posted by Qais on March 27, 2008 2:10 PM in Geek Culture
Knowing you lovable geeklings to be a voracious crowd of gamers, unsatisfied with a few measly pieces of shwag and promotional material with which adorn your dwellings and proclaim superiority over your comrades, it is with delight that I bring you the latest treasure from my regular forays into the wilds of Instructables.
The proposed purpose of this project is simply to make a giant lamp from many smaller lamps, but you know better than that don't you? Look at it, how could that be anything other than a cleverly crafted Katamari, set to spread its cockle-warming glow all throughout your humble abode. The wide array of colors offered by the Swedish furniture shilling powerhouse, Ikea, allow you to get as creative as you'd like.
Pondering this project also brings to mind ways in which it could further simulate its origins, namely with the application of a bit of velcro or some other random adhesive, anything strong enough to firmly grip a household pet or pre-adolescent sibling should suffice.
Big Lamps from Ikea Lampan lamps
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arts and crafts!
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geekCHIC
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Katamari
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posted by Chris on October 19, 2007 1:11 PM in
I am finishing unpacking and having a staff movie night this weekend on my brand new HDTV (it's so shiny, I am sorry I can't stop talking about it!) but I am going to try to work in some time to finish Half Life 2 and Beautiful Katamari. Of course, Portal's advanced puzzles are going to be interspersed between heated matches of Puzzle Quest and E4 on XBLA. There's just too much good stuff out. What are you diving in to this weekend? Are you fully enjoying this deluge of excellent games?
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Every Extend Extra Extreme
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Half Life 2
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Katamari
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Portal
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Puzzle Quest
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posted by Chris on October 15, 2007 7:14 PM in Podcast
This week, Chris, Grant and Amy talk about how incredibly amazing Portal is, gush about Valve and the Orange Box, talk about other video games (what!) including Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP, Beautiful Katamari and the Haloez. Thundercats may not suck as a movie, Star Trek has almost been completely cast and we see the return of a beloved Weekly Geek feature: live Internet surfing! Oh, there's also a huge giveaway at the end, so be sure to stay tuned for that! Download the show here, or subscribe to the feed to get it delivered, hot and fresh every Monday evening! Show notes after the jump.
weeklygeek_101507.mp3
continue reading "Podcast for 10-15-07 | The Cake Is A Lie"
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Final Fantasy
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Halo 3 Legendary Edition
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Katamari
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Orange Box
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Portal
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Star Trek
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Thundercats
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Valve
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posted by Chris on May 11, 2007 12:11 PM in Games
I will marry the first girl I see who wears this. This absolutely adorable Katamari hair clip comes from someone called Candypopcreations on the ol' Etsy. Etsy is a really cool site where people can easily sell their handcrafted items, and there are a number of cool knit Katamari things such as this clever barrette. And it's only six bucks! Cheap!
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Etsy
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fashion
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hair
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Katamari
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posted by Chris on April 11, 2007 11:30 AM in
We all have our guilty pleasures. Whether you like to listen to Britney Spears or love watching Pokémon movies, we all have interests that may possibly get us beat up if said interests were revealed on the playground. One of the mainstream complaints about Nintendo, for example, is that the games are too "kiddy". From the "Celda" flame wars when Wind Waker was announced to a general aversion to Kirby games, irrational loathing for colorful, fun titles is completely absurd. There are some truly excellent titles out there if you get past the marketing, and here is a couple lists compiled by us Geeks especially for you. If you avoided any of these games because you thought your friends would call you gay or something, now is the time to suck it up and enjoy some incredibly good titles.
continue reading "Top 5 List: Top 5 Great "Kiddy" Games"
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Animal Crossing
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Capcom
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Katamari
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kiddie games
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Top 5 List
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Wind Waker
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posted by Chris on March 26, 2007 6:49 PM in Podcast
It's-a me! Or rather, it's-a us, The Geek, Frodo and White Mage! This week we talk about why we don't like going to the theater and why Reign Over Me may draw us back (hint: it has something to do with video games!). Then we talk about poor Caspian's red ring of death, a brand-new Stargate spinoff, the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, kicking a t-rex in the face, Avatar, Katamari for the Wii, and our Top 5 list. Download it now or subscribe! You won't be sorry. Hit the jump for show notes.
