I'm a sad panda. I loved Evel Knievel. I even had this kickass Evel Knievel stunt cycle. Well, actually it was my brother's... I got a Holly Hobby doll that Xmas 

 

Here's my best Evel souvenier:

 

So it arrived yesterday. I love it. I didn't make an 'unboxing' video, nor am I going to catalog disappointments. Because I DON'T have any!

 

It's even more delightful than I thought it would be! I turned it on and it already had my Amazon account info on it. I bought Junot Diaz' new novel. How cool to pay ten bucks instead of 30, and not have to lug around a big hardcover book! Then I subscribed to the New York Times. I bought Huckleberry Finn for 3.50 and The Count of Monte Cristo for 1.25. Each took about 30 seconds to load onto my Kindle.

 

Pleasant Kindle surprises:

The screensaver! I got a pretty one with birds the first time my Kindle went nye-nye, and the second time I got a cool drawing of Oscar Wilde.

The 'Next Page' button lets me read with one hand. (Cuz I've got a Diet Coke in the other, perv.)

Good Morning TriXie, here's your New York Times. Okay, it didn't talk to me, but having today's Times delivered to me when I turned on my Kindle this morning was sweet.

 

All the gadget geeks at the 'soft have been flocking to my office to peep the Kindle. I think Major Nelson pitched a tent when he discovered that he can get the mobile version of majornelson.com on it, though Paul Bunyan thinks the 'flash' when you turn the page and the screen re-loads or whatever would get annoying after awhile. I think I clinched the sales of many Kindles today. I think Amazon should send me a t-shirt. Or Jeff Bezos could take me to lunch. I'll take either.

 

 

 

This from the playground outside my apartment. These kids are probably 8 or 9.

 

Blonde kid: I'll be Master Chief and you be Arbiter.

Chubby kid: No way--you always get to be Chief!

Blonde kid: You're Arbiter. You're with me.

Chubby kid: I don't want to be Arbiter again!

Blonde kids: Shut up or you'll be a marine.

 

Are kids that are still young enough to play on a swingset old enough to play Halo?

 

BTW Check out this funny video from my cool friend MatthewRex that I met in Orlando.

 

... I bought myself a Kindle. Happy (way early) birthday to me. And happy times for all the many trees worth of books I will be reading electronically instead of on paper. I will miss that new book smell though. And the old book smell is pretty great too. Hmmm you think Yankee Candle makes a "library" scent?

 

Feast your eyes on my precious.

 

 

 

I gotta say i feels REALLY good today to look back at how far we've come in the last five years. It started with one gamertag: "e" and now we're at 8 MILLION gamertags!

 

All thanks to you--the gamers that wanted to play games with other people and talk at the same time.

 

Please take advantage of the LIVE is 5IVE offerings today including Game with Developers, Game with Fame, and a bunch of free stuff

 

Check out the great stories we gathered from the launch team as well.

 

And check out the pics from the LIVE team birthday party going on at Xbox HQ as I type this (I snuck downstairs to avoid being forced to do a jello shot).

Let me set the scene for you: It's 1978 and I am a small child. Hush to those of you who were just a gleam in your mommy's eye back then. In 1978 there was a movie out called "Magic." It was about an evil ventriloquist's dummy. The TV commercial for "Magic" featured said evil dummy speaking into the camera in an extreme close-up, and I think there was some creepy music. This commercial scared the living bejeebus out of young TriXie. When the commercial came on, I was too afraid to get close enough to the TV to change the channel or turn it off (no remote, people!). Instead I would run into the bathroom, lock the door, turn on the water, cover my ears and hum "The Star Spangled Banner" as loud as I could.

 

This trauma incited a lifelong phobia of ventriloquist's dummies, puppets and many dolls.

 

Fast forward to 2007. I make the mistake of confessing said fear of "Magic" to KP. A week later "Magic" becomes available on Video Marketplace and much mocking of TriXie ensues. In fact the VMP dudes say they put it up on Marketplace just for me.

 

It gets worse. KP starts asking me if I've checked my mail. I'm suspicious, but I pick up a package from Amazon, pull the cardboard tag and put my hand in the package: I feel a DVD case and say "OH NO". Yes, that little bastahd sent me a copy of "Magic."

 

Of course I refuse to watch it--it's still in the shrink wrap. But the terror continues as my rotten son (who is basically a clone of KP in evil intelligence and demeanor) keeps putting that frickin' movie in unexpected places. I open the fridge for a Diet Coke--there's that goddman dummy staring out at me from next to the Philly cream cheese! I'm settling down in bed for a nice read, and damnit that horrible wooden face is glaring at me from under the comforter. It makes me shriek everytime, which of course continues the assaults.

 

If those two little poops ever actually coordinate their attacks, I am DOOMED.

Here are the top 25 Gamertags served by Xbox.com in the month of October