Fasa Studios Announces its Closure (X360)

The developers of Shadowrun are shutting down their studio.
By Patrick Joynt Sept. 13, 2007

On the official Shadowrun forums, FASA studio head Mitch Gitelman announced that FASA has closed its doors for the last time. Without citing reasons, Gitelman said that, “Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumors have been circulating forever, we chose to wait on an official announcement because we didn’t want people’s attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.”

He also points out that the team was aware of the upcoming studio closure even while they got Shadowrun’s three updates out the door. Addressing concerns that the long-rumored closure of FASA would end support for the game, Gitelman also announced that Shadowrun’s Technical Support Manager and Community Manager will be kept on the job “…while people continue to play our game.”

Although we certainly didn’t see eye-to-eye with FASA on its latest creation, the team’s enthusiasm and love for it was clear from day one. This is also the studio that brought us MechAssault and Crimson Skies, two legitimately wonderful games. We’re not sure if a moment of silence over Xbox Live is the appropriate response, but we’re certainly sad to see this go from semi-official rumor to official announcement.

Smashing Pumpkins - Pomp and Circumstances

When I was born I lost
When I was freed I fought
Now that I'm loved I'm caught
Between the rest and this tragic mess
An invited guest

Torn, broken and frayed
Oh don't we face
War, sunshine and grace
Oh won't you stay
For a while
We can fail in style
I can hold your smile
For a while

What was once new now gone
What was once praised now wrong
As they go, we can say we know
But what do we know
But warm sunshine and graves
Don't we see
What's bitter to taste

Torn, broken and frayed
Don't we face
War, sunshine and graves
Won't you stay

'Cause I won't tell
I won't tell a soul
That I'm mad as hell
Torn, broken and frayed
I'm torn, broken and frayed
No, I'm cold, worn out and shamed

Love

Doubt thou the stars on fire
Doubt thou the sun doth move
Doubt truth to be a liar
But never doubt
I love

My Other Half...

once a long long time ago, all people had four legs and two heads. and then the gods threw down thunderbolts and split everyone into two. each half then had two legs and one head. but the separation left both sides with a desperate yearning to be reunited. because they each shared the same soul. and ever since then all people spend their lives searching for the other half of their soul.

10 Most Shocking Movie Deaths of All Time

‘Final Destination 2′ To ‘Return Of The Jedi’: 10 Most Shocking Movie Deaths Of All Time
Bourne and Spidey seem immortal, but sometimes the stars do bite the dust!
by Larry Carroll

Pioneering movie sleuth Charlie Chan once referred to death as “the one appointment we all must keep … and for which no time is set.” Unfortunately, in the years since, Hollywood has too often forgotten the second part of the equation. We’ve all had to sit through boring blockbusters knowing that Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Angelina Jolie and most other A-listers always make it out alive — at least, until the end of the movie. With that in mind, we wanted to take a moment to remember a few of our dearly departed movie characters who took a bullet (or a knife, or a shark bite) simply so that we’d have that tiny voice in the back of our heads saying, “Yeah, maybe Jason Bourne could die after all!” If death really is an appointment, here are 10 shocking demises that have made the waiting room worthwhile (of course, spoilers ahead!).

“Deep Blue Sea” (Samuel L. Jackson)

Movies like “Shaft,” “S.W.A.T.” and “Snakes on a Plane” made money by putting the A-list star into phony danger, teasing the audience with deadly situations that everyone knew he’d escape. But at the risk of placing the words “Renny Harlin” and “genius” closer together than they should ever be, it was the flashy Finnish filmmaker who had enough guts to kill off Sam the Man just as the “Blue” plot was getting going. “You’ve seen how bad things can get, and how quickly they can get that way,” Jackson says during the scene, taking charge of the imperiled characters. “So we’re going to pull together and find a way to get out of here!” Then, out of nowhere, a genetically enhanced shark jumps up behind Jackson, making a meal of the monologue-ing megastar.

“Smokin’ Aces” (Ben Affleck)

It’s easy to kick the “Gigli” star while he’s down, but give credit where it’s due: Affleck took a role in Joe Carnahan’s bullet-ridden action flick that was so small it wasn’t even David Schwimmer-worthy, and then got killed off quicker than a chubby chicken at Colonel Sanders’ house. To a nation of filmgoers still smarting from “Surviving Christmas,” watching him die was as cool as it was therapeutic.

