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garethxxgod's blog
on 09.09.2011
First Post
What up nerds?
A long time ago, when I was a wee one in Northern England, my dad brought home this funny looking video game system. I had no idea what it was, but I'd come to learn not long after that it was an Atari (not sure what generation). I can't really remember what games we had save one, Jungle Hunt. I played the crap out of Jungle Hunt, but unfortunately I stunk at it. I could always master the first boulder level, then the swimming level...but after that the larger boulders and the dancing natives would just be too much for my young mind to comprehend, so off to dad I went. With the controller out of my hand, Dad took to jumping and ducking huge boulders and getting past those natives like it were second nature...oh the natives and their enchanting rhythmic dancing...how they swayed. Either way, dad could master them all. It would be ironic though that my dad of all people would get me into gaming considering he's one of "those" that doesn't see the point in it anymore.
As the years passed by and I jumped from the Atari to the Sega Master System I seemed to need my dad less and less when it came to video games. Sure a little guidance on turning on "Hang-On" here and there, how time my jumps in "Wonderboy" and various other things but by the time the Master System was out, I mostly took to those games myself. You have no idea how much time and sweat I poured into getting to that freakin' spinning wall in Shinobi...no idea! What saddens me though is a good portion of those games I never actually beat (though I did beat Wonderboy) but that was well before it felt more like a goal to get to the end more like the game itself being the experience. It wasn't until the Sega Genesis did I begin to see it that way.
Just a little side step here, I'd like to point out that I never actually owned a Nintendo Entertainment System. Nor did I ever own a Super Nintendo. I think even back then when I was a kid it had alot to do with all the "other kids" having it. I wasn't old enough to think Sega's system was for more mature games (though looking back maybe it was). The next generation between Genesis and the Super Nintendo seemed to highlight this. I remember thinking, screw Nintendo. I'm going with the console that has blood in Mortal Kombat! No seriously, I did think that. Sure Nintendo looked better...but where's the blood?
Don't get me wrong though, Super Nintendo had some good games, but my place of residence was the house Sega built. So while I look back and have a few games that Nintendo have made, like the Super Mario Bros., Legend Of Zelda, Super Mario Kart and Mario 64, I really don't appreciate Nintendo's heavy hitters as much as others do. It was all about Sonic baby, as on Christmas 1991, I opened up a brand new Sega Genesis with Sonic The Hedgehog inside. Man I loved Sonic, even if at the time it was the hardest game ever (is that a testament to me being bad at video games?) I only ever beat the first game once, but I freakin' mastered Sonic The Hedgehog 2 like it wasn't no thing...and it wasn't. Another favourite had to be Comix Zone. That stands as one of the games that had a soundtrack that I totally fell in love with...even if it was just freakin' midi's or whatever the software was. I was also more into sports back then, so you better believe I owned NBA Jam and NBA Hang Time. Infact I remember saving up a couple of weeks pay from my paperboy route just to save up for NBA Hang Time which came to 80 FREAKIN' DOLLARS. Can you believe that? Games were more expensive back then...atleast here they were.
Things kinda changed with the next generation. I think I made a post on here about some of the games that brought me to the PlayStation. You'd think I'd seen the next coming of Christ when I saw the gameplay for "Die Hard Trilogy" and "Twisted Metal". I never did buy Die Hard Trilogy (which I might just do now if I can find a decent copy on eBay) but I certainly got Twisted Metal....a game that literally never left that system, though in alot of ways I think I ended up preferring Twisted Metal 2 for the bigger maps and destructible Eiffel Tower. Besides the Metal Gear Solids, and Resident Evils I fondly remember saying "Woodabugah!" as much as I could whenever Crash Bandicoot would get those magic kabooki masks.
Another change for me personally was the owning of two systems in one generation...seemingly not a big deal, but for a kid with not alot of deniro it was huge to own a N64. I loved me some Mario 64, WCW/nWo Revenge and Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire. Heck I bought the system based on the strength of those games alone...sure you maybe thinking....Revenge...and effing Shadows Of The Empire? But I loved those games. It started a trend with a friend of mine which I may post a blog about later.
I don't want to talk about what games I loved on newer games because most are ripe for discussion and I could probably devote blogs to some newer stuff by themselves. Heck this wasn't even meant to be a serious blog, just talking about games I've enjoyed and what systems I've played through most of the console iterations. Mostly an introduction to some of my gaming experiences. I honestly wish I could remember more but whatever. Hey I'm Gareth, I'm a 28 year old Canadian gamer who happens to post introductions at the end of his blog. Weird no?
on 08.19.2011
Decide What VIDJA GAEM I Play Next! ***RESULTS***
Hey gang, the time has come! Let's see how
you guys
voted on what video game(s) I should play next! Thanks again for contributing this and for giving your opinions. I may just do this again sometime soon since I've enjoyed hearing about what you guys lean towards in DEM VIDJA GAEMS and why so here they are! Let's find out what game I start playing today!
I didn't play much of this at the time when it first came out even though I was kind of hyped to see what the fuss was all about but atleast now from what you're telling me it's a game I really should get to already...and I will! Thanks for lending your votes everybody, they're much appreciated!
Now here's the Main Event, the one you've been waiting for...let's find out what
Single Player
game I should play next...
So that's what you guys thought....but who won?
Let's tally those votes shall we?
Coming in at
2 Votes
we have
Bully: Scolarship Edition!
Entering at Number
3 Votes
we have
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
All Your
4 Votes
Belong To
Half Life 2: Episode 2
In Space, No One can give more than
6 Votes
Dead Space 2
Coming To The Ring from Ninja Theory, Weighing in at
8 Votes
Enslaved: Odyssey To The West
Well it looks like Enslaved it is. I've heard nothing but good things about Enslaved and it's well known story but apparently this game has some great characters and it'll be my first experience with a Ninja Theory game even though I've wanted to play Heavenly Sword forever. I'm literally going to start playing this the minute I finish this up.
So for choosing Enslaved I
Thank You, Community Of Destructoid!
I figure I should write a blog about my experiences with Enslaved so I will. If you haven't already added me on
Xbox Live
, my gamertag is literally the same name that I use here.
. For the lazy. If you see me playing Enslaved and you want to talk about it or even talk games in general I'm always willing to do so! Drop me a line!
SuperMonk4Ever, ChillyBilly, LawOfThermalDynamics
and others are always talking video games and everyone's more than welcome to join in if you see us on!
Again everyone! I thank you for taking the time to vote! Take care!
on 08.18.2011
Decide What VIDJA GAEM I Play Next!
Back through the Omega 4 Relay, Shepard and Crew breathe one big sigh of relief as their final mission comes to a close. The credits roll as Mass Effect 2's epic final theme plays out. I got there without just jumping to the credits (because I love that song) and now sadly my journey with Mass Effect 2 is over. Now I'm left with what to play next and that's where you come in. Yes I did steal this from Dixon. See how that turned out!
While there are titles looming on the horizon I figure I'd take this opportunity to knock another game off my backlog. I'm happy that as of late atleast for full retail releases I've been finishing up quite a few titles. Sure I get distracted here and there by Online Multiplayer but being jobless has only one advantage and that's being able to play video games whenever I feel like it. I never said that was a good thing by the way. So while I have all the time in the world (well not for long, hopefully getting a call any day now) I figure why not let YOU the
Destructoid Community
on what game I play next!
Here's how it's gonna work. I'll let you vote in 2 categories. The
will be the next
Single Player
game I play. This will be the game I actually will put the time forth to complete and won't let lapse. That being said I may omit a few titles due to lack of interest but I'll definitely play whatever it is the Destructoid Community votes on! The
game you can vote on will be
Co-Op or XBLA
games I can play as an alternative. This choice won't necessarily result in me playing it all the time and may be overshadowed by other games (and I will omit a few titles I don't care to play) but either way a vote would be appreciated. Anyways enough blabbering let's get to the voting!
Thanks again for participating guys!
Single Player
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Enslaved: Odyssey To The West
Medal Of Honor
Saints Row
Saints Row 2
Half-Life 2: Episode 2
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay*
Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena*
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (thanks ChillyBilly!)
Alice: Madness Returns
Fable III
Call Of Duty: World At War
Dead Space 2
Call Of Duty 2
* - Previously Played Through On PS3
Co-Op or XBLA
Note: Feel Free If you have these games to join me (if it has it) on some Co-Op! Games are more fun with a friend!
Xbox 360 Gamertag: garethxxgod
Saints Row 2
Fable III
Call Of Duty: World At War
Toy Soldiers: Cold War
Earthworm Jim HD
Lara Croft and the Guardian Of Light
Hard Corps: Uprising
Sam & Max Save The World
Beyond Good & Evil HD
Costume Quest
Wolfenstein 3D
Comic Jumper
P.B. Winterbottom
Castle Crashers
on 07.22.2011
Downloadables: Father-Mother's Secret
It seems like straight up brawlers are a dying breed in the gaming world. It's understandable as technology evolves and the FPS continues to be gaming's most popular genre, the side scrolling beat 'em up of yore seem dated. Hack and Slash titles like
God Of War
and Retro Fighters like
Castle Crashers
are the best examples of the beat 'em up today outside of the ever releasing back catalogue of arcade and console classics. Considering the idea of this 'Bloggers Wanted' was to talk about a downloadable titles for consoles, I wanted to choose a game not a whole lot of people would be talking about as stuff like
Super Meat Boy, Limbo, Fat Princess, Flower
would go quickly and the idea that a game that spoke more to my tastes and possibly not as ventured was appealing to me. Castle Crashers seemed the obvious choice....until I hit the bottom of my Arcade titles and there it was
Zeno Clash
. Gaming's answer to the Beat 'Em Up done with a modern sensibility, as a brawler alone it would be an okay title. Being that Zeno Clash takes care to create it's own lore and let's the player explore this fascinating world amongst it's story makes Zeno Clash a stand out title on the XBLA.
Obviously Zeno Clash isn't the first game to feature a First Person view in a brawler. One of my other favourite games this generation
The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
featured a combination of brawling and gunplay from the first person perspective and Zeno Clash is no different. However where that could have been the end of it, Zeno Clash offers so much more. Developed by
ACE Team
Valve's Source Engine
and released under
on the Xbox Live Arcade the player traverses the cavernous plains, villages, mist filled pathways, long forgotten temples at the edge of the world set below multicolored milky skies making the world of Zeno Clash one of the most unique I've ever encountered. The world of
is not only alive with color, it's alive with
as well. The best way to describe it's world is that it just
Before that though let me explain about what Zeno Clash's story about. In the game you play as
a stoic hunter, strong fighter and member of 'Family' of children from many different races under the watchful eye of their
a lanky hermaphroditic bird like creature that gave them life. Ghat has learned a terrible secret about Father-Mother and in the ensuing conflict kills he/she and flees
