September 2026 is Moving Along with Some News and Links

We are in the swing of September, and a variety of interesting things have already occurred as of late. Let's discuss some...

Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo yesterday. It seems cool and is a potentially big metaphorical swing for the company. There is an outer screen that looks like a more standard iPhone, but then it folds open like a little book to reveal a bigger screen--it has been compared to popping open a passport. Other (new) folding phones have been around for a bit in the Android sphere of tech, but this is Apple's first foray into a folding phone. This seems to be a bit of a bridge between an iPhone and an iPad Mini. I'm intrigued, but upon hearing that it will cost a dollar less than 2 grand, I'll pass for now. The first generation of Apple products tends to be quite pricey, and later versions that eventually come out are a bit less exorbitant.

Also in tech news, Hideo Kojima is a game developer who has worked closely with Sony for decades, but now he's jumping over to Microsoft--their Xbox console, specifically. A tweet from Sony made it appear as if everyone is on good terms, while Kojima discussed on social media how Sony pulled the plug on his studio's game, "Physint," back in June. He described how everyone had scrambled to find a new partner up until now. Sony says any parting of ways was mutual; Kojima's version sounds more like a bitter breakup where Sony did him wrong. Between this, Sony dropping physical discs from their new console, and just recently arguing in court that gamers don't, "Own," digital purchases, I'd say Sony is having a rough 2026 in terms of optics.

The upcoming, "Avengers: Doomsday," has a lot riding on it for Marvel (and owner Disney). It simultaneously looks kind of cool and as if everything but the kitchen sink is being thrown out there in the hopes of a big hit flick. One encouraging sign of success is that it has already made about 50 million dollars in pre-sale tickets, with three-ish months still to go until the premiere on December 18th. Considering how much was spent making the movie (and will continue to be spent to promote it), that's probably a drop in the bucket, but a promising one.

"The Fury of Firestorm," was solicited as a six-issue mini-series by Jeff Lemire and Rafael de Latorre. It was really good and a hit. Hence, it grew to eight, nine, and now 15 total planned issues! It is interesting, in a time when Marvel seems to cancel stuff before it can really get going, that DC chooses to expand certain series.

In WTF-styled political news, Donald Trump recently claimed that if Republicans can take the House and the Senate in November, he'll make sure every American gets $5,000. Putting aside how it sounds like a weird bribe, the question of where this money would come from, and how we're all still waiting on our DOGE checks and Tariff refunds...what? I mean, if someone were a Republican or Democrat and made the statement that if I vote for their party and the candidates they like, I'll be given money, I'd be incredibly disturbed by the implication that someone thinks they can outright buy my vote--whether the way they're going about it is legal or not.

Finally, I continue to miss The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was canceled for purely financial reasons--right? I kind of recall fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said he felt concerned when The Late Show went off the air--alluding to it feeling like the first domino of many falling, or such. Well, now there are ample rumors swirling that, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" could be canceled and end in May of 2027. ABC released a statement that carefully avoided actually stating that the reports were incorrect. At this rate, anyone who dares to question the Trump administration via jokes that point out how much of a buffon he is seems to be in danger of losing their platform--lest the big companies who broadcast the shows suffer any financial strain from a vengeful and idiotic White House. It makes me worry Seth Meyers' show could be in trouble as well, sooner rather than later. Jimmy Fallon will probably be fine, as over the years he's become increasingly spineless and boring to watch.

MapQuest Wants you to Know it is Back and Ready to Guide You

MapQuest used to be huge. If you're over 30 (or so), you probably recall your parents printing out routes with it or doing such a thing yourself. With the rise of map apps on the phone, the idea of printing a bunch of pages with step-by-step directions for vacation or even to find a new spot locally became less than needed. MapQuest didn't really leave or stop existing, but it was a bit of a relic of the past with the most recent notable thing being a company called System1 acquiring MapQuest in 2019, with nothing else of interest happening, until recently. A smidgen ago, System1 launched, "Private Maps by MapQuest," which uses the tech of MapQuest to allow folks to have an app that doesn't, "Save," information about users in a sense. There is no data tracking, it doesn't show ads tailored to your interests, and your travel data isn't shared with other companies (i.e., if you always drive to McDonald's a certain time of day, you won't suddenly start seeing ads for the golden arches in the app). The standard MapQuest has been tweaked heavily, too, even if it lacks the extra privacy features--and it is being advertised with gusto. I mean, I learned that MapQuest in general was, "Back," when I started hearing ads for it and was intrigued. 

New updates both of the MapQuest-related apps continue to make it an appealing proposition with upgraded traffic monitoring features and the like. That is snazzy, but I'd argue the privacy aspect of Private Maps by MapQuest is a big selling point in an era where all of our information is always just...out there. In the same manner that Duck Duck Go has gained increased popularity thanks to not tracking IP addresses, tracking browsing history, or such, Private Maps by MapQuest could appeal to people who find the constant surveillance of Google and its Maps (or Apple Maps, if you're freaky like that), admittedly a bit creepy. I'd love to try the Private Maps by MapQuest app...but it isn't on iPhones.

