the ball is round

daily dos

thu 6/25/2009

 

Director Michael Bay is deflecting criticism that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is packed with racial stereotypes. Two Autobots, Skids and Mudflap, are described by The Onion as only existing to "talk in bad ebonics, beat each other up and talk about how stupid each other is."

 
 

grand theft adverb

games

mon 11/26/2007

 
A Spanish for Everyone cut scene still frame featuring Tio Juan leaning against a jeep.

What happens when a video game company in French-speaking Quebec, Canada decides to spice up a Spanish language tutorial for the Nintendo DS with hints of drug running, thieving and a hot mamacita whose name could be a play on vagina? Instant internet sensation.

Spanish for Everyone, with word puzzles like "La Piñata" (hangman), may or may not motivate kids to learn to hablar español but its "cut scenes" – the animations that move the game along – have inspired dozens of giddy conversations on popular gaming sites and over 164,000 views on YouTube.

The story: after a white kid lends his DS to a brown kid, the brown kid jumps into his uncle's limo and drives off to Mexico – with the police already in pursuit. The brown kid's aunt comes to the rescue, promising to drive the white kid to Tijuana in search of his DS. There's a happy ending.

Someone claiming to be the game's designer has hinted the story's innuendos are intended for adults, comparing it to the Shrek franchise. According to the game itself, a sequel might take place in France. ¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!