Saturday, June 30, 2012

Scientology Avoids Paying Taxes in the UK.

http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/7442179/general/scientology-tax

It’s alleged Scientology has avoided paying tax in the United Kingdom by claiming it is run out of South Australia. In Britain, the Church of Scientology is supposed to pay tax on the millions of pounds it brings in each year. Now, the organization has been accused of claiming its entire UK operation is part of its Australian outfit.

"When you look at the fact that the three directors are based in the UK, that returns haven't been filed for the South Australian entity in over 30 years you've got to ask what on earth is going on," Xenophon said.



We do know that Scientology in Britain takes its orders from the group's leader in America, David Miscavige. If they take their orders from the United States, how can Scientology in Britain be run by a South Australian charity?

Read the article and it will come clear. There's not much I can add to this in the way of commentary, except to say I am all for the abolishment of tax free status for religions, but that's a separate issue.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Oreo Shows Support for Gay Community, Bigots React Predictably.

On Monday, Oreo posted an image on their Facebook page showing their support for the gay community. As we've seen with other companies who have done similar actions, they've received some rather... negative feedback. Here are some of the comments.  Remember folks, if you support Oreo, you support "The liberal gay agenda!!!!!!!" Lmao.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

It's That Time of the Year Again!

Happy "You should be ashamed of yourself if you don't do something special for your father, now go out to an expensive restaurant and buy him a God damn gift or you are a horrible fucking child" Day everyone!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Two porn actors arrested for prostitution after their camera breaks.


-Two pornographic actors, Nathan, 24, and Miranda, 22, were arrested Friday on prostitution charges. The two had been filming a scene for an upcoming porn movie when their camera broke. The two actors stopped the scene when they noticed that the camera had stopped functioning, but unfortunately for them, they did not notice until a few minutes after it broke. As we all know, having sex for money is considered prostitution (or marriage), unless a (functioning and recording) camera is present, at which time it can be considered pornography. Since the two were not married and no functional camera was present and recording, they were technically engaged in prostitution.

Police chief Ian Mooreville responded to criticism levied by the public in the wake of this story breaking: "The two suspects were having sex on film for profit. That is not illegal. That is pornography. However, when the camera stopped functioning and they continued to have sex for money, it became prostitution, and public safety became an issue." When he was asked to expand on how public safety was endangered by the failure of the camera present at the scene, the officer declined comment. He did, however, add that "backup cameras should be available, but if they are not, and your only camera breaks, you better be prepared to stop mid thrust....otherwise, we'll come for you."

An Evening With Ray Bradbury

With the recent death of Ray Bradbury, I found this video of Ray Bradbury giving a keynote speech, and it is an amazing way to spend an hour. It's a very inspirational, honest, and entertaining speech. Much of what he said will stay in my head for a long time, he was quite a brilliant man. Give it a listen to at night while you're lying in bed, very motivational.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Ninja Gaiden (Arcade), II (NES) and III (NES) Heading to the 3DS?

Possibly fantastic news for old school Ninja Gaiden fans: Ninja Gaiden (arcade), Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES) and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES) appear to be heading to the 3DS via the virtual console feature.

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?title=ninja+gaiden&fromHome=fromHome

That is, if you believe the listings for said games on the ESRB's website (linked above; screenshot below). I do, as news pertaining to the addition of other games heading to digital distribution channels like Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console have been leaked via ESRB listings in the past.



Please, please let this be true! If it is, that means there will be FOUR Ninja Gaiden titles on the 3DS (there's (apparently...unless it has been cancelled) an original Ninja Gaiden title in development for the little handheld that could). FOUR!

If this is indeed true, will you be purchasing any of these? I know for sure I will buy Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (one of my all time favourite games). Ninja Gaiden arcade is a probable, but not certain buy. Depends upon the price. I'm not a big fan of it but it's decent. I'll probably skip Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, as I don't really like that entry in the series.

P.S. As of now, the first NES Ninja Gaiden title (simply titled Ninja Gaiden) is not listed for the 3DS. I don't know why, and I hope that changes, because it's an excellent game, and even though I own it on the NES and the Wii I will still purchase it for the 3DS. It's not as good as the sequel that was released a year later on the NES, but it's a very good game in its own right.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

2 Castlevania Titles Confirmed! Lords of Shadow 2 and Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate

As reported by Nintendo Power Magazine, 2 new Castlevania games have been confirmed to exist. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate is a 3DS exclusive that bridges LOS1 and the also confirmed (but platforms TBA, although obviously PS3 and 360) sequel, Lords of Shadow 2.

