What can you do with a Wii Remote?

My friend Kathy (late of The Fangirl Adventures) got me hooked on videos from TED.com. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, here's a brief write-up from the site:

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference, held in Long Beach, now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

TED.com has a ton of videos on their site; all available for download in MP4/AVI format, streaming at their site or for embedding on your own site (as is the case here).

The video selection below is from the February 2008 conference. Johnny Lee, formerly a student at Carnegie Mellon now at Microsoft Applied Sciences, demos a couple of his cool mods to the Wii Remote (or as I call it - the Wiimote).



To learn more about these mods, you can find out more at Johnny's dedicated page.

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Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine for Wii/DS - When Will It be Out?

A nice surprise that I received in my inbox was a short message from the Wife. While receiving messages from her are always a treat, this one was especially nice since it had a URL for the aforementioned Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine for the Wii. A press release from the developers (Destineer Studios) and its synication partners (United Media) was sent out in early March of this year and somehow I missed it. This is nothing new for long-time readers but this game should have been on my Pop Culture radar as it would definitely be something that I would be interested in picking up being a big fan of the Cooking Mama series.

Although, after viewing the trailer and doing some quick research, I do have a few doubts about the actual viability of the game. First, the release date was supposed to be this summer, which ends in less than one week for those of you who use the Mayan Calendar. Second, the trailer has zero demo screens or even game play screen shots - not a good sign for a game to be released in less than six months. Third, the trailer used the old Wii box design - another knock on the possible timeliness of the release. And more important, the site hasn't been updated since the press release.

Individually, these factors might not seem too bad but all together, it spells not only a slight delay but a very lengthy one. As everyone kows, nothing kills the gamer buzz on a game if the developers fail to deliver on the expected release date and that even includes the non-hardcore Wii gamers. Unless the game blatantly rips off the Cooking Mama gaming engine or goes for the $19.99 el cheapo route, I would be more than surprised if the game is actually released prior to Christmas 2008.

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The New Lara Croft Vaults Into the Foreground

Hello Gorgeous! The latest person to take up the Lara Croft mantle is not an actor or a model by trade. In these Olympic times that we're currently live in, it should only be fair to have an athlete - to be specific, a gymnast from England - step into the form fitting archaeologist suit. Her name is Alison Carrol and you can find out more on her leap into the world of make-believe at Yahoo!

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Gamer Pride - Madden 20th Anniversary Reebok Recline PHs

In honor of the Madden/EA Franchise hitting 20 years, Reebok has put all of the game covers on a Recline PH shoe for w hat I'm sure is a limited release. I can't find any other word on the shoe as far as release date or price point but if you want 'em, you gotta imagine that they'll cost about three times what this year's Madden release for the XBox 360 costs. Not bad for 20 years of service.

Pics from Solecollector.com (Top - obviously) and Deadspin (Bottom - from the Maddenpalooza Party in LA)

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Hey - Wha Happened?

Of all of the weeks to take a short vacation from the keyboard. August is supposed to be the boring or "dead" month of Summer before Falls begins but this past couple of days seems to bring tons of news from all corners of the Pop Culture world. Think of when the last time these events happened in the span of a couple of days:

• The death of two highly visiable Hollywood entertainers (Issac Hayes and Bernie Mac)


• The death of so many Olympic and World Records in Beijing


• The death (and possible resurrection) of Wolfmother, an up-and-coming band that contributed to the reimmergence of rock in American music

When you count that today is Madden 09 Day and that Metallica not only announced the completion of Death Magnetic but also tour dates for the first leg of their North American tour, August has become very newsworthy.

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Marvel's Super Hero Squad rights snagged by THQ

Here's a case where I missed the news on this latest license acquisition by THQ due to the fact that I was actually playing with the source materials - with my son and daughter obviously (not that there is anything wrong with adults playing with them by themselves). My son is real excited for the new series and subsequent video game (Wii will be a must for this demo) but how do you explain to a five year old why it won't be until the fall of 09 before he get to see it?

Check the PR here at Variety and a more robust one here at the THQ corporate website.

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Your Random Facts for May 7

Trying to see through last night's funk that was Game 1 of the Cavs versus the Celts, here are your facts for today:

• Want to major in the GTA4 lifestyle? Go to SDSU and pledge Theta Chi.
• Marvel movies that are coming up - Iron Man 2 in April 2010, Thor in June 2010, First Avenger: Captain America in May 2011 and The Avengers in July 2011 so says Reuters.
• Lastly, there are no decent regular CDs released this week but if you're in the mood for some good music, you might want to check out Snack Time by the Barenaked Ladies. From what I've heard, it's really an all-ages listen.

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Your Random Facts for May 6

Wondering how much money Rockstar Games would pay to have Marvin Harrison to be on the cover of the next GTA release, here are your random facts:

• If you want to read a very catty report of local celebrity news, read The Reliable Source from yesterday's Wash Post concerning Mike O'Meara's restaurant closure. Meow, meow ladies.
• The Spurs are looking really old against the much younger Hornets. Don't blink because if these last two games are any indication, the Spurs will be one and done in this year's playoffs.