, the home of the Family. Accompanied by
, who looks like she's straight out of a cover of Heavy Metal, Ghat recalls to her the events leading up to him killing Father-Mother and escaping Halstedom. During this first tale Ghat relays his time with the
Corwids Of The Free
which not only sets the pace for the story telling but happens to be my favourite part of the game. The Corwids are the insane inhabitants of the forests near Halstedom, known for their single minded nature no matter the detriment to their well being.
a female Corwid, pissed all over herself and starved to death because that was what she had set out to do.
, a large creature wearing a moo moo, huge sandle pads on his feet and a metal helmet with a guiding handlebar protruding from the helmet, must continue to walk in a straight line no matter what gets in his way.
has come to the understanding that as Ghat puts it
"He must pluck the eyes out of all whom he encounters so he can be invisible, but I can still see him"
. It's the attention to detail in creating a living breathing world outside of Ghat's journey that makes Zeno Clash stand out.
As Ghat and Deadra's journey to the end of the world continues they come across a valley with giant Muscalosaurus, a creature not unlike a Brachosaurus where the two come to hunt for food and take rest. Later confronted by a
sent by 'The Family' to kill Ghat he challenges him to a sniper battle, with primitive weaponry standing in for the modern equivalent. Zeno Clash is peppered with fights that involve weapons from crossbows to hammers for the bigger enemies. In between all this Ghat has recalled his journey before his confrontation that killed Father-Mother. As they continue on they reach the end of the world, a dimly lit path covered in deep fog that ends with the pair discovering
a mysterious seemingly all knowing being. Strapped to a chair in the temple they discover he will do more than solve the conflict between the Family and Ghat by the time their journey is done. Braving the lake's filled with crazy
Muscalosaurus Worshippers
which look like a cross between a brown ghillle suited sniper and a
Shy Guy
Super Mario Bros. 2
to fighting on the streets against the
Northern Gate Gang
trying to get back to Halstedom, Ghat chances one more confrontation with his former Family to reach his final goal...to reveal more would be a crime unto itself.
One way ticket to midnight, alright, Heavy Metal
At the end though, Zeno Clash is a brawler and as such if you don't like fighting games you may not enjoy the fundamentals of it's gameplay.
a Corwid of the Free teaches you the basics of combat early on, you can block with the X button, which when using the stick left or right dodges in those directions. Used directly after an attempted blow the game slows down letting the player know that using the Right Trigger directly afterwards will land a devastating blow. Ghat also has a powerful charged punch that compliments his standard jabs which when getting fighters to an unconscious state and be used like wrestling's version of an Axe Handle to smack them to the ground. Ghat can run and elbow his intended victims, grab unconscious enemies for throws, there's enough there to give the player a chance with weaponry, especially with melee and ranged weapons. It's the fighting in Zeno Clash that's the most captivating part of this First Person Brawler. When a game like
Call Of Duty
presents exciting set pieces and action the movement of the character is mostly determined by what is happening around the player as with all FPS the basic action of the player is usually stationary. However considering the nature of this title and it's presentation, Zeno Clash lends itself to really putting the player into the fight. You feel every blow, the camera moves with every swing and jab of your fists, lowering the angle of the camera as Ghat grabs a dazed opponent, slams their face into his knee and then powerfully thrusts his knee upward sending the fighter flying the camera catching every hectic moment of combat.
While I love what other games do for their genre, looking back on the games I've picked up as either the latest fad that came and went or something that atleast reflected a game more suited to the downloadable market,
Zeno Clash
always stuck with me as a game of quality, something that could be appreciated outside of the basic brawler fare but was still fun enough from a gameplay perspective to actually feel like a steal for the amount of quality the title exudes. It's definitely not the longest game out there, warranting it's downloadable status, the fact that out of all the titles I own on the XBLA it actually feels like a game that should have gotten a full retail release. If the sound of an imaginative brawler appeals to you I highly recommend checking out the trial on Xbox Live Arcade.
on 07.15.2011
Introducing Retro Fight Nights - Coming Soon!
From the company I keep here on Destructoid and beyond, gaming feels somewhat like a disposable hobby. Of course I know I'm not exactly exempt from this mentality but it seems pretty prevalent between the gaming community to, and allow me to quote a
Foo Fighters
song here, be
"done, done, I'm onto the next one, done, I'm done and I'm onto the next"
. It's totally understandable, gaming is at a point where there are a ton of exciting and fun new titles coming to home console and PC. It really is ridiculous how good we have it as members of the gaming community. However have you ever wanted to revisit your favourite games of yesterday? Ever been upset to see that on the FNF it's always the latest iteration and not the "best" iteration of your favourite gaming series? That's where Retro Fight Nights comes in. Inspired by this front page post where a few people commented they had the game but never tried it's online, Retro Fight Nights are dedicated to the long forgotten, the ill concieved, or the classics we'd love to revisit with a few friends.
The Idea
For now the basic idea goes like this. I realize not everyone has the time to play video games alot, so the idea would be to try and plan something ahead of time for the month. Unless this becomes a wildly successful spin off event of the FNF, the Retro Fight Night or RFN would probably only happen once a month so planning a night both here and on the Forums would happen in advance to cater to as many people who are interested and can be available for the night. The RFN doesn't even have to stick to a static night but maybe it'll be best for those interested if it was, either way this will be where user feedback comes into play. So basically we choose a night and then choose times and games.
The Games, Rules & All
The only caveat I have for this is that the games themselves cannot being from THIS YEAR or any current year that may follow. So simply yes you can play a game from 2010 should you feel so inclined if it's a RFN from this year. Then next year 2011 opens up and so on depending on if this is something that will continue. Also again, since the idea is to discover the classics or hidden gems, you can't really choose games that are already heavily on the FNF rotation. For example
Call Of Duty: Black Ops
is a no, but
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
is a go.
Halo: Reach
I say nay but
Halo 3
might be okay. Okay give me one more.
Team Fortress 2
on PC really? How about
Team Fortress 2
on consoles seals the dealie...oh...I'm never doing that again. (ironically 2 people have already suggested Team Fortress 2 on consoles for RFN). Also one more thing, if it's a re-release of a game that came out years ago coming out
year that's okay for the RFN too! We want to offer as much options as possible so long as it's not current.
Open To All Platforms & Games
Retro Fight Night is open to ALL platforms. PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii. I also encourage European section of Dtoid to join in....hell if Europe wants to make their own EURFN I'd be flattered at them taking my totally unoriginal idea and running with it. So again, platform doesn't matter since it's a single night it would be lumped into one post. I think my one major concern is is that if you can't have a shared experience with the game it might be difficult. I haven't decided whether Skype/Xbox Live Parties on Retro single player games is something to list as a hosting thing on here but again, feedback is appreciated on that end. Besides Dtoid already has stuff like Nostaljourney for a discussion based around nostalgic games, we're here to play them! Oh any game genre applies. Want to play some 2 player Contra? How about Street Fighter II? an old Warcraft 3? We don't discriminate, so long as you can share that experience with other Dtoiders.
The Night In Question...Your Feedback Welcome!
Now it's really up to you. What would be a good night for a round of Nostalgia based fun? Originally my thought was the weekend but the FNF already covers what's mostly accepted as a "yay! It's finally the weekend! I can play games!" night but alot of people usually end up wanting to do other things the rest of the weekend. So would a middle of the week night work better for everyone one? Would one consistent night during the month work better or a night that changes based on availability of the majority interested? Or was a weekend a better idea? Do you have a suggest for a night? What games do you want to play? Is this a bad idea? Do we have enough nights for playing video games? This will only be successful should we get a lot of people interested so do throw in some ideas and let's see what we can come up with.
[Note: All future RFN will be discussed and organized in the forums...mostly. Perhaps I'll try and generate interest here but I figure it'd be better if it reflected the efficiency of the FNF. Keep in mind also this is something independant of the FNF. So while they have their system set up, most of this will be done by me. Good thing it's only once a month eh?]
Thanks for your attention guys! Let me know what you think so we can either scrap the whole thing or begin setting up a night!
[Note 2: My banner skills suck. If someone wants to make something better, I won't hold you back]
on 07.12.2011
F.3.A.R. - The Evolution Of The F.E.A.R. Series
The F.E.A.R. series has always been a polarizing one for me. My initial experience buying the
games a year ago had me quickly dismissing the titles based upon the fact that if there was
a horror element it was severly lacking. The fact that the first game's world was
populated with soldiers and mechs was the furthest thing from horror in my mind. The only
apparent scares being a little girl that would randomly appear during the game. To this day
I still think FEAR isn't quite competant as a horror title based on the gameplay presented
but it's the atmosphere that drives it. So why then was my first full game experience with a
FEAR title the latest game?
As the game released out of curiousity like I always do, I asked my good friends
their impressions of the game. They of course really enjoyed the game but
I remember Monk relaying to me how it put alot of focus on co-op and that it's campaign
could be played with a buddy both online or splitscreen. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a sucker for
any game that allows me to do this because I love the shared experience outside of standard
FEAR 3 or F.3.A.R. (don't worry I'm never doing that again) is the 3rd game in the F.E.A.R.
series. It is the story of the two brothers The Point Man and Paxton Fettel both the
Protagonist and Antagonist of the first FEAR game. The game is set off by the escape attempt
of The Point Man with the help of his ghostly brother who appears quite corporeal to the
Point Man during cutscenes and enemies during gameplay. Through they're journey they set out
to reach their mother Alma and rediscover their childhood origins. At the end of the day it
was FEAR 3's dynamic of two brothers, one a notable baddy now set to help is brother that
prompted me to check out the older FEAR titles and to see the evolution of how we got to
where we are now in FEAR 3. It's also the game's greatest strength.
FEAR 3 is a really fun game and it's made so by the co-operative gameplay of the brothers.
Admittedly this is mostly due to the more "helpful" nature of Fettel, arguably the reason
you should check out this title. It's true The Point Man really doesn't have the strongest
arsenal at his disposal left mostly with Slo Mo reflexes, a slide and jump kicks and obvious
advantage of guns. On the other hand Fettel can suspend enemies, possess their bodies with
