Rhindle The Red

First, Elvira did a very different thing, introducing and interrupting the movies, but not actually interacting with them. Also, she served specifically as a host, with very little in the way of characters, stories, etc. Second, she was hardly the first "macabre" movie host and copped much of her schtick from Vampira. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Elvira. She's a lot of fun. But it's really apples and oranges comparing her to MST3K.

For the record, CafePress sets a standard price and allows the store owner to set the markup (or none at all if he is so inclined). I set it for a straight percentage markup over the base price. You can also have it tiered (so more expensive items have a higher percentage markup than cheaper ones), a straight amount markup (everything's $2.00 over base price, for instance), or set the prices item by item.

Is she insane with some of those prices? There's no fucking way I'm paying 100 bucks for a box of cheap magnets. I know the site was probably put together as a joke, but you can actually purchase the crap that's on there. Plus, I think it's rather arrogant of her to gloat about getting a Wii to the "Wii-less." So. no thanks. *ahem* I made the Site for her. She spent over $100 as a fun way to celebrate getting the one thing her kids wanted for Christmas. (And as the Wii is the subject of much discussion at work, a bit of gloating, too.) And, hell yeah you can buy that stuff. It's silly, but well made. It's not crap. I don't actually expect anyone here to buy from this store, but I thought you might get a chuckle out of it. As for the $100 magnets, that's $100 for 100 magnets (and as I said, they are well made, not cheap), so it's not really an outrageous price. I just clicked "all products", so it's not like I actually expected even her to buy 100 magnets or anything.

I made this store for a co-worker who wanted to lord her success at obtaining a Wii over the Wii-less, so I thought I'd post it here: http://www.cafepress.com/wiifew

Okay, really just for the MST3K fans out there. For those of you not in the know, the legacy of classic TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 has gotten very interesting of late. First, Mike Nelson started doing funny commentaries for DVD releases from Legend Films (like the one I worked on, Plan 9 From Outer Space). Then, he teamed up with Legend to create Rifftrax, a web site where you could download commentaries for commercially released DVDs like Road House. Eventually other MST3K alums like Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett joined him, making the audio tracks quite MST3K-like. (www.rifftrax.com) Next, Mike, Kevin and Bill took their "Film Crew" project (that had mainly provided introductions to movies and DVD) and created a set of DVDs that even featured a sort of plot - very MST3K, indeed. (www.thefilmcrew.com) Then, the double whammy: It is announced that MST3K.com was going back into the hands of Jim Mallon and Best Brains and will feature new animations featuring the Bots (but with new voices - except for Jim returning to voice Gypsy). Then, MST3K creator and original host Joel Hodgeson announced his new project Cinematic Titanic, a riffing venture in which he is joined by original cast members/writers Trace Beaulieu and Josh (J. Elvis) Weinstein, as well as Frank (TV's Frank) Conniff) and Mary Jo (Mrs. Forrester) Pehl. (www.cinematictitanic.com) Whew! That's a lot of product without an honest-to-goodness new episode in sight! So, whaddya think, sirs? (BTW, I listed the Film Crew and Rifftrax seperately because they are very different product lines.)

Brrrrrr!

Just caught that myself. I forgot to check the "multiple answers" box. Let me know what else you wanted to check and I'll add the numbers in.

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way (for those of us in the US), it's time to talk holiday gift giving. What do you think the holiday season will be like for you, game-wise? Do you think you're going to get a vintage game you really need? Are you buying your kids a Wii? How's it shaping up for you?

Whoops! I'm out of practice on the proper poll questions! Done.

Well, things are heating up for this holiday season. The Wii still seems to be out on top on the console sales front, with the Xbox 360 boosted by Halo 3 and the PlayStation 3 seeing a resurgence thanks to new models and price drops. Of course, the handhelds are also seeing significant action, with the Nintendo DS often outselling all consoles and the PSP still holding its own. Which of these do you own? PS: Keep things civil. Please don't turn this into a pissing contest. That's next Summer's Shodown! (The 2008 Vintage Video Game Pissing Contest!)

I thought it was great. Played it for everyone I could.

Well, it's all over and Pitfall Harry, star of the Pitfall series of games, won in the end. (Although it was close throughout.) Did you expect it? Did it surprise you? Anger you? This year's Shodown was a lot bigger than last years. Was it a good experience? Do you want more? *singing* (to the tune of "Hello, Larry") Hey, Pitfall Harry (Pitfall Harry...) You run around through jungles for a living (Pitfall Harry...) Avoiding scorpions and things so unforgiving! Are you really living your life that way? Platforming without a word to say? (to say...) Pitfall Harry (Pitfall Harry...) Adventuring with a niece and lion ain't easy (Pitfall Harry...) One's kind of brave, the other one's just queasy The paths you choose to take don't always pay But that's the way it went back in the day The treasure must be found This is no time to frown 'Cause at least you're still around to game today (Pitfall Harry...) Pitfall Harry (Pitfall Harry...) Pitfall Harry (Pitfall Harry...) Hey, Pitfall Harry!

