This Sunday, I found out that MadTV is not hiring anyone new this year. It was quite the blow. I mean, sure, I wasn’t exactly counting on a job there — but I thought I’d at least be able to audition. To take stock. And I wanted to close that door, or open it completely, instead of standing near the frame, watching the light from within.

Comedy is more exhausting than anything I’ve experienced in the world. Except math.
The good news is, I’ve confirmed that SNL has my tape. That’s really all I want; I just needed to know it didn’t get lost in the mail, or thown away. If they don’t agree with the tape or find it funny, fine. But I wanted the honest chance. Today, I dropped the casting director a line: “Did you get my package?” She replied, “Yes - it’s here!”

Great. And the exclamation mark seems positive.
My job at Play continues to be exciting. At the risk of making everyone hate me, I’ll go into a little detail. My first review is in the next issue; it’s of My-HiME, an anime television series. The issue after that will have my NiGHTS retro coverage, a review of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, an interview I did with Jennifer Sekiguchi, and as many as two reviews of portable games. I’m getting those games in the mail tomorrow, and will cover them on the way to and from New York this weekend.

In my NiGHTS review, I tried working in a little New Games Journalism. Just a little. I’m hoping to adapt some of the feel of NGJ for Play; I think it’ll do the industry some good, and once the door is open, it’ll be easier to recommend my friends from The Gamer’s Quarter for freelance. And I feel like Dave Halverson is a New Games Journalist at heart. He just doesn’t know it, yet.

Everytime someone in the games industry doesn’t know about the movement, it shocks me. I can’t imagine living in a world where “Old Games Journalism” is all one knows of gaming reviews.

I just mailed my reel to SNL, with release form and fancy envelope. It’s about 20 seconds shorter than the one I posted here, but still just as weird.

I mailed it at 3:27. For those of you keeping track, that’s a lucky number of mine. I didn’t realize it until I turned around from the post-office desk.

Keep your fingers crossed that someone watches it.

I just got finished watching the Sundance Grand Jury prize winning documentary Why We Fight. Describing the development of the military-industrial complex, Why We Fight provided me with the simple deconstruction I’ve needed to understand the actions of the United States in the world military theater.   With reasonable elegance, it provided this ignorant, psuedo-politically conscious, former Economist reader with the vocabulary she needed to have a greater comprehension of Congress, Business, and Foreign Policy.

It was a wonderful thesis, delivered sweetly.  I don’t need conspiracy theories about 9/11, nor ghost stories about Halliburton.  Why We Fight broke it down: we go to war for money.  It seems naive to write it in such simple terms, like a bumper sticker insert, but how much do you really consider how war works, or how we make money from it?

I deeply suggest watching this movie.  It’s a good, engaging documentary.  And you’ll learn a lot, fast.

Also, I am in love with Eisenhower.

I’m working on a piece about NiGHTS for the next issue of Play.  NiGHTS, for the uninitiated, is a Sega Saturn game that came out in 1996.  It’s by the team that made Sonic the Hedgehog, and is a sort of … forgotten title in the mainstream gamer mind.

Play has a small retro section, so I suggested another look at the quirkly little platformer.

I hooked up my Saturn with a new S-Video cable and gave the game a go the other day, and then had Darren Lanning play it, too.  Darren’s not familiar with the game at all, and reading his reactions (which were very similar to Rachel’s first impression of the title) will certainly inform the article.

So, that’s the preamble to what this post is really about.

When I was in High School and College, I’d often drive out to Arlington Heights to the Yaohan (now Mitsuwa) shopping center, and thumb through the japanese cds looking for anything familar to purchase.  This was pre-internet, for the most-part; you couldn’t google like-minded forums and find out what Puffy album to pick up.  Or rather, I couldn’t.  The internet in ‘96 was so unfamiliar that I could barely check my email without getting lost.

Anyway, when at Yaohan, I’d usually grab a couple cds from an Anime I knew, or a game soundtrack that I was excited about.  These were like chiptunes compilations; think Street Fighter: The Soundtrack.  I’d also get giddy about Video Game Music Remixes.

Never buy a Video Game Soundtrack Remix.  Same with Anime Music Remixes.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, of course.  Beatmania, Dance-Dance, Racing Games — these are games where the soundtrack itself is often remixed within the game, so the retooled music isn’t off-putting.

But Street Fighter Remix?  No.  Secret of Mana the Remix?  Leave it on the shelf.

Lain Remix?  Throw it away.

And that’s not even speaking of “Image Albums,” which are Japanese tie-in CDs that feature dialogue or sound-effects.  The Ghost in the Shell Image CD is an hour of different guns fireing.  Really.

I mean, guns for an hour.  Imagine paying twenty-five dollars in high school … for that.

