So there I was, looking over at it’s sleek white case as it silently slept - it’s power light faintly glowing.

I took another drag on my cigarette.

I never smoked before that night, but after what I’d experienced, I had to.

It was all like a blur: seeing it playing coy behind the glass with the other systems, lulling me over with its promises of innovative gameplay, beckoning me closer with visions of new and exciting games.

It took all of my restraint to keep from drooling right then and there. I kindly freed it from the store shelf, slipped it in a plastic bag, and buckled it in for the ride home. I’m surprised I didn’t black out from anticipation.

As soon as I brought it inside, I was no longer in control. It pulled me up from the couch, not intent on letting me be a passive observer for tonight. It slipped my hand through it’s supple band, and slid itself into my awaiting palm. It fit me so perfectly, it didn’t even mind my nervously clammy hands.

I started by pressing its power button, letting it know I was ready. It hummed to life and welcomed me into its world with a warm embrace. I gave a faint smile, not sure if I knew what I was in for, and then it all began to move in fast-forward.

From then all I remember is brief glimpses into what had happened.

My arm giving either the gentlest wave, or the most vigorous slash, whatever I wanted.

My hand lovingly caressing the sleek white body of the case, exploring its every port and button.

The beads of sweat falling from my chin as my new lover and I reached the triumphant climax of Twilight Princess.

And then I came out of my trance. I was in bed, satin sheets pulled up under my armpits, my recently-discovered love resting on my arm, though still ready to satisfy my every need with the push of a button.

I lit the ciagarette, took a long, satisfying drag, and was thankful for such a God-given gift.

I can’t wait for tomorrow morning.

Have you ever looked through the “Package Contents” of a file to see what it held, or perhaps to tinker?

Well you’re in luck my friend, because I have stumbled upon something. 3 smileys in iChat that were not used in the final release, but are still part of the file.

If iChat is in your dock, right (or command) click it, and hit “Show in Finder”. If it’s not in your dock, just find the actual application, and read below.

Right click the iChat application (not the one in the dock now, the one in the Finder window), and hit the “Show Package Contents”. Beware that if you do anything other than what I tell you there’s potential harm that could be done to your iChat. It’s nothing a fresh install of the application can’t fix, but it’d save you some headache if you just follow along.

Once Inside, it’s probably best to switch to column view to get through the numerous files.

Click the contents file, then click the resources file. Once inside, now you can see bunches of images. Among these are three smileys that never got put into the final iChat release. There names are Anime.tiff, Flat.tiff, and Yum.tiff. How to add them? Well it takes some tinkering, but since I love you guys so much, I’ll tell you where the file is, and I’ll give you the updated file which you can just drop in and replace.

Inside the folder you’re currently in (the one with the offending smileys), you’ll find a folder called “English.lproj”. Head on in, and find a file called “SmileyTable.plist”. Open this bad boy with TextEdit, and you’re good to go.

If you don’t exactly know what you’re messing with, or don’t care to bother, just download this file drop it in where the old one used to be, quit iChat altogether, reopen it, and voilá! down in the smileys menu are your brand-new (secret) smileys. The only crappy thing? If you want to use this with someone who hasn’t unlocked them, it won’t work. You’ll have to send them the .plist file, and tell them where to stick it (in the nicest way possible). But just in case you’re so into hacking iChat, my über-friend Devan and I have come up few a small samples of what can be achieved when you put your mind to it. just download this file and stick the smileys where the smileys go, and the .plist file in it’s proper place, then do some iChat resarting magic, and eureka! Shows up in the menu and everything. Check over on the sidebar link called Smiley Project in case there’s ever an update.

Share it with some friends, come up with your own, and have fun!

This weekend found me playing with clay again.

But this time around, the object didn’t fall apart mid-way through. In fact, I was able to finish! Now, in keeping with the videogame-related clay theme of last time, I decided on what I’d make.

“Hey,” I thought to myself, “Since I won’t be able to hold the Wii-mote in my hand for another month, and there isn’t a Best Buy or GameStop/EBGames for nearly an hour an half, hows about I make one instead?”

