Check it out! An actual Player One blog post! An actual sorta-reason to come to our main page! Maybe now we won’t feel all guilty for asking people to go here during our show outro.
I was looking through some old backup CDs from my Ziff Davis days earlier this evening, and I found all sorts of crazy pictures/poorly-Photoshopped images that we used to amuse ourselves back on Expert Gamer and GameNOW. Many of them are extremely in-jokey, “you had to be there” kinda deals, but I figured that “outsiders” would appreciate this one.
There is a bit of a story behind it, though. Back in late 2001, there was a contest to design the movie poster for the then-upcoming Resident Evil film. Mike Vallas, one of the head art guys at Ziff, was a huge RE fan, and he jumped at the chance to design the poster. You might remember Vallas as the guy who told the show-stopping anecdote at the end of our Andy Baran tribute episode (#145).
Contestants were given access to all sorts of artwork, including logos and various poses of the movie’s stars. Most of the pictures were the standard stuff that you might expect…Milla Jovovich brandishing large guns, random zombies…that sorta thing. Among all the images, however, was one picture that really stood out. Instead of a grim-faced shot of Milla or Michelle Rodriguez in some sort of “action movie” pose, it was a close-up of Milla with a delightful grin on her face. It looked remarkably out of place–definitely not an image that would sell a zombie movie.
We all had a good laugh at the picture, and joked about how we should make a poster using that image to enter into the contest. Not one to let a good joke die, Vallas actually went ahead and did so after whipping up a trio of fantastic (and serious) posters for his own entry. This is what he came up with:
We were all extremely pleased with the results. At the risk of unintentionally taking any credit for this, I didn’t create any of it. The design and the tag line were all Vallas. Because Vallas wanted to enter his “real” entries (or maybe just one of them…I can’t remember if there was a limit to the number of entries one could submit), the idea was for me to enter the joke poster. Unfortunately, my laziness (and probably some hectic magazine deadlines) caused me to miss the entry date.
It’s a shame, really. For all I know, the movie producers would have loved the idea. They might have completely reworked the film to fit the poster’s aesthetic. Maybe that movie would have actually ended up being good (ho-ho!).
Bonus Trivia!: Unfortunately, Vallas didn’t win the contest. Strangely enough, however, the winner was another videogame magazine editor: Nick “Nick Rox” Des Barres, of GameFan and Play fame. I don’t recall the exact details of the contest, but Nick’s poster didn’t end up as the one used in theaters/on the DVD case (at least, not that I’ve ever seen). If memory serves, this is Nick’s winning poster.
CJ tells me that we’ve been getting an awful lot of angry voice mails this week in regards to my discussion about Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time during the What Ya Been Playing segment in episode 160.
While talking about the game, I mention that I recently finished it (which I totally did). I then proceed to “ruin” the game for the other guys by giving away the “spoiler” that Clank sacrifices his life in order to save Ratchet, thus providing the final, tragic end to the Ratchet & Clank series.
This offending remark occurs at about the 1:00:35 mark, and boy howdy did some people get steamed. Apparently these folks turned off the episode in a huff before they heard me reveal that I was kidding about the whole thing a few seconds later (~1:00:52).
No, people, I’m not going to blurt out the ending for a new game without some sort of warning. I’m not that big of a jerk.
So there you go, everyone. You can stop writing those strongly-worded e-mails and leaving those angry voice mail messages. Of course, if you’re leaving the voice mails by using the fantastic one-touch voice mail technology made possible with the official Player One Podcast iPhone App (buy it today!), then feel free to call and be as pissy as you’d like.
In short–It was a joke, people! I said as much! Clank doesn’t die at the end of Crack in Time!
A little over three months ago, I excitedly wrote about Philo and Moxie, the two new kittens that my wife, Dana, and I adopted. A few weeks prior, we had lost our beloved cat Mia, whom had been our pet for nearly ten years. We were thrilled to have two such wonderful, energetic animals in our house, and we were looking forward to spending many years getting to know them.
