Egotistic grace note

I noticed to today that my submission to Idolator's "The Make Your Own Killers Album Contest" was among their favorites, with Lucas Jensen writing, "I wish that Alex's entry was the next Killers' cover."

Brandon Flowers, I'll even abstain from deriding your band for an entire month if this turns to reality. Plus, I'm pretty sure the image is in the public domain.

Let's all goto the lobby

I wrote and did research for a Gamasutra story that went up today about the Electronic Software Association's lobbying efforts during Q3.

While sifting through Q3 lobbying disclosures, I accidentally stumbled upon entries where the ESA was the client not the registrant. Not only did these add at least $100,000 per quarter this year, but everyone who has previously done stories with numbers of the ESA’s federal lobbying has been wrong because those figures did not include payments to firms lobbying on the trade group’s behalf. When recalculated, the 2008 figures increase by nearly $400,000, the 2007 figures increase by a half-million, and the 2006 figures increase by $600,000.

Our obsequious inclination

Edition seven of the column is up. In this edition, I try to see if there is anything less believable than the conceit of an eight-foot-tall floating blue alien. (Spoiler: I think there is.) Also, I get into various topicality like relationships and advertising, and I perpetuate stereotypes of Wesleyanites. Seriously, I think there is a lot in the piece to nitpick, tear apart, analyze and discuss, but I am probably wrong and everything there that I find to be of any depth is actually superficial.