“Psycho” (Janet Leigh)

Like so much else in cinema, you have to credit Alfred Hitchcock with blazing the trail. After starring in films such as “Little Women,” “Angels in the Outfield” and “Touch of Evil,” the beautiful Leigh was well-known to audiences as a Hollywood leading lady. For “Psycho,” Hitch cast Leigh hoping that fans would fall into the trap of thinking she was safe. Then he killed the sweet-smiling actress off with a shower scene so brutal that it still shocks today. But Leigh would get the last laugh: For her 45 minutes onscreen, she was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe.

“Executive Decision” (Steven Seagal)

It may be hard to believe now, but there was once a time when Steven Seagal was a major Hollywood A-lister. So imagine the shock of buying a ticket to this 1996 thriller and barely having the time to dig into your popcorn before seeing the star get sucked out the door of a fighter jet. In any second, we’ll cut to the shot where he’s flying through the air, deploying his parachute, right? Right? Um, congratulations, Kurt Russell, you’ve just become the default hero of the movie.

“Pulp Fiction” (Phil Lamarr)

He’s the only non-star to make this list, although there have been dozens of other brilliant nameless-actor deaths over the years (White Boy Bob from “Out of Sight” comes to mind). But when “Pulp Fiction” was in theaters, one of the reasons it was worth seeing multiple times was because you’d know to sneak a peek at the audience as Vincent Vega (John Travolta) looked into the back seat to ask his freaked-out associate Marvin for an opinion. “Oh, man, I shot Marvin in the face!” Remember how high you jumped the first time you saw it?
“Final Destination 2″ (Ali Larter)

Not only did she have to suffer through the worst character name in the history of movies (that’s a subject for another article), but Clear Rivers was also one of the unlucky souls who made “the list” after avoiding Death in the first installment of the “FD” horror series. As the only survivor from the first flick, and a recognizable actor, the soon-to-be “Heroes” star seemed to be the human face of the franchise. But no sooner had a new group of death-dodgers convinced her to help them than Clear emerged from a self-imposed stay in a rubber room and blew up all over the camera! Oh, and a Best Death honorary mention also goes to Amanda Detmer, the actress hit by a bus in the first flick’s most shocking moment.

“Return of the Jedi” (Yoda)

To an entire generation, the physical manifestation of wit, wisdom and warmth was not Plato or Mark Twain, but a 3-foot-tall, 900-year-old Muppet. George Lucas introduced the breakout Jedi master with “The Empire Strikes Back,” and years later he resurrected the character with mixed results for his prequels. But for millions of young fans, the little green guy’s heart-tugging “Jedi” death was a moment of national mourning. Meanwhile, our parents watched, wondering if we’d cry half as much when they passed.

“Doom” (The Rock)

We know, you didn’t see it. In fact, you might even still think the Rock was the star of this movie. But the film did pack one truly joyous punch: When the action escalated, the “Walking Tall” hero suddenly went from ass-kicker to alien appetizer. The Rock also gets major points for shooting a great wink to the crowd before he bites it, screaming, “Wait! I’m not supposed to die!”

“L.A. Confidential” (Kevin Spacey)

For a few years, Kevin Spacey had a lot of fun exploiting audiences’ perceptions of his star status. First came “The Usual Suspects,” which had him listed seventh on the movie poster to maintain a doozy of a secret; next was “Seven,” in which he was unbilled so he could sneak unannounced into an early scene. Following his “Usual Suspects” Oscar win, the detective drama “L.A. Confidential” was hyped up as his first true leading-man role. All that changed in a matter of seconds, however, when Spacey’s Jack Vincennes was shockingly rubbed out just as the mystery was beginning to unravel. Some guy named Russell Crowe then jumped in to pick up the slack.

“Scream” (Drew Barrymore)

When Wes Craven set out to spoof the horror sub-genre he had helped create, the director also wanted to pay tribute to his own inspiration, Alfred Hitchcock. Appropriately enough, he started “Scream” with a terrifying phone conversation between a movie-savvy killer and Drew Barrymore. It was the perfect setup for a generation that had preferred “Freddy 3″ to “The 39 Steps” and, sure enough, unsuspecting audiences fell hook, line and slasher. Forty years after Hitch had pulled his “Psycho” stunt, Barrymore was dead 10 minutes and 53 seconds into her own movie. The perceived star had pulled a Janet Leigh — and another classic was born.

This report is from MTV News.

