Hurlshort

I think the unsympathetic style was great for the Dark Knight. He's a vigilante, he should be cold and ruthless.

Ok, Scott tissue as opposed to Kleenex. Kleenex is the brand, but there are plenty of options out there that get no credit. Rollerblade inline skates are also oer-rated. K2 makes a better all purpose skate.

Keaton was an excellent Batman for his time, but the movies didn't age perfectly. That's not surprising, as most action movies from the late 80's, early 90's seem cheesy in comparison to today's stuff. Christian Bale is an excellent Batman for our time. He's so buff that he looks like he can actually pull this stuff off, and he's a very solid actor. I loved the movie. Val Kilmer and George Clooney can rot in hell.

I agree with all of Hades' choices, so he has no reason to shut up. I really want to see Xcom professionally remade. The only thing I'd like to see improved from the original is a bit of soldier personality. I also agree with Betrayal at Krondor. Quest for Glory 2 would be sweet too.

That doesn't look pretty to you? I can see sweat on the horses mane! Seriously, if all games looked like that, I wouldn't complain at all.

Well, they did make that Head Coach game...a football RPG might be next.

It's really an excellent Diablo clone. I don't consider that an insult, it's just a gametype. Some people dig it, some don't. I miss the awesome FMV scenes and battlenet, but I'd say the classes and uniques setting make up for that. It really was great playing a game set in Ancient Greece, instead of all the medieval style games. Personally, I put in 20 hours before I got tired of the endless killing. But I enjoyed those 20 hours, and don't regret buying it.

This isn't new, and it doesn't bother me in movies. Whatever companies need to do to pay the bills, I support, as long as the gameplay and story are solid. Of course...EA has been known to give the axe to gameplay and story...

When a team loses, they will probably be forced to vote one of their own off. It's not like an entire racial group will be sent home at once.

Oh, of course editing is the key to any good reality show. Why would we watch people sitting on the beach napping? People want villians and crazies.

"Survivor" is a decent reality show because it does show human nature in difficult situations. They aren't pampering these people. Sure, they aren't in any terrible danger, but people have gotten hurt, and it's clear by the emaciated looks that they aren't eating well. The people also tend to be too exhausted in the later stages of the game to play for the camera. But as for the whole race gimick, I really think it will be a non-issue when the show airs. It sounds all controversial, but I can guarantee it won't be a race war when the season starts. It's just a way of keeping things fresh, albeit a rather tasteless one. They broke into age groups last season, and it really wasn't all that controversial. This is actually good for minority groups, as the last few seasons have been dominated by the white devil.

Well, RPG's tend to be games where characters develop over time. In every other genre, you start out fully powered. Your personal skill might improve, but the actual character is not improving. Of course there are grey areas.

If you like Hammer and Sickle, you might be able to enjoy Nightwatch. The interface is much improved, but the combat isn't as difficult or complex.

Great read Steve, it sounds like you're having a fascinating time. I take a group of students to a mosque during Ramadan, and the after sunset celebration is excellent. Islam can be a very beautiful religion, they way it brings the community together every day.

The silly thing is, they have spots 1, 4, and 5 pegged for Pacific division teams AND they put Phoenix and LA at 9 and 10. I don't even think that's mathematically possible with the new schedules. The Pacific teams will be feeding on eachother, I seriously doubt any of them have a shot at the top spot.

Hmm, interesting rankings. I agree on a lot, but a few big ones I'm not sure on. I think Carolina will drop off a bit, maybe fighting for the division, but not #1 in the East. I also think Washington will compete, maybe finishing 9th or 10th, but having a shot at the playoffs, but only if they find a hot young goalie. Kolzig is too old to play all season. Anaheim will not take number 1 in the west. Their division is just too tight. They have a shot at the Pacific, but I think they have the same shot as the Sharks (and I'm trying not to be biased here!) Columbus? In the playoffs? I'm not sold on that, Colorado, Vancouver, and Edmonton have a much better shot. I also think St. Louis is much improved, they finished strong last season.

I was seriously asking a question when I said "what are the positive contributions?", so I appreciate all the input. I'm still not entirely sold on those contributions outweighting the problems smoking causes, but to each their own. I just hope that eventually popular culture will move away from the whole idea that smoking is rebellious and cool. That will probably kill the tobacco industry without any legislation needed. I mean, seriously, there are better things to smoke than cigarettes, and the smell isn't exactly pleasant. On a side note, California just passed legislation that allows police to ticket motorists who are smoking in the car with a child under 6 years old.

Cars are an important part of society. They directly contribute to the economy. The get people to school and work, they allow goods to be delivered around the world. I definitely think more needs to be done to keep them environmentally safe, but they don't really compare to smoking. Smoking is a personal pleasure. What are the positive contributions to society for smoking?

That helps kill everyone around you... So? People driving like maniacs help kill people around them as well. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's why driving like a maniac is illegal...at least in the US. Those taxi's in Mexico are another story.

Just like if you pile trash near their window or blast loud music.

The Great Train Robbery is my favorite Crichton book. Timeline the movie didn't resemble Timeline the book in any way, in fact they even jumped central characters. He's a fiction writer though, no one should treat him like a scientist. He's not even really a sci-fi author.

The 360 version is excellent, but I wonder if the PC version has a beefier Franchise mode. I actually miss owner mode. I'm enjoying Superstar, but when I reach the end of the season, I'm going to be upset that I can't run the draft or move my team to Mexico City.

Geez, the Druid has quite a bit of UI stuff happening.

I used to live in an apartment complex where my wife and I were constantly opening and closing our windows to deal with neighboring smokers. It sucked, and we moved eventually, but we were paying an awful amount of money to put up with that junk. Granted I never spoke to the people, as they looked scary and had gang tatoos.

Is D referring to Germany? They didn't try to take over the world twice. World War 1 was a war between France and Germany that blossomed into something bigger. The German goals were the same as they were in 1879, when Germany beat France. It was a border dispute. Also, Napoleon was closer to taking over the world than Hitler, and he was French.