Mind Controller

LEARNING WITH YOUR THUMBS: Whether you enjoy them or not, by and large, playing video games is a waste of time. When grown-ups don't have anything better to do than jam on a controller for hours and watch Spider-Man bounce around a screen punching things, we wonder why they don't go learn something instead. Read a book, go to a museum, or, better yet, jam on a controller to one of IGN's Top Ten Games That Teach You Something. Looking back on our nerdy teenage years, we can personally vouch for the society-management skills gleaned from "SimCity" and "Civilization" — if these were required gaming for all public officials, perhaps we'd have been better prepared for Katrina and be doing more to stop air pollution — but are skeptical that we would ever impress anybody with moves copped from Dance Dance Revolution.
» "Top Ten Games That Teach You Something." [IGN]

LET'S GO HAVE LUNCH BY THE HUGE GENITALIA: If you thought that "The Awakening" on Hains Point was one of the strangest sculptures you'd ever seen in public … well, here's some others for your consideration. We're sure the dopey public-art officials in Rosslyn wouldn't mind perusing these for ideas.
» "World's craziest statues." [HogWild]

SNAKES ON A SOUNDTRACK: Whoops, it appears there is one aspect of "Snakes on a Plane" — coming out this Friday, so walk out of your job and go stand in line now — that we haven't reported on yet: The covers/remixes-only (read: unoriginal crap) soundtrack, available in full online. Ah, OK, there we go. That should ‘bout wrap ‘er up.
» "MTV2." [MTV2]

HA! WE KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO SAY THAT ABOUT NEKO CASE! Everyone who likes music — by that, we mean, not the same drivel radio stations and MTV decree we must have crammed down our ear canals ad nauseam — knows that Pitchfork is an amazing resource for new stuff. For one: It doesn't pretend to like something just because it gives them snobbish pleasure that you haven't heard of it. Of course, the tastes of the Pitchfork's editors have begun to show through repeated reviews, meaning one can get a sense for exactly how their audioutlooks align, and whether it matches ones' own. One can even try to ascertain what Pitchfork will say about an album before they actually review it. Point taken, but although it's somewhat predictable, at least it takes a stand.
» "That's Mr. Tower." [That's Mr.Tower]