A tale of operating systems & stubbornness, with one too many relationship analogies.

Part 1 | Part 2 (sooner) | Part 3 (soon)

The permanent desktop.

First, two disclaimers:

1) Yes, I am a walking contradiction… 2) This is not a review of Linux Mint.

So, I just obliterated my Windows 7 installation and installed Linux Mint. No dual booting, no safety nets…How did this happen to an Apple fanboy-turned-Windows 7 fanboy? (Subquestion: Did it have something to do with my third Xbox 360 dying? You’re goddamn right it did!)

After being seduced (the perfect word for their marketing) by Apple’s Macbook Pro in 2007 and succumbing to the ear-shattering buzz of the 1st generation iPhone, I was later disenchanted with constant hardware failures and a steady feeling of “well, Mr. Jobs, this isn’t just working.” After stubbornly defending all products coming out of Cupertino, I think it was the fact that it took Apple 2 freaking years to put a copy and paste function on this ‘groundbreaking’ smart phone.

Know what else? I recently traded that 2007 Macbook Pro for an HP Pavillion dv6000 series laptop.  Straight across. Yep, that happened. And my once amazing iPhone has been relegated to a $300 skype phone with 1 hour of talk time per charge.

(I also came to realize I had essentially paid $2000 for Garageband. But these are different stories.)

The one that sealed the deal.

Before the love affair with Apple, around 2005, I flirted with Linux because it appealed to my then-developing inner power user. I read Distrowatch religiously, reading at least 3 reviews each for flavors of linux like Redhat, Fedora, Debian, and SuSE, and then simply deciding to try them all. I would spend hours upon hours well into the early dawn setting up my hardware, tweaking the look and feel of the desktop, learning the installation routines until I could do them in my sleep. At the time, Linux felt like a just-out-of-reach paradise whose requirement for entry was a ton of frustration.

Let’s flash forward to October 2009. I got myself a taste of Windows 7, and realized Microsoft had finally delivered a proper sequel to XP. Still a bit bloated, but damn light on its feet. It booted fast, it understood my hardware, it was sexy. Except, remember that laptop I acquired? The HP DV6208nr? It slowed to a crawl with Aero activated. It protested my furious multitasking. The cooling fans threatened to spin right out of the case at the mere hint of audio editing.

Then the 360 crashed yesterday. All things Microsoft were about to get kicked to the curb on principle (and somewhat literally.)

Tomorrow:

• The surprisingly easy installation of Linux Mint. Everything just worked. Out of the box. Srsly!
• How all of this ties into Indie Arcade & Insomnia Radio. And my next podcast idea…
• How exactly Mint blows away Windows 7, in very non-technical terms.
• Why after being afraid to fall in love with Linux, I’m finally ready to commit.

I just spent a few hours with my partner in crime finalizing the look of Indie Arcade, and I’m damn excited about launching the site.  My A.D.D. kicked in multiple times, and I went cruising around the interwebs as well as the cobwebs in my brain looking for a mission statement of sorts.

Found this:

“Basically, the indie scene made me love games again! It’s where the passion is, it’s where the most interesting games are, and it’s where the most interesting people are. For the mainstream industry, everything goes in one direction: bigger, shinier, 3D-ier. Indie games go in every direction, and it’s exciting as hell. We’ll keep ‘em honest.” - Derek Yu, Bit-Blot (Aquaria)

This resonated with me, much the same way running Insomnia Radio has. The passion bottled up inside indie games – as with indie music – really does rise to the surface, and the original vision isn’t tainted by budgets or dozens of conflicting interests, or day & date release deadlines, or common denominators. It’s a bit less polished, maybe, but it’s got heart.

All gushing aside, it’s thrilling to be creating something brand new, and rejoining something established. Here’s to the continued rise of indie games, and indie music.

Have a killer 2010. see you there.

Earlier this year I disappointed a bunch of people, self included, when I charged out of the gate with a vengeance and finally dropped episode #165 of Insomnia Radio after being absent for over a year.

