Press Start 4/21/10: Frantic Action Feeling
Add Comment
Posted on April 21st, 2010 by
A daily? Semi-daily? Bi-daily? Bi-curious-Daily? Little blog update to enhance that whole Twitter thing. Remember, that’s #gamerdadtm or @gamerdadtm or whatever it is. I’m old and don’t understand your social networking. I’m just a cave man. I was walking along and I fell into some ice and your scientists unfroze me… here’s the first Press Start update. Pressing Start now!
Dads and Daughters
Posted on April 20th, 2010 by
“The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.” – Garrison Keillor
A Decade of Maggie
Posted on April 20th, 2010 by
As I mentioned yesterday, 4/20 has a lot of meaning to me – and not just because I went to San Francisco State University. On the one year anniversary of tragedy, my daughter was born. We had no idea her gender and I had the honor of announcing to Linda that we had a daughter. Our lives changed, she’s 10 now and just plain “tweeny” and I’m alarmed at how fast the time has gone. In another decade she’ll be 20. The mind boggles. This is the second reason 4/20 helped set me on this path that led to GamerDad.com. For her birthday? She gets to play Sims 3 with me supervising, she gets an “emergency cell phone”, we planted an annual flower garden she’ll enjoy all Summer, she got an email address and 30 “girl-power” MP3s from iTunes. So. Much. Gaga & Beyonce. Happy birthday my love!
Columbine & 4/20
Posted on April 19th, 2010 by
Today is the anniversary of the day the Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold intended to perform the Columbine massacre. It was supposed to happen on the 19th of April. I never realized that, it had to do with a SNAFU over a friend providing ammunition (an 18-year old friend who could buy ammo at KMart). I’d always bought into the mythology that they were commemorating Hitler’s Birthday, on the 20th. Columbine figures BIGTIME in the history of GamerDad. I was a CNet freelance reporter and my job was to chronicle how the media was blaming video games for something that obviously had nothing to do with video games. I’ve written about it almost yearly since then, and it turns out I never really understood it until now. I just finished a devastating book called Columbine and it’s now out in paperback. I DO NOT recommend it, it will break your heart. The book is Columbine, and the author is Dave Cullin. It is the definitive study.
Twitter Twit
Posted on April 16th, 2010 by
Okay, so I joined Twitter. Which means someone has already got GamerDad and TheGamerDad despite my owning the Trademark. Grrrr. I have no idea what I’m doing and I won’t start tweeting until I get about 20 followers, but I plan on twittering what my kids, wife and I are playing and assorted thoughts. I think you can add me JUST by looking for #GamerDadTM – if anyone has a better idea on how I reinforce the fact that I’m the real GamerDad – a genuine concern considering I own the media Trademark and because I’m known in the industry. Anyway, thanks for suggestions and spread the word.
GamerDad in Family Circle!
Posted on April 15th, 2010 by
Hey, remember when I said I was featured in the Feb issue of Family Circle Magazine? Here’s the relevant page in all its JPG glory! They asked me and a few others, that’s GameRevolution.com’s creator Ben Silverman – currently with Yahoo Games (a website that told me readers didn’t want parental gaming reviews, back in the day) and then me below and to the right. I recommended Lego Rock Band, Madden and New Super Mario Bros and about 10 other games, but they only chose those three. Anyway, for those of you who haven’t been to the doctor or dentist lately – where Family Circle seems to live – here’s the full page.
A University Survey
Posted on April 13th, 2010 by
Hey readers, a reader named Jack, who is also a 3rd year student at the University of Portsmouth is doing an academic survey about video games. Click here to fill out a brief survey and help him out!
Catholics, Catholics, & Damned Catholics
Posted on April 13th, 2010 by
I’m mad as hell and I just can’t take it anymore. Forgive me for I know what I do and I’m going to do it anyway. I’m fed up. I normally don’t talk politics or religion here at GamerDad. I don’t want to offend. I want to be fair. Inclusive. PC….
Easter Bunny
Posted on April 4th, 2010 by
She knows. SHE KNOWS! Maggie (9) asked me, yesterday, if the Easter Bunny was real. I’d long decided that I wouldn’t lie if asked this question directly. She did. I told her and then as she ran upstairs crying I followed her. She then extrapolated Santa and yelled “There’s nothing to believe in!” I soothed her and talked about love, and heaven, and the people we miss waiting for us and then I reminded her that now she got to be a BIG girl and help make the magic for her little brother. That did the trick! So last night she wrote the letter from the bunny, she helped us fill the baskets and then she trotted off to bed while we hid the eggs. (She still wanted to do that part.) My little girl is getting older and shedding some of her irrational beliefs. I’m sad, but very proud of her too.
Henry & God of War III
Posted on April 2nd, 2010 by
I got God of War III yesterday, a game that Henry (7) has never heard of, and he got mad that I wasn’t going to play it until he went to bed. “Can I watch?” No. See? It has an M-rating and it’s scary and violent. “Come on Dad, it’s fake violence, nobody gets hurt!” I didn’t allow it but that’s some good logic for a kid who’s understanding of what I do consists mainly of – “There are a lot of games here!” and “Daddy is friends with the Mario people.”
