FFXIII in North America? Not before 2010, says Square

Now that 2008 is officially over, Square-Enix is ringing in the new year with a major, and completely expected, delay. The victim? Final Fantasy XIII, at least in North America.

Don't say I didn't predict this.

Hot off his announcement that the next proper installment of Square's trademark series is expected to be out in Japan this year, company president Yoichi Wada is now saying that if you're expecting to see FFXIII this year in North America, you're out of luck. Wada confirmed as much in an interview with Reuters, saying the game won't see it's North American debut until at least April 2010.

But hey, FFXII took 5 years to come out right? Don't be surprised to see this pushed back until Summer 2010...at the earliest.

Welcome to the Tender Loving Empire

Tender Loving Empire has to be the cuddliest imperial organization on the planet. World's Greatest Ghosts? Huggable! Jared Mees and the Grown Children? Childlike! Finn Riggins? Sleepover worthy!

Tonight Mees (cofounder of the Tender Loving Empire label/printing press/screen printer's/just about everything else) headlines an excellent trio of TLE's best and brightest. Check it out, by the end of the show you'll probably be involved with TLE in some capacity and adding to their vast colonial territory of creative 20-somethings.



Jared Mees & The Grown Children - "Tallest Building In Hell" Live from Erik Stanfill on Vimeo.

WAVVES of mutilation

And to think, as recently as two weeks ago I would have insisted that nothing beneficial to the human race would ever come out of San Diego. Now, low and behold, Nathan Daniel Williams comes slinking out of the suburban jungle to prove me wrong.

Williams (more commonly referred to as WAVVES) has one hell of a talent for hooks washed out to the "so lo-fi it's almost dial up noise" apex. Don't believe me? Observe (this shitty video that actually captures the band's sound pretty well):

Bodies of Water

This band has been growing on me all week. I first saw this video premier several days ago and though I still find it somewhat hoaky the song backing it up is solid gold.

Check em out.

Lenka livens up Portland

Music and drinks on a Tuesday night? Hell yeah.

Gabe Dixon from Nashville's The Gabe Dixon Band opened for Lenka at the Doug Fir Lounge at 9:00 PM.

The songstress and her band played for about an hour. Her breathy, pitch-perfect voice sounds amazing when she's singing her cute lyrics. Her music sounds fun, poppy and alternative.

But when she talks? It was worth showing just to hear her marvelous Australian accent. She claims that Portland is her favorite city and she'd love to move here. Some enthusiastic crowd members suggested that she could live with them. Lenka would be a great addition to the Portland music scene but for now we'll just have to wait and see.

An Overlapsation Situation

This guy has a really good excuse, man.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Bush ruins television

Apparently George W. Bush is adding another entry to his list of "American Institutions I Have Ruined or Otherwise Sullied" by pre-empting a hee-larious episode of NBC's Kath and Kim for his gawd awful farewell address.

Farewell indeed you humorless bastard.