Hurlshort

In SAn Jose we have a promotion where, when the Sharks score 4 goals, you can take your ticket stub into a Round Table pizza and get a personal pizza free. I think with the new NHL and the increased scroring, that promotion will be making someone broke soon.

Peace keeping is a part of every one of those stations. It's not the only priority, of course. There is an agenda, the US wants people in power who serve their interests best. They want solid trade and economic certainty. You seem to think this is evil, but I say it's business. Running a country is the same as running a business. You can be ethical, but there is a bottom line that must be managed.

Man, Battlewookie just keeps spewing his anti-American propaganda. Do you even bother to read the rebuttals? You are totally looking at one side and refusing to see the many angles that politics have. The world is not nearly as cut and dry as you portray it to be. It's a huge onion with layers and layers of crap. Bush is also just one president, and the executive branch doesn't not have absolute power over the direction of the US. You seem to have a very elementary view of our political structure. I also don't see why the US needs to back out of its role as a protector of struggling nations. We have the largest and most advanced military. In many parts of the world they do a ton of good. The Middle East is a difficult situation, but there is no grand American strategy to conquer it. Even if the president had such ambition, he'd never be able to pull it off.

...Is that a response to my emotional state? Oh wait, I remember that game. Yes, very good, that is under-appreciated.

Years are nothing in the grand scale of things. I count in decades.

Merceneries was a very entertaining game. It's kinda like GTA but set in a warzone. I'm not sure on any of the other ones though.

Ok...under-appreciated does not mean immensely popular. Tetris is one of the best selling games ever, it's inspired tons of clones, and it brought video games to many non-gamers. You guys are killing me, under-appreciated games are not just older games. They are games that were great but slipped under the radar of the general public. Solitaire is not under-rated, it's installed on almost every computer in the world. Majesty is under-appreciated, it got great reviews, but couldn't bring in the sales or the mass public appeal.

The big thing about when US presidents suspend civil liberties in a time of war is that they return them come peace time. Now Bush clearly used the war on terror to get himself re-elected. Reagan did the same with the Cold War, as did JFK. But the US has huge political shifts every 4-8 years, and it's very hard to predict what will happen in three more years. The wheels are already in motion for Homeland Security to be lessened. That is the beauty of the US's government, it's constantly evolving and very resistant to any one person manipulating power. Lincoln clearly seized power during the Civil War, but before his assassination, he was facing tough political opposition because of this. George Washington could have been king. He could have stayed in power until he was dead, but he set a precedent that has helped the US adapt very well over the years. If you don't like the current government, just wait, it's constantly shifting.

I always tell my students that it's a great place to pick up links on a topic, but you shouldn't trust any single source for factual information. There's always some guy in his underwear typing this stuff in a basement somewhere...

Now that we've seen the tension, strife and conflicts brewing in Iraq I guess it kinda makes a diabolical sense, that Saddam was being hostile. For instance, what happened when Tito died? The former Jugoslavia was split into factions after the most bloody war in recent European history. I think that the people of Iraq are glad to be rid of Saddam, but despite his cruelty he did keep the country together...somewhat. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree with that, and Stalin and Mao kept their countries together as well, but that doesn't mean it was it was a good regime. He ruled with an iron fist. It will be interesting to see if Iraq can establish a functioning government that doesn't need brute force. I don't know enough about Saddam, but I hear he also kept religion out of the government. That's an amazing feat in a place where Islam is so heavily saturated. Right now there is a very clear line between Sunni's and Shi'ites, and I don't think enough is being done to draw these two sides together. We need to solve the problems, not place blame and call names. That's the path to peace that Battlewookie seems intent on. Isolationism will not end strife.

Europeean nations have a pretty bad history in terms of trying to influence the rest of the world. Ever hear the expression, "People in glass houses, shouldn't cast stones." Seriously, let it go, you've got way too much US hostility. It's just a country.

