Video Game Reviews- Dead Rising 2

Taking place five years after the events of the first game, Dead Rising 2 follows Chuck Greene, a former motocross champ who is now surviving in Fortune City. The story is nicely put together, and is surprisingly deep for a zombie game. Once you get past the fun of killing endless amounts of zombies, you'll find a surprisingly interesting story that combines horror and comedy...

...If you can get past the fun of killing endless amounts of zombies. As the first game was, this is a sandbox game, which means you can just go through the entire thing mindlessly finding new ways to kill the walking dead. It's incredibly addicting. The setting of this game, Fortune City is huge. There is a lot of ground to cover, and many things that can be turned into weapons. In fact, that's one of the biggest draws of this game; Using the godly power of duct tape, you can combine objects found all over the place and turn them into destructive weapons. This new creativity brings multiple hours of variety as you discover new weapons with which to kill zombies. It will be a very long time before you get bored.

Unfortunately, there may not be a long time before you start to get annoyed. There are some problems that just keep this game from being perfect. The main one is with save points. You have a time limit to complete the story, and if that limit runs out, you will fail the campaign and be booted back to your last save point. If you save too close the deadline and still have a lot to do, you may have to start the whole game over again.

The graphics are good, with animations smooth and environments ripe with lots of color. The music during cutscenes matches the events happening in them, and the music in gameplay all comes from sources throughout Fortune City. Controls are tight and easy to figure out. Multiplayer is also added in this time around, but it seems more like an afterthought. It's nice to kill zombies with a friend, but it feels like the multiplayer was added in at the last minute.

Overall, Dead Rising 2 is a very good entry in the series. As with the first, endless fun is all right in this game, only with even more. The large environment, the creativity, and the surprisingly good story all work in this game's favor. Its flaws do hold it back a bit, however, but it's still a good addition to a gamer's library.

4/5

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Sally Menke, dead at 57

Most people don't know her name, but on the set of Quentin Tarantino's many films, she was a celebrity. During her life, Sally Menke worked with director Quentin Tarantino as an editor. Her work earned her nominations in 2009 for "Inglorious Basterds" and in 1995 for "Pulp fiction."


Menke's body was found during a search on September 28th after she had not returned from a hike with her friend-who was separated from her during the hike-in Los Angeles the previous day. It is believed that the heat may have played a role in her death. It was 113 degrees, the hottest temperatures the city has endured in 133 years.


Menke will be remembered for her contributions in the film industry.



Source: CNN.com



http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-28/entertainment/tarantino.editor.death_1_sally-menke-trail-death-proof?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

Facebook Up After Second Outage in Two Days

According to CNN.com, For several hours Thursday, Facebook was down for many of its users, which was the second day in a row that the site was not able to accessed. The problem started early Thursday afternoon and was fixed around 5:30 pm Eastern Time (ET). "Today we experienced technical difficulties causing the site to be unavailable for a number of users," a spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "The issue has been resolved and everyone should now have access to Facebook. We apologize for any inconvenience." According to the spokeswoman, the problem was not related to the one on Wednesday. The problem on Wednesday was with a third-party network provider that shut the site down, or made it slow down significantly for several hours. She didn't go into detail on the nature of Thursday's problem. Facebook is the world's largest social-networking site and has more than 500 million users. On Facebook's blog for developers, a post went out saying the site was "experiencing latency issues" or a time delay. Some technological observers have guessed that the delay on the developers' platform was unlikely to have been a complete part of the problem. The outage on Facebook led thousands of social networkers to talk about Facebook on Twitter. "Somebody needs to fix Facebook ASAP," Gizmodo blogger Rosa Golijan wrote on her Twitter feed. " I don't like to tweet to show I 'like' all the stories about it being down." Several Twitter users, expressed sorrow about the fate of the starving virtual plants and animals of FarmVille, while others noticed the consequences of the outage.

