Happy Thanksgiving, first of all, to my American readers.

This holiday season, please support your local blogger.  It doesn’t have to be me.  Odds are, there are other blogs you surf past in your daily rounds on the web. I would just ask you to reward one or two of those blogger whose work you enjoy all year round.  If you’re doing some holiday shopping through Amazon, odds are very good that one of the blogs you read has an Amazon banner on it somewhere. Go ahead and click through on one of those before you start putting together your order.  It won’t cost you a penny, but it’ll mean a nice little reward for your blogger of choice.  Thanks!

Nintendo’s Wii came out a year ago this week. The little console that many pundits laughed at has turned out to be a completely disruptive influence on the market. Even Microsoft “gets it” now and just released the Xbox Arcade, an obvious attempt to cash in on a similar concept to the Wii’s family-friendly and party-friendly gaming experience.

Nintendo can’t make enough of these to suit demand anymore, and that’s even at a monthly production rate of 1.8 million units. A steady trickle of units has sold out within minutes, making it a Christmas bonanza for retailers after every shipment.

And the games keep pouring in, getting better and better. The games at launch were a bit suspicious. Everyone loved the ZELDA game, but others were a mixed bag. Remember RED STEEL? It was supposed to cash in on the new control scheme by giving you a first person shooter with both gun- and swordplay. Sadly, it didn’t quite live up to what people were hoping for, but it still sold pretty well. ELEBITS and RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS took advantage of the new control scheme in more interesting ways, getting better reviews. And those RABBIDS returned for a sequel just last week.

I wrongly chose that MONKEYBALL game that I gave up on after an hour or so, though the disc golf mini-game was pretty cool. That’s what you get for choosing a game based on the $10 off coupon Best Buy offered up, rather than the MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE game.

The Virtual Console has churned out a series of classic Nintendo games, starting with Super Mario Bros. for Christmas last year. By now, the rest of that series is available, including LOST LEVELS. And though we might laugh at the offerings some weeks, there’s a wide back catalog of games from Sega, Turbo Graphix, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64 available for download for anywhere from $5 to $10.

While there is some understandable grumbling about the Wii being short on memory space, it’s a good problem to have. Once you buy the game, you can re-download it anytime you like. But the fact that you can download so many cool games that your Wii runs out of space is the kind of problem we only dreamed of having in the GameCube days. (I’m not a serious enough gamer to have hated the GameCube days. I had one for a couple of years. I had a few games I enjoyed on it for those spare times when I played, Super Mario Kart chief amongst them. It worked for me, but in a very similar way to the Wii, come to think of it.)

Heck, I’ve even started to have a blast with designing Miis. Some friends and I create characters and pass them back and forth at will, often causing a chuckle when a new character based on a mutual acquaintance drops into view.

2008 has seen, as predicted, a stream of great Wii games: Mario Strikers Charged, Metroid Prime, Guitar Hero III, and Super Mario Galaxy are the most recent. I said it last year when I initially reviewed the system: You buy it now for its future potential. There weren’t all that many games available at the start. And while most of them are still the kind of licensed assembly-line style games that consoles are infamous for, there are enough diamonds in that rough to make the Wii attractive.

And a year later, I’m still playing the pack-in game, Wii Sports, more than anything else. Nintendo’s only missing the boat by not producing a Wii Sports 2. They’re probably making up for that by selling Wii Play with a Wiimote. That game is selling like hotcakes, too. I wonder which drives that purchase more — another Wiimote, or the game? I don’t need a new Wiimote (I rarely use my second), so I haven’t justified buying another one yet for some mini-games.

The future is still coming, as the Wii Fit board promises a new method of game play, while the just-released Wii Zapper helps modify a popular control scheme with a cheap piece of plastic to give it a more “real” feel. It’s not just another Dance Dance Revolution pad here.The DS continues to outsell everything in the video game world, and the integration between it and the Wii is starting just now to ramp up, with the promise of DS demos flowing through the Wii coming in the spring.

Right now, I’m still happy playing Wii Sports.  A nice relaxing game of golf is always a pleasure, even with only nine holes.  I hit my first hole in one over the weekend.

And, hey, remember when Nintendo was going to die a horrible death for changing the name from “Revolution?”

They aren’t laughing anymore. . .

Happy First, Nintendo.

