TeaSpoon - MSNBC on Teabagging

I'm amazed that this is actually real - to me, it seems like it should be on The Onion or something. Ha, it is hilarious.

"can we roll the footage of the million man march?"

TubeSpoon - The State on DVD..........maybe?

I see some familiar faces.

Fond memories of my youth revolve around the television series "The State". The State was a sketch comedy show that aired on MTV from December of 1993 to July of 1995 and sparked the career of some comedians you may have seen. Members of The State have gone on to write, act in/or direct other shows and films as Wet Hot American Summer,Reno 911!, Stella, Viva Variety, and Human Giant.

There have been rumors the last few years about the series being released on DVD. As of January 29, 2008, Michael Showalter has confirmed that MTV is still delaying the release: "They have it. We've made the DVD, and it exists. It's out of our hands, and I know who has it, but I don't know why they're waiting... we've done the commentary and the deleted material and all that stuff, but I just don't know when it's coming out." [avclub.com]. The biggest setback appears to be licensing to the songs used during the skits. The cost to use the songs would be more than they would project to bring in from sales.

I was recently informed that there was a release date but As of 04/14/2009, it appears that this was just another rumor. According to The State's official website: "Despite rumors to the contrary, there is still no official release date for The State MTV series DVDs.". So MTV still does not want to shell out the money to license the songs.

So, in leiu of this infromation, I will have to stick to watching my favorite skits in crappy youtube quality. Skits like the one below. Let's see what happens when a friendly race between a father and son goes tragically wrong.

FlickSpoon - Netflix Now Coming to More "Platforms"

Can Mario finally finish season 6 of "The Sopranos"?

Rumor has it that Netflix is now coming to a console near you. It has been nearly 5 months since the service has been released for the Xbox360, and since then Netflix has gained more than 1 million subscribers to their service. An impressive number considering the company totals about 10 million subscribers.

Now it appears that Netflix would like to branch out to other console owners. It has been confirmed that they are looking for an "Engineering Leader--Gaming Platforms" to direct "a small technology team to rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms."

While it has not been confirmed what platform they are looking to expand to, the most obvious choice is the PS3. But what about the Wii? Some people say that there will be a disc that you can purchace for $9.99 that will allow you to access the Netflix streaming library. Others, such as Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, state that the Nintendo service would be different from their competetors.

GameSpoon - Top 25 hardest games...

A reference of a reference...

Kotaku summed up an article that GameDaily posted about on what they think are the Top 25 Hardest Games of All Time!

I like Kotaku's quick, one-page summary, so I've decided to quote their list:

25. Ice Climber (NES)
24. Viewtiful Joe (GameCube, PS2)
23. MDK 2
22. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (NES)
21. Metal Slug series
20. Tetris
19. Gauntlet 1
18. Portal
17. Bionic Commando series
16. Guitar Hero series (On Expert)
15. Shinobi (PS2)
14. F-Zero GX (GameCube)
13. Mushihimesama Futari
12. Doom (On Nightmare Difficulty)
11. Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
10. Contra series
9. Defender
8. Devil May Cry 3 (PS2)
7. God of War series (PS2)
6. R-Type series
5. Ikaruga (GameCube, Xbox Live Arcade)
4. Mega Man 9 (Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, PlayStation Network)
3. Battletoads
2. Gouls N' Ghosts series
1. Ninja Gaiden series

This is a very interesting list. Honestly, I'm not sure why COD4 is so close to the top and why Contra isn't in the top position - can anyone honestly beat the game without The Code??

I am happy to see Battletoads on this list, because that game puts the "wtf" in "tough!" What do you think of the list?

RandomSpoon - Polar Bear Finds Idiot Delicious.

........No Comment

On Friday, at a local Berlin Zoo, a German woman decided it would be fun to get a closer look at a Polar Bear during feeding time. Somehow the woman thought that she would not be mistaken for dinner, jumped the fence, and proceeded to get mauled by an adult Polar Bear. Zoo workers eventually did get the woman out of the bears habitat, but not without the bear pulling her back in to his lair first.

It is important to note that the woman has yet to explain why she entered the Polar Bear habitat. Although, if her reasoning was to be treated for bite wounds and a citation for trespassing, she succeeds.

OH! And someone videotaped it.

www.CNN.com

GameSpoon - Nintendo DSi piano

This is very cool - especially for those of us who play music. Thanks to Nintendo for this hidden gem!

GameSpoon: Assassin's Creed 2 - the new hero

Game Informer has released the cover of their May issue (#103). This cover reveals the new hero of the upcoming game Assassin's Creed 2.

Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 will take place in Renaissance-era Venice. The role of Altair has been replaced by a new assassin named Ezio. Who, according to Game Informer, is "a young noble whose family was lost through rival ruling families' betrayals."

