Crappy cellphone pics around the world!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and lotsa crappy cellphone pics!

First of all, this is my new computer wallpaper: night ride!!!

I'd like to thank trailer_spot for supplying me with the raw material used for that wallpaper's creation:
the newest trailer for "Ghost Rider".
(Warning: 16meg high quality QuickTime video)

While we're at it, here's the newest international trailer for "Superman Returns".
(33 megs of QuickTime goodness! No one will be seated during the "bullet crushing itself against unblinking SuperEyeball" scene!)



Those who know of my insanely drama-filled apartment situation will see why this bus bench ad right in front of
my current (soon to be ex) dwelling makes me mad. It's like adding insult to injury!! I mean, really!



Two weeks ago, I managed to actually make it to E3 after all. I got there at 1:30pm on Friday, the last day.
The exhibit hall was closing at 4pm. Grrrrrr...
I managed to hit both the West and South Halls, which are the most important ones.
Didn't get much in the way of loot: a couple of magazines, a few catalogs, a full presskit for Eve Online, a Nintendo
lanyard I will probably never wear, a couple of blinky thingies from Webzen, and hands-on time with the PS3.
I tried my hand at "Warhawk" using the PS3's tilt-sensitive controller. The controller looks just like a normal
Dual Shock, except it's wireless, white, and as I just mentioned, tilt-sensitive. Controlling the Warhawk gunship
by tilting the controller took some getting used to. Being a big fan of the original PSX game, I'm a little put off
by these new controls. We'll have to see how it all works out in the final game.
Everybody's favorite hated publisher, EA, had set up a 360-degrees theater inside their booth, and boy howdy was it ever
impressive! Some of the game trailers were actually shot in 360-degrees, so you'd be surrounded by airplanes and parachuting
soldiers during the newest "Medal Of Honor" trailer, for example. Holy crap.
I ran into a bunch of Jamdat ex-colleagues, since they're now part of EA Mobile. I got to tell them how great Amp'd is.

I took some crappy cellphone pics! Click to see (each one opens in a new browser window). They're really crappy!
Rock band with firedancer in NCSoft booth (never seen firedancers at E3 before!)
Impressive game footage of a dragon attacking some samurai guy at the Webzen booth.
Throne of the cannibal king from "Pirates Of The Caribbean 2" at Disney booth.
The original Snoop Dog gets a game. Curse you, Red Baron!
For those who think the Element ain't geeky enough. Pikachumobile, where are you!?!?
Pop quiz: which of these two beauties can actually be taken for a test drive?
Superman game at EA booth in 360-degrees theater
"Metal Gear Solid 4" trailer, and Snake looks a leeeeetle tired.
Holy crap, Snake! You look like Lee Marvin!
It's hard to tell in this shot, but Snake has a gun in his mouth. Could this be the end?
BEST GAME TITLE EVAR!!!!11!!
"Cars" promo truck, rear part of trailer (just like the one in the upcoming movie)
"Cars" promo truck, middle part of trailer
"Cars" promo truck, front part of trailer
Close-up of "Rust-eze" sticker on the "Cars" trailer.
Composite shot of all the small sponsor stickers on the trailer.
Close-up of the "Gask-its" sponsor sticker on the trailer, because dammit, it's funny!



So not only does Amp'd sponsor Supercross motorcycle racing, but we've got our own bikes too! They're hanging around the
office, and a couple of 'em were ridden around the parking lot during Thursday's BBQ. Here are some pics:
The blue bike, aka the Amp'd Bike, my favorite.
Close-up of nice big Amp'd logo on blue bike.
The green bike, aka the Monster Bike.
Close-up of Monster logo on green bike.
The third bike, bathed in the blue glow of the Amp'd phone display.
The fourth bike, aka Old Yeller.

Did I tell you guys Luc Robitaille was in the office two weeks ago? He was getting a new cellphone.
My colleague and buddy Zach is a hockey freak, and he got his picture taken with Luc. My buddy was ecstatic!



Ah, but it's not all fun and games here at work.
We lost someone last week. Spencer was an integral part of our team and we feel incomplete without him.
Him and Zach and 2 others had gone off to Laughlin, Nevada, last week's Friday for some well-deserved R&R.
Apparently, the following day, while alone in his hotel room, he had a seizure, fell down and broke his neck.
The service was Tuesday of this week. Two buses shuttled us to Forest Lawn. At least 80 of us went.
Our CEO went to the podium and said a few words about the dearly departed, words like friendly, patient, professional,
cool and collected, hard-working, dedicated, thrilled by his job, and with a good sense of humor. And it was all true.
Spencer loved working here. Heck, we all do. Even when frustration sets in, this is still a really cool company.
We're going to miss him...

I have to stop typing now.