-picture provided by CNN.com

Police Investigate New Haven Shooting

According to courant.com: After being shot in the chest on Friday afternoon, a 17-year-old is in grave condition. Police said the shooting happened in the Newhallville neighborhood at 163 Starr Street around 3:30 pm. The 17-year-old was shot once and is now dealing with life-threatening injuries. He was brought to the Hospital of Saint Raphael for treatment. Police are still investigating the shooting.

Broncos Wide Receiver Found Dead

According to CNN.com, Denver Broncos' wide receiver Kenny McKinley was found dead Monday afternoon. The 23 year old is reported to have died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. In a statement on the team's website Pat Bowlen, the team's President and CEO, had this to say. "Everyone with the Broncos is shocked and saddened by the loss of Kenny McKinley. He was part of the Broncos family and will be greatly missed by our organization. My most heartfelt condolences go out to Kenny's family and friends."

Facebook Plans to Change Friend Requests

On Facebook, when users receive a friend request, they can either choose to "accept request" or hit "ignore", which erases the request forever. In the next few days, Facebook plans to eliminate the "ignore" button and replace it with a "not now" button, which will put the request in a "hidden requests" folder. This makes it so that one can look back at all requests denied, and accept them at any point in the future if they wish. You can also mark the request to show that you do not know the person requesting, which helps facebook prevent abuse.

“This helps our systems get better at detecting unwanted behavior on the site and we can use that information to prevent abuse from that person in the future,” said a Facebook representative.

(story courtesy of mashable.com, found through CNN.com)

Memorial Golf Tournament Returning to Marlborough

It has been announced that the 3rd Annual Jon Lovett Memorial Golf Tournament will return to Blackledge Country Club on October 8th, 2010. John passed in 2008, and every year since the tournament has been held in his honor. There will be raffles, contests, and a buffet dinner. Registration is $125 for golfers, and $25 for the buffet only. Sponsorships are also available from Blackledge Country Club including tee, prize hole, and enhanced sponsorships.

Email jonlovettgolf@aol.com for more information.

Pedestrian Struck, Killed In Meriden

According to courant.com, the man from Meriden that was hit by a car and had fatal injuries has been recognized as Mark Albee, 48, as reported by police on Saturday. Albee was walking near 1147 Hanover Avenue, when he was hit by a car at 9:31 pm. The driver of the car was John Guirard, 43, of New Britain. Albee endured severe internal and head injuries and was then brought to the Midstate Medical Center. Albee was pronounced dead at the medical center, according to police. Police are saying that the accident still remains under investigation. No charges have yet been filed.


-Photo provided by courant.com

Man on Scooter Hit by Tractor Trailer Cab in Willimantic

According to courant.com, 18 year old William Carilli, also known as William Adams, was hit by a tractor trailer cab while riding his scooter Thursday afternoon. The police were notified of the accident at 1:16 pm and the cause of the accident is still under investigation. Carilli was riding a foot-propelled scooter near Thread City Crossing when he was hit. Carilli was checked into Hartford Hospital and is in stable condition. Anyone that may have seen this accident are asked to assist in this investigation by calling Willimantic police at 860-465-3135.

American animal sanctuary burned down by mob

Cherie and Vince Rose, an american couple, had an animal sanctuary in Belize. This sanctuary housed 17 crocodiles of two types different species. It was run by the couple up until local Maya tribesmen burnt it down.

The Native Maya believed that the Roses were responsible for the disappearance of 9-year-old Benjamin Rash and his 11-year-old sister Onelia. They believed the couple had kidnapped the children and fed them to the crocodiles. Such a suspicion was was aroused among the people of the Maya village by a "psychic." "They have their own superstitions... Because of their beliefs, they decided to take the law into their own hands," explained deputy police commissioner James Magdaleno.


As of yet, no arrests have been made.



Source: CNN.com

Violence in Iraq Leaves Several Dead and Wounded

According to CNN.com, a day after an attack on the capital by various insurgents, a widespread series of violence has struck the nation of Iraq. The bombings and shootings have left 6 people dead, consisting of five construction workers in Samarra, and one Iraqi brigadier general in western Baghdad. 21 other people were wounded in roadside bombings and public violence. The amount of attacks like this has risen in the past few months and have been targeting government officials.