Download now
continue reading "Podcast for 03-26-07 | Hey Paisanos!"
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
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Katamari
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Kotaku
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PLAYSTATION 3
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Shadow of the Colossus
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Stargate
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Super Mario Bros Super Show
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Xbox 360
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posted by Chris on March 19, 2007 6:53 AM in Podcast
Frodo and The Geek are back this week to bring you all things Spartan. We're obsessed with God of War II, and 300 isn't too bad either. In this podcast episode, we talk about how movie critics are out of touch, why we won't own a PLAYSTATION 3 for a while, some crazy RPG about Chopin (the composer!), Katamari and the electric car. Best episode ever? You be the judge! Download it now or subscribe to the podcast. You know you want to.
Hit the jump for show notes!
Download now
continue reading "Podcast for 03-19-2007 | We <3 Kratos"
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300
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conspiracy theories
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Disney
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Eternal Sonata
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God of War II
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Grindhouse
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JEOPARDY
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Katamari
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Mario Galaxy
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Nintendo
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Penny Arcade
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Ratchet and Clank
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Tesla
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Wii
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posted by Chris on February 5, 2007 6:59 AM in Podcast
The Weekly Geek is back in full force, with Frodo and The Geek bringing you a follow up to this week's top 5 list. Also discussed is Ghostbusters news, lawsuits and the horror that is Rachael Ray's new olive oil line. They also touch on the hot topic of this week, the Mooninites debacle. Frodo suggests that the police go fuck themselves, and sodomy is mentioned a number of times. Hotel Dusk, Gears of War, DDR... yes video games are talked about as well. Subscribed to the podcast yet? No? Well, now's your chance! Here are some show notes.
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ATHF
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Gears of War
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Ghostbusters
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Hotel Dusk: Room 215
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Katamari
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Muppets
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podcast
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Rachael Ray
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sodomy
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staple hat
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Top 5 List
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posted by Chris on November 28, 2006 2:24 PM in
Video games being regarded as "Art" seems to serve as a sort of validation for our hobby. If games are Art, then they serve some sort of higher social significance than the standard "they allow us to improve hand-eye coordination" argument we have all heard. Certainly, gaming is big business and a serious one, but can games be "Art"? What is "art", anyway? Having a bachelor's degree in art doesn't make me an expert by any means, but I was taught that art is anything anyone takes the time to call "art". A broad definition, but it works. It's not just how pretty a game looks, or if it is made to look like a painting. Art requires the person viewing to think, to maybe change their world view through the eyes of the Artist, who is regarded as a sort of seer, someone who can visualize and filter the world in ways we cannot.
We here at The Weekly Geek think that video games are the very definition of Art. Hit the jump for our Top Five Games As Art lists!
continue reading "Top Five List: Top Five Games As Art"
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Art
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Katamari
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Okami
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pretentiousness
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Top 5 List
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posted by Chris on October 24, 2006 1:40 PM in
You know when you are feeling sick, depressed or otherwise down you always turn to that certain pick-me-up game. Maybe its all rainy outside and gloomy, you're vomiting buckets and you need something to pass the time and keep you from killing yourself. Comfort games are a big part of gamer's lives, and here is the top 5 comfort games from The Weekly Geek. Enjoy!
Frodo
- Katamari Damacy - Classic gameplay, easy to pick up and stop whenever you want to, and a soundtrack so familiar it might as well be the theme to my life. It's the combo of great gameplay and cozy j-pop that make this a comfort game for me.
- Harvest Moon - It's hard to not find comfort in a game like Harvest Moon, where repetitive tasks become routine as you slowly build your farm empire. No action here, just all relaxing.