Guitar Hero 3 Tracks

Tier 1:
Foghat- Slow Ride
Poison- Talk Dirty to Me
Pat Benatar- Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Social Distortion- Story of My Life

Encore: Kiss- Rock and Roll All Nite
Co-op Encore: Beastie Boys- Sabotage

Tier 2:
Mountain- Mississippi Queen
Alice Cooper- School’s Out
Cream- Sunshine of Your Life
Heart- Barracuda

Boss: Tom Morello- Guitar Battle
Encore: Rage Against the Machine- Bull’s on Parade
Co-op Encore: The Strokes- Reptilia

Tier 3:
The Killers- When You Were Young
AFI- Miss Murder
The Who- The Seeker
Priestess- Lay Down

Encore: Rolling Stones- Paint It Black
Co-op Encore: Red Hot Chili Peppers- Suck My Kiss

Tier 4:
Black Sabbath- Paranoid
The Sex Pistols- Anarchy in the UK
Sonic Youth- Kool Thing
Weezer- My Name Is Jonas

Encore: Pearl Jam- Evenflow
Co-op Encore: Blue Oyster Cult- Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll

Tier 5:
The Dead Kennedy’s- Holiday in Cambodia
Scorpions- Rock You Like a Hurricane
Aerosmith- Same Old Song and Dance
ZZ Top- La Grange

Boss: Slash- Guitar Battle
Encore: Guns N Roses- Welcome to the Jungle
Co-op Encore: Bloc Party- Hellicopter

Tier 6:
Santana- Black Magic Woman
Smashing Pumpkins- Cherub Rock
White Zombie- Black Sunshine
Tenacious D- The Metal

Encore: Stevie Ray Vaughn- Pride and Joy
Co-op Encore: Matchbook Romance- Monsters

Tier 7:
Slipknot- Before I Forget
Disturbed- Stricken
Queens of the Stone Age- 3’s and 7’s
Muse- Knights of Cydonia

Encore: Living Colour- Cult of Personality

Tier 8:
Slayer- Raining Blood
Eric Johnson- Cliffs of Dover
Iron Maiden- Number of the Beast
Metallica- One

Boss: Lou- Guitar Battle
Encore: The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Bonus Tracks:

An Endless Sporadic- Impulse
Backyard Babies- Minus Celsius
Bret Michaels Band- Go That Far
Die Toten Hosen- Hier Kommit Alex
Dragonforce- Through the Fire and the Flames
Fall of Troy- FCP Remix
Gallows- In the Belly of a Shark
The Hellacopters- I’m in the Band
Heroes del Silencio- Avalancha
In Flames- Take This Life
Kaiser Chiefs- Ruby
Killswitch Engage- My Curse
LA Slum Lords- Dow
Dave says:
LA Slum Lords- Down N Dirty
Lacuna Coil- Closer
Lions- Metal Heavy Lady
NAAST- Mauvis Garcon
Prototype- The Way It Ends
Revolverhead- Generation Rock
Rise Against- Prayer of the Refugee
Scouts of St. Sebastian- In Love
Senses Fail- Can’t Be Saved
The Sleeping- Don’t Hold Back
The Stone Roses- She Bangs the Drums
Superbus- Radio Song

------------------------------------------------

I'm actually excited about this game even though I didn't really care for the previous two GH games. I guess it's because there are more songs on this one that I know, lol.

Another Gay Hating Cocksucker

Arrest Clouds Idaho Senator's Future
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 3:25 AM EDT
The Associated Press
By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is a conservative Republican who has voted against gay marriage and opposes hate crimes legislation that would extend special protections to gay and lesbian crime victims.

In the wake of Craig's guilty plea on misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis airport, his political future is in question.

The three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He hasn't said if he will run for a fourth term in 2008 and was expected to announce his plans this fall.

A spokesman, Sidney Smith, was uncertain late Monday if Craig's guilty plea would affect his re-election plans.

"It's too early to talk about anything about that," Smith said.

A political science professor in Idaho said Craig's political future was in jeopardy. And a spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, Hannah August, said Craig's guilty plea "has given Americans another reason not to vote Republican" next year.

The married Craig, 62, has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s, but allegations that he has engaged in gay sex have never been substantiated. Craig has denied the assertions, which he calls ridiculous.

The arrest changes that dynamic, said Jasper LiCalzi, a political science professor at Albertson College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. He cited the House page scandal that drove Florida Rep. Mark Foley from office.