Yes, that's right, Private Maps is unavailable on iOS. You can use the aforementioned, "Regular," MapQuest and its handy traffic features, but Private Maps is out of reach if you're on an iPhone (and not skilled at fancy hacking tricks or such). It is a bummer, but that could change at some point in the future. As it is, with an Android or iPhone, you can use a newer MapQuest--which is cool--but you need an Android to get the privacy-focused program. MapQuest has risen from a grave of obscurity to be the surprise underdog in a field it once dominated, and now you don't even need your printer!

Flashback Friday: "Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic," is an Example of How to Revisit the Past With Modern Updates

If you've been reading my blog for quite a long time, you may recall how, back in 2011, I wrote about my fondness for, "Rollercoaster Tycoon." All these years later, I still love the series, and I was intrigued to learn about, "Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic." Playable on a computer or iOS back in 2017 and on the Nintendo Switch (and now Switch 2) as of 2024, it combines a variety of elements from, "Rollercoaster Tycoon," and, "Rollercoaster Tycoon 2," to make something that counts as new but is totally familiar and fun.

When I started playing a copy of, "Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic," I got from the library, I found doing certain things came back to me almost like muscle memory despite the many years since I've actually played one of these games. I guess I spent so many hours as a kiddo crafting the perfect rollercoaster routes or best decor for my little self-made food court that some stuff is just ingrained deep in my brain. I still suck at keeping my park's budget balanced (I'm sorry, but a park that can't afford my epic wooden coaster that takes up half the space and costs thousands a month to keep functioning is a park I refuse to associate with), but I love making wild little setups of food kiosks, decorations, rides, and so forth. Even if my monthly income calls for more red ink than black, at least my guests are pleased with how I set up my footpaths and the free restrooms (I've never had the heart to charge folks even ten cents just to pee).

Whether you're an older gamer who remembers the OG, "Rollercoaster Tycoon," or a young'un eager to build a fun park in a retro-ish (and quite fun) game, "Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic," does an expert job of updating things for the present but keeping 100% of the vintage charm. 

Thanks to C&C Repair for Fixing my Phone!

I will sometimes write about local places that I enjoy/appreciate, and now is one of those times as I'm going to discuss C&C Repair. They have had a location in Florissant and recently opened a store in Ballwin. As they were located near some other stores I like (including my favorite Chinese restaurant, China in Bombay) I had noticed their store. In the past couple of weeks, my iPhone's back-facing camera had quit functioning properly. I would hold my camera still, but everything would be wavy and shaky. My phone is quite a bit older (iPhone SE2), and I'll be due for an upgrade at some point, but I don't want to have a shaky camera for months. 

It occurred to me I could call C&C Repair and ask if they could help me. I explained my problem, and they told me it would be about $45 and take maybe 20-30 minutes to fix everything. I had time this afternoon to go over there, so I stopped by. I walked into a nice, clean, organized store and was quickly greeted by a friendly employee. I mentioned how I had called earlier, and he happily took my phone to work on it. I read some of a comic I had brought with me (I try to always carry a comic or two and/or a book when I go places), and before too long, I was told my phone was ready. They'd replaced the camera, and they gave me the old one too. The price was exactly what I had been quoted, and I didn't wait too long at all.

I was very pleased with the service I received at C&C Repair. They don't just fix phones, either. They can help with tablets, laptops, game consoles, and more! They also sell devices if you need one as well. I know that when I have any future repair needs, I will turn to C&C Repair as I appreciate how fantastic they were!

NOTE: I was not paid for this post or offered anything. After they fixed my phone and I paid for the repair, they mentioned positive reviews on various websites are always appreciated; I mentioned my blog, and they said they'd love for me to write about C&C Repair, so now I've done so!

I've Been Playing Two Card-Themed Games a Good Deal

Card Games, but Virtual

I don't have a ton of time for video-games, but I do try to sample them when the chance arises via renting/Gamepass/buying cheap ones if they get lots of good reviews. Hence, it is funny that as someone who doesn't play a ton of card games I have found two themed for cards which really captured my attention as of late. Let's discuss them.

Inscryption

"Inscryption," is a game within games. It has multiple acts and isn't at all what it seems. That said, Act 1 is a mixture of a card game and an escape room. You find yourself playing this strange game themed for beasts eating each other that requires careful placement of your cards lest you find yourself dead. Don't worry if you die though, a new, "You," appears with new features--so it is a bit of a, "Roguelike," as the term goes. The thing is, there is a lot more to, "Inscryption," than meets the eye in that first Act and things get even twistier. Between exploring the mysterious cabin and how much game there is once you seemingly escape it, you can't say this is purely a card game. That said, the card-focused aspects of, "Inscryption," are extremely fun in this at times quite creepy game. You can buy a copy or play it for, "Free," on Xbox/PC Gamepass at the moment. It's worth trying out.