- Animal Crossing - I used to fall asleep playing the Gamecube version and just leave the title screen on all night, with the music still going. Now with the DS version, I still fall asleep to it, but I don't have to lug a huge tv into bed with me.
- World of Warcraft - WoW is just so easy to turn on and find something, anything to do to take your mind off of things. Check the auction house, do some crafting, or sit back and get into a 4 hour raid group. Tons of stuff to keep you occupied, and you can still be social while you are sick! Neat!
- Final Fantasy 9 - Something about FFIX struck me the first time I played it. It was like FFVI all over again, great midieval storyline with well-defined characters, memorable soundtrack, lush landscapes and the tried and true Final Fantasy RPG random battle system. It's like coming home, everything is strangely familiar and cozy, like a hug. I think I will be the first person ever to describe FFIX as "a hug".
White Mage
To me a comfort game needs to be open-ended or one you can play over and over and it never gets old.
Honorable Mention: Animal Crossing – Seeing as this game has no end, it is perfect.
- Harvest Moon – I'm a newcomer to this series but the style is just right for a comfort game.
- Tetris – I’ve been playing Tetris since I was 7. My childhood was a happy time and I played Tetris as a child; therefore the game is a good pick-me-up.
- Wild Arms – This is a RPG series that never gets old to me. The original was the first game I ever finished and I have replayed/restarted it many times. The last time I was sick, I played through 30+ hours of Wild Arms 2. The music and the simple style of the series make these great comfort games.
- Final Fantasy Tactics – I started this game 9 years ago and I am still playing the same save file. I made a choice early on to level all my characters to their max before progressing (since I watched The Geek finish the game before I started my own). This made the game nearly open-ended. I have used this game for comfort in the past and continue to come back to it.
- Azure Dreams – I rented this obscure game 9 years ago and got so hooked I had to buy it, even though The Geek and I were just dating and the Playstation was his. On your 15th birthday you decide to go earn your fortune in the Monster Tower. Every floor of the tower is randomly generated on each visit and you always start at level one. You search the tower for treasure to keep or sell and hope to find a monster egg. You can sell the eggs or hatch them and raise the familiars. Familiars gain experience in the tower and they keep the experience they earn (so you are level one when you enter the tower but your familiar may be level 10.) As you reach certain floors in the tower and earn money you are able to improve your hometown and woo girlfriends. Azure Dreams is an almost open-ended dating, collection, rpg, puzzle game that I am determined to finish someday.
The Geek
- Tetris: - C'mon man, it's Tetris. Everybody likes Tetris. It's just a great simple game to just drop right into and zone out.
- Halo 2: - I know, I know, Halo? Yeah, Halo. I'm talking about the online multiplayer. Between Xbox Live being such a good service and the fact that there's about 2 bazillion people playing Halo 2 online at any given time, it's a great game to just plop on the couch for a while, log in, and just shoot some people. And contrary to what ol' JT will tell you, shooting the hell out of a bunch of strangers online is very cathartic.
- Katamari Damacy: - Roll the Katamari. Collect stuff. Get bigger. Roll the Katamari. Collect stuff. Get bigger. Roll the Katamari. Collect stuff. Get bigger. Smile.
- Mega Man X: - MMX is a true classic in every sense of the word. I love the visuals, the music, the animation, everything. It's fun to just blast your way through levels and then use the right weapon against the boss. The thing I really love about that part is the fact that the weapon the bosses are weak against actually have a physical effect. Chill Penguin gets set ablaze, Spark Mandrill is frozen in his tracks, etc.
- Super Mario World: - SMW is one of the all-time greatest platformers. And with good reason. Bright, beautiful visuals, fun level design, creative enemies, lots of hidden exits, smooth sprite animation, wonderful music, and still a decent challenge to boot. The best part about it that makes it a great comfort game is the fact that I can go back to any level at any time once I've cleared them all. Just a couple of weeks ago, I loaded up the old SNES with Super Mario World, hit the Secret Area to load up on some power ups and hitch a ride on Yoshi, and then just picked and chose some of my favorite levels to run through. And then I went and beat the game just so I could hear the end music. Man, I love that ending music.