"There's a chance that he'll resign over this," LiCalzi said. "With the pressure on the Republican Party, he could be pressured to resign. If they think this is going to be something that's the same as Mark Foley — the sort of 'drip, drip, drip, there's more information that's going to come out' — they may try to push him out."

Already Craig has stepped down from a prominent role with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He had been one of Romney's top Senate supporters, serving as a Senate liaison for the campaign since February.

"He did not want to be a distraction and we accept his decision," said Matt Rhoades, a Romney campaign spokesman.

According to a Hennepin County, Minn., court docket, Craig pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge on Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.

The court docket said Craig paid $575 in fines and fees and was put on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the county workhouse was stayed.

Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, which first reported the case, said on its Web site Monday that Craig was arrested June 11 by a plainclothes officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the airport.

Craig said in a statement issued by his office Monday that he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig joins other GOP senators facing ethical and legal troubles.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is under scrutiny for his relationship with a contractor who helped oversee a renovation project that more than doubled the size of the senator's home.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that his phone number appeared in records of a Washington-area business that prosecutors have said was a front for prostitution.

Craig, a rancher and a member of the National Rifle Association, lives in Eagle, Idaho, near the capital of Boise. He was a member of the House for 10 years before winning election to the Senate in 1990. He was re-elected in 1996 and 2002.

Last fall, Craig called allegations from a gay-rights activist that he's had homosexual relationships "completely ridiculous."

Mike Rogers, who bills himself as a gay activist blogger, published the allegations on his Web site, www.blogactive.com, in October 2006.

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, an advocacy group, on Monday called Craig a hypocrite.

"What's up with elected officials like Senator Craig? They stand for so-called family values and fight basic protections for gay people while furtively seeking other men for sex," Foreman said.

Serenity

"WUOshang mayer, maysheen, BYEN shr-too. (I close my ears and my heart and I will be a stone.) Please God make me a stone." - River Tam, Serenity.

The Smashing Pumpkins - Tarantula

I don't want to fight
Every single night
Everything I want is in your eyes
You and me go back
To places I don't know to care
The spoils of all I got were left for scraps

Don't let me say this
But you're no worse than me
It's crazy

We are the real
If real ever was
And just because
We are the real
They feel we have enough
We are the real
'Cause someone gave us up

I want to be there when you're happy
I want to love you when you're sad
Can't stand the morning rain?
Get out I'll take your place then
Can't stand the blazing sun?
Then close your eyes you'll see
The angel dust

I don't want to be
Anything believed
A million watts of sound can't compare
Come along you'll see the world
The pulse ripples, the crowd unfurls
The current starts to flow and then you're on
Oh it's white hot soul they want
To sing for

We are the real
If real ever was
And just because
We are the ruin
Of every living soul
We are surreal
Cause someone gave us up

Don't break the oath
I want to love you when you're happy
Don't break this oath
I want to be there when you're sad
Freeze-frame the pouring rain

We are the real
As real as any ghost
So easy now
We are the real
In every living soul
Oh don't they know?

Can't stand the blazing sun?
Can't stand the morning rain?
Oh get out I'll take your place again

I don't want to be alone
I don't want to be alone
I don't want to be alone at all
If it's a white hot soul they want
Then a black heart they'll get

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

Send a heartbeat to
The void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass
For now we stand alone
The world is lost and blown
And we are flesh and blood disintegrate
With no more to hate

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secrets flame
We can watch the world devoured in it's pain

Delivered from the blast
The last of a line of lasts
The pale princess of a palace cracked
And now the kingdom comes
Crashing down undone
And I am a master of a nothing place
Of recoil and grace

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secrets flame
We can watch the world devoured in it's pain

Time has stopped before us
The sky cannot ignore us
No one can separate us
For we are all that is left
The echo bounces off me
The shadow lost beside me
There's no more need to pretend
Cause now I can begin again

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secrets flame
We can watch the world devoured in it's pain
Strange
Strange
Strange

You're accepted into the Home beta test

 

WELCOME TO HOME BETA

Congratulations! Your patience has paid off—you've been accepted to the Home beta test!
You can download the Home beta from the PLAYSTATION®Store using your PLAYSTATION®Network User ID. Simply click on the "Featured Items" tab on the PLAYSTATION®Store and you'll find the download waiting for you.
In addition, you can now access the Home beta website. Here you can access the forums and communicate with other beta testers, or fill out a problem report form. In the problem report, you can outline any problems you experienced with the beta, and let us know of any great ideas you have for new features.
To get access to these great beta tools, simply sign in using your PlayStation.com account email address and password and create a Message Board Handle (if you don't already have one). If you do not yet have a PlayStation.com account, just follow the prompts to register and create your Message Board Handle.
We're glad you had the patience to stick it out and we're happy to have you at Home. Enjoy the beta test!
Sincerely,
The PlayStation® Underground™

P.S. If you have problems accessing Home beta, please click here and send us an email. Make sure to include your account information (the email address you used to register for this Home beta) and a brief description of your problem. When you reach the Consumer Services page, be sure to select "PlayStation Underground" as the topic of your email.

