I was too sleepy and the rain was too delicious pattering on my roof to stay awake to watch ‘LOST’ last night, but please by all means discuss and dissect to your heart’s content.

Here is my PAX East video again for your viewing pleasure! I hate to preface something – it starts you off on the wrong foot – but this was a pure Amber effort save for the questions I asked ‘X-PLAY’ host Adam Sessler. I taped the whole thing on my Flip Mino, which worked splendidly, and spend most of Saturday editing and adding the music track – which, btw, I’m not sure I’m allowed to do in the strictest sense, but oh well. And, I was chewing gum. I *know* -- totally sorry.

Now, enjoy :-) PS – Adam, call me if you want to do a DnD segment, k? :-)

So, as far as highlights from the show, I totally loved the new ‘Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands’ game. I’m always the navigator to Husband’s Xbox heroics, and there is something about the ‘Prince of Persia’ stories that makes sitting on the couch as an observer really come to life. And, when a game’s mechanics and action sequences make you gasp … well you just know it’s going to be awesome.

This time around, they’ve added the idea of the prince having control over different elements – earth, air, fire and water – which then manifests into your character’s ability to freeze spurts of water coming off the walls to zing across them, or freeze waterfalls to wall-run across them, then unfreeze a curtain of ice to jump onto a ledge hiding behind it … Just really cool stuff to look at, and a different dynamic than I’ve seen before.

Also, there is this power called ‘crowd control’ where the prince can call out a whirlwind-type destruction blast by planting the little sword/knife thing into the ground (great descriptions, right? very professional … geez). The swirling wind kills all the minions attacking you and leaves you free to kill the ‘spawner’ guy in the corner who’s making all the minions.

See, this is why I don’t do video game reviews :-) hehehe Anyways, it’s totally cool and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Now it’s just a waiting game -- and, had Husband not lost a bet to his friend, I’d already be enjoying ‘BioShock 2.’ Sigh.

Moving on from PAX, I’ve got some fun stuff lined up for you all in the coming weeks, including a review of GelaSkins – they’re like protective covers for your electronic gadgets but they’re much nicer-looking – and the wrap-up of our ‘Superherione’ Bracket …

... Speaking of which, let’s check in on the Femme Fatale round to see who came out on top! (BTW, cast your votes by emailing me at ByteSized@Captivate.com – like, now.) We’re down to four wicked cool ladies and tempers are set to ‘fierce’! I feel like I need Tyra to ref this one as the battles start raging …

Samus was no match for bubbly Harley Quinn, who bounced around and giggled her way to a shut-out victory. Meanwhile, Rogue sapped all Wonder Woman’s wonder and walked away with a TKO.

Round 3 Preview: They say everybody loves a joke but no one loves a fool – can Rogue overpower Harley and her overwhelming cuteness?

---------------------------------------------

Lesson learned: Never underestimate the bitchiness of a cat. Batgirl did and she was batted out of the air by Catwoman too many times to count. And speaking of underestimation, Teela must not get a lot of kick-ass females in Eternia, because she got her staff handed to her by gun-toting bad girl Lara Croft.

Round 3 Preview: Precocious felines will turn a playful companion to tatters – think of what they can do to their enemies. Lara Croft sure shows a lot of skin. Can she keep Miss Kitty and her claws at arm’s length?

Remember, send me your votes to ByteSized@Captivate.com! We’ll be back Friday with a preview of the weekend’s ‘Double Trouble’ matchup between the best two ladies standing. See ya then!

Labels: Adam Sessler, march madness bracket, PAX East 2010, superheroines

Tah-dah! Without any ado, here is my video coverage from PAX East 2010! It's about 10 minutes long and includes my interview with G4's Adam Sessler from 'X-Play' -- plus some great music tracks!

OK, so a few things to keep in mind: I was there by myself. I was the camera girl. The place was massive. I edited the video myself.

So, I was a little starstruck meeting Adam ... but he was just so nice :) And, I love that I'm, like, the face of Captivate now for the G4 crew as they make their way up the elevators. Cracks me up :) I'll have more coverage of PAX East in a few days after I gather my thoughts a little more and download my camera pictures ... Oh, and thank you all for your great questions!

