It can be tricky in the beginning, because not only do you have to take into account everything that you want to accomplish with your company, but you also factor in how people might possibly react to your brand, and maybe more importantly, how you'll be able to process said reactions. If you present your brand and aren't solid on what it is or what it means, you're going to have a hard time defending it or having to explain it on a regular basis, so it's best to choose something that you believe in and can stand behind.
]]> In late 2007, when talks first began about creating this magazine, editor in chief Gary Steinman and I took some time to sit and brainstorm a few ideas. We started with three basic goals:These are essential for any brand, but were particularly essential for us, considering our new magazine would be following a highly-visible and well-recognized name in the anime/manga industry. These three factors would have to be the things that set our new project apart from the past and still set a benchmark for our future.
Simple
The most obvious way to simply a brand name is to make it short. We thought about some of the current trend of building a brand directly out of a three letter acronym, like what's happened with some of prominent gaming magazines, like EGM, OPM and OXM. The idea of even going with the abbreviated-word-as-acronym also came to mind, like the late GMR magazine.
We tossed around ideas, but nothing really stuck out. Part of the problem with going the faux-acronym route is that it seems only logical that the acronym might actually stand for something. One possible idea was "NRD" as in "short for NERD" but figuring out a simple and logical explanation for N-R-D didn't show much promise.
After much discussion, we came around to looking at short, one-syllable words. If done right, it could still be simple and effective. At some point, we landed on the word "peek." I'm not sure where exactly it came from, but I think it was based on the idea that this new magazine would revolve heavily around providing new and interesting coverage on oft-overlooked topics and forms of entertainment. The notion of "exclusive" and "inside" peeks at these things was definitely what the magazine would be shooting for, but when we discovered that there was already a PEEK magazine (apparently a collector's item from the '30s), we took a step back and wondered if it'd be wise to possibly usurp that namesake.
Rolling the word "peek" around for a bit, I somehow made the homophonous leap to "pique." I've always heard the word used in the phrase "pique your interest" and while that seemed to fit for our purposes, I still wasn't positive on it. Not quite yet.
Unique
One thing was for sure, "Pique" was definitely in the realm of unique in terms of a brand name for a magazine. Neither of us could think of a single company or entity that operated under that name, and while it might initially cause some double takes, it would definitely stick out in a crowd.
Something about the name said "sophistication" and "exotic" but it also felt a little too "fancy." I was worried that the meaning of the name and the goal of the magazine would get lost in the name itself. Having a unique name is only good if it holds true to what your ideas are. Otherwise, you risk misrepresenting your intentions to customers and causing confusion.
Memorable
First and foremost, I wasn't sure if "Pique" was all that visually appealing. Here was a case where hearing the word and seeing the word presented two very different experiences. It was a short, cute-sounding word, but on paper, the more I saw it, the more it reeked of pretense.
So I wondered if lobbing off the "ue" at the end would help make it any better.
Piq
My immediate reaction was like anyone else's.
Piq = Pig
We agreed on that for the moment and I went back to do some sketching and workup some rough thumbnails of what a logo would look like, and if we could make it not look like "pig" in some way or another.
It was here where I realized that this abbreviated word also seemed to fit with our earlier thinking about a short three letter faux-acronym, except that there was still no acceptable acronym that we could form out of it. But, that did give me the idea to try "PIQ" as part of my designs.
PIQ
Here was something that finally stood out to us. Simple. Unique. Memorable? Perhaps so. A large part of that was up to how effective the logo and imprint would be. Either way, we'd finally come to a decision and started moving forward to the next phase.
]]>
I've had these for a little while now, but thought I'd take a minute to show them off now that we've put down our first issue. Seeing this thing take off from a nebulous idea into a reality has definitely been an adventure, and this is just the beginning.
It's like a wise man once said, "Shit just got real." I think it was Martin Lawrence.