Then, of course, chaos and drama ensued and podcasting – much less a semblance of normal life – became impossible to produce.

So that said, I’m working on the newest episode of IR. No, wait, really!

Kicking off 2010 IR proper style.

Now, I’ve learned over the years not to make promises I can’t keep, but I’m going to do my damnedest to reboot Insomnia Radio into a thriving, prolific podcast network once again. I’ve secured some quiet, secluded podcasting space, even!

The past two weeks I’ve been weeding through literally 100’s of submissions, and paving the way for future episodes and future partnerships.

Been preparing the new adventure, Indie Arcade, too. I hope to get much noisier in 2010. Things have been too quiet :-)

I just finished playing Tornado Outbreak, a new game by Seattle developer Loose Cannon that blends elements of the timeless Katamari Damacy with Saturday morning cartoons. What can be more fun than not just the collection of, but wanton destruction of cows, ferris wheels, double decker buses, silos, tanks, and hotels with well produced, light-hearted animated intermissions?

The game was genuinely fun. Not an experience to philosophize over and draw inspiration from, but just an enjoyable gaming experience with decent replay value. And it’s published by Konami, you know this little company responsible for Castlevania & Metal Gear Solid? What’s baffling me is just how far under the radar this game has slipped. It’s been available for over a week (almost a retail eternity in this industry!) and has only garnered two reviews via Metacritic.

At first it would lead me to believe Konami’s PR agency slipped up. But, they contacted little ole’ me so certainly they reached out to the big boys and girls, right? The IGN’s, the Gamespots, the 1UPs. Not to mention the literally 100’s of medium sized gaming sites. So I’m left wondering what went wrong? This industry loves to “encourage” avoidance by bashing terrible games, but Tornado Outbreak is a decent game (not earth shattering, but worth playing) that just got lost somewhere between its conception (Development) and its birth (retail) and that’s a shame.

I’m writing this meandering rant before penning my review over at Examiner, because I need to filter out some of the personal feelings I’ve attached to this game. I spent years of my life promoting the independents and underdogs of the world so I feel obligated to push Tornado Outbreak under people’s noses and insist they give it a chance. Not because it’s the underdog being overshadowed by the upcoming holiday monster releases, but because it’s a GOOD underdog.

It’s also only $40 instead of the usual $60 which is a trend I hope more publishers will adopt.

Feel free to hold out for my review, but if you’ve played and enjoyed Katamari or Loco Roco, give Tornado Outbreak a second glance, especially if you’ve got little ones who play by your side. (Yep, it’s co-op!)

Ok, rant over. Enjoy your weekend gang!

Today, it’s 1/3 shameless self-promotion and 2/3 high praise for a couple respected writers.

1) An intelligent discussion about Halo? http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2009/09/odst.html (scope the comments for an example of REAL comment thread conversations)

2) Day-ee-tona! http://bit.ly/l5gPg

3) How Possibly To Do Good Games Journalism, Maybe – An Introduction: http://lewisdenby.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/how-possibly-to-do-good-games-journalism-maybe-an-introduction/

I'll review it, as soon as I can stop playing it!

As I wrap up a weekend full of impromptu – and gleefully geeky – Halo 3: ODST LAN parties and endlessly blissful sessions of DiRT 2, I’m haunched over my laptop trying to find the on-ramp to my latest game review.

I’ve been sitting on the aforementioned DiRT 2 for just shy of a week, and my personal policy with game publishers and PR companies is to turnaround my review in 7 days or less. Tomorrow morning is day 7. I haven’t necessarily been procrastinating so much as constantly waiting for some flaw to jump out at me. Just one major or minor mistake Codemasters let slip. God forbid I publish a glowing review without finding fault ;-) The Gran Turismo or Forza fanatics will slap a sellout/fanboy label on me, and that’s fine. The review-absorbing audience out there can be harsh.