Some info on the 3DS game:

- deep combat mechanics
- involves Trevor Belmont
- Fight with Trevor's version of the Combat Cross
- strong attacks with X
- wider-reaching attacks with Y
- secondary weapons like the boomerang-like glaive and electric bomb
- use these with A
- grab enemies with R
- block and dodge with L
- involves light and shadow magic returns
- earn experience points to unlock new combos
- these include launching foes into the air, smashing enemies down to the ground and more
- includes skeletons, axe-wielding undead and more
Here are two screenshots from the 3DS game (not final quality, obviously):

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Dead or Alive 5 Premium Demo: Quick Thoughts

I finally got my hand on the DOA 5 demo and I have to say, I am IMPRESSED. I really wish the Ninja Gaiden team had been able to expand on the formula while maintaining the integrity of the series/game play in the way that the DOA team has. I mean, sure, the counter system was nerfed to a degree, and I know the power moves have left the community divided, but I think that for non tournament players, the game will prove to be a success. It is VERY fun, runs smoothly, looks good, and seems to have once again hit the balance between playability and depth in such a way that I believe no other series has.


I know many will disagree, and that is completely understandable, but I for one have always thought DOA was the best of the 3D fighting games and DOA5 seems like it is going to continue that trend for me.

If you are a fan of DOA and you are worried that this one has been screwed up, especially given the travesty that is Ninja Gaiden 3, rest assured that the DOA you know and love seems to be intact.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Message Board Full of Extreme Bigots

Today I discovered this vile, disgusting message board. The shit that is being spewed in this forum topic is horrendous. It has been a long while since I got this disturbed and angry after reading internet comments.

Many of these people apparently think that Fox News is "too liberal." When someone thinks Fox News is too liberal, that is a distressing sign. I don't watch Fox News, and I didn't really know who Shepard Smith was before this, but this stuff is vomit-inducing.


Friday, May 18, 2012

"Full of Evolution"

Wow, all of that evolution must have been pretty graphic and intense. Link

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

First Gene Therapy Successful Against Aging-Associated Decline

"A new study consisting of inducing cells to express telomerase, the enzyme which -- metaphorically -- slows down the biological clock -- was successful. The research provides a "proof-of-principle" that this "feasible and safe" approach can effectively "improve health span."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120514204050.htm

For the lazy, researchers in Madrid have successfully "demonstrated that the mouse lifespan can be extended by the application in adult life of a single treatment acting directly on the animal's genes." What they have done is injected telomerase enzymes into adult mice (they used a virus that acts on DNA as a base but replaced the viral genes with those of the telomerase enzymes) and they report that the enzymes have taken effect to the point where they not only repair shortened telomeres (the ends or 'caps' of chromosomes that protect the cell and allow it to divide- when telomeres become shortened to the point of no longer being useful, the cells stop dividing and ages/dies) but they were actually rebuilt. Thus, they end up with rejuvenated cells and an increased lifespan (13-24% depending on the age of the treated mice).

This is AMAZING!

Now, I wonder if they could engineer a way to inhibit telomerase so as to limit cell division ....bye bye cancer?

Peace Be Upon You

18 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people."

14 “‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.

12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.

10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife —with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.

9 “‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.

6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people

27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’”

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Classic Onion Article: "Desire to Ejaculate Motivates Local Christian"

On a nightly basis, I browse The Onion to get my satirical fix. I happened to stumble upon this one from a few years ago. My favorite quote: "What if Luann, never having seen a naked man before, is so frightened that she refuses to allow me to ejaculate?"

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Substance responsible for Alistair Overeem's failed drug test revealed!


Alistair Overeem has tested positive for Rousimar Palhares. He injected 100ml 2x per day of the banned substance, and when he tested with overly high testosterone levels, his Rousimar Palhares levels were 40 times higher than normal. Rousimar Palhares is a new drug on the performance enhancement scene that has been shown to raise the testosterone levels of anyone who is even in the same room as it, let alone someone who injects it. It's an incredibly potent drug and the side effects are staggering, the worst of which being an insatiable desire to rip the legs off of anyone and well, everyone. 


