The game takes you through the Beatles career from the Ed Sullivan Show, through their early career, into trippy transcendence. You can play the guitar, drum, and sing. Actually, many can (and should) sing as there are multiple vocal parts where you need to harmonize. I never tried that as I can sing only one note but I’d love to hear a group actually do this.

To “That” Guy

To you people who have to be “that guy” and say, “real instruments are more fun” or “why don’t you play in a real band”, your argument is tired and short-sighted. We understand that real music is more difficult and more rewarding, but there is no way I could pick up a real guitar and play all these Beatles classics in the couple hours I have. My goal is to have fun, not struggle. By this logic I could say, “you know, I don’t need to play real tennis when I could just be playing on the Wii”. Or better yet, say, “Gee, I feel like invading Normandy. I’ll book a trip to England, rent a boat, and scale the French coast with a rifle.” If you’re anti-video games, fine. But don’t just be anti-music video games. But even then I’d STILL argue that playing Beatles Rock Band is a GREAT way to explore their music. While playing, I was impressed realizing the different chord changes, off beat notes, difficult harmonies, and more. I would never notice these things just listening to their music. Anyway, enough, just stop.

Overall

Overall, it’s an amazing game that sets the standard for how band-specific games should be made. Not only that, but the people at Harmonix have something special compared to the folks at Activision. Beatles Rock Band just feels better than Guitar Hero 5. I don’t know if it’s just smoother, the notes make more sense, or what. But it’s painfully obvious when you play the two side-by-side just how much better engineered Rock Band is compared to the Guitar Hero series.

The one requirement for this game is that you actually like, on some level, the Beatles music. Because it’s ALL BEATLES. Though there are some more obscure tracks, most songs are instantly reliable. But most people do. So give The Beatles Rock Band a whirl the next time you have the chance.

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Eyeballs work best in their sockets

The folks at Boing Boing shared some medical advice originally posted on Slate.

Q: What should I do if my eyeball pops out of its socket?

A: Get it put back in, and soon. The longer you remain in this rare condition – ”known as “globe luxation” – the more strain you’ll put on the blood vessels and nerves that connect your eye to the rest of your head. Your luxated globes will also be susceptible to corneal abrasions or inflammation, and the feeling of your eyelids clamped down behind them won’t be pleasant.

You should be able to get your eye back in place without serious, long-term damage. (If the ocular muscles tear or if the optic nerve is severed, your outlook won’t be as clear.) The treatment for globe luxation is pretty simple: Doctors apply some topical painkillers, hold back your lashes, and poke your eyeball into its socket by pressing on the white part with gloved fingers. (In some cases, they’ll use a simple tool like a bent paperclip to shoehorn it back into place.) You might get antibiotics, lubricating drops, or steroids to follow up for a few days while your vision returns to normal. If your doctors can’t pop your eye back in – because you’ve got too much swelling in the socket, for example – they’ll give you an eye shield and consider a more invasive procedure.

TennisCrowd is about more than tennis. Though it also covers the latest news in the tennis world, I’ll be writing about all things tennis players like. And hopefully, I won’t be the only writer. The plan is to have a few select contributors collaborate to give this website depth.

I started this blog because tennis players are a unique bunch with unique interests. There are plenty of other good tennis blogs on the Internet that talk about pro tennis and such. I’m going to try cover different aspects. I’ll post articles about entertainment, travel, USTA play, fitness and more. Again, things tennis players like. And today, March 7, 2009, is as good of a day as any to start the blog.