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Samantha Fox was wrong

File this bit o' news under too much time on his hands, watching too many chick flicks and that nerds need love, too.

Some guy in Jersey decided to propose to his girlfriend by redesigning her favorite video game, PopCap's Bejeweled, to say those magic words when she hit a certain score. And in a move that is basically unheard of in this litigious world, PopCap wasn't even mad. Plus they're gonna supply the game, unmodified, to all of the wedding guest as party favors. Lawyers around the word will be despondent until the divorce process begins.

My questions that never will be answered - How long did it take him to re-code the change? What the score threshold was? How many attempts it took her to get to that score? But one thing is for sure - at least, she was the one to sweat out getting the proposal instead of the other way around..

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Wii Fit packaging released

I don't know why but I am looking forward to Wii Fit. It might be because of how innovative the controls will be or that it's more like Wii Sports but May 21st doesn't seem like it'll be here fast enough. To help sate my impulsiveness, the good folks at Amazon have many images; two of which are of the game packaging - the front shown above. Amazon also are taking pre-orders if that's your thing. So, do me a solid and get one for yourself.

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A Friday Favorite - RuneScape + Disturbed = Funny Video

Sometimes, you gotta love kids with a ton of free time on their hands. Otherwise, you would never see something like a music video for the new Disturbed song, Inside The Fire, made entirely out of webcam clips of RuneScape, an online MMORPG. It's not the best homemade music video around but it's still pretty funny. Have a look for yourself:

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New HULK Video Game Trailer Online

Here's a first look of SEGA's new HULK video game. I'm not digging it as much as the new Iron Man (or even the Lego Batman) game but it still could be a keeper. See for yourself:

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Time-Killer - NANACA CRASH!

I can't remember where I found this online game but for a completely addictive time-waster, it ranks right up there. The rules are simple - run your bike into an unsuspecting dude and send him flying for distance. There are hidden power-ups and pitfalls among the people on the street. Let's see if you can beat my recent record:

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Wii Sports Cheat - Blue Practice Court

Here's another time where I'm providing "fresh" commentary to a stale item. In case you don't read the Wii Sports cheat sheets, here's a way to play a doubles set on the blue practice court:

After selecting the Miis that you will be playing as, hold down the 2 button as you click the A button to pass through the Movement Warning screen (image is shown below).

Continue to hold the 2 button down after the screen fades to black. The next screen you should see is the opening of the match with your selected Miis on the blue practice court. You'll still hear the crowd oohs and ahhs and the game will still play the same but a new court is a great change of pace or those who are somewhat burned out by the standard WTA-like arena.

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Upcoming "Iron Man" movie tie-in video game trailer

This preview makes the game look promising but like all teaser trailers, this might be as good as the game gets. although, I do like the look of Stealth Mode Iron Man.

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Yahoo sez PS2 is Gaming Console Best Buy

I just read this recent article by Yahoo about the best buy in home console gaming was the last gen PS2. And you know what? While I'm a complete Wii convert, I can see the total economy of getting a PS2 if you're tight on cash but still want to rock on some of the newer games. But, when you consider that the PS3 can play not only the hi-def DVD champion Blu-Ray and most of the older PS2 games, you gotta look at the PS3 as a better purchase/investment.

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WiiFit creators give up behind the scene fit facts

The WiiFit doesn't come out until May 19th and I've been counting down the days by scouring the Internets looking for anything and everything about this possibly revolutionary marriage between gaming and exercise. (And if you have seen me, you'll be glad that this kind of device is coming around.)

That's when I stumbled upon the actual launch site of WiiFit. On this site, the developers of this game break everything about its creation, software/hardware development and the sights/sounds of the game. You can read and hear all about the WiiBoard (pictured above) and WiiFit right here. And this is just a reminder - you better start limbering up because the release date is about two months away.

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Lego Batman Teaser Trailer

It's a new week with good stuff coming out tomorrow but here's something that has my appetite whetted for October 2008. It appears that the Dark Knight will receive the treatment that has only been afforded the Star Wars saga (and in the near future, the Indiana Jones franchise). Peep your eye at this video courtesy of Amazon.com.

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Image of the Day for 08-26-07

One of the presents from yesterday - played it for about an hour and I like how the Wii's innovative controller use is incorporated but I will need more time with the game before rendering a decision.

Game Link: Madden 08 - Wii

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Image of the Day for 08-22-07

(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt, File)

Eddie Griffin, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves, was indentified via dental records as the horribly charred body that was involved with a SUV/Train wreck last week. JA Adande of ESPN writes a good piece on the troubled life and time of Griffin. What this pointless death has to do with me is that Griffin was so stacked in NBA Live 06 that I traded for him in two different Franchise Mode games. He was great for boards and blocks and step up wiht a double digit game in every once in a while. It's just unfortunate that they guy couldn't just be like the video game and be trouble for his opponents on the court versus get in trouble with his actions off of it.

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