Pseudopod: The Tomb

Very gory I think, but the sentiment is very sweet in the end.

---------

The Tomb

Annie Abbondante

When you are dead on the smooth glinting autopsy table they will take out all your insides. The oily, yellow layer of fat that keeps your red muscles warm will grow tacky in the air and your blood will pool in the bottom of you, like puddles after the rain. They will ladel out the white, soupy vomit of your stomach contents with the same brand of ladel you have in your kitchen drawer. Seeing the bits of carrot and undigested corn from the meal you didn't know was your last. They will know you like to swallow your pasta whole, feeling it wiggle down your esophagus in one piece. You will still be beautiful. Like a sleeping child your facial muscles will relax angelicly, but you will still be you. Your lips will have the same 58 creases, dipping gently like rolling hills. Your ears are still mazes like conch shells, translucently white like coral sand beaches. Your skin will retain its same cottony consistency for a while. Smooth and cool under my fingertips as they percieve the curves and wells of you. But only my fingers will tingle with sensation as you remain breathless and still. Your hair will be messy and falling in your eyes, and so I will finger comb it, memorizing the texture and color before they split your cranium like a coconut to examine your brain. Before they peel away the skin of your face, I will commit all the slopes to memory, your geometry burned into me. I will be able to see you in constellations and building frames where ever there are undetermined shapes waiting for your form. Your nudity is as big as an opera, splayed and spread, skin and hair everywhere. You are art, NOT pornography. The heat you once generated, which pulled me in like a moth to your bare lightbulb, has now stilled like the blood on your veins. I wish to spread myself out on you, transferring life from my cells to yours via active cellular transport, absorbing as much mortality as I can until we both exist in a place between life and death. To see the insides of you, they will have to pull you apart. The doctor is really nothing more than a soft fingered explorer, who knows his way around the black lumps and brown chunks of the human anatomy. He knows which juices squish out from where and why; he doesn't know what a gift it is to hold your purple heart in his latex hands. He will make you an empty shell of yourself, with your breastplate screaming open loudmouthed. Everyone will be able to look inside you, like the crematoria at a concentration camp. I want to crawl inside where your heart used to be and warm up what's left of you. You will be my cave, your ribs arching over protection; your sternum the keystome of my tomb. I want them to sew me in there forever and let me go with you where ever you go, regardless of what rot or pungency or worm should occur. I want to be the stuffing in your turkey and the picture in your locket. In a thousand years, someone will find you and open you up carefully, lovingly, as the most precious artifact that ever existed, gloved fingertips touching every rotten hair on your putrid head with reverence. In all your gory glory, they will crack you open and find me inside, tiny and curled up where your heart once was, and they will shake me awake. Yawning, I will tell them of you.

Oh god I want one!!!

New Hard Drives Hold a Terabyte of Data

Lamont Wood
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.com
Mon Apr 9, 8:30 AM ET

Just when you got used to hard drives with hundreds of gigabytes (hundreds of billions of bytes) they do it: make one with a terabyte (a trillion bytes).

Yes, you can now get a terabyte hard drive on a desktop PC. Breaking the ice with a Hitachi drive was Dell, with “Area 51” game-oriented machines from its Alienware subsidiary. The 1T option initially costs $500.

In case you’re wondering, as printed text a terabyte would occupy 100 million reams of paper, consuming some 50,000 trees. It is enough to hold 16 days (not hours) of DVD-quality video, or a million pictures, or almost two years worth of continuous music.

You might not have any songs that last for two years, but that’s irrelevant, indicated Henry Baltazar, storage analyst for The 451 Group, a technology analyst firm in San Francisco. “There will be a demand for it, since a lot of people have digital media, like movies, pictures and music,” Baltazar told LiveScience.

