STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC now available on Steam

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, LucasArts and BioWare's 2003 role-playing game, has just become available for purchase on Steam. For $9.99 you can download and play what many deem is not only the greatest Star Wars game ever, but has been wildly praised as one of the finest computer games of all time.

Set four thousand years before the rise of the Empire in the film series, Knights of the Old Republic depicts a "more civilized age" for the galaxy. Unfortunately a Sith Lord named Darth Malak is leading a vast army of Sith against the Republic and especially any Jedi that happen to get in the way of his conquest. The game begins with the player's character waking up on a Republic ship that has fallen under attack by the Sith. And what happens from that moment on is entirely up to you: the choices you make during the game affects pretty much everything else that follows afterward, right up to which ending you get. Play the straight and narrow and you'll wind up a hero of the Republic, while yielding to temptation will lead to the Dark Side and all the power and glory and pleasures befitting the fallen.

Long story short: it's a very good game that's more than worth the purchase price. And hopefully LucasArts will also have Knights of the Old Republic II for sale on Steam sooner than later. So what are you waiting for? Buy it today, ya meatbags!

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Rockingham County getz a Sheetz!

Sheetz opened its first (and hopefully not last) location in Rockingham County this past week, located in Eden at Van Buren Road and Stadium Drive (it's right next door to King's Inn Pizza for those of y'all familiar with local geography). I paid my first visit to the new place today and was delighted to get another of their scrumptious Italian sandwiches. Up 'til now I've had to go to Greensboro or High Point for the nearest Sheetz. Now there's one just 20 minutes away! And like all the other Sheetz stores it's open 24 hours, 365 days a year.

So since this is about Sheetz, like the other two times I've posted on this blog about this company here's that "Feel The Love" commercial that's been running all summer...

And then there's this other commercial from a few years ago for the chain, that shamelessly apes televangelism...

Anyhoo, if you're in the area there's a new place for great food whenever you get the munchies. Check 'em out!

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Chess grandmaster loses match after passing out drunk

Vladislav Tkachiev, a leading French chess grandmaster, was scheduled to play Praveen Kumar in Kolkata, India. But unfortunately Tkachiev turned up at the match, as they say in French, "pees droonk".

He was so intoxicated that he could barely sit in his chair and soon fell asleep after only 11 moves.

His inebriated state cost Tkachiev the match after tournament officials decided he was in no condition to play and after Tkachiev had run afoul of the hour and thirty minutes time limit.

(Maybe Tkachiev should consider taking up chess boxing instead? :-)

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LEGO sets of Dune and Tron

Today GeekTyrant shares some pics of a homemade Tron LEGO set...

And yesterday the site showcased the stunning work of some folks who took LEGO and rendered some classic images from the Dune saga...

I'm now tempted to break out my own LEGOs and see if I can build Leto II or a Guild Navigator :-)

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Fire chief shot by angry cops... inside courtroom!

If you're traveling through Arkansas anytime soon, you might wanna detour around the little burg of Jericho. The town of 174 residents has a government run amok: Jericho has a budget crisis and its police officers are spending darn nearly all of their time writing out traffic citations. Some citizens are complaining that the cops are so obsessed with writing tickets that it's become almost impossible to get police help for more serious matters.

Now comes word that the fire chief of the town has been shot at by Jericho police officers when he got into an argument with them about their out-of-control ticketing practices. Don Payne had to go to court twice in one day, and it was during his second trip that the altercation took place and Payne took a bullet to the hip.

Oh yeah, this was in the middle of the courtroom.

And according to the story, the town's prosecutor doesn't plan to file felony charges against the officer. Payne however might face a misdemeanor charge for the fracas (what the...?!). No word at all on whether the cop who shot him will be punished in any way whatsoever.

(Anyone else thinking that the "internal investigation" will come back and say that this cop did nothing wrong?)

Meanwhile, Jericho's police force has been disbanded for the time being and a judge has voided all the outstanding traffic tickets until the town's mess gets straightened out.

Considering that so many towns across the country are now short on cash, I wonder how many more times we'll be hearing about stories like this...

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How did we ever get by?

A friend of mine named Jason French had this to say on Facebok...

"Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out."

I remember my Nintendo Entertainment system, and after a couple years' use something messed up inside that kept the cartridges' contacts from meeting those of the console when you pushed it down. I put in some cartridges and noticed that after inserting them fully they were coming back up very slightly. Just enough, I figured, to keep the console and cartridge from connecting with each other.

So I took some springy wire from a spiral notebook, and duct-taped the ends of it to the console cover and the cartridge-holding thingy. It provided the needed pressure to get the game's contacts touching those of the console. And I never had anything go wrong with it again.

