Blogcritics

Your Routine, The Video Game

Matthew T. Sussman — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:00:15 EST

It's the imaginative mind of gamers that needs to take the helm and drive the day.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Gaming.We've had some fun this Hanukkah. Oh sure,...

In Search Of Real Hidden Singing Talent

Matthew T. Sussman — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:47:32 EST

There must be some way to extract hidden singing talent. So we must go where all the bad stage singers croon at their finest.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Music.While you gotta hand it to those hundreds of American Idol...

Turn Your Worthless Weblog Into A Priceless Pamphlet

Matthew T. Sussman — Sun, 9 Dec 2007 01:50:12 EST

How can we bring back the self-made Thomas Paine-style pamphlet business back?
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Books.Not just anybody can go on the Internet and start up their...

"My Name Is Matt S., And I'm A Politiholic"

Matthew T. Sussman — Sat, 8 Dec 2007 11:30:45 EST

I just argued with my friends on politics. I don't think I'd ever done that. But it felt AMAZING.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Politics.They say college is all about...

Yo Soy Impostor

Matthew T. Sussman — Fri, 7 Dec 2007 10:48:05 EST

Tofu, just be yourself.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Tastes.One of the most disciplined regimens in today's society...

What Not To Carry On, My Wayward Son

Matthew T. Sussman — Thu, 6 Dec 2007 10:07:25 EST

So you've decided to not drive to your senile great aunt's house this year. You're going to fly. Good for you.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Culture.So you've decided to not drive to your...

If Other TV Industry Groups Went On Strike

Matthew T. Sussman — Wed, 5 Dec 2007 00:00:57 EST

The Writers Guild probably aren't the only ones who could fight for employee rights.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC TV/Film.I've been following the writers strike...

A Text Messaging Re-Enactment Of The Maltese Falcon

Matthew T. Sussman — Tue, 4 Dec 2007 06:03:37 EST

[From: SSPADE, To: BOSHAUGHNESSY. 8:29 a.m.] u kild my partner wtf
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day festival of light reading. BC Magazine's sports editor spreads his Gentile love in every other section but his own. And because it's Hanukkah, the gifts of are substandard quality: in this case, it's an article. Today: BC Sci/Tech.Text messaging has certainly revolutionized...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

A Controverial Scathing Partisan Argument

Matthew T. Sussman — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 01:03:02 EST

In an attempt to not write sports and celebrate Hanukkah — neither of which ever happens all too frequently in this guy's world — we present you the eighth of an eight-part series, "The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour." On the eighth and final sundown, it's the gift of: Blogcritics Politics!For the record, I didn't put off the politics post until the final night of Hanukkah. The drawing-out-of-a-hat gods intended it so.But, lo! A loophole! U.S. Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) has made a statement urging a playoff in college football. And Arlen Specter is looking into the NFL Network's stranglehold over rights to broadcasting their games.I'm home free. I can talk about sports in a politics article, for if congressmen warrant it important enough, then by gum it's politics! So let's get down to business and... wait, I can't. This is the easy way out.So this article better be about something actually involving politics. But once it's done, will it be viewed as just another partisan battle cry? Honestly it may be impossible to preempt that type of criticism, but by the time I respond, the ensuing "discussion" in the comments may have already devolved into a heated debate about radioactive penguins.But the partisanship of this article will be guaranteed, because, well, I'm a guy with stances on issues. Once those stances are known, the response to the article will factor in those stances, and pow. I'm a partisan.Kind of like how Jonah Goldberg labeled indie blogger Andrew Sullivan: "From gay marriage, to his 'eagles,' to torture, to his new 'anti-Christianist' Jihad Andrew's writings are relentlessly polemical in favor of his causes, particularly the ones he can claim credit for starting," Goldberg wrote. "If you think of Andrew as the candidate and party chairman of the Party of Andrew, it helps you understand where he's coming from a lot of the time."The Party of Andrew. That sounds catchy. Could the Party of Suss ever catch on? I'm pro-sandwich, anti-rap, in favor of banning the union of music with lists, and MAC football on every TV. And the comments will flood into the system like a wave of discord. Some will say, "RIGHT ON SUSS! This country needs more sandwiches and more people like you!" While the rest will utter, "Who keeps letting this festering douchewafer write the same crap week after week?"Ergo, partisan responses.How can I, as a partisan writer, dodge such criticism? With a few tactically sound phrases:• "I am not partisan. I am an independent thinker."• "I am a Libertarian/moderate."• "Yeah, um... quick, look over there!"For not being partisan -- and going great lengths to prove it -- increases 'net cred somehow. It separates one from the rest of the mindless sheep, or so every other indie blogger says, so it must be true.Fortunately the world of Blogcritics Politics is full of free-thinking, no-party-affiliatin' personalities - well, except for the one obvious exception. Hence, the following painfully biased partisan article will be met with independent, Libertarian, moderate criticism, and in no way will elicit the anti-argument bukkake reserved for other wingnut Web sites.So here goes. One partisan argument coming right up:...Hmm. On second thought, I'd better not write it. Why, you say? Um... holy crap, look over there! The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour - A Look BackNight 1 - Music: Now That's What I Call Genre-Sorted Music, Vol. 1Night 2 - Video: One, PleaseNight 3 - Tastes: Cheese Sandwich In ParadiseNight 4 - Sci/Tech: If Programming != Easy Then Do (Something Else) While 1;Night 5 - Books: Reading Is Far Too MentalNight 6 - Gaming: They Took That "Get A Life" Thing LiterallyNight 7 - Culture: This Is What I Want For Christmas