Now, onto The Superheroines/Villainesses Bracket!

As promise, if you want to follow along at home, here is a .PDF download of the weekend's action!

In the Sugar and Spice Round:

Harley Quinn out-sassed Mystique with a few well placed explosives before back-flipping her way back to 'Mista Jay!' Meanwhile, Samus and her cannons proved too much for Princess Allura. Sans the rest of her multi-limbed robot, though, she didn't really stand a chance.

Round 2 Preview: Harley is a wicked little clown but she'd better watch her back against this robotic chick. Overall, this is the battle for the spotlight -- Harley has her self-image issues, but there is something about a bodysuit of metal armor that just screams 'Look at me!'

She-Ra was smack-talking Rogue's premature gray, but this X-Man flattened the crowned beauty and her bountiful gold hair. Across the pond, this was a close one -- neck and neck most of the bout -- but Wonder Woman's fierce whip cracked one time too many for psychic Jean Grey.

Round 2 Preview: Rogue has the magic touch and is heavily favored, but Wonder Woman's reach-2 could give her the edge. The girl power is overwhelming on both sides. Will a dose of anger and a box of black hair dye give our flag-pantied femme the 'fatale' to move on?

There were claws and balls of fur flying everywhere, but Catwoman prevailed over Black Cat in the end and celebrated with a much-deserved bath. Up in the air, Batgirl's nimble acrobatics caused Supergirl to foul out early in the third quarter -- tough break and tough call by the refs, but she deserved it.

Round 2 Preview: It's the cat vs. the bat -- and honestly your guess is as good as mine. The feline is slinkier and smoother, but blue eyes, pointy ears and a cape? Come on now! It's too close to call but definitely one not to miss.

Hawk Girl swooped but bobbled her shield-like mask, giving Teela and her staff an opening to break through. In the other match-up, I wish I could say it was close ... but it wasn't. Lara Croft was in and out and done before Zelda could straighten her skirts and finish texting Link.

Round 2 Preview: Will it be as easy this time around for our 'Tomb Raider' against the wickedest bikini-clad bad girl ever to come out of Eternia? Tune in on Wednesday and find out!

(Again, if you want to play along, here's the PDF download!)

Labels: Adam Sessler, alternative bracket, G4's X-Play, PAX East 2010, superheroines

I have never participated in a real March Madness bracket, like, ever -- but I do love the silly ones that pit awesome characters against each other! And, being a girly geek, I (with some awesome man help) made up my own. So, without further ado, here is ...

Labels: alternative bracket, march madness bracket, superheroines

Sometimes, it’s hard to judge a real person by their online persona – and though I do talk in almost the exact same voice in which I write, I feel it’s time I give you all a peek into the geek behind the header! There is a funny online site I talked about a while back that shows cubicle desktops, so I’ll show you mine if you show me yours!

Now, I’ve been threatening you all with a peek at my desktop for weeks now, and I finally took some pics with my camera phone – don’t judge me! Or, when you do judge me, at least get a good laugh out of it!

I call it my ‘muse wall’ because it’s got all the happy people I love looking at all day! You’ll also see a few gadgets lying around – the glitter lamp is a USB hook-up! -- my various notebooks and pens scattered across my calendar … I’ve got a Rosetta stone in the corner and Shakespeare quotes all over the place.

It’s definitely a fun space, and a very geeky space, to relax and work in day after day. Cubicle decoration is such an under-emphasized part of daily life: You spend more time at your desk than at home, so you should enjoy yourself as much as you can within the confines!

Totally nerdy ideas for your cubicle kingdom:

-Do the panels on your makeshift walls come out? Think about adding in a window or, if you’re super adventurous like me, line the panel with a crazy fabric.

-Give yourself $100 from one paycheck and invest in some decorations from ThinkGeek.com, or get a fabulous mousepad from Zazzle.com.

