Susan Broyle’s appearance on Britain’s Got Talent received over 120 million views.  The rest of the top 5 are below.

The top search terms by month provides an interesting synopsis of the year.  The integration is tops in January, while Michael Jackson owns June and July.

You can view the entire list on the YouTube Blog site.  Now here is the rest of the top 5:

David after Dentist – 37 million views

JK Wedding Entrance Dance – 33 million views

New Moon Movie Trailer – 31 million views

Evian Roller Babies – 27 million views

So what were your favorite viral videos of 2009?

I decided maybe it was time I gave this franchise a try. After all, there must be something cool about it with that many people playing it.

The game takes place five years after the original Modern Warfare game. Throughout the game, you play as five different characters in different areas of the world. In one scene you are in Siberia racing from your enemy on a snowmobile. In the next you are chasing an enemy across roof tops in Rio de Janeiro. This caused some initial confusion for me and may those new to the COD series. Still, the game pieces fit together flawlessly to advance the story.

The biggest downside to the game is that the main storyline is incredibly short. I was able to complete it in two nights of casual gaming – totaling roughly six hours of gameplay. MW2 offers more than just the main storyline, though. In “Special Ops,” one or more players can work through a series of separate missions. I played through a couple that involved defending positions and killing enemy soldiers.

MW2’s main selling point is its multiplayer mode. I logged onto Xbox live to give this a try. Within 10 minutes I died more times than I can count. There are a lot of people that are way better at this game than I am. I’m sure if I had purchased the game rather than renting it I would have dedicated more time to this component, but my wounded ego would not let me log back on after my initial disaster.

The game made headlines before its release for a campaign where you play as an undercover agent in Moscow. In it you assist a terrorist as he walks through an airport killing civilians. The game publisher gives you the option to turn this scenario off before the game starts, but I decided to play through. One of the good parts about this scene is you are never required to fire a shot at civilians yourself; you can simply walk behind the rest of the terrorists as they commit the atrocities. Still, the violence is fairly graphic. People that have been shot crawl across the ground and part of me wanted to just “put them out of their misery.” While the scene is an important part of the game, I was left curious what the result would be if I chose not to play the scenario.

MWF is entertaining, but anyone who purchases it should know what they are getting. This game is in no way suitable for children, as almost every line of diologue contains the f-bomb. It also has a ton of violence (go figure) and an extremely short storyline. However, if you are looking for an advanced version of GoldenEye to play with your friends, the multiplayer is a blast.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

The Good:

• Intense, fast-paced storyline
• Multiplayer allows you to kill your friends

The Bad:

• Actual game is extremely short
• Relies too much on multiplayer component

The Verdict:

RENT IT – If you plan to play it for the story. If you are into the online multiplayer experience, you probably already bought this or should.

Not to fear film fanatic, Hollywood is not taking the rest of the year off.  There are plenty of opportunities for you to spend your movie dollar – and possibly even be entertained in the process.  Here are some films to help get you through the rest of the year while you wait for Iron Man 2 and Toy Story 3.

Twilight: New Moon
Opens Nov. 20

The Twilight series continues with its second installment ‘New Moon.’  More vampires, more beautiful people and  more werewolves.  What more could any teenage goth girl want?

The Princess and the Frog
Wide release Dec. 11

Disney tries its hand at animating a classic fairy tale; revolutionary for this studio to say the least.  The film does put some interesting spins on the story, including having it take place in New Orleans.  Apparently the Wisconsin tax incentives for films expired before it could take place in Milwaukee.

The Slammin’ Salmon
Limited Release Dec. 11

Broken Lizard (Beerfest, Super Troopers) does a ‘Waiting’- style comedy.  Enough said.

Avatar
Opens Dec. 18

James Cameron’s first film since ‘Titanic’ has a budget of over $500 million (eat it Michael Bay).  This 3D science-fiction flick is a big blue version of measly 2D Pocahontas.  Also reminds me of Return of the Jedi from the Galactic Empire’s point of view.