Early this morning, we had to put Philo to sleep. He was a little over six months old.
About two weeks ago, Dana and I noticed that Philo wasn’t quite as energetic as he normally was. He was known for getting into mild mischief by climbing up on our bookshelves or hopping up onto my computer desk to find small items that he could knock to the floor and bat around, but he hadn’t been doing anything like that lately. Figuring that he was simply feeling a bit under the weather, we didn’t worry about this change of behavior too much until it seemed to go on a bit longer than usual. After a few days, we noticed that he felt a bit warm, so we took his temperature (yes, the way you’re imagining). Sure enough, he had a fairly high fever (104.something°).
The next day, November 3, I took Philo to the vet while Dana was at work. They took his temperature again, and it had risen a bit into the 105° range. Severely high temperature aside, the vet also expressed concern with Philo’s relatively large abdomen, which Dana and I had attributed to him getting a little chunky. The vet used a syringe to take a sample from Philo, and she discovered that his gut wasn’t getting large with fat; it was fluid.
This was a sure sign that Philo was suffering from a disease called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) that is caused by a mutated virus in the cat’s system. It’s a fairly rare disease (roughly 1 in 5000 cats suffer from it), and it only strikes very young or very old cats. This big problem is that it is currently incurable and always fatal. There are actually two forms of the disease, commonly dubbed “wet” and “dry.” Philo had the more common “wet” form which, sadly, is the faster acting of the two.
The vet told me that when a cat is diagnosed with FIP, they usually have to be put to sleep within a month, but two weeks or less is more realistic. With this knowledge, there was little we could do for Philo but try to make him comfortable as his body slowly began to shut down.
Philo lasted six days after his diagnosis, and it was tremendously difficult on Dana and I. Sure, we “only” had Philo for three months, but in that time, we had grown incredibly attached to him (my frequent nickname for him was “little buddy”).
During his last week, Philo’s health seemed to randomly rise and fall. One day, he would barely move, only occasionally getting up to nibble on his food, drink a little water, and use his litter box. At times like these, Dana and I were convinced that it was the end. The next day, however, he would be surprisingly alert. He would still be rather lethargic, but he would have a sudden burst of energy and start to play like he did when he was healthy. This would convince Dana and I that he might be able to fight through for another week or two.
This cycle continued until last Friday when we noticed that he had stopped eating. We figured that his swollen abdomen might be putting pressure on his stomach, making it uncomfortable to eat. Indeed, it made it difficult for him to turn around to groom his hindquarters. We set up an appointment on Saturday to have the fluid drained.
The next day, the vet drained him, removing about 2/3 of a liter of fluid from his lower body. He initially perked up immediately afterward, which gave Dana and I hope, but despite his regained ability to groom himself, he continued to not eat. With his weight and energy levels dramatically dropping over the weekend, the vet advised us to attempt to feed him with a food syringe, which we did on Sunday afternoon. He seemed to enjoy it at first, so things were looking up. Unfortunately, late Sunday night, everything began to fall apart.
Philo vomited up the food that we had given him earlier in the day, along with his pills. He then spent the night periodically coughing up saliva, which had turned thick and foamy. He also wandered over to his cat bed and urinated in it. This was the only time that he had ever not used his litter box.
When he was first diagnosed, the vet told me that FIP strikes hard and fast. Things may seem OK one minute, and the next, everything breaks down. She also told me that some signs that he is ready to go would be a lack of eating, vomiting, and incontinence–all of which Philo was suddenly suffering from.
It was time. As soon as the vet opened this morning, we called and filled them in on our situation. Within minutes, Dana and I were standing in a room, petting our dear Philo for the last time as he slowly went to sleep.
He was far too young for this to happen, and it was far too soon after Mia’s death. Dana and I have been crying an awful lot this week.