“Larger devices will become more commonplace, and we will see the same kind of transition from gigabyte to terabyte drives as we previously saw from megabyte to gigabyte drives—in fact, the move from 500 gigabytes to a terabyte has taken longer than expected.”

The leap from 500G to 1T required a breakthrough in “areal density” (how tight the bytes are packed on the surface of the disk), according to Doug Pickford, a marketing executive at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. The trick, he explained, was to move to Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR), where each bit is a perpendicular rather than a linear magnetized spot on the disk—as if the bits were standing up rather than lying down.

Currently, areal density is growing at about 35 to 40 percent per year, and the techniques used to create the 1T drive are expandable to make a 5T drive, Pickford said. More work will be needed to surpass the 5T hurdle, but he foresaw no physical limitations until drives reach a capacity of at least 50T.

At that point, they’ll hold about a century of music.

Incidentally, for planning purposes, the next level is the petabyte (a quadrillion bytes); and then the exabyte (one quintillion bytes); and then the zettabyte (one sextillion bytes); and then the yottabyte (one septillion bytes.)

Everything I Need To Know In Life I Learned From Watching 'Star Wars'

Thirty lessons from the franchise that opened in theaters 30 years ago.

by Shawn Adler

It was on May 25, 1977, that "Star Wars" premiered and changed the world. Oh sure, you might have heard that it revolutionized special effects, ushered in the era of the modern blockbuster or any of a million things that are probably true but still downplay the film's massive impact. "Star Wars" changed the world by ultimately changing the way that we perceived it. It changed us.

In honor of the landmark film's 30th anniversary, then, we present the 30 most important things we learned from watching it.

30. Wretched hives of scum and villainy always have the best music.
It's no coincidence that the bar at Mos Eisley has the most kick-ass band this side of Naboo. Dives always have the best live music — directly proportional to how many felons they're serving at any given time.

29. Before making out with someone, make absolutely sure they aren't your sister.
This one goes without saying, but it's especially important for those who suspect they may have been adopted.

28. "Don't tell me the odds!"
According to C-3PO, the odds against successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3,720 to 1. Buckle up and take some chances.

27. "These are not the droids we are looking for."
Searching is futile when you don't know what you're looking for.

26. Fear and anger always lead to the dark side.
Even if you're facing certain death at the hands of a playful sadist (who just happens to be threatening your sister), releasing your anger will only please him more. Relax — victory can only be achieved through calmness.

25. "Do or do not. There is no try."
Any task worth doing is worth doing right.

24. "At this moment, the Internet is completely empty."
Not strictly from "Star Wars," but said by the guy behind me in the movie theater as the opening title for "The Phantom Menace" crawled across the screen. It remains the truest statement I have ever heard.

23. All things are true ... from a particular point of view.
This is what Obi-Wan tells Luke when asked why he didn't reveal the truth about Darth Vader. But truth is a delicate and malleable thing: Is Luke Skywalker a freedom fighter or a terrorist? I guess it depends on what side of the Death Star you happen to be on when he blows it up.

22. If your girlfriend tells you she loves you, it's totally badass to reply, "I know."
She will love you more.

21. Always let the Wookiee win.
Why? Because Wookiees pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Knowing your opponent is integral to defeating him, and conceding a small battle doesn't mean you forfeit the war.

20. Everybody means something to somebody.
Remember that scene at the beginning of "Return of the Jedi" when the Rancor dies and a guard comes in bawling after him? Even the most twisted, deformed and evil beings can be loved for who they are. Everybody is somebody's child.

19. Don't ever apologize to your boss.
Especially if you did something really dumb, like jump out of hyperspace close enough to be detected from the ice planet Hoth. It will only get the goofball next to you promoted while you are Force-choked to death.

18. People who smoke need to "rethink" their life.
Obi-Wan's moralizing encounter with an alien shilling death sticks in "Attack of the Clones" is a bit schoolmarmish but nevertheless true. It shouldn't take a Jedi to tell those things are bad for you.

17. Crime doesn't pay.
Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett, Sebulba, Greedo — the bad guys in "Star Wars" always get what's coming to them, even if it takes a while. The reverse of this, however, is not true. While crime doesn't pay, not paying for your past crimes does pay. Just ask Han Solo.

16. Don't trust a liar to save your girlfriend from prophesied doom.
They're lying.

15. Never desert your friends.
The best we can hope for in our journeys across the galaxy are good, honest companions. They stick by you through thick and thin and won't judge you based on your crazy family. So next time you're debating leaving Jedi training to rescue your friends from Cloud City, remember who it was that shot down Darth Vader during the Death Star attack. You owe them.