Caspian
- Any 2K Sports Hockey Game - I know I'm not in the company of many sports game fans here, but the top element of a comfort game for me is one that you don't really have to think about playing. There's nothing quite like smashing some CPU skaters into the glass, watching the red light go off when you fire a wrist shot past the goalie, or watching the zamboni sweep the ice clean on the intermissions. Pretty theraputic after a sucky day at work.
- Final Fantasy IV - Classic Turn-Based RPG action is the best genre of comfort game, in my opinion, and I always go back to the one I first fell in love with. I'm gonna have to pick that one up on Game Boy Advanced.
- Tetris - I have to side with The Geek on this one. Not only is it a fantastic comfort game, but with it on my cell phone, it's also a great "i have ten minutes to kill and I'm nowhere near a game system" game.
- Any PS2 Grand Theft Auto Game - Sometimes there's something getting in the way of my comfort. And that's my intense ANGER and FRUSTRATION!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!! (Shoots a cop.) (Punches a pedestrian.) (Rips off a Ferrari.) ... I'm feeling comforted already.
- Reading a Book - Seriously. Pick one up. And yeah, I could only think of a Top 4 Comfort Games. Sorry guys.
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books
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comfort games
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Katamari
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Tetris
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Top 5 List
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posted by Chris on October 17, 2006 6:44 AM in Geek Culture
This past weekend we did some pumpkin carving, and of course being a gigantic geek I had to do some game related pumpkins. So here we have my wife's generic pumpkin, my Katamari pumpkin and my ode to the Triforce. You can see my repositioning of the pumpkin's stem to the Prince's antenna. Also you can make out the Sharpie™ marks from where I cut the pieces out. I probably should have used non-permanent marker...
See the rest of the set here!
Have you carved your video game referencing pumpkin yet? I wanna see em!
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Art
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Halloween
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Katamari
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pumpkins
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Triforce
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video game art
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Zelda
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posted by Chris on October 16, 2006 6:48 AM in Podcast
This week, The Geek and Frodo discuss Wii preorders, Red Steel multiplayer, Clover Studios being shut down, G4 being absorbed by the gelatinous blob that is E!, Blizzard stealing money from people, video game halloween pumpkins, eventually seeing scrotum, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mercury Meltdown for the PSP and more. Have some delicious show notes.
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Clover Studios
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E!
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G4
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Katamari
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Mortal Kombat
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Okami
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pennies
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scrotums
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soap
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video game art
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Wii
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World of Warcraft
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posted by Chris on February 20, 2006 7:27 AM in Podcast
This week, Frodo, The Geek and Nevery discuss viruses on the Mac, Sony's XBOX Live-like service, Hub, the new DS web browser and they surf IMDB live, on the air for your amusement.
Show notes! They are delicious!
--Frodo (
frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
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Advent Children
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Apple
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award shows
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board games
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DS
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Final Fantasy
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IMDB
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Katamari
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PLAYSTATION 3
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podcast
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Sony
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Stargate SG-1
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World of Warcraft
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posted by Chris on September 22, 2005 8:50 PM in Podcast
Hey everybody! The show for Friday, September 23rd is online! Download the torrent here and the normal mp3 will be on its way shortly. In this show, The Geek and Frodo discuss many things, including We Love Katamari (because we certainly do), Penny Arcade in Nintendo Power, and Frodo says "Fuck" for the first time in Weekly Geek history. DON'T MISS IT.
- WoW plague
- Xbox 360 bundles sold out
- GBA SP new blacklit screen
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney special offer finger stylus
- Print your very own Revolution Controller
--Frodo
p.s. I apologize for the poor audio quality on The Geek's end, we are still trying to work out some technical bugs. It gets better after about 5 minutes, so don't worry.
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Gameboy Advance
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Katamari
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Nintendo Power
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Penny Arcade
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Phoenix Wright
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podcast
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Revolution
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World of Warcraft
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Xbox 360
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