🎮 Feeling spicy
Clean up your desktop, Simpsons video games, and much more.
Mornin’. You smell that? Fall is in the air.
…wait, what?
OK, so the official start of autumn isn’t until September 23rd. But—as is annual tradition—Starbucks has kicked off the “sugar, spice, and everything nice" time of year with the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
(Nevermind the hottest summer in history. Good thing you can order an iced version.)
Believe it or not, the PSL is now 20 years old. Which, come to think of it, means we’ve been arguing over the appropriateness of hot coffee, sweaters, and plaid shirts in August for just as long.
What’s next, Christmas decorations in the summer? Umm yeah…that part. 🤦🏼♂️
—Marques Edge, Tim Leong, Eric Alt, Andrew Nusca
P.S. In Friday’s edition, we asked you: Which of the following is not a trick in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater? The answer is Taco stand.
Buffed/Nerfed
What’s up and down in the world rn.
Buffed: Seinfeld night. A minor league baseball team held its annual “Elaine Dancing Contest” paying tribute to the episode from the hit sitcom where she showcases her unique skills at an office party. Get out!
Nerfed: Destination wedding. A groom-to-be says his dog quite literally ate his passport days before the Boston couple’s wedding in Italy. We’re sure this excuse will not fly with customs.
Buffed: Game console relaunch. Atari is bringing back a well-known game console as the Atari 2600+. The upgraded system will support older cartridges and original joysticks and paddle controllers. Maybe they’ll update this commercial as well.
Nerfed: Mayo for life. Hellman’s Mayonnaise gives Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis a lifetime contract. The NFL rookie went viral last year when he replaced mayo for creamer into his coffee. New slogan: Every sandwich coffee wants Hellmann's?
Buffed: Netflix DVDs. As Netflix finally exits the rental-by-mail service (really!), the streaming giant says customers can keep their final batch of discs at no additional cost. Subscribers can also request up to 10 additional movies. Wave goodbye to the red envelope era. —ME
Cheat Code: Tidy your digital life with these organizer apps
Change your game.
Summer is coming to an end. For some that means back to school and for others that means time to shake off the lazy, warm weather malaise and refocus on work.
In both cases, some desktop tidying is in order.
Contributing writer Danny Gallagher looks into a few apps (both free and paid) that can help you organize, customize, and generally make your computer’s desktop look less like a digital trash heap.
Shameless plug: Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 5 is live
Fact: Hearthstone is the popular, free-to-play strategy card game from Blizzard.
Fact: Battlegrounds is the Hearthstone game mode where eight players face off in 1v1 rounds until only one is standing.
Fact: Season 5 of Battlegrounds is now live, and it’s chock full o’ goodness.
For example, it introduces Anomalies, new custom game rules that affect your entire lobby and shape the course of the game from the outset, making each one play out differently.
It also introduces Tier 7 minions—yes, reader, that means they’re more powerful than Tier 6 minions—for all players in games when the Secrets of Norgannon Anomaly is active.
And hey, did we mention the stormy new hero, Thorim?
Join us in the Tavern for more details.
A brief history of fake video games to appear in ‘The Simpsons’
Let’s go back.
Over 750 episodes (and counting), The Simpsons has turned its satirical eye to everything including war, religion, race, politics…and video games.
Contributing writer Reggie Wade breaks down the best fictional games to appear in Springfield.
Don’t have a cow, the list is right here.
Your moment of meme
Mixtape Monday
What are we listening to lately? Glad you asked.
Here we go:
Parcels, "Tieduprightnow." A perfect way to start the week. The band describes their music as a blend between electro-pop and disco-soul and their first single brings all those elements together. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Zach Churchill, Activision)
AnnenMayKantereit, "Toxic." The German band also known as AMK, is known for publishing cover songs in English and here is a perfect example bringing a different flavor to this Britney Spears classic. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Andrew Snell, Activision)
L7, "Pretend We're Dead." The all-female rock band brings the essence of the early 90s. The song was also featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Rock Band 2. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Grae Ashman, Blizzard)
UMI, "happy im." The soulful song from the Seattle-born musician was her first single released earlier this year following her debut album. It was written to remind herself "to think less, love more." Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Aninditya Kusumah, Activision)
Larry June, "Watering My Plants." Bringing back that San Francisco Bay Area funk. The Ringer once wrote about June’s craft "If E-40 is rap's model of independence, June is hip-hop's Jack LaLanne.” Anything is possible. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube. (Recommended by Calvin Hatcher, Activision)
Wormhole
Click the following image and…well, we don’t want to ruin the surprise.
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About us
The Edit is a thrice-weekly newsletter exploring the intersection of gaming and life. Our love letter to millions of gamers around the globe, it is written and published by the Activision Blizzard King global editorial team.