Philo was a pretty fantastic cat. When we first saw him, we were instantly charmed by his large, hairy ears and the little mark on his lip that made it look like he had been sipping coffee and stained his fur. We also loved that he was so close to his sister, Moxie. Moxie, by the way, is most likely safe from getting FIP. We had her checked out immediately after Philo was diagnosed.
Philo was trouble, but never harmful trouble. Like I mentioned, he simply loved to explore and climb where he probably shouldn’t. He was also extremely active and very playful. We didn’t have to worry about Philo clawing up the furniture or anything like that, but he might give you a friendly nip on the finger when you were petting him.
I do take some comfort in the fact that both Dana and I got some quality time with Philo before he died. A couple nights ago, he cuddled on our bed with Dana for hours as she played Zuma’s Revenge on her laptop. Last night, he sat on my lap for a few hours as I wrote an article for work (a review of Rabbids Go Home for G4). Of course, I was frequently distracted by my need to pet the little guy, but I’m exceptionally glad that I never took him off of my lap so that I could better concentrate. Moxie also gave Philo a few licks on his face before we took him off to the vet this morning. It was simultaneously the sweetest and most depressing thing that I have ever seen. Dana and I both lost it when it happened.
Luckily, we have lots of pictures of Philo and evenafewvideos, so there is plenty to remember him by. And of course, we still have Moxie, who I must admit has made dealing with this loss a bit easier. The video I am posting below is the last footage that I recorded of Philo. It was recorded on November 5, two days after his diagnosis. This was one of his aforementioned bursts of energy that showed Dana and me that he wasn’t ready to check out just yet.
It looks like Sewart didn’t make a post when he posted the episode, so here we go. And for the record, this episode title is boring. I suggested “Further Activision Gameplay Spoilers,” but apparently that was just too darn clever.
This week! CJ is missing! We’ve got a new theme song! Also, some more talk on Modern Warfare 2 (listen for the spoiler alert)!
Other games discussed in this episode include Forza Motorsport III, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, LEGO Rock Band, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed–Ultimate Sith Edition, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, The San Diego Zoo Presents: The Animals, and more!
Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to visit our new web site at www.playeronepodcast.com. You can leave us a voicemail by calling 713-893-8069 or you can send a comment via MP3 to our email address, playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Don’t forget to join our forums if you haven’t already! Thank you everyone for listening and supporting the show for the three years we’ve been podcasting.
I was first introduced to the comedic stylings of Simon Pegg when I saw Shaun of the Dead back in 2004. I have since gone on to appreciate Pegg’s work in Spaced and Hot Fuzz.
As I sat in the theater watching Shaun for the first time, I had no idea that within five years I would be eating a waffle that had Simon Pegg’s picture on it.
I’ve noticed that pretty much all of my recent posts have been food related. This is not by design, I can assure you. I have a few game and toy related posts to write up. I’ll get around to them eventually.
And it’s not crazy-old candy this time. In fact, you should be able to find this stuff at a store near you (at least for the next month and a half or so).
Halloween is almost a month away, so most stores should already have their candy-filled Halloween sections up and running. I always enjoy novelty junk food, so I was very pleased to find these holiday-themed Dots variants at my local Target.
I have a love/hate relationship with Tootsie’s Dots candy. It’s tasty, but the moment you bite down on one, it binds itself to your teeth with enough force that it takes a good ten minutes of digging at it with your tongue in order to wedge it free. Nowadays, I find the effort outweighs the taste, but I couldn’t pass up these limited edition flavors, especially when one sports the immensely unappetizing sounding flavor “blood orange” (and yes, I know it’s a real fruit).
Of the three varieties–Ghost, Bat, and Candy Corn–only the latter two are new. Ghost Dots debuted last year and they’re simply regular ol’ Dots in a cool, translucent shade of blue. The candy doesn’t glow in the dark, but it sure looks like it would.
