Maybe it's all right and I'm the one who's wrong



The new t-shirts are coming along nicely! If they don't go on sale this Monday, they will definitely be ready for the next one.



Incidently, if you would like to nab an existing shirt at the current prices, now is the time. As you may or may not know, the value of the American dollar in Canadian currency has dropped substantially since I set my prices. And since I live in Canada, my US dollar shirt revenues are just not worth what they used to be, even though my Canadian dollar expenses are still as high as always. I'm going to have to raise the price of everything by a buck or two to compensate for the exchange rate. But I thought I'd mention this here before I do, rather than suddenly upping the prices like a ninja without any notice or explanation. That wouldn't be very nice!



Did you hear that the Regginator is now the President of Nintendo of America? I love Reggie. He is such a character! And that's good, because the world of gaming executives could use a little more personality. The current crop manage to be sleep-inducing even when they're taking potshots at each other. They don't use ridiculous expressions like "kicking ass and taking names." That's the kind of lame awesomeness I can really get behind!



Sam Logan

We can't do it all alone, so pick up your telephone



Dayfree Press newbie Liz has completed the revamp of her webcomic's first chapter. Now you, the reader, can enjoy the saga of Stuff Sucks from the very beginning. Be sure to check it out! It is killer stuff.



Congratulations to the writing staff of 24. You have finally produced a season that stayed strong the entire way through. A season with a unified, evenly paced narrative that filled the full 24 episodes without any lame filler. A season that never once felt like you were making it up as you went along (even if you were). A season free of amnesia, cougars, surprise babies or overly obnoxious children. In short, it was great. Please do it again next year!



Sam Logan

I'ma gonna win



So, New Super Mario Bros! It sure feels great to be playing a new Mario sidescroller again.


It's a lot of fun, although it does have a few problems. It seems like the developers were trying to recapture the simpler feel of the original NES Mario Bros., while still infusing it with some of the additions of the later Mario titles. The end result is that a lot of elements come across as simpler, lamer versions of things found in other Mario sequels.



The new game has more alternate routes and exits than the first Mario Bros., but they're not as complex or as interesting as those found in Mario World. It has new items other than the original's mushroom and fireflower, but they're not as diverse or well-utilized as those found in Mario 3. It has more creative bosses than Mario Bros. did, but they're not as creative as the ones in Yoshi's Island.



You can't help but love the new game because it has rock solid level design and top notch production. But it feels like the attempt to recapture the original game's simplicity only held the developers back from making something really amazing. But now that Nintendo is back in the side-scrolling Mario business, maybe that really amazing game isn't all that far off.



Sam Logan