Sherlock Holmes
Opens Dec. 25

When it doubt, do something that has been done before.  When really in doubt, get a top-name director (Guy Ritchie) and some huge stars (Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law) to play the main characters. Add in a attractive female lead (Rachel McAdams) to fill out the cast.  Actually, I think most of my doubts have been eliminated.

It’s Complicated
Opens Dec. 25

What is the holiday season without a romantic comedy? Okay, apart from joyous.  Here is a film women can’t wait to drag men to.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Limited release Dec. 25

Most Terry Gilliam movies can be described as an acid trip gone very, very right.  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus does not look like the exception to the rule.  However, the special effects will likely be overshadowed by the cast – especially the late Heath Ledger.

What movies that open late this year peak your interest?

Entering its eleventh year, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has grown from a challenge among friends to a world-wide phenomenon. Last year over 119,000 people participated in the event, writing over 1.6 billion words. Of those, 21,683 finished a novel of 50,000 words or more in the 30 days of November. This year over 150,000 people worldwide are expected to participate.

For those that attempt the challenge, there are various support mechanisms to help. NaNoWriMo.org has a forums section where writers can plan local meet-ups. It also offers advice from members of the NaNoWriMo community that have succeeded in the past. For those that prefer to write in private, websites like Write or Die can provide motivation to produce a high word count in a short time (warning, be prepared to lose your work on Kamikaze Mode if you do not write fast enough).

Most participants will not finish. Whether it is lack of time, planning, or they just get bored, only a small percentage will complete the journey. Still, at this early stage, they are optimistic they will complete their novel in a month.

Those that do finish will have 11 months to edit their opus before seeing if they can repeat next year. Those that fail will learn what they can do better next year to prepare and possibly reverse their fortunes.

For everyone involved it will be an entertaining and challenging month.

You can follow Jason Dean’s progress on Twitter at @The_Dean. He will also produce a weekly update on his blog every Wednesday through NaNoWriMo.

I have lived in Beloit now for nearly a year.  Still, when I choose to go out and enjoy live music, I flee to larger cities like Madison, Chicago or Milwaukee.  Having resided in two of those cities I know where to find good tunes, and which local bands I enjoy.

As winter approaches, It’s time to plug in and see what the Stateline area has to offer.

The big question – where do I start?  I know no local bands, and only a couple venues.  This is where I totally use you – the readers – to help me out.

So who is good?  What bands do you love?  Where’s a great place to see them?  Rockford, Beloit, Janesville and anyplace in between.  The only rule I have when suggesting groups – NO COVER BANDS!  I could go into a long diatribe about why, but musician Nice Peter says it best (this link is in no way, shape or form safe for work).

Images via Gibson and The Onion.

Summerfest organizers want your thoughts on their annual festival, and they are willing to provide you with a free pair of tickets in 2010 in exchange. Simply fill out the survey on their site and you can check out the state’s biggest festival next summer.

‘Whip It‘ is the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore. It stars Ellen Page (of ‘Juno’ fame) as a girl who joins a local roller derby league. It is the first widely-released movie about derby since Unholy Rollers graced the screen in 1972.

The movie is getting a big push from derby girls across the country, including locally. The Stateline Divas will host a Premier Party Friday, Oct. 2 at Wildwood Movies 10 Theater in Janesville. The gathering begins at 6:30 p.m., and it cost $8 to see the movie ($6 for kids). From the Divas’ blog:

Join the Divas as we celebrate the opening of Drew Barrymore’s new roller derby movie. Ask us your pressing derby questions or just stop by and meet your favorite Diva. And if you decide you’d like to join us, we’ll help you get started.

To find out more about the movie, check out the BDN’s review here. Also check out Hillary Dickinson’s article “Derby Divas skating to empowerment”

Got pictures from the event? Post them below in your comments.