Related Various and Sundry posts:

• Well, it was worth a shot (19 Nov 2006) - In which I miss launch day
• Good Wii News (20 Nov 2006) - In which I redeem myself
  
• How I Got My Wii (21 Nov 2006) — still good advice for this Christmas season
• Initial Wii Impressions (22 Nov 2006)

This week is the First Anniversary of the Nintendo Wii. More about that later this week. . .

Right now, there are some new releases to discuss:

• Nintendo Wii Zapper with Link’s Crossbow Training

This is the one I’m most curious about. I can’t help it. I’m old skewl Nintendo fanboy. I like the idea of a gun game. I miss the Duck Hunt gun. Will this new gadget work just as well? Will they finally port Time Crisis over to the Wii now that this device is out? It’s a perfect match. . .

• AMF Bowling Pinbusters

As big a bowler as I am — though one without a league this year — I am happy enough with Wii Sports Bowling. I don’t need a dedicated game for it.

• Soul Calibur Legends
• Trauma Center: New Blood

It seems there are die-hard fans for both of these games. I’ve never played ‘em.

• Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Word of mouth on this one is so great from its days on the XBox 360 Live that it made it to my Christmas list. Is this as good as they say it is?

It’s also out for the DS.

Christmas shopping season officially begins on Friday. The malls started it about three weeks back, but the sane people remaining in society are waiting for Black Friday. I might click over to Amazon once or twice to see if they have any insane dSLR camera sales, but otherwise I’m skipping the whole thing. My Christmas shopping is actually almost complete. And I didn’t have to park a mile away from any store to get anything. Whoo-hoo!

In any case, it’s Tuesday! New DVDs:

• Live Free or Die Hard (Unrated)

Oddly enough, the Blu Ray disc doesn’t say “Unrated” on it. Are both versions on the same disc? Is it just the standard movie edition on the Blu Ray? I dunno. I still question putting Blu Ray and HD-DVD covers in this feature every week.

I heard good reviews for the movie in a Big Dumb Action Flic With Lots of CGI kind of way.  That works for me, though.

• Hairspray

Those of us who watched SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? over the summer are all too familiar with this movie. Chicks and tweenies dug it, too.  Wait, that’s the same demo, isn’t it?
That’s the two-disc special edition on the left and the standard widescreen on the right. There’s also a full frame edition, but we don’t talk about those here.

• The Batman: Complete Fourth Season

Not a week goes by without pandering to my comic book friends! =)

The Associated Press: `Mr. Whipple’ TV Actor Dick Wilson Dies

Dick Wilson, the character actor and pitchman who for 21 years played an uptight grocer begging customers “Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin,” died Monday. He was 91.

Kids today probably have no idea who he is.  Or the “Calgon, Take Me Away” woman.  Or Madge, who’s also passed.

They’re too busy fast-forwarding through commercials and downloading their favorite TV shows.  Bah!

A tree rises into the sky, originally uploaded by AugieDB.

I have nothing to talk about today, so I’m taking the day off in the middle of NaBloWriMo. I ought to be shot. In the meantime, please enjoy this silhouette of a tree, and some clouds that hover in the sky behind it.

Yeah, sometimes the rule of thirds is just for wusses.

Usmagazine.com | Five Years After Wedding, Sarah Michelle Gellar Changes Last Name to Prinze

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has changed her famous three-part moniker as a fifth wedding anniversary present to actor Freddie Prinze Jr. The couple was wed September 1, 2002.  A source close to the 30-year-old star tells Us Weekly,”She officially changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze” in honor of the occasion.

Nah, she just did it so people wouldn’t mistake her for that “Buffy” person people always remember her for. Now she can be a SERIOUS thespian starring in awful Japanese horror movie remakes.

My snark level is running high today! Look out!

This is alarming:

That’s the number of visitors this site has seen between January and October 2007. See a trend there? Where did everyone go? We had the usual American Idol spike in the spring, but it’s been straight downhill since.

I’m starting to hear crickets in here.

Was it something I said?

And now I’ve fallen into the trap of the “unloved” blogger screaming desperately for attention. Nevermind me.