As a fan of the original Assassin's Creed, I really look forward to experiencing this sequel. But I can't help but wonder, how will this fit with the ending of the original game? Time will tell.

FlickSpoon/GameSpoon - No 'Pirates 4' For Verbinski--'Bioshock' Instead.

Variety is reporting that director Gore Verbinski, whose main claim to fame came from directing Disney's blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean" action-adventure trilogy to gross $2.6 billion worldwide, has decided that three pirate movies is enough. He's informed Disney and producer Jerry Buckheimer that he won't be directing the fourth installment, which is currently scheduled to start shooting in 2010.

Verbinski told the trade: "I had a fantastic time bringing 'Pirates' to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team. I'm looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future."

Instead, Verbinski will focus on his adaptation of the bestselling video game BioShock for Universal Pictures, which is expected to start production in 2010 based on a script by John Logan.

Next up for Verbinski is the Paramount animated film Rango, also written by Logan, which is due for release on March 18, 2011. The filmmaker is also developing a new live action movie based on the Hasbro board game Clue, written by Steven Knight.

FlickSpoon/GameSpoon - Sony Pictures Adapting 'Shadow Of The Colossus'.

Sony Pictures will adapt the popular PlayStation 2 title "Shadow of the Colossus" into a big screen action film, with Justin Marks writing the screenplay and Kevin Misher in negotiations to produce, says Variety.

"Colossus," which was released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, revolves around a man named Wander who must travel across a cursed wasteland and defeat 16 creatures, known as the colossi, in order to restore the life of a girl.

The project, which proved a big seller for PlayStation and was produced internally by Sony Computer Entertainment, will build upon the video game's fantasy setting of a solitary world with few characters other than the 16 enemies.

GameSpoon - Fatality! Mortal Kombat Developers to leave Midway?

It has been reported by Kotaku that the Mortal Kombat development team has been in talks with other publishers as well as seeking out an opportunity for their own studio.

The development team has been frustrated with pay - you can't blame them, money is important in this economy. The bankruptcy of Midway is the root of this issue. The developers were supposed to receive bonuses for meeting sales goals. After attaining these goals, they have not received compensation.

According to Midway, it is not their fault for the lack of compensation, but the "creditors committee" that is withholding these funds. Regardless of Midway's involvement in the actual payment of these bonuses, the development team is unhappy. I'm sure there are many reason outside of this compensation issue for their frustration with the company.

What does this mean for the future of the Mortal Kombat franchise that this development team that has working on for the last 17 years? We don't know! If the development team leaves, MK may not be coming with them. Will MK live on?

GameSpoon: Doomsday Arcade: Episode 7

Welcome to the seventh episode of Doomsday Arcade! Lund and Shanks find themselves having a "blast," ha (damn it...another horrible pun...I can't help myself).

In all honestly, this episode was pretty entertaining. I enjoyed it and if I did, then I'm sure SpoonThrash did and if he did, then I'm sure the world did. Don't believe me? Prove me wrong...are you up to the challenge? Check it out!

GameSpoon: Doomsday Arcade: Episode 6

In this episode Doomsday Arcade takes things to a...sweeter level! AH, bad pun, I know, I'm sorry. But I can't help but think of cake now. Lund and Shanks have managed to detain a special character, will they get the answers to the questions they seek?? You'll just have to watch...

JapanSpoon - Nintendo DSi commercial

Ah, nothing like a good shot of Japanese commercials to wake you up in the morning. Well, that and a large coffee. I saw this post on Kotaku and thought it'd be perfect for the Japanophile in me (and subsequently, The Spoon); enjoy!

According to Kotaku, here's the background on this commercial:

Actress Miho Kanno appears in the DSiWare Brain Age ads. She's asked to make a face like she's seen something that she shouldn't have seen. She does and lets out a frightening laugh.

DSi Brain Age makes use of the camera and even has users make funny faces.

Why? Because stuff like makes you smarter. Duh.

GameSpoon - Zero Punctuation: X-blades and Halo Wars

Eff, this was one of the best ZPs I've seen in a long time! Very hilarious. Yahtzee has a special guest who covers X-Blades.

TechSpoon - Google's new tech! CADIE and Chrome in 3D

Thanks for all the hard work and innovation over the years Google. I really feel like it has come down to this outstanding piece of software that will revolutionize the way we, humans, interact with technology.

Thanks to the enginerds at Google, we now have the ability to access the following technology:

Google CADIE - Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity. The "world's first "artificial intelligence" tasked-array system" (google).

and

Google Chrome with 3D - we'll never look at the web the same way again, because we'll be looking at it in 3D!! YEAH!

