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I Need Writers: You Interested?

Hey everyone. I'm back at Georgetown starting my junior year which is gong well.

My websiteEntertainium.orglaunched last month pretty but we didn't have a constant stream of content. This has now changed. My friend Matt and I are the only principle writers but we are both putting out a lot of reviews every week for television shows.

Our plan is ambitious, to review the releases in the video game industry, movies, new albums, and every televisions episode as possible. It has taken a lot of work and I need your help.

Thus I am asking if anyone would like to write for the site. You can write pretty much whatever you want, but I am looking for video game content in particular. By signing up you will:

  • Have content up on an emerging entertainment site
  • Gain valuable experience from people who have written for major sites
  • Gain industry contacts
  • Eventually get paid

Other Immediate Perks:

  • Opportunities to go to game preview events for companies like THQ
  • Ability to attend to E3 next year
  • Free games and DLC in the coming months

If you are interested, post here, or email me at dougbuffone4488@hotmail.com . It would be helpful to include any writing samples as well as your name, age, location, which consoles you own and what you want to write about. I can't say that everyone will be accepted but I will do my best to give everyone a fair shot.

I would also love for you guys to listen to my podcast for the site, called The Byline(which you can download AND subscribe to through iTunes). You could also tell me what you think about the site.

Thanks and I look forward to your thoughts and your help!

-Doug

Posted by DouglasBuffone, 09/25/2009 8:37pm
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100 Emblems?!

It was brought to my attention late last night that I recieved two new emblems. I haven't done an emblem blog is a really, really long time, but these two latest additions are pretty monumental. The reason? They bring me to 100 emblems. I am the first person to reach the three figure emblem mark here on Gamespot and it is something I take some pride in.

I normally get a couple of messages a week asking how to get emblems or just commenting on the stack (as seen below). People ask me all the time which ones are my favorite, how I got them, and could I help others out in the quest.



I thought I would tell you guys my favorite emblems. First of all, the soapbox. Its a really important distinction because its hand picked by the editors and highlights users who write thought-provoking articles about the video game world. Second, the bounty hunter. This award was given out at the Gamespot Community Nights by an editor. Kevin VanOrd gave me this after I did pretty well in the Perfect Dark Zero game night.

Do emblems mean a whole lot? Probably not. I like them because they are a kind of scrap book of all the great things I have participated in while visiting this site. I am not completely obsessed with obtaining them, I won't miss appointments, work or school to stay at home and watch, but I would be upset if they dissappeared.

They remind me of specific moments I have had on this site. Pretty vivid memories. All the tournaments, watching the E3 coverage every year, podcasts, gameshows, contests, polls, etc.

Heres to 100 more (over the next five years of course...)

-Doug

Posted by DouglasBuffone, 08/28/2009 8:27am
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Epic E3 Picture Blog

So here is an E3 picture blog. I know it was a couple of months ago, but whatever, hopefully you will enjoy it! I took about 1,000 photos over the three days, but I obviously couldn't upload them all. I chose some I thought you would like

===============================================


Sitting at the Microsoft Press Conference

Paul and Ringo come out to talk about The Beatles Rock Band

Kojima Explaining his Xbox 360 Project

Random Final Fantasy XIII thing on a building near the convention center

I was sitting next to Brian Crecente and Stephen Totilo of Kotaku and Jeremy Parish of 1UP and we were all like ....

Uncharted 2! We had pretty damn good seats at all the press conferences!


Kojima Again

God of War III. I would be seeing this better later...

Me and the voice of Mario, Charles Martinet

Steve Wiebe attempts the Donkey Kong world record

Told you I would see God of War III better...

With Jade Raymond

Playing The Beatles Rock Band, which was just amazingly fun

With Alex Rigopolus

Setting sun on the convention center...till next year E3!

====================================================

That was just about the most annoying blog post I have ever done. Uploading images, resizing them, etc.

Hope you enjoyed it. Comments and questions are most appreciated!

-Doug


Posted by DouglasBuffone, 08/17/2009 9:15am
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Screenshots With Captions!

I noticed the new Gamespot feature of creating a caption for screenshots. Its a very simple feature but kudos to the staff and to Jody for coming up with more activities revolving around the community.

I have had a little bit of practice with this because many of the reviews I have written require a humorous caption. This new activity was nonetheless exciting. I came up with a caption for the below picture and I found it pretty funny. Keep in mind, it is very corny, but I think its pretty good.

I told it to Legolas_Katarn while we were playing Resident Evil 5 and he found it pretty funny so I thought I would share it with you all.


"You can't possibly hurt me! You said you would never hit a girl or hurt a fly, and you're allergic to dairy!"

Well, I hope you found it amusing...

Tell me what you think below!


============================================

I realized that I never showed you guys my pictures from E3! Although I can't show you them all (I literally took about 1,000 pictures over the three days) I will try to do a blog this weekend with some of the highlights. I also wanted to do a blog about some games I have recently been playing, so that should be coming soon as well.

-Doug

Posted by DouglasBuffone, 08/14/2009 6:08am
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Death Is A Horrible Thing

This is not a video game blog entry. Unfortunately, a horrible event happened in my life and I just needed to write. I would appreciate you reading, but if you don't I fully understand. A video game blog will be posted tomorrow.

===========================================

Death is an idea that barely any of us understand. No doubt we have all had a grandparent or family friend die in old age, but we don't devote enough time to thinking about why it happens and what happens afterwards. Why? Because it is depressing. Some people are lucky enough to have a faith in the almighty and a belief in the afterlife where they will see their loved ones again. I am a pretty religious person, a practicing Catholic, who likes to believe in heaven and that I will see my friends and family again after they die.

I still believe in this, but an event in my life has seriously rocked my understanding of fairness in the world. Last week, my good friend who I have known since I was 7 years old, died in a car accident while working in Vermont. Only 23 years old, she was a recent graduate from college and beginning to work with a fashion company. Over the last couple of days of going to the wake, funeral, and seeing people from my past, I have struggled to understand why it happened. It just doesn't seem fair, no matter how you think about it.

Whats really hard for me is that I feel sorry that I never told the person a simple "I appreciate your friendship" which she knew, but I never said. Of course, I had no idea that she was going to be taken from us so suddenly, but it made me think about changes I need to make in my own life. Immediately after I came back from the extraordiarily sad funeral service, I called a couple of my friends to talk about what I was feeling and also to say a simple "thanks". After I did this, I decided to call some people who were my friends when I was in grade and middle school, trying to get back into touch.

This tragic event has really affected me. I haven't been able to work all week because it is still very hard to come to terms with her death. This was the first time someone who I knew well and grew up with died and it was just a huge shock. Death is a horrible thing and really makes you see some of the realities of life, no matter how much you don't want to see them. Life is very fragile. It can be taken away so easily. What I have come to understand in the past couple of days is the absolute importance of having love and frienship as a constant element in your life. I need to show appreciation for my friends and contemporaries alike, and we all need to be thankful for what we have.

I appreciate Gamespotters and all my friends on this site!

-Doug


Posted by DouglasBuffone, 08/12/2009 7:56am
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DouglasBuffone
last online: 7:07pm Nov 8, 2009
member since: Aug 29, 2004
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About Me

Hey my name is Douglas Buffone (if you couldn't already tell). I am a student at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service at the present moment. Gaming is my biggest hobby. I collect, write, read, and watch video games. I own most systems and I enjoy talking games with people on Gamespot. So if you have any questions or just want to talk, talk to me!

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