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Internal hard drive defragmentation checklist


Internal hard drive defragmentation checklist:

1) 8 obligation free hours
2) notepad
3) pen
4) quiet room and/or a hilltop under the night sky
5) 5g (go deep or go home) of psilocybin mushrooms

Optional:

6) introspective, open minded friends with whom you can share the experience and know that they will respect it rather than try to morph it to fit their preconceived notions of what the experience should be like
7) an escape hatch just in case the light at the top of the rabbit hole becomes so dim and seemingly so far away that it detracts from the experience
8) skis. The outer reaches of the multiverse are snow covered this time of year

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Mitt Romney on Strapping Wife Ann Onto Top of Private Jet: “She Loved It!”

Mitt Romney on Strapping Wife Ann Onto Top of Private Jet: “She Loved It!”

The story just gets more and more preposterous. For those not in the know, Mitt and Ann Romney have come under fire for their actions on a family vacation back in 1983. Then Vice President of consulting firm Bain & Company, Romney and his wife Ann set out on a 12 hour road trip to their summer cottage in Canada. Determined to bring along their Irish Setter, Seamus, but short on space in the car, they decided to place their beloved and loyal family pet into a carrier strapped to the roof of the car and boot down the highway at 60 miles an hour for 12 hours. When their terriffied dog shit himself, they simply hosed him down and then continued on, making the rest of the cold, scary trek that much colder (and presumably scarier).

This story has of course caused all sorts of trouble for Romney's fledgling presidential campaign. Unfortunately for him, it's not growing even worse, as it has come to light that he once strapped his wife Ann onto the top of his private jet en route to Alaska because his leg room would have been compromised had she been on board. In his defense, he states that she quote “loved it” as it allowed her to “experience the beauty of American landscape in a visceral way not available to most people.” Ann Romney has thus far not been available for her take on this matter. Presumably, she is unable to get cell reception from the trunk of the family car.

We'll have more on this story in the coming days.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Project X Zone: The New 3DS Game From Capcom/Sega/Namco Bandai



A little while ago it was revealed that Capcom, Sega, and Namco Bandai were all working on a crossover game for the 3DS. A lot of people assumed that it would either be a fighting game similar to the recent output of crossover-themed fighters, or an SRPG similar to the Playstation 2 game Namco X Capcom. 

Turns out it was an SRPG.


Ninja Gaiden 3: Punishing Me for Playing It

A few minutes ago I went over to my Xbox 360 and booted up Ninja Gaiden 3 with the intention of playing the game for a little while. Well, apparently the game had other plans in mind, because rather than be immersed in mediocre action upon starting up the game, I was met with this lovely sight:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            


At this point, I wave the proverbial white flag. I give up. Fuck this game; back to Devil May Cry HD Collection I go.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

So, I Gave in and Rented Ninja Gaiden 3....

I gave in and rented the damn thing (no way am I buying it and supporting TN's 'vision') and so far (beginning of Day 3 on Hard) I have to say that it's.....overall a great game with several significant flaws, one of which being it's a TERRIBLE Ninja Gaiden game. I'll review the game once I am done with it, but for now, here's a bullet point list of a few (negative) things about the game that many/most reviewers seemed to have missed (as usual):

-Recovery frames are far too numerous and sustained
-The usefulness of shuriken cancelling has been decreased (reduction in frames during which it is possible)
-Invincibility frames (i-frames) have been reduced in number
-Enemy tracking is not broken, but problematic
-Wind pathing controls are a bit screwed up
-No guillotine throw :(
-Shuriken cancelling while airborne (or even throwing normal air shurikens) results in OL recovery frames
-Enemy grabs have pretty obvious telegraphs (audio/visual) but this is largely negated by above issues
-ShurikenSlideStrong Attack on a bloody enemy to initiate a SOB moment often glitches and fails
-TN set out to negate UT spam, but in doing do merely replaced it with SOB spam
-Enemy encounters are ridiculously lengthy gauntlets (at least on Hard) resulting in extreme repetition
-Control of Ryu is taken from the player FAR too often, ruining the pacing
-Far too much grab spam in addition to the recovery frame issue=less combat options (at least on Hard)
-Many moments of slowdown on Hard and above (due to the high enemy and projectile count)
-Most of the music heard thus far has been much less memorable than that of the previous games
-Invisible walls
-Wall running and bird flipping opportunities are few and far between
-Too much bow combat. It's just not very engaging