Baltaro

"Baltaro," is a bit like playing digital Solitare if it were mashed-up with Poker and had a whole bunch of unique power-ups in the form of 150 different Joker cards that all do wildly unique things. You see, in "Baltaro," you make Poker hands and earn points, with enough points clearing a round (sometimes rounds have little rules like Clubs don't earn points or you have to make certain hands). That sounds simple, and it would be, except those Jokers make things very interesting. Suddenly you have a Joker card that makes straights worth a lot more points and you utilize it with a Joker that allows flushes from any black suited card with a black suit or red with red so you're throwing out straight flushes with ease...until suddenly you can only play a hand once in a round and lose quickly. 

Yes, this is again a game where you will eventually lose (even if you win the minimum number of rounds to be considered a winner of a run overall). That is fine, however, as a lot of the fun is finding out what weird combinations of Jokers you can use to rack-up insane points. After all, a Joker that makes face cards repeat their points is kind of helpful, but it becomes a dangerous combo when you have a Joker that makes all cards be considered face cards for points. This deceptively simple game has become a huge hit and can be played on your computer, consoles, or phone. I bought it for just $9.99 on my iPhone and it had zero in-app purchases after that. Between these two games there is clearly lots of fun to be had playing cards virtually!

"Pocket City 2," is a Charming City-Builder

I'd seen positive buzz for, "Pocket City 2," and as someone who considers, "Simcity 4," one of their favorite games of all time I have a fondness for city-builders.  Having tried the game I quite enjoyed it! "Pocket City 2," has the usual routine of creating residential, commercial, and industrial zones which you then make sure have power, water, and fire/educational/safety coverage. The interesting part is balancing zones, extra stuff like recreational options, and continuously growing. I really like how you can go and walk around your city or drive about it too. There are lots of little stats and things to consider but the game isn't too difficult. For example, citizens in the more complex city-building games might throw a fit if a landfill is next to their house, but virtual folks in, "Pocket City 2," are cool with it.

"Pocket City 2," can be bought for your iPhone or Android device for about five bucks and has zero in-app purchases. You simply earn all the cool unlockable items in the game (or choose a sandbox mode to go nuts with all the doo-dads). It is deceptively cute with all the things going on under the metaphorical hood. I have had a lot of fun playing it for good chunks of time and would recommend if you've got a phone that it'll work with that you give it a try!

5 out of 5 stars.

Apple Announced the Vision Pro and I (As Always) Have Thoughts

I've never been that interested in Virtual Reality headsets. If we could make VR work like the Holodeck in Star Trek, I'd be down for that--although everyone would be annoying to listen too as they remarked, "Hey, this is just the Holodeck!" This resulted in me not caring about Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation Vr, or Cyberview Express. I made that last one up, but if you're as disinterested in VR as I am, you probably didn't even realize it. This long-winded intro leads me to discuss how Apple announced the Vision Pro today, and I gave a disinterested sigh to all of it.

Apple makes great products, there is no question about that. I am sure their, "Facial computer," which costs a whopping $3,500 will be of the highest quality and work spectacularly. It sounds like it will have lots of bells and whistles. I just don't care and never have been big on the idea of strapping a headset to my nogging even if it lets me be further immersed in virtual worlds, bring up data sheets, or whatever. I've changed my mind on stuff before--I used to "Not get," the Nintendo Switch before digging it. That said, I just had to give the Switch a chance to learn to love it. I've sampled VR and never found it especially appealing. The technology has its proponents, but lots of folk seem unsure about it. The comment section on Kotaku had folks remarking the fact this is an Apple product means it probably won't be able to do any PC games and it'll be walled in for just Apple games, products, and so forth. Some other people said the quiet part out loud about how this might really appeal to viewers of pornography--but that's always been a hush-hush aspect of VR--the big companies prefer it not be openly discussed even though I'd imagine that has at times helped spur a number of sales.

I imagine people with deep pockets who adore Apple and its products will eat this up. Massive corporations might give it a try to see how it helps optimize productivity (or other buzzwords). Will this have mainstream, appeal, however? I honestly cannot say as who knew the iPhone would become as massive as it did? Then again, the iPhone now can be had with various deals you cut via your phone provider for a more reasonable price. Apple's Watch is pretty popular too and I was unsure how it would do. Basically, I'm saying I know better than to ever bet against Apple (rare flop like Newton aside) and if anyone is going to finally crack the VR space it'll be them. That said, I'm just as hesitant to bet on Apple in this case too. Once this thing is for sale in 2024 or so and regular folks--well, regular folks with money to burn--can try it out that'll be the real test.

It Has Been Revealed: DC is Creating a Digital Card Game

Marvel Snap has become a massive hit. I'm still playing it daily and enjoy it a lot (the game was one of my favorites of 2022 and still is superb). Well, DC wants to get involved in digital card games too and will be giving us DC Dual Force. Early reaction has found it seems to be a good deal different than Marvel Snap and reminds folk of slower-played games like Magic: The Gathering. Quite frankly, if it is good and fun I'm more than happy to try it out and welcome the other biggest comic publisher doing its own similar-yet-different thing. Now to just dream an impossible dream of a crossover where we get some DC cards in Snap or Marvel pops up in this Dual Force game. That would be wild but is incredibly unlikely, of course. Now we wait for the game's official release and then can check it out.