But honestly, before FortySeven PR sent out a press copy, I was prepared to plunk my hard-earned $60 down on DiRT 2 based on the demo alone. Hell, based on the MENU SYSTEM alone. It’s that sexy. What annoys me, however, is that I can even find faults with my all-time favorite video games, but seriously gang: DiRT 2 is a flawlessly produced off-road racing title that just drips adrenalin, style, and challenge.

I’m not sure if my critical acuity is slipping, or if this game really IS that perfect. I do know this much: I’m falling asleep thinking about the perfect racing lines to follow in the Battersea Rallycross event.

(Frickin’ Dave Mirra steals my 1st place sweep every time, man.  When did he stop riding his bike?)

I’ve always been fascinated with manipulating audio. Taking streams of sound and effects and voices and turning them into something that dazzles your ears.

Since 2004 I’ve produced hundreds of music and gaming podcasts. Dozens of promotional advertisements, sweepers, customized show intros, and professional sounding voiceovers.

A small sampling of those pieces can be found on your immediate right!

Whether it’s a two hour long roundtable conversation that needs some fine tuning (you know, the awkward pauses; all those darned “um’s”), a professional voiceover, or a custom-made podcast bumper, I’m your audio guy.

Thinking of starting your own podcast? That, folks, is my specialty. Shoot me an email (jevangelho@gmail.com) and let’s chat about it! Talk about combining everything I do into one package! We’ll design your site, assist you with personal “audio imaging” (finding the right mood/voice/tone for your show) and then assault the internet in grand promotional fashion, getting the word out to all the corners of cyberspace.

Get in touch by shooting me an email or using this contact form, and let’s make some dazzling audio together.

And yep, I’m affordable and will work around your budget!

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Jeanette Goulart had been working passionately out of her garage for years, producing artwork visible only to local galleries, and purchased only by close friends and customers.

There was no denying her talent, and deep down she believed that ultimate success could be found by expanding the visibility of her work.  But bringing almost 100 pieces of artwork from her garage to the internet was a daunting task, both time consuming and technically difficult.

Through a series of meetings, Jeanette revealed that not only did she want to display her pieces, she wanted to:

• Grab visitor’s attention with a dazzling front page and custom graphics
  
• Have a full e-commerce solution to sell giclees, notecards, and other creations from her living room
• Display galleries, separated by categories
• Display detailed information for each piece of artwork
• Have the ability to blog on her site – without my help :-)

Could I handle all that? Heck yea! It took roughly two weeks, and the finished product was beyond her expectations.

Once she’s gotten her virtual feet wet, I’ll be setting her up with a mailing list to keep in touch with all of her fans, and introducing her to social networking necessities like Twitter.

So hey, if you’re producing something the world needs to see, I can help. If you want some killer artwork, Jeanette can help.

Until next time!

~Jason

PRICING (On the way) | LIVE SAMPLES (soon!)

Ready to kick-start your online presence?

DIAL THIS NUMBER: 1-559-286-0936 (any time is fine)

EMAIL ME HERE: jevangelho @ gmail.com

The Bottom Line, Up Top:

When you hire me you get much more than a web designer. You get a media producer, a social networking enthusiast, a promotional monster, an internet consultant, and someone with great taste in coffee. (Hey, quality coffee means quality work!) Because building a website is merely the first step of your success.

The Basics:

Whether you have a fledgling hobby or a full time business, having a website that showcases what you do – and who you are – is essential.

I believe in building dynamic websites that live and breath and expand daily. Websites that allow your audience to interact with you effortlessly. Websites that drastically increase the reach of your product, your music, your art, your beliefs.

Better yet, websites that YOU can maintain effortlessly! What craziness is this? See, I also offer personalized training. What good is having a shiny new car without knowing how to drive it? We’ll teach you how to blog, how to add images and new pages to your website, and a myriad of cool tricks to keep your content moving forward without relying on a computer tech on standby :-)

The Nitty Gritty:

Websites can run the gamut from basic sign-up forms to personal blogs or podcasts, even a full-blown online marketplace. With that in mind, here’s a sampling of what I can provide:

• Don’t bother with buying a domain name! It’s included in the price…
• Don’t worry about how or where to host your website! The first year is on us…
• Need a logo or custom graphics created? Just ask!
  
