Dusting Off The Pen And Pad

To: Adonis, Lance, Ray
From: Nazer

So there's a period of 10 minutes between the time I order my food, and the time to go pick it up. I ordered a large cheeseburger sub, because I couldn't decide between a hamburger and a sub, and an order of curly fries. The place I ordered from (conveniently named College Pizza) is literally one short block away, hardly enough to justify the amount of calories I'm about to take in and the amount of calories lost from walking there, but I've never really been a healthy guy, with my diet of nachos and computer games.

So today I went to church, and then immediately after went to the liquor store to pick up a 12 pack of Sam Seasonal (Oktoberfest). There's humor in that somewhere, to go from praying on a pew to downing bottles of alcohol. Maybe there's some super psychological underlying meaning thing going on, but at the moment I don't see it, let me know if you do.

Shortly after I sat my ass in front of the TV to watch the Patriots get outplayed by the Jets, and then in front of my computer to watch the Chargers get outplayed by Baltimore, all while sketching music notes on paper and following @erwinism and @swftwzrdRAWfiki's twitterific commentary. Oh well, at least the Emmy's are on after these old guys talk on 60 Minutes.

Life up here has been okay. I get a ton of work done, but I wish I had one of those unlimited flight passes like the cast members on LOST so I could fly home on the weekends to hang out. It's definitely not as fun up here, but I guess that's where that "life is a balance" idea comes in.

And that's pretty much it. Well, not really, but my food is ready, so maybe more later. Thanks for reading.

Meals, Deals, Forrealz?

Have it your way

Evolution 2009 Starts Today

At 9:00 PST the biggest fighting game tournament in the country (some say even the world) begins. The 2009 Evolution Championship Series is a fighting game tournament full of tradition, featuring the worlds greatest fighters in various fighting games. Held at the Rio in Las Vegas, this three day tournament will put the best against the best, with fighting game superstars like SoCal's Alex Valle, East Coast's Justin Wong, and the ever-so-feared Daigo flying in from Japan.

This past year, the fighting game scene has witnessed quite a few changes to their community. Unlike other games such as Starcraft, Halo, and CounterStrike, the fighting game community never acquired that widespread attention to qualify as an official eSport. The community has been known to hold their own in a sort of wild west fashion, organizing their own tournaments and keeping the community afloat with Youtube videos and the pure love of the game, all without the need for sponsorships and professional companies like MLG or WCG.

But with the release of Street Fighter 4, the scene was exposed to a sort of rebirth. Just as the number of competitors and popularity of the games was falling, SF4 brought with it a resurgence, filling the community with a strong sense of pride, along with a brand new feeling of hunger with everyone wanting to prove that they're the best once again. The pure popularity of SF4 gave the fighting game community a ton of exposure, bringing in both old school SF2 players as well as a younger generation of fighting game enthusiasts.

After a years worth of tournaments, the one tournament that everyone has been preparing for starts today. Some competitors are students at school who play fighting games as a hobby, some are 30 year old Street Fighter veterans who have been playing their whole lives. Some have dropped everything else in their lives and have become professional players, and some don't even compete; they just have a love for the community.

At Evo this year, the headlining game is Street Fighter 4 which boasts over 1040 entrants. Other featured games are HDRemix, 3rd Strike, Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and Soul Calibur IV. There is also a community sponsored Brawl tournament on the side, and kiosks featuring new games like BlazBlue, Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, and Tekken 6. This is also the first year that Evo will be hosting a proper live stream, featuring coverage across all three days, with the finals for all of the games on Sunday. The live stream can be viewed at http://evo2k.com/live/ and starts Friday at 10:00 PST.

For those interested in the history of the fighting game community, check out these pieces:

- I Got Next started out as a students final project at art school, but quickly grew into a much bigger fighting game documentary. Ian Cofino traveled across the country and made a movie highlighting the Street Fighter 4 hype, with a focus on the growing rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast. You can view the short cut of the film at http://www.igotnextmovie.com/

- Over at All Is Fighter (www.allisfighter.com), writer DJcream wrote up an incredibly strong piece entitled the Dawn of Evolution, highlighting the history of the Evolution fighting game tournament. Armed with a ton of history and video clips, the piece is a great overview on the fighting game scene, and is a must read for any fan. Check it out here.