Marvel Snap is an Absurdly Fun New Game

Back in the day, I played Hearthstone a decent amount. However, I grew tired of the decks full of cards and all the strategies that entailed resulted in a meta that felt more like homework than fun to do. One of Hearthstone's former bosses (Ben Brode) went and made a new digital card game that is wildly fun, uses Marvel comic characters, and is simple in some ways but complex enough to always keep things fresh. I'm talking about Marvel Snap.

It came out this week and Marvel Snap is a digital card game that also has puzzle elements as you place your cards at various locations to optimize their usefulness. The cards interact with each other in a number of ways that keep players on their toes. Plus, it is loaded with fun Marvel characters! You don't have to pay anything to get cards and can unlock a ton of them by simply playing, but you can unlock cards faster with little power-ups you also earn through playing or with some cash. I only paid enough to get the season pass and unlock more bonuses faster, as I felt with the amount of time I've already put into Marvel Snap it was worth $10 to have more missions and such. 

I'm not alone in loving Marvel Snap. Many people appreciate how the matches take 5 minutes or less too with the smaller decks. It is like Marvel Snap trimmed all the extraneous stuff from Hearthstone and created a tight and streamlined (but still quite clever) optimized title. Plus, I love Marvel so that's just gravy on this delicious metaphorical biscuit! If you've got Steam or a smartphone, you need to try Marvel Snap out!

5 out of 5 stars.

WorldBox is a Fun Sandbox-Style Game

I read some articles discussing WorldBox on Rock Paper Shotgun and it sounded quite fun. A sandbox videogame where you don't actually control any characters or what they build. You just set up the World, tweak it to your liking, plop humans/orcs/elves/dwarves down and witness as they build kingdoms and develop their cultures and tech. Farms and roads are discovered, kingdoms declare war, and in the meantime, you can add extra resources, or if you feel like a stinker plop a volcano in the middle of everything. 

It is pretty easy to learn, "Worldbox," but there is a depth you can explore as the World keeps developing and growing. Plus, watching the characters adapt to whatever mayhem you sometimes throw their way is a hoot. Check the site out and get it for your PC/Mac/Linux/Android/iPhone. I played it on my iPhone and really like it. The game is still in an earlier development stage so more features will be added over time as well--hence I don't want to offer an official review, but will say what already exists is good fun.

Take-Two Has Acquired Mobile Game Developer Zynga and I Have Questions

 

In news that will likely have large ramifications down the road, big ol' game company Take-Two has acquired the mobile game company Zynga. The deal is for 12.7 billion and is the biggest acquisition in video-game history. Take-Two is known for publishing everything from Grand Theft Auto games, to sports titles, "Borderlands," the upcoming, "Marvel's Midnight Suns," and more. Zynga is famous for the once hugely popular, "Farmville," as well as other titles and gambling games that they run outside the United States and which have made them a chunk of money in nations that allow those titles. I have some questions:

• Does this show Take-Two has plans to expand into mobile gaming having mostly been involved in PC and console titles?
• Will we see more attempts to sync-up console/PC games with mobile apps as was attempted before and kind of failed but could be worth another shot?
• Will there be mobile spin-offs of popular games from Take-Two on phones now, like an iPhone/Andriod-exclusive, "Grand Theft Auto," title?

My guess for those three, in order, is: 100% yes, maybe, and who knows? Clearly, big PC and console gaming companies have ideas for mobile gaming, something that seems to wax and wane as a trend (mobile gamers often seem to be their own kind of gamer compared to consoles and PCs, but there is a degree of crossover). Right now money is merely exchanging hands, but before long I'm sure big moves will be made. Down the road, this could be looked at as something major that marked the beginning of a seismic shift in mobile gaming. That, or it could all fall flat on its face and seem like a huge waste of billions. The fun part is waiting and seeing!

The Folks Behind Super Simple Songs Provide Great Customer Service!

If you have younger children you are most likely familiar with Super Simple Songs. They can be found all over the internet with fun little animated (and sometimes live-action) jingles that kids love. They also have an app little ones can enjoy that lets them scroll around to fun tunes. We have an old iPhone 6 we put some kids' apps on for Clarkson to play sometimes and he loves the Super Simple Songs one. Then one day it stopped working.

We would open the app and it would just be a white screen. I didn't know what to do so, so I tweeted at Super Simple Songs about our issue. They responded they would look into it. Then, to my pleasant surprise, they actually wrote me a message asking for details. I explained it was an older iPhone 6 and ever since a recent update it stopped functioning. A few hours later they said they had a new update they would get uploaded in a day or two that would allow the app to still work with older phones. The next day there was an update to Super Simple Songs that we put on the iPhone and sure enough, it works great now!