all the benefits that come along with that, shoot psychic blasts. His suspension power can
also be used as a shield on the Point Man much like The Medic uses the medical beam on a
Heavy in TF2. To be fair while he is definitely the more compelling, there are alot of
situations in the game where he's the weaker of the two. When Fettel possesses a body he
must maintain it by collecting blood orbs and sections sometimes become impossible in his
ghostly form. To that end though the game shows it'sfull strength when played in a co-op
environment, as one player as Fettel suspends a soldier for The Point Man to shoot. The
game also offers up in game challenges for both brothers which end up determining which
of the two brothers is "Alma's Favourite Son" and affecting the games outcome.
I think one big critism of FEAR 3 by it's detractors is that it doesn't "feel" like a FEAR
game and now having played significantly through the first FEAR anyways I can somewhat see
why there might be concern. The original FEAR seems to predicate itself on "atmosphere" with
lights flickering on and off while always seeing something out of the corner of your eye.
Yes, FEAR 3 doesn't have the same care toward being spooky in this regard, it does have the
attempted jump scares and Alma being scattered amongst the environment but you're no longer
skulking through dark corridors. Instead it's become more traditional horror. For the FEAR
series I may be one of the few that actually feels it works better. FEAR 3 environments
which admittedly are more about the look are appealing to an aesthetic, that the environment
itself is fucked up rather than shadows that are lurking. Heck it still has that to a smaller
extent but it's still creepy for a different reason. Of course though and it's totally true
you are going to lose some of that now that you're playing with a friend but I think when
most of your time is spent shooting soldiers it's not a bad thing to try and ramp up the
horror rather than totally rely solely on setting that atmosphere solely for scares when
again you have to look at what your doing gameplay wise. I think honestly FEAR 3 is alot
truer to it's attempting to be than the first in that regard but hey that's me.
I'd honestly say that I'd agree with Jim's assessment of FEAR 3. I might have given it a
point more because while I've had trouble getting into Multiplayer I have been able to get
into it. I've also been stuck on the forever loading "Joining Match" loading screen. I'll
just throw out a warning now. Never use the "Quick Match" function in FEAR 3, lest you
desire having to reboot your system. The actual Multiplayer itself has both some really
interesting and really standard modes in it. Contractions which can be fun no doubt, is
essentially the games "Horde Mode". It's good and fun with friends but definitely not the
stand out reason to try Multiplayer. Soul Survivor is another "alright concept". It's a
basic survival mode where when played with others one player is designated a wraith that can
possess bodies while everyone else is human. The wraith must possess these players to bring
them to their side with which they then get to hunt down the other players.
Soul King however is pretty interesting. You and 3 other players wraiths and must possess
bodies and then kill as many NPC's as they can to become Soul King (the most souls possessed)
with other players able to interact with one another and take each other out to collect all
their souls (like Skulls in Halo). However has the most souls at the end of the round wins.
F**king Run is probably my favourite mode. Your tasked with always moving forward as a giant
tornado aka Wall Of Death stalks you on your path as you and 3 other friends kill enemies
infront of you to move forward and always keep one step ahead of your impending doom. It's
a shame that there is no standard Deathmatch mode but I can't knock if for trying something
else. It only has up to 4 players on each mode with you also being able to play each mode
Solo or 2 player Splitscreen which honestly is a nice change considering alot of Multiplayer
modes are accessible only online.
In the end FEAR 3 is a fine game, some would say criminally short (4 to 5 hours) but for me
anyways offers up reasons to replay it based on characters like Fettel and the said shared
experience of it's campaign. Some might want to wait on it down the road but I do think it's
a game you should definitely check out. It's a fun horror game that puts emphasis on playing
with friends, what's so wrong with that?
on 06.03.2011
360 FNF: Bringing Back Some Class...On My Xbox LIVE!
Gareth here, it's been a while since I posted one of these so it's nice to be back in the big comfy chair. Remarkably the place looks the same....damn it who left that coffee laying there! Why is this seat so wobbly now? This floor is sticky! Damn it Sephiroth...if that IS your real name. It takes a certain type of class to do the Dtoid FNF, not incoherent Macho Mans and WWE ramblings....a certain type of class I'm bringing back right now.
I've felt for a while now that we here on the Destructoid Friday Night Fights have needed a rallying cry, a theme song if you will to let us know that it is indeed that time again and what better way to let people know than we be playing video games than by tellin' em it's "okay though, you'll play Halo" or that you'll "play Black Ops, on your Xbox Live". Set to the tune of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" I give you
Mr. Punch
. Your lives will be changed forever and maybe just maybe with the help of the book of love you'll be able to fix your broken wings.
Every Friday, a few Destructoid readers host Xbox 360 games online and you're welcome to join. If you're new to the whole thing, here's how it works: First, things are planned in the
. Just look for the 360 FNF post with the coming Friday's date and you'll find a rough schedule for that week. Sometime on Friday, a post will go up in the cblogs. If you want to get into things, leave your Xbox Live Gamertag in the forums and/or cblog comments and let us know where you'll be participating
8:00pm EDT - Left 4 Dead 2
Yo Dawg Maria. If you got that zombie killin' itch why not join me for an endless bloodbath of undead dismemberment...Left 4 Dead...it gets gory!
: garethxxgod (GT:
8:00pm EDT - You Don't Know Jack
Caiters is betting that you Don't Know Jack, but I believe in you because even if you don't, you probably know a John, Jacques or Jacob
: Caiters (GT:
Six Is A Robot
9:00pm EDT - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Forum Admin, Comic Book Guru and Ken Foree enthusiast Mxyzptlk is betting you can't stab him before he can stab you in some AssCreedBroHo. Just watch out for the Poison...ohhh the Poison!
: Mxyzptlk (GT:
9:00pm EDT - Halo: Reach
Feeling down and out? Oatmeal Ninja has you covered with some Reach. Remember it IS okay though...we'll play HALO.
: xOatmealNinjaxX (GT:
10:00pm EDT - King Of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
King Of Fighters? What is this, 2002? SEE WHAT I DID THERE? Epic wants to fight you. Will you accept the challenge? Do you even have KOF2002?
: Epic-KxDtoid (GT:
Epic KxLIVE
11:00pm EDT - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Black Ops
We Shoot People....In The Face. Then there's a tinglling sensation...down there. Come play Black Ops on my Xbox Live!
: garethxxgod (GT:
And as you finish reading let the soothing words of Mister Mister carry you home...to fix those broke ass wings.
on 04.14.2011
Aaamaazing: Stars, Shadows, Wars & Nintendo
For most people Nintendo's defining moments came in 1985 when
Super Mario Bros.
arrived and changed the landscape for video games forever. During that time, my cousins, friends and almost everyone I knew would have a Nintendo Entertainment System or later a Super Nintendo to call their own. Everyone except this guy. Even back then I was a rebel, a staunch Sega supporter. Really though back then, it wasn't because I hated Nintendo because I did have fun with it, I just was drawn to other games like
Shinobi, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Wonderboy, Alex Kidd & Miracle World
and not to forget multiconsole stuff like
Double Dragon
which at one point had it been only on a Nintendo console might have swayed me to Nintendo's side. However it wasn't meant to be and ironically I'd miss out on the beginnings of a great partnership that would last through several console iterations. That partnership you ask?
Nintendo & Star Wars
. A winning combination that would lead to some of the best Star Wars games ever put to a video game console. However I'm here to talk about the one that would change my perception not only action/adventure games but Star Wars games in general. It's one of my favourite games of all time and it's name is
Shadows Of The Empire
In September of 1996, Nintendo had finally released the
Nintendo 64
console, which to most Nintendo fans had taken a brutally long time to hit stores having been teased about it's existence for almost a year. Now it was finally here, in homes dazzling fans of the next generation of gaming with it's superior graphical power, making it's new competitor the
Sony PlayStation
look downright bad in comparison when only a year ago we'd all 'oohh'ed' and 'ahhh'ed' over it's leap over the last generation of gaming. So it was with this generation's latest consoles that I ventured into the beginnings of my High School years and would make new friends. Two friend's in particular stood out as my best at the time, both would ironically represent either side of the arguement. One friend, Lukas who represented Sony at the time, would invite us over for games of
on his brand spanking new Sony PlayStation with which sterilization was key to enjoyment as before sitting down on his proper bed in his neat and clean home would make guests clean their hands before taking to the ice. This coupled with games like
Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Twisted Metal
Die Hard Trilogy
had me sold on Sony's machine pretty early on. However there was another side to the story and that would come from my friend Richard (if you've played with us on Xbox Live he's "Delta Rico 9er") who championed the Nintendo 64 in all it's glory. Originally it was
Mario 64, International Superstar Soccer 64, Goldeneye 6
4 and the like that he touted as the reasons to own a N64, but it wasn't until around the time that I started to see advertisements for the new Star Wars game that I became interested in what the N64 had to offer.
In 1996 coincidentally LucasArts were creating a multimedia project surrounding the Expanded Universe novel"Shadows Of The Empire" by Steve Perry. The multimedia project included an actual score composed for the book by Joel McNeely, an action figure line featuring the mainstays of the cast plus the new characters and a video game for the Nintendo 64 console. But what was the game based upon? The novel told of the events that took place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi as our familiar cast in Luke, Leia, Chewie & Lando searched out for information on Boba Fett, the bounty hunter tasked with the delivery of Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, to Jabba The Hutt. During the course of the book they meet some new players in the Star Wars Universe that were meant to disappear after their appearance considering the obvious reasons that they were not in the Original Trilogy. One such character was Dash Rendar a smuggler like Han Solo but more in line with how Han was at the beginning of 'Star Wars' a scoundrel to the end. Another Prince Xizor, a Coruscant gangster acted as the new antagonist for the story in which a power struggle between him and Vader for The Emperor's favour took place.
So with that basic premise a game was made, with the player taking control of
Dash Rendar
. Shadows looked amazing, like nothing else out on the market at the time. Most amazing of course was the greater detail in 3-D. Even though for a long time now we'd seen some great visual treatments for Star Wars stuff on the PC in the guise of
Tie Fighter
but now we were getting fully rendered 3-D graphics of places I'd only dream about playing. Unlike most other Star Wars games which would opt for more top down viewpoints we saw Dash from behind in those 3-D environments, we saw them stretch out for miles as he begun his journey.