]]>
Not to take anything away from my friends in the great land of Japan, but somehow director Matt Reeves and producer JJ Abrams have managed to create something entirely new for the giant monster movie genre—a gripping and engrossing giant monster movie without a giant monster.
I was even more pleased when the movie came to a close and the other people in the audience around me were completely perplexed and unsure of what they had just seen. Given the level of promotion for Cloverfield, I'm not sure where people got the idea that this would be some sort of kaiju extravaganza.
In fact, I'm glad it wasn't that at all. Not to spoil anything, but if the sheer terror of your everyday life being turned upside down without any rhyme or reason doesn't evoke even the most basic of emotions from you, then it's probably better that you stick to men in rubber suits.
]]>![Carlito's Way [HD DVD]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000ULPFH2.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX120_.jpg)
Now that I got my Xbox 360 back and can watch HD DVD movies again, I took a few minutes to crack open the copy of Carlito's Way that I won a while back from Filmspotting. I didn't even get to really dig into the film itself, but went for the extras first.
Watching The Making of Carlito's Way, I found the appearance of Edwin Torres, the author of Carlito's Way and After Hours, the most interesting. Not because he wrote the stories that the movie was based on, or even how much he wanted to capture the authentic Puerto Rican angle in 1970s New York. Rather, it was the realization of how closely Al Pacino must have studied Torres and modeled his voice and speech patterns for his performance in the film. There are times during the documentary when I could've sworn I was hearing Pacino's Carlito Brigante, when in fact it was Torres himself. And here all this time I thought Pacino was simply "making up" some strange Latino-urban-gangster accent, when according to Torres, that's just the way the people he knew talked. Go figure.
]]>That aside, Santa brought the rain this year. Not only am I rocking the Touch, but I stocked up on HD DVD movies, like the Harry Potter series, the Bourne series, Knocked Up, Transformers and some longtime favorites like What Dreams May Come and Smokey and the Bandit. I was kinda fiendin' for something new, but now there's lots to watch now!
]]>
Way back in July 2005, I posted about my rising interest in podcasts and listed some of my favorites. One of those was a movie review podcast called Cinecast, which, for someone like me who's always loved movies, seemed to match most of my sensibilities and even give me some insight into movies that I had either never heard of or just hadn't been able to see. I'd been listening for the past couple of years from a distance, not really engaging the hosts Adam and Matty (and previously Sam) or the community around the show, now called Filmspotting.
Recently, however, I decided to at least take part in some way and submit my answers for their Massacre Theater contest, where the hosts act out a scene and listeners are asked to guess which movie the dialogue is from. Personally, I love movie trivia, and for a while there, I would just listen and say "oh, I know that one!" and that'd be the end of it, but last week, that all changed.
]]> I sent in my answer for last week's show and without really thinking I'd have a chance of winning, just kind of dismissed it altogether. Over the weekend, I had downloaded the show, but it sat on my iPod until I got in the car last night, when I pulled it up to listen to during the drive home.And whaddya know...I heard my name. I won! A free DVD of my choice, courtesy of Filmspotting! i had to rewind just to be sure I wasn't hearing things, and sure enough, they said it again. Rewind. Again!
So, thanks to the guys at Filmspotting for putting out such a great show every week and providing an alternative to the more mainstream movie critics and reviews, for keeping things light and fun, and of course, for introducing listeners to films that might have gone overlooked or been long forgotten.
]]>
It's funny how things come together without any rhyme or reason, especially in good and interesting ways.
Just last week, I was thinking of something new that I wanted to undertake. Not so much a hobby or project, but an exercise routine of sorts for my creativity and imagination. With my line of work, surprisingly enough, I don't seem to get a lot of time to do much drawing or illustration, and I'm starting to think it might be affecting my design work overall. I find myself managing workflows and manipulating tools more than actually doing what I'd consider really creative stuff, and I figured it was time to find new ways to do that, even in the simplest ways.