-Stealthily hijack your office’s color printer (I recommend early or late … not from personal experience or anything) and print off a bunch of visual representations of your favorite things. Word to the wise – cute guys are OK, too much skin is NOT. There is no way to dampen the fun than with inappropriate pics at work.

Next post will be the morning of PAX East, so keep those questions coming! I’ll be live-blogging from the show floor, and I may even break my ban on Twitter and take over the @Captivate account for the afternoon!

Oh, and before I forget, send me YOUR cubicle images to ByteSized@Captivate.com NOW … just for fun : ) I’d love to see how all my fellow geeks are living it up at work!

Yawn … happy Monday morning everyone. My weekend was full of ‘Art,’ delicious food and gardening. But, my arms now feel like rubber hoses reminiscent of Harry Potter’s Prof. Lockhart debacle, so typing is about all I can manage at the moment.

Let’s take a look at the day’s headlines before my fingers wear out, too.

PS – I totally crit all the useless, ugly plants from in front of my house, so at least it was a ‘mission accomplished’ kind of effort.

--I’m absolutely bouncing off the jigsaw-puzzle walls of my cubicle this week in preparation for PAX EAST! Please keep those questions coming for G4’s Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, and I’ll try to ask as many as possible. ByteSized@Captivate.com

--Looking to enjoy March Madness on something more massive than your silly little 42” wall-mounted LCD? Try these TVs on for size.

--Speaking of which, Captivate has a gallery of the best March Madness photos up live now!

--Apple has had it’s issues over the years – here’s a nostalgic look back. Why? I don’t know, blame CNet.

--Let’s get ready to rumble: In one corner, Kindle! In the other, Nook! Ding ding ding!

--OK, I know I’m totally supposed to fill out my Census form. I get that. But I also don’t see why they need more information than the ages of number of the people living in my house. Everything seems completely unnecessary, and I’m glad some people agree.

K, now my fingers are getting tired, too, so I’m going to go massage them and rest up so I’m in top form this Friday! Talk to you all laters!

Labels: Amazon.com's Kindle, eBook; Barnes and Noble; nook;, March Madness, PAX East 2010

OK, so today I've got a lot to tell you guys!

Have you been feeling this undeniable pull toward Boston lately? You know, like a dawning sun get brighter and brighter? That would be PAX EAST 2010 -- the biggest gaming conference to greet the east coast in ... well, I don't really care how long, only that it's hitting my side of town next week and I'll be there!

From the site's FAQ (and for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about ...) : 'PAX East is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. We call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas we've got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Even with all this amazing content the best part of PAX East is hanging out with other people who know their shit when it comes to games.'

Will Wheaton (bazinga) will keynote the event guaranteed to be resplendent in geeks of all shapes, sizes, RPG- and console-preferences. I feel like the mother ship is calling me home. Anyway, here is a list of the scheduled panels and events. I'll be at as many as I can fit into a day (and possibly a few), and Gamer's Edge blogger Jim Dumas will be joining me for a joint-blog report on the coolest news, trends, celebrities, dice colors, funny t-shirts ... you name it, we'll be soaking everything in!

Could I be geeking out more over this? Oh, I haven't even gotten to the cool part yet.

On tap (and impetus) for the weekend is a special treat: Details are in the works to get some face-time with G4's Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb from the network's 'X-Play'! I'm so psyched to bone-up on all the need-to-knows before I meet these gaming rock stars for a two-on-two interview directly form the show floor!

(PS-- I can neither confirm nor deny that I have the total hots for Sessler. Were I putting my money down on a side, I'd go with 'confirm,' though. Wowzers... This should be interesting.)

Got some great ideas on what questions we should ask Sessler and Webb? Which panel should I be sure not to miss? Email your ideas to me NOW at ByteSized@Captivate.com so I can be sure to cover what you guys want to know!

OK... whew, so that's my big news :) I am physically incapable of thinking about anything else other than PAX EAST 2010 at the moment, so I'm foregoing headlines today with the hope you all will fill my inbox with ideas and requests and fun stuff and ... gah!

