JonCole

Borders is not owned by Amazon.

I think the barrier to entry on piracy for books is high enough that most people don't want to deal with it. The Kindle only supports unprotected PDFs as far as non-DRM file formats go (I believe) and I don't think there's some Napster-equivalent to hunt down PDFs that's even close to the public consciousness. And beyond that, there's no stopping anyone from simply ignoring the digital format and going full analog. There's no simple way to convert a physical book unless you have some high dollar book scanning device. That leaves any independent publisher who wants to write a "quality book" a fair chance. Not to mention the fact that writers now have a direct channel to sell ebooks if they choose to do so, increasing margins due to a lack of middleman (which could make up for piracy).

Yeah, the Kindle Store is a bit of an uneven experience... strangely varying prices, random availability, and such. However, I must say the sample system is really pretty great for random recommendations I see from places like these forums and such.

Might not be best to start with the latest inside joke/Scott Bromley driven episode and rather go back one to the 12/17 Jeff Green episode or 12/3 Greg Miller and Ryan O'Donnell episode.

Agree with all of this. Only want to say that "It's a bit short though." isn't really a complaint for me... I like playing games that my short attention span simply can't find a point to stop before finishing.

For what it's worth, I think Rebel FM has really come into its own with the regular guests and unofficial fourth chair Matt Chandronait. The sheer number of people on there has crystallized some of the guys opinions and reduced the "GAF echo chamber" quotient of the podcast as a whole.

Totally agreed on Terminator S2. Disagree on Dollhouse being rough as a whole... I actually thought that Dollhouse was the most cohesive thing Whedon has done (keep in mind that I'm not very deep into Angel). While there were a couple missteps on the more peripheral episodes, I think the characters were quite well fleshed out and the plot was held together fairly well given the amount of different ideas being explored in the last half of the second season. Also, love the post-apocalyptic episodes.

I made a pretty strong argument for it along with Ross (Idle Thumbs is also one of his personal picks that were posted earlier today). Some of the guys tried to argue that Idle Thumbs shouldn't make it because it didn't persist throughout the whole year, but it was hard for them to completely Devil's Advocate it up considering we all enjoy it to SOME extent.

Above REALLY all else: What happened while I was asleep 50% of the movie? That was honestly one of the worst movies I've ever bothered to watch. If it wasn't for the unique (though ultimately gimmicky) art style and existence of actors who I'd normally like, I'd say there were no redeeming elements of watching Sky Captain.

Similar to most console -> PC ports, I've heard that mouse + keyboard controls are a bit wonky for Darksiders. Still, it was one of the best games I've played this year, so I'd definitely recommend it for $10 especially if you have a controller.

I'd humbly request Bayonetta, but I believe the 360 version is region-locked. Thanks for the Christmas lack of cheer either way, Blix.

Let me direct you to search for "Indie Pack" on Steam and find like ten $5 5-packs of indie games. Amazing deals.

I beat the Guild Wars: Prophecies campaign today. Seems odd that I've been putting so much time into a five-year old game, but my girlfriend has always liked the game and I've been a casual player for a couple years now. I've finally taken the time to "beat it" considering the upcoming release of GW2 and some of the new content added to the game to bridge the gap.

I believe there were some people here that liked The Longest Journey, so I thought it's probably worth noting it's 50% ($5) on Good Old Games.

I've got to say I'm very excited about this title, but I just can't make myself get any more new games after the recent onslaught on consoles and my general apathy towards playing handheld games. Once I beat Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and maybe a DS game that's been on my backlog for a while, I'll give it a shot.

Anyone up for scheduling some sort of regular matches of this? I'm really on it right now and I feel like the various game modes could keep us going on it for a while.

This and board games/role-playing games.

I wasn't the biggest Kane & Lynch 2 fan, but for $5 I'd say get it. (I mean, that's basically equivalent to the price of a rental)

Totally agreed. Unstoppable was probably Tony Scott's most focused, tight, natural movie in years. And I can actually like Denzel without feeling bad about watching the whole movie, like I felt in Deja Vu and Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

The new Kanye West album is fantastic. That is all.

I think I'd agree that the books are as entertaining as LOTR, but entertainment isn't the only metric with which I measure the books I read.

Wow, we couldn't be more polar opposite on this one. I thought Deathly Hallows had some of the most gravity in the film series.

I agree with everything you said right here. I thought the pace was fantastic... this movie feels like one of the only ones that I'd actually want to be something like 4 or 5 hours (kinda like the Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut 4 hour extravaganza). Also, the way it straddled the comedy and drama line was really well done.

I got it and I'd be up for some Thumbs play, assuming I'm not a total train wreck at it. Well... maybe even then.