"Braid" has redefined sidescrolling gameplay. From art style to game play mechanics, everything is well done. Do not miss this game.

2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)

Released over the summer, MGS4 is the ultimate experience. Despite an over-the-top melodramatic plot, there is a lot of good here. The best part is that there's no real compromise if you take a stealth approach or full on shooter.

3. Gears of War 2 (X360)

There's something undeniably fun about "Gears of War 2:" it's purely a high octane action game with some jaw-dropping moments.

4. Left 4 Dead

Though I haven't played through half of the movies "Left 4 Dead" is a fun social experience: it's meant to be played with others.

5. PixelJunk Eden (Playstation Store)

It's so easy to get lost in this game. Mixes challenge with beautiful colors and silhouettes.

1. Oracular Specatcular By MGMT

Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

Featuring fantastic 80s synth and awesome melodies, this song is unique and amazing. "Time to Pretend" is a song that is eerie and yet hopeful at the same time.

2. 808s & Heartbreak by Kanye West

808s & Heartbreak - Kanye West

Kanye West is so transparent, and that's what I dig about 808s. So what about his ego issues, his purpose is to entertain, and succeeds.

3. Narrow Stairs By Death Cab for Cutie

Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for ...

Death Cab has such a distinctive sound, and from the bellowing lines of the opening to "Bixbie Canyon Bridge" to the album's final note, it's a lot of fun.

4. Viva la Vida or Death and his Friends by Coldplay

Viva La Vida Or Death And All ...

Turns out, "Viva la Vida"isn't the best single from Coldplay's latest... it's "Lost!" But it's a solid effort, and Coldplay's best to date.

5. The Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow

The Seldom Seen Kid - Elbow

"Grounds for Divorce" and "One Day Like this" are the defining songs from Elbow's smash hit album. In that fine line between rock and alternative, if you haven't listened to this album, it's definitely worth a listen.

John Oliver "When you're a bankrupt ideology persuing a bankrupt strategy the only move you've got is the dick one."

1. Pushing Daisies
Though the premiere season of “Pushing Daisies” hasn’t been topped by any of this year’s episodes, they’ve still been operating on a level that can’t be touched. The quirky comedy cannot be missed. It will be missed, however, when it finishes it run later this year.
2. The Colbert Report
Stephen Colbert brings the truth and leaves the facts. The third year of the show’s existence has seen him go to “Dorito's Spicy Sweet Chiladelphia” to cover the presidential primaries; bringing with him Barack Obama (via satellite), Hillary Clinton (who fixed the set when it “broke”) and John Edwards (when he had credibility).
3. 30 Rock
Attracting big name stars such as Oprah, Jennifer Anniston and the cast of “Night Court,” “30 Rock” is a fun show that combines relevant humor to bashing NBC. A great combination.
4. John Adams
The HBO miniseries starring Paul Giamatti has gotten everyone interested in our nation’s history. And the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. In a year dominated by presidential election talk, the series became decidedly relevant.
5. Politics coverage
2008 is the year of politics: whether viewers liked it or not, it was going to be the subject of just about everything on. “Saturday Night Live” suddenly became popular again, though whether that will continue to grasp viewers remains to be seen.

The Cuban-American Treaty gave, among other things, the Republic of Cuba ultimate sovereignty over Guantánamo Bay while granting the United States "complete jurisdiction and control" of the area for coaling and naval stations.

A 1934 treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, modified the lease payment from $2,000 in U.S. gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $3,086.36 in U.S. dollars, and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it or the U.S. abandoned the base property. Since the Cuban Revolution, the government under Fidel Castro has cashed only one of the rent checks from the US government. The Cuban government maintains this was only done because of "confusion" in the heady early days of the leftist revolution, while the US government maintains that the cashing constitutes an official validation of the treaty. The remaining uncashed checks made out to "Treasurer General of the Republic" (A position that has ceased to exist after the revolution) are kept in Castro's office stuffed into a desk drawer.

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

Commentary coming soon.

Fred Armisen nails the silliness of the touchscreen weilding analysts on the cable news networks.

The interface is about as straightforward as iTunes, except in a web interface.

The service also is a music service, allowing users to buy $.10 songs only available for listening on lala.com. But, for 79 to 89 cents more, the user can then purchase the file for download as a DRM free song.

Maybe the Amazons and the iTunes of the world should rethink their model, as more and more might just begin to rely on "the cloud" as the spot where music is stored.

-Claire's doing her same old thing. For the third time, it seems. She wavers from doing the right thing, being completely oblivous (like a good teenager) and disobeying her parents. In the end... it will never matter, she'll come crying back to mommy and daddy... and ultimately save the world! This is a symptom of...

-Tim Kring falling in love with his own cast. Zachary Quinto's character, Sylar, should have seen his end in season one, because he's done absolutely nothing interesting in the past 18 or so episodes. If he'd moved on to other projects, he would have been a great main character... I'm looking at you "Mentalist" or even "My Own Worst Enemy" which Christian Slater is having a hard time carrying. That could be symptomatic of the plot however.

-Ali Larter is just about the same as Sylar. Not much else to say, but how about we cut out the excess and bring it down to a few characters... not connected... and bring them all together to take down some evil.

-It may turn around, but I don't think anyone will be around to watch it. It's gone from "appointment viewing" to "Maybe I'll catch it on Hulu sometime in the future." Maybe it should be called "disappointment viewing."

It's even worse that Kring said that they had listened, and were working on it... because this isn't what we wanted: a recycled, rehashed season 1, I want refreshing television!