• Monthly site backups included free of charge for the first year.
• Full e-Commerce solutions: Sell your stuff, and cut out the middleman.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) included with every website.
• Are you blogging or podcasting? Full support for multiple authors.
• RSS Feeds and Podcasting support built into every site.
• Full multimedia support: Add images, sound, and video to your site effortlessly.
• Got Twitter? Flickr? YouTube? Integrate them into your site!
• Simple yet robust email solutions for up to 25 users (you guessed it: Free)
• Content Management System (CMS) that allows you to easily update your site.
• Full website statistics & visitor information (right again! FREE!)
  

The Bottom Line (Again):

I don’t charge by the hour, I charge by the project. So, in addition to all the cool stuff listed above, you can be assured that your website won’t be rushed, and I’ll take as many hours, days, or weeks necessary to make sure you’re completely satisfied with the final product.

GOT A QUESTION?

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Websites can be used as simply a landing page for information or, in cases like Insomnia Radio’s, a central location to showcase 1000’s of musicians and hundreds of worldwide podcast episodes.

The Insomnia Radio crew needed, for lack of better words, “THE WORKS!“

• Support for multiple authors
• Web hosting that could handle over 10,000 listeners worldwide
• Easy-to-publish streaming audio & video
• Dozens of pages & tons of links
• Custom graphics
• Ability for bands to upload their music right from the website
• Interactive commenting system
• Podcasting support, RSS Feeds, and other web geekery!

I can create simple or ridiculously complex websites for you, AND teach you how to get the most out of them once the job is finished. Whether it’s a simple contact form for a seminar, or an international podcasting network, consider it handled with care, passion, and professionalism.

Nothing better than a Live Demo! Click Here to visit Insomnia Radio.

Click Below to View Full Size Image

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WRITEBACK: mentaldoodles@gmail.com | TALKBACK: 206-339-9293

Last week the podcast debut of Robert Ashley’s “A Life Well Wasted” inspired me to pen a short blog post exploring the notion of what I call “Disposable Video Games.” I committed myself to exploring this at length in Episode 3 – with YOUR help – and the feedback was amazing.

I’m proud of this, the 3rd outing of Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts and I’m constantly encouraged by the stellar community already forming around it. So instead of wasting this space with bullet points about the episode, let’s use it to thank some folks!

THE EPISODE 3 HONOR ROLL:

• Rob LeFebvre from Ordinary Swords & The Portable Gamer
• David Jacobs from Connected World Media
• Michael Abbott from The Brainy Gamer
• Blake & Cory from The EvilCast NewsBrief
• Michael Dodd from This Week in Geek
• Brent The Closet Geek from the Electro To DnB Podcast
• Ammon Horn from A Random Gamer
• Kris from VGNerd.com

BUY THIS MUSIC NOW: PEACE ORCHESTRA on G-Stone Records
Enjoy the show, and keep the conversation alive either below, via email, or via the Talkback line.

RETRO AFFLICTION

UPDATE: My new podcast explores this topic at great length: CHECK IT OUT

I was maybe 13 or 14 years old when I first held a Game Boy in my hands. A childhood friend (you know, the one on every block you’re intensely jealous of, who nabs the hottest toys the day they’re released and ultimately is the reason you’ve become an early adopter who buys all the latest gizmos and gadgets and consoles the second they’re available, isn’t it?)

Wait, where were we? Ahem…

Not soon after I’d held that Game Boy in my hands, I received one for Christmas. The beautiful 160×144 display with the 4 shades of grey was worthy of being called a handheld game console, even if I only have memories of a scant selection of games.