On the positive side of things:

-Some nice new DS combos
-OT's look cool and are prioritized (OT opportunities are always recognized by the engine and prioritized)
-The lack of items, while overall a gigantic step backwards, does add to the tension/difficulty during fights
-SOB chaining, while overall a detriment, is actually kind of fun, surprisingly
-Graphics are (mostly) great
-Regent of the Mask is a good boss. Bit too easy but well designed and fun
-Bow control is much more user friendly than before (not all changes aiming for ease of use are bad)
-Quickest loading of the modern console NG games (restarting after death is pretty fast, which is nice)
-There's still challenge and fun to be had here. A non 'hardcore' Ninja Gaiden fan might LOVE this game

If I don't give up on this game (I have been tempted to a few times) I will review it in full upon completion.

You Have Proof of Your God's Existence? Okay, Let's Hear It.

Believe in a god? Have proof of said god's existence? I'd like to hear it.

Anyone who happens to be reading this and think they have proof of the existence of their god of choice, let me have it. 

However, if I may, before you reveal it, I'd like to set 3 rules.

1) Arguments from incredulity are fallacious and I will not accept them.  For example, saying "Look at the world around you. sIt's too "perfect." It had to be created, therefore, there's obviously a God." This is a logical fallacy. Just because you cannot fathom any other explanation does not mean there isn't one. All you are really saying is "I don't know and I am inserting "god." There are MANY other possible explanations. Some more plausible than others. So please refrain from using this as "proof." I will not accept it.

2) These also are not valid and will not be accepted as "proof:"

-You can't prove there's not a god!

-Without god, people have no reason to be moral.

The first one is just stupid burden shifting (and still not proof anyways) and the scond one is just a bare assertion fallacy (and wrong) (and still not proof).

3) For people who believe in the "one true god....." whatever proof you do have, ask yourself, could that same proof not be utilized by someone else who believes in a different god? If so, how can it be valid for you and not them? Which means......by your logic, their god must exist as well. For example, if you say "God speaks to me" and this is your proof, fine. However, if someone who believes in one of the 3799 other propsed gods says that as well, would that not be proof that their god also exists?

Okay, so if you think you have proof of god's existence and it does not consist of one of the above disqualified lines of reasoning, please do share it! Keep in mind, however, that this is for people who say they actually have proof, not for those who say it's based on faith.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Gay Marriage is No Different Than Heterosexual Marriage (PIC)

Here is all of the evidence you need that gay marriage is no different than straight marriage: A pact between two people who have given up:

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Rousimar Palhares: A Tribute

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Self Interest

Here are some questions that I sometimes ask myself: Are all actions driven entirely by self interest? Even altruistic ones? What about on a non individual level, like the actions of entire countries with respect to other existing nations, aka foreign policy? Is literally everything we do selfish?

Monday, March 26, 2012

Biblical Contradictions!

Time to examine a fraction of the myriad of biblical contradictions to be found with the slightest of investigation.

Bible contradictions, here we come!

-Jesus born in Bethlehem
-Jesus born in Nazareth

-God is omniscient, YET:
-Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

-Christians assume the Bible god only had one son, Jesus. If this is so, then why does Job 1:6 and 2:1 say "the sons of God"? This contradicts John 3:18 which says Jesus is God's only son. Why does Luke 3:38 say Adam was the son of God?

-Like many other topics, the Bible is ambiguous about dancing. It seems to be ok if done to celebrate "a very great slaughter" of Israel's enemies as is the case in Judges 11:32-34. Many Christian sects consider dancing to be lasciviousness and revelings which are outlawed in Galatians 5:19-21. Reveling is defined as "taking great pleasure". Contrary to Galatians, Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 approves of dancing when it plainly says there is a time "for every purpose under the heaven", including dancing.

-Is Jesus God? Jesus himself seems confused about this. In John 10:30 the Bible says he said "I and my father are one" while John 14:28 has Jesus saying "..my father is greater than I".

-When did Jesus fly up to heaven? Luke 24:1-51 and Mark 16:9-19 both say it was the same day he came back from the dead while John 20:26 says it was 8 days after his resurrection but Acts 1:3-9 says it was 40 days later.

-Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible, YET:
-Judges 1 :19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

-Joseph and Mary return for Roman census
-Joseph and Mary never return for any census

-Genesis 1, animals before man
-Genesis 2, man before animals

-One god? OR
-Multiple gods? (ex's: Gen 1:26, Gen 3:22, Exodus 12:12, Deut 10:17)

And there you have a small list of some bible contradictions.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Ruminating on Destruction (The Demise of Classic Video Game Franchises)

Back in January I wrote a blog post entitled “My Favourite Franchises Are Being Destroyed

In light of recent events, I have taken it upon myself to produce a follow up to said post. I am not sure what form the following will take (measured, rational assessment of things as I see them, an angry, emotional, irrational rant, or some combination of the two) but I do know that I am compelled to revisit this perhaps tired, but in my mind terribly poignant point: Classic video game franchises are being utterly raped in this seventh video game generation.


Monday, March 19, 2012

R.I.P. Ninja Gaiden 1988-2012

Am I living in a fucking nightmare? I have been pinching myself so hard I have airplane sized welts all over my body, so I suppose that I am in fact awake, which means I really am witnessing the destruction of the Ninja Gaiden series. IGN has just weighed in with a hilariously bad 3/10 review (yes, 3/10), player feedback on the forums has been mostly bad to downright terrible, and frankly, I fucking toldyouso.

IGN Gives Ninja Gaiden 3 a Fucking 3/10!!!

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1221032p1.html

IGN scores Ninja Gaiden 3 a 3/10. What a fucking disaster. Hayashi and co. have RUINED the greatest series of action games on the planet.

Ugh.

I'll be ranting about the game in detail at a later date.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition Trailer is GREAT

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Ninja Gaiden 3 News: Scythe and Falcon's Talons (Claws) Are Free DLC

http://andriasang.com/con0a4/ninja_gaiden_3_dlc/

Famitsu is reporting that Tecmo Koei will be releasing the Eclipse Scythe and the Falcon's Talons as free DLC. No word of when or how they will be utilized in the game, but my money is on Day 1, and multiplayer/Ninja Trials only.

Oh, and you bet your ass that this is their way of appeasing us because they plan on charging us for the rest of them and they know we are expecting it and will NOT be happy about it.

If Online Dating Profiles Were Honest

If online dating profiles were totally accurate and 100% honest, this is what they would sound like:

Male:

Hi, my name is John. I'm a 30 year old divorced male. I'm skinny-fat and haven't had a tan since my Honeymoon. Have barely had sex since then as well, and I am afraid that I have forgotten how it works, but I digress. I have lost 15% of my hair in the last year and this terrifies me. On top of that, as this hair disappears, other hairs show up in really strange places. I sometimes go three or four days without showering. I am strangely fascinated by the smell of my own farts. I am self deprecating, but only as a preemptive defense mechanism.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sex Before Marriage Rant

I wanted to rant about premarital sex and religion, and I decided to do it in the form of a response to a fictional character who would represent the real fears of many real people. Hence, witness my rant in the form of a response to Sam, a ficticious 18 year old who is concerned about the fact that he and his girlfriend of four years just had sexual intercource for the first time, despite the fact that they were planning on waiting for marriage. Sam feels dirty and ashamed of his 'sin,' as he calls it, and he is terrified of the possible consequences awaiting him in the afterlife.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Facebook Page!

http://www.facebook.com/TheThoughtfulGamers

Friday, March 2, 2012

Gaming Conventions That Need to Go! Pt. 4

1) Invisible barriers. They just don't make any sense. Either design a real barrier, or get/design a better engine that isn't so restrictive.

2) Key cards. These should have went out 20 years ago.

3) Cliffhanger endings. These are evil. Especially in the cases where a sequel never even materializes. I think you should always tie up your story as best you could. Treat each game like a microchosm of the overall story.

4) Kidnapped girlfriends. Some of the best games ever made have this as a plot outline, but still, let it go already. Why not start kidnapping some grandfathers already?

5) Instruction Manuals in 2009......redundant much? Waste of resources? Almost every game now explains the story and controls/how to play in game.

6) Mashing a button to open a door. THIS IS NOT FUN. THIS IS NOT IMMERSIVE. It's stupid, boring, repetitive and ruins the pacing of the game. I blame God of War for this crap (that damn game popularized QTE's in general, damn (still awesome) game).

7) Scantily clad women. I'm sorry, but um....why are people turned on by digital characters that don't even look remotely realistic enough to pass for real people?