- And last but not least, the closest thing the Condo has to competitive gaming, our very own Jeff and Keng in a teams match at a San Diego tournament.

2009 Emmy Nominations: 30 Rock is Crazy

So in light of the recent events, I'd like to kick off the string of relevant, fun, and informative blog posts with my thoughts on the 2009 Emmy Nominations!

At 5:35 AM PST, Chandra Wilson and Jim Parsons stood on a CBS set and announced the 2009 Emmy Noms. Of course I was wide awake, due to my messed up east coast internal clock, and watched as the two actors read a bunch of words in succession which meant the world to me, but jack shit to most everyone else in the world. The full list of nominations can be found here, thanks to the folks at The Futon Critic, one of my favorite TV sites. I'll be commenting on the main categories.

Lead Actress In A Drama:
It's cool seeing Sally Field's name on the list once again. Watching Forest Gump's mom lead a corrupt family week after week is enjoyable, but my vote goes to Glenn Close as the powerful female lawyer Patty Hewes on Damages. I'm also glad to see a nomination thrown to Elisabeth Moss for her role as Don Draper's sidekick and holder of secrets, Peggy Olson.

Lead Actor in a Drama:
I'm pleased to see that most of my favorite lead actors made the list. Bryan Cranston coming off of last years win is nominated once again for Breaking Bad, and Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men is simply the modern definition of cool and suave. Hamm also received a nom for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy as Dr. Drew Baird on 30 Rock, the handsome yet ridiculously dumb love interest for cool kids favorite Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).

Lead Actress in a Comedy:
Tina Fey, that reunion episode was so good.

(and I'd like to point a bit of credit to Toni Collette for her role on United States of Tara, well deserved)

Lead Actor in a Comedy:
Once again the NBC mainstays are on the list; the hero Jack Donaghy and leader of the Michael Scott Paper Company, Michael Scott. I've only seen a couple episodes of Monk, but wtf is Tony Shalhoub doing on that list again? And while Flight of the Conchords was funny in its first season, the train wreck second season lead to a nomination for Jermaine Clement? I'd rather see Adrian Pasdar on that comedy list, because his acting on Heroes didn't last for one second without laughter.

Supporting Actress In A Drama:
My vote would probably go to Rose Byrne for Damages, but that's probably because I haven't seen In Treatment. Seeing Cherry Jones for her role as female Commander In Chief on 24 is cool, but personally I'd rather see Girl Jack Bauer on the list (Annie Wersching, who was playing celebrity softball with Pam Beasley and Nelly earlier this week).

Supporting Actor In A Drama:
Can we take the Boston Legal people off the list please? I swear that show ended 5 years ago. Regardless, Michael Emerson as the most evil man in the world is always awesome, and so is Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, bad kid gone...badder on Breaking Bad.

Supporting Actress In A Comedy:
Jane Krakowski was so good on 30 Rock this year, and so were Kristin Wiig and Amy Poehler for their various roles on SNL. But my pick has to be Kristin Chenoweth for Pushing Daisies, because I'm a super fanboy, and I've been listening to the Wicked soundtrack all summer and she kills it. And Weeds? Forget that shit it isn't even funny anymore. Oh yeah, Hayden Panettiere as Claire on Heroes would have been good too (okay I'll stop).

Supporting Actor In A Comedy:
It seems like they just pick a different Entourage cast member for this list every year, but Tracy Morgan and Jack McBrayer both receiving nominations is fantastic. And
I only started watching How I Met Your Mother this year, but damn, Neil Patrick Harris is fricken...wait for it...legendary.

Outstanding Drama:
I watch every show on this list except for Big Love, and they're all good choices. I could easily see the award going to any of these shows, but I'd probably give it to Mad Men or Breaking Bad, and then save the LOST win for next year after the show is over.

Outstanding Comedy:
Once again Flight of the Conchords and Weeds, not funny this year, but what else is there. 30 Rock for the win bar none, but it's also nice to note that Family Guy is the first animated comedy to appear on the Outstanding Comedy list in almost 50 years (true fact: http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/07/family-guy-nominated-for-best-comedy-series.html)

Other Notes:
I would've loved to see some love for Battlestar Galactica. It got a few nominations in the production categories, but it truly is the best piece of sci-fi programming I've ever seen in my life. And where the hell is Chuck at? Generally one of the most consistent shows on television, and it receives no awards except for stunt acting or something like that. They could've easily threw some of the actors and actresses into the comedy slots. And even though I only know a couple of people who watch it, Friday Night Lights definitely needs some exposure. It rebounded from a so-so 2nd season and found its footing once again, and it's honestly one of the best shows on television. Oh, and by the numbers, 30 Rock has 22 nominations, the most ever for a comedy, and Mad Men holds 16, the most of any drama for 2009.

So I doubt anyone will read this entire thing, but if you did, post your thoughts on the nomination list, which once again can be found here. Looking forward to the show in September, maybe I'll do a prediction list when its closer to show time.

WTF HAPPENED!?!?

Welcome! To The Nazer And Ray Blog-extraordinaire!

After several minutes of thought, I have decided that Nazer and I are the Coolest guys in this room. The lack of posts from the other half of this quartet of awesomeness are obviously uninterested in keeping the seed alive. I feel like danity kane after Diddy gave aubrey and d woods the boot. Left wondering WHAT THE FUCK just happened and what the hell do we do now. However, I like to think that Nazer and I have more appeal and talent in our big toe's than the surviving members of DK. Sad thing is adonis' lack luster and Lance's frequent bukkake posts keep readers interested and wanting more. So the real question is can the Cool Kids survive the recession that it is in right now.

My assumptions as to what Lance and Adonis actually do are about as good as yours (non existent reader). But my excuses for them go as follows:



Lance
1. Busy "working" for food at his mom's office
2. Studying Infromatics takes up too much of his time. (whatever that is)
3. Gone into depression after moving out of 198
4. Is getting play on a regular basis
5. Taking singing lessons so he could try out for American idol the 500th season
6. Watching a heavy amount of porn all day which then leads to him crying himself to sleep at night.



Adonis
1. Caught up in summerschool
2. Boycotting actual clothes by limiting himself to faded shirts and basketball shorts. (reminds me of the friends episode where Chandler gets his heart broken and only wears sweat pants).
3. Doing everything within his power to become and actual repellant for woman by resorting to endless hours of playing Magic the gathering with Tuan.
4. Trying to make it so that when you search his name on UrbanDictionary.com it says see Scrub.
5. Gone into depression that the 198 apartment is gone which limits his bull shitting time.
6. His triton vision has gotten the best of him and he now jacks off to images of Ben stiller from dodgeball.
7. Trying to get into the Guiness Boook Of World Records for longest nap at 72 hours straight.

Maybe we can start another massive comment conversation by listing your own personal thoughts as to why Lance and Adonis aren't posting. Till next time readers....watch your step you might run into cobb webbs the next time you walk into the cool kids room.

Just Ray

On Why I Find Twitter Incredibly Useful (and comments on Gossip Girl)

In our technologically-driven world of gadgets and gizmos, there are limitless avenues to receive information. You can be a traditionalist; read the paper or call your friends by telephone to find out how they are, maybe even send a postcard if your handwriting isn't ruined by constant keyboard strokes. Or you can be what I would call the typical college student; facebook and myspace account, reading status updates through the news feeds, and having a few websites bookmarked, maybe just for news or sports.

Or, if you so dare, you can be a completely tech driven individual, facebook news feeds, RSS feeds for favorite blogs/websites, and finally a Twitter account to follow everything from friends and family to restaurant discounts and the latest TV ratings numbers.

I love Twitter. Instead of spending time browsing numerous websites for information, I receive everything in a nice, concise 140 character tweet. And if I need to read an article, a convenient tinyURL is placed so I can go straight to it without having to drive through avenues of ads and banners. I use an app called Tweetie where I can do everything that I need to with Twitter without having to open my browser and go to the website itself.

