses they gain levels, abilities and various weapons. Through out the game the player will find or buy various weapons that allow them to customize the look and abilities of there knight. On top of that, while going through the game the player can unlock different companion animals that have their own abilities to assist the player.

Now comes the fun part/hincky part. Up to four players can play Crashers online or locally. Now I know your like, "How could this be hincky?" well eager gamer I will explain. Currently, there are some server issues and involving certain Internet connections that are not allowing people to join or play on-line. Do not be intimidated by this as the creators have announced they are currently working on patch to fix this and will also have additional weapons and playable characters. This should be available "soon" which in the games industry means 1.5-2 months.

So, is it worth the 1,200 points to download this title? Of course, the unique/beautiful art style and addictive hack and slash game-play make this an immediate buy. Once hooked you will want to keep playing to find all of the hidden characters, animal companions and playable characters. Check this one out and you won't be disappointed.

TOTAL SCORE 8 out of 10

Links Courtesy of Wikipedia

RandomSpoon - Google logo

RandomSpoon - Google is the best



Above - the Google logo for the day.

Google, I love you

GadgetSpoon - iPod Touch

GadgetSpoon - the new iPod Touch!

Courtesy of CNET

As I've mentioned before, I have an iPhone, but I have to say, the iPod Touch is sweet! The UI for the iPod Touch/iPhone is very intuitive and easy to use; simplicity. What I really dig about the iPod Touch, over the iPhone, is the size and the fact that there aren't any contracts involved! Ha. The original iPod Touch is very thin, apparently the new iPod Touch is every thinner; that's just amazing, to have so much functionality built-in such a small device.

With the App Store giving you access to thousands of applications and "hundreds of games" (Jobs), you can't go wrong with the iPod Touch - you'll find numerous uses for the device. According to Steve Jobs, the battery life of this guy is even 36 hours! 36 hrs of music or 6 hours video, to be precise.

Probably the best new feature of the updated iPod Touch is the price; inexpensive. They are making these products much more affordable than when they originally launched. If you are in the market for a new iPod or if you just want a new gadget, hit up your local Apple Store and pick one up.

GameSpoon - Fracture Demo Coming Soon

GameSpoon - Fracture



In a Press Relase today, LucasArts announced that the Fracture demo will be released for Xbox Live and the Playstation Network on September 18th...eight days away!

Fracture takes a unqiue persepective on the third-person action genre, allowing you to perform "terrian deformation" within the game. The word on the street is that this new gaming ability isn't just for fun, but will introduce a new level of challenges and problem solving techniques to add to your current gaming knowledge. This gameplay addition will allow "for the dynamic creation of on-the-fly cover and geographic manipulation" (LucasArts.com).

This is a definite "must play" game. Check out the full Press Release here at LucasArts.com.

GameSpoon - LittleBigPlanet Trailer

GameSpoon - Sackboy action video

LittleBigPlanet 'Sackboys in the Wild' trailer

Courtesy of GAMEVIDEOS

I'm stoked for LittleBigPlanet...'nough said

FlickSpoon - Quantum Of Solace trailer

GameSpoon - BioShock PS3 vs 360

GameSpoon - BioShock video

Bioshock 'PS3/Xbox 360 Comparison'

Courtesy of GAMEVIDEOS

BioShock is probably my favorite single-player game for the 360. I kid you not, that I may get it for the PS3 just for the hell of it. It always amazes me though, seeing side-by-side comparisons of PS3 and 360 games. The PS3 is technically superior, but the when developers port a game over to the PS3 that was originally designed for the 360, the PS3 always comes out looking worse in the end. I don't know about you, but I still get that impression here, with the BioShock comparison video.

Thanks GameVideos!

RandomSpoon - Google Maps

RandomSpoon - sweet link

Check this Google Map link out.

ConspiracySpoon - The Large Hadron Collider UPDATE

ConspiracySpoon



Just a friendly FYI people - the end of all that we know Large Hadron Collider successfully fired a proton beam through their 17-mile underground facility of death today.

You know, I can understand that scientists want to study the universe and its origins, but where are the limits here. I have never in my life come across news articles regarding scientific experients...or ANYTHING for that matter...that contain phrases such as:

"The start of the collider — described as the biggest physics experiment in history — comes over the objections of some skeptics who fear the collision of protons could eventually imperil the earth.

The skeptics theorized that a byproduct of the collisions could be micro black holes, subatomic versions of collapsed stars whose gravity is so strong they can suck in planets and other stars."
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer - Yahoo News

Imperil the earth. You can't get much worse than that, I guess. We'll see how this all goes down. I'm sure we can trust the nuclear physicists, but here's a question:

Would they have really pulled the plug on a 3.8 BILLION dollar experiment?

When that kind of money is involved, logic and reason are usually tossed out the window and all that is left is greed.

SecondSpoon - Fringe

SecondSpoon - another perspective on Fringe



I'll keep this short - Fringe was fantastic. Fringe is exactly what you expect it to be - a new X-Files with a hint of Lost. The story involves an exclusive branch of the FBI, a corporate juggernaut, a "pattern" (not a numeric pattern this time - 4 8 15 16 23 42 anyone?), and a series of events that can only be explained through "fringe science."

The story has been laid down with a great setup. The protagonist, Dr. Bishop, has an equal counterpart, Dr. Bell. An antagonist who not only avoided being instituitonalized, but gained notoriety as being the founder/head of a large corporation named Massive Dynamics - which, of course, has great power and many secrets of its own.