The summer months of '98 seemed to melt away as I became more and more engrossed with Shadows It had in my mind become a must buy if I were to ever get a Nintendo 64. I have fond memories of being in that sweat box of a room that Richard had, mastering the game. Playing on different difficulties to see the "true ending". Scouring the sewers of Xizor's palace, trying to avoid as best I could the Dianoga's in lieu of the big boss fight at the end. Having it out with IG-88 in the scrapyard's of Ord Mantell, fighting off a Swoop Gang hell bent on reaching and assassinating Luke Skywaler, traversing the one of the cliffs on foot and via jetpack in the jagged mountainscapes of Gall Spaceport, one of my favourite and one of the longest level's I've ever played in a video game. Going back and locating each and every Challenge Point, even the one that was hidden behind a wall...you know who you are! Parts of Joel McNeely's score for the book were featured in game as well. I remember playing the final level of the game, piloting Dash's Outrider in a giant space battle as ships whizzed by to McNeely's score, which for me made the game even more special as certain game levels had music written specifically for the multimedia project itself...a rare thing for Star Wars as they usually recycle the movie music. By extension it made the game even more epic and once I bought my own N64 based upon my love of the game alone, I'd sit there playing the CD as I traversed through Dash's adventure time and time again. For others maybe the standout game was Rogue Squadron but for me anyways, Shadow's is a classic that blew me away at a time where both the graphical power of consoles and the best stories for the Star Wars Universe were yet to be told or seen.
The beginning of this video features music composed for Shadows specifically by Joel McNeely, later though we find out what happened to Dash Rendar. Watch if ye doesn't mind spoilers
Originally I was going to write about my experiences with later consoles but thinking about it nothing quite affected me like the first time I played Shadows. However I will give note to Star Wars and Nintendo's continuing partnership in the following generation. During the Gamecube's heyday, I wanted the system for
Rebel Strike: Rogue Squadron III
because not only did it feature flying and ground combat but several of the levels featured events from the films. I can't tell you how ecstatic I was once I got to play as Han Solo pretending to be a Stormtrooper heading to cellblock 1138 to rescue Princess Leia, flying around and taking AT-AT's on the ground at the Battle Of Hoth as Luke Skywalker to the infamous skiff battle at the beginning Return Of The Jedi and zipping around the forest moon of Endor on swoop bikes. Rebel Strike not only looking amazing, as it literally was the best looking game on the Cube in my opinion. It also had alot of replay value based upon the whole medal system which meant improving performance to unlock levels as well as Rogue Squadron II in it's entirety as a Co-Op experience. It's almost bittersweet though, considering it was the ending of a partnership that had been strong since the SNES days of Super Star Wars and it's sequels. Now the focus has shifted from putting out quality titles on Nintendo but to bring the experience to a wider audience in the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. Sadly Star Wars titles haven't been nearly as quality as those but atleast we'll always have our fond memories to look back on.
on 03.16.2011
Dtoid's 5 Year Anniversary/Game Ramblings
So I guess today is
Destructoid's 5 Year Anniversary
and birthday to one
. Funny how that worked out eh? I can't fully remember what brought me to this site, though I know it was
Jim Sterling
that got my attention with his
How [PROTOTYPE] Is Blatantly Better Than inFAMOUS
article which was linked from whatever I was reading on Destructoid at the time. However it was the Community, a group of friends with a common interest in gaming that kept me here. I don't know if it was Niero's intention to form such a solid community of cool people who have a passion for video games but the fact that in that respect the site succeeded is probably it's biggest triumph. So thank you Destructoid, for being awesome and for providing a great place to get video game news! Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed by the community!
Also, yesterday marked the year anniversary of when I started blogging here. I think I jumped on the site sometime in February but I didn't start blogging here until March 15th, an interesting happenstance considering it only became known to me today that it almost coincides with Dtoid's birth but this is one of those...
moments! So
fucking yay!
Thanks to everyone I've met from Destructoid and game with. I can say my Xbox experience wouldn't be nearly as awesome as it's been had I not been on this site. I think back to the dark days of playing on my PS3 and building gaming communities around the games themselves. It was such a crap shoot. So thanks guys for existing and being awesome and putting up with my opinionated ass! Much Clown Luv (I know
is a huge fan, right?)
Just figured at this point I'd talk about games I'm playing, thoughts on them. I'll try and keep it brief.
Shadow Complex
I didn't much care for Shadow Complex when I first got my Xbox 360. It was literally right after I got the thing that I downloaded the demo and I do believe I was still in the midst of shaking off my PS3 haterade that I kinda dismissed the title. For one reason or another, I recently picked it up on a whim and I've actually really been enjoying it. Metroidvania, Castletroid? Whatever, it's actually been some pretty fun side scrolling, platforming action game. I actually like the grappling moves where I can take a guy and layeth the smackdown on his candy ass, making my way through a complex, even Liquid Snake would be envious to invade. Besides, it stars
Nathan Drake
Developed by Raven Software, this is one of those
"middle of the road" games
Jim Sterling was talking about. Having played the first 5 minutes of Bioshock (and watching Marcus play it) I immediately got the feeling like it was like that game, taking place in a dank and aged buildings and subterranean areas but in reality the games really aren't all that similar really....atleast I don't think. Bioshock is next on the docket. Singularity deals with the all too familiar "silent protagonist" in Renko, a foot soldier sent to investigate disturbances around the island of Katorga-12. In the process he's eventually given equipment that can manipulate time, such as the ability to turn soldiers into dust, create time slowing energy bubbles and de and reconstruct objects. It's pretty fun if you're into the idea of being able to manipulate time (within the boundaries of the game of course). Plus you jump between November 1955 and October 2010 and severely change the timeline....November 1955....you sly dogs you....
I recommend Singularity if you can find it for cheap. As much as it's the devil, Activision still puts out some fun original IP's every now and again.
Call Of Duty: MW1, MW2
I think really I became a COD fan at the right time. I know Activision probably loves me (and my money) right now but I have a couple of solid older titles in the series to go back and relive. Since I've only really been a fan since November of last year I can go back and play Modern Warfare 2, untouched by the jaded feeling of repetition. Believe me, I understand that at some point I'll bore of Call Of Duty I'm sure. Atleast bore of the games I have now, however half the fun is discovering all the different locations on the maps. It's kind of ridiculous how many maps MW2 has. Out of the box you get 16, with both map packs it's another 10 maps. That's a total of 26 maps. I also must admit right here, I was that guy that called my friend a tool for buying The Stimulus Package. Difference is, he bought it when there was actually a playlist for it. I ate my words when I bought it the other week to hardly get into a couple of them because assholes always vote to skip DLC maps. I could rattle on about
noob tubers, the bullshit overpowered shotguns and knives
(it's even a Perk!) but I'm sure all of you got your complaining done back in 2009.
However I will say what I love about Call Of Duty. It's not the soldiers or that it's war it's the competitiveness of the Multiplayer. The gun on gun battles, unless you play objective battles there's no splitting your focus, it's more about relying on staying sharp witted and knowing your environment, I swear Call Of Duty has done more for my awareness in video games than any other game I've played before. I just really love lining up a shot and distance shooting an enemy who thought he found the perfect cover to pick off targets. As much as
loves it for it's faster pace which it does have, I really love the protraction of a COD TDM, finding where your enemy or where his most likely path is and hoping you're good enough to take him out, and even when it's not always needed it's still fun to coordinate on enemy locations with my pal
Then there's the days where Call Of Duty is the most unbalanced
piece of shit
Multiplayer games series in history. Take your pick, neither is really "wrong". Though shout out to
Modern Warfare 1
for it's lack of Noob Tubers! We should play sometime soon
No I don't plan using the brackets and the capitals everytime but for whatever reason I've gotten sucked back into Prototype. There's just something about this game that I love. I think it's the fact that Alex Mercer is some kind of typhoon of destruction and death. I guess it's almost the same feeling you get from Raven's Wolverine game, in which Wolverine feels like a complete bad ass. Now amplify that bad ass feeling x10 and you get Alex Mercer. He's a shapeshifter, able to create solid weapons upon his body to wreak havoc upon his targets. Boulders, Claws, Blades...he's unstoppable and what makes him even more unstoppable is the fact that he can "consume" enemies into himself for healing purposes and chameleon their appearance takes this already fun as hell game to another level. He can leap literally over buildings, glide and run at the rate of a locomotive nevermind the fact that with his own powers he can consume army personnel to obtain the ability to utilize and eventually commandeer the army's ground and sky vehicles. In all honesty I wish Alex Mercer was actually a comic book character, not some side character to police detectives. He's a little cut and dry personality wise but the powers man...the powers....if you haven't played Prototype, you should! Plus the extra Gamerscore for playing it again on Xbox 360 (first beat it on PS3) doesn't hurt.
I still don't think Bullestorm is totally my cup of tea. While I can admit there's definitely a sense of accomplishment in beating a score, for me I prefer it when I just do well when it comes to the kills themselves. As some of you know, the frustration of the main mechanic itself really doesn't totally appeal to me. Is it also bad that, some of the tools at my disposal feel utterly useless? Or is it me that's useless with them? Maybe I just suck at it. Then environmental and special kills (Bullet Slide) while cool and interesting and varied the first time around, become repetitive. Then again that's more of a complaint for Anarchy Mode rather than Story/Echoes mode. I think it's great that I'm able to play with 3 other people but unfortunately I'm not the biggest fan of Anarchy Mode because the whole point of the game is to get the most over the top kills and while it's fun to work together, the point of the game seems more advantageous to a singular pursuit, rather than setting up a kill for yourself only for your buddy to whip them out of your path.
I know
is fucking banana boners for this game, and while I probably disagree that this game is the be all and end all I'm sure I'll still find much to enjoy about it be it the Campaign or doing something satisfying in Echoes. Heck I already love Gray and Ishi's we're-friends-but-now-you're-part-robot dynamic, and Trishka's nonsensical dick ramblings are a highlight! It's stupid fun, I sometimes like to hate it and then I hate to like it, but when it works it works.
That's pretty much it, time to format, add pictures and then make a vital decision on whether to continue on in Prototype (there are annoying times ahead) or finally start Bioshock. Decisions! Happy 5 years Destructoid! Thanks for reading guys, I hope I didn't ramble on too much.
on 02.17.2011
Supposedly Bad Sequels: Kane & Lynch 2
[Note: This is one of them there fancy smancy "opinion" pieces. Hence it's my opinion and thus in no way a definitive authority on the subject matter. It's also a look at sequels that I feel ultimately outdo their predecessor and more so it's a basic look at sequels that get the shaft either by namesake or franchise connection. Basically an attempt to get people to give a game a "second look" if anything]