Matt Sussman is the former sports editor of BC Magazine and also writes for Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, The Futon Report, and the Toledo Free Press. Catch him twice a week with with asst. sports editor Tuffy on Treehouse Fort, the official show of BC Sports.

Feed the feedback back to matt.sussman@blogcritics.org.

This Is What I Want For Christmas

Matthew T. Sussman — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:16:33 EST

In an attempt to not write sports and celebrate Hanukkah — neither of which ever happens all too frequently in this guy's world — we present you the seventh of an eight-part series, "The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour." On the seventh sundown, it's the gift of: Blogcritics Culture!Is it legal? Moreover, is it religiously acceptable?I know this whole tour des sections revolves around the Jewish holy holiday, for reasons unknown to everyone including the author. It may seal my afterlife fate, but we'll find out if they point to this article when I meet my maker -- or, more accurately, Bob Diamond.Still, it's just about time to discuss this guy's ultimate beef with holiday gift-giving. (Mmm... ultimate beef...) It has nothing to do with the commercialization of Christmas or even the exchange of tube socks. But it's simply that we're still attempting to keep each other's gifts a total secret, because we're all apparently still 12 years old.The element of surprise is so top-priority that just about every retail commercial begins with, "Can't find the perfect gift?" Of course not, chief, because we haven't asked yet. And no, I don't think the perfect gift for my grandmother will be a John Deere anything. Like with my parents, I had no idea what to get them. So I call my mother: "What does Dad want for Christmas?" And then I get an answer. Awesome. Then I move on: "Okay, what do you want for Christmas?" Pow, shopping done.Spirit of giving? Almost. Christmas is about the spirit of giving people what they want. Were it not, they'd call it The Day Where You Thought Your Family Loved You, But Clearly Not, After Getting That Horrible Looking Coat.In fact, directly manning up to your loved one and flat out asking what they want is a sign that you love them. Running around and shopping behind their back? Well, that's just downright deceitful. And this is a house of love and truth.And -- much unlike most of my other ideas -- this one has a practical purpose. Suppose it's December 21. (Well, it is December 21. So pretend it's not, then pretend it is.) Hypothetical Man really wants to buy himself a Nintendo DS Wi-Fi USB adapter, an item three days ago he realized exists and could enable him to play his DS on the Internet. But Hypothetical Man didn't tell anyone exactly what he wanted, so he might be getting a Nintendo DS Wi-Fi USB adapter and doesn't know it. Ergo, going out and buying one looks foolish if four days from today Hypothetical Man receives said Nintendo something-or-other adapter. He can't go out and just buy one for himself.Ah, but Hypothetical Man actually told his family all he wants are some Mystery Science Theater 3000 boxed sets. Not only is he guaranteed to satisfy his treasured MST3K jones, but he can immediately carpe diem -- that is, sit on his ass and play Tetris online with strangers.For the record, Hypothetical Man isn't me. I asked for a pound of Omaha's famous Ultimate Beef.