The contrast of these two individuals sets the grounds for a storyline with great potential. How will things turn out? Which one really is the antagonist? Will things change as the story goes on? This is JJ Abrams after all, perhaps there is "more than meets the eye!" Pun completely intended...Don't get it? Sheesh, do I have to explain everything - Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orco (Transformers) are writers of this show.

Watch this show, tell everyone!

TubeSpoon - Fringe (aka The New X-Files)

Wow, so Fringe happened. This sweet baby--the brainchild of J.J. Abrams (Lost) and the writing duo Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orco (Transformers)-- premiered on Fox tonight after nearly a year of hype and at least six months of posters on every street corner in L.A.
That's the kind of hype that Abrams is used to these days--Cloverfield had everyone drooling before it even had a title.
Fringe had a lot going for it and a lot going against it. On one side of things, this is the new show by the mastermind of Lost; so it HAS to be great. On the other side, what if Fringe suffers the same problems as Lost? Remember Season 2 of Lost? Remember anything good that came out of it besides Mr. Eko? No. The answer is no. Don't try to think of anything. No.
So after all the hype, all the mystery, all the anticipation, did Fringe deliver?
Yes. The answer is yes.
Review time.
Fuck...now I have to review it...do I even remember what happened? What was set up? I was glued to the tv for an hour and a half, I must remember something.
That's just it, I guess.
It's just as complicated and convuluted as the best X-Files episodes--and that's a good thing.
The show opens, in true Abrams fashion, with an incident (that I'm not going to spoil for you here) that is as mysterious as it is catastrophic. This event puts FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (newcomer Anna Torv, in a starmaking performance)on a quest for answers with her would-be partner (romantically and now professionally) Agent Scott on a quest for answers. Their assignment takes them to the brink of closure when things become dangerous. Agent Scott, moments from catching the perp, is caught in an exotic chemical blast.
Agent Dunham now finds the love of her life on the cusp of death due to an unexplainable breakdown at the molecular level. Agent Scott's skin has become translucent, like a giant Jello-O mold, and he looks like his whole body could pop at moments notice. (Yes, I saw X-Files: Fight The Future, shut up.)
The only man who has the slightest idea as to what might be going on is a man by the name of Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble, "Return Of The King", watch for him come next years Emmy's.) Dr. Bishop is a pioneer of 'Fringe Science', basically every single scientific impossibility there is. There's just one problem: Dr. Bishop was institutionalized seventeen years prior for using human subjects as tests for his experiments. He is only allowed visits from family; that order was brought down at the Federal level. So Agent Dunham has to then convince Dr. Walter's vagabond son, Peter (Joshua Jackson, from "Mighty Ducks" and that show that I used to watch, like TEN years ago, and my friends will never let me forget it, even to this day...something involving a "Creek"...but seriously, he's pretty solid with this material.) to return from abroad to get her in to see the good Doctor.
The strength of the show kicks in when Dr. Walter is released from the hospital and has an amazingly hard time readjusting to reality. A race against time ensues as the three reluctant teammates attempt to solve this mystery and save the life of the man Agent Dunham loves.
Fringe, at it's best, is an investigation/hyper-real medical drama...but this is Abrams we're talking about. So you know it doesn't stop there.
We are introduced to a mysterious series of events called 'The Pattern'--a sequence of seemingly random catastrophies that may actually be liked...or orchestrated by the most powerful corporations all over the globe.
See what we're dealing with here?
In one episode we're already knee deep in global conspiracies and sci-fi awesomeness. It took X-Files like 5 seasons to get here. Fringe is here to stay, there's something about it that is greater and more respectable than other shows with the same material that have been cancelled before it. That strength and respect has got to go to its three leads...and of course to Abrams.

TuneSpoon - The Offspring; "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" review

Look at my profile under music..... Go ahead...... Notice who was number one under "music"? That, my friends, is why this will hurt......

On June 17th, The Offspring released their 8th studio album, "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". I had been waiting 5 long years for this album to come. Paying close attention to the bands website, I trying to squeeze as much information out of the little they released to the public. I heard the first single on the radio and I was sold. This album was going to rock. Well, June 17th came around and the first time I listened through the album I thought just that. But, the more I heard the second side, the more disappointed I got that the first side didn't continue. So I hear this album as two 6 song EPs on the same disc.

Side One:
This group of songs show that Dexter, Noodles, and Greg K. still have what it takes to kick ass. "Half-Truism" and "Trust in You" are definitely what we have come to expect from The Offspring sound and opens the album perfectly. The two singles in "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" and "HammerHead" are perfect ways to sell the album.

I personally love "A Lot Like Me". Dexter's vocals make the song very exciting and gives the song the passion and urgency the music calls for. Numerous people have said that they are ripping off "Clocks" by Coldplay. I make the opposite claim that they took "Clocks" and made it better. HA! Take that jerks!

Now, side two [here comes my production rant]:
Side two was in fact victimized by Bob Rock. My opinion is that there has always been a way to distinguish The Offspring from Green Day. Bob Rock ruined that. I don't think that it was a fluke that on his first run with The Offspring songs like "Fix you" and "Rise and Fall" suddenly had the sound of the other before mentioned band. Their work with Thom Wilson and later with Brendan O'brien prove that point. The songs on side two are very good songs. I just cannot get over how they sound, and it really bothers me.

I am going to give this album 3 1/2 out of 5 based on the fact that side one bashed me in the face with a brick, kicked me in the nuts, pissed on me, and told me I suck......Then side two held me while lovingly stroking my hair and apologizing.