Draw Something: Tasmanian Giant Crab

I'm eternally in awe arthropods, one of nature's greatest success stories. These exoskeleton creatures are amazing in every aspect, to which I respect them greatly. I've drawn the Tasmanian Giant Crab, perhaps the largest of all deepwater crabs. They inhabit the southern coast of Australia, growing upwards of thirty pounds!

An Update On The Saturday Night Stories.

As I transition into a new year of writing fiction, I'd like to share some information with my audience. Over the past year, I've published many short stories. I wrote in numerous genres -- horror, romance, science fiction, drama. Through my journey behind this keyboard, I've explored many different plot devices and characterizations. Some of the stories turned out wonderful. Others, I didn't care for. Either way, I made sure to complete the stories and let them stand on their own, good or bad.

Ultimately, this was an exercise in preparation for my next step as a writer.

Keeping with tradition on Saturdays, I will continue to create and publish an original work of fiction. Whereas in the past these works have been short stories without much, if any, entanglement, this is all about to change. Starting next Saturday, I will begin publishing a sequential story told chapter by chapter. Hopefully, this tale will eventually become the size of a full-fledged novel. It will be my first genuine attempt at writing a larger narrative. Honestly, I'm a little frightened of the task before me, but I know that it's a step in the right direction. While I've cut my teeth on short stories, I want to craft an entire world filled with various characters that carryover, week after week. Eventually, I'd like to collect these stories into one larger book for proper print publication. My fingers are crossed.

Obviously, this means you willll have to keep up with my story if you'll want to maintain any sense of clarity. Otherwise, chapters read out of context might not make much sense. This is a hefty request, but I'd appreciate it if you joined me for the ride. Hopefully, you'll like where this adventure takes us.

Thanks again for sticking with me,

Jared

My Favorite '80s Cartoon Intro Theme Songs.

I'm a little backed up with work this evening, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite cartoon theme songs from the '80s. Some of these you might remember... others you probably won't. I grew up with these cartoons and they've somehow managed to stick with me all these years. Perhaps these intros will inspire you to check into the programs on YouTube and enjoy them for the first time!

Ducktales

M.A.S.K.

Heathcliff

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

ThunderCats

SilverHawks

The Transformers

and as an added bonus, just because I really enjoy it...

The Transformers (Closing Credits Theme)

14 New Tarantula Species... And Johnny Cash, Too!

The tree of life just got a little bit bigger.

Thanks to a decade-long investigation into American tarantulas, we now know of fourteen new, distinct species of spiders. Evolutionary biologist Chris Hamilton, along with colleagues Brent Hendrixson and Jason Bond, spent over ten years researching the various tarantulas inhabiting the central, south-western and Pacific coast region of the United States. After processing nearly two thousand specimens, they were able to identify fourteen distinct new species. At the same time, the team pinpointed various species that were in fact not unique at all, largely due to a sparse and inadequate record of previous specimen analysis.

The work Hamilton and his team put into researching the American tarantula is considered groundbreaking. What was once a highly misunderstood creature now has a bit more clarity.

Of note, one of the new tarantulas the team discovered is from northern California. The males of this particular species are clad in all black fur. Ironically, they also roam the hills surrounding Folsom State Prison. Can you guess the new spider's name?

Aphonopelma johnnycashi

That's right, there's now a tarantula named after the legendary Johnny Cash. Seems fitting, considering the all black 'Johnny Cash Tarantula' lives around the actual inmate facility that helped lift Cash to super-stardom.

The resemblance is uncanny!

The Cadbury Creme Egg Ban.

Who doesn't love a tasty Cadbury Creme Egg? If you happen to find someone that does not, they are clearly not to be trusted. I digress, though.

Last year, a devastating change was made as to how many Americans and ex-pat Brits enjoy the sweet treat. Cadbury Eggs originally come from England, where they are produced by Cadbury UK. Under English food regulations, any item advertised as containing chocolate must possess at least 20% cocoa solids. In the United States, the same products are only required to have at least 10% cocoa solids. Up until last year, many American retailers would import British Cadbury Creme Eggs because they contain more chocolate, are larger and generally taste better than the American version. In the United States, Cadbury Creme Eggs are produced exclusively under license by Hershey.

Pictured here is a size comparison between the American Cadbury Creme Egg made by Hershey (left) and the original British Cadbury (right). See the difference?

A volatile lawsuit last year resulted in a ban on the import of many British chocolates, including the much loved Cadbury Creme Egg. Hershey claimed that the import and consumption of the original British version was 'confusing' for their consumers, as well as violated their exclusive right to produce and sell the Cadbury Creme Egg in the USA.

