Save the World from Aliens, or Get Out and Vote

— -- As video game autumns go, this one's been a doozy: Dead Space, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Little Big Planet, Red Alert 3, Gears of War 2, Mirror's Edge, Wrath of the Lich King. Plenty to keep you happily parked on your keister, all winter long. Tactical RPG Valkyria Chronicles and Resistance 2, Insomniac's sequel to its 2006 first-person shooter, both come out tomorrow, so make that winter into spring. The critical consensus on Resistance 2 so far is pretty much "love it," so it's probably going to see a lot of you turning up at stores to snag a copy.

Tomorrow's also important for another reason, of course. You know what I'm talking about. But just in case you don't, I wanted to share this delightfully nonpartisan YouTube clip of late night talk show host Craig Ferguson's trenchant opening monologue on the September 10th edition of The Late, Late Show. If you agree with Craig, pass it around, whether you link to me, or straight to YouTube.

I'll just add this: Tomorrow's going to be a very busy, probably annoying day for a lot of you in America, and I say "in America" because I voted nearly a month ago by absentee ballot, which means I'm off the hook. But if you haven't, you're not. So to borrow a line from my favorite late night Scottish comic (now Scottish-American comic) who has a book of memoirs due in 2009 tentatively titled "American on Purpose," do me the favor of being my fellow Americans, tomorrow, and vote.