The End?

Well, readers, I am sad to say that this may very well be the last Gaming Conventions that must Die! Blog. So, barring any unforeseen flashes of genius, I believe this may very well be it. Don't cry. I'll try not to.

Thanks (yet again) for reading.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Craziest Technological Advancement of Our Time?

What would you say it was?

Here's what a 101 year old woman answering questions on reddit (her grandson was doing it for her) said was the craziest for her time:

Running water. We used to use a cistern or a well to gather water. I remember the first time my father installed a faucet and oh my goodness, I felt like we had won the lottery!

Imagine that! This really drives home just how far we have come. In the lifespan of one human being we have gone from hand pumping water to accessing the world's data in seconds, from devices all around us, including in our pockets! How incredible it is when you 'zoom out,' so to speak, and look at the grander picture, and realize that this progress has come in the most minute little tail end of the human timescale.

Damn!

Judge: A Muslim Has The Right to Attack an 'Offensive' Atheist


Martin further dressed down Perce for his insensitive behavior, going so far as to call him a doofus and telling him that in Muslim societies he could have been put to death for mocking Muhammad.
“Having had the benefit of having spent over 2 and a half years in predominantly Muslim countries I think I know a little bit about the faith of Islam,” Martin said. “In fact I have a copy of the Koran here and I challenge you sir to show me where it says in the Koran that Mohammad arose and walked among the dead. I think you misinterpreted things. Before you start mocking someone else’s religion you may want to find out a little bit more about it. It makes you look like a doofus… In many Arabic speaking countries something like this is definitely against the law there. In their society in fact it can be punishable by death and it frequently is in their society.”
Sgt. Brian Curtis handled the incident aftermath. Curtis explained that Elbayomy admitted to grabbing Perce that October night.

Is this any different than a judge telling a woman that she was "asking for it" due to her chosen manner of dress?

Monday, February 20, 2012

Bioware: Mass Effect 3 is a Shooter

http://gamingbolt.com/mass-effect-3-is-not-a-corridor-shooter-bioware

“There’s definitely been an emphasis on making combat spaces into open battlefields in this game,” he continued. “We’re trying to get away from corridor shooters.”

And now I make my exit.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Shadow Complex Review: Old School, Meet New School

Old School Meets New School



Shadow Complex is a side scrolling shooter with 3D graphics that focuses heavily on map exploration and character progression. This is the game that, as you likely have heard a multitude of times recently, is a downloadable game in the vein of Super Metroid (and a few others). Some go so far as to say this game is a Metroid clone. Either way you look at it, it's definitely very similar. However, for the purposes of this review, I am going to forget Super Metroid et al., and focus merely on this game and its merits. This will be a fairly lengthy review, and I will do my best to describe in detaii what you can expect from this game.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Treatable STD Scarier Than Fatal Flu

http://www.livescience.com/18461-treatable-sti-scarier-fatal-flu.html


Passing someone a sexually transmitted infection is viewed as worse than giving them the flu — even if the flu turns out to be fatal, a new study finds. The stigma surrounding STIs can keep people from getting tested, discussing testing with partners or disclosing to partners that they do have an infection, Moor said. She and her colleagues wanted to understand how much stigma really influences people's perceptions of these diseases. To do so, the researchers gathered 1,158 volunteers via the Internet and had each read a short paragraph about someone transmitting either the H1N1 flu, also called swine flu, or chlamydia to another person. Though H1N1 usually causes nothing more than a few days of misery, people with compromised immune systems, the elderly and the very young can die of it.



In every scenario in the study, "Christina" or "James" feels a little ill, but shrugs off the symptoms, goes to a party and has sex with a fellow partygoer. In some cases, this sexual encounter transmits chlamydia to their partner. In other cases, it transmits H1N1. After reading one of these scenarios, each participant answered a series of questions about how selfish, risky and all-around irresponsible they would rate either Christina or James.


Keeping a sexual mode of transmission constant was meant to control for any automatic "sex is taboo" reactions from participants, Moor said. But despite the fact that the characters James and Christina acted sexually identically in all scenarios, chlamydia seemed to strike extra fear into participants' hearts.When Christina or James were said to have transmitted chlamydia, people judged them harshly, ranking them as almost as selfish and risky as was possible in the survey. When H1N1 was the disease in question, however, people rated the transmitter much more generously. Even when the sexual partner actually died of H1N1, transmitting chlamydia was seen as much more risky and irresponsible than transmitting the flu.


