Wi-Philes

Last week I was asked to make a guest appearance on former staff writer Curtis' podcast, Total Action Adventure, that he does with his fiance, Drea, and another one of our past writers, Shawn.  Scheduling conflicts kept it from happening at the time (what can I say, I'm a busy gal!), so we taped it last night and voila!  Today it's online, so give it a listen.  In it we talk about the games we've been playing, which on my end will probably sound like a repeat of our last podcast, but I do discuss Naughty Bear a bit.  I received it yesterday and so far have been having a good time.

Shawn McMahon suggested that the love affair would subside soon enough, but I'll reserve any actual judgment. I don't read other people's reviews when I'm potentially reviewing a game so as not to be influenced by another opinion.  What I do is play through, write my own review, and then I'll check out a few trusted reviews to see if what I've touched on is brought up.  If it is, then I know it's not just me and if not, I'll play through whatever specific part is referenced to see if I am wrong (or right, whatever the case may be).  Since I don't often review games, sometimes this can be difficult to do, but regardless, I don't like to be influenced just because someone else doesn't like something.  Just like with people. :)

Anyway, games aside, we also discussed E3 and how I personally felt about certain things like the Kinect, Move, and 3DS.  I'm sure there will be many people who don't agree with my thoughts on them, but they are just that: my thoughts.  I see a lot of potential in the Kinect and Move and am head over heels for the 3DS.  I stated in the podcast that this E3 has me more excited about the future of gaming than I have been in a long time and I don't back down from that.  While we all know that first generation anything is going to be more than likely buggy, iffy, and all around lackluster, seeds have to be planted if you want the industry to grow.  I guess I'm just an optimist.

Happy listening and stay tuned for the next Nerd Mentality Podcast.  Should be up tonight or tomorrow!

Oh and subscribe to our RSS feed; you know you want to!

<3 DC

p.s. Special thanks to Curtis, Drea, and Shawn for having me on! The pleasure was all mine.

A lot's been going on this week, from being video taped live singing on stage Lego Rock Band by stations across the world to Jared getting shot in the back twice, it's been hectic.  And because it's been so hectic, the best thing I've been able to do is update Twitter frequently... maybe some a little too frequent.  Regardless, it's been interesting to say the least.  So if you don't already, check out my Twitter for all the E3 ridiculousness.  Just try to ignore the late night drunk tweets -- it's been a long week.

Sorry about the late postings, things have been mega hectic around here. Due to my SO's OCD-like obsession with Internet web comics, I often get called over to check them out. More often then not I walk away disappointed, since most web comics aren't interesting, nor are they funny, and the ones that can be tend to be preachy or redundant. So I avoid most web comics and only check a few on a regular basis. I'm picky about a lot of things; I like things a certain way and so when it comes to my web comics, my time and interest levels are sacrosanct.

So imagine my surprise when I was called over to check out one that I just "had to see". From my viewpoint it was going to be just another wasted minute and more of an annoyance than worth it, but I didn't want to be too rude, so I decided to comply. Lo and behold, a comic I could actually get behind. It's ridiculously girly and silly, but that just means it's right up my alley! So be sure to head on over and check it out and don't forget to tell them N-Philes sent ya.

This week's big link is a website chock full of geeky goodness. Geekologie has a slew of randomness that is certain to entertain someone. Enjoy!

Yesterday, scathing comments started circulating the blogosphere when Mattel and Nickelodeon announced that they were developing a new version of their hit series, "Dora the Explorer", only this time she would be slightly older and not as cutesy and non-threatening as our favorite bi-lingual elementary school child. The new Nick show would feature a tweenage Dora attending middle school and dealing with all the problems associated with one of the most trying times of childhood.

Parents threw fits, uppity soccer mom/reporters bitched about it, but frankly this is a smart move on the part of both companies. One of the biggest cash cows in the toy industry is little girls ages 6-11, and these children hold a lot of power when it comes to product purchasing. Idiot parents will shell out whatever they need to just to make their little princesses happy. Little boys are still very into their Pokemon, Ben 10, and Bakugan, but these little girls are quickly moving from cartoon enjoyment to shows featuring humans in semi-real life situations. These children who once squealed with delight as they answered Dora's innocent questions have moved onto being all about Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place, many of whom have done so within the span of kindergarten. My own first grade daughter only wants to watch cartoons if nothing else is on, while my son would be perfectly happy if we allowed nothing but Cartoon Network 24/7 (we don't).

What Mattel and Nickelodeon are doing can be seen as yet another attempt to cut the innocence of the already shrinking childhood and turn the world into teenagers. That's the real problem. Adults want to think they're still teenagers and their young children want to be teenagers and so the lines are quickly blurred and companies like these two cater to and oftentimes create the blur. Last week's episode of South Park commented on this major societal problem perfectly; people need to grow up and let kids be kids. But you can't blame Nickelodeon or Mattel for that; they are simply companies worried about their bottom lines (and ridiculous quarterly bonuses). The blame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the parents.

As much as I hate those that bemoan the "good ol' days", cartoons of today just aren't the same quality as before and aren't holding the attention span of children brought up to believe that 16 is the end all and be all of perfection. Sure we had a few badly acted - moving onto older situation - yet still fine for kids programming shows, like Saved By The Bell and Clarissa Explains It All, (even a few not so innocent ones like You Can't Do That On Television or Salute Your Shorts), but we had a multitude of animated shows that didn't promote teenagehood as the time of your life. That was saved for the inevitable regular show that signaled Saturday morning was just about over and your parents' golf or boring cooking shows would soon be starting.

Kids today have cartoon after cartoon filling their heads with teenage delight; we had shows about turtles kicking ass and awesome robots and bears that shot rainbows from their bellies. This is why my own guilty hypocritical pleasure is checking out this week's Website of the Week, Retroland, whilst listening to Step By Step or Electric Youth. I remember what it's like, so I don't give my daughter flack for liking the Jonas Brothers or iCarly, even if she doesn't really know why. Girls have always held the power when it comes to deciding what's popular. Mattel and Nickelodeon are just trying to cash in on what Disney's been doing for awhile.

Oh and Happy St. Patrick's Day!