True.

It's the old switcheroo! I...I did that on purpose. Hey! Look over there! *points* *runs away*

BTW, I started the Finals so late that I'm going to let it run for next week, as well. It will end on Monday, the 12th.

It could be worse. At the moment, Tetris' "L" block is currently wiping up the floor with Master Chief, Dante and Solid Snake over at gamefaqs.com.

A real close one last time, with both battles going back and forth. But here it is. The big one. The final encounter. The last fight. Pac-Man vs. Pitfall Harry

Oh, we're getting there now. It's time to pick the two who will face off for the ultimate, severly-selection-limited championship! Pac-Man vs. Evil Otto It's the battle of the arcade circles! Dig Dug vs. Pitfall Harry It's...oh, hell, I can't think of anything... Brackets, won't us?

It's the Quarter Finals! Nothing but the big guns from here on in! Pac-Man vs. The Hero You know who they are! Why are you listenin' to me? Evil Otto vs. Mario Can that round smiling bastard win one more time or will it go to Otto? Q*Bert vs. Dig Dug @!#[email protected]! Pitfall Harry vs. Donkey Kong Two masters of the jungle square off! And, now....Everyone's favorite part...The Barackets!

Don't forget "The Hero". Oh, and Harry had the arcade version of Pitfall II.

I've been found out! Quick! Grab the womenfolk and head for the hills!

I'm saddened to see Luigi fall, but that square's just too powerful, eh? And now a question. Do you think I should only do one battle at a time from this point onward. If I do, it will be about another two months before this thing is concluded, otherwise, it will just be a month. What do you think? So, to continue: Q*Bert vs. The Mad Bomber Namesake star of Q*Bert versus that crazy, thieving master of destruction from Kaboom!. Frogger vs. Dig Dug Froggy takes one step at a time in Frogger, but can the star of Dig Dug dig deeper? Pitfall Harry vs. The Last Hope of Mankind He can jump over scorpions, but can the star of Pitfall! evade the laser-wielding star of Robotron: 2084? Ms. Pac-Man vs. Donkey Kong A big fight here as the first lady of gaming, star of Ms. Pac-Man takes on the 300 pound gorilla, villain of Donkey Kong. And the brackets as they currently stand:

Not as sick as last week, so we're on time. But last week's poll is stil running (until Wednesday) so go vote if you missed it! Now, things are getting interesting as it's starting to be nothing but the big guns. Pac-Man vs. Sinistar The Pac-Patriarch from Pac-Man tries to out-maneauver the evil Sinistar. Luigi vs. The Hero The oft-overlooked (but still well loved) secondary hero of Mario Bros. faces the toughest (and most popular) square of all time from Adventure. Evil Otto vs. Bentley Bear He just keeps smiling! It's so...evil! From Berzerk. And his opponent, too, smiles a lot in Crystal Castles, but to a more gentle effect. Mario vs. Peter Pepper The king of all media (video games, television, movies, ring tones), the star of Donkey Kong faces the a nice little chef, star of BurgerTime. The brackets as they currently stand (last week's excluded):

Things have been going back and forth between Agent 17 and Ms. Pac-Man, so, true to my word, I will keep this one open until Wednesday so it has a chance to hash out.

Okay, so I've been sick all week, so never got the new poll up. It's a couple of days late, but here is it at last. (If things are close, I'll keep it open a few extra days next week.) And speaking of keeping things open, last week's poll is still open because there is a tie between Bounty Bob and The Mad Bomber. If anyone hasn't voted on that one, please do so. If it's not settled by the time the winner is needed, I'm giving it to whoever got the higher score in the nomination phase. And without further ado, the Bushnell Division: Pitfall Harry vs. Yorgle the Yellow Dragon The original platforming hero of Pitfall! take one the yellow dragon of Adventure. Wrong Way vs. The Last Hope of Mankind The wacky bad guy from Q*Bert took out KC Munchkin in a shocker. Can he do the same to the little-non-human-that-could from Robotron: 2084? Agent 17 vs. Ms. Pac-Man He may know his way around Elevator Action, but can he stop the first lady of gaming, the star of Ms. Pac-Man? Sir Dudley Dashley vs. Donkey Kong The safari-loving star of Jungle Hunt faces the big ape himself, the villain of Donkey Kong. Brackets will be posted when the last contest is finally completed.