Game On

As a rather passive gaming enthusiast, I don’t know all that much about the history of video games; I have just enough information to appreciate the fact that the 8-bit games that lived in cabinet-sized machines have evolved into photorealistic adventures that fit onto a compact disc. I’m the perfect audience, then, for the Discovery Channel’s Rise of the Video Game, a documentary series on the growth of the gaming market. From Pong to, I imagine, PS3, the series takes a comprehensive look on what makes gamers tick and how the market has responded over time. Tonight’s installation is neatly summarizing my formative years, including the introduction of the NES and Sega Genesis. For anyone who’s interested in gaming, or anyone wondering why people would be interested in gaming, it’s a worthy watch.

Down Pat

Last night’s thrilling loss – you heard me – to the Patriots seemed to follow the script for Philadelphia fans: the Eagles, for all intents and purposes a footnote to the Patriots’ attempt at perfection going into last night’s game, trotted out a backup quarterback and gave the best team in decades a run for their money. Once again, though, a late-game interception wiped out a game’s worth of scrappy play by inferior players and conventions-be-damned coaching by Andy Reid. The fact that all this happened on the arm of A.J. Feeley instead of Donovan McNabb adds in the familiar seed of doubt in the franchise quarterback, who has never been fully embraced by his hometown fans. For weeks, no matter who starts, we will hear how foolish the decision is, and for weeks, we will hope to be proven wrong. And once again, even if the Eagles improbably fight their way to the playoffs, defeat will be snatched from the jaws of victory, and the offseason will begin prematurely, and the cycle will start anew.

Gobble Gobble

You’ll have to forgive me if, in my tryptophan-induced coma, I’m not up for posting anything of great value today.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanskgiving.

Must-See Old TV

With an end to the writers’ strike almost nowhere to be found – the sides meet up again on Monday to renegotiate but who knows how long until out favorite shows (The Office, The Daily Show) can return with new material even if a deal is reached -  I’ve taken to catching up on a series that I missed the first time around: How I Met Your Mother, likely one of the funniest shows on…well, on CBS, but who’s counting?* The actors do a remarkable job of bringing to life some very funny characters, and as I watch each new-to-me episode, I regret not watching when they originally aired. Does anyone have reccomendations for me to fill the void if the strike should go on?

*This has to be a terrible run-on sentence. Kate?

Little Victories

Congratulations to Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who was today named National League MVP, edging out Colorado’s Matt Holliday. The MVP voting, of course, is based solely on regular-season play, so the fact that the Rockies steamrolled over the Phillies in the first round of the playoffs – the Phils’ first appearance in the postseason in 14 years – did little to improve Holliday’s case. With Rollins joining first baseman Ryan Howard in the annals of MVP winners, giving the Phillies two winners in as many years, it’s nice time to be a Philadelphia baseball fan. But with barely a sniff of the World Series in those two years, fans are left to get by on the little victories, compromising a championship for the privilege of having two of the best players in the league. Second baseman Chase Utley is already a strong candidate for the award next year, but frankly, I’d gladly sit through another year in which Chase missed a month or so if it meant a World Series win.