Long story short, Hershey didn't like the idea of Americans eating the original version instead of their own inferior product.

This isn't to say that the Hershey-produced Cadbury Creme Egg is bad; they still taste pretty darn good. Yet, they're not as flavorful as the original British version, which I've had the opportunity to try before. There is a dramatic difference. The Cadbury UK original has more of a creamy, robust chocolate shell. Alternatively, the Hershey version is much sweeter with a firmer shell.

All of the Cadbury Creme Eggs you'll enjoy this Easter season will be the Hershey version -- slightly smaller and with less actual chocolate. In the end, the American Cadbury Creme Egg consumer loses.

Wii U a Prime Example of 'Too Little, Too Late'.

Unfortunately for Nintendo, the Wii U has proven to be their worst console release ever.

Sorry Mario, not even you can save the Wii U.

This isn't to say that the Wii U doesn't have quality game titles. In fact, the Wii U sports some of the finest first party software around. Games like Splatoon, Super Mario Maker and Mario Kart 8 offer phenomenal experiences, something that Nintendo really shines at. The sad reality is that the greatest software in the world can't save a game system that most consumers don't want to purchase. This has been the biggest hurdle for the Wii U -- the average gamer simply hasn't been interested. Whether the limited game library or confusing name is to blame, who knows. More than likely, there's multiple factors that hurt the system. Numbers don't lie, though. The Wii U is living on borrowed time.

Nintendo recently released financial numbers for the sales period between April and December of 2015. In that time span, 3.6 million Wii U systems were sold worldwide. This was actually a bit of good news for the Wii U; the surge in sales was much needed. The holiday season was a positive one for the Wii U, which saw a price drop at most national retailers. Yet, this burst comes too little, too late. Barely three years into the lifespan of the Wii U, Nintendo is already prepping their next console, currently code named the NX. We can expect to see more information about the NX throughout 2016. Many game industry insiders suspect that the NX system will actually begin production later in the year, possibly for a late 2016 or early 2017 release. Historically, Nintendo consoles have been given at least a five year lifespan before moving on to the next batch of hardware... but the Wii U may be a special case. The argument could be made that the Wii U has become a lame duck, considering the limited number of future game releases. With the next console lurking around the corner, the incentive to generate new software for the Wii U has become less and less realistic. More so, consumers have increasingly fewer reasons to purchase the Wii U with the death of the system looming on the horizon.

Here are the worldwide sales totals for all of Nintendo's home consoles, ranked by total volume.

1. Wii - 101.63 Million
2. Nintendo (NES) - 61.91 Million
3. Super Nintendo (SNES) - 49.10 Million
4. Nintendo 64 - 32.93 Million
5. GameCube - 21.74 Million
6. Wii U - 12.6 Million

At this point, I would suggest that the best alternative Nintendo has with the Wii U is to drop the price and push their remaining stock out to consumers -- even if they have to do so at a loss. They'd assuredly recoup their investment on software sales and regain some much needed capital. And hey... if Nintendo does decide to sell the Wii U at a discount, it would be a great opportunity to pick the system up for cheap! There are some phenomenal games on the system that everyone can enjoy.

Catch The Rare Pokémon Mew At GameStop!

If you're an old school Pokémon player like myself, today is your lucky day.

In celebration of the franchise's twentieth anniversary, Nintendo will be releasing one limited legendary Mythical Pokémon every month for the entirety of 2016. These rare Pokémon are hard to acquire and nearly impossible to obtain during normal game play, with some of them not having been available to catch in many years! February sees the release of Mew, the first legendary Pokémon from the original Red / Blue generation in 1996 (it wasn't released in North America until 1998).

So, how do you get Mew?

Between February 1 - 24, you can obtain a redemption code from GameStop stores for Mew. Through the Mystery Gift feature within Pokémon X, Y, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, you can enter the code and pick up your very own Mew! The redemption code is valid for use until May 31, 2016, so make sure you use it in time!

As to the other ten Legendary Pokémon you can catch this year, here is their release schedule:

• March - Celebi
• April - Jirachi
• May - Darkrai
• June - Manaphy
• July - Shaymin
• August - Arceus
• September - Victini
• October - Keldeo
• November - Genesect
• December - Meloetta

Not all of the Mythical Pokémon will be released at GameStop, so check back here throughout the year for further instructions on each one. Now get out there and catch 'em all!