This should be fun. I gotta say I appreciate that Jim Sterling has his own opinion on things and I usually see eye to eye with the fellow. I gotta say that while Jim sees the existence of this game as the downfall of gaming or at very least the rabid sequelitis I honestly loved it. I loved
Kane & Lynch 2
a HELL of a lot more than the first game. Infact truly,
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
is fucking dog shit compared to Kane & Lynch 2.
I initially bought Kane & Lynch: Dead Men for a whopping 10 bucks around the time Kane & Lynch 2 was released. The subject matter intrigued me enough to want to check it out. Theieves, Criminals traversing the underbelly of society. Seemed like it had a solid enough premise even if I'd heard less than stellar reviews about it. I'd initially thought the Kane & Lynch 2 demo looked nice but seemed hard as hell. Little did I realize.
Admittedly though I could see why playing these games out of order might have seen me come to a different conclusion but for some reason I did what I normally do when I buy a new game. I play a little bit into it to give it a try with the intention of going back to it at a later date and starting a new game. Except with Kane & Lynch 2 it got it's meat hooks into me. I was really enjoying the visual style and even though initially the gameplay was frustrating, I found Kane & Lynch 2 had a learning curve as small as it may have been but once I understood it or atleast understood their limits the game became abit easier.
Is the game short? Sure, most say it can be knocked off in around 4 hours. Does it look into the backgrounds of Kane & Lynch like the first does? Not really. Kane & Lynch 2 is a 4 hour campaign that ends abruptly but it has a few thing it's predecessor doesn't have. Style and Playability.
The game follows Kane & Lynch through some turbulent times in Shanghai and the whole event is presented in a "hand held digital camcorder" style which means the only thing missing is the "REC" and tape time indicator.You get glare from lights and even those digital paneling like you'd get from someone streaming media over the net. It's an interesting visual style that in my honest opinion works for the story which takes two men through hell and back as they fight their way through a country that is not their own. Also during cutscenes, there are jump cuts and angle shots presented from a single point of view which gives it that low budget documentary feel, giving the player not only a feeling of being apart of it but experiencing it live as it happens.
One example of Kane & Lynch 2's superiority to the first in terms of presentation takes place during the section you play in the demo. Just those few instances where we see Kane smoking a cigarillio, which jump cuts to his hand over his head with fatigue tells the story of two weary individuals, caught up in the only lifestyle they know and are good at, tells a more compelling story visually than ANY of the flashback and scene dialogue in the first game. Infact Dead Men's presentation of story is pretty dull, with being downed providing snippets of Kane and Lynch's past and one scene where Lynch loosing his cool before it never really being mentioned again, that and some talk between game sections is all you get. Atleast Kane & Lynch 2 is trying for something different this time around and it's fair to say that if you don't want your games presented with an attempt at gritty realism or movie type qualities you won't enjoy what Kane & Lynch 2 has to offer visually.
Now then there's playability. Kane & Lynch 2 does suffer from the same misgivings of the first game in that enemies are many, spread around various cover. Like any good game that offers up a co-operative function like Splitscreen or online co-op the use of flanking or picking targets helps plus this time as apposed to Dead Men when your partner goes down and starts going towards the light (literally the dying player's half of the screen went white in the first game) the second player's screen doesn't go pitch black thus making getting to the downed player a trial in and of itself.
I'm still amazed that Stevil did it by himself.
You get downed in Kane & Lynch 2 you can easily get back up without aide and the environments are easier for seeing and picking off targets. Locking on, throwing objects and just overall the functionality is vastly improved from the first which when the screen wasn't bleeding out in Co-Op saw you struggle to take out hidden targets.
And to that end let me quote Cliffy B, a quote I've beaten to death but is totally appropriate here when comparing the two games. "a game can have a bad story as long as it plays well. A game with a great story but bad gameplay is still a bad game." Too true Cliffy.
Conclusion: I'd say if you can get it for a cheap price it's worth checking out. I bought my copy for 20 dollars and I was more than satisfied with it. I don't believe it's as bad as Jim says it is and it's certainly a ton more playable and fun than the first game which was a mess. Besides if this doesn't convince you I don't know what will!
on 02.03.2011
Call Of Duty: First Strike Contest Winners!
Well guys, I figured there would be no point in holding off one more day and decided to announce the contest winners! But first let me say this because like any good contest thrower guy I have to pad this baby out! But before you do, check my previous blog. I only threw it up yesterday and it's a
love fest in tribute to Occams
, so if you missed it head there now!
I asked you what your favourite Gun and Perk was so let me answer my own question. All this stuff is in reference to Call Of Duty Black Ops since it's my first Call Of Duty and the one I play the most. So my favourite perk is "Ghost" because it keeps me off the radar. Combine that with a silencer on any of my guns and I'm almost virtually undetectable on the map. Getting the drop on my enemies is a huge advantage.
My guns however rotate between 3 different "favourites". They're all basically set for 3 types of gameplay. The AK74u is made more for my "run and gun" style and with a Grip and Rapid Fire it's one of the more powerful and versatile guns in the game. My "middle of the road" gun is the Famas w/ Red Dot Sight, which if you know how to use it, is great for face to face showdowns and distance shooting. Then for the bigger maps unless it's just not working out for me I roll with the AUG w/ Reflex sight. The AUG is really good for distance shooting so long as you remember to shoot in bursts...something that due to the frenetic pace of Call Of Duty I sometimes forget.
Okay Okay enough stalling...and the contest winners are....
Funktastic! Dag Yo!
Nyktharas! Hell Yeah!
Log into your Destructoid account and check your inboxes. I've sent the codes there!
Congrats guys and enjoy the points! Thanks to all those who entered and props to
for almost winning with his answer alone...like both cards almost kind of winning...like "oh you" kind of winning...
Also apparently I need to send a friend request to Funktastic and Wrenchfarm so that's coming soon! Take care everyone!
on 02.02.2011
Occam's Package! (Picture Heavy, one is NSFW)
A while back whilst sitting in a session of whatever the hell it was we were playing at the time,
Occams Electric Tooth Brush
casually announced he'd be sending out some packages to some of us fine folks here at the Destructoid. As you all know, Occams is quite the character here on the Destructoid blogs and thus the ideas began flowing on what he'd be sending out. Would I finally get a physical copy of the decoder ring he gave me so long ago, or would what he'd sent amount to more than mere Decoder Rings or more Decoder Rings. Read on to find out and
....this blog is
. I'm sorry but Occam's Package couldn't be contained to like a few pictures.
All the way from some place called LA. Where's LA? Why Los Angeles of course, no wait...there are two LA's? Oh one's a state the others a city. Well atleast we can all agree that the band "The La's" have nothing to do with this package. Bad joke is bad...
Look at this haul, where do I BEGIN? Trading Cards? You're speaking my language Hug 'O Bear..err Occams! Zombie related materials? Could a 13 year old Indian boy ask for anything more? Check this out.
At night when I sleep, two Zombie action figures from the hit Resident Evil 2 Toy Biz line watch over both my Beatles records AND The Starship Enterprise!
Sadly, on a night like any other, the Zombies were enticed away by the promise of brains only for one of my cats to enter my domain without permission and destroy said Enterprise standee. The Zombies were put on suspension where Zombie Cop pulled rank on the Scientist and got him busted down to Sargeant so fast his head spun.....FOR DAYS.
The good news, that awesome Imperial Party Pin (or IPP for those who hate remembering things) has an honored spot on my latest awesome hoody or LAP...which really is just my new striped hoodie. Either way I need more pins. The BAD news however is that I don't own anything awesome enough to ever perminantly behold the presence of this Harvey Dent sticker.
Yes, I quite literally am Gangsta Tim Curry.
I once bought a box of those Marvel Cards in bulk but I thought the asking price was too high, either way these cards are amazing. I hadn't become aware of the Dinosaur Attacks! cards until a few years ago. Whether he threw them in for fun or just knew I absolutely love Non-Sports Trading Cards. By the way I'm pretty sure that's John Landis on the right in that "Comics Con Catastrophe!" card.
Predator! I won't lie, I absolutely pooped in my pants the moment I saw that Predator 2 mini poster, which details the weaponry used by The Predator. I also am not going to lie and upon skimming through Wolverine Revolver before reading thoroughly I honestly thought he was playing Russian Roulette with Xavier....tee hee.
This next part can only be described in pictures....well except the end...I'll talk about that.
Hugh is a pretty thoughtful guy, not only did he want me to have fun trying not to choose a wrong path fraught with possible danger, he wanted my adventure to be colourful and vibrant and adorned the book with Lisa Frank Stickers! The Underground Kingdom doesn't seem so dangerous now, infact it seems rather silly now that Occams has made sure Ballerina Princess Bear helps to guide me!
Right Back at you
Mr. Morrow
! My Cthulu will see your Cthulu on the playground afterschool!
Unfortunately I haven't listened to this in a while. Perhaps now is a good time to throw it in the Computer CD-R drive and see if good 'ol GraceNote can figure out what the hell is ON this CD. All I know his Occams Eclectic Jukebox is what he should have
(no not really, yes...really) called himself. Though Erasure IS on this CD so that's all that matters.
Occam's Thank You Letter that promises "All The Tacos" won't come between us. I just hope that means that at some point I will be getting Tacos. I think we can take down a Taco Army and long after you quit, I'll keep on fightin' the fatty fat fight!
Now I'd like to get a little serious. Occams or "Hugh" if you prefer is a pretty cool guy. He didn't have to do this for anyone but he enjoyed doing so. That makes him a pretty swell guy and someone I hope to be enjoying the company of for whoever long it takes for two people to get bored of coming on this here Internet. He's a pretty fun and warm guy and I'm lucky to have gotten to spend some time with him to chat and just discuss life and games with. You owe it to yourself as a member of this community to seek him out at some point and do the same! So as best I could, I salute you sir and thank you for the kind words and the fancy trinkets!
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About garethxxgod
One of us
since 9:50 AM on 02.17.2010
Me at work
Hey, I'm garethxxgod, not much to say really. I play guitar and stuff. I'm pushing 30 and I still love gaming.
Love you Dad!
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Canon IXUS 140 Photos
Popular Cameras
Ahead of our full review, here are 46 sample JPEG photos and a 720p movie taken with the new Canon IXUS 140 compact camera.
The affordable Canon 140 has a 16 megapixel CCD sensor, an 8x zoom lens, built-in wi-fi connectivity and a 3-inch LCD screen.
A gallery of full-size photos and a video taken with the Canon IXUS 140.
Canon IXUS 140 JPEG Images
Canon IXUS 140 Movie
This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1280x720 at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 21 second movie is 53.3Mb in size.
Entry Tags
hd video,samples,photos,compact,16 megapixel,preview,720p,movie,wi-fi,video,compact camera,cmos,Canon,8x zoom,1280x720,IXUS 140,Canon 140,Canon IXUS 140