• In this day and age, you’d think people would know that the pictures they post on Facebook, MySpace, etc. are public. So when you e-mail into work for a “family emergency,” don’t post pictures the next day of you at the Halloween party you ditched work to attend. Idiot!
• NoStarring.com features the movie castings that might have been — actors and the roles they turned down. Kathy Bates turned down CHICAGO. Sean Connery turned down THE BIRDS and JURASSIC PARK. Al Pacino was considered for the Axel Foley role in BEVERLY HILLS COP.
• We might possibly see a sequel to one of my favoritest computer games of all time: DESCENT.
• Is there a new Nintendo DS redesign ready to go once the current model cools off? It might be a while before we see it, if there is. That thing is still selling like hotcakes.
• Best Buy doing the midnight opening thing for Rock Band next. Truth be told, I like the set list for Rock Band better than Guitar Hero III. I just have no need for all the extra instruments and the steeper price.
• With Apple now updating Final Cut Express, can Aperture 2.0 be far behind?
• The annual Santa craziness has begun: “Santas in Australia have been told to replace “ho ho ho” with “ha ha ha” because it may be offensive to women.”
• Cute little animals!!!

This one is funny enough to get a blog entry of its own.

OK, so the security guys did the dirty work and the mascot played pile on, but it’s AFTER the tackle that things get funny.

Just make it through the opening 15 second commercial for the fun:

MyFox Kansas City | KC Wolf Tackles Rowdy Fan During Chiefs Game

It’s been a while since I last posted a batch of these.  I’m at Twitter.com/augiedb if you’re looking for me. I post a few times daily, often in bursts at the beginning or end of the day. I won’t overwhelm your feed, I don’t think.

• You know a political story is high-falutin’ when journalists start using the word “opprobrium.”
• General Hospital is getting REALLY good again. Surprisingly solid suspense tale they’ve got going now. The entire cast, locked in a mansion.
• The Writer’s Strike will disrupt General Hospital. That’s the first downside to it I’ve seen so far.
• Is Rolling Stone Magazine EVER going to stop celebrating their 40th anniversary?!?
• Pondering a new podcast that would be a sure thing winner, if I could only find the time to devote the proper energies to it and - ARGH!!!!!
• I am SO over social networking.
• More people talk about not wanting to blog about eating breakfast than actually DO blog about breakfast. I’m convinced.
• The great part about printer w/five ink cartridges? They never die at the same time. When you make a trip to get a new one, another dies.
• I can’t be the only one to constantly confuse the names Chip Kidd and Chris Ware, can I?
• I also find myself having to say both “conscience” and “conscious” out loud to figure out which one I mean.
• Don’t get me started on “desert” versus “dessert.” Google: Define Dessert
  
• I miss the days when Reddit.com actually contained tech stories and wasn’t 100% political garbage.
• I miss the days when TWiT was worth getting excited about.
• I miss FLOSS when it was Weekly.
• I’m sick of social networks, cell phones, and net neutrality.
• Friggin fraggin CSS. I have two definitions for “SMALL.” And it’s only using one. Time to reprogram some HTML.
• I buy a 100 pack of bags, a 100 pack of boards. I slide all the boards into bags. And yet, there’s always extras of one or the other. WHY?
• Took a great hike today. 360 pictures. Babysitting tonight. Remembered the laptop, forgot the wire to connect the camera. ARGH!
• Learned all sorts of tricks with the old Sony workhorse camera today. That Aperture Priority mode can be cool.

• Wii Guitar Hero 3 only in mono? Noooooo!!! Wait, can you really tell the difference? Hopefully, they’ll have it fixed before Christmas. . .
• Guitar Hero driving album sales. Who’da thunk it?
• The Most Photographed Barn in America. Indeed.
• Funny wedding photos.
• Details emerge on the Plug-In Prius.
• Great. I forget to record “The Next Great American Band” last week and it’s a Billy Joel week. This is what Bit Torrent Hulu iTunes SOMETHING is for. . .  Hollywood sure doesn’t make it easy to Do The Right Thing.
• Marc Andreeson makes a strong pitch for the Hollywood Model changing to the Silicon Valley model of doing business. It would, amongst other things, eliminate the need for a Writer’s Guild.
• Orphaned owls find new pal — a plush owl. All Too Cute picture included at the link.
• Weezer officially announces their sixth album. It’s coming in the spring.

Two quick thoughts:

* The producers found a father/son combo straight out of central casting.  You couldn’t ask for a more perfectly stereotypical Irish father and son.  The son stepped straight out of a Notre Dame mascot photo shoot, and the father fit the retired Irish cop model to a tee.

* That food critic seemed very full of herself and her role in society.  UGH, I hate those kinds of people.  Or maybe it was just in the editing.  I’m sure that’s what she’d say.

Listen to a random episode of The Pro Photography Show.

Take a sip every time host Gavin Seim:

* …says “and stuff like that.”

* …gets so excited to start a sentence that he stutters.

* …mentions TWiT by name.

* …copies a bit from TWiT without directly referencing it.

