Don't worry Michelle, I'll help you out...

It seems you're having trouble with your campaign songs, with Tom Petty and Katrina...er, Waves getting all huffy just because you're taking their songs without permission.

I've found a song for you. I think it fits the tone of your campaign quite nicely, and the singer's no longer with us, so you don't have to worry about lawyers.

8 Bits O' Nevsky - Shut Up And Take My Money Edition

I've complained in the past that some of the most beautiful and interesting-looking Wii games have yet to be released in the US despite my nerdly cravings. And not unlike Sting's castaway protagonist in "Message In A Bottle", it seems I'm not alone in being alone. Operation Rainfall is a new movement designed to get Nintendo to release three JRPGs for the Wii in the U.S., giving us fans one last gasp before the Wii U comes out.

And although my other post on this referred to The Last Story, the first focus in OpRain's campaign is Xenoblade Chronicles, and the way they've gone about is particularly fun, by preordering the game (as the then working-title Monado) on Amazon to the point where it enjoyed a brief run as the #1 game sold.

After seeing this clip, I was convinced:



Let's face it, I bought Final Fantasy XIII, a game that really has only looks going for it, and this is just as beautiful, has free-roaming, a combat system where you actually do something besides pushing the X button over and over and use flanking tactics to boot. So I happily preordered. Ball's in your court, Nintendo.

And if you're interested in getting some good games out for the Wii as well, feel free to check Operation Rainfall's blog and click on the Amazon link below...

Hey, Cole, you got some balls there talking about Palin that way...

You've got nerve to insinuate that she would just up and quit something once it was no longer the focus of media attention or remuneration of said activity wasn't immediately obvious.

Better watch yourself there, buddy...

You better run...

Kudos to all those who participated in the Charlottesville Men's Four-Miler today! You're all definitely more hardcore than me!

I mean that literally. I was all set to run this race, but in the morning I made the executive decision to bag it. Why? It was raining. Sorry, I like running, don't like running in the rain, and didn't see the need to prove the point.

And thanks to all the guys in C-Ville today, I didn't have to!

Here's a clip for all of you who went out there today...

Now that I've run my first 5K, I'm made some dietary adjustments as well...

Of course, Sarah, you never mess up...

If one actually bothered to read my posts from years past, and unless you're me, I hope you wouldn't, a recurring comment I used to make about Dubya was that it never bothered me that he was an idiot, I wasn't even entirely sure that he was an idiot, but what really pissed me off was his insistence on talking to you as if YOU were the idiot.

In the same vein, I didn't really think too much about Palin's Paul Revere word salad. She might have been tired, it might have been hot, she might have taken an extra Sudafed or something, so what? That doesn't bother me, people make mistakes.

But her Nathan-Thurmesque refusal to cop to it is really f***ing childish...

Run fatboy run...

As I've alluded to in the past, in the ongoing efforts to not die as quickly as I might I went back on the ol' diet and exercise regimen. My efforts culminated in the completion of my first 5K, as I ran in the "4 The Wounded" race held at UVa's Research Park yesterday.

As someone who went through the "From Couch to 5K" program in spirit but not in detail, I had a few go-to sources to keep inspired. #1? Definitely check out the Facebook pages of your insanely-intense Facebook friends. I had two out of my modest stash who I could always count on to promote the latest regimen or diet tip, or mention their latest accomplishment. They were more than happy to respond whenever I had a question about a sticking point as well.

My second source? Rocky III. Never failed to pump me up. The music, the great lines ("the worst thing that could happen to a fighter happened to you. You got civilzed.") And of course, the scene where Sly and Carl Weathers frolic together on the beach in shallow surf. Oh, that scene...

Sorry, lost my train of thought...

Things That Make Me Want To Die (non-heat edition)

Maybe the awful, stifling mid-90s weather has just magnified my inherent despair, but seeing that Trump and Palin had pizza and held a meeting of the Insufferable Ego-Maniacal Charlatans didn't make chuckle as such a meeting normally would. No, more of a "why can't there be a Rapture when you REALLY want one" sort of feeling...