When I first got this press release, I wasn’t very happy. After all, it was only six months ago I packed my bags and left New England to come to LA and now I find out that there is going to be a gaming show with celebrities being taped in my old backyard. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were just short drives for this Connecticut native. But things aren’t always as they appear at first glance.

A combined effort of Blind Sheep Studios and GameFlak, Celebrity Gaming Challenge takes the term celebrity and stretches it a little thin. Right now, the only thing known about the two celebrity team captains is that they will both be members of the New England Patriots. And the shooting will take place in October, right in the middle of the NFL season.

Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these celebrity team captains probably aren’t going to be the cream of the Patriots crop. But none the less, I give them credit for their ingenuity and clever use of technicalities of the English language.

During the first year of The Flickcast, we urged our readers to head to Child’s Play to help make the holidays brighter for kids who were stuck in the hospital over the holidays. Back in 2009, the guys at Penny Arcade had set a goal of $1,000,000, which they were able to achieve.

Now, we are asking again for our loyal readership to help out those going through the terrible ordeal of spending their holidays in a hospital instead of being at home with their loved ones. With the economy being in worse shape than three years ago, Child’s Play has set an even higher goal for themselves of $2,500,000, which has been topped already with still almost two weeks until Christmas.

But that doesn’t mean we should stop giving. There are still lots of children who could use a bit of Christmas cheer that having new games to play and DVDs to watch can bring.

For all our Connecticut readers, head down to the Black Bear Saloon in South Norwalk on Friday night, October 19th. Black Bear will be hosting a “Battle for a Cure” event to help raise awareness from 6 to 9 PM to help in the fight against breast cancer. To help support the event, The Flickcast has teamed up with Harmonix to get some big raffle giveaways for the event.

There are going to be four Dance Central prize packs raffled off at Black Bear’s “Battle for a Cure”. The first three packs will contain a Dance Central backpack, a stack of bandanas, disco ball keychains, Dance Central 3 snap bracelet watches, a hat, stickers, a t-shirt and hoodie sweater.

But that’s not all. The fourth Dance Central 3 ultimate prize pack will include everything listed above PLUS a copy of the newly released Dance Central 3 and a sleeveless Dance Central dancer hoodie.

If you are free Friday night, head down to the Black Bear Saloon to help support the Battle for a Cure alongside The Flickcast and the awesome team at Harmonix. There is a $10 suggested donation at the door which gets you free hor devours, a drink special and access to the raffle, silent auction and more. There will also be a special Pink cocktail that night that for every drink purchased, a portion of the proceeds will be included amongst the donations to help benefit breast cancer research.

When the media at large looks at gaming, it tries to portray the socially inept secluded to living in their parents basement, prone to violence or ogling over over-sexualized digital characters. This is something that as gaming culture has grown and moved towards the mainstream, gamers have been forced to combat. While every stereotype comes from a few extreme examples, the average gamer is just like any average person with an enthusiasm for their hobby. Instead of just sitting back idly and accepting this perception, the gaming society has made efforts both from consumers and publishers to change it.

In 2003, the founders of the gaming webcomic Penny Arcade started Child’s Play, a charity to raise money to help provide comfort and entertainment for children in over 70 hospitals nationwide. In 2011, Child’s Play was proud to announce having their biggest year to date. Originally, the goal had been set to hit $2,000,000. Gamers headed the call and toppled that number with over $3,500,000 instead. In addition to being the year with the most donations, 2011 would also put the lifetime total of Child’s Play over the $10,000,000 mark as well. Check out the official press release from Child’s Play here.

Never let it be said a violent film like Inglourious Basterds can’t also serve the public interest and give back a little something. What am I talking about?

Well, tomorrow at L.A.’s Upper Playground Gallery, in conjuction with The Weinstein Company, will be an exhibition of alternative poster art for the film from a variety of contemporary artists including David Choe, N8 Van Dyke, Morning Breath and Grotesk. The posters, all signed by director Quentin Tarantino, will be sold and the proceeds will benefit the Red Cross’ Haiti relief efforts.

Check out al the posters at the gallery’s website. Also, here’s more info from the official press release:

THE LOST ART OF THE FILM “INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS”

BENEFIT ART PROGRAM TO HELP RAISE MONEY FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE

SA Studios Global’s Film Marketing Division has teamed up with Quentin Tarantino, Upper Playground and The Weinstein Company to present, THE LOST ART OF INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.

On February 18th, 2010 from 6p – 9p the world will get to preview and purchase the “Lost Art of Inglorious Basterds” at The Upper Playground Art Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles. All proceeds from this program will be donated to The American Red Cross to help the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.

For the most part, the Internet is used for fun, games and occasionally for news. A highly trafficked source of that fun can be found at Penny Arcade. A webcomic starring creators Gabe and Tycho, Penny Arcade‘s focus lies in video game nerd humor with a clever and satirical take on the woes and missteps of the video game industry. Often filled with off-color remarks and foul language, not many would have expected this site to start what would become one of the largest gamer-based holiday charities.

Started in 2003, Child’s Play has contributed over five million dollars in video games, toys and money to children’s hospitals across the country. Last year alone, in the face of one of the worst financial situations on record, they broke their goal of over $1,000,000 in donations.

Using Amazon.com’s “Wish List” feature and Paypal, donations can be made either in the form of money or by selecting various toys, video games and dvd’s requested by various children’s hospitals around the country. Any denomination is accepted and there are participating hospitals all over the country and other parts of the world.