I'm sorry, I can't even begin to describe the greatness of these technologies. Please visit the following Google links to learn more about this exciting new technology:


Google CADIE introduction

Google CADIE Homepage - a lot of information here!

Google Chrome in 3D

Finally.

TechSpoon - Symantec on 60 Minutes

Watch CBS Videos Online

This is worth watching, gain some insight into internet security. It's important to stay protected, the web is like the wild west and you wouldn't leave your house without your Colt Peacemaker would you??

*Update:
Apparently, CBS has made a few reporting errors and perhaps that is why the video was taken down.

While watching the original video, the "Russian gangs" of...kids...really stood out to me. I couldn't help but think, "bull shit."

Explain this - the US has the greatest education system in the world. I find it hard to believe that 14 year old geeks from Russia are out-smarting professional geeks in the US that have Masters and PhDs in Engineering and Computer Science. I don't find it difficult to believe that some extremely intelligent kid could create some sophisticated programs, but the photo of these "Russian gangs of kids" that CBS displayed gave me reason to doubt it. I guess I was on to something, along with a lot of other people. Apparently, CBS reported some incorrect information about those kids.

GameSpoon - Zero Punctuation: Resident Evil 5

Needless to say, I don't really give a damn about Resident Evil 5. I didn't have much of an issue with the game until I found out that Capcom is forcing people to invest more money into the game if they want to play online. Well, it might not be a lot of money, but it's the concept behind that - how far will this micro-transaction (aka "nickel and diming") bullshit go? I've already been a sucker for many other games - Halo 3, COD 4 & 5, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Street Fighter 4...I just don't really want to invest in RE5, because I just don't really have a drive to do that.

However, I still love Capcom and Yahztee's colorful review of the game just makes me want to play Resident Evil 4 again, maybe I'll fire that game up this weekend!

GameSpoon - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

This is the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 teaser and it has grabbed my attention.

I never really gave COD much of a chance when the game originally came out. COD 1 didn't grab my attention, I felt woozy playing COD 2 and I (mistakenly) bought COD 3 for the Wii at launch - hey, I really wanted to play an FPS on the Wii...needless to say, the COD series and I got off to the wrong start. That all changed the day I bought COD 4.

COD 4 changed me, but I was late to the series. I was am a hardcore Halo fan. So, while everyone else in the world jumped on the COD 4 ship, I stayed on shore in my Halo 3 multiplayer safe-haven. I missed the boat on this one and I had no clue what I was missing out on, until multiple friends finally convinced me to get the game. I pay homage to those friends now!

COD 4 is one of the greatest games I've ever played. I'm thrilled at the fact that Modern Warfare 2 is on the horizon! I can't wait to learn more about the game that is coming to us on November 10th, 2009.

However, it will be a sad day, because I LOVE Call of Duty: World at War! If you don't own that game, you better go buy it. It is awesome and I'm extremely addicted to it...it rocks.

SeriousSpoon - American Nightmare

The following came from CNN.com:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- There is a chill wind blowing across this land of ours.

People are losing faith in their ability to realize the American dream. While AIG pays out $165 million in bonuses to people who arguably contributed to the need for the federal government to hand them $170 billion of our money, and while politicians lie about who crafted the language that allowed this kind of stuff to happen (Are you listening Chris Dodd?), the average American is seeing his future disintegrate in front of his eyes.

Here are some numbers that suggest we are losing hope:

A CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll shows 39 percent of those surveyed say they're very confident they'll be able to keep up their quality of life. That's down from 45 percent a year ago.

Fifty percent of homeowners with a mortgage say they're very confident they can keep making their house payments. Again, that's down from 58 percent a year ago.

Also down are the percentages of Americans who are confident they can pay their other debts, things like credit cards and car loans.

When it comes to saving for long-term goals, it's even worse.

Only 24 percent of parents say they're very confident they'll be able to pay to send their children to college, and only 22 percent of those who are still working think they'll be able to save enough for retirement.

This used to be the country where each succeeding generation could look forward to a better quality of life than their parents enjoyed.

In the meantime, as the federal government continues to print money that isn't worth the paper it's written on and as our national debt soars past $11 trillion, a United Nations panel is set to recommend that the world ditch the U.S. dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies.

One of the enduring strengths of the dollar has been that it has always been the currency of choice in times of crisis. But that's not the case anymore. Our ballooning deficits have driven down the value of the dollar so much that the Chinese government recently asked for guarantees from Washington that the Treasury bills they own are safe.

All of this isn't lost on the average American. Last week there were protests and demonstrations by taxpayers in cities all around the country who are beginning to object in increasing numbers to runaway government spending, taxes, bailouts and our growing national debt. These protests were called tea parties. Has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?

By Jack Cafferty (CNN.com)

Will anything improve?

GameSpoon - Punch-Out! (Wii)

Awesome!