I was amazed Super Simple Songs cared enough to respond to me, some random person tweeting at them. They were very nice and this was some amazing customer service. I told them how I had a blog dedicated to popular culture after they helped me and would write about how awesome they were, so now here we are. Super Simple Songs are wonderful folks and I just wanted to thank them for being super awesome!

Marvel is Launching a Line of Digital-Only Comics Titled, "Infinity Comics," and That's Interesting For a Few Reasons

Marvel Launches New Digital-Only Comics

Marvel has a digital comic service known as, "Marvel Unlimited," that you can subscribe to and read a ton of Marvel comics. Now, there is not anything that has come out in the last six months as Marvel doesn't want to cannibalize print sales or piss off comic shops too much. There have been occasional digital-only comics, but nothing like what Marvel just launched. Titled, "Infinity Comics," these are free if you have Marvel Unlimited. They are in continuity (whatever that means these days) and have some pretty well-known creators writing popular characters. This is intriguing for a few reasons.

Three Reasons Infinity Comics is Interesting

1. There is no extra fee for these digital-only comics and they will be plentiful. They are included with your Marvel Unlimited subscription and as I noted, feature some big creators (Jonathan Hickman, Declan Shalvey, Skottie Young, Dax Gordine, Alyssa Wong, Nathan Stockman, Kelly Thompson, Gerry Duggan, Lucas Werneck, and Jeffo, according to Marvel’s news release are kicking things off). There are already 27 comics as of today and plans for over 100 to exist before 2021 wraps. These things are not lame little bonus comics by creators you've never heard of about characters who are unknown. These have those names writing X-Men, Deadpool, Captain America, Shang-Chi, Black Widow, Venom, Carnage, and more. This has become a major selling point for Marvel Unlimited.

2. The comics are read in a vertical scroll form which is a lot more friendly to tablets and especially phones. Trying to take physical comics and make them, "Work," for a phone can be tricky when you've got a big double-page splash and are trying to put it all onto a phone's screen. By designing these explicitly for digital and having them be in a vertical scrolling format these comics are basically meant to be read on your phone with ease.

3. The elephant in the room here is Substack. A lot of comic creators are going to Substack as it is offering some appealing deals in the form of a ton of cash and creators maintaining control of their intellectual property. The thing is, Substack really wasn't created with comics in mind and has been a bit unwieldy to read comics within. It's just kind of comic pages awkwardly crammed into a newsletter. When these newsletters feature creators writing in-depth about their creative process it's cool (I subscribed to Jeff Lemire's Substack to test the whole thing out), but as soon as actual comics get posted it is a bit strange. Perhaps Marvel is trying to subtly show it can do online comics, "Right," with these Infinity Comics. Now, Marvel doesn't mention Substack at all in any of the promotional text about this, but its shadow looms large.

What Will the Future Hold?
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This, "Infinity Comics," is going to be interesting to watch and see how much success Marvel has with it.

Rejoice, Fellow Millennials, Thousands of Flash Games Will Be Saved

If you are in your late 20's or early 30's the odds are pretty good you played a lot of free internet games back in the day. Before iPhones and their fancy apps one of the best ways to pass time in the computer lab at school (or at home if you had a decent internet connection) was to play games that ran on the Flash format. The thing is that Adobe has been planing to basically kill Flash for quite some time and it'll be unsupported and a pain to do much with once they officially axe it during this year, 2020. This could result in so many games no longer be supported, but there is good news! A group/company called BlueMaxima has created an open-source program that can save Flash games and make them playable offline like a standard video-game.

BlueMaxima's program, Flashpoint supports 36,000 Flash titles and if anyone doesn't want a game on it for copyright reasons they'll gladly remove it, but otherwise you can pick-and-choose what you want to download or (should you have a ton of memory free) download all 290 gigabytes currently available. This is super cool and I feel like I want to try the program out some time to find those classic Flash games I would play at school back in the day--always after I finished my work, of course.

I Never Liked Mr. Resetti

At various points in my life I always enjoyed playing, "Animal Crossing." Whether is was on a Gamecube, Nintendo DS, or even the micro-transaction-happy iPhone version, I found great pleasure in the charm of living in a little village with a bunch of anthropomorphic critters as my neighbors. One thing I did not like, however, was Mr. Resetti. Therefore, I was happy to hear he got, "Fired."

In previous, "Animal Crossing," titles you could only save your game by having your character go rest in their bed for a nap. The game always moved in, "Real-time," so when you would stop playing your character was essentially, "Asleep," until you came back to adventure more. You'd go fishing, catch bugs, pick fruit, run errands for chums, send some letters to your animal-neighbors, then lie down and, "Sleep." Perhaps for some reason the game got turned off before you could save, however? Maybe you lost power or something? Well, when you would turn the game back on Mr. Resetti, an angry little Mole would appear and scold you. The first time he'd be relatively polite, but if it kept happening he'd get increasingly angry, threatening to delete your game or otherwise bring you harm. I hated him and how rude he was. This is why I'm pleased that the upcoming version of, "Animal Crossing," for the Nintendo Switch will have an auto-save feature and therefore make Mr. Resetti's job of yelling at you redundant. He's been laid-off, and I couldn't be happier.