I needed nothing more than Tetris, Baseball, and Donkey Kong…(Final Fantasy Legend and Dr. Mario would come later…) and a black padded carrying case the size of a modern-day laptop bag; you know, to show off the enormity of my imaginary game collection.

There was something magical about being able to play a videogame in the car, in the backyard, at recess (providing those ‘yard duty’ workers didn’t bust you with it). Apparently, that magic has not worn off through the years.

Some preluding (I know it’s not a word, but it works!) is necessary before I start making my point. Since those schoolyard days I’ve owned Sega’s Game Gear and a GameBoy Advance SP. Following that I considered myself “graduated” to the big brother consoles with the superior graphics and of course, larger screens. I was a homebody, I didn’t need portable gaming. I was living on the cutting edge!

I was missing the point.

PSP: The Gateway Drug

Fast-forward to Christmas 2008.

Santa brings me a silver PSP-3000. “HA!” I think.  “Sony Computer Entertainment America knows I run a gaming website which has recently been growing in popularity. They paid off Santa, didn’t they?” Perhaps persuading me to institute more coverage of recent PSP Games (um, WHAT recent PSP Games?).  They think their Portable PS2 can take me away from my Dreamcast? Or my 360 loaded to the heatsinks with Rock Band 2, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Far Cry 2, Geometry Wars 2?

HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHaHahaha….(imagine laughter cut abruptly short, like Vizzini in the Princess Bride just after he’s ingested the poison…)

Folks, I haven’t turned on my Xbox 360, nor my Playstation 3 for a month straight…This demands exploring, this begs for answers.

I got the PSP connected to WiFi, downloaded the new 5.00 firmware update, and proceeded to browse around the PSN store. This is what I downloaded:

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Crash Bandicoot: Warped
• Tekken 2
• Street Fighter Alpha

(Hmm, does someone miss his original Playstation?)

The following is a timetable of my experience with the PSP, leading right up to yesterday.

• 48 hours in: I had not even inserted a UMD. I had not turned on any other console. I was hooked, again, on the classics.
• 7 days in: Got my Skype account setup, rented the exceptional RPG/RTS/Music-Rhythm magic of Patapon. Still had not turned on another console.
• 12 days in: Sold Halo 3 and purchased Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. You guessed it, still no 360 action (or dreamcast action, or Gamecube action…)
• 13 days in: Checked Xbox Live messages via xbox.com. Waste of time.
• 14 days in: Turned on the 360 – to remove my Credit Card info from the Account dashboard.
• 18 days in: Obsession strikes. Have migrated all podcast feeds to the PSP and bookmarked several internet radio stations.
• 20 days in: Snagged Wipeout Pure from Sony’s RLS website.
• 25 days in: Still haven’t touched another game system and neck deep in Star Ocean, Crisis Core, Patapon, Me & My Katamari, and God of War: Chains of Olympus.
• Yesterday: Traded in 6 Xbox 360 games, a play & charge kit, and a controller – - walked out with a Black Nintendo DS and The World Ends With You.

Obviously, that last bullet point is where things start to get very interesting, huh?

What’s the root cause of this dramatic shift in gaming habits? Check out the latest episode of “Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts” for the theories…

(If you enjoyed this article, consider sharing it by clicking below!)

Expect these “verbal doodles” (instead of Mental Doodles…get it get it?) from time to time. Today’s installment: brainstorming the next podcast.

…I have ‘em.

When you see the phrase “commitment issues” you’re likely inclined to conjure an image of a guy or girl with cold feet, the endless engagement, or what have you. My problem is unique. I’m not afraid to commit.

My dilemma is that I’m too eager to commit.

I had a good thing happening here towards the beginning of 2009. Two episodes of a fledgling podcast which, quite frankly, I’m ridiculously proud of. The highest compliment was someone actually asking when I’d be producing another one. But success elsewhere chipped away at success here. Yes, this isn’t the kind of problem one complains about…I’m helping to run a gaming website that just oozes personality and indie spirit, a familiar course for me which I absolutely love. The Portable Gamer consumes about every waking minute of my non-day-job clock. And yes, this “professional hobby” is voluntary. But building things and watching them flourish – there’s no greater thrill, and no less thrilling addiction.

