TOP TEN VIDEO GAMES OF THE YEAR!

Don't make that face...my top ten movie list is COMING SOOOOOON!!! I have to see a couple movies this week (since I'm off between Christmas and New Years...suckers!!!) and then I'll post that list. Until then, just read this one and deal with it...

1. UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE


This is Indiana Jones meets Lost meets The Descent...all in one incredible video game that matches visual thrills with characters that you care about and dialogue that doesn't sound like it came from a horrible Japanese horror movie! They kept promising that the "next generation" of video games would match the experience of "playing a Hollywood blockbuster" and with Uncharted, they actually made good on that promise!

2. CALL OF DUTY 4


War is Hell. I've never served, but dammit, this is as close as I'd ever want to be. The entire game is like the most frightening and intense parts of Black Hawk Down. This isn't another lame "World War I shooter," this is a current conflict in the Middle East with some evil terrorist assholes and a warzone that has no "bases" or "safe zone." Bullets come from anywhere, you have to scatter across long stretches of urban landscapes, miles of old Russian wilderness, even a sniper mission that has you crawling on your belly underneath moving cars as you attempt an assassination. The graphics are unlike anything you've ever seen. Just take a second and look at that screenshot! See the way the heat from the car on fire distorts the building behind it?! Little details like that help take you out of the realm of a mere video game and into the horrors of actual combat.

3. RATCHET & CLANK FUTURE: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION


Whenever I played this game, Lex would say, "Yay! I like this movie!!!" Now, it's not that difficult to fool a 3 year old, but it also says a lot about the incredible graphics and animation at work here. Pixar has nothing to worry about, but Dreamworks better get their act together. Ratchet & Clank Future looks better, is more grand in scope and has a much better story than Shrek 3! Basically, this franchise is "Mario" for a new generation. Enjoyable platforming that young and old can equally enjoy...with kickass guns, of course.

4. GOD OF WAR II


Up until now, each of these games were on the Playstation 3, (and-or Xbox 360) the "next gen" consoles. God of War II was the last major release the Playstation 2 had to offer and it went out in a fantastic manner. An epic game in every sense of the word, you play as Kratos, a fearse Spartan warrior who has killed Ares (in the first God of War) and is now THE God of War. It's not only a awesome and brutal video game, but somewhat of a history lesson as well! See, who said kids can't learn things as they're ripping Gods to shreads with giant blades attached to their arms with chains?!

5. EVERYDAY SHOOTER


This was a flash game created by a single "25 year old kid" Jonathan Mak. I'll let his explaination of the game speak for itself: "...an album of games exploring the expressive power of abstract shooters. Dissolute sounds of destruction are replaced with guitar riffs harmonizing over an all-guitar soundtrack, while modulating shapes celebrate the flowing beauty of geometry."

6. SKATE


Tony Hawk, who?! For almost a decade, Tony Hawk has released a skateboarding game and I've purchased it like clockwork. But over the years, the arcade-style-gameplay and "grind along the powerlines for million point combos" just got stale and boring. Dare I say I want a more realistic skateboarding sim?! Enter Skate. Gone are the insane stunts and Jackass mentality, in its place are incredible controls and the simply satisfaction of grinding down a handrail.

7. PORTAL


Would probably be MUCH higher on the list if I didn't just start playing it early last week. A total mindfuck. You create "portals" that you use to solve puzzles. I can't even come close to describing this game, you just need to watch the videos, NOW!!!

8. HEAVENLY SWORD


An exciting, fast paced adventure...that just ends waaaaaaaaaaay too quickly. If it lasted longer than 6 simple hours, I'd rank it higher. Basically it's GODDESS of War.

9. RATCHET & CLANK: SIZE MATTERS


Yes, another Ratchet & Clank game. But this one is on the PSP handheld system and still manages to be better than most games on the current home systems!

10. SUPER STARDUST HD


No, not that lame movie with Robert DeNiro, this Stardust is an updated version of the arcade classic with the simplest controls of all time. One analog stick stears your ship, the other aims your weapons. Done and done...now avoid them asteroids, killer!!!

LOST SEASON FOUR

Starts on January 31st. That's a THURSDAY. And if you needed another reason to get excited, watch this extended ad from ABC. (spoilers, if you haven't finished season three, DO NOT WATCH THIS!!!)

ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS...

BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR!

Screw just ten...this was an amazing year for music! And with other notable releases coming out soon, 2008 looks pretty awesome as well!