U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad Lt. Col. Eric Bloom told CNN that attacks also reached U.S. forces at a Iraqi military compound. The soldiers "provided suppressive fire" as a small number of suicide bombers infiltrated the base and carried out an attack. The attack was believed to have been carried out by al-Quaeda insurgents. Iraqi government officials announced recently that al-Quaeda and other terrorist groups were planning various attacks nationwide and told citizens and security forces to stay alert.

General Petraeus Warns that Quran Burning Could Endanger US Troops

According to CNN.com, an American commanding general of the Afghanistan war, David Petraeus, spoke out against The Dove Outreach Center's planned demonstration of burning multiple copies of the Quran on September 11. "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," said General Petraeus. The church, located in Gainesville, Florida, defended itself, saying that their demonstration will be "neither an act of love nor of hate." Instead they claim it will be a warning against Islam. The church's planned event has already drawn criticism, from both inside as well as outside the Untied States. Muhammad Ismail, the spokesman for the Indonesian Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir, had this to say, "the burning in not only an insult to the holy Quran, but an insult to Islam and Muslims around the world." His opinion was further voiced by thousands of Muslims at a protest outside the American Embassy in Indonesia. There are about 120,000 American troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, and according to Petraeus the Quran burning "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems."

Movie Review: Robert Rodriguez's "Machete"

On Friday, Robert Rodriguez released his newest film, "Machete". The idea for the film came from Rodriguez's "Grindhouse", in which "Machete" was a fake movie trailer

"It was great to make the trailer," said Rodriguez, "Usually fans would come up and ay ...'When are you going to make Machete?' because they had seen the trailer and just felt like it had already been made... And they would ask so consistently I finally had to

make it".

Make it he did. The film features Danny Trejo as Machete, a previously un-corruptible federal agent until his family was killed by the drug cartel. As he gets wound up in more

and more conflict, he becomes a soldier for a Mexican Revolution. Other stars in the film include Robert De Nero, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, and Michelle Rodriguez.

Although it sounds like a serious plot, "Machete" is just as over the top as films like "Grindhouse" or "Kill Bill". Through the use of excessive, mindless violence, fun acting, and Rodriguez's personal cinematic touch, a fantastic film is created. Trejo becomes a mobile slaughter-house throughout "Machete", slicing and shooting his way through dozens of enemies. It is a full serving of violence that is well-done and very enjoyable.

SEE IT: If you love a good hack and slash movie with very clean, professional cinematic

mastery. Also if you enjoy Robert Rodriguez's or Quentin Tarantino's work.

DON'T SEE IT: If you can't stomach watching Trejo swinging by a man's intestines from a fifth story window, or if you are

expecting oscar-worthy material.

(interview and additional sources provided by imdb.com and video.about.com)

Kara DioGuardi leaves hit show "American Idol"

On Friday, Fox announced that after only two seasons, judge Kara DioGuardi will be leaving the show. A newcomer to the show, Kara was the fourth judge, a position that viewers did not enjoy. The studio behind American Idol wanted to return to a three person judging panel as done in the earlier seasons.

"I felt like I won the lottery when I joined 'American Idol' two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave Idol," stated DioGuardi. "I am very proud to have been associated with American Idol – it has truly been an amazing experience."

"Kara is one of the world's best songwriters. She has been passionate and committed to Idol over the last two seasons. I will miss having her on the show, but I look forward to working with her in music for many years to come," said Simon Fuller, executive producer of American Idol.

Judges Simon Cowell and Ellen Degeneres have also announced their departure from the hit program. The show has announced their intention to secure Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler for the next season.

(story courtesy of EW.com)

Warped Tour 2010

Vans Warped Tour is an enormous yearly music-fest headlining some of the most popular bands of the time. The massive concert, largely sponsored by Vans and Kia Motors Companies, was started in 1995 by Kevin Lyman, and according to warpedtourdocumentary.com is the "longest-running most successful traveling music festival in American history, attracting multiple generations...". Warped Tour provides a massive gathering of live, fast passed performances, special meet and greet opportunities, and a variety of interesting attractions and tents to visit.

