Put on your blue suede shoes and board the plane, boys and girls, because your sideburned, peanut-butter-and-banana-sandwich eating hero Sparky has returned with yet another Gaming Update.  No, I'm not the ghost of Elvis.  I just rock, and I rock hard! 
 
Dancin' Robots, Rednecks Galore, and a Fistful of Boomstick 
 
It's fair to say that Borderlands is my new flavor of the moment.  I just finished up my first playthrough last night, and holy crap, what a game.  Look, I know all the haters claim it's unpolished or buggy, but I'm here to tell you that other than (very) occasionally getting my buggy stuck in the odd corner or crevice, I've encountered no serious bugs or problems.  This is not a game to be missed simply because BobGizmoGrizFan390 tells you not to check it out.  This is a gamer's game, damn it, and you owe it to yourself, your country, and the universe in general to check it out. 
 
If I had one complaint about the game, it's that the quests get sort of repetitive.  A greater enemy variety would also go a long ways towards increasing the replay value.  Regardless, these issues are trivial and hardly deal-breakers.  Gearbox, keep this general formula going with any sequels you have planned, and you'll have one giant, rabid, slightly stinky fanboy on your hands. 
 
A Priest, a Rabbi, and a DS Walk Into a Bar 
 
Since I was on the road for most of this last week, my DS got some sweet, sweet gamer lovin'.  I packed up a few classics, and mostly played some meatier RPG efforts.  Mostly, I worked on leveling in Final Fantasy IV up until the "magnetic cave" level, which annoys me to no end.  Clever idea, terrible thing to fight as a gamer.  Eh, I'll plow through it on my next trip.  I also delved a bit deeper into the excellent Chrono Trigger, which I'm still thoroughly enjoying.  I'd love to see new Chrono games either on the Wii or DS, as I've enjoyed both immensely. 
 
Those Things With Pages.  You Know, Books? 
 
Since my Gaming Update is a little light on padding these days, I thought I'd expand out to write about any noteworthy books I've read or movies I've seen recently. 
 
Picked up a ton of books in St. Louis.  Started with C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man, which I'd read back in college and want to re-read.  I also decided to pick up a collection of the Narnia books, since I'm working on the backbone of a fantasy world and I want to revisit all my old favorites. 
 
Also picked up Diana Pharoah Francis's newest, "Bitter Night."  I'm not normally a fan of contemporary fantasy, but Francis's other novels have all been superb, so I picked this one up and read most of it on the plane home.  It's one hell of a page turner, and I highly recommend checking it out. 
 
Also picked up but have not delved into - Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and The Gathering Storm, Andy Remic's War Machine (Remic's a guilty pleasure - fun pulp sci-fi), and a couple of Terry Pratchett novels. 
 
In the dollar theater, I watched The Hangover.  Holy hell, I laughed hard.  I watched this several hours after the hardest moment of my life, and if it could pull me out of that funk so well, you know it's gotta be good.  The casting choices are excellent, and the comedic timing is just spot-on. 
 
Question of the Week 
 
Since Borderlands advertizes itself as having "gazillions" of guns, I figure a gun-related question is in order.  What are your favorite guns in video games, fictional or otherwise?