]]> So, I considered picking up a sketchbook and taking some time at the beginning of each day to do some doodling. Not to create anything in particular, but just to have fun with it and see what happens, and most of all, to flex the creative muscles. While a real pencil and paper are still a preferred method, I even considered just booting up Photoshop every morning and using my Wacom tablet to get something down on virtual paper.Then something else occurred to me. I could do these as an exercise for myself, then publish them here to share with everyone. More for kicks than anything else, but I've seen it done by other illustrators and I've always found it amusing to see how they think when working on such a small scale. However, this is were the problem of how to publish these theoretical doodles came up. If on paper, I'd have to scan, format and upload; if done digitally, I'd still have to format and upload. Either way, it's not a total pain in the ass, but I know myself, and it just gives me more instances to want to "do more" to enhance or touch-up or what have you, when the goal is to keep the process as simple as possible.
And today, what arrives in my inbox but an invite from a good friend to check out Skitch, a small Mac application that is essentially a web-enabled, digital sketchpad. It allows for basic drawing and painting, and can even be used for notation on screenshots and photos, all with the ability to quickly upload to the MySkitch web site or other services like .Mac or Flickr. In short, it looks like the business.
Since I'm still hopped up on Halloween candy and feeling the vibe, I took it for a spin and here's what I did. I think this could be exactly what I was looking for. It appears that the application and site are still on an invite-only basis, so I'm anxious to see if Skitch takes off. I have two invites for anyone interested. If you'd like to give it a spin, let a brotha know.
]]>
I have to admit I found the premise of Heroes intriguing, and last year, I tuned in every week to see how this story of people with superhuman powers would play out in a televised series format. How would it convey the drama of everyday people, from different cultures and walks of life and their discovery of their powers? How would it relate to audiences in a way that wasn't over the top or cartoony or cheesy?
The short version? it didn't do any of that.
]]> The long version? This show has made me realize what a giant difference good writing and performances can make in a TV show, especially when other well-produced shows in the genre like LOST and Battlestar Galactica are at the top of their game. Not only does Heroes fall flat in creating any actual drama, but the performances are for the most part absolutely horrible. With the exception of Greg Grunberg, Hayden Panettiere and Jack Coleman, none of the actors manage to create three-dimensional, believable characters. Sure, it's often the case that actors can only do so much with the material they have, and that's where I think this series shows its true weaknesses.Criss-crossing plotlines, multiple timeframes, amorphous character motivations, gimmicky storytelling devices. All these result in a show that's completely uneven from episode to episode and make for a sometimes confusing (but more often just annoying) tale of people who are constantly at odds with what their powers are and what they should do with them. Sounds like it should work, but something about Heroes just doesn't work for me. I can't think of another show that's taken so much time to do so little with character and plot development, much less take so many contrived and easy ways out of situations.
That's not to say that there aren't some good elements to the show, but in terms of how much signal-to-noise makes it to air each week, it's quickly becoming a losing battle for anything truly remarkable to happen. I've seen something in nearly every episode that I think could go in interesting directions, only to see things play out in clichés or cop-outs. It's just not fair to those viewers that are really willing to think about what they're watching, rather than just letting it pass before their eyes.
And yet, I don't understand the following that Heroes has found in television audiences. Then again, during its first season run, the NBC promotion machine was in full gear, calling on viewers to "check out more at NBC.com" and coming up with the worst taglines like "Save the cheerleader, save the world." I'd like to think that this isn't so much the case this season, but NBC has already done its share of ham-fisted marketing with things like "What's in the box?" and now, of all things, a semi-rehash of last season's climactic (or anti-climactic) resolution.
Argh... I don't get it. I can't help but think that this must just be a stopgap for viewers waiting for something better to hit the airwaves, but with networks turning out a slew of new shows this season (most of which have unsurprisingly been cancelled) and cable finding new original programming, why are people tuning in to this crap every week?
]]>
Ok, well, no spoilers here, but rather, out there.
