Gaming and Culture

Have you ever had a lover look at you forlornly and say: "I went to my astrologer today and she says that you're never going to be right for me"?

And this after months and months of calling each other "Pookie."

Now instead of fighting these astral schemers, you can join them. For Astrology Dating.com is galloping in on a white horse in order to show you what astrolove truly is.

The site's beta tag has been removed just in time to make February 14 a date you will always remember. The site told me it already more

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--There was a time, not all that long ago, when the only way to play a decent (or indeed most any) "computer game" was to seek one out at a local pizza parlor or bowling alley--or, if you were lucky and your neighborhood had been blessed with such an establishment, the local arcade.

In fact, computer games weren't computer games yet. They were video games, or arcade games.

I can remember the excitement my friends and I felt when our neighborhood suddenly witnessed the arrival of a "real" video arcade. Space Invaders had been around for a while by then (how cool was it that the Pretenders had recorded an instrumental in its honor, complete with a sampling of the game's throbbing, threatening sound effects?). But the newly opened Louie's brought us a startling array of bright, beeping, and then-revolutionary games with strange and thrilling names like Pac-Man and Centipede.

I like to think I'm pretty young at heart, but even I forget sometimes how fun it was to be a kid, when being entertained took something as simple as a cardboard box and a lot of imagination. Thankfully, littleBits reminded me.

littleBits is a set of circuit boards that can be snapped together to form whatever you want. Created by engineer and interactive artist Ayah Bdeir, littleBits was designed in part to help kids (and adults) understand how electronics work and get them interested in building their own devices, instead of just consuming them.

Each littleBits module has a specific function, such as power, motor, light, or switch, and they attach to one another via magnets, so there's no need to solder or program anything. To create a working circuit board, all you need is a power source and some kind of output, and each part is color-coded (blue, green, pink, or orange) depending on its function (power, output, input, or wire).

Sometimes, one is confronted with information so stunning that contemplative navel-gazing will never suffice.

So let me toss this mind-altering grenade and see how it shakes you: women are using technology in a more openly sexual way.

How can I possibly know this? Well, I am leaning heavily (as I must) on the study of women's mores prepared on behalf of Harlequin--yes, those racy people who publish bodice-ripping romances for the everyday commute.

I am grateful to a lady at the Huffington Post for corralling this data and promulgating it electronically.

You will, no doubt, feel light-headed beyond reason more

The Xbox 360 is still scoring big amidst a slump in overall gaming sales.

Microsoft's hot gaming console was the best-selling platform in the U.S. in January, its 13th month in a row at the top of the charts, NPD Group said yesterday.

For January, Microsoft sold 270,000 Xbox 360s,  grabbing 49 percent of the console market last month. The Xbox accounted for $310 million in total sales (hardware, software, and accessories), the highest number for any console in the U.S. January also marked the 11th month in a row in which the Xbox grabbed more

Spotify got a major endorsement from President Barack Obama today. Obama for America announced that the official 2012 campaign playlist is available on the popular music-streaming service.

The playlist has 28 tracks with an eclectic mix of artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, and, of course, Al Green.

Calling all Jedis! Grab your lightsabers, lace up your running shoes, and come embark on what's sure to be an epic journey to Comic-Con 2012. Even better, you'll get to use the Force to help some young Padawans in need.

Lucasfilm, Nerdist Industries, Octagon, and Machinima have teamed up to put on an Olympic torch-style relay race called Course of the Force that will help kick off this year's Comic-Con in San Diego and benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The 136-mile run/walk will begin in Santa Monica, Calif., on July 7. At every quarter-mile marker, participants will hand off the official Course of the Force lightsaber to the next runner until they reach San Diego on July 11, which just happens to be preview night for Comic-Con (the show officially kicks off on July 12).

Last night 20th Century Fox treated me to a screening of the new 3D version of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," which is in cinemas now here in England (Friday in the U.S.). As I got to see it for free, it only seems fair I should let you know if it's worth spending actual money to see it.

First off, it's worth mentioning the obvious. No amount of 3D can change the fact that there's waaay too much about trade taxation routes in this film. The whole "is Natalie Portman grooming a child?" sub-plot is still there. Jar Jar Binks hasn't been digitally erased. But if you're reading this, you probably already have your own views about the artistic merit of this movie, so I'll stick to the techy stuff.

Read more of "Is it worth seeing Star Wars in 3D" on Crave UK.

A rather noteworthy firmware update arrived yesterday for the PlayStation Vita in Japan, just weeks before the device is set to debut in the U.S. on February 22.

Vita can now shoot MP4 video (1.5Mbps) at 640x480 resolution with supplementary audio-recording support up to 128Kbps AAC. This is not HD-quality by any means, but it will probably look above-average based on the strength of Sony's mobile-camera sensors. There's a note of an improvement to "Featured Photo," which now supports video content.

We also spotted an optional Content Manager Assistant app for Vita (available now in English for PC and Mac) that lets you run a system update and transfer and/or back up data between the Vita and a computer.