"It's quite confusing," Moor said. "If sex is taboo and that's why people are thinking STIs are so stigmatized, we just nipped that in the bud. We're showing that you can get H1N1 through sex, but it's still not stigmatized."

This is something that I have considered for some time, and I am glad it is finally garnering attention in the scientific community. While the findings seem to concur with my feelings on the subject, I do have one criticism to make: They say that it is inexplicable that people view STI's in a harsher light than they do say the flu, even if both are transmitted sexually. They say that they controlled for the "sex is taboo" factor by making sexual activity the mode of transmission in each scenario. However, I think they are missing one crucial point: STI's are linked, in people's minds, with sex, while the flu is not. And this is quite likely directly resultant of the taboo nature of sex in North American culture.

Thoughts?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Namibia sponge fossils are world's first animals: study

http://news.yahoo.com/namibia-sponge-fossils-worlds-first-animals-study-203340973.html


Scientists digging in a Namibian national park have uncovered sponge-like fossils they say are the first animals, a discovery that would push the emergence of animal life back millions of years.
The tiny vase-shaped creatures' fossils were found in Namibia's Etosha National Park and other sites around the country in rocks between 760 and 550 million years old, a 10-member team of international researchers said in a paper published in the South African Journal of Science.
That means animals, previously thought to have emerged 600 million to 650 million years ago, actually appeared 100 million to 150 million years before that, the authors said.
It also means the hollow globs -- about the size of a dust speck and covered in holes that allowed fluid to pass in and out of their bodies -- were our ancestors, said co-author Tony Prave, a geologist at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Read the rest at the link above.

I find this doubly fascinating, as it acts both as a furthering of our knowledge of our origins and a tentative confirmation of the 'molecular clock' method of dating.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

COD Black Ops: LEGO Edition

I hate COD and I am sick to death of FPS games but this is fucking brilliant:

Monday, February 6, 2012

The Witcher 2 (Xbox 360): Real In-Game Footage

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Socialism in the US; Is America (At Least Partly) Socialist? And Is Socialism '"Bad?"

NOTE: This is an unpublished blog from last year.

So many Americans seem to be up in arms about that ever present enemy, "socialism." Woooooo, "socialism." Scary word down there in the US these days, a word made ever increasingly more hateful by the day courtesy of our friends over at Fox News Channel (and Fox affiliate radio programs, of course. Don't worry Rush Limbaugh, I didn't forget your hateful, lying ass). And yet, this ever increasingly hated enemy is nothing but smoke and mirrors. In fact, the U.S, along with every other developed nation, thrives on semi socialist policies.


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Resident Evil: Revelations 3DS Demo Door Puzzle in Seconds (2 Moves) Walkthrough

This video shows you how to complete that initial puzzle (door lock puzzle) found in the RE:R demo in a matter of seconds (once the screws are removed) by making just 2 moves:



If you have played this demo, what do you think of it?

Also, if you answer this, could you add whether or not you consider yourself a fan of the Resident Evil games, and if so, which ones do you prefer? The old school survival horror ones with tank controls, puzzles a-plenty, static camera angles and limited ammo, or the new school ones (Resident Evil 4 and 5).

Personally, RE6 will most likely turn out to be a far better game, technically, than Revelations, but I think Revelations will succeed where RE6 will likely fail: At being a damn RE game! I hope I am wrong, but I think 6 is going to stray even farther from the series' roots than 5 did, and while 5 was a great game in its own right, it was an abomination of an RE game :(

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Gaming News I Did NOT Expect: New Neo Geo Portable!

http://andriasang.com/comzr4/neo_geo_pocket_2/

Yes, it's obviously designed by totally unimaginative Apple copycats, but who cares?