14. Girls are really good shots.
If you must fight a tyrannical empire capable of sending endless waves of Storm Troopers, bring along a few girls. They never miss.

13. "Size matters not."
This is a cooler, more complicated way of saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

12. "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
People can become heroes in life, but only in death can they become legends.

11. Dictatorships run much more smoothly than democracies.
At the beginning of "Phantom Menace," the Republic is a shabbily run confederacy that can't even protect a sovereign planet from being gobbled up by warring trade unions. That's why Queen Padmé calls for a vote of no confidence. By "Revenge of the Sith," it takes Darth Vader roughly 10 minutes to end the threat. If you can stand a little repression, nothing beats an empire when it comes to efficiency.

10. Everything smells better from the outside.
Some mysteries are better left unsolved. Slicing through a Tauntaun is like breaking a trash compactor to see how it works: The only thing you're going to discover are some really bad smells.

9. No matter where you are or what you're doing, someone is going to have a bad feeling about it.
Go ahead, say it aloud: Admitting your fears is the first step toward overcoming them.

8. If you want the job done, it's sometimes necessary to call in bounty hunters.
Even the most powerful Sith lord can't be everywhere at once, which is why to get what you want you sometimes have to associate with less-than-reputable fellows. There's little shame in finding the most capable aides. And none at all in admitting you need help.

7. Sand people always walk in single file to hide their numbers.
If something's bothering you, chances are it goes deeper than what appears to be the immediate cause. Look closer. Troubles come not as single spies but as battalions.

6. Life is better the first time around.
Often imitated, never duplicated. The original is always the best.

5. Even if you're the galaxy's most powerful army, never underestimate guerrillas defending their home turf.
Not even laser canons and AT-ATs can defeat stone throwers like the Ewoks at home. Regardless of your ideological persuasion, feel free to make your own contemporary political joke here.

4. "It's a trap!"
Rest assured, the battle station you're attacking is fully operational. Don't assume your enemies are idiots, no matter how many Bothans died to bring you the information.

3. No matter how many people you kill or how many galaxies you destroy, one good deed can make up for everything.
Anakin Skywalker gets to go to Force heaven, or whatever the heck it's called when he's palling around with Obi-Wan and Yoda at the end of "Jedi." And this is after killing roughly 8 billion people (give or take the population of Alderan). Can we be forgiven for our crimes? Can we forgive ourselves? A lot depends on whether or not you believe the next statement.

2. The worst enemies you'll face are those you bring with you.
When Luke enters the forbidden tree cave on Dagobah, Yoda tells him that all he will face is what he fears inside. Evil doesn't come from some external trickster — it is a reflection of our own foul natures ...

1. Use the Force.
... but the tools to our salvation lie within us as well. Discovering how to channel these forces is what makes our journey. Let it go. The greatest lesson "Star Wars" teaches us is that the hero is within.

This report is from MTV News.

Quote

live with honesty and your only fetters are your own set limitations; live with deceit and you'll be bound by every lie you make along the way.

Life Achievements

This was in the April issue of Game Informer and I thought it was quite funny so I thought I'd share since it deals with Achievements. April Fools issues are sometimes pretty funny.

-----

Microsoft to use "Life Achievements"

Reality gets quantified

To Xbox 360 owners, the sound "boop-boop" means a job well done. Those notes accompanying the words "Achievement Unlocked" are a chance for gamers - usually unsuccessful in other areas of life - to feel meaningful. But what if gamers could feel that validation in their bleak, everyday lives? Now they can, thanks to Microsoft's new Life Achievement system.
Still in the testing phase, this new technology includes a device that clips to your belt and monitors your actions, rewarding you with LiferPoints for positive accomplishments. "The world is full of things to do!" shouts Microsoft corporate vice president J. Allard. "We saw this as a golden opportunity to encourage people to do specific things, then award meaningless points that cannot be spent or otherwise redeemed."
Preliminary results show that response to the program is very positive. "By purchasing the Zune, I unlocked the rare 'Already Obsolete' Life Achievement, got 100 LiferPoints, and was entered in a drawing to win Fuzion Frenzy 2!" gushes one test subject. "Totally worth it." The technology will hit retail shelves in November, with the first bug-fix patch (necessary for the system to function) following several months later.

