Weekend Update: Jan 18-21 (MLK weekend)

This is the Weekend Update for the weekend of January 18th through January 21st (Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday weekend).

Missed the last Weekend Update? Check out the Weekend Update archives.

You know the drill by now. Read Letter From Birmingham Jail.

The Monopoly game of the century took place this weekend. A 5-player game came down to a 2-player titanic struggle between me and my sister. They say that he who controls Park Place (actually Fenway Park in the updated electronic version) controls the world. And that’s how I lost: two back-to-back trips to Fenway in as many laps around the board, costing me $26 million in rent and the game.

By the way, the location choice on the updated electronic Monopoly is weird: I get Times Square, Disney World, even Fenway. But Jacobs Field? The White House?

And what’s with the tokens? A tin of Altoids? Not to mention the terrible, trendy new Community Chest and Chance cards. “You buy a hybrid! Go ahead 3 spaces!” Oh well. The “electronic” part saves the hassle of all the paper money.

In other electronic gaming news, my household is now in possesion of a DDR dance pad. We are approaching the point of what I have deemed the “rhythm game event horizon”, in which it is no longer possible to do anything except play rhythm games. Karaoke Revolution, Stepmania, Guitar Hero, Frets on Fire, etc. The number of periphreals alone is staggering, not to mention the sheer weight of both Xbox and Xbox 360.