subset: commoncrawl


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Duncraft, a company that specializes in products for backyard bird feeding, has been making dreams of being surrounded by singing birds a reality. Since the family business launched in 1952, they�ve been supplying bird enthusiasts with the tools to keep birds chirping and always coming back for more. A variety of bird feeders, foods, houses and baths can be found via their online store. And their supplies are not just limited to birds. They also offer feeders and food for critters like squirrels, butterflies and other insects.


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The Glee Project Newswire
Comprehensive Real-Time News Feed for The Glee Project.
Results 1 - 3 of 3 in The Glee Project
Dante Di Loreto Exits Ryan Murphy Television, Joins Chernin Entertainment w/Photo
... pilot Pretty/Handsome and has served as an executive producer on Fox's Glee and its Oxygen reality spinoff The Glee Project, NBC comedy The New Normal as well as FX's American Horror Story. He also exec produced HBO's critically praised TV movie The ... Comment?
Glee's place in TV history w/Photo
... on primetime, mainstream TV. The show was such a hit at one point that it spawned not only the TV spin-off The Glee Project (2011-2012) - a reality series that auditions new cast members for Glee - but also many hit singles on the music charts as ... Comment?
the Glee Project Star Joins Cast of CW Drama Pilot
Digitalspy reports that Aylin Bayramoglu, a former contestant on Oxygen's THE GLEE PROJECT, has been cast in The CW's Cheerleader Death Squad, a drama pilot from Desperate Housewives scribe Marc Cherry. The project will center on a disgraced CIA agent who is now working as a teacher in Washington, DC. Comment?
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Oil and gas executives gathered last month to hear about a public relations effort with a very precise target: newly hired state and federal environmental inspectors.
These atrocities are being perpetrated in our name, with our tax dollars. We must hold leaders accountable.
Thom Hartmann is a New York Times bestselling Project Censored Award winning author and host of a nationally syndicated progressive radio talk show. Follow him on Twitter at @Thom_Hartmann.
Sam Sacks is a Progressive Commentator and former Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill. He is currently the Senior Producer of The Big Picture with Thom Hartmannairing weeknights at 7PM EST on RT and Free Speech TV. Follow him on Twitter at @SamSacks.


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San Francisco is rich in civil rights history – but you may have walked past certain street corners many times and not realized that battles were fought there for labor rights, lesbian and gay equality, freedom of expression, disability rights and more. Join Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi, coauthors of Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California takes us on a virtual tour that uncovers San Francisco's hidden history – from the Yick Wo Laundry, whose owner challenged anti-Chinese laws, to the Votes for Women Club where working women organized their victorious campaign for suffrage, to the site of a police raid on a lesbian and gay New Year's Eve gala that predated Stonewall.
Related exhibit: Wherever There's a Fight: A History of Civil Liberties in California, Feburary 10 - April 7, 2013, San Francisco History Center.
Próximos Eventos
- Delicious Desserts: Alice Medrich speaks
- Martes 13 de Octubre de 2015, 3:00 pmBiblioteca Central, Auditorio Koret
- Slavery: Ancient Greece and Rome vs. the American South
- Miércoles 14 de Octubre de 2015, 7:00 pmMerced, Merced: Área Principal
- Entre sus Palabras Andantes
- Domingo 18 de Octubre de 2015, 3:00 pmBiblioteca Central, Sala Latino/Hispana A & B


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Lateral thinking. From Micro to Macro. (by Diego Fdez-Sevilla)
I am 40 years old. Since I was a child I have been always fascinated by understanding the world around us. 3,671 more words
I am 40 years old. Since I was a child I have been always fascinated by understanding the world around us. 3,671 more words
June 26, 2015
Think Progress
Summary: House Republicans have introduced a drought-relief bill arguing that environmentally-driven efforts to prevent threatened California species have hindered progress. 105 more words
December 8, 2014
Mother Jones
Summary: A report last year from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) argues that California's drought is essentially a statistical anomaly made worse by the high temperatures of global warming. 39 more words
April 24, 2015
The Los Angeles Times
Summary: Times columnist Michael Hiltzik essentially writes a preemptive dismissal to the previous piece I remarked upon… 78 more words
May 18, 2015
R&D via The Associated Press
Summary: Population growth in warm climates ensures that higher numbers of Americans will experience considerable heat in the coming decades, according to a study published by Nature Climate Change. 14 more words
Martin W. Bauer – 2015 – Preview
Themes and actors often move from specialist or social media forums into the general mass media, and from there onto the political agenda (see… 8 more words
The rates of deforestation in South America due to gold extraction have risen significantly since 2007, according to an article published this week by Environmental Research Web. 211 more words


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Telecom's rebranding fails to ignite NZX
Relevant offers
The sharemarket has reacted unkindly to Telecom's rebranding as Spark New Zealand today.
The telco's share price was down 3.5c, or 1.2 per cent, at $2.83 this afternoon.
Blair Gilpin, telecommunications analyst at sharebroker Forsyth Barr, said investors would now be focused on the company's results for the 2014 financial year, to be announced on August 22.
Gilpin said he was expecting a "positive story" in the results based on cost savings from the telco's headcount reduction and savings from suppliers and other areas.
He also expected continuing pressure on the company's mobile revenues and on profit margins for fixed-line calling and data.
Forsyth Barr's rating for Spark would remain as "underperform", Gilpin said.
Spark managing director Simon Moutter said the name change would herald a more modern service from the company.
"This is the day we're bringing Spark New Zealand to life," Moutter said at the launch in Auckland today.
"We've moved on from Telecom to a brand that will serve our digital services future rather than our landline past."
Spark took advantage of today's rebranding to launch a crowdfunding platform that will be used to raise funds for New Zealand projects.
Spark My Potential is a free-to-use pledge website for selected candidates.
The service gives access to crowdfunding coaching and in some cases additional funding from Spark.
Moutter said Spark My Potential would build on the company's online fundraising tool, Givealittle, which was open to charities, schools, individuals, teams and groups.
The Spark Foundation bought Givealittle in 2012, and donations on the site now total more than $1 million a month.
Spark My Potential is different from Givealittle in that candidates wanting to reach a goal are invited to be involved after they have expressed interest.
Spark has selected a list of inaugural candidates who will receive dollar-for-dollar matched funding from Spark from today until midnight on Sunday.
Candidates include North Canterbury tetraplegic Jezza Williams, who is looking to raise $22,000 to complete the London to Mongolia Rally, Gisborne surfer Ricardo Christie, who wants to raise $5000 to join the ASP world championship series, and Auckland dancer Chris Ofanoa, who is seeking to raise $35,000 to become a fulltime apprentice at the New Zealand Dance Company.
Moutter said customers could expect new programmes and services to be launched in the next few weeks. These would include Forward Live, a business coaching programme for corporations, and a new suite of cloud-based services aimed at medium-sized businesses.
He said Telecom senior managers had been mulling a rebrand for 10 years.
The new name was suggested by the company's logo, which soon became known internally as "the spark" after it was introduced in 2009, he said.
The most obvious change for customers and investors will be a series of name substitutions.
Telecom Retail becomes Spark Home, Mobile & Business, while Telecom Wholesale will now be known as Spark Wholesale.
Tickers on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges will change from TEL to SPK, and information technology services subsidiary Gen-i has been renamed Spark Digital.
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Kiwi film Turbo Kid is top of the illegal download charts says producer
Acne sufferer hits back at online bullies
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Nicole Kidman says divorcing Tom Cruise was a great career move
Richie McCaw, NZ Rugby pay tribute to All Blacks centurion Ma'a Nonu
Recap: Rugby World Cup 2015: New Zealand vs Tonga #NZLvTGA
Alex Fisher's autopsy reveals head trauma
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Huge asteroid coming close to Earth
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Horse fall victim named as Levin woman
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Kiwi Frozen Chook craze could be the new planking
Ex-cop who coaxed child killer's confession explains why police reveal little