It was a problem that I took some pride in figuring out on my own, by observation and deduction. Could kids today figure it out as well? I've no doubt that they can, but they'd probably run to Google first for a quick fix. Not quite as satisfying as conjuring it up with your own gray matter :-)

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New trailer for THE ROAD

About a month and a half ago I read The Road by Cormac McArthy (who also wrote No Country for Old Men). The Road was easily one of the most engaging, empathetic and sympathetic works of literature that I have read in quite a long time. The film version opens on October 16th and stars Charlize Theron, Viggo Mortenson, Garret Dillahunt, Guy Pearce and Robert Duvall.

Here's the latest trailer for The Road...

There are five more clips from The Road up The Movie Rambler.

And if you haven't read it already, I cannot say enough how good a novel The Road is. You should be able to find it at most bookstores, on Amazon.com 'course and maybe even at your local "big box" store.

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The thus-unheralded virtues of the sci-fi corridor

Martin Anderson at Den of Geek has written an essay about the corridor in science fiction, praising it as an effective tool for establishing setting, emotion and plot. Such an overlooked design and yet as Anderson notes, the sci-fi corridor has become as inspiring as it is ubiquitous. Quite a good lil' read :-)

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THE ESSENTIAL "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC on October 27th!

This isn't the cover of the CD set. Just something I came across awhiles back that seemed appropriate for the occasion :-)

"Weird Al" Yankovic just announced on his blog (yes Al has a blog now, in addition to his website, his Twitter account and his YouTube channel and his Facebook page... quite a technophile this guy is) that The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic will hit the streets and online retailers on October 27th.

What is The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic? Two glorious CDs (yes: actual physical media!) of choice goodness from Weird Al's first twelve studio albums. Check out this track listing!

DISC 1
1. "Another One Rides The Bus"
2. "Polkas On 45"
3. "Eat It"
4. "I Lost On Jeopardy"
5. "Yoda"
6. "One More Minute"
7. "Like A Surgeon"
8. "Dare To Be Stupid"
9. "Dog Eat Dog"
10. "Lasagna"
11. "Melanie"
12. "Fat"
13. "UHF" (single version)
14. "The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota"
15. "Trigger Happy"
16. "Smells Like Nirvana"
17. "You Don't Love Me Anymore"
18. "Bedrock Anthem"
19. "Frank's 2000" TV"
20. "Jurassic Park"

DISC 2
1. "Since You've Been Gone"
2. "Amish Paradise"
3. "Gump"
4. "Everything You Know Is Wrong"
5. "The Night Santa Went Crazy" (extra gory version)
6. "Your Horoscope For Today"
7. "It's All About The Pentiums"
8. "The Saga Begins"
9. "Albuquerque"
10. "eBay"
11. "Bob"
12. "Hardware Store"
13. "I'll Sue Ya"
14. "Canadian Idiot"
15. "Pancreas"
16. "Don't Download This Song"
17. "White & Nerdy"
18. "Trapped In The Drive-Thru"

All of that Al goodness for only $15.98! And I must say, this is quite a smart assortment from across Weird Al's career: both parodies and originals (and there's even the extra gory version of "The Night Santa Went Crazy"!). If you've yet to discover the musical genius of "Weird Al" Yankovic (where the heck have you been?!) then this set is going to be a very good starting-off point. And if you're a longtime fan like me, well you and I are gonna buy this anyway... right?!?

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STAR WARS: THE ESSENTIAL ATLAS an achievement in fantasy cartography

Years ago I bought a copy of The Atlas of Middle-Earth, Karen Wynn Fonstad's classic and exhaustively-researched tome dedicated to the geography of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. More than a decade and a half later it remains one of the favorite pieces of my fantasy/science fiction library. And almost immediately afterward I began thinking that the Star Wars saga needed some cartographic love too.

There have been a number of attempts - both official and fan-driven - over the years to accomplish such a task, and now Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry have produced what is by far the definitive volume of maps from that galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: The Essential Atlas (LucasBooks) is a whopping 256 pages packed with full-color maps, illustrations, diagrams and loads of fluff from the entire thirty-plus decades of Star Wars storytelling. I bought my copy a few days ago and since then I've spent quite a bit of time enjoying the overwhelming sense of place and history that Wallace and Fry have captured and conveyed from George Lucas' beloved space opera. All the eras that have been chronicled so far of Star Wars lore are covered: from the pre-Republic days and the founding of the Jedi Order, to the tumultuous millennia wracked by the Sith, on through the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire... and beyond. I caught a few minor errors in the book, but nothing substantially wrong. But then, I can only imagine that the biggest of Star Wars geeks (like me :-) would have caught them, they're so tiny. Indeed: a work as grand in scope as Star Wars: The Essential Atlas would normally contain many more and even bigger mistakes. As it is, the book stands tall as both a testament to Wallace and Fry's outstanding work, and the spirit of both Star Wars and its devotees in general.