Just this week, I've come close to stumbling upon spoilers for Halo 3 a few times now, and from some unlikely sources at that. Not just gaming sites and forums, but sites like YouTube, MySpace, etc are no shelter from spoilers, it seems. It only takes one person to post or leave a comment that can ruin what's most likely a long-awaited experience for gamers around the world.
Other recent news also makes me think about how this affects other forms of entertainment, including books like the Harry Potter series, and films, like the just-revealed plot details of the fourth Indiana Jones film. It seems like there used to be a day when spoilers didn't exist, but that was only because the world was a different place back then--the days when we didn't have a global network which can spread information in an instant.
Imagine someone being able to give away the ending of The Empire Strikes Back way back in 1980, and how people would have been so pissed to have it ruined. And frankly, that probably did happen, but when news could only travel so far so fast in those days, it wouldn't have had nearly the same widespread effect that it would today.
]]>
So, if you're looking for something new to rent and can't decide or don't have any ideas, read on.
]]> DisturbiaZodiac
This is definitely one of David Fincher's best films, and with such heavy subject matter, a great example of what can happen when you use some restraint and go for simple, efficient filmmaking. Some of Fincher's past films have been a little too showy and not enough substance, but Zodiac is all about the characters and story. Following the police investigation and simultaneous media coverage of the Zodiac murders, the film doesn't stray far from known events and facts. Not to mention a great ensemble cast that sees each actor sink completely into their roles, including Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gylenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Edwards. Building such a tight web of obsession, mystery and intrigue isn't easy, but Zodiac slowly tightens the screws as the investigation and story progresses, yet never goes overboard or glorifies the horror of it all. Keep an eye out for an extra-special DVD in the coming months. Recommended.
The Messengers
Hardly what I'd consider a horror film, and easily a knock-off of The Amityville Horror, there's not much in The Messengers that hasn't already been seen or done in other far better movies. A family moves into what looks like the Munster's house in the middle of nowhere, and with a troubled teenage daughter, they attempt to start life anew by raising crops (because all city folks have that dream) and slowly start to discover that something is very wrong with their new home. I think there's something to do with crows, and a kid that can see ghosts, and a family that was murdered. Who the hell knows. Put it this way, I literally dozed off during what I'm sure was supposed to be one of the more tense moments in the film, so consider yourself warned--bring a pillow. Not recommended.
Premonition
I've always been a fan of Sandra Bullock to a degree, mostly for her seemingly affable personality and sometimes for her quirky choices in roles. I only had the vaguest idea of what Premonition was about, but after having seen The Lake House not so long ago, I wondered how closely this would resemble or remind me of that film with its mix of time-bending plot and romantic tragedy. A wife finds out her husband died in a car accident, then wakes up the next morning to find out he's still alive, then wakes up to find him dead, and starts to piece clues together that she's not going crazy. More like the world's playing a giant prank on her, but not. I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective (even if a bit gimmicky) the whole approach was in building towards a startling climax. The only big complaint I had is that said climax relies on a horribly clichéd element that can be found in any low-rent horror flick. It's really hard to ignore, but for what it's worth, I enjoyed the ride. Recommended.
The Host
This was a hard one for me to gather my thoughts about. I honestly can't decide if I liked it or not. At one point early in the film, I said to myself 'this is just BAD." The characters and premise seemed so one-dimensional and uninteresting, but as things progressed, it all started to "click" for me. The realization that it had less to do with the "monster" and more to do with characters and relationships and, to a larger degree, social and political situations, didn't fully hit me until the film was nearly over. A despondent, loser dad witnesses his daughter taken by slimy sea creature and goes on the hunt, learning the meaning of family and unconditional love and all that jazz in the process. I just think that this film must've been a hard sell and so the easiest way to package it was as a "giant monster" movie, akin to Godzilla, when it's not really that at all. That said, I still thought the pacing and tone of the movie was very uneven and didn't really hit a good stride at any point. Not recommended.
