Home Less Serious

Search

Related Articles

The PMX 2008 Game Room: Looking Back

News image

Pacific Media Expo (PMX) was never on my radar as an anime congoer, mostly because it wasn't really an an... [More]

Some Flower Previews Arrive

News image

Looks like some more previews of Flower are hitting the net now that the preview build has been in the ha... [More]

MSNBC on Otaku...

News image

This article was posted yesterday.  Finally looked through it today.  Eh, whatever.  Expected.  Typic... [More]

Writing Music and McDonald's (08/12/1)

News image

I haven't been writing here as much as I'd like because: I've been trying to write insanely awesome music... [More]

Ace Combat 6, Saitek, and You PDF Print E-mail
Written by Vincent Diamante   
Friday, 12 December 2008 08:25

(edit: Certain things detailed below are bit different, namely the availability of an ACE-EDGE bundle for $99.  Check out this more recent post.)

Right now, Fry's has a fine deal on Ace Combat 6 bundled with a Madcatz Aviator flight stick.  Gotta admit, $50 dollars makes for a pretty cool alternative to the original AC6 bundle with the Hori ACE-EDGE HOTAS (read: hot ass) system that's rarely discounted from its initial $150 dollar asking price.  I personally love the HOTAS setup, but I understand that for some people out there, a stick is a stick; as long as the functionality is the same, it's all cool.  So besides the design (and basically throwaway faceplate and DVD in that big old Namco packaging), what makes the $100 dollar difference?

Read more...
 
LFL: Lingerie Football League?!? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Vincent Diamante   
Wednesday, 08 October 2008 12:49

Most people are surprised to hear that I'm one heluva sports enthusiast.  Actually, I'm a huge sports journalism enthusiast, having grown up in Washington, DC reading Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon and listening to guys like Doc Walker and John Thompson on WTEM 570 (now 980).  In fact, over the last few years, I'm confident I've spent more time listening to sports radio than playing games; this despite being known primarily as a games enthusiast, game music composer, and game design teacher.  (Admittedly, the Los Angeles traffic situation contributes to this...)

Thanks to my insatiable hunger for sports news, I've been busy telling my gaming friends about something I heard on the radio today that is: absolutely ridiculous.

The Lingerie Football League.

It's real.

It's coming.

The players wear a helmet, shoulder pads, and lingerie.  And oh yeah: they play full-contact football.

The league is currently shopping itself out to the cable channels for the Fall 2009 season.  I will be surprised if they don't have a deal wrapped up well before then.  Say... the end of the week.

I likely won't be watching it.  Me, I like the sight of beautiful girls as much as anyone... but I LOVE the game of football.  Somehow, I doubt that these girls will be lofting accurate passes to the far corner of the end zone or pushing definsive tackles five yards off the line of scrimmage to create a running lane.  Not to say that girls can't play football... but if it's anything like the original Lingerie Bowl (or the picture that heads this post), consisting of models rather than athletes (and assisted by Hollywood special effects, even), I'm wondering less about their ability to check down receivers and make open field tackles and more about whether any of the players will be able to consistently hike the ball...

Of course, I wasn't a big baseball fan when I moved out to Los Angeles, and now I find myself following the Dodgers on a daily basis, so who knows...!

 
Review: Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese PDF Print E-mail
Written by Vincent Diamante   
Thursday, 18 September 2008 19:42

Pizza Hut Tuscani PastaPizza Hut claims that its new Tuscani Pastas are restaurant quality.  Well, there are indeed many bad restaurants out in the world.

Friends claim that the first two pastas that Pizza Hut made, Meaty Marinara and Creamy Chicken Alfredo, are pretty decent tasting, with plenty of bang for the buck thanks to the $12.99 price (for ~3 pounds of pasta plus 5 breadsticks).  That may be the case, but I haven't been exposed to them.  Instead, I tried the Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese pasta.  Rotini baked with cheddar cheese sauce and topped with bacon. I like rotini and cheddar, and I love bacon.  Sounds good for me, right?

Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese is absolutely awful.

Read more...
 
2008 Gyoza Eating Championship is Insane, Awesome PDF Print E-mail
Written by Vincent Diamante   
Sunday, 24 August 2008 08:31
2008 Gyoza Eating Championship

I thought my friend's boyfriend was going to be in a relatively silly and casual gyoza eating championship at the Los Angeles Little Tokyo Nisei Week Japanese Festival. When we got there, my friends and I were stunned to see that he was part of a little amateur side show for a serious(ly insanely awesome) Major League Eating contest.

And yeah: Joey Chestnut was there. More importantly, he totally rocked the rest of the competition (which included awesome old man Rich "The Locust" Lefevre and Miki "the waxer from The 40 Year Old Virgin" Mia) and broke his own 2006 world record by eating 231 gyoza in 10 minutes.

Videos of the contest (including slow motion footage) after the jump...

Read more...