I’m going to guess that the average person will look at Bat Dots and assume that they’re licorice flavored. I can only imagine that this will cause sales to suffer because I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who enjoys black licorice (although I do love me some Good & Plenty). No, this is indeed the blood orange candy, and it’s surprisingly good. The flavor is very sharp and sweet, but not to the point where it overwhelms.
Then there’s Candy Corn Dots. Now, I love candy corn (really!), but anything that’s not candy corn that’s flavored like candy corn is awful. I’m looking at you, Candy Corn Jones Soda. Candy Corn Dots aren’t quite as bad as the soda, but they’re not good. They taste vaguely like fake candy corn, but that’s about the best thing I can say about them. That taste combined with the texture of Dots is not a good idea. It’s pretty cool to see a two-tone Dot, though. Tootsie needs to create more multi-colored Dots. This candy also raises the question: If I’m in the mood to eat candy that tastes like candy corn, why wouldn’t I just eat candy corn? That’s like genetically modifying a pig so that its meat tastes like beef. Just save yourself the trouble and eat the cow!
But hey, Halloween candy. Go grab some Dots before the stores switch over to Christmas candy. Otherwise you’ll have to wait a year to try them again. Now how’s about a little interactivity? Share your favorite and least favorite Halloween treats in the comments section. Surely there’s room for Candy Corn Dots in one of those slots.
You’ve heard us talk on the podcast about how awesome The Beatles: Rock Band is, but after spending more time with the game, I’m starting to find a few flaws.
The main problem is that it’s lacking some of the group’s best songs. I know that three full albums have already been confirmed as downloadable content, but three albums hardly covers of The Beatles’ oeuvre.
Here are some classics that I hope appear someday as DLC. I know I would pay for them.
Today is September 9, 2009, and I celebrated by rushing out early this morning to pick up The Beatles Rockband. By a strange coincidence, when I pulled a t-shirt to wear out of my closet this morning, I happened to grab my Mega Man 9 shirt. Then, while driving to Best Buy to get my game, I ended up stuck behind the number nine bus. No joke. And did I mention that I had my alarm set to wake me up at 9:00? Too freaky!
Since this is the ten year anniverary of the release of the Dreamcast, every website out there is doing some sort of SEGA/Dreamcast retrospective. You know what? That’s friggin’ boring. It’s been done a million times already, and really, how many times do we need to read that Soulcalibur was a great launch title?
So instead of more redundant Dreamcast nonsense, on this 9/9/09 I offer to you…
nine-year-old gumballs!
The other day, I found a box of toys that I used to have on my desk back when I worked at Expert Gamer/GameNOW. These goodies were from the Oakbrook era before we moved to San Francisco, so they’re pretty old. Among the random action figures and game-branded trinkets, I found a pair of pink gumballs sealed inside a plastic bag that features the logo for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the N64.
I actually wrote a strategy guide for Kirby 64 for Expert Gamer (issue #75, September 2000), and these gumballs were a little promotional item that Nintendo sent along with the game. The sugary orbs sat on display in my cube for about two and a half years until they were boxed up and shipped out to California with the rest of my crap. Now, they have been unearthed once more.
The gumballs themselves have Kirby stamped on them. For all I know, these are the only two Kirby gumballs left on the planet. I figured that I had best photograph them for posterity. They’ve held up quite well considering that they’re nearly a decade old. And no, there’s no way that I’m gonna try chewing these things.
BONUS! MORE OLD CANDY!
While we’re on the subject of expired promotional candy, I would like to present these two pieces of chocolate that Nintendo sent out to the press to promote the GBA’s Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak, which was released in 2003. It may not be quite as impressive as nine-year-old gumballs, but six-year-old chocolate isn’t too shabby. Wait a second…a 6 looks like an upside-down 9. Too freaky!!!
So yeah, as I was taking pictures of the Kirby gumballs, I remembered that I had these guys tucked away in one of the drawers in my refrigerator. I figured that it was time to bust them open and photograph the little buggers.
