The Nintendo 3DS has this feature where it can merge the faces of two people who are standing in front of each other. It’s a little strange and finicky, but it works sometimes, and the end results are… weird.

Like this picture of Gaia and her cousin Kyra merged, that looks a good deal like Kyra at age three or four.

I think that there is something really space-age about a pocket computer with three cameras that can combine multiple images to make composite image of pair of faces. I have been really impressed with the 3DS, as a Nintendo game system and fun toy for a six year old, it’s a really great experience.

I'm not sure who to tell about this, so I'm telling everyone.
My daughter was hooting and cheering last night as Link and I figured out how to pilot his Loftwing.

And, it was she that took the sword fight tutorial to task, opting to play through it a second time in order to "make sure she got it."

I am filled with the joy of a purple rupee.

There is a special thing, in the video game world that I call “The Law of First Zelda.”

The Law of First Zelda states:

The first incarnation of The Legend of Zelda for a new Nintendo console is the definitive one. Do not fret the second coming of a “Legend of Zelda” for a console, for it’s nature will be unclean and despoilt.

This. I. Believe.

I also believe that the 16th installment of the Legend of Zelda series, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the first true Legend of Zelda title developed for the Nintendo Wii. The previous game, Legend of Zelda: Twighlight Princess, was originally developed to be the second Zelda offering (and indeed was offred on) the GameCube system.

Meaning that with the release of Skyward Sword, we celebrate the first Legend of Zelda that accords with the Law of First Zelda since the release of Wind Waker in 2002.

And therefore, it is a thing to be celebrated and enjoyed. A special and rare thing.
So rare and special, that indeed, my child, who was but a twinkling the last time the Law of First Zelda was in effect, is now of the age to wield the Master Sword in and of her own device.

And so we have celebrated this fact with the purchase of a shining pink wiimote. And we have adorned our t-shirt, and hoodie which bears the great Hylian Crest and we have found our magic boomerang, which is not magic.

And we shall be found, in the evening times, after homework has been completed, but before the time of bed has arrived, defending the world, once again, from the dark and sinister things – in search of the elusive triforce, which it is again our pleasure to seek to unite.

Spent the weekend, among other things, rolling the ball with an old friend. Years ago, in days gone by, when there were fewer cells and we had to share the one wireless joystick between the three of us, J and I would “roll the ball” in the evenings, pushing our glorious, beautiful wad of junk across rooms, grocery stores, through zoos— you know… the usual.

We revisited the same thing about a year ago, via Katamari Forever on the PS3, but with this winter’s loss of all my PS3 save data due to hardware failure, we’re replaying. Rolling the ball is still a great experience. Gaia plays along now.

Rolling the ball.... Must be the holidays.

(Hey Sony, I have dex-drive based backups of my Resident Evil 2 save files on my hard drive from 1999-- not that they aren't also still on the memory cards still hanging out of the PlayStation. Remind me why you decided I can’t make backups of my save files any more?)

Gaia and I have been spending a lot of time in the Mushroom Kingdom lately. And let me tell you this: New Super Mario Brothers Wii is both a blessing and a curse. It's great fun that Gaia can play along with me, carefully ensconced her her protective bubble until we get to a flag, at which point she will scream that she wants me to let her out of the bubble. Once I do, she will hop on to the flag before me and exclaim: "I Beat You, Daddy!"

The curse? It's a goddamn hard game. Especially when you have a little bubble floating around during boss fights that gets you killed every so often. And, it's unforgiving. It's a Mario game. Mario is stupid and falls in lava and dies a lot. That's what Mario does. He's lame that way. If Mario had half a brain, he'd leave the Mushroom Kingdom forever and head back to Brooklyn where he could rake it in as member of UA Local No. 1. But no. He'd rather get his ass kicked again and again by some cheaply placed Bullet Bill. Whatever Mario.

Anyway, my mismash of love/hate feelings for Mario have not yet sullied Gaia's feelings toward him, as evidenced by this pair of drawings found in the back seat of my car this morning. Enjoy Gaia's drawings of Mario and Luigi.

In the midst of a weekend of many amazing events, far and away, the best find of the weekend was the vintage Bubble Bobble machine Gaia and I got to play together in Mercer.  The machine alone is worth a five-star Yelp rating for the Pines Miniature Golf and Arcade on Highway 51.

Ebay is listing this machine at $500. You might find a worse place to throw half a G.

It was, also, home to the finest deep fried cheese I’ve ever had. Ever.

I grew up in a time where home-based emulation of a Arcade Machine was a pipe dream. There was a man whose job it was to drive from Arcade to arcade configuring the videogame machines according to the dip-switches on the motherboards inside the cabinet.

The simplest games were complex labyrinths of transistors, switches, chips and tubes, and they were treated like major entertainment investments by the public venues that could afford them.

The games played at home were quadrichromatic facsimiles of the mighty arcade machines, but you’d only know this if you were one of the lucky few to own a video computer system.

And along came Lord Nintendo. And for a brief time there was parity between the arcade machines in the form of Saint Mario. And although that time of parity was short, it was mighty. It was Lord Nintendo who crafted the sword that first nicked the Arcade’s vitals. And from that wound, although their struggles would be mighty—and parity would be lost and gained 100 times over, the Arcades would founder.

I grew up in a time  where home-based emulation of an Arcade Machine was a pipe dream. We are now witnessing a time where those mighty machines of old are sold as throw-away electronics. Simple arcade sticks that plug and play into any television. There are now arcade machines emulated within the supercomputers that sit under our gigantic televisions. It is a golden time. These are halcyon days. Revel in them. Be amazed by them; they are yours to enjoy.

You dicks. 

We shall read from the Book of Wikipedia, Article 254453666, Revision 50.

Crop milk, also known as pigeon's milk, is a secretion from the lining of the crop of pigeons and doves with which the parents feed their young by regurgitation.
...
Crop milk bears little resemblance to mammalian milk, being a semi-solid substance somewhat like pale yellow cottage cheese.

The article points out that various commercial substitutes for pigeon milk are sold on the market.

At 6 p.m. Sunday Evening, Media Molecule pulled the plug on the Little Big Planet beta. Pulled the plug is a little harsh. It's probably more accurate to say that the beta expired. It still came as a bit of a surprise. I'd kind have hoped I could play until midnight.

I'm still not sure if I'm allowed to talk about it, given the non-negotiated Terms of Service that came with the beta code I was using, but I'm gonna spill anyway.

While the gaming press (as well as SCEA) seem to be hell bent on declaring Little Big Planet as the long-lost Killer App for the PS3, I'm not sold yet. I think another week of beta would have swayed me, but since I only had about a week of solid playing for only an hour or so every night, I've got a few impressions, but haven't yet decided if the game is, as the kids say, "all that."

Discussion about gamestuff, after the break.