I've had the account for a pretty long time now, and I'm ecstatic at the fact that its gained such enormous popularity, because now everyone has one. I used to follow a couple of blogs and that was it, but now I can follow all of my favorite video game sites, television gossip sites, game developers, friends, and more. And the simple fact that more of the hometown people are jumping on the twitter train is awesome because it keeps me updated on all the news that would've just passed me by. How else would I have known that Alexand was doing his laundry, or that Raf got excused from jury duty? Without simple, small status updates I'd never know!

But all faux internet sarcasm aside, I really do find it incredibly useful. Every now and then I see a facebook status update of someone saying "twitter is for people who have no lives, gonna go pick up New Moon!!!" or something of that nature, and I'm like, no, you just don't see the advantages of it. So, if so inclined, if you don't have a twitter account yet, go sign up for one, and follow me @nazer858 and follow the coolkids @coolkidsroom too. And Direct Message on twitter is seriously the best way to get in touch with me, sends a text straight through my phone, awesome.

And I finally caught up on Gossip Girl. Is it just me or when all the kids work together to solve a problem at the end of the seasons does it remind anyone else of the Scooby gang? And if you haven't checked out PopCap Games' (the makers of Bejeweled) latest drug, check out Plants vs. Zombies, its awesome. Thanks for reading, I'll see you all in San Diego, I'm coming in Monday night at 8:30 PST.

18 Days later: Whos Watching The Cool Kids 2

(It has officially been 18 days since we've had a decent post)

Sure the lack of content may not be as dramatic as say zombie infested London 28 days later, but like the beginning of 28 days the cool kids blog world appears to be a desolate uninhabited skeleton of its former self. Only instead of flesh eating zombies, the cool kids prefer to feast on california burritos with a ferocity that remains unmatched by any rabid zombie. Readers are left to themselves scared and cowering in fear as humanity yearns for a cure from this untimely dry spell. The lack of content has forced readers to resort to other blogs like P. Diddy's blog. Oh the horror!!!

I haven't felt this much despair in a room since watching the classic horror flick Glitter starring Mariah Carey.

The monstrosity that is the cool kids room is starting to look a lot like horror movies of today, bland and lacking any real content. So horrible in fact that readers begin asking to please, Drag me to Hell or others who have simply gone Psycho due to less than thought provoking post from the past month or two. But enough about Adonis' posts, the real issue at hand are the countless hours the cool kids put into their own personal lives or the lack their of. Could this be the cool kids recent departure from the blogosphere? It seems that we've singled handedly killed the genre of perverted/random/college student writing, in the same way that Resident Evil killed the horror genre.

The following is a breakdown of what the cool kids have been up to since their casual departure from the cool kids room.
________________________________________________________
Just Ray

I myself have been busy at work on an upcoming novel appropriately titled,



What? it was either that or Know I'm dope .

(Check out http://rdapparel.bigcartel.com/
buy your T-shirt today enter justray for 20%OFF coupon code{Oh Sup?}).

Not to mention i've been up to hard work at Pat & Oscars in an attempt to live up to at least half the man, no the legend that is Nelson Vuong when he worked diligently in the To-Go station of Pat&Oscars.
_______________________________________________________
Nazer Lagrimas

SHOCKING NEWS!!!!
Nazer has been busy attending every possible Boston Celtics home game, not only revealing his love for the team and dropping his "R's", but he has become the team mascot.


_______________________________________________________
"Commander" Cacho & Adonis the "Warrior of Doom"

NOT THAT SUPRISED NEWS!!!!



The two have since lost collectively 150 pounds on the p90x workout system and have come out of the closet after the California Supreme Courts decision of upholding Prop 8. The doom warrior has been quoted saying, "We love each other and nothing will ever come between us...No law is gonna hold us down we're moving to Connecticut and tying the knot late july." Commander Cacho however has frequently denied any love towards The Warrior of Doom saying, "I'm just trying to get laid."
_______________________________________________________

There you have it folks the reason('s) the cool kids have been on hiatus. If you don't like how you've been portrayed cool kids, step it up and post something.

special thanks:
r/d apparel for permission to use their shirt on this site.
girlfriend for teaching me how to cut n paste images better on MS paint.
nazer, lance, adonis for your stories

-Just Ray
Cool Kids staff
Lone survivor

Who's watching the cool kids?

I see the room...but where's the cool kids?