I was reminded of all this tonight as I downloaded an old copy of the NiGHTS soundtrack … remixed.  Skipping through the tracks and then deleting the score from my computer was a nostalgic trip down an alley of dissapointments.

The point is: the NiGHTS Remix really sucks.

I just got my first-ever residuals check.

That means I can pay rent.

I had my first major meeting with Play today, and got to meet my boss, Dave.  He’s really great, and I’m over-excited about my future at the company.  When Rocket launches in the fall, I’ll be the Executive Editor.  I now write about anime and games for a living.  Which is funny, considering that so much of this blog has been about my struggle to find a place where I could do just that, and associate with people who spoke my language.  Dave does, and so does the rest of Play.
Many thanks go out to Matt-aka ShaperMC.  Without his gracious acceptance of me at The Gamer’s Quarter, I don’t know that any of this would have happened.  Shaper, thank you so very much.  You can have a free subscription to the magazines for as long as I work there; you’re on my comp list.  I just need to know your address.  If I can figure out anything else to give you, I will.  I’m forever in your debt.

And I’m working on my next article for TGQ right now — it’s an extension of the idea that Final Fantasy is not a game, but a religion.

So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on my blog. I’ve had numerous complaints about the lack of posting lately, and to all of you who were so kind as to give me a gentle nudge: Thanks. It really means a lot to me that people are reading.

Life of late has been very busy, and very emotional. As most of you know, my girlfriend moved to the other side of the country this week. She was accepted to Princeton seminary, and is persuing a life as a minister. To answer the obvious question — don’t worry, her church is fine with us being together. Still, the prospect of three years in a long distance relationship is staggering, and the last time I wrote about an atheist and a minister, it was a screenplay about the end of the world.

No joke.

Still, I’ll see her in a few weeks, and we’ll take it one step at a time.

She also went to the hospital this week after falling through a glass table. Twenty three stitches, two days before she had to fly across the country.

In other news, my job is in full swing. I write for Play magazine, as a staff writer. I believe my official title is Anime Editor, but I’m not sure till I get my business cards on Tuesday. I’m helping head up their new magazine, Rocket … which will be like a mirror image of Play. Play features game reviews and a small section on anime; Rocket will be the reverse.

My first review is in the next issue. I’m on the masthead, and my “staff favorites” are posted up alongside everyone elses’. (Mind you, they aren’t my real favorites — I was instructed to not submit series which remain unliscensed. I’ll see if I can change that; it’s a sin to not have Honey and Clover on that list.)

It’s not the first thing I’ve written for Play — many of you may recall the LA Times supplement I wrote with them at the end of June. They were satisfied with my work then, and have asked me to be a part of the permanent team. I’ll do games, but am primarily the anime division.

It’s difficult to write about my honest thoughts here; I’m worried that my boss will read my blog. (Not that I have anything even remotely negative to post about Play.) But I don’t want to gush about my experience, either. Too much positivity, and I’ll come off as a giddy fan-girl. All that aside, I’m really excited to work with them, and I feel really lucky to have what I consider a dream job.

I mean, I’m going to get boxes of anime and manga and games. That’s crazy cool.

On a more sober note, this week marked the passing of my Uncle, Don. He was part of my family in New Orleans, and I can guess this is another miserable moment in a year of disasters for them. It was a surprise, too; a surgery that went sour. Uncle Don got me into Led Zepplin when I was a kid, and he was the first one to give me a taste of bourbon, my now-favorite drink. I held a toast for him on Wednesday night; he’ll be greatly missed by both myself and my family. New Orleans simply won’t feel the same without him.

Two days ago, I went to Escondido with Darren Lanning. It was a late night trip for a very sick cat. Darren’s 15 year old shadow wasn’t doing too good, and since he was leaving so late at night, I thought I’d go with to make sure he didn’t fall asleep at the wheel (or cry himself off the road). It was a really relaxing trip, once the cat was okay. I played Lost in Blue for almost six hours on Friday, and was blissfully removed from all of the responsiblities I had in Los Angeles. I needed a reboot, and I got a great one.

My life has been both grand and stressfull lately, both extraordinary and sad. I still haven’t finished my reel for SNL/MADtv, nor have I finished editing Snake in the Apartment, the new video by SinkingCar
I am writing three shows, and performing at three theaters. I’m overwhelmed sometimes, and very lonely the next. Regardless, I can’t help but feel like things are finally happening the way I want them to. My social life is at an all time low, but my productivity is through the roof. I hope that when I finish all of these projects, I’ll still have friends interested in seeing them.

Finally, yesterday, Morning in Compton has been chosen as a top-ten video on the web by The Daily Reel, a new online magazine about the best in web-video. Congrats goes out to both Jim and Bobby. It’s nice to get some press on your first short.