XBox 360 Rally

First of all, I want to wish you all a happy 4th of July. I hope you are all safe when you’re celebrating our great nation’s birth by blowing small chunks of it up. I know that’s what I’ll do. Either way, here’s t3h w31rd!

NOTE: If you’re going to break the law, don’t advertise online.
So here’s the story: A modder by the name of Frederick Brown was arrested by the San Diego Computer and Technology High-Tech Response Unit — that’s what they’re called — after his house was raided in regards to a belief that he was a major supplier of pirated video games and modded consoles in the San Diego area. The San Diego CATCH Unit seized over 1,000 pirated games, as well as several mod chips for home consoles in the raid. So how did they catch on to his scheme, you ask?

Craig’s List.

Yeah, the dumbass posted on Craig’s List, and apparently it was working out well for him. From the Ars Technia article:

In his home, Brown had over a thousand copies of pirated games as well as a large number of mod chips. Brown had allegedly built up a thriving business selling counterfeit games and installing mod chips, having advertised his services on Craigslist and other web sites. He allegedly sold pirated games from his Vista, CA, residence as well, including both discs and hard drives preloaded with games that he would install into customers’ Xboxes and Xbox 360s,Entertainment Software Association senior VP for intellectual property enforcement Ric Hirsch told Ars Technica.

This is but the most recent action taken against modders. If you recall, Microsoft recently banned all modded Xbox 360s from their Xbox Live service. A little more than a week ago, a French company was ordered to pay $9 Million after being slapped with a lawsuit by Sony and the ESA.

I, myself, am a big fan of modding for reasons outside piracy, and I’ll touch on that at a later time. But, if you ARE going to pirate games… don’t advertise. It’s just common freaking sense.

Homebrew Gears of War Armor
There are times in my life where I wish I were good with building things. Outside models of feederation Starships, I can’t build, sew, stable, glue or nail a damn thing and make it look pretty. So, when I see things like the image below, I get pretty damn jealous:

That picture is from the July issue of OXM. The armor was created by Nightmare Armor Studios, a company that specializes in creating sci-fi armor and other Cosplay costumes. They say on their website that they specialize in one-of-a-kind pieces. If you ask me, they’re akin to modern day art masterpieces. Here’s another example of their work:

Care to guess where that lovely face is from? I think you already know. You can check out even more of their amazing artwork at their website, nightmarearmorstudios.com.

Wii Power Glove
Who remembers the Nintendo Power Glove? I know I do. Hell, I owned one. In all my days before and since, I had never owned a peripheral that sucked harder or more frequently than the Power Glove. I’m sure you all would agree with me, too. It was a piece of crap.

So, what are you to do with that old, worn, gray reminder of a wasted $75? Why, turn it into a Nintendo Wii peripheral, of course.

That is the Nintend Wii Power Glove. Some rather ingenuitive Japanese folk gutted an old Japanese Power Glove (note the “PAX” on the front — American Power Gloves were manufactured by Mattel), and replaced the functions with new functions for the Wii controller. Now apparently the group of people who designed this little bad boy are already planning on a 2.0 for the glove, using more flexible materials, and relocating the bluetooth chip to make it easier for the machine to read.

Oh, and if you think it doesn’t work, check out this video:

“Offensive Term” Forces Ubisoft to pull MindQuiz for the DS
The Ubisoft game “MindQuiz” is being pulled from retailer shelves in Ireland, after a Belfast woman went on BBC Radio. This woman, who’s name I can’t find anywhere (for the best?), went on the Ulster Nolan BBC Radio program to complain about how the game uses a term that is supposedly derogatory towards the mentally handicapped.

I thought it was absolutely appalling that a word like this should be used to describe someone who has not achieved very well.

Those are the words of the Belfast woman who was so greatly offended by the word. Now, if you’re like me at all, you’re probably wondering what this mystery word is. Well, after meticulously searching all over the internet this past weekend (the story broke on Friday), I found the word:

Spastic.

…yeah… this whole damn mess is over the word “spastic”. This is just further proof that we, as a global culture, are getting entirely too sensitive. Of course, I never knew “spastic” was a derogatory word against the handicapped… oh, I’m sorry, I meant “handi-capable”. Give me a break.

Etch-A-Art
We all owned an Etch-a-Sketch as a child. Most of us sucked at them. Hell, I was happy any time I could manipulate the board to make a curved edge. But there are a select few out there who are very, very proficient at the good ol’ Etch-a-Sketch machines, and they make works of art like this:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is just freaking sick. This, and the other nerd-related Etches that you can see below are all from The Etch-A-Sketchist, a man who is nothing short of an Etching God. Check out his website for other works, from the iPhone, to Lil’ Wayne, to Lebron.

Max Payne: Payne and Redemption
It goes without saying that Max Payne is infinitely cool. You say otherwise, and I’ll slap the taste out of your mouth, nonbeliever. But while this license has spawned two insanely awesome games, the feature film based on the original game has been in limbo for quite a while. Several fan films have been made that attempted to capture the feel of Max Payne (with the most famous being the Max Payne-inspired fan video to “Hero“), but none have got it quite right. Well, ladies and gentlemen, Max Payne: Payne and Redemption looks like it may have gotten it right. Just watch:

…freaking sweet…

ROFLMAO
We all love the Muppets. The sooner you admit this, the better off you’ll be in life. I’m sure we all remember watching The Muppet Show, or one of the countless Muppet movies, and anyone who considers themselves internet “leet” has seen the “Mahna Mahna” video on YouTube. Well… here’s the nerd answer to that classic.

And finally…

I Love My Computer
Bad Religion will go down in history as perhaps the single-most influential punk rock band to ever have existed, and while punk rock as it SHOULD BE has long died, the band continues on, creating powerful, culturally relevant (and culturally critical) music that is second-to-none.

I’m sure you’ve seen that show on MTV2 that recreates music videos using games like The Sims, Tribes, etc. If it were a popular EA game at the time, you bet Electronic Arts whored it out to MTV. This video is done much in that style, except… the song fits. For once, the song actually FITS the VIDEO. Check it out below:

…sadly, that’s the best music video Bad Religion has ever been attached to. Awesome song, too!

See y’all next week, peeps!

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