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Lawyers wrap case in Detroit bankruptcy trial
FILE - This Sept. 19, 2013, file photo, shows the city of Detroit from midtown. Testimony has ended in a trial to determine whether Detroit is eligible to slash billions of dollars in debt in bankruptcy court. Closing arguments are set for Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)


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Culturally Distinct Neighborhood
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Legislation Keeps Guantanamo Bay Open As Secure Terrorist Detention Facility
Posted: 05/11/2011 - Legislation Keeps Guantanamo Bay Open As Secure Terrorist Detention Facility
Posted: 05/11/2011 - Legislation Keeps Guantanamo Bay Open As Secure Terrorist Detention Facility
Posted: 05/11/2011 - As Details Emerge On Dem Budget Plan, Sessions Previews New Committee Analysis On Deficit Reduction
Posted: 05/11/2011 - WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today made the following comments after the DREAM Act legislation was reintroduced in the Senate:
Posted: 05/10/2011 - Florida lawmakers have been cracking down on bad driving, and they're repealing laws that don't seem to make sense including a decades-old ban on coasting.
Posted: 05/09/2011 - A new Florida law will help judges keep repeat violent offenders behind bars.
Posted: 05/05/2011 - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Rome for a summit on Libya, but she ended up talking about what happened at the White House as she monitored the attack on Osama bin Laden.
Posted: 05/04/2011 - Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) Board today voted to approve the terms of a settlement negotiated with PACT contract holders in the Lisa Nix Green, et.al v. Kay Ivey, et.al litigation.
Updated: 05/03/2011 - The Florida Senate has unanimously voted to ban the drug known as MDPV or "bath salts."
Posted: 05/03/2011 - The Alabama House has passed a bill that would prevent people from filing lawsuits against their favorite restaurant or grocery store because the food they purchased made them fat.
Posted: 04/29/2011 - Tallahassee's ruling republicans have already passed sweeping education reform in the form of teacher merit pay, but they're not done yet. With exactly one week left in the legislative session, tonight the house is taking up a contentious package of school choice bills.
Posted: 04/28/2011 - There are just eight days left in Florida's annual legislative session, and Thursday in the state Senate, lawmakers decided the fate of many of the most emotionally-charged issues on the agenda, from God to guns and even sinkholes.
Posted: 04/28/2011 - Statement from Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy on Deadly Alabama Storms
Posted: 04/26/2011 - Gov. Rick Scott says there is no plan to eliminate the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Posted: 04/26/2011 - The Florida legislature has just ten days left in its two-month annual session, and lawmakers in the House and Senate have yet to see eye-to-eye on the only issue they're constitutionally required to tackle - the budget. As the clock winds down, it looks like they're inching closer to an agreement, but that's not the only contentious item left on the agenda.
Updated: 04/25/2011 - Florida lawmakers are moving to dramatically shrink 'Citizens Insurance.' It's the only option for those homeowners living in areas so susceptible to storms they can't get coverage elsewhere. The push is being spearheaded by industry lobbyists and the governor.
Posted: 04/21/2011 - The Florida state House passes the GOP plan to overhaul state election laws. It could have a big impact on who wins in 2012 and beyond.
Updated: 04/20/2011 - Republicans in the state Senate Education Committee have pushed through legislation to rewrite Alabama's tenure law.
Updated: 04/19/2011 - Charlie Crist's official portrait was unveiled in Tallahassee Monday, but is the former governor's political career over? The former governor may still have a cause and constituency to run again.
Updated: 04/14/2011 - Federal lawmakers tackled a double-debate over the budget, first arguing over spending for the rest of this year. Now they're debating the differences between two possible spending plans for next year.
Posted: 04/14/2011 - The Georgia Senate has passed an immigration bill that includes some parts that are similar to a contentious law enacted last year in Arizona and sent it back to the House.
Posted: 04/13/2011 - Alabama's Children's Trust Fund is seeing major budget cuts.
Posted: 04/12/2011 - Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed controversial legislation limiting abortions into law Tuesday.
Updated: 04/12/2011 - President Obama is preparing to outline his fiscal policy vision Wednesday. He's meeting with members of Congress in the morning before detailing his plan in public.
Posted: 04/12/2011 - Florida lawmakers have until Friday to pass bills through the committee process or see them die. They've saved the most controversial pieces of legislation for last.
Posted: 04/07/2011 - The state Senate has voted to loosen Florida's class size limits.


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I having a problem on given green rectangle on the picture.jpg when the picture with 5 people in there. I'm using emguCV v2.2 here the code for the button when i click and fire it.
Image InputImg = Image.FromFile(@"C:\img\Picture.jpg");
Image<Bgr,byte> ImageFrame = new Image<Bgr,byte>(new Bitmap(InputImg));
Image<Gray, byte> grayframe = ImageFrame.Convert<Gray, byte>();
var faces = grayframe.DetectHaarCascade(haar, 1.4, 4,
new Size(25, 25))[0];
foreach (var face in faces)
ImageFrame.Draw(face.rect, new Bgr(Color.Green), 3);
CamImageBox.Image = ImageFrame;
I expected it should return me the picture.jpg with green rectangle on each faces. But it doesn't . May i know why? is any mistake here?


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Justice League: Gods and Monsters [Blu-ray]
In an alternative history Zod is Superman's father, Batman is a vampiric Man-Bat, and Wonder Woman is the child of Ares, God of War. When these dark heroes form an alliance, the question everyone asks is will they save the world, or rule it?
Also available on DVD.
DC Collectibles Bombshells Lois Lane Statue
Designed by Ant Lucia. Sculpted by Tim Miller. Due to the overwhelming responses from the DC Comics Bombshell variant covers comes the lastest statue in the wildly popular line featuring your favorite heroes and villains portrayed in the pinup style of the 1940s and 50s! Limited edition of 5,200. Measures approximately 11.5" tall.
The Big Blue Report is the Superman Homepage Newsletter sent out twice a month. It contains exclusive content not seen on the website. Subscribe now!
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Pioneer Abstract & Title CO
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Pioneer Abstract & Title CO is a business providing services in the field of Mortgages. Pioneer Abstract & Title CO is located in Preston, MN on 122 Main Street Southeast.
Pioneer Abstract & Title CO telephone number is
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Recent News from the Green Blog
Fracking Our Way into Oblivion …. Conclusion
This series has examined hydraulic fracturing or, as it is more commonly known, fracking, and some of the types of harm it is doing to the environment. We didn't even touch on the threat of induced seismicity (increased earthquake activity) that seismologists have associated with the business of fracking; that will have to be a topic for another..


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Rockfax DescriptionNice climbing with a puzzling finish. © ROCKFAX
Bern - Lead O/S - Jun/15 with Benny
Cockman - Lead β - Sep/13 with Milan Thakore
Really challenging and really hard for me and I dogged the hell out of it and fell off the last move twice before retiring with sore ankles and large bruises! Enjoyable though!NorthernClamberer - Lead dnf - 13/Apr/13 with Henry Francis
Carl Smethurst - Lead β - 11/Oct/06 with Tony Woods


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White Rock Hotel
No prices found through our partners. Please contact the business directly or check some of our recommended alternatives.
How has this hotel rated in the past?
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TripAdvisor Reviews White Rock Hotel Hastings
Travel Blogs from Hastings
Now this is England
... It was very modern on the inside and welcoming. Katrin and I put our bags down and got ready for hiking! The website that led me to Hastings had shown a little path that we could go through so we attempted to find it. What we found beat my expectations by a thousand!!
Up a twisting flight of stairs, we found ourselves on top of a lushious green hill with an unbeatable view of the town. Hastings is divided like this: New Town, West Hill (which is just one ...
Hastings - the final frontier
... t think anyone will really read them and will skip to the bottom. Oh I should add that we are not allowed out of the compound (garden) after 11 due to a group of unruly youths hanging around on the corner of the road. I think they like me though as they have affectionately nicknamed me 'Mait' (soooo original).
Anyway I'm off to bed now, hope everyone is well. See you in 10 days... if I don't get washed out to sea in the floods first.
B xx
Canterbury, a Battle and a quiz.
... centuries who are resting in peace there.
Canterbury itself is a lovely town. The main shopping street was obviously once the main road through the town from London to Dover (the A2) which has been closed to traffic. It is long (about 1KM) and narrow with hundreds of large and small shops, and it has a lot of narrower shopping streets leading off it.
We used the park ...
A quick visit to Hastings, Brede and Battle
... a quick pint in a seaside pub before walking back to our Guest House. We finished up the evening by getting ready to travel to Salisbury the next day.
The next morning we walked down to the McDonald's restaurant for a fast breakfast before checking out and dragging our luggage up the hill to the train station. We caught the train to Salisbury via Brighton, and Clapham Station, leaving Hastings about 9:15am.
Back to Blighty
... your bike onto the train and stand beside it for the entire 30 minute trip. Its just not worth walking up to the lounge to sit down because as soon as you are there its time to get back to the bike for off loading.
We decided to spend the night in Folkestone which is only about 5 miles from the chunnel terminal as we thought we needed to do some laundry and catch up on our emails and banking etc. Kerrie booked on line the ...