Hot Fuzz
Truth be told, I don't remember much about Shaun of the Dead. Riding on the Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright gravy train, Hot Fuzz definitely makes me want to go back and see that film again because I thoroughly enjoyed this new one. They say British humor is a hard nut to crack for American audiences, but I consider myself one of those that "gets it" and that very humor is what made Hot Fuzz so much fun to watch. Part homage, part parody, the film follows big-city cop Nicholas Angel as he is re-assigned to a small village and slowly starts to discover that the locals aren't quite what they seem. Deaths are ruled as "accidents" and when highly visible townspeople start disappearing, Angel takes on the case. Hilarity ensues and bodies start piling up, guns blazing all the while. Hot Fuzz takes action movies and twists and bends the genre (and all its clichés) to its own will, making for a very interesting and amusing couple of hours. Oh, and if you pick up the DVD, I'd also highly suggest you check out the US press tour featurette for even more laughs. Recommended.
Shooter
Ah, the life of a sniper. Apparently, a man that can kill with pinpoint accuracy from hundreds of yards away will always be a man with a moral dilemma, especially when strangers come knocking at his door and ask him to plan a mock-assassination of the president. A decision like that is nothing to take lightly, and for most people, it'd probably be something they could never do. But not for Bob Lee Swagger (really, guys, that's the best name you could come up with?), a ex-military sniper that's gone off the grid after a mission gone wrong. Based on his staunch political beliefs, Swagger aka Marky Mark decides it's still a good idea to take on the job of planning an assassination, and ends up getting framed as the shooter. He then proceeds to go on the run, find those responsible, take them down...basically Harrison Ford in The Fugitive but with military training and better aim. I always appreciate movies that can show proper weapons handling and authentic military procedures and tactics, but mix that in with some ham-fisted political commentary and a weird almost-romantic situation, and things don't go so well. Not recommended.
Pathfinder
Two words: Clancy Brown. That name alone was enough to make me pick this up, but it wasn't enough to make me enjoy Pathfinder. The premise certainly seems original, like a new take on early American history. Vikings discover a new land, bringing only death for Native Americans, but leaving a young boy in their wake. The boy is adopted by surviving natives and raised as one of their own, and when the Vikings return (where'd they go again?), the boy is now a man and knows how to fight off the attackers. Where does Clancy Brown figure into all of this? He's the badass Viking leader, of course, decked out in the latest Viking fashions, including helmets with animal horns and enough black eye shadow to make the ladies jealous. But you wouldn't know that without closely following the story, because you only see his face once or twice, and since he's speaking in Icelandic, who would know if he's really delivering a great performance or not? Just in case you're thinking the "unrated" DVD must have something to offer, don't. My guess is all that's new to the "unrated" edition are all those really badly CGI blood splatters, because nothing says "I KILLZ UR DOODS" like giant red blobs in a dimly lit shot. Come to think of it, the whole damn movie is dimly lit and switches aspect ratios like crazy. Not recommended. Ever.
Another summer, another slate of movies. Now that September's here and new TV shows are on their way, I'm sure that'll be my new focus. That and I've still got movies that I've bought that I still haven't watched yet, so until next summer (or the mood strikes), I don't expect to be seeing movies all that much. Or at least not those really bad ones.
]]>Now, at the core of this HD format "war" are two corporations, Microsoft and Sony. Each has a large stake in their respective format—Microsoft has invested financially in HD DVD, Sony almost single-handedly built Blu-ray—and could stand to control a good-sized portion of the optical disk media industry, not only with home video sales, but also in music sales and computer hardware and software markets. Separately, the two formats would split those markets and have to co-exist, but history has shown that mainstream consumers don't want multiple technologies that can essentially do the same exact thing. So, for the average consumer, one technology will almost always be enough, and therein lies the need to compete and "win" for these two camps.