1. SPOON * GA GA GA GA GA


Proof that you don't need to attempt an epic, sprawled out record to make a masterpiece. This sucker clocks in at 10 songs, only a lil' over a half an hour of music, and not a second goes to waste! Simply put, it's not only the best album Spoon has ever made, (and they make reeeeeeeally good albums) but it's easily one of the best albums of the decade! If you haven't listened to them, or want to listen to rock music without the ego and lazy songwriting, BUY THIS ALBUM...NOW!!!

2. BEIRUT * THE FLYING CLUB CUP


This album comes with the good and bad. The good is that it's beautiful and just one of the most unique albums of the year. The bad is that when you play it, bands of gypsies come and gather in your front lawn. Never fails. And to make matters worse, it's the brainchild of a 21 year old!!! God dammit, I'm a tired old man already and I have nothing to offer this world! Luckily he does. Broken organs, percussion all around, you can swim in the sound as it fills your room! I'm telling you, you will not be disapointed in this release.

3. AGAINST ME! * NEW WAVE


Never in a million years did I figure this punk band would make an album this awesome. Perhaps it's because they brought in legendary producer Butch Vig, perhaps it's because they refuse to forget about the social injustice in the world and just write sappy love songs, or perhaps it's because they constantly want to keep their sound fresh...whatever it is, it worked perfectly on New Wave! This was one of those albums that after it's first listen I was like, "Hmmm, that was pretty good" and then after the 20th listen, "Holy shit, this is fantastic!!!" It grows on you and catches you off guard, just prepare yourself.

4. BRIGHT EYES * CASSADAGA


I declared this my "ALBUM OF THE YEAR?!" waaaaay back when it debuted in April. Although that changed as better albums came out in between then and now, it's still very high on my list! This was probably as "straightforward" as Connor has been thus far, and pretty country as well...but I enjoyed songs like "If The Brakeman Turns My Way" and "Coat Check Dream Song" more than I probably should have.

5. NINE INCH NAILS * YEAR ZERO


Seriously focused and raging with emotion, this is everything that With Teeth wasn't. Again, early on I figured that this might hold on to take the top spot, but as you can see, there were A LOT of amazing albums this year. Nothing will help you fight the government or just deal with having a bad day like this though! (Side note, more bands should put as much thought into record promotion and packaging as Trent did. Hypercolor CD that reveals secret messages?! Now we're getting somewhere!!!)

6. WILCO * SKY BLUE SKY


"Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will blow away
Maybe I won't feel so afraid
I will try to understand either way"

And with that, "Either Way" begins and the most awe-inspiring album of the year is off and running. You just feel good listening to it. Oh, and it has some amazing guitar work here and there to make sure you don't forget that Wilco can totally rock out as well!

7. RADIOHEAD * IN RAINBOWS


The album is completely awesome and they should be applauded for being able to put out music on their own terms...but this is going to get a slighter lower ranking than I would have given it if they had released a disc version to stores the same time (or maybe a couple weeks later) as they released the digital download. Only because I adore my local record shop and the last thing I ever want is to ONLY buy music in files online. I'd miss the packaging, the smell of walking into the store, the awesome conversations we get to have about our favorite bands! And true, they're releasing a Box Set now and a disc version in early 2008, but it just scares me to think that this is the future of music and the record industry. (maybe I'm just too much of an "old timer" afterall.)

8. RILO KILEY * UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT


Probably would be higher on the list if it wasn't ALWAYS IN MOLLY'S CAR!!! I swear, I try to like the most unknown, crazy shit ever, in hopes that she won't steal them and horde them for herself. But Jenny Lewis knows no bounds. From what I've heard, this album is top notch. Oh, and Jenny Lewis enjoys sex...a lot...

9. EDDIE VEDDER * INTO THE WILD SOUNDTRACK


Again, here's another example of "less is more." Barely scratches 30 minutes, with sparse instrumentals and with most songs less than 2-3 minutes in length...but what it does is package a perfect companion to the film. It's even packaged like a hardcover book, with photos and lyrics. "Guaranteed" might just be the year's best song...and a beautiful tune to fall asleep to as well!

10. CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH * SOME LOUD THUNDER


It's hard making that second album. Those pesky "expectations" add up and you're stuck either trying something new (and failing) or turning in the same old song and dance that got you noticed in the first place. I think Clap Your Hands Say Yeah fared better than Arctic Monkeys, but there still was something missing. I imagine they'll work it all out in time for their third release!

11. LUCINDA WILLIAMS * WEST


A good record, but not her best. She fell into the "let's just repeat the chorus over and over again and call it a song" trap this time around. But, when she puts her mind to it, as she did on "Fancy Funeral" or "Rescue" just stand back and watch a master at work! Plus, she gives hope that we all might look that hott at age 54!

12. BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS * LIFELINE


Another one that suffers from lazy writing, although this one was more of an experiment than anything else. They finished their world tour, rented a studio in Paris for a week, wrote all the songs and recorded them without the help of any digital equipment that gave them a very raw and retro sound! I hope they go with the same idea of recording the tracks live, and keeping things minimal, but write the songs ahead of time next time!

XMAS 3: THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS OUT NOW!!!

Feel free to enjoy the first digital comic available on iTunes.

...oh, and there's you know, music too...

I'M GIGGLING LIKE A SCHOOL GIRL...

Cause some nerd took some crappy cellphone footage of the new The Dark Knight trailer that shows before I Am Legend on IMAX (NOT the 6 minutes from last week...but rather and all new trailer!!!) and it seriously rocked my socks off! (Try searching youtube, Geeky Internet Comic Patrol Squad keep adding new ones and Warner Brothers keeps deleting them!) But trust me, Heath Ledger is PERFECT as The Joker. Fanboys can breathe a sigh of relief...this movie is going to deliver even harder than Batman Begins! (No pesky origin story this time around!)

UPDATE!!! Check here on Sunday! That Joker is sure clever!

Also, check out these awesome international posters:

TOP TEN TV SHOWS OF THE YEAR

Go ahead and roll your eyes, (Jamie) but I still enjoy putting together these lists each year and look forward to seeing what other people pick as well. I'll be able to post my Television and Music picks now, but won't get around to posting my Movies one until later in the month. Stupid Kansas City still hasn't gotten Juno or Sweeney Todd and won't get There Will Be Blood until 2008. Sigh. But here are my picks for 2007's Best Television Shows:


1. LOST


Still the absolute best show on television. Sure, maybe if The Wire had been on in 2007, it might have topped it, but other than that, nothing else on TV even comes close. Nothing. If there is anyone out there reading this, who has still never sat down and watched this show, you owe it to yourself to rent the DVDs from Blockbuster and find out what the big deal is. Even with the huge amount of hype surrounding the show now, it still manages to deliver. Consistently. The season finale alone of season three was better than most full season's of TV dramas and I'd go as far as saying it was better than most films I saw this year.

Rarely does a show continue to deliver thrills and surprises and characters that you actually care about after being around for three seasons. People might bitch that there aren't enough "answers" but that's the wrong way to even approach this show...simply enjoy the ride. Without giving anything away spoiler-wise, they even went as far this season to toss the question of "Will they ever get off the island" out the window! On a lesser show, that would have been the endgame, with Lost, it's simply a bump on the road.

2. PUSHING DAISIES


For a brand new show to place this high on my list, you know it's got to be something special. Pushing Daisies isn't just special, it's the best new show on television, which is really saying something. Reaper started off strong with an amazing pilot episode and then fizzled every week after that. Pushing Daisies just keeps getting better with each and every passing week!

Television doesn't usually take a chance on something as romantic and charming as this and again, with a lesser cast and lazy writers, this could have been a huge flop. But instead it's smart, charming, and easily the most colorful show on television. A word of caution however, never watch this show before eating, or you'll catch yourself craving pies left and right...

3. THE OFFICE


Would be #2 if the "hour-longs" didn't knock them down a bit. Who knew too-much-of-a-good-thing would apply to this awesome show?! But you know how it completely redeemed itself?! The last episode they aired before the writer's strike kicked in, "The Deposition," was seriously the best episode ever. It was the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud funny and holy-shit-that's-sad. They managed to make Michael's love of "That's what she said" into an entire new venue when a court reporter has to read it back and turn it into the old "Who's on first" routine.

And for the love of God, why does Michael hate Toby sooooooo much?! I hope we never, ever find out!

4. EXTRAS


Thanks to this show, I can no longer watch the Harry Potter films without thinking of Daniel Radcliffe flinging a condom around being like, "I've had sex...a lot of sex!" It goes without saying, but Ricky Gervais is a genius. Don't forget the CHRISTMAS SPECIAL airs this Sunday!!!

5. JOHN FROM CINCINNATI


Even with this show being about...well...nothing, it still captured my interest like few shows on television ever have. It was just...just so different. It's hard to put my finger on what was so appealing about it, but it really found it's own path and never took the turn you expected it to take. I think it'll be interesting to see when (and if) the DVD is released if a whole new fanbase starts up and demands a second season. It's probably just wishful thinking, but I really enjoyed the series and would love to see where they would take it from here.

6. STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP


Best show to get canceled because people are just idiots. (Yeah, I'm bitter...) The biggest complaint I read over and over again was that the "sketches weren't that funny." That makes about as much sense as "I don't like The Office because they never sell enough paper." It was soooooo much more than a show behind a show. The way the network tried for control, or silenced the writers, the love stories, the entire John Goodman character...dammit, I loved this show soooo much! If you'll excuse me, I need to go cry off in a corner for a second...

7. BIG LOVE


Such an outstanding show that I really didn't expect to enjoy when it first started out. I remember being pretty "meh" about it at the beginning. But the end of the first season and the entire second season changed my mind in a hurry! If you think it's simply a show about Mormons, you're missing out. It almost turned into a Sopranos-esque show during moments here and there. People getting gunned down, backstabbing, lies, gambling...it was a great ride and I'm enjoying the direction they're taking it.

8. THE DAILY SHOW


And that about does it for the series shows...the rest of these are my source of news and infotainment!

9. REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER


10. COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

TOMMY LEE JONES GOT SCREWED...

Anyone who saw either No Country For Old Men or In The Valley Of Elah knows how much Tommy Lee Jones meant to the world of cinema in 2007. In both films, he played characters stretched to the breaking point, yet kept them subtle and cool. A lesser actor would have taken them over-the-top and Jones will probably not get any recognition because of that fact. But dammit, he was amazing this year, not once but twice! Maybe Oscar will right what the Golden Globes wronged.

MIKE HUCKABEE BRINGS THE CRAAAAAAAZY!!!

Holy shit, the things we find out about a Presidental candidate when they suddenly become a front runner. Things like, back in 1998 then Governor Huckabee, who used to be a Baptist peacher, told a group of ministers, "I didn't get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives."

Yaaaaaay!

Speaking after the 1997 school shootings in Arkansas, he told them, "I fear we will turn and hit the snooze button one more time and lose this great republic of ours. " then added, "I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ."

"But Travis," You say, "The man was simply telling the ministers what they wanted to hear, there's no harm in that..."

What about the fact that in 1992, Governor Mike Huckabee wrote, "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague." Then, just this past weekend, went on Fox News and tried to spin it with, "Well, we didn't know how it was transmitted back then..."

Um, Mike. The Center For Disease Control stated in 1985 that you couldn't get AIDS through casual contact. In fact, RONALD REAGAN even publicly stated this in 1987!!!

DID MORGAN SPURLOCK FIND OSAMA?!

Take this with a grain of salt, but Mr. Super Size Me has been working on this secret "Osama bin Laden" movie for over two years and has kept it extremely close to his chest. Well now he's shown 15 minutes of footage to see if any major studio would be interested in picking it up for distribution, and allegedly the Weinstein's snatched it up for $25 MILLION dollars. That is huge! For a documentary?! Unheard of!!!

Spurlock has been very coy about what searching for Osama for well over two years actually turned up, but in the story above they're quoted as saying, they "got the Holy Grail."

FIRST SIX MINUTES OF "THE DARK KNIGHT"

Spoilers, although it might not end up being in the actual movie. This sequence is being shown only in IMAX theaters before I AM LEGEND and was actually shot on an IMAX camera (and not "stretched to fit" like other Hollywood movies on IMAX.)

If this doesn't get you excited for The Dark Knight and seeing Heath Ledger as The Joker, I dunno what will.

WOW...JUST WOW...

Words cannot describe the awesomeness of The View's newest host, Sherri Shepherd. A few months ago she said she "didn't know" if the world was flat or not. (She later said she was simply confused with the questioning and misspoke...okay, I'll give her that one.)

But today she couldn't figure out why there weren't any Christians back in 270 BC.

Seriously.

LATEST "THE DARK KNIGHT" PROMO IMAGES AND FAUX WEBSITES

There's all sorts of fake websites that will tie into the movie next Summer.








Dunno if you can tell, but I'm loving where they're taking this franchise.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT MIX...

People often ask me, "Travis, why do you hate Jesus?!" Okay, not often, but the general consensus is that I hate God and drink goat blood because I don't go to church and don't subscribe to the theory that Christianity can solve every single problem on the face of the Earth.

I sometimes but heads with my Father-In-Law over exactly what the term "Separation of church and state" really means, but I think we both realize the dangers of what happens when laws are based strictly off religious views. Sure, go ahead and tell me, "But we can't kill people! That's in the Bible!" and I'd tell you that you're correct. But people always point to the Ten Commandments whenever they want to discuss how "We base our laws off the Bible," and I think it speaks volumes that out of the TEN, only TWO are actual laws. (Let's hope no one makes "coveting" against the law...or we're all in deep shit!)