There seems to be a good upswing lately so far as Star Wars literature goes. Star Wars: The Essential Atlas is certainly one of its finest, and well worth investing some coin toward if you're at all a fan of the saga. It definitely should not be missed from your Star Wars bookshelf.

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Les Misérables: Woman steals 12-pack of beer between her legs

What a year for weird crime. Back in February it was a robber armed with a Klingon sword holding up 7-Elevens in Denver. But the story out of Zachary, Louisiana is even more bizarre...

Lisa Newsome (shown in the surveillance camera still on the right) has been arrested for theft. The crime she has confessed to police: stealing a 12-pack case of Miller Lite beer from Crossroads Grocery and attempting to leave the store with it... by carrying the beer between her legs and hidden under her oversized house coat!

If you look carefully at the photo you can clearly see the crate of Miller Lite protruding from... well, under her attire.

Police in Zachary are reporting that Newsome "attempted to show us how she did it, but we told her not to pull her pants down."

I wonder how far she got walking away with that thing?

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New Nigerian scam: "Finance my movie!"

This just landed in my e-mail and it's too hilarious not to share. Those pesky Nigerian scammers are definitely trying a new tactic!

(I've made some edits on the profanity and the phone number at the end, which according to the country code is based in Nigeria.)

RANKLE Jones The Golfer "Film Production"

Dear Sir,
I have a full length tragedy movie script title: RANKLE Jones The Golfer. It is a new idea, full of suspense and thrill. I need a production company and financial investment into this movie production as it will make a block buster.
Jones enjoys golf playing, hoping to be a professional golfer like Tiger Woods. Professional golfers play in golf field, ours play at home. No f***ing son of a b**ch will accept correction. The pride of what is yet to be is a destroyer. Jones: Everyone in life have a dream and aspiration to fulfill, so I am too. My life, my all will go to a sport I love and cherish most. Golf is my dream game, a sport I love. Let’s go golfing.
Rudolf drug life flashes of wealth caught Jones napping as he was convinced to take part in one of the most bloody drug cartel deal.
Shelly is a desire of every men but her stinking lifestyle of prostitution can’t let her settle for a man.
Jones fought Elvis in the night club all because of a fames sex machine Shelly with Rudolf, Alex and others watch with no one allow to separate until someone quit for the other.
There are a lot of happenings at the night club.
Gangsters and Police combat force.
Why is Jeff called the master by Rudolf, Elvis, Jimmy and others?
It is traumatic to live with nutty breed of human, all in the name of family-hood. Traumatic experiences of Ray of hatred, alienation by all his family members, his emotional disgust and good moral negligence on the part of his parent on the family.
His erratic brother Jones gave him a blood bath, living his life-less body after which he was in oblivious state. Ray is cast away and also an object of mimic.
Hilda gave Ray a taste of love life which has been missing for years. I love you mum because you hate me. Cassandra my sister is no different from my mum Vera. Ray’s love life with Hilda left nothing to be admiring as it is an ocean of perfect love for both of them.
Jones finally golfed out daddy’s ''Kenny'' breath, as he was left to his pool of blood. Jones life turns sour of no savvy as he committed suicide. Those that bury mines indiscriminately will one day fall victim to mine explosion.
There are golf scenes, fist fighting, snake scenes, club scenes, sex scenes, drug scenes, Police shoot out, gangster, hovercraft, Apache helicopters and Belgian attack dogs.
The script is over 120 pages.
This production has good advert spaces that will be integrated into the movie without it interfering, as the production is purely commercial. This is a viable promotional vehicle to boost your products and services across the globe considering the much success this movie will achieve.
Thanks for finding time to read through. Only get back to me if you are ready for us to proceed with this viable movie production.
Best Regards.
PRODUCER
Onyema Emmanuel.
+234**********

If this is meant to be parody, it's brilliantly written. And if it's legit well... maybe we should forward it to Hollywood? :-P

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Way wrong Christianity: Pastor prays for Obama's death

Maybe you've heard already about Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. He's the nutcase (I'm choosing my words carefully dear readers) who has made headlines with his public sermon calling for God to smite President Barack Obama with brain cancer "so he can die like Ted Kennedy".

And then Anderson told his congregation this...

"I'm gonna pray that he (Obama) dies and goes to hell when I go to bed tonight. That's what I'm gonna pray."

(By the way, it's now being reported that Anderson has been visited by the Secret Service, parse that as you will.)

I know that Steven Anderson doesn't represent the vast majority of Christians in America. Just as I know that media sensationalism is likely to spin him as something more than what he really is... which in my opinion is just a petty thug who believes God has given him a mandate of hate.