And make one I did. The first picture I made out to look like the “from-all-angles” layout that Nintendo had released. The second picture is me holding it in my grubby and un-artistic hands. It was mainly for a human scale reference, and I did that fro two reasons. One, so everyone would know that it was the correct size, and two, so I’d know what it felt like to play with it.

So now, I run about the house pointing at things with it shouting “Pa-choo, pa-choo!”, and looking nothing short of the village idiot.

The upshot to making it out of clay was that since it’s a heavier material, I’ll be able to train my arm for even fiercer Wii-motions!

[Go me!]

In honor of the Wii only a month away, I have decided to post some pictures I took of a box I found when I was recently cleaning the garage. If you peep the front of the box, you’ll notice the words “high tech controller” on the right. Oh, how times have changed. Not only have we gone wireless, but we’ve added rumble, speakers, accelerometers, and direct-pointing devices to our thumb-numbers. I snapped a pic of the back as well, so you can remember not only what lovely games came out for the system, but the games you’ll be playing all over again not too long from now.

Enjoy!

Many thanks are due to GoNintendo; they’ve got an official confirmation that not just GameStop, but exactly-the-same-yet-tries-to-be-different EBGames are going to begin preorders on Friday, October 13th.

All superstitions aside, this is some awesome news. I’ve been waiting for a “preorder” link since it was called the Revolution. Through the magic of motorized automobiles, I’m gonna be getting my happy ass down to a brick-and-mortar to reserve my copy. I have a good feeling about the supply of Wii’s, but let’s just hope that neither the shortages of the 360 nor the production shortages of the PS3 plague us this November.

[sweet release]

Hey kids! Not only does MTV not have music anymore, but now it’s got a show about people living their spoiled, vaccuous lives!

Enter Laguna Beach, the show that drops your last bastion of hope that the beach-going youths aren’t complete and total idiots! They not only lack social and relationship skills, but also place undue value on electronics, product labels, and whether or not Jenny will wear her hair the same way as Laura at the party! Gasp!

Let’s just hope these kids get their act together before college, or they’ll never find a good job! What’s that? You say daddy Warbucks is paying for not only their car and their schooling, as well as their underage drinking habit! Whoo! I was almost worried for a minute!

You’d better sit down and take in a whole marathon of these mind-bending shows that push the envelope and show us that today’s kids have it far worse than their parents ever had it! When will MTV ever stop coming up with such fresh and original programming?

[Gag.]

The video for her new song “Nothing In This World” is making the rounds. Wanna take a look at it? Click here to take a look at it…but I warn you.

Notice anything?

Maybe the fact that she’s hanging off some 10 year-old kid? Maybe the fact that she’s telling him that “she can do it so much better”? So when did it become customary to solicit sex from a minor? Personally, I was under the impression she was only having sex to further her *ahem*…career. I wonder what she can possibly gain by not only luring, but making a man out of this kid. A sad, sad excuse for a man.

And another thing: why the hell is she making music anyway? I mean, technically I have to call it music, but it seems like she’s just jumping on the “Me Too” bandwagon. There’s no feeling behind the music. No passion. I wonder if she even writes the words. It doesn’t matter, because it sounds like everything else on MTV anyway.

I’d like to bash the show Laguna Beach, but thats another post.

[What will happen next?]

I guess the creative bug hit me this weekend.

Over on the right you can see thumbnail pics of my latest endeavor into the word of clay. Come to think of it, it’s the first time I’ve touched clay in years. Court order. Messy lawsuit.

Anyway, for those not familiar with this figure, it’s probably the most easily recognizeable colossus for the 2005 PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus. It’s a great game from the makers of Ico, with an incredibly artistic look, simple controls, and enemies that rival the puzzles of The Legend of Zelda.

I hadn’t even started working on the arms or detailing the chest and back (that explains the lack of hair), when the whole thing started drying out. Because I wasn’t done, the partial-drying hindered my ability to put any pressure on the legs or waist, and because I still needed to, the poor guy began to fall apart. I decided to scrap the project (maybe for another day, using another method), but before I put him back in his moist grave, I snapped some pictures of the unfinished badass. I really took my time with the mallet, you can really see the detail if you try.

Other than that, try the game out! Who knows, if you’re not careful…you might like it!

[Or not.]