Have a wonderful weekend, and rest assured assured that I'm stressing out over which of my gaming t-shirts I should wear, and what I should talk about with two obvious experts, and how I should corner a Wizards of the Coast rep and snag myself a job editing the DnD 'Players Handbook 4' -- wait WHAT?! :) Nevermind, I didn't say that ...

LOLz -- see you Monday!

Labels: PAX East 2010

Have you ever tried putting chocolate milk into your morning coffee? It's pretty good, like a really cheap version of a mocha -- it'll do in a pinch but won't hold a candle to the original.

Let's browse some headlines while I sip. Don't worry, I'll wait for you to get your own cuppa and join me. .... OK, we good? Onwards!

--I happen to be in the market for a new car, and I swear if another salesperson pitches to me the special 'iPhone dock' without clarifying it's an 'mp3 dock' again, I'm going to scream. Not everyone owns a iPod, people! Vive Zune! Alas, here are some car kits for the iPhone -- see which comes out on top.

--Kindle will blow your mind, Nook will engage your imagination, and Sony's mediocre competition is, well, not worth your time to stop and look at it. If you're looking for the Que, Plastic Logic's pricey entrant, however, looks like you're going to have to wait a bit longer.

--Rah-ah-ah-ahahhhhh ... Lady Gaga's headphones get reviewed ... and, as is so often the case with her, it's not pretty.

--The argument saga continues between China and Google. Is it just me, or does no one else care about this either?

--Woot! The XBox 360 outsold the Wii in February. Oh, and stay tuned ... The Gamer's Edge blogger and I are headed to PAX East in Boston in a week or so for some exciting interviews and pretty superior gaming browsing. We'll have a full report (this time, written by ME) and hopefully some pics of the event!

Talk to you all Wednesday ... you never know what I'm going to come up with for you, so be sure to join me ... :)

'If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?' -- Alice

Good morning -- or good afternoon -- everyone! I apologize for the unscheduled day off Wednesday and for leaving you all without your Byte-Sized fix! But we're back, we're breathing easy (easier) and we're ready to fall down Alice's magical rabbit hole to find our winners!

First, thank you to everyone who entered out 'Alice in Wonderland' Cap Contest, sponsored by the delightful folks at New Era. The 59Fiftys they sent over were the talk of the office for the few days I had them in hand, and I'm totally excited to announce our winners:

Congratulations to Kyle T. from Humble, TX; Joy R. from San Francisco; Clinton K. from San Francisco; and Barbara K. from Chicago!

Each of you will receive one of either the 'Cheshire Cat' cap, complete with the almost-creepy toothy grin, or the 'All Over' cap, with its white canvas covered in pencil-like sketches of the whole Wonderland crew.

Yay to all of you!! And for those of you whose luck seems to have peaked a little before St. Patrick's Day, visit http://www.neweracap.com/ and check out the selection online! If you order it soon, you could still rock your new cap while 'Alice' is in theatres.

Now, as my favorite character, the March Hare, would say, 'I have an excellent idea: Let's change the subject.' Good call, my friend! Here are a smattering of headlines to gobble while I think up another awesome giveaway for all of you, my little Byte-Sized readers! (... Side note: I'm going to miss all these 'Alice' quotes -- they're wicked fun ...)

-- Please, spare me the dramz: PlayStation's latest play is to go after Project Natal. Well, at least they're aiming high.

-- Bing is making it's mark. I'm telling you: It's totally better than Google, if only from a purely cosmetic standpoint. (PS -- Android has dropped Google in favor of Bing for it's phones. Take that.)

-- I would never, ever live in space -- but this ... well, I'd certainly consider it.

-- I promised you all a look at the best toys from the Toy Fair, and though I wasn't able to get a good look on the floor myself, here's a good replacement :)

-- If there were ever a reason to dislike Twitter, I'm pretty sure this is it.

And, one more quote for the road ...

Mad Hatter: Ah thank goodness! Those are the things that upset me!
March Hare: See all the trouble you started?
Alice: But I didn't think...
March Hare: Ah, that's just it. If you don't think, then you shouldn't talk.

