I want you all to know something. I'm proud of you, Destructoid community. I want to tell you a number, and I want you to remember it. That number is 15. That is how many people signed up for last years Secret Santa. It was the first year that Destructoid had a Secret Santa type event, and quite frankly, I was nervous as to how it was going to go. I was worried that people were not going to get presents and that it was going to be an overall bad experience for those involved. With a few exceptions, everything turned out well, and I couldn't have been happier.


So here's a whore to show how happy I am.

Now, remember that number I told you to remember (protip: it was 15)? As of now, one week after I put up This blog 22 people have signed up. Compared to last years 3 blogs and 15 people, I'm blown away. And because of that, I want to reward those who haven't yet signed up or signed up late (of which there are a lot of people I previously turned down). I will be extending the registration for the Destructoid Secret Santa until next Wednesday the 18th, in the year of our Robot the 2009th at the striking of the 23rd hour and 59th minute.


This whore > The above whore.

I advise that anyone who wants to participate my previous blog, which I linked above. In there you can find all of the rules that I set for this event. So sign up, and spread a little bit of cheer to the people that you see in the forums, IRC, or anyone else you know from the site.

Want to know why she's holding all that money? It's because she's a whore.

Well, it's that time again. It's the second of November, which means that I'm a day late to start this post. It also means that the (unofficial) Destructoid Secret Santa is starting soon! Last year's Secret Santa went relatively well, and I'm more than excited to start the new SS for this year. However, this year will be a bit different. This year, there are going to be two Secret Santas! That's like if you take that slut up there and had two of them! Fuck yeah!

Now, here's the thing. The first Secret Santa will be the usual one, with anyone around the world sending to another Dtoider. The usual fun stuff. The other SS is going to be for people going to Blip Festival in NYC this December 17th-19th. This way, you get to come to the greatest city in the world (NYC > LA) and exchange gifts in person, and enjoy the music of BlipFest, one of the greatest festivals around.



This doesn't mean that you can't enter both Secret Santas. As long as you're sure that you can take care of getting two people gifts, then by all means feel free to enter both.

Registration is going to be open from now until this Saturday, the 7th of November. To sign up, simply send me an email at necronauts@gmail.com. Be sure to include name, address, whether or not you are willing to ship overseas if needed, and a short list of things you'd like or what interests you. There is no spending limit, but I am asking for at least a minimum of $15 USD (Sorry Knives, no 15 peso presents <3) in spending for the other person.

Be sure to include in the subject title which Secret Santa you are registering for. If you want to do both, send two separate emails.

That's all for now. Hopefully we can spread some Destructoid cheer this Winter.*


This came up for Secret Santa in Google's image search. I don't know, either.

*Please don't send me a bag of dicks.

(Copied from my Tumblr, then into IE, then through a hoop on fire)

It's weird. I've been a gamer all my life. I picked up a controller at the age of 2 to play Dragon Warrior on the NES, and since then, I haven't stopped gaming. It's always been a major part of my life, and has helped to define me as a person. I'm always interested in talking with other people about the state of the industry, art direction in games, or even just how a game is. I have a reputation among my peers as the person to go to if you want to know about a certain game or genre.

Then why is it that I feel so burnt out on gaming?

I woke up today, started playing a bit, and realized something. I'm just not having fun anymore. But why? I played a bit of the games in my collection, trying to find that spark, but to no avail. Why is it that suddenly I couldn't care less about something that I've held so close to me all of my life? It's frightening.

I suppose this could have to do with how I've played the last few months. Late during the month of May, I started to take my infatuation with the fighting genre, or rather Street Fighter, somewhat seriously. I began to practice more than most of my peers, and started to enter local tournaments. I was more competitive than almost anyone else around me. And now, I couldn't care less. I have a 66% win rate, and the 414th highest arcade score in the world in SF4, but it doesn't mean anything anymore. I used to idolize top U.S. players such as Justin Wong, Mike Ross, Arturo Sanchez, Alex Valle, Combofiend, and more, but all of a sudden, it just doesn't appeal to me anymore. A wave of apathy has washed over me, and I find myself unwilling to get back up.

Is it due to my own previous tenacity with which I used to play, or is it a lack of titles coming out that genuinely interest me? The last game that came out that had me genuinely excited was Street Fighter 4, and I hate the damn game. Perhaps playing something I hate so much in such excess has caused me to become jaded (You don't get it, I seriously fucking hate this game). I would't be surprised. But then again, who knows? This might just be the flavor of the day.

Now, the first thing that anyone is going to notice in this blog is the formatting. Yes, I am writing this blog in Google Chrome, and I
am doing it on purpose. Google Chrome is, as most of you may know, a web browser released by Google last September
second in the year of our Lord 2008 AD. Being touted as revolutionary with the way it handles processes and tabs, as well as a
system to decrease memory bloat, Chrome got popular pretty quickly.I personally started using it late November after Firefox
would continually take up an overly excessive amount of memory and CPU whenever I used it.

It's not like this issue is a surprise, either. People have been very vocal about issues with Destructoid (more specifically,
Elephant) and Chrome playing nice together, especially on Destructoid's uservoice community feedback page, which I think most
people forgot about, including the staff.

Here's a link to it: http://destructoid.uservoice.com/pages/10603-suggest-a-feature

Now, go to that link and scroll down. The seventh highest item, as voted by the community, is to add better support for Google
Chrome, added by Niero himself. In fact, it's even noted as planned. What you may not realize, is the fact that it's been up there
for at least seven months, and nothing has been done about it. This Wednesday, Google Chrome will have been out for a year
(stable, not beta), and there is still little to no support for it on Elephant. Despite being listed as planned, nothing has been done. I
think it's time to live up to your word (aka Full Life Consequences), and finally fix the bugs thats Elephants having with one of the
most popular browsers in use today.

OH FUCK I WAS KIDDING GUYS SERIOUSLY MY FINGER SLIPPED OH GOD

Well, I will be at least. Back in March, I went on MTV for a game show called Silent Library. I had a blast, and my episode is finally airing today at 5:30 PM (check for local times, I just know 5:30 EST for a definite). The basic premise is that 6 players are in a library, completing various humiliating challenges while trying to stay as quiet as possible.


Thats me in the back, mutton chops and unshaven. I sure do know how to dress up for these things.

Sounds stupid? Yes. Yes it does. But regardless, it's a chance to see a fellow Dtoider on TV winning some money and getting hit with things for your sick entertainment. Since I'm still technically on NDA until after the airing of the show, I can't give away the details of what exactly went down, but after the show has aired I'll be in IRC talking about some behind the scenes stuff, which is more interesting than I'm making it sound. I swear.

And on a 100% videogame related note, I've been in Newegg's online Street Fighter 4 tournament, where I made it to round 4 out of 6 using only E. Honda. My next match takes place Thursday, at 9:00 PM EST. If I complete the 6th round, I then go into a finals bracket where I'm eligible to win up to $600 in prize packs. Wish me luck! Regardless of the prizes, I'm just happy to be in a tournament. I love to compete in almost everything I do, and fighting games has recently become one of my favorite things to compete in. I've always been somewhat competitive in nature, partially due to being put down as a child. I saw it as a chance to make those who put me down look like idiots, and more often than not I'd succeed, and if not I'd come damn close to doing so.

So thats it, Destructoid. Tomorrow at 5:30 on MTV. Silent Library. Watch it and enjoy my pain for your entertainment. Then, I'll hopefully beat down someone at 9:00. Looks like I got a full night ahead of me.