Viva Las Vegas

Tomorrow I'm off to Las Vegas for the day. We have a photoshoot at Binion's Horseshoe for a new video game package (to remain unnamed now for NDA purposes).

The actual event we're shooting is from 1-6:30 pm, but due to the late scheduling of the flight, I have to leave OC at 7:55 am and get back at 9:25pm. Should be relatively fun, although I'm not sure how we'll kill time in Vegas during the morning. Obviously there are plenty of ways to kill time, but the thought of just being in Vegas (awake) during the morning creeps me out a bit. I'm bummed that I'll miss Irvine Girls Softball night at the Angels game, too.

Steve Anderson, one of our preferred photographers, and I are going. Steve shot the MX World Tour with Jamie Little cover pics in L.A. last year with me. That game should be on the shelves very shortly, if it's not out already. PlayStation 2 and XBox.

Stay tuned for the launch of Crave Entertainment's new Web site within the next few days. We're awaiting some approvals from Nintendo and then it gets turned on. Probably the best site we've done. If you go there and it's black and ugly, that's the old one. We take no responsibility for that design. If it's white, gray and red, that's the new one. :) Also featuring the new logo we did for them. I hope to get a case study together about all the brand renovation we've done for Crave.

I'll drop a few bucks in the slots and wave at a few bums and hookers for each of you. Wish us luck!

Final Four-Bound

Wow, what a game on Saturday, eh? The Cats pulled it out in amazing fashion, and now we're headed to St. Louis for the Final Four. Next up, Louisville!

So many chances to blow that game against Illinois. But not us. When we were up 15 points with four minutes left, a little fear raced through my mind. But then I thought, "Who blows a 15-point lead in the most important game of the year?! Not my Cats." And then I realized I was being overly paranoid. Even if we did let them score a few, it was FIFTEEN points, right? Two seniors wouldn't let the team relax. A Hall of Fame coach would surely impart the critical wisdom to not relent on the number one team in the bracket and land. Two more scores and two more minutes and it would be effectively over.

Even if we did, somehow, end up giving up a few baskets, we'd never go to overtime. And if even if we did, magically, go to overtime, and let's say, have to come down to a final shot, we'd actually run a PLAY!

But as it turns out, I didn't have to worry about that at all. The Cats finished off the Illini in spectacular, dominant fashion and my remaining weekend was saved from absolute fitful misery. Phew!

(Hope may spring eternal but dementia is so much more effective.)

Cowboys and Indians

What a game! After shooting 66%, you'd think we would've won by more than a point on a last second shot, but I'll take it. Now that we've disposed of the Cowboys, it's on to the Illini.

I haven't watched any Illinois basketball this year, but I obviously know of their record, dominance over the Big 10 and their guard-driven offense. I also remember a very similar team in the 1997 tournament: Kansas. That year they were absolutely incredible (34-2, I think) and hands-down favorites to win it all. We drew them in the second round and beat them in what still stands as one of my top three Arizona games. I remember watching that in a packed-to-the-rafters bar in downtown Scottsdale with JD and Lori, among others. I lost about eight pounds in sweat that night, but good GOD that was fun!

Playing Illinois in Chicago may be an insurmountable challenge, and I can say that an Elite Eight finish this year will be sufficient. If Andre Iguodala hadn't jumped ship to the NBA, I would've expected nothing less than the title this year. But the Cats are looking great and all hope springs eternal during March Madness.

Bear Down, Arizona!

March Madness and Tivo Tension

I sit here wrapping up after a completely crazy day, watching the minutes after tip-off of Arizona/Oklahoma State tick by. It started at 6:30...it's now 7:08. Luckily I'm Tivo'ing it, but there is always that underlying angst that someone might have changed the channel and I'll come home to sixty minutes of Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition. I can only hope all is well.