Perhaps I'm being silly here. Mr. Resetti never could actually affect your game in a negative way, and he had a point that you shouldn't reset your game without saving it, even if something you didn't like occurred (perhaps you sold a piece of furniture and later regretted it). Still, he was just programmed to be so unpleasant and crass that it stuck with me and resulted in him being one of those video-game characters I hate the most. Hopefully now that he doesn't have to work this job that caused him so much stress Nintendo can find another position for him within, "Animal Crossing," or even a different game series. Just tell him next time he thinks he can talk smack to me I will shove a hose down into his burrow and flood it. I ain't playing.

The Key Collector Comics App is Really Handy

I dabble in comic-book speculation, as folk may know, which is the art of buying a comic in the hopes it will have some value shortly (or later on) and then selling it. I've written about hot comics for my occasional segment The Hot Comics Revue, and I'm a big fan of the website Comics Heating Up (a fantastic place to learn about upcoming comics that might be sought-after). One thing I heard about and have used for a bit is Key Collector Comics. They both have a website and a really professional app. You can use it to find details about past comics that are getting popular, upcoming releases that might be worth getting, and scuttlebutt about things that aren't hot now, but if they get optioned/have a show made, might very well then be in-demand.

Key Collector Comics is free to use, but if you want a whole bunch of other helpful features (alerts, assorted snazzy articles) you can subscribe for $1.99 a month or $19.99 for the whole year. Based on how much this website and its app contains I would say that is quite worth the price. For example, once I made my account a paid one I took advantage of some alerts about books that might become, "Key," issues to dig in my back-issues and pull-out comics that I thought were worth all of a dollar but depending on what the future holds might go for a chunk more someday. Even if you are someone who doesn't do much buying and/or selling of comic-books, the lists and writings are full of fun facts, trivia, and otherwise I'd say they're extremely informative if you just like learning about comics.

Some of the current categories/lists being featured.

I'd encourage folk to visit the website, and for sure try Key Collector Comics out on their iPhone, or if they have an Android-style phone it is available in that format as well. Between the user-friendly design and great content I really like Key Collector Comics and am eager to continue using it to both get advice on popular comics, and learn a lot of interesting things too.

The Stock App Robinhood is Interesting, Fee-Free, and Useful

When it comes to the stock market it can seem a little mysterious. Sometimes we think of the stock market as if it is this strange ethereal concept that can impact the economy but with little to do with us in our day-to-day lives. We might be interested in the stock market, but how can we take part in it without an expensive broker or paying fees? There have been some apps with the idea to give everyone access to the stock market, but one by far getting the most buzz is Robinhood. I thought I would try it out on my iPhone, and I like it.

Robinhood has gotten a lot of press for allowing people to simply verify they are a U.S. Resident, link their bank, and get to work buying and selling stocks. The are no fees, with the idea instead being to offer a, "Gold," level for people who do a lot of stock-trading and to continue growing a user-base. Also, people can invite friends and get a free random stock, which is cool. Once the app approves you things are as simple as putting in some money and getting to work at trading stocks during the business hours the market is open (if the market is closed you can make a purchase or sell order to execute the next day). The app shows you how well a particular stock you pick has been doing over time, will provide links to news, and otherwise is extremely user-friendly.

Robinhood also allows people in a small number of states that allow it (19 so far) to invest in Cryptocurrencies such a Bitcoin. I of course am not a big fan of Bitcoin or other digital-currencies so that interests me very little, but I know some folk love the stuff. As those, "markets," never close people can buy or sell digital coins at any time too whilst their so-called markets rise and fall. As with stocks, you transfer money from your bank to trade these faux-coins. Again though, the stocks are more interesting to me.

To test out Robinhood I transferred in $50 and bought a stock in Funko, Snapchat, an electric car charging company I read about online called Blink, and some really cheap, "Pennystocks," like company behind Moviepass that is currently hemorrhaging money and has their stock for about 7 cents each. I proceeded to sell the pennystocks a few hours later when it hit a high and made like 10 cents, sold Snapchat before its, "Earnings Call," and made 50 cents, found my Blink stock went down enough I lost 20 cents, and Funko basically held steady enough I bought another stock of it. My, "portfolio," is currently two stocks in Funko and one in Blink. If I were made of money I could of course invest a ton into playing the stock market and either become millionaire or go broke and live in the gutter. I don't have that kind of capital though, so I'm perfectly happy to watch as my Funko stock hopefully climbs over time and make a few bucks.

My testing-out Robinhood with $50 was of course using it on a very small-scale, but I still found it fascinating, full of information, easy to trade stocks with, and love how there is absolutely no fee to use it (just bonus features for the gold level). I've told some chums about Robinhood and hope we each get some free stocks from my referrals as well. I'd encourage people to try it out, but to make sure they of course invest responsibly and try and get a referral link from a friend so you can take advantage of a free stock!

"Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp" is as Charming as it is Mercenary

I've always loved the, "Animal Crossing," games ever since I played the first one back in the day on the Gamecube. I've enjoyed it on that console, the Nintendo DS, and previously got very excited when it was announced a version would come-out for the iPhone. Finally this week, "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp," was available in the United Sates for all us Americans to enjoy on our mobile devices and it is just as charming and fun as always...with a new unseemly element we will get to in a minute.

"Animal Crossing," as a game series has been about living in a town full of anthropomorphic creatures whom you can chat with or do errands for in between catching bugs, fishing, or decorating your house. It is like stepping into a happy world where you can just relax and have good fun. "Pocket Camp," changes a few things and has you visit a camp-site where you can decorate the setting as well as your camper and invite other animal-humans to come hang-out. It is a little different but still like the good ol' classic games except for the new off-putting aspect that threatens to ruin all the fun: Microtransactions.

Microtransactions are hated by many a video-game player. Want more lives in your game? Just spend 99 cents and there you go. Interested in boosting your Kingdom's crops? For just $4.99 you can buy a great harvest, and so forth in many games. These little ways to make stuff happen faster are annoying but at times make sense in games. "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp," is a free game with microtransactions however which feel just kinda icky and almost game-breaking for something like, "Animal Crossing." After all, the whole point of the old games was to check in every once in awhile as the world advanced in real-time. You could harvest fruits and then had to wait for more, things took time but that was okay because the whole point was to enjoy this chill and relaxing game.

Now everything can happen faster. Want more fruit? Use some special tickets you can buy more of. Interested in catching a bunch of fish? Use some nets bought with tickets. Should you want to attract more bugs you can buy some honey, if you want to craft something quickly than you can pay-up for that too. Do you wish your animal-friends had more errands you could run, because if you do there is a microtransaction for that. There is even an area you can visit as long as you cough-up tickets or have enough friends to get more in-game goodies. It feels a bit against the whole motif of, "Animal Crossing," to be able to speed things up as long as you are willing to spend some cash. It goes without saying I would've been happier to just truly purchase the game and have all this microtransaction nonsense go away.

The saving grace to all these microtransactions is that you can still basically fully enjoy the game without having to spend a dime and let everything take its time--just as in the classic iterations of, "Animal Crossing." It is still off-putting however and while I don't necessarily think Nintendo should be ashamed, it is kind of a downer. After all, everything about the game I enjoy can be had faster if I just provide some cash. Any charming moment is undercut by this purely mercenary focus on saying, "You like this? Give us money for more of it!" I love anything, "Animal Crossing," so I still like it, but any recommendation I can give for people to try it out comes with that heavy caveat of, "It's fun, but those microtransactions..." As it is, this is a fun but flawed way to spend some time on your phone.

The iPhone 7 and Playstation 4 Pro AKA This Was a Week of Annoying New Technology Updates

I Complain

Well, this was a week for annoying new technology upgrades, wasn't it? Seriously though, in the exact same day we're told about a new iPhone and kinda-sorta new Playstation (Tuesday September 7th, before the week had even hit its hump). These are of course two completely different companies with two very different products, but the announcements made by each gave me a strong feeling of, "Your upgrades sound more unnecessary than useful." That may sound harsh, but let me explain

I Explain

iPhone 7...sigh. Any other time a new iPhone has been announced by Apple I saw more excitement than anger. Even when the 30-prong cord was replaced with the Lightning one during the birth of the iPhone 5 I saw more people go, "Fine, it's still worth it," as opposed to complaining. When a new iPhone is announced the additions are supposed to be exciting. We get a bigger size, new features, Siri (who turned out to kind of suck, but stick with me), and etc. With this iPhone we got some water-resistance and an additional camera on the back where the two work as one (but only if you buy the absurdly-sized iPhone 7 Plus) that will make pictures look better, and then were told that our headphone-jack/AUX cords needed to go bye-bye because getting rid of them on this iPhone was a move that required,"Courage," and was therefore a brave thing to do. Also, because Apple is so full of "Courage," we get to be encouraged to purchase some wireless headphones that operate on Apple's own closed-system (but thankfully Apple didn't have so much, "Courage," as to completely eliminate Bluetooth functionality, as people rumored).

Wait though, if you still love your dinosaur-era headphones with cords you get a free hideous adapter for listening to music--hooray! Oh, but if you want to charge your phone while listening to music with those old headphones you need another adapter-part which costs 40 dollars and has inspired countless sex-related memes because it...well it looks as awkward as some really bad sex. It's all good though, because we've got two cameras on the back of the phone (again, if you pay even more money for the version that doesn't fit in your pocket) and now even it comes at the cost of a bunch of dongles that resemble a really bad orgy!

This is more painful than anything in the book or movie.

