UPDATE: Contest now closed! A list of winners can be found here. If you’re on that list, but didn’t get an e-mail from me, let me know right away!

I must admit I was feeling some pressure when I saw all the Billy Joel DLC codes being given away. Don’t ask me why, but I fretted about it for the longest time. I’m only human; I wanted to –

You know, I’m going to stop right there with the awful puns. But never fear, I’m going to let you continue. If you’d like to win a code for that Billy Joel DLC pack, that is. Yes, as with the Bon Jovi giveaway, I’ve been handed a pack of download codes for 360 to give away to you, courtesy of our friends at Harmonix. And as with the Bon Jovi giveaway, entering to win one is pretty easy. Continue reading →

darley, William Suckin, Shedders, Nate, Paulgasm, StopKran, Mitch, dlauthor, Micah, and Martin Walker. Check your e-mails, people, you should find a code inside!

If you won but haven’t received your code, drop me a line and include the e-mail address you used in your original comment, and I’ll re-send the code. Thanks to all who participated — all 226 of you! — and don’t forget to thank Harmonix for making the codes available to you.

UPDATE: Just to save you some time, the contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

Are you having a nice day? Perhaps I can make it nicer. No, no, don’t runaway; I’m not going to lay my hands on you. But I will be there for you with a dose of good medicine: I have been handed 10 codes for that big-ass Bon Jovi track pack that hit yesterday, and lest I give love a bad name, I’m going to give them away to you.

Since these codes are in high demand (you might say they’re wanted, dead or alive), we’re going to have to have a little contest. Luckily, entering is simple: just leave a comment on this post using some Bon Jovi song title in a horrifically cheesy way (see this entire post for examples).

Tomorrow, November 11, at 11:11 am, I will close the contest, and shortly thereafter I will randomly select 10 winners from all the comments posted. Make sure you include a valid e-mail address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win; otherwise you will see your hopes of free DLC shot down in a blaze of glory, and your code will be handed off to another contestant who has been livin’ on a prayer.

No fair repeating any of the awful puns used in this post; we were not, after all, born to follow. And don’t bother entering if you’re on PS3 or Wii — these codes are for 360 only. (They are, however, region-free, so our friends overseas can participate as well! Who says you can’t go home?) And if you have a problem with these rules, tough; it’s my site, and it’s my life.

…Oh god I am so very ashamed.

Monday‘s challenge was met with shocking quickness by Tommy, who correctly pointed out that Dave Coulier dated Alanis Morissette, whose song “You Oughta Know” featured guitar by Dave Navarro, who was married to Carmen Electra.

On Tuesday, Erin Thompson answered almost as quickly, noting that Lisa Marie Presley was married to Michael Jackson, whose “Beat It” featured a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen, who was married to Valerie Bertinelli. Interesting side note: Wikipedia claims Valerie Bertinelli also actually sang backup on “Beat It,” so I would have accepted answers that left Eddie out of the equation entirely.

Wednesday‘s linkage was answered first by pksage, who observed that Ivana Miličević’s brother, Tomo Miličević, is the guitarist for 30 Seconds to Mars (with several songs in The Vault), which also features Jared Leto, whose relationship with Cameron Diaz was apparently more well-known than I’d thought.

Thursday is where things got tricky. Several of you came tantalizingly close to the correct answer, but it took Mike to put it all together: Jennifer Garner quoted and sang along with Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” in the film 13 Going on 30. Pat’s husband Neil Giraldo played guitar on that track, and also played guitar on “Jesse’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, who dated a very young Linda Blair.

And so, we come to Friday. It took a few days, but the challenge was answered correctly: Robert Patrick (the T-1000) is the older brother of Richard Patrick, singer and guitarist for Filter. Filter’s song “Take a Picture” features backing vocals by D’arcy Wretzky, original bassist for the Smashing Pumpkins. Several of the Pumpkins tracks in The Vault were produced by Butch Vig, drummer for Garbage. He played on any Garbage track with Shirley Manson…who played the T-1001 in The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Trouble is, the puzzle was solved by the same Mike who conquered Thursday’s challenge, and the rules clearly state that except for Monday’s contest you can win only once. Therefore, I’ve chosen to award Friday’s haul to DJ Pooka, who came up with a connection that, in spite of not strictly following the rules, provides a well-reasoned and defensible link between Patrick and Manson.

Winners, please e-mail me your mailing addresses from the same e-mail address you used to leave your answers, and I’ll get your prizes out to you just as soon as I can.

Here’s hoping everyone had fun with this — I know I sure did.

I’ll hold off on confirming the correct answers (and thus, the winners) until they’ve all been solved. Because I like suspense, that’s why.

Happy New Year!

• Four GTA4 logo stickers.
• Four character stickers.
• One GTA4 logo t-shirt, in M (it’s a fairly large M)
• Five in-game logo stickers: tw@ Internet Cafe, Liberty City Swingers, Pißwasser, Burger Shot, and City of Liberty Police Department.
• One Liberty City Swingers foam finger in an, uh, unusual configuration (link is probably not work-safe).
• And one ceramic statuette of the Statue of Happiness, about seven inches tall. Here’s a closeup:

Of course, I’m not going to hand out such a huge pile of prime game swag without making you work for it. So here’s the deal: Continue reading →

• Two poker chips, one with the SOE logo, one with the Pirates of the Burning Sea logo.
• One InFamous “Guide to Empire City,” featuring art and hints from the game.
• One SOCOM: Tactical Strike carabiner keyring with compass.
• One Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds golf ball and tee set, featuring three Pinnacle Gold balls, five tees, and a divot repair tool, all emblazoned with the game’s logo.
• One large Resistance: Retribution poster featuring the Eiffel Tower. (See a shot of the whole thing here.)
• One pair of Clank-head cuff links.
• And one Heavenly Sword letter opener, complete with wooden stand.

Want to make this swag your own? Continue reading →

• One Buzz!: Quiz World faux-suit t-shirt in XL.
• One Fairytale Fights t-shirt in L.
• One pretty badass-looking TNA t-shirt in XL.
• One completely ridiculous (and very large — like four feet long) Trials HD satin tapestry.

Hmm, feels like I forgot something. Oh yes:

• One Vault Boy ceramic bobblehead from Fallout 3.
• And one very rare Little Sister ceramic (?) figurine from BioShock.

Let’s take a look at those last two close-up:

Want to see the Little Sister in a bit more detail?  Continue reading →

• A Midnight Club: Los Angeles logo sticker.
• A “Speed Limit: 245″ Midnight Club: Los Angeles sticker.
• A Midnight Club: Los Angeles shoulder strap cover…thing. For a seatbelt, maybe?
• A Midnight Club: Los Angeles license plate holder. (Very durable plastic!)
• Plus! A Bully logo sticker, and
• A box of Bully-branded “Whipper Snappers” — those noisemakers you throw at the ground.

And what feat must you accomplish to earn this gear? Continue reading →

1. An EA-branded notebook with pen holder, pen, and closure strap
2. A Deca Sports wristband. No, I don’t know why, either.
3. A full-color, fold-out This is Vegas “tourist guide” and map, from the still-unreleased Midway game. Slightly curled.
4. A large, shiny sticker displaying the logo of Platinum Games, creators of Bayonetta (and, basically, Devil May Cry).
5. Two smaller, puffy stickers with the Platinum logo.
6. And three metal bookmarks with the Platinum logo die-cut therein.

And what do you need to do to snag these prizes for yourself?  Continue reading →