But anyway, if there was any doubt that religion and the way in which we govern need to be kept separated for the common good, it's this case of 54 year old British teacher who is going to go to prison and then going to be deported over...wait for it...NAMING A TEDDY BEAR MOHAMMED!!!



And before you just start up with the "Oh, but those are just the wacky Muslums!" keep in mind that to those of us who step back and look at all the religions with a sense of "Hmmmmm" don't see much difference between not being able to call a teddy bear Mohammed and the fact that one of our Presidental candidates believes the Earth might only be 6,000 years old.

Sure, Mike Huckabee isn't going to demand those who think differently to be imprisoned, but that doesn't make the idea any less scary.

Let's save the crazy religious ideals for people to live their own lives and nice sensible laws for the rest of us.

AWESOME INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN KING

An excerpt:

STEPHEN KING: So who's going to be TIME Person of the Year?
TIME: I really don't know, there's a very small group of people who make that decision.
I was thinking, I think it should be Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

Really?
Yeah. You know, I just filmed a segment for Nightline, about [the movie version of his novella] The Mist, and one of the things I said to them was, you know, "You guys are just covering — what do they call it — the scream of the peacock, and you're missing the whole fox hunt." Like waterboarding [or] where all the money went that we poured into Iraq. It just seems to disappear. And yet you get this coverage of who's gonna get custody of Britney's kids? Whether or not Lindsay drank at her twenty-first birthday party, and all this other shit.

You know, this morning, the two big stories on CNN are Kanye West's mother, who died, apparently, after having some plastic surgery. The other big thing that's going on is whether or not this cop [Drew Peterson] killed his... wife. And meanwhile, you've got Pakistan in the midst of a real crisis, where these people have nuclear weapons that we helped them develop. You've got a guy in charge, who's basically declared himself the military strongman and is being supported by the Bush administration, whose raison d'etre for going into Iraq was to spread democracy in the world.

So you've got these things going on, which seem to me to be very substantive, that could affect all of us, and instead, you see a lot of this back-fence gossip. So I said something to the Nightline guy about waterboarding, and if the Bush administration didn't think it was torture, they ought to do some personal investigation. Someone in the Bush family should actually be waterboarded so they could report on it to George. I said, I didn't think he would do it, but I suggested Jenna be waterboarded and then she could talk about whether or not she thought it was torture. And then the guy from Nightline said, "Well, obviously you've not been watching World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson." But I do — I watch 'em all!

Do you actually think Britney and Lindsay should be on our cover?
Yeah, I do.

Sort of a, 'This is what the media's actually interested it, so let's just put it out there' thing?
I think there ought to be some serious discussion by smart people, really smart people, about whether or not proliferation of things like The Smoking Gun and TMZ and YouTube and the whole celebrity culture is healthy. We've switched from a culture that was interested in manufacturing, economics, politics — trying to play a serious part in the world — to a culture that's really entertainment-based. I mean, I know people who can tell you who won the last four seasons on American Idol and they don't know who their f------ Representatives are.

PREORDER XMAS 3: THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS!!!

I'm lucky enough to be involved with the 2nd coming of KINDERCORE RECORDS and besides having a 2-page story in their first anthology, The Trouble Revolution, I recently finished a 3-page story for their upcoming anthology, XMAS 3: The War On Christmas!



Both of these are collections of comics and music! XMAS 3 will be released both through their brand new online store and on iTunes! (The first comic ever offered through iTunes, I do believe.) But, if you want a good ol' fashioned comic anthology that you can hold in your sweaty lil' hands, you'll have to visit Kindercore's online store...and fast!!! They're only printing 100 of the suckers!

Plus, you'll get an awesome Christmas compliation!

1. Rump Posse - Carol of the Manbarks
2. Folklore - Christmas Ape Goes to The Moon
3. The Observatory - Xmastime (is Xmastime)
4. Fabulous Bird - Everybody Knows It's Christmas Time Again
5. King of Prussia - Christmas on The Other Side
6. The 63 Crayons - Holiday
7. Ruby Isle - Jack's Obsession
8. The Buddy System - Xmas on TV
9. Blak Thor - Noel (I'm Giving Love For Christmas)
10. Murder Beach - All Around
11. Mumbletron 2k12 - Outta Bed
12. Je Suis France - Baby, Please Don't Get Stoned (It's Christmas)
13. Bunnygrunt - The Blues for Xmas
14. Koncak - It's Christmas Time
15. Headlights - Kicker of Elves
16. The Show is The Rainbow - Silent Night
17. The Snowsuit Sound - The Ballad of Black Piet
18. Venice is Sinking - The Grey Line
19. The Jersey Barrier - Grey Skies

MEET THE JOKER...

(click on it to get a closer look)