Sample of Microsoft's Life Achievements:

Taste Glue
Draw Marker-Moustache On Passed-Out LAN Party Attendee
Hold It For Two Days
10,000 Kills
Hoffa Found
Mock Nintendork and Stupid Wii
Ride Pony
Vista Installed!
Vista Uninstalled!
Kiss Friend's Wife

Annie Lennox - Twisted

I didn't want to know you
I didn't mean to be a friend
But now it seems
I'd run through burnin' fire
Just to see your face again

I didn't want to hurt you
(or be hurt by you)
At the closing of the game
but now it seems
Too late for that desire
I watched it all go up in flames
I watched it all go up in flames

Tell me
Darlin'
What would it take
To untie the twist in us?
'cause it's makin' my heart ache

Under a cloak of darkness
Under the covers where we laid
there I spent my dreams with you
Now I've hid them all away
I guess I've hid them all away

Nothin'
And no-one
Touches me like you
But how could I believe in this
When none of it was true?
Yes

(I knew from the first time that
i set my eyes on you)

I didn't mean to make you suffer
I didn't mean to make you cry
you didn't mean to make me suffer
You didn't mean to make me cry

Oh my darlin'
Oh my lover
All the words come back to me
I remember I remember
Everything you said to me
We went walking
Out in silence
Underneath the cherry tree
Falling blossom
Falling blossom
Falling from the cherry tree
I remember
I remember

High Definition Definitions

1080i - A resolution specification used for HDTV. 1080i stands for a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The "i" means that the video is being interlaced.

480p - Progressive scanning, the option ("p" = progressive), creates a picture signal with double the scan lines of a conventional interlaced picture, 480i ("i" = interlaced), to create a noticeably sharper image. The 480p image offers higher picture resolution and eliminates virtually all motion artifacts in a 640x480 pixel resolution setting.

720p - A resolution specification used for HDTV. 720p stands for resolution of 1280x720 pixels. The "p" means that the video is in progressive format.

Gravity Kills - Guilty

Behind closed doors your words ring hollow
What you said they'd be
What behavior? Who are you, but I like it
Now I'm done with nothing new, sometimes green sometimes blue
And I'm guilty, and I'm guilty, and I'm guilty, and I'm guilty
And you're guilty too
Hey Hey Hey I'm guilty and you're guilty too
Hey Hey Hey Hey
I'll tell you something, something new
You're hearing nothing, nothing true
You're killing me, I'm killing you
And I'm guilty too
One two three, I found you out so easily
One two three, I found in you what I found in me
The time is wrong, the time is right--be careful who you kill tonight
And I'm melting, and I'm melting, and I'm melting, and I'm melting
And I'm melting in you
Hey Hey Hey I'm guilty and you're guilty too
Hey Hey Hey Hey
One and one and one makes three
One and one why don't you see
I'm killing you, you're killing me
Can't you set me free?
Inside out, I can't describe it, what you do to me
Inside out, I cannot hide it looking right through me
Now I've reached the living end, pointing fingers to defend
And I'm guilty, and I'm guilty, and I'm guilty, and I'm guilty
And you're guilty too
I'll tell you something, something new
You're hearing nothing, nothing true
You're killing me, I'm killing you
And I'm guilty too

Dragonlance License

by Margaret Weis

The Dragonlance RPG License has been a labor of love for me and my staff throughout the term of our agreement with Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. Our goal in creating Dragonlance game product has always been to give the long-time fan quality material that supports our vision for Dragonlance while attracting a new audience to this epic world. Our agreement has come to term and is not being renewed. We will be releasing new Dragonlance RPG product through the end of this year and then will step back from our association with Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro.

Margaret Weis Productions is thrilled to be associated with incredible properties such as Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, and Supernatural. Our latest endeavor is a collaboration with Tracy Hickman in the development of our new world -- Dragonships of the Vindras -- an epic series featuring Viking-like warriors, three opposing groups of Gods, ships powered by dragons, and the ultimate quest for salvation and survival through recovery of the Five Bones of the Vektan Dragons. This new fantasy world is rich with adventure and romance and is being published by Tor Books on a timeline to coincide with the launch of new game Dragonships product in the classic tradition of Dragonlance. Stay tuned for exciting announcements on this line in the coming months.

In response to the many inquiries we've received, please know we view this as a beginning, not an end. We see this as an opportunity to provide our fans and community with quality product with which we're going to be proud to be associated for many years to come.

Margaret Weis
President
Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.