Ah, truer words were never spoken by a madder, hare-brained rabbit.

Labels: alice in wonderland, Bing, London Toy Fair, new era cap contest, waterscrapers

'We're all mad here' at Byte-Sized this week! As you know, today is the last day of our 'Alice in Wonderland' Cap Contest, sponsored by New Era Cap, which we all know makes really high quality baseball-style hats.

'No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow.' -- Excuses like this won't work with me, kiddos! This contest ends at midnight tonight!

'Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!' -- Enter *right now* by emailing me at ByteSized@Captivate.com with your name, address and phone number. I've got a limited number of the $35.99 hats to give out to to some lucky readers, so make sure to get your name in the, er ... hat ... to win.

'It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.' -- In this case, check the official rules here for all your ponderings.

'Now, I give you fair warning, either you or your head must be off, and that in about half no time! Take your choice!' -- Dayum, Queenie, calm down! Before you go, take a gander at these headlines sparking the news today!

--Apparently Steve Jobs made a low-key appearance at the Oscars last night. He is the single largest shareholder in Disney right now after he bought and sold Pixar to the Mouse House, so I guess it makes sense.

--Did you watch the Academy Awards last night? Don't even get me started on the madness that must have infused the voters not to give the big prizes to 'Avatar' -- talk about a rabbit hole. Anyway, you probably saw Apple's iPad commercial. Thoughts?

--Here's a story on OLED TVs. Yeah, I didn't know what they were either, but apparently there is a debate over whether they are a success or failure.

--YouTube has opened up the option of captions on all its videos. They say it's for the deaf, but I think it's so people can watch the videos at work without being blaringly obvious.

--Are you clinging onto your original XBox games for dear life? Time to cut that cord. Starting April 15, Microsoft will no longer support the gen-1 games on XBox Live. Sorry, dudes.

'Curioser and curioser!' -- See you all back here Wednesday, when I announce the winners and celebrate by watching 'Alice in Wonderland' for myself in IMAX! I mean, you can't come with me, but we could synchronize our watches or something, right?

Labels: alice in wonderland, new era cap contest, oscars, quotes, Steve Jobs

Who's ready to tumble through the looking glass this weekend? Oh, oh, pick me!

In honor of the much-anticipated premiere of Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland,' starring the Technicolor and always brilliant Johnny Depp, we at Byte-Sized want to give you a chance to win something exciting from the movie!

With New Era Cap, we're totally excited to announce the 'Looking Glass Cap Contest'!

Send me an email anytime from *right now* to bytesized@captivate.com until midnight on Monday, March 8, with your name, mailing address and phone number and you'll be entered to win a baseball-style fitted hat featuring iconic scenes and characters from Burton's wild vision of 'Alice in Wonderland' from New Era!

Here are the company's descriptions:

All Over cap
The All Over cap is a white 59Fifty style cap with a 360 degree sketched portrait which features Alice, Mad Hatter, March Hare, White Rabbit, Mouse, Caterpillar, and the Red Queen. On the top of the cap brim features the Cheshire Cat, and TweedleDee and TweedleDum on the inside of the brim.

Cheshire Cat cap
The Cheshire Cat Cap is a black 59Fifty style cap with the Cheshire Cat’s highlighting his grinning expression. His eyes are bright blue giving the hat to stand out with his detailed white grin. For the rest of the cap it displays strategically detailed designs which make the hat look like the Cheshire Cat’s fur. On the back of the cap there is a spiraling saying “Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed that I’m not all there myself.”

If you want to bypass the contest and simply must have one of these awesome hats, go to www.neweracap.com/alice to order your own for $35.99!

Good luck! We'll have a little more on the giveaway on Monday, then we'll announce the winner right here on Wednesday!

Labels: alice in wonderland, hat giveaway, new era cap contest

I have a secret -- shhh don't tell!

Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you all about it on Friday, so be sure to check back here for all the details! I'm so excited, I want to put tape over my mouth to keep myself from blabbing(metaphorically, of course ... tape wouldn't hold me back).