There’s not a whole lot to say about these pieces of hamster-themed candy. There are two packages: one for the angelic Harmony and one for the devilish Spat. I’ve not played Ham-Ham Heartbreak, so I can only assume that in the game, the two make some sort of Good vs. Evil play for Hamtaro’s soul. The candy itself features raised images of the two characters, and they’re darned cute.
When Dana and I lost our beloved cat, Mia, a few weeks ago, we were understandably heartbroken. Of course, since we love cats, we also knew that it was a matter of time before our hearts had healed enough to allow us to bring another cat into our lives.
Apparently that time was today (well, yesterday, if you want to get technical).
The two of us were taking a walk around town when we found ourselves passing by a small, independently-owned pet shop. The store frequently gets cats from one of the local shelters to show off for adoption, and sure enough they had a few there today. We popped in to look, and we were immediately taken by the pair of kittens in the front window display. They were both extremely friendly and playful, and after holding them for a bit, Dana and I exchanged a “we’re going to do this, aren’t we?” glance.
After a brief discussion about how ready we were to adopt another cat, and we were walking out of the place with two new kittens.
You see, we had wanted to get another cat for a long time, but Mia was not a social animal. She had her people and that was enough for her. Anytime we exposed her to another cat, she made with the low, angry growls and the hissing (I only ever heard her do this around other cats). You’ll often hear that it’s good to get kittens in pairs, so we figured that this was the perfect opportunity.
The two kittens (one male, one female) aren’t technically siblings, but they’ve been living together their entire lives (three months), so they’re practically related. It was pretty clear seeing them together at the store that they wouldn’t appreciate being separated.
So names! The gray cat is the girl, and Dana wanted to name her Moxie after Penn Jillette’s daughter, Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette. How could I argue with that? I suggested that we name the boy Philo after Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the television. It also works as a reference to my name and the crazy engineer (and host of “Secrets of the Universe”) from UHF.
Because out new kitties love gender stereotypes, Moxie is a bit shy and demure and Philo is an energetic rascal. I couldn’t tell you how many times Philo charged at Moxie and pounced on her for a bit of wrestling. As you can see from the pictures, though, they really are good friends and will happily snuggle together when they’ve worn themselves out (when out they’ve worn themselves?).
Strangely enough, they seem to have taken to their new home rather well. Mia was quite skittish when we first got her and went to great lengths to hide from Dana and I for a week or so. These guys were just happy to do a little exploring, and they’ve been all up for cuddling up next to us for some petting. Perhaps it’s the age difference. Mia was about two years old when we got her.
Moxie and Philo certainly can’t replace Mia, but they’re pretty awesome kitties in their own right. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with them.
Mia was, until earlier today, our cat. My wife, Dana, and I were forced to put the little girl to sleep after she became tremendously ill last night.
Back in February, Mia clearly wasn’t feeling well—she was lethargic and refused to eat. A trip to the vet revealed that she had hepatitis, which attacks the liver. She was given some medication, and after a while, she was back to her old self.
Dana and I recently noticed that Mia was showing those same symptoms again. She was less active than she usually is, and her food dish would be left untouched. Yesterday, I took Mia to the vet while Dana was at work. Mia was given the same diagnosis as before, and I took her home with a fresh batch of medicine. Shortly after returning home, however, Mia took a turn for the worse. She began having difficulty breathing and she could not move on her own. She had a similar reaction to her first dose of medicine back in February, though, so we weren’t too concerned.
As the evening went on, however, she was clearly having more and more trouble breathing. Dana and I became so concerned that we rushed her to a 24 hour emergency vet at around midnight. The vet stabilized her with and IV and an oxygen tank and kept her overnight so that he could give her an X-ray and an ultrasound. At around 8:00 this morning, the emergency vet told us that she was stable enough to be moved to her regular vet. We transported Mia and left her with the vet for a couple hours.