]]> Truth to tell, I was completely ambivalent about either of these formats for a long time. I thought HD DVD looked technically inferior on paper (mostly because of its smaller storage capacity) and yet, I had issues with Sony as a corporation that all but repelled me entirely from Blu-ray. Not to say that I'm in love with Microsoft either, but as a gamer, I felt neglected by Sony and was sorely disappointed in how they were approaching that industry, and so I chose the lesser of two evils, in my mind.When the first HD DVD players and movies were released into the market in April 2006, I watched the numbers and was really interested to see how it would take off. But it didn't. When Blu-ray counterparts followed several months later, it still didn't. At least people were finally able to actually let their wallets do the talking, but as with any cutting edge technology, I suppose, there weren't people showing up in droves.
While HD DVD took a good headstart in building market awareness, it was the inclusion of Blu-ray drives in Sony's PS3 that pushed that technology a little further into the mainstream. Up until the holiday season, you could count the sales figures of HD DVD and Blu-ray players in terms of thousands, but a few months after the PS3 launch in November 2006, Blu-ray sales had surpassed one million units. Sony's trojan horse was clearly paying off by quickly and easily getting the technology into the hands of consumers, but at a hefty price range of $500-$600—still far out of the average DVD consumer's price range.
The fact that every Blu-ray player introduced has been substantially more expensive than HD DVD players is puzzling to me. I don't understand what Sony expected to happen, pricing their hardware so high, and I can't help but think that's what kept Blu-ray from really taking off. When a $500 HD DVD player is considered a bargain compared to a $1000 Blu-ray player, of course people are going to stay away. Everybody knows prices will drop and they'll simply wait it out, but to come out of the gate at twice the price of the competition? Sheesh.
Fast forward to today. July 2007. It's been over a year and while both HD DVD and Blu-ray are still steading growing in terms of sales and new titles, Blu-ray has been making headway with retailers and other outlets. Blockbuster announced that they would begin stocking Blu-ray in a large cross-section of the stores, although they still support and stock HD DVD. Target also recently announced that they would only sell Blu-ray players for the 2007 holiday season. While there are the vocal Blu-ray supporters that will claim it the death-knell for HD DVD, it's no secret that Blu-ray already has odds stacked against it in other ways.
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) includes some of the biggest film studios in Hollywood, with 20th Century Fox and Disney releasing content only on Blu-ray. HD DVD has an exclusive partner in Universal Studios, which has quite possibly the largest catalog of films, dating all the way back to the 1920, while other big studios like Dreamworks, Paramount and Warner Bros are firmly seated in both camps. Sounds like an interesting matchup, right? Not really.
At first glance, it appeared that Blu-ray would easily be able to provide more content to consumers, but Fox and Disney have released very little on Blu-ray for various reasons, and Warner Bros. has taken some of it's titles to HD DVD only, due to both some advantages of the HD DVD format as well as incomplete or pending factors in Blu-ray technology. Needless to say, this has caused what I think is an unexpected stagnation in the progress of the format war, simply because, content-wise, the majority of Blu-ray titles are far inferior to what's available on HD DVD, and yet there aren't as many HD DVD owners to compete in pure sales volume. Neither format is making the giant strides it would take to call a victory to the war.
That leaves us, the consumers, to battle it out. Spinning facts, perpetrating rumors, spreading fear, doubt and uncertainty amongst each other. The debate is in full swing, but it's all largely hypothetical at this point, and yet, people are convinced that they're right on either side. I suppose I'd call myself a HD DVD supporter (because I do own a player and have started a collection) and so yes, I have an interest in seeing HD DVD succeed. If studios were to use the unfairly-dreaded "combo" format (HD DVD on one side, DVD on the other) as the format for all their home video releases, eschewing the separate HD DVD and DVD releases, there could be real progress in moving towards a single format. Until something like that happens, however, things are going to continue to drag along.