* …says “Competition is good.”

* …plugs SeimEffects.com.

* …says the aforementioned site is not part of the show — after plugging it for a solid two minutes.

* …uses “anyway” as a transition.

* …pans Adobe for poor customer service.

* …blames the MacroMedia buyout for the poor customer service.

* …uses one of the following phrases: “Slash Blog,” “An Alex,” or “rathole.”

Normally, this is the point in a “drinking game” contest where two sips or chugs would be used. I can’t imagine a single episode of the podcast in which you wouldn’t already be passed out drunk inside of 15 minutes just based on the above rules alone.

So nevermind.

Continuing a rundown of photography podcast reviews and links. . .

* The Pro Photography Show is hosted by Gavin Seim, a slightly hyperactive and very young (22ish) accomplished wedding photographer from the Pacific Northwest. He’s a little overeager at times, but I find a lot of interesting stuff in his weekly hour-long podcasts. The youth shows through in some of his verbal tics, as well. Since it’s not constant “upspeak,” though, I can deal with it. “And stuff like that” gets pretty repetitive, though. I listened to one show over the weekend where he used it a half dozen times. It didn’t even make sense in context a couple of those times. . .

Also, someone needs to stop all podcasters from addressing their audiences as “you guys.” Even forgetting the inherent sexism that some people might see in it, it comes off patronizing after a while.

His occasional round table discussions don’t even attempt to hide their TWiT influence, and sometimes even directly mention it. Sometimes, I wish he’d stop worrying about others and talk more about what he knows and does, rather than doing research to tell Windows users what they might need to know. They should likely tune into another podcast for that. There probably isn’t one, mind you, but they might as well. . .

A new round table went up this weekend. I’m only about 15 minutes into it, but it’s about the least organized mess of a round table I’ve ever heard. The one podcaster involved with any sort of experience is attempting to bail Gavin out by guiding conversation, but then things just fall apart. It’s all rather frustrating.

* The L7 Photogaphy Review podcast is one you should strive to avoid at all costs. It’s a computer voice synthesizer reading written reviews out loud. They’re mercifully short podcasts, but I couldn’t make it through one of them. Painful. Computers can’t talk like humans yet. This one is fairly convincing, but it’s off just enough to really grate on my nerves. The blog isn’t bad, though.

* The Digital Photography Show is the first one I found and, in many ways, is still my favorite. Hosted by two Friends-In-Photography (Scott Sherman and Michael Stein), they feature interviews with software companies, hardware companies, photographers, and Photoshop experts. There are giveaways, photo contests, listener e-mail, and everything you could ask for. They’ve been around for awhile, producing a weekly hour-long podcast every week for 70-some-odd weeks. If you listen to too many too quickly, it might start to grate on your nerves when the main host interjects his one-liners too often and starts sounding like a bad impersonation of Mario Cantone. Take special care to download any episode with Scott Kelby or Rick Sammons. After that, follow the topics you’re interested in and enjoy.

The show comes from the point of view of two enthusiasts looking to learn about photography, so you’re never lost as a listener and you never feel talked down to. Both are important, particularly to the new SLR user. And the two have a great rapport that sucks you in. You can’t help liking them, though Scott does occasionally come across a little shrill. Those are isolated incidents, thankfully.

* The Digital Photography Podcast is hosted by Allen Rockwell, a California man who recently made photography his business, specializing in sports and event photography. The podcasts are short, his tone is a little dry, and you might occasionally find yourself drifting to sleep. It doesn’t help that it took a while for him to upgrade his sound set-up. That said, there’s some good parts here and there, but a lot of it is repetitive if you’ve listened to the other podcasts I’ve already mentioned.

It is a bit odd that Rockwell, a fan of The Digital Photography Show and even a one time guest on it, would so closely name his podcast to theirs. You’d think he’d have avoided it completely to save from confusion.

* LightSource Studio Photography Podcast is one I’ve only listened to once or twice. They talk to photographers about their lighting techniques, it seems. It’s a bit more advanced than I need, and it often loses me.

* Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Podcast is hosted by Adobe’s George Jardine, and usually features an interview with a photographer talking about a series of his or her pictures, which are sometimes displayed on screen as part of an enhanced podcast. It’s an interesting and friendly chat every time out. Pay special attention to the series earlier in this year from the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Adventure: Iceland series. It convinced me to buy the book. Beautiful pictures, friendly stories.

And that’s about it for my regular photo podcasting listening. If you have a favorite, please let me know.