This year, Warped Tour 2010, stopped at the Comcast Theatre in Hartford, Ct on July 11. Headlining were over 70 bands such as Four Year Strong, Sum 41, NeverShoutNever, Anarbor, and The All American Rejects. Being my first year attending Warped Tour, I was not quite sure what to expect, however I was far from disappointed. Seeing a wide variety and majority of the bands though out the day, popular or not, was an awesome experience any alternative, rock, hardcore music listener would enjoy. RHAM freshman Vicky Randazzo also attended the massive concert in Hartford stating that for her first time, "it was a really awesome fun experience" and she thought "it was really cool how well the bands performing interacted with the crowds." Randazzo said she is excited to attend next years tour as well.

Vans Warped Tour was a lively unique musical experience filled with amazing performances and many memories. That day, my friend whom I attended with and I had the pleasure of meeting the members from one of our favorite bands, We The Kings. For a small price, we had the opportunity to meet and greet with the band one on one. The members were very down to earth, and easy to talk to which made the experience that much better.

Warped Tour 2010 was an awesome musical festival filled with talent and a never ending energetic vibe. I strongly recommend this experience for anyone interested in a wide variety of alternative music. With tents set up for each band and other venues for the sponsors of the event, there is always music playing and something to do.

Warped Tour Image Compliments of:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.musicfestivaljunkies.com/wp-content/uploads/

2009/05/Warped_Tour_2010_Logo.png&imgrefurl=http://www.musicfestivaljunkies.com/us-festivals/traveling-tours/warped-tour/&usg=__Z635zv0i5DVX97

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Documentary Hit "The Cove" Launches New TV Series

Environmental activist Ric O'Barry and director Louie Psihoyos introduced "The Cove" in 2009, a documentary about the slaughtering of dolphins in Japan. The film was a huge hit, bringing in donations, inspiring celebrity support, and winning the Oscar for Best Documentary. Following the impact of this film comes a new Discovery channel show, "Blood Dolphins", to continue the message.

The show will follow activist Ric O'Barry and his son Lincoln as they fight to stop the unnecessary massacre of dolphins. The first episode premiers tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern time.

For videos, interactive quizzes, and information on "The Cove" and its message, visit:

http://www.thecovemovie.com/

For more information on "Blood Dolphins", visit:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/blood-dolphins/

(information on the new show provided by Animal.Discovery.com )

A New Generation For Apple

September, 1 Apple Computers released some major updates in the world of iPods. The first update is with iTunes. The new iTunes 4 brags HD movies and TV shows on demand, a faster way to get your favorite tunes and a brand new feature called Ping. Ping is like any of your popular social network sites but it allows a follower to find out if your favorite singer is publishing a new album or where they are touring next.

To go with the new iTunes Apple updated the iPod line up. The new iPod Shuffle is even smaller then the previous Shuffle. Apple also brought back the classic click pad to navigate through your library and they also have VoiceOver, a voice command system that can play songs and tell you what you’re listening to.

The new iPod Nano is almost half the size and half the weight of the previous model. The new Nano also has a touch screen just like the iPod Touch. It can play your tunes, listen to the radio and it has a 24 hour battery life so you can listen to your music all day. The Nano can also connect to your Nike+ shoes to track and record the distance you ran.

Apple has made the iPod Touch closer and closer to the iPhone and they are now even closer. The new iPod Touch is now thinner and faster. The iPod can run tasks much faster then before. It also adds FaceTime, a program that allows you to have a video chat with a friend over Wi-Fi. With that Apple added two cameras. One in the front can capture your face for FaceTime while a HD camera is in the back to capture rich and stunning HD video. The iPod also allows the user to not only capture but edit and post your video to You Tube and other social networks. Apple also added a high quality Retina Display and a game center to connect with your friends. All of these updates are available next week and are just a few months before the holiday shopping season.






Sources:

Associated Press

Apple Computers