I think the new iPhone will still sell well, because people like new technology and iPhones, so even if we don't upgrade now, eventually Apple will bring us newer iPhones and it will come to the point where if you even want your phone supported by the company you'll need to at least have the oldest generation currently being supported, which will eventually be the the iPhone 7. This isn't a case of Apple giving us, "New Coke," until we protest and they bring, "Coke Classic," back. A more apt metaphor is that if we want to live in the house that Apple owns, we have to eat whatever it serves for dinner. For the past years our meals have always come with a side of AUX-port. However, now Apple has decided our meals will not come with that side. If we choose to complain Apple is going to tell us, "If you don't like what I'm serving feel free to live somewhere else. That free-for-all Android household is always welcoming people, or if you want to throw your life away you could go live in a run-down shack and cry yourself to sleep at night (e.g. owning a Windows phone)."

Apple is the kind of chef who serves up the meal it wants, and if you don't like it substitutions ain't allowed, you just gotta get the Hell out, and don't let the door hit your ass as you leave. It sounds harsh, but that is basically their mindset, and damn-it such a methodology has worked for them so far (I owned an Android phone but once I switched to Apple I never looked back, flaws and all). Frankly, the only thing more annoying than a company forcing us to upgrade like this is when one take a baby-step towards it with a seemingly useless upgrade that...oh, hey Sony!

Thanks?

Ahem, yes, that's right. The Playstation 4 Pro...sigh again. Seriously though, you expect me to be excited when you tell me you're putting out a new-ish console that will improve the graphics in some of my old and new games, but I don't have to own it to play those games, and that unless I have a really expensive kind of television I won't see much of an upgrade? I'll give Sony this, the pseudo-upgrade only costs $400--the same price as the original Playstation 4 when it launched--and they will be introducing a, "Slimmer," version of the original Playstation 4 at the price-point of $300, so kudos to them for reasonable pricing. That said, considering most people lack a fancy (read: 4K) television, and that every game coming out still will run on both regular Playstation 4 devices and PS4 Pros, this news sounds more like, "Sony is releasing a newer and cheaper PS4...oh, and slightly fancier one for a hundred bucks extra," than it does anything else. Also, I haven't mentioned how the PS4 Pro will apparently make Playstation VR games look extra better because it isn't even out yet and I have exactly zero interest in VR-gaming.

I've never been a, "Graphics whore." I'll play old console games that are nowadays considered ugly as sin, and because I have a weaker computer I'm used to playing PC games at lower (or even the lowest) settings. Therefore, this, "Upgraded," Playstation 4 matters little to me. That said, as soon as a single game comes out that is, "So advanced," it requires a PS4 Pro to even play I will throw a huge fit because of how Sony is promising such a thing won't occur. It probably will though, so I'll be on standby for when the time comes to scream and kick my feet whilst rolling around on the floor.

It's All a Pain

"Buy these, put them in your ear, and shut up!"

I don't know about you, but I'm quite perturbed by all this. I'm being told my headphones that have served humanity well for over a century need to be murdered by Apple and that my Playstation 4 games could look a smidgen prettier. As I said at the start, it was an annoying week. Now we just wait and see how it all works out (probably with a lot of people getting angry on the internet in manner similar to how I did).

June 2016 Links to Absorb

June Ends

Considering how it is just June, it has been absurdly hot where I live. How about we stay indoors at peak daylight and and I share some interesting pieces from across, "The interweb," with you? Kids call it that, right?

Stuff of Interest

The music of Kanye West--specifically, "Power," plays an interesting role during a mission in, "Saints Row: The Third," which is a really solid game too. This article discusses that a bit.

"The Authority," under the pen of Warren Ellis and Mark Millar with the art of Bryan Hitch basically was a wide-screen super-hero movie before they really took off to the degree they have now (and yes, I'm aware, "The Ultimates," formed the basis of much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but those films didn't start till 2008).

So, "Brexit." What a mess, eh? Seriously though, to think the UK's voters would just say, "Screw you guys," to the EU is shocking and the fallout the country may face is a good warning of what the U.S. could be due for if that moron Donald Trump is elected President.

While we're on the subject of politics, I wrote an article long ago about two conservatives I may often disagree with but at least listen to. George Will is one of them, and he actually officially left the Republican Party due to his disgust with Donald Trump. Damn, that's intense.

The 1990's were a time when our comic-book heroes had big guns and even bigger shoulder-pads. Funny to think a style that was reviled for quite some time afterward now gives us a tinge of nostalgia.

My post about the, "Eve of E3," went up before the official trailer for, "Detroit: Become Human," was unveiled a few hours later. By the makers of the superb, "Heavy Rain," I am indeed very interested.

I loved the movie, "Doctor Strangelove," so you can bet I'm eager to watch this free short-ish (46 minutes-long) documentary about its creation.

I haven't played all the games listed, but based on the ones that I have I would say this list of games you can play on your iPhone without using data or needing Wi-Fi is pretty handy

Lastly, I attended Pride Saint Louis 2016 to both assist with an event for work, and then to browse around and see all the cool stuff on display. It was another great year.

Entering July

That's my links for the end of June. Now we approach July in all its hot, rainy, and firework-filled glory (the 4th of July always gets noisy here in the States).