And honestly, I think that if there were a $200 Blu-ray player, I'd probably jump at that as well. My concern as a customer is price, not necessarily content or technological specifications, and I think if companies like Samsung can really bring a dual-format player into the market at an affordable price, the war will be over. People won't care what format or studios they "support" when they can play everything in the same box. Assuming that the average consumer is ready to make the jump to HD soon, I think this is exactly what'll end up happening and probably as soon as next year.
]]>My first impressions
All I can say it "FUN, FUN, FUN!"
Out of the three maps, I'm liking High Ground the best so far. Valhalla seems way too big for only eight people, and Snowbound, while it's got some fun spots, has too much open ground IMO.
All the gadgets are pretty cool. So far, I've seen the Power Drainer, Bubble Shield and Portable Grav Lift, and the Bubble Shield is by far the most useful of the those.
The weapons are great too. The AR is back and looks like a great all-purpose starter weapon, new spike grenades are damn deadly, and even weapons like the Carbine and Plasma Rifle seem to be stronger now. On the other hand, rockets don't lock on anymore, the Spartan Laser takes a lot of timing and the Spikers have been all but useless, and the new turrets remind me too much of Lost Planet, meaning that they're really unwieldy and make you a big target when you're in open ground or in really close quarters.
Overall, I'm really liking this early preview. Frankly, my interest in Halo had faded a while ago, but this has really brought me back into the fold. I was willing to wait calmly for the next six months or so until the game releases, but not anymore. I WANT HALO 3 NOW!
If you'd like to hear some first impressions, be sure to check out the Episode 113: Halo 3 beta impressionslatest episode of Podtacular, Episode 113: Halo 3 beta impressions.
]]>This is kind of belated, but last week my daughter Isabel turned two years old, and in the days since, I've started to realize just how quickly our kids have grown up. I experienced this with my son, of course, but this time there's something different. Since the wife and I are set on only having two kids, I know that I'll never see this again, and a little part of me is sad to see that go.
And yet, it seems like just overnight my daughter has grown in leaps and bounds. She speaks so well, and understands so much, and frankly, she's bigger than I expected. That's partly because my son has turned out to be something of a small fry, but also because she's above average height and weight for her age group.
It's kind of shocking (and amusing) to see my two kids next to each other and think that they look almost the same age, even though they're two years apart. That's part of the fun of siblings, I suppose, to have a companion and playmate that is just as willing and able to share as they are to duke it out. With these two, at least it'll be somewhat of a fair fight.
]]>Hello,
I'm writing because of my recent experience with my console and having to send it in due to a hardware failure. I don't necessarily expect that you'll be able to answer or address everything here, but I do hope you can at least forward this to someone that can.
The fact that my Xbox 360 simply "died" (three red lights) beyond any attempts to restore or revive it is a separate (and probably larger) concern, but my real frustration came when I recently received my replacement unit.
My original service call (#XXXXXXXXXX) required that I send in my Xbox 360 for repair/replacement, as it was still covered by the one-year warranty through April. The product failure aside, I was pleased with the response and service and fairly confident that my product would be repaired or replaced quickly and completely. It was explained to me that I would most likely receive a replacement console, and that it would be a refurbished unit, which undergo a full certification process to ensure quality.
However, when I recieved my replacement unit, after setting it up and turning it on, the console froze while starting up. After checking all my connections and powering it up again, I then received the same three red lights indicator. So, apparently, my replacement unit also had a similar hardware failure? Right out of the box? How can this be?
So, now I've made a second call (#XXXXXXXXXX) and am awaiting a prepaid box to send in my replacement unit. And this time, given the circumstance, I'm very disappointed with my experience. I can't think of any other industry or market where shipping a customer a replacement unit that does not work is acceptable. With this, I can't, in good faith, assume that refurbished Xbox consoles are actually tested or examined at all.
