A quick update before thanksgiving.

See, this is what happens when I tell Zach I'm not updating until he does.


Really. This was about a month ago, when the last blog I wrote was fairly fresh. I figured that it would get him typing into this screen on the couch as opposed to playing that flash game with ninjas going through a hazard course and getting killed.


I was wrong. Lord, was I wrong. What have I learned from this? Well, two things:


1) Zach doesn't write on anyone else's timetable.
2) Even when Zach wants to write, he doesn't. (His words, not mine.)


So much for that plan.

I'm only now listening to Major Nelson, which is, essentially the Xbox podcast, he's talking with J. Allard, who, is, from what I hear, a stand up guy. The real problem is that Mr. Nelson (pardon, Mr. Hryb...) gives himself the good microphone, whereas Mr. Allard's voice is harder to hear. If I was Mr. Hryb, I would have made Mr. Allard's voice more prominent, since he is being featured. (Also, Mr. Hryb is at this point getting so annoying and shill-like, I would pay money for someone else to ask the questions. Then again, this is a Microsoft blog, but you'd think someone would tell Mr. Hryb to tone it down a little...)

Just listening to Mr. Allard, how gracious he is, he can barely accept a compliment without saying, well, I had help from Eric over in this department, and by comparison, Mr. Hryb sounds like a glad handing corporate stooge. To be fair, the program is to promote Microsoft products and Xbox Live, so the declarations of Xbox Live to be a revolutionary gift from an unspecified diety, presumably above make sense in their context, but it gets grating quickly.

But there's an interview with one of the guys from Harmonix about Rock Band...so very tempting.

For whatever reason, Zach is stoked six ways till sunday about Rock Band. I'm less excited about it, but I can understand why Zach is. The interaction (sorry, are we calling it interactivity now?) hopefully, will be amazing, but there's going to be something missing when the game is going to penalize the singer for letting the other band members scream out I Fought the Law hoarsely. (Sigh, I don't want this to be Rock Band, I want it to be Punk Band. I know. I know.)

So. I'd leave on a happy note, but it ruins my evening when I see that in Saudi Arabia, a woman can get dragged out of a car and gang raped by seven men and it is the woman that gets 200 lashes and six months in prison for driving in a car with a male friend.

In case you're wondering, three of the rapists weren't charged with anything, and the other four were convicted of kidnapping. The male friend that was also raped? 90 lashes for illegal mingling.

What was it about justice? That the punishment had to fit the crime?