You might have read the reviews, you’ve probably seen the commercials. They’re all true: New Super Mario Bros Wii is one of the best Wii games ever made, and absolutely superb for multiplayer. Here’s why:

The graphics are pretty, the controls work like they’re intended to–it’s a very polished game. The game goes out of its way to make sure newbs aren’t totally lost or frustrated, and it’s challenging and deep enough to satisfy any gamer who ever enjoyed a Super Mario Bros game on any system. Other than being the most fun Mario title to date (and the truest evolution of Super Mario Bros for the 21st century), this true-to-its-roots 2D scroller has a few features to keep the non-hardcore-gamer from pulling their hair out.

• multi-player capability is guaranteed hilarity. most fun i’ve had in a LONG time playing a video game, even with people who are very bad at the game. why? if you’re about to die, or can’t get past a particularly difficult jumping sequence, you can put yourself in a “bubble” and safely float forward to join your more skilled friends. no more crying that you can’t make it past that part–as long as there’s at least one person alive and not in a bubble, you’re ok. if everyone “bubbles” or dies at the same time, you’ve got to start over. this gets to be quite funny when you all start bubbling and the last guy panics and bubbles, or jumps off a cliff!
• throwing people and jumping off their heads can lead to some very, very fun and competitive gameplay, or if properly done, teamwork doing these same things can make some difficult unlocks or sequences much easier.
• if you die too many times on multiplayer, you can watch a video to show you how to do the level.
• as you earn large coins, you can spend them to watch videos that show you how to find secret goals and powerups. then you don’t feel like you cheated when you search the internet for the same info, because you earned it!
• as you play through the game, you don’t have to always use the same number of players. that is, if you beat 4 worlds alone and save the game, the next time you turn on the game you can pick up where you left off with 1, 2, 3, or even 4 people! if you’ve cooperatively beat most of the game with a friend, you can come back and earn all the extra stuff you missed alone later.
• Penguin suit and propeller hats rock

this game is a total win. you simply MUST buy it.

So if you haven’t gotten a letter yet, you will. You’re getting some free money from the Government if you pay your taxes this year. That’s right, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. I read some guy’s blog who claimed that this was similiar to 2001, when people got their next years’ tax refunds a year in advance (and were thus pretty mad), so I did some looking, and found the IRS Webpage ESP FAQs.

Q. Will the payment I receive in 2008 reduce my 2008 refund or increase the amount I owe for 2008?

A. No, the stimulus payment will not reduce your refund or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2008 return.

Rock on! So Lisa and I should be getting a check for $1,200 back of that $2,400 we paid extra to Uncle Sam this spring. As a good boy, I intend to blow it all per the Government’s instructions! (well, OK, maybe I’ll only blow some of my half, because I’m too much of a tightwad to blow $600.) Let’s see, I can get…

• BDAG Greek Lexicon ($120)
• 171 Gallons of Gas (at $3.50/gal)
• 0.97 credit hours of tuition at Trinity ($615/hr)
• 20 days’ rent
• Nintendo Wii ($250) (impossible to find…)
• Some more Ibex clothes ($ ? – this is actually possible…)
• A new Graphics card for my computer ($100?)
• An HDTV tuner for my mac, so I can record Lost in HD ($150)

How about you? Are you going to be a good citizen and try to revive our economy with your extra cash? Just make sure it has a Made in USA sticker on it! (Sorry, shameless plug.)

Oh, yeah, and you better enjoy having cash, because rumor has it that the Government may just raise taxes by 4 times as much as they dole out in rebates. I hope those rich suckers are the ones that have to pick up the extra tab, ‘cuz I can’t afford more taxes!