This Sweet 16 matchup is of particular interest since Chad is an OK State alum. He's in Phoenix today, so there hasn't been any buildup or taunting. I think it will be a tough win for the Cats, but they're capable of anything. Good or bad.

Here's to hoping I return to an Elite Eight passport.

Jury duty, schmury duty

My obligation to the general populace of Orange County has been fulfilled! After an unsuccessful attempt to cop a plea out of jury duty, I've been watching the days count down until I had to go in. On Friday, I had to call in to learn when I would have to report to the courthouse. Friday, the recording told me to call Monday at 6pm. That recording told me to call at noon today. That recording told me that I was no longer needed...that my service was complete. Hallelujah!

Now, not only do I not have to go in and make a stink about why I can't sit on a jury, but I also got a ton of stuff done this morning while I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, expecting to have to go in this afternoon. Win-win.

Nothing really profound or thought-provoking to say about jury duty and everyone's innate desire to avoid it, but I am happy to be a better citizen. Now I can say that I didn't stoop to the cheap tricks and lies most people employ to get out of serving. I did my duty, my service is complete...the woman on the recording told me so - twice! I played by the rules. I fulfilled a basic function of justice. I added a few knit-one/pearl-twos to the fabric of society. I might as well have been torturing suspected terrorists or rescuing child slaves in Thailand, so fundamental was my role in the greater march of democracy today.

Erectile Dysfunction, Brand Preference and World of Warcraft

Yes, there is a connection, my friends. Leave it to me to discover it. I will now expound...

Last night during my nightly foray into WOW-land, I was chatting with my guild about the usual stuff. Casual observations, humorous insights, and the typical attention-starved jabber I'm becoming known for. Kind of pitiful, but endearing nonetheless.

I was making an observation about a guild member's name. Her name is Phedra. She has an alternate character in the guild named Sexyjoy. So I made a crack about her names forming some sort of Viagra-like commercial...take Phedra for the best Sexyjoy of your life. Not so funny now out of context, but frankly pretty witty in the kneejerk timeframe I concocted it.

For those of you who are unindoctrinated, WOW has a self-censoring mechanism built into its chat engine that prevents people from using profanity. Type most four-letter curses, and the screen automatically displays "#*%!#"...stuff like that. Being populated with a fair share of resourceful foulmouths, most people, if so inclined, find interesting workarounds for the restriction.

Turns out, "Viagra" is a banned word. So my joke first looked like I was being profane. I immediately shared my discovery with the guild, asking a few people to verify. Sure enough, you can't type in Viagra. You can display "V-I-A-G-R-A" and derivatives like that, but not the name in its unmodified form.

So, I made a subsequent crack about Viagra being a banned word, thinking to myself that Blizzard evidently believes that: 1) erectile dysfunction or impotence correction are too sensitive of subjects for the puerile sensibilities of the WOW community; 2) the word is structually too simliar to the female genitalia that shares many of the same letters and is, hence, netted by an algorithm incapable of splitting hairs, or 3) Blizzard is exercising some sort of backroom deal with the pharmaceutical community.

I started leaning to #3 when I experimented further. Keying in "Cialis", I was rewarded with an exact, uncensored display. My guild responded with their observation of my findings.

I think I'm onto something. Blizzard either hates Pfizer (makers of Viagra), or is in bed with Lilly (producers of Cialis). "I smell the roots of a lawsuit" I quipped, the guild quickly tiring of my diatribe.

Maybe there's more to it than meets the eye. Maybe this is the newest form of guerilla marketing. An insidious kind of brand loyalty generation. Product placement. Chat censorship. Mind control!!!

Maybe right now, there are hundreds of thousands of WOW-players who are shifting preferences to Cialis for the simple reason they can't chat about Viagra without being censored. Hence, "Viagra" = "@*#%" = "shit (insert preferred bad word)".

It ain't Watergate, but I think I've just put my foot into a deep morass of corporate intrigue.

And you all thought WOW was a waste of time. Sheesh.