After some searching online and reading others' experiences, specifically Chris Szarek ( http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/05/the_unluckiest_.html) and Matt Casamassima ( http://blogs.ign.com/Matt-IGN/2007/01/19/44024/ ), I have to wonder how widespread this problem is, considering that a number of people are also receiving refurbished units, only to have them fail as well.
My understanding is that many of the Xbox 360 consoles in early production runs are suffering from these failures, and since Microsoft shown its commitment to satisfying customers by extending the warranty to a full year, why not send new units to those customers? What possible good comes from sending paying customers less-than-new equivalents? I've seen people I know have to either go through this process and/or have to buy a new console altogether--something I am certainly not willing or able to do.
I suppose it'd be silly to expect Xbox Support to change its policy (no matter how much sense it might make), but I'm sure there are other ways of taking action against this, whether it's addressing it through the press, the Better Business Bureau or even through class-action litigation. Surely, Xbox and Microsoft must know that helping customers protect and enjoy their $400 investment (or more, considering peripherals and software) is in their best interest and more importantly, something worth getting right the first time.
That said, I DO NOT expect to receive a replacement unit that will have the same problem. That would simply indicate to me that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Xbox 360 design or manufacturing process.
I DO expect to receive a fully working (if not entirely new) console, to ensure that I am getting a product that works and is worth the money I have already spent. I understand the Xbox 360 is a sophisticated piece of equipment and there are many variables that could cause the console to fail, but I'm not looking to get something for nothing. I simply want what I paid for, and what Microsoft has promised to provide me under warranty.
On a side matter, I also have to question why I was asked to pack and cover the cost of shipping to the Xbox repair center, when others have clearly been sent prepaid boxes for the same reason. I had assumed that this was a practice that Xbox Support no longer allows, but when I called about sending in my replacement unit, I was told I would receive a prepaid box within 3-5 days. So why did I need to pay in the first place? It was a minimal cost (approx. $10USD), but it seemed unnecessary, especially now that I am being sent a prepaid box.
From my perspective, the Xbox team has done a wonderful job of keeping in touch with its customers and has built a foundation of trust and confidence with the gaming community about its products and software. However, it's matters like this that can damage a company's reputation and instill doubt in it's service and quality procedures. I've been a loyal Xbox customer for years now and would hate to abandon the Xbox product line because of this.
Please respond at your earliest convenience and thank you for any help you can provide,
Robert Cortez
]]>ZZ Top has always been one of those bands that I just assumed I'd never get to see play live. Partly because they seem to have faded from the spotlight years ago, and also because, well, they ain't gettin' any younger.
But that all changed last night...
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So when I found out that they were gonna be playing, I jumped on a pair of tickets and just hoped that somebody would be willing or able to go. And as it turned out, my father (who's a long-time Top fan) had no problem taking the day off to check out the show.
The band played through a great set of most of their better-known tracks, although I personally could've done without "Viva Las Vegas" and "Pincushion"--two of their more recent recordings. Otherwise, all the classics were there, including the songs that made them world-famous, "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs".
And boy, did Billy, Dusty and Frank tear the place up. I've never witnessed so much raw energy come from just three guys in the middle of a stadium. The trade-off being that I was a little disappointed in the overall sound quality, but considering that ZZ Top isn't what I'd consider an "arena rock" band, their trademark sound help up pretty well, all things considered.
Some notable moments: starting the set with a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" with actual rings of fire on the stadium floor, seeing those fuzzy white guitars come out for "Legs", watching Billy and Dusty's classic ZZ Top stage antics, and me and my pops trying to fully enjoy "Pearl Necklace" without enjoying it too much (um...awkward?). Nevertheless...good times, good times.
You can find more of ZZ Top at the iTunes Store, and at zztop.com, of course. Oh, and you can thank me now for doing you a solid and finding some of those great videos from the '80s.
You remember the '80s...those days when it was it was completely acceptable to have a red '32 Ford with hot babes to drive around and well, look hot.
Gimme All Your Lovin'
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs
