This whole condo thing is taking up MUCH more time than I anticipated. As it stands I can handle PGR, and Just Talking along with my primary blogging activities, but my gaming post is going to be on hiatus for a little bit. Writing up a quick blog post about a recent happening doesn't require any critical analysis or deep intellectual thought, but I try to put some extra care into my gaming posts. I can't do that right now with all of my real world obligations. Instead of giving you all a half-assed post, I'm opting for a self-imposed break. If you follow my blog I'll still  have a post up on Friday's, but it wont be anything like what I normally do. Chances are it may not even be about gaming.

I hope you understand why I'm doing this. I will return with 1000 word ramblings as soon as things slow down. I appreciate your understanding with this.

Have a nice day.

-Chris

>For the first time since I started my blog (and writing editorials for TAG), I'm taking a Friday off. I figure traveling to Boston for the Penny Arcade Expo is a worthy excuse. I contemplated ranting about the announcement about Nintendo's 3DSi or finding some other story that I felt slipped through the cracks, but at this point I don't think it's worth it. If it's any consolation, I'm planning to record, edit, and post a podcast each day after everyone from the Talking About Games staff and any other people we can wrangle on sit around a table and crack jokes at each other. As far as chronicling my fun in Boston, I'm still not sure how I'm going to attack that one. I've thought about a running diary, I've thought about quick summaries of each panel I see and each game I can get my hands on. Or just a few summary posts after I let it all sink in. Regardless, you can rest easy knowing that I didn't take this "day off" lightly. I've established a level of consistency on this blog (and on Talking About Games) that I want to live up to. Like I said, I think this is a worthy excuse.

Have a nice day :)

On the latest episode of the Post Game Report, one of the topics we discussed was a recent survey released discussing the ESRB and its effectiveness among parents. For various reasons I don't think the discussion we had on the podcast went as planned. Maybe it was an earlier recording time, maybe it was because it was the first topic and we needed to get one out of the way before we hit our stride. Maybe it's because it's not something that should be discussed on a podcast.

Post Game Report - Episode 86: Team Woot (Download the MP3)

First, listen to Episode 79 of PGR.

Assuming you've made it to the end, then you know what this is about. If you just want to skip to the money shot, then welcome.

Talking About Games is preparing for the mother of all Round Tables for Modern Warfare 2. The core podcasters will all be participating, just in a slightly different format. We will be breaking up into teams for this recording and the end result will be a mashup of opinions, just bouncing off of some different voices for a change.

Group 1 - Parris, HeroicSuperman, GolfRat, Faitios

Group 2. JVB, Shayward23, SugarFree [me]

Group 3. RobbieJo, SoldierX01, Phoenix410

The final component is key, I'm going to sit down with any and all members of the TAG community that want to participate in the Round Table. There are a few caveats though, so pay attention.

1. Because I'm expecting a lot of you to participate, I can't have each of you going on for 5-10 minutes, so I'm going to limit your segments to 1-2 minutes each. So make it count!

2. Because I want the TAG community to be in this, I will only be accepting "applications" via PM. If you are having problems getting in contact with me, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and I'll figure out what broke.

In your message, I'll need your Skype ID so I can get in contact with you. If you do not have Skype or the necessary components but still want to participate, and are willing to trust me with your cell/home phone number for a day, that can work too. I can call out to regular numbers, but I would prefer to make this a Skype-Skype transaction.

I will be doing this all day Saturday, November 14. Depending on your timezone, we'll have to work something out so people aren't up at absurd times. Equal love for 360cookie and company.

As I stated in the podcast, nothing would make me happier than to not play Modern Warfare 2 on Saturday because I'm recording with all of you. I mean that.

Make it happen.

You've seen the mysterious tweets. You've endured the hyperbole. Hopefully, you've read the genesis. But all of that is a precursor to what all of this has been building up to. Here...we...go.

This is the pilot episode. For this one, I invited Parris on to chat about pressure, podcasting, life, Lost, Flash Forward and whatever else came up. Parris would say he is an old dinosaur in the podcasting "game", and it is that experience that I leaned on for this opening salvo. Again, this podcast isn't just going to be about video games, and it wont just be about Diabetes.