I am greatfull for defenders and peace-keeping occupaters. Not for the conquering type of military though. And if you join the US-Army now you are for the conquering of things. If you really wish to help defend your country, become spy, Federal Agent, SWAT-agent, Anti-Terrorist, Riot cop or even normal cop, but not Army Soldier... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> These aren't peaceful countries that the US is occupying. These are countries with serious problems underneath, oppressive regimes and fanatical beliefs. The Taliban used to take archeological sites that were centuries old and destroy them because they did not fit their religious beliefs. Saddam was a hostile guy. Do you think he was trying for world peace? The goal of the US occupiers is to keep the peace and establish a government run by the Iraqi people and for the Iraqi people. The trouble is there are many different factions who all want power, and some have no trouble blowing up innocents to get it. The US has some problems, I agree. There is too much of a focus on the concept of voting and establishing a capitalistic society. Many policy makers struggle to understand that the formula that works for us will not work the same in the Middle East. But the US is not some evil entity trying to conquer the world. The intentions are well-founded.

Very awesome, good luck! I almost joined the reserves a few months ago, but as a teacher and with my mortgage, it was hard to figure out a way to stay financially positive if I got called up. Not to mention my wife wants to have children soon...but I'm thinking about the National Guard instead.

Wow, it's amazing how people here take extremely complex political issues and simplify them to fit their bizarre opinions. Personally, I respect anyone who is willing to give up their personal freedom in order to serve in the military. It's a very difficult job, but it's tremendously important. That doesn't mean I always agree with the decisions of leadership, but I would never blame the defenders of our country for those decisions. Also, what happens if the US pulls out of Iraq? Everyone loves to argue about how they shouldn't be there in the first place, but do you think that insurgency will stop if all the US troops go home tomorrow?

ToEE was a pretty well known adventure, so I think they figured it'd be the easiest to market. I don't know much about it, but did they stick pretty close to the P&P madule? Perhaps they got too caught up in the recreation and ignored the fact that story is more important in a single player RPG than a PnP group.

As long as they go back to being the Jets. Can you see Sydney Crosby in those jerseys with the little plane on it?

That's a pretty odd disappointing game list on Gamespot as well...JE is put on thier because it was an above average game and not a perfect one, and Madden and Tony Hawk were put on there for using the same formula that has worked well for years. They even say Madden is great...how can you say the game is great and put it on the list? Madden and Tony Hawk gave you exactly what you were expecting, that's not disappointing in my eyes. I've heard about a lot more disappointing games this year than the 5 they listed.

I find it odd that people who don't like Obsidian's only release choose to make the Obsidian forums a home. And it can't be because of NWN2 because Bioware has kept those forums.

I can't believe Guild Wars gets on the list. So Jade Empire was a 2005 release...where is that?

I've been keeping an eye on it, although I really still have no idea how the game will turn out. It seems like it has a tremendous chance to be a stinker, but it also has that slight probability of being the best game in a long time. I've been playing D&D Online for the stress test, and the real-time combat is an absolute game killer...I'm way to slow to enjoy it.

I was pretty disappointed. I kept pointing him out to my friend, but he really did absolutely nothing. He is a very big kid though, and we were close enough to see the acne But my boys won, and that was a bit more important.

I watched the Sharks stifle Ovechkin tonight. My buddie bought tickets right on the glass, and it was pretty exciting. It's actually hard to see a bunch of the plays that close, but there's nothing like it when they lay a hit on your area of the boards. Thornton just keeps on dominating...the trade has been nothing but positive for the Sharks.

I watched Spirits Within with my Wife and Father-in-law, and we all loved it. They knew nothing about Final Fantasy either, but they thought it was beautifully artistic and very good voice acting. It also didn't flop, it took in over 88 milion dollars...the problem is it cost 110 million to make. They just need to create a better budget scheme for these animated movies, because not all of them can be kid blockbusters like Toy Story and Madagascar.

Loom was hugely popular in its day. Some of these games are not underrated, they are just forgotten over time.

Family Guy pokes fun at Pop Culture. Many people here have no clue what is happening in popular culture, so of course you wouldn't find the show funny. It also does great parodies of 80's TV shows, so if you are under 25, there's more content not to get