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Economy - Most Commented
A look at candidates' leadership styles
Sep 8, 2008
The presidential candidates' stands on the issues are what most of us will look at as we vote this fall. But what about John McCain's and Barack Obama's skills as a chief executive officer? Kevin Cashman from Korn/Ferry International sizes them up.
What do we get out of the bailout?
Sep 8, 2008
The government's mega-rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac boosted stock markets around the world. But what's in it for the American consumer? Will it loosen up the housing market? Janet Babin reports.
Bailout: Why, why now and what next?
Sep 8, 2008
The takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers $200 billion, but could also help the housing and credit crunch. Host Bob Moon turns to Thomas Stanton of Johns Hopkins University to sort this all out.
Actuaries lay out Social Security fix
Sep 5, 2008
The Social Security System is in good shape today, but in seven years, retired boomers will outnumber workers and drain the reserves. Danielle Karson reports on solutions proposed by the American Academy of Actuaries.
Disability claimants wait ... and wait
Sep 4, 2008
About 7 million Americans collect disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. Another 2.5 million people apply each year, leaving hundreds of thousands stuck in a backlog for approval. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
FCC to collect less info on phone service
Sep 4, 2008
On Friday, federal regulators are expected to dial back on the amount of information collected when consumers make complaints about bad phone service. Steve Henn asks what consumer advocates think of that.
GOP needs to get real on immigration
Sep 3, 2008
While the GOP convention is on, we've asked some Republican thinkers to tell us where they think the party can do better. Commentator David Frum says it ought to start with immigration.
California bill fights sprawl and traffic
Sep 3, 2008
California's anti-sprawl bill encourages development near businesses and workplaces to cut down on driving and reduce emissions. Rachel Dornhelm explains how the policy will work.
Convention roles of corporate reps
Sep 3, 2008
Corporate representatives who attend the convention come in two flavors, says commentator Robert Reich. He also discovered that sometimes reps from the same company play contradictory roles.
McCain must focus on the payroll tax
Sep 2, 2008
Commentator Reihan Salam says some Republicans have lost touch with the economic anxiety of average Americans. He offers a suggestion for self-improvement.


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Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Frida brings LOVE to this world and that's it. She is not only a great singer, she is an example of how a human being should be - open, warm, affectionate, loving (esp. To her fans), friendly, sincere, passionate, frank, kind-hearted, intelligent, funny, active, determinate, courageous, stylish and classy. Frida, you've always been, is and will be our true Princess! - olblackcat
She is just the bees knees. Hands down. Her voice appeals to all kinds of people around the world, of all ages. She is a beautiful person inside and out. Long live the princess!
A warm, versatile voice, an amazing stage presence, a taste for intelligent music and meaningful lyrics, those are but a few of Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida)'s qualities. Her musical career spans over forty years - and it's probably not over yet. She's simply one of the greatest talents in music history. - Emmanuelle
Anni-Frid Lyngstad my love!
She is obvioulsy the best singer of all time. Her voice is fantastic and angelic. She has an incredible vocal range. She can sing really low and really high. Agnetha Faltskog is also very good, but I think the best abba songs are the ones were Frida is the lead singer or when they sing together. Her bests songs are Knowing me knowing you and Fernando. Plus, she is an amazing dancer :) and she have pass trough a hard life : two divorces the death of her man and of her daughter. She IS the real Queen of the music
Even though Abba was a bit before my time, I still think their music is the best. And frida has always been my best of the best
Velvet... Pure magic! Her voice is as adaptable as any I've ever heard. She is capable of ANYTHING anyone can write for her.
Beautiful rich warm voice, versatile (could go from soft and gentle to a strong ringing tone)and a great range. Listen to her singing jazz and you'll see how wide her range was. A siren's voice.
Anni-Frid is the beautiful dark haired superlady with the wonderful voice in ABBA. Please vote for her, dear ABBA fans. - Toni
A woman with a beautiful voice, straight forward and plain speaking, no hissys or spray tans with her. period. - loulou64
A Lady who's voice captures not only your heart but your soul too, Her singing versatility makes her voice a delightful experience!
Versatile and warm, with an unusual talent to emote the songs she sings. Be it her ABBA songs or her own, in English and in Swedish, she is an expert in her craft.
Dear Frida is an inspiration to us all, a genuine person who's taught us all, believe in better. - loulou64
Great singer, great voice!
Beautiful Lady.
A warm person in heart and soul
Each time I hear her voice my heart is feeling joy, emotion and a lot of love. - txrednosereindeer
A voice that is so versitile it goes straight too your heart! - johnsteven
She's very beautiful and a brilliant singer. My favorite forever! - Toni
I only can say: thank you for the voice with the music. The magic voice.
THE MOST AMAZING AND THE GREATEST VOICE EVER! <3 Love her
The Greatest Voice Ever - Put the A into Abba. - loulou64
Best voice ever! She's got so much emotions in her voice. It chills you to the bone. You can't describe this beautiful sound, you can listen and just say WOW! So mesmerizig!
Anni-Frid Lyngstad the best woman
She should be #1. THE voice of the 70's


text: We're sorry, Lace Charm Swallow Necklace is no longer available Why not try one of these instead? Design Your Own Star Necklace by J&S Jewellery £19.50$42.25€28.85$32.08 can be personalised Triple Letter Disc Necklace by J&S Jewellery £16$34.67€23.67$26.32 can be personalised Metal Feather Necklace by My Posh Shop £24$52€35.51$39.48 Maya Stone Heart Personalised Silver Necklace by Bloom Boutique £14$30.33€20.71$23.03 can be personalised Lace Charm Swallow Necklace by Eve&Fox £18.95$41.06€28.04$31.17 This item is no longer available free gift wrap This item is not available for delivery to United States. we're sorry we're sorry, This item is no longer available buy a gift voucher related categories jewellery > women's jewellery > necklaces & pendants by Eve&Fox Location: Leicestershire, GB read seller's profile see seller's complete range more items from this seller Sterling Silver Swallow Bracelet £28.95$62.73€42.84$47.62 Heal And Protect Bracelet £24.95$54.06€36.92$41.04 'Lapis' Friendship Necklace £48.95$106.07€72.44$80.53 Druzy Stone Amethyst Heart Necklace £24.95$54.06€36.92$41.04 Lapis Friendship Bracelet £24.95$54.06€36.92$41.04 Ceramic Pink Daisy Bracelet £16.95$36.73€25.08$27.88 view all you may also like PRODUCT DETAILS DELIVERY RETURNS Made in Britain free gift wrap ask seller a question save for later This lovely necklace with a handmade resin pendant, and a collection of pretty charms. A Pretty grey lace fabric image has been sealed in a pendant and set in resin, truly original! With a lovely collection of charms, a blue handmade ceramic heart, a silver swallow and a glass czech flower, comes on a 18 inch sterling silver chain. Every order comes in a beautiful Eve and Fox box, and has been handmade to the highest standard. Handmade in Leicester! By Eve and Fox made from: Sterling Silver chain, ceramic heart, acrylic pendant, pewter swallow. product code: 73646 This product is dispatched to you by Eve&Fox. MAINLAND UK order now and receive this item on or before price Standard Delivery Monday 12 October £1.75$3.79€2.58$2.87 NON-MAINLAND UK estimated delivery price Highlands & Islands of Scotland 2-5 working daysfrom dispatch £1.75$3.79€2.58$2.87 Northern Ireland 2-5 working daysfrom dispatch £1.75$3.79€2.58$2.87 Other UK Islands 2-5 working daysfrom dispatch £3.95$8.55€5.84$6.49 INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY estimated delivery price Not currently available for this region You have 28 days, from receipt of cancellable goods, to notify the seller if you wish to cancel your order or exchange an item. Please note: goods that are personalised, bespoke or made-to-order to your specific requirements, perishable products and personal items sold with a hygiene seal (cosmetics, underwear) in instances where the seal is broken are non-refundable, unless faulty. Read more about our returns policy.Should you choose to return or exchange your order you will need to deliver the item(s) to the UK, where this seller is based. Eve&Fox's return policy


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Why Joan is right for your event:
A nationally known broadcaster, author, host, and speaker, Joan Lunden has been a spokesperson for a multitude of corporate media campaigns which include press tours, satellite media tours, as well as hosting annual meetings and events. Having spent much of her career speaking to America from in front of the camera, Joan is the perfect person to speak to your audience from behind the podium.
Speech Topics Include:
- Overcoming Change and Staying Motivated
- The Ten Best Secrets to Success
- Now That We Have It All, How Do We Do it All? The Modern Woman's Dilemma
- From Career to Caregiving and Everything in Between
- Embracing Change: The New Reality for Your Family's Future
- Strategies for Success: Women's Path to Power & Reinvention
- The Secrets To Living Younger Longer
- Fostering Leadership and Achieving Dreams
- My Journey From Small Town Sacramento to The Big Apple
- And more!
Get Started Today!
Book Joan Lunden today!
Interested in more? Watch Joan Now.
Joan was a keynote speaker at the 2011 Women's Summit at Bryant University...
"Joan is a perfict mix of intelligence, thoughtful advice, and inspiration mixed with great humor!"
Upcoming 2015 Appearances
|October, 8
|College Station, TX
|Surviving & Thriving Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon, Keynote
|October, 9
|Woodlands, TX
|Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, Keynote
|October, 13
|Greensboro, NC
|Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, Keynote
|October, 15
|Dallas, TX
|Baylor Healthcare Foundation, Keynote
|October, 21
|Boston, MA
|Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, keynote
|October, 22
|North Platte, NE
|Town Hall of North Platte, Keynote
|October, 22
|Denver, CO
|The Tattered Cover, Had I Known signing
|October, 24
|Greenwich, CT
|Greenwich Hospital Gala
|October, 28
|Fort Wayne, IN
|Aging & In-Home Services, Keynote
|October, 29
|New York, NY
|Breast Cancer Research Foundation Luncheon
|November, 12
|Palm Beach, FL
|Area Agency on Aging, Keynote