I’m not looking to complain; I’m looking for solutions. Many of you, like me, manage more than just a day job and the occasional hobby. You’re technology fiends, avid gamers, music junkies. You work full time, run two websites, host podcasts, stay on top of your Twitter and Facebook accounts, rock the occasional fake plastic instrument…you may even have a social life and friends :-)

I’ve seen a lot of folks converting their blogs to Tumblr style outfits. I’m all about streamlining right now, but do not want to sacrifice quality anywhere to make that happen. Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts was awesome, and it’s therapeutic to maintain a blog here and explore what’s on my mind.

So, gang, what works for you? How do YOU maintain your blog, or your personal podcast? Any suggestions?

Last week I openly confessed my love for portable gaming, but I knew the act of touching my PS3 and 360’s power buttons would inevitably go beyond the Netflix and Blu-Ray flirtation phase once again. This past weekend, it did.

In late November of 2008 I loaned Rock Band 2 and a fake plastic guitar to my little brother, after practically killing myself during The Endless Setlist. I’d had my fill, I was satiated. This past weekend, however, an unrequited urge to once again bang those plastic skins washed over me, and I rented the disc and set up a rock-date with Rob and Gabe.

The first half hour consisted of constant connection problems. Everyone would involuntarily drop out of the party (but not the multiplayer itself), disrupting the voice chat, but ultimately would sign out of Xbox Live completely. We couldn’t finish a song, and it was literally 30 minutes until Xbox Live’s problems were corrected, but by that time we weren’t too thrilled about playing “Bodhisattva” again.

2 songs into our 80’s throwback setlist, my bass drum pedal snapped in half, spelling the end. I resigned myself to vocals for a few songs, and called it quits, feeling completely unsatisfied and frustrated.

Following that, I played The World Ends With You (yep, back to my 1st love) for 2 hours while I casually sipped coffee and sat outside under the stars.

I’m positive my love affair with the living room consoles will resume itself at some point, but I am firmly convinced they won’t ever acquire the title of gaming soul mate :-)

Until Podcast #3, take care.

UPDATE: Rob just sent me this amazing tutorial on how to fix your Rock Band drums using only household materials. Perhaps I’ll journey back to the 360 soon. Perhaps…

“I feel like by the time a game comes out now, I know everything there is to know about it…But at that time, (a game) got a 2 page preview in EGM maybe once…and then got a review. And that was all you’d ever know about that game until you got it in your hands. Now we’re inundated with information.”

-A Life Well Wasted, Episode 1

“Back in ‘92, ‘93, ‘94, when Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam…400 page issues that everyone remembers so fondly…you would just sit on your bed and absorb every single thing. Because at that time, most of us…would learn about everything you couldn’t find in your rental store.”

-Former 1UP Editor Andrew Pfister | A Life Well Wasted, Episode 1

The average retail shelf life for a typical video game has shrunk so drastically in the past 15 years that if you’re not plugged in to a 24/7 news feed, you could blink and miss it entirely.

For new IP’s (Intellectual Properties), developers spend weeks to months developing a solid gaming mechanic or concept. Writers enter the picture and flesh out a storyline, artists sketch out hand drawn storyboards and rough animations. Level designers work to add life and atmosphere to the game, voice actors are hired, programmers spend 1000’s of hours tweaking code, composers breathe emotion into the audio. Marketing teams are deployed, etc etc.

The entire process of creating a video game from start to finish, on average, takes about 2 years.

That same game could have a consumer’s mindshare for as little as 1 week. And if they happen to buy it, only 20% of them will finish it.*

Why is this happening? And why are we, the gaming audience, seemingly content with it? That’s exactly what I’ll be exploring in an upcoming episode of Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts. Do you have an opinion from inside the industry? Are you a gamer who misses the love affairs we used to have with games from the 80’s and 90’s?