While Coulton’s songs vary in topic, they tend to skew towards the extra geeky.  Zombies, computer code, mathematicians, evil geniuses and video game theme songs comprise his musical repertoire.

Okay, so he’s not for everyone, but his fans are committed.  Coulton returns to Madison October 25 at the Majestic Theater.  Tickets for the show go on sale this Saturday.

I have been a Coulton fan for many years.  I had a chance to interview him for The Capital Times – a conversation that quickly deteriorated into us discussing our favorite video games.

The aspect of Coulton I respect the most about Coulton his music is released under a Creative Commons license.  This allows fans to create works from his music such as music videos.

Curious to find out more about this God among geeks?  Well…

You can listen to his music here.  Yup, almost his entire catalog can be listened to free online.

Holly Johns interview from last time he came through town.

Finally, below are some videos from last time he played Madison.

Cover of Pressure by Billy Joel

I Feel Fantastic

Mr Fancy Pants

I came across this website, listing the cost for over 800 bands.  While it might not be the most current or accurate, it did prove that good bands do not come cheap.

Still, I was up to the challenge of building my own Riverfest lineup at a fraction of the cost.  I adhered to my own standards and tried to represent the major generas.  Where a price range was used, I used the higher rate, and still came in at under half the cost of the festival this year.  My 5-day schedule is:

• Wednesday – Daryle Singletary               $7.5K
• Thursday – Arrested Development          $15K
• Friday – Theory of a Deadman                $10K
• Saturday – Eric Church                            $15K
• Sunday – Neko Case                                $15K
• Grand Total.                                             $62,500

If the lower totals are used, it is easy to add the Eels ($10k) and GZA ($7.5k) to the lineup at less than half the cost of the current lineup.

What lineup would you build with $141,000.  What could you come up with for less?  Again, the website with the prices is here.  Post your lineup in the comments.

“You’re going to LOVE Riverfest!”

All through the winter and spring, the accolades for the summer music festival rained down.  As it drew near, I found myself getting excited to find out the lineup.  Finally the official headliners were announced.

“Really?”

Many of the names sounded familiar, but since I was not a child of the 60’s, I found myself scurrying around the internet to try and determine each band’s claim to fame.  Sure I knew the Beach Boys, but I had never even heard of the band for “my generation” – Trapt.

Music festivals are usually defined by the smaller bands that play the side stages.  Some of the best concerts I have seen were the side-stage acts at festivals.  Maybe that would be the case with  Riverfest as well.

Unfortunately I discovered there barely were any acts besides the headliners.  As I walked through the grounds my first day there, I was astonished by the lack of performance areas for smaller bands.  A ton of open space on Riverside Dr. would have been the perfect place for a couple small stages.

Riverfest seemed more like a small county fair – minus animals – than a music festival.

When Beloit Daily News published the financial woes of Riverfest last week, I was not surprised.  The festival spent too much on acts very few people cared about. The only act that interested me was Pat McCurdy Sunday night on a small stage after the Beach Boys.

Local readers of BDN agreed, as brilliant ideas from the community flowed after an article asking what needs to change was published.  Most people in the community agree changes need to be made.  Here are my suggestions for the Riverfest board.

• More stages. If Riverfest wants to be a serious music festival, it needs more stages.  Some may argue this is difficult with their local financial problems, but not if they…

• Sign more local/regional acts. The cost for local/regional acts is less.  The number of people in the area that know the bands is higher.  Some of the bigger acts can fill the main stage at a fraction of the cost of the current headliners.

• Attract more up-and-coming headliners. Get bands on the way up.  This will also help cut costs.

• Less days. At least in the short run, Riverfest is going to need to cut back at least one day.

• More diversity. This is NEEDED.  Bring in some R&B, country and alternative to get more people interested and make it a community event.  This could also help draw people from surrounding communities.

Despite bands that were of little interest to me, I had fun at my first Riverfest.  I just hope changes are made to assure the festival continues.