SteveThaiBinh

I thought Shrek (the first one) had soul, in the sense of looking like it was crafted by people who genuinely loved what they were doing and had taken a lot of care over it. That's also the appeal of Wallace and Grommit - I hear that Aardman Animation's next project will be about rats and sewers, sure to find many fans on these forums.

The Conservatives have been in power for two days and we're already discussing secession? Are they that bad? Maybe they'll be nice, moderate conservatives and have a positive influence on policy south of the border?

Unlikely. When you look at your list of possible factors like corruption and unemployment, there's nothing there that isn't shared by plenty of other countries in Africa and beyond, and many of those countries have much less violence than Nigeria. Africa is full of countries that are an incredible mix of languages, cultures and ethnicities. They tend not to break up, perhaps for international rather than domestic reasons (neighbouring countries don't want to let them split up for fear of encouraging their own separatists). I can't think of any other than Eritrea/Ethiopia in recent history. Is it possible to see the violence in the Niger Delta as separate from the religious/ethnic tensions elsewhere?

It isn't proper science if it can't be related to some sci-fi movie. It puts me in mind of the linguist who was exploring Yoda's grammar or somesuch.

All of the above, perhaps - a lethal cocktail. You might add increased poverty and family breakdown due to HIV/AIDS as a background factor, I suppose. Part of it may be the curse of having natural resources - how much good has the diamond business done for Sierra Leone? I'm afraid I don't know much about it, though. You're running the risk of being called a feminist extremist. (w00t) But no, you're not being unfair.

The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow impersonates a cat on national TV: Rula Lenska will always be ten times the star George Galloway is. I'm definitely going to be watching on the night he comes out of the house. He will be booed and mocked relentlessly, and I don't think he will handle it well at all. :D

That's right. I think it was the best melee weapon available for a while, so I used it in a state of disbelief, expecting it to fall apart with every swing. Rather a demeaning weapon for most vampires, I suppose.

I can't remember where the arm originally came from. Does your character rip it from some victim or what?

I'm making slow but steady progress through Hordes of the Underdark, and must surely be somewhere near the end. I've upgraded my Ranger's weapons, because it was sad watching him getting smushed and boring having him wait round the corner while his henchmen did the real fighting. It was a weird feeling, spending money in a NWN shop.

So this is a game which is using the same engine as NWN, but hugely improved, updated and prettified. Isn't that exactly the same thing Obsidian is doing with NWN2? I wonder if the two companies are in touch at all. I'm afraid of the Bioware boards now. Do you think they can tell if you're even thinking bad thoughts about their games? :ph34r:

I always try to be reasonable. But yes, we do tend to disagree. If only you'd see sense... I do see what you mean, but I think 'pacifist' isn't the best word. Just because a government wishes to exhaust all diplomatic means before using force, or doesn't see force as necessary in a particular case, doesn't mean it won't countenance force at all. France has used its military power often enough, in Africa and south-east Asia in particular, and the Vietnamese and Algerians for example would be surprised to hear France described as a pacifist country.

It's probably intended for domestic consumption, as the article suggests, so we have to rely on those knowledgable about French politics to help us understand it. On the other hand, that's not an excuse. Everyone said the Iranian President's comment about wiping Israel off the map was for a domestic audience, and that was not seen as acceptable. This is a very worrying statement. In the past, the doctrine (to my understanding) was that nuclear weapons were there to respond to (and hopefully deter) a nuclear attack. Not every nation has put a no first-strike policy on the record, but I thought there was a general understanding that it was the case. No, it wouldn't, and this is a very fair point. I hope this story grows in the coming days.

Mahler's Fifth Symphony, fourth movement. I find it sad, but in a consoling rather than a despairing way.

Yes. Prison is expensive and a waste of taxpayer's money unless the criminal is a threat to the public. These people should be made to work at Wendy's and do community service in their free time.

I'm reading Jung Chang's biography of Mao - I waited nearly six months to get to the top of the library's waiting list. Apparently, Mao stayed away from his mother's bedside when she was sick and dying because he wanted to preserve his image of her as she was. The author considers this to be selfish, showing regard only for his own feelings and not for his mother.

Bored enough to play The Trials of Obi-Wan, perhaps? G0T0 did pretty well in Kotor 2, but I wonder how long he could have kept his power intact once word got out that he was a droid. Anti-droid prejudice is strong in the Star Wars universe.

Bee larvae, yes. It's called 'hachinoko' in Japan, and I only tried it once. It was too sweet.

I have. It's one of those things Vietnamese give their foreign guests to see if they can swallow it, kind of like marmite is for us.

I really miss that stuff. I love cheese. Blue cheese (pretty much any variety) is the best. I also really like a Danish cheese called Samso, but it's really hard to get over here.

Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in North America) The Moment of Silence Broken Sword 3 Still Life ...and many older games.

Aladdin is from 1001 Nights. Perhaps the West would make fewer mistakes in the Middle East if our schools promoted greater awareness of Middle Eastern cultures. The US' record on rebuilding Afghanistan is not much to be proud of, and neither is that of most other countries.

Congratulations on throwing off the shackles of modhood and recovering your freedom. Will Bethesda be censoring your future posts?

Version 2.0 of the unofficial patch is out. GameBanShee has a list of the things it fixes and a link for download. Some people said that the last unofficial patch was buggy just after release, though.

The British government announced that it had killed Chemical Ali a few months before the US captured him alive.

b.