But even so, I will be the first to admit that for too many Christians in this country, there is a very unhealthy and even un-biblical obsession with worldly politics.

Longtime readers of this blog know that I don't think much of what Barack Obama has done as President. And a lot of you know that I hold and still contend that George W. Bush was the worst President in American history (so far anyway).

Have either of these two meant anything to me - either negative or positive - as a follower of Christ? Not in the slightest.

Oh, I'll pray for Obama, just as I did for Bush, and just as I did for Clinton before them. But those prayers aren't significantly more or less than my prayers for anyone else in this country and in this world.

Because for good or ill, the office of President and every other institution of government is part of a world that we may have to live with, but as Christians we aren't meant to be living for. Those of us who follow Christ have been sent out into this realm as ambassadors for His kingdom, not to wage bitter battle for a carnal realm that is consigned to ultimate fire.

And then someone like Steven Anderson comes along, who demonstrates that obsession to the degree that he is willing to pray for Obama's death and damnation as opposed to Obama's salvation.

What does that speak of Christians and the faith we profess to have in God? Honestly, it's like Anderson doesn't have faith that God is capable of anything at all.

I know of too many Christians who rejoiced wrongly when Bush was President, and lament with equal or greater wrath about Obama being in the Oval Office. But in truth, it's not either of these men that have created or destroyed anything that might remain of virtue in America.

That is something that inevitably is the product of her people. And if the Christians of this land are incapable or unwilling to show forth the Christ that calls us to "love one another" and to pray for our enemies, then it is only ourselves as Christians whom God will hold accountable for the condition of this nation.

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World War II began 70 years ago today

Early on the morning of September 1st, 1939, a squadron of Nazi German Luftwaffe attacked the Polish town of Wieluń. More than twelve hundred people were killed. Minutes later a German battleship opened fire on the military depot at Danzig. In the hours that followed dozens of motorized German divisions stormed into Poland along three fronts.

World War II had begun.

Nothing more to say here, other than to remember history... and a prayer that we may be mindful of lessons that are all too often only paid for at the highest of cost.

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Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion

Click on over to ComingSoon.net for the story that I thought had to have been a joke when I first heard about it this morning.

But it's true: Disney is purchasing Marvel Entertainment and everything that comes with it - comics, characters, movies, the whole shebang - for $4 billion in cash and stock transaction.

All that I can think of at the moment is that this will probably become the entertainment industry's equivalent to Ted Turner's Time Warner purchasing of America Online.

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V declares Vendetta for Johnny Robertson!

Look folks: honestly, that isn't MY blog at all! And I have no idea whatsoever who it might be who created it. Heck, lately I haven't had much time to devote to this one, much less start and maintain a new one. Especially one as slick and polished and inspired as what I'm about to show you.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not flat-out stunned at whoever it is out there who has assumed the guise of V and decided to take on Johnny Robertson...

Vendetta For Johnny Robertson popped up out of nowhere this morning and a reader passed it along to me. Yes folks, V - the masked protagonist from V for Vendetta - has arrived on the streets of Martinsville, Danville and Reidsville to take on the cult leader/convicted felon who has been trying to "defeat destroy" in the name of God everyone he hates...

Johnny Roberston a "pastor" residing and terrifying the WGSR viewing area. His supposed Church of Christ in Martinsville Va., the only ones not damned to hell.

Spewing vitriol at his enemies and any and all who disagree; in this vast sea of hate is where we find dear lost Johnny.

Here and now is the victory. A vying of his virtues, our dear lost Johnny.

Judgment shall ran down upon he, and a judgment ruled impartially.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

By the way, whoever this "V" is, he/she/it went to the expense of registering a top-level domain name for the site: head on over to vendettaforjr.com to see more of Vendetta For Johnny Robertson.

"People should not be afraid of Johnny Robertson." Darn right! :-)

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Ancient musical instruments getting resurrected

Scientific Blogging has an intriguing story up about how one group of scientists is working to reproduce musical instruments that had previously been lost to antiquity... along with the the unique sounds that they produced. One such instrument is the barbiton (right), an early type of bass guitar.

Do you long to hear the dulcet sounds of the salpinx, barbiton, aulos or the syrinx? Of course not, because no one has heard them in centuries. Most people have never even heard of them.

But you will soon have the chance to experience musical instruments familiar to ancient civilizations but long since forgotten.

Ancient instruments probably got lost because they were too difficult to build or too difficult to play. The ASTRA (Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) team is tasked with bringing them back to life and already have successfully reconstructed the sound of an earlier instrument called the 'epigonion'.

The team has been so successful at reconstructing these instruments that they plan to have a concert with their own "Lost Sounds Orchestra" later this summer.

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