I spent a good portion of this morning trying to figure out how many blogs I was going to post today, a task made more difficult thanks to cold medication (thanks a lot fall, your creepy seesaw weather patterns are making me ill.).

In the end, I went for quality (in theory) over quantity. This is a long one, we got Halo 3, local music and youth radio on tap.

Halo 3 descends to Earth

Chief, you're our only hope!
(Image Courtesy of Microsoft.)

It is the Alpha, and the Omega, the Holy Grail, The Key, and everything else that has been highly sough after in film and television. I am talking about Halo 3.

One of the reasons I wanted to write about the release of Halo 3 is because it does seem to be unlike anything else in videogame history.

Reports have said Microsoft has spent more than $10 million to push Halo 3 into any and all corners of American life. I'd guarantee if you've spent more than 10 minutes online today you've likely seen an ad, blurb or story about the game.

Check out the newest commercials released in the "Believe" campaign, which has drawn a fair share of attention because of its realistic, war veteran themes and noticable lack of game footage.
(Note of thanks to the guys at Joystiq's Xbox 360 Fanboy for help on the story.)

And obviously, if Burger King is your thing, you've likely seen Master Chief standing next to a "HALO 3 WHOPPER DELUXE" or something like that.

Today's also the first day reviews of the game have been available thanks to an embargo from Microsoft. Taking a look over at Metacritic shows that the game is getting high marks all around, but in the end critical success may not mean much if it does not sell.

Then again, seeing as Halo 2 made records, selling $125 million in 24 hours on release, that should not be a problem either.

But here's the Halo 3 question o' the day: Is the mass-marketing going to make a difference to casual gamers or the public outside of games?

For those of you planning to purchase at midnight tonight, the forecast calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the 40s. Good luck, and Finish The Fight.

The people behind the music

When I first heard about The Portland Music Foundation my first thought was "why didn't anyone think of this before?" For the organizing board here in Portland, that was just one of many questions they considered, along with how can we better help the musicians around this town?

If you're in a band or know someone in a band, then you don't need me to talk about how tough it can be to feel like you're getting somewhere with your music.

The idea behind the foundation is that someone else's experiences (and mistakes) can be put to good use. At the same time, as Spinout's Mark Curdo told me, the foundation can really help to put Portland on the map by making the city a destination for artists and exporting/touring its artists around the country.

A good example is the Austin Music Foundation, which has been around for about five years.

If you've got the money, would like a few cocktails and an excuse to dress up, check out the Speakeasy Benefit on Wednesday.

Readers and comment heads, let me ask, from an outsiders perspective, how do you think the foundation can help local musicians? From a band standpoint, is it worth a few buck to sit and listen to someone talk about things like studio time, setting up a tour and investing in merch? Do musicians around here need that help?

Being Blunt

The gang over at Blunt Youth Radio is looking for new recruits to join up.

Tonight they're holding an open house starting at 7 p.m. at the WMPG studios on Bedford Street on the University of Southern Maine Portland campus.

Blunt offers local high school students the opportunity to learn how to write, edit and produce radio, but more importantly gives them the chance to tell their own stories. I've written about the program on more than a few occasions (and got invited into studio once!) and the work they do you won't find most places.

The weekly one-hour show can range from sex-ed in schools to how youth are portrayed in the media, the struggles of children of immigrants to get into college and life at the Long Creek Youth Development Center.

There are no qualifications necessary, they look for and accept anyone that's interested and wants to put in the time.

If you're interested check out Blunt's web site or contact Claire Holman, the program director, at 650-5835 or cholman@usm.maine.edu

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