I can’t create this episode without you…

WRITEBACK: mentaldoodles@gmail.com | TALKBACK: 206-339-9293

Or simply leave a comment on this post.

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Jason Evangelho: Professional Hobbyist, Recovering Catholic…Portable Gaming Enthusiast? WHOA, that doesn’t sound right…

The Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts Podcast settles into a groove with the first proper episode, as I go beyond yesterday’s reveal of my portable gaming obsession and explore precisely why I’m going through this “console divorce.”

Topics ranted about:

• The great video game release orgy of Holiday 2008
• Freaking firmware updates!
• Time investments: Console vs Portable
• Gaming in a multitasking-rich world

Games Discussed:

• Far too many to mention, and therein lies the dilemna…

The “I’m Not Worthy” List:

• Michael Abbott: The Brainy Gamer
• Rob LeFebvre, Ordinary Swords, GamesAreEvil, The Portable Gamer
• Tyler, ruler of DarkRoomDemons.com and master graphic artist (for the logo!)

Disclaimer: The opinions discussed within are not scholarly, they are not even 100% factual – but you WILL relate :-)

This podcast is one of my many passions – if you enjoyed it, please pass it along, email the link, or get your Tweet on. Thanks for listening, and thanks for paying attention…Till next time!

~Jason.

Alright gang, here’s the deal: I’ve been postponing the act of writing perfectly fleshed out musings on a semi-daily basis because I’ve been too consumed with:

• Brainstorming said musings…
• Doubting my ability to write said musings…
• Trying to repair the earbuds that got dunked into my coffee (long story)…
• Prepping the transformation of GamesAreEvil from a website to a network…
• Trying (and failing) to tolerate an estimated 5,000 people on my block during the recent invasion of Extreme Makeover just down the street…

But you see, ultimately, these are all merely excuses.

The #1 reason I’m not writing is fear. Fear that it won’t be polished enough, articulate enough, factual enough, convincing enough, moving enough to keep you coming back.

Tonight friends, I’ve decided – finally – to write for myself, in my own gritty and sometimes inarticulate fashion. No emphasis on media or images or perfection: Just a running dialogue about an industry, and a lifestyle, that has me bound and laughing.

And sincerely, I hope that you’ll not only follow the noise, but join it.

It starts tomorrow.

“Mommy, why would Santa deliver a present that’s broken?”

What you’re looking at are incoming search queries hitting Games Are Evil on Christmas Day 2008, courtesy of our Woopra stat tracking software. (Woopra is incredible by the way, and blows away Analytics.)

These search queries tell me that someone failed miserably in Activision’s quality control department. Granted, I’ve been aware of this problem since late October. But the article on our site snagging all of those searches has been the most read post for a week straight…

Let me fill in the shadowy details:

We live in an on-demand, short-attention-span, instant gratification world, and the console game industry has taken a page from it’s bitter rival, the PC, and since the arrival of the Xbox has been pushing incomplete & buggy games on our laps. Now, it’s being extended to hardware and peripherals.

Consumers have, as of this writing, had to endure abysmal failure rates from Microsoft’s Xbox 360 – and now the equally disastrous “Red Ring of Zune.” Microsoft: Was your Entertainment & Devices Division all stoned in 2005 and 2006?

Video Game publishers consistently ship titles that are knowingly broken or buggy, with promised patches just a few days out from the release date. Too bad the folks without internet connections are screwed. (I work for Gamestop – and believe me that’s a large number of consumers.)

And on October 28th, 2008, rumblings started rising from the depths of Guitar Hero’s community forums, hinting that ALL of “Guitar Hero World Tour’s” drumkits were broken. The specific problem with this $189 purchase was that the red snare was not sensitive enough to detect each hit, resulting in massive fail. The developers quickly addressed the issue and released software to fix the problem…

Except, that software required a PC…to which you connected your fake plastic drumkit…with a USB Midi cable. Because everyone has a USB Midi cable lying around, right?