I know I promised some LOST talk, but I didn't watch it yet. (Ducks from the tomatoes). I know, I know. But, see, we live in the woods and I didn't get power back from the 'wind storm' that hit our area last week until 10 minutes before LOST was set to start last night! So, I do have it TiVoed with every intention of watching it right after work, but until then, no one is allowed to talk to me about it ... But feel free to talk amongst yourselves in the comments below!

For those of you DVR geeks like me, here is a tasty batch of new headlines:

--TiVo has done it again, raising the bar on the DVR market! Now, the big question is ... When can I get mine?

--Spain has arrested three people accused of running a botnet of more than 12 million computers. Wow, I wonder what they were doing with all that bandwidth.

--India has found ice on the North pole of the moon. Pardon me for being lackluster ... but didn't we already know this?

--How cool is Microsoft's Project Natal? Pronounced nah-TAL, as I was reminded multiple times this weekend by a snarky soon-to-be-brother-in-law, is a system I've talked about before right here where you can control a video game with no controller. Think ... CGI imaging, only instantly. Microsoft is so awesome.

--Who'd've thunk it? Apparently Comedy Central is where all the scientists go to talk about their craft -- namely into chairs opposite Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Hehehe Those guys are so funny ...

--Can't be in Switzerland but was cool info from the Geneva Auto Show? CNet has complete coverage.

--We've got a ton of new stuff on Captivate.com this week:
.....I've written a review of Owl City's 'Ocean Eyes' CD, which is dreamy and meandering and wonderful.
.....We're launching a new Vermont Spring Skiing Giveaway, where, if you're in NYC, Boston or DC, you can win a trip for 2 for 5 nights to a Killington-area resort to enjoy the warm spring slopes!
.....Check out the new 'Captivate Caption' and see if you can top mine.

OMG, OMG, I'm excited about Friday's entry! Be sure to check back!

While our 'Gamer's Edge' writer is out for a few days, I'm going to sprinkle some video game news in with my Monday morning roundup!

--First things first, our hearts go out to Chile, and those who have loved ones in the country. If you have not yet located yours, here's a link to Google's People Finder, which launched hours after the quake to help people locate lost family members. Good luck.

--Be still my heart -- Nintendo VP Cammie Dunaway slipped in a seemingly innocuous comment during an interview on the latest releases for the Wii: The company is working on a new 'Legand of Zelda' game for possible release this year!

Link and his adventures are the ultimate old-school-graduates-to-new-school success story, and 'Ocarina of Time' still holds a special place in my heart and on my game shelf. Hopefully, the developers have gotten all of that 'Windwaker' nonsense out or their systems so we can move on to something better!

--ET, phone headquarters ... If you ever dreamt of having light at your fingertips like that fleshy, foldy alien, these gloves might grant that wish. Flying bicycle not included. (PS-- Who needs lights on the tops of their hands? If you're working with something that requires you to have light in the first place, shouldn't cet light be on the under side of your hands so you can see what you're working with? I mean, come on ...)

--In the market for a great LCD TV, but concerned about all that wasted energy it puts out? Sony's new energy-efficient Bravia might be juuuust what you're looking for.


--We'll be talking 'LOST' here on Wednesday, but here's a preview: Michael Emerson (Ben) talks 'LOST' tech with our friends at Digital Trends via podcast. Ohh, Ben, I do love your dastardly ways ... I hope that you turn out to be good!

--So, I know what it's like to get your cellphone signals crossed and accidentally (for a while) listen in on someone else's conversation. However, it feels a little more invasive when it happens on Facebook.

--More problems for the PlayStation 3 ... is it worth anything more than a sort-of cheap Blu-Ray player, really?

--And, finally, a public health warning from me: Always take the full course of your antibiotic treatments! Even when you're feeling better, you still have to finish off the icky pink stuff or else!

See you back here Wednesday, where we'll talk a little 'LOST.' (Now, the pressure is on for me to stay awake for it...)

Labels: Playstation 3; Sony Bravia; Google's People Finder; Legend of Zelda; Wii