The vet called us with terrible news. With a new X-ray of Mia in hand, the vet was able to compare it with her old X-ray taken back in February. A giant tumor was growing out of Mia’s liver. Although it wasn’t noticeable from outside of her body, the tumor was massive. The vet explained that Mia most likely had lymphoma, a type of cancer that sadly, isn’t all that treatable in cats.
This is what Dana and I had feared, and we had discussed our options while waiting for the vet’s call. We rushed to the vet where we made the decision that Mia would have to be put to sleep. The poor thing was in terrible shape when we arrived. Her breathing had become so strained that her teeth were bared (which is something she never did) as she struggled for breath.
After a brief discussion with the vet, Dana and I opted to be with Mia when she died. We went into a room and Mia was placed on a blanket on the table. Dana and I each took turns holding her one last time, and we wept openly. We told Mia that she was a wonderful cat and that we loved her.
With that, the vet placed the syringe in her leg and prepared to give her the final injection. Dana stood near Mia’s head and scratched it as our cat passed. Mia loved to get head rubs from Dana. I, meanwhile, stood behind Mia and gave her a tummy scritch, the term we used for when Mia would flop on the floor in front of me as an invitation to scratch her belly. The vet slowly injected the fluid, and within seconds, Mia was gone.
She’s gone, but she died with her people around her, giving her as much love as she got in life.
As I type this through tear-blurred eyes, I know that it might seem somewhat grim to recount our beloved cat’s final day. To be honest, though, we’re both in a world of shock still, and this is helping me deal with the situation.
It’s hitting Dana and I so hard because we loved—no, we love—our cat. I’m going to argue that you can continue to love something that is not around anymore. We got Mia from an animal shelter in Illinois back in January, 2001, and she has been an important part of our family ever since. When I moved to California with my Ziff Davis job, Mia stayed in Chicago with Dana as Dana completed law school. Dana fully credits Mia’s companionship with giving her the strength to finish her classes. When I would fly back to Illinois to visit Dana, it would always strike me as amusing that Dana seemed to treat Mia more like a roommate than a pet, something that I’ve told her in the past.
It’s true that Mia went well past the pet level for us into full-on buddy category. She was terrifically friendly, and she had several personality quirks that further endeared her to us.
I’ve postedvideos on YouTubeofMia’sodddrinkinghabits. I don’t know why, but I was always amused by her love of a tasty beverage. Whether she was drinking water out of her bowl with her paw, standing up to grab an ice cube that we would drop into her water or simply licking condensation off of one of my drinks, Mia wouldn’t let anything get between her and refreshment.
In recent months, Mia has taken to sitting on my lap, which is something that she wouldn’t do in the past. Occasionally when I would be sitting at my computer desk, I would feel a light tapping on my thigh. When I looked down, Mia would be standing on her hind legs and tapping me. As I noticed her, she would look up at me with a look of, “Why aren’t you petting me?” If I just scratched her head for a bit and returned to my computer, she would start tapping me again. Eventually, I would pick her up and drop her on my lap. Nine times out of ten, she would delicately cuddle up on my leg and chill out for a while. When Dana would be in bed, Mia would use the tapping technique to get Dana’s attention, usually with the intent of wanting some petting.
Mia also got into the habit lately of climbing up onto my stomach as I lay on the couch watching TV or playing a game. She would perch on my stomach and proceed to do that cat kneading thing for up to 10-15 minutes at a time. It kills me to know that I’ll never feel that again.
Yes, Mia was a wonderful, beautiful cat, and we are heartbroken that she is gone. Although the place that we adopted her from didn’t know her exact age, we estimate that she was probably about ten years old (or perhaps slightly older). It’s a relatively early age for a cat to die, but even so, she had a fantastic life. She was loved and comforted right up until the end.
So for you regular listeners of the podcast, if you don’t hear a familiar, faint bell jingle in the background anymore, you’ll know why. Dana and I already miss that jingle.
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