Oh, good lord. Seriously, you guys? I always think those people that show off pictures of their children over the internet are a bit over the top. But now it’s time for the pot to call the kettle black.

About a month ago, I adopted a year-old Yorkshire Terrier. I named her Lolly. She’s the most adorable thing in the history of ever–she’s cute, sweet-tempered, and loves to play and have her belly rubbed. A few days before Thanksgiving, I was at PetSmart buying her some Greenies and waiting for the groomers to finish with her when I saw a doggie holiday sweater. It was red with a white fur collar and a few snowflake designs. I gave in and bought it.

She loves it. She also has a little pink hoodie, but she really prefers the sweater. It’s just a little bit big, but it seems more comfortable than her hoodie. If I take the sweater off of her, she paws at it and wants for me to put it back on. Given just how darn cute she is when she’s wearing it, I just had to take some pictures on Thanksgiving since she was running around, being especially cute.

So, without further a-do… Click here for pictures of Lolly!

Warning: This one is a little long; it was written as a short assignment for an art history class.

When most people think about the Irish, the word “civilization” rarely comes to mind. Indeed, when I myself think of the Irish, I think of an episode of the television show Family Guy, where the Irish main character takes his son to a “museum of Irish history” that jokingly intones that the Irish were an advanced civilization until the invention of whiskey. Most people, in fact, think first of whiskey and potatoes when thinking of Ireland. However, if we are to believe the writings of author Thomas Cahill, it turns out that there is much more to the history of the Irish people; these “unholy” people, Cahill asserts, played a pivotal role in history—and saved civilization.

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Years ago, in the late 1970s, two men revolutionized Iron Man. These two men were artist Bob Layton and his writing partner David Michelinie. Michelinie and Layton took Iron Man, a second-rate comic at the time, and transformed it into one of Marvel’s all-time best-selling series. Michelinie and Layton are probably best known for their Iron Man arc Demon In A Bottle–one of the most famous and well-known stories in comic book history–which tells the tale of Tony Stark as he comes face to face with his biggest demon: alcoholism.

Michelinie and Layton had two runs on Iron Man. The first four-year run (issues #116-154), beginning in 1978, was the aforementioned run that revitalized the comic by re-imagining Iron Man. The second (issues #215-260) lasted from 1987 to 1989. For a while, Michelinie and Layton went their separate ways from Marvel, but like all things inevitable, they were destined to make their way back, in the name of the Golden Avenger. Back in 2000, Michelinie and Layton came up with an idea for the “last Iron Man story ever told.” The story was pitched to Marvel, but never quite got on its feet–until 2008, when an Iron Man movie was put on the table and the franchise became viable again. Finally, the day after the U.S. elected a new President, we finally saw this story, nearly a decade in the making: Iron Man: The End.

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Title: Rock Revolution
Company: HB Studios, Konami
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: T for Teen

Usually, I will take time to mention above that a game is available on multiple platforms. I haven’t done so this time, however, because Rock Revolution for the Nintendo DS is completely different from its counterparts.

Rock Revolution received such poor reviews that I just had to try the game. Maybe I have a death wish, you’re thinking. The truth is that I enjoy portable games. I love Rock Band, but the idea of a “comprehensive” music game that I could take with me on the go is a fun idea for me.

I won’t say that I was disappointed by Rock Revolution. I didn’t really know what to expect, and I didn’t have very many high expectations–and did my best to go into it without comparing it to the more popular music games. However, I also can’t say that the game was spectacular. Let’s take a more in-depth look at this game and see what works and what doesn’t.

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Title: Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?
Company: Brøderbund Software, Konami
Platform: NES
Rating: E for Everyone
Original Release: 1991

Similar to its predecessor, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, the game Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? is an educational game that charges the player with the task of finding and capturing the titular criminal mastermind. Along the way, however, the player has to travel through time and capture Carmen Sandiego’s henchmen before they can go after Carmen herself.

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