There are 20 games pre-loaded onto the 2GB of internal storage (an SD slot allows for expansion if desired):


  • 1.WORLD HEROES
  • 2.ULTIMETE 11
  • 3.TOP PLAYER'S GOLF
  • 4.SENGOKU
  • 5.NAM-1975
  • 6.MUTATION NATION
  • 7.LAST RESORT
  • 8.KING OF MONSTERS
  • 9.FRENZY
  • 10.CYBER LIP
  • 11.FATAL FURY SPECIAL
  • 12.ART OF FIGHTING
  • 13.SUPER SIDEKICKS
  • 14.LEAGUE BOWLING
  • 15.METAL SLUG
  • 16.MAGICAL LORD
  • 17.BASEBALL STARS PROFESSIONAL
  • 18.SAMURAI SHODOWN
  • 19.KING OF FIGHTERS '94
  • 20.FATAL FURY
It comes out ______ and is priced at _______

(Yes, that means no one yet knows)

No word yet as to whether or not other games will be available for purchase, if applications can be run, etc. 

Did YOU expect this news? I sure as hell didn't!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

My Favourite Franchises are being Destroyed

Hear the latest news coming from the people behind the upcoming Resident Evil 6? They're after the Call of Duty market....Seriously:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/332888/resident-evil-attracting-cod-fans-the-dream-says-capcom-action-route-makes-sense/

First I see that abomination of a trailer and I figure there is no hope left, but then Capcom decided to at least be nice and remove any possibility of me maintaining even the slimmest glimmer of hope by announcing that, nope, you're out of luck, and yes, Resident Evil is not what it once was, aka what you fans  MADE it to begin with.

And btw, Capcom, RE5 was the biggest selling RE game and the most action oriented, but that correlation is just that: a correlation. To infer a causal relationship between the two is fallacious, and when you FAIL to grab a significant portion of the COD fanbase's attention, hopefully you will re-examine your conclusion. Protip: Was it the only RE game simultaneously released on multiple platforms, both with huge install bases in the middle of a gaming explosion in the mainstream? Was it a game that followed a tremendous entry into the series? Don't many franchises grow with time?

Can I be sure that it [i]wasn't[/i] the action orientated nature of the game that drove sales? Nope. They can't be sure it was, though, and when you factor in things like it following RE4, being multiplatform on 2 very successful consoles, etc., one has to wonder if perhaps they are being a bit narrow in their thinking.

And as if this shit wasn't enough, this comes after the bastardization of Ninja fucking Gaiden of all things, PLUS the shooter-ification of Mass Effect, the whatever the fuck you call it they did to Devil May Cry (although I hold out some hope that one may still be good), the abomination that was Dragon Age 2, the rape of Rainbow Six (although the games are still great, for the most part), the pillaging of the spirit of Fable, and on and on.

Not to mention other people's favourites that have been ASSFUCKINGRAPEFUCKED like Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Hitman, Metroid, Silent Hill, etc.

This is a pretty fucking sad time to be an 'old school' gamer. Everything classic is being bastardized in favour of being "cinematic," and "accessible," and anything that was stealthy, strategic or required any fucking thought, effort, patience, time or conquering of difficulty has become a fucking joke, with hour long turorials, incredibly obvious exposition, HUD's made for toddlers (breadcrumb trails, really Molyneux?), and someone in your ear at ll fucking times, telling you what to do and where to go (even goddamn motherfucking RYU HAYABUSA has someone chirping in his ear in Ninja Gaiden 3....WHAT THE FUCK?).

ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!!!  FUCK!!!!

/get off my lawn

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Geometry Wars 2 Review

Geometry is Fun Again.....Again

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is the sequel to the smash hit, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, which itself was an expanded version of a mini game found in the game Project Gotham Racing 2 on the original xbox.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, just like its predecessor, is a 2D top down shooter, that is essentially a modernized version of Asteroids, without the warping and with dual stick controls added in. You move the ship with the left analog stick, and fire in the direction you point the right one in. Instead of flying saucers and asteroids, your ship shoots at enemies that take several different geometric shapes, are coloured differently, and behave in different ways. There are simple enemies like the blue diamonds that move towards your position in a non aggressive manner, or the purple pinwheels that spin about randomly, not attacking you but causing your demise if you inadvertently make contact with them. There are green squares that hone in on you, and cowardly move away once you turn to fire in their direction.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Rant on PR Speak (Sparked by comments by EA CEO RE: "Online Pass")

NOTE Major expletive filled rant here, so consider yourself forewarned. Also, please note that this was written quite some time ago, as you would have ascertained yourself. Just thought I'd fill you in. It's still relevant, but a couple of the things mentioned are now in the past. D'oh!                                                                                                                          




Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Nintendo 3DS Swapnote Slideshow Demo Video "God Slideshow"