So, flash forward to Christmas Day 2008. I peered into our Woopra stats, seeing the ridiculous amount of Guitar Hero related searches (cool that we’re almost the #1 Google result, not cool that we even had to write the article), and imagined 100’s of 1000’s of children AND adults wondering why Santa had delivered a broken present!

See, for the average consumer (if you’re reading this, you’re likely not one of them) who isn’t glued to RSS feeds and gaming blogs, it’s preposterous to be expected to jump through so many hoops to fix a product that NEVER should have shipped in it’s current condition. I’m looking at you Guitar Hero, 360, Zune, select Macbook products, numerous laptop batteries and even dozens of car models over the past 4 decades.

When casual gamers and everyday consumers have to go googling to find out why their $200 toy doesn’t work, it’s time to consider the fact that the game MAKERS and publishers are the ones who are broken.

Will I be buying a Zune? Or another Guitar Hero product? Or even recommend a used Xbox 360 to anyone who isn’t comfortable with a soldering iron? No way. And neither should you.

-Jason Evangelho is familiar with the phrase “implied warranty,” and he’s not afraid to use it…

Yes, the title of this post is tinged with a not-so-subtle splash of anger. Nah, perhaps anger isn’t the right word. If what I’m feeling had a visual representation, it would be a casual and dismissive wave of the hand, the backdrop a slow motion shot of 2008 calendars going up in flames.

This last year was unmatched in terms of personal accomplishments, and personal failures, with potent family drama to balance things out.

-I’ve gone through a divorce

-My mother went through a divorce

-We all lost my awesome Grandfather

-Thanks to poor decisions  in 2007 & a dirtbag partner, I found myself $20,000 in debt

-For the first time since 2003, Insomnia Radio was not part of my everyday life.

-For the first time since 2001, my daughter was not part of my everyday life

Do I mention these things to complain or draw sympathy? No way. I have a rich and fascinating history of drama and survival, so I’m used to it thanks :-)

Instead, it’s awesome to be able to take the drama in one hand, and analyze the successes in the other. While Insomnia Radio became practically dead to me, so did Thimble Media, and it has allowed me to pursue several things this year that otherwise would have been impossible because of the major time suck my previous ‘career’ was.

My grandfather’s passing led to an extended stay in Fresno, early 2008. Shortly thereafter, my ex-wife and I (who I remain good friends with) decided to part ways. Shortly after THAT, my mother’s marriage crumbled. What was the bright side to this dismal series of events? My mom was left with a higher mortgage than she could pay alone, and I was left practically homeless. The simple solution was to move back in to my mom’s house, something I hadn’t done since I was a teenager. We were both in a situation to help each other – and thank goodness for that.

So yes, I’m 33 and I live with a parent. Fortunately I have no current interest in dating…But I pay half the mortgage, so no wisecracks people :-)

I also found myself with 2 new jobs this year, as well as 2 new professional-ish hobbies! To recap, you’ll find me on any given day doing at least two of the following:

1: Hustling games at a brand new Gamestop in Fresno, as the Senior Supervisor.

2: Ridding the world of viruses and spyware and convincing people to switch to Macs which yes, I realize, would put that hobby to rest…weird…

3: Working funerals in the Central Valley and creating multimedia slideshows for memorial services

4: Editing, managing, and enjoying all the chaos over at http://www.gamesareevil.com

These are all things I’m proud to be doing, and all things that saw their 1st breath of life in 2008. I even found myself writing a novel, which is a slow (and temporarily halted) process, but it was liberating and exciting all the same.

So, good riddance 2008, because 2009 will have no shadows of the past, no regrets to overcome, no “what-if’s” and no wrong choices. It’s time to map out our lives – and enjoy the various paths we take to reach those goals.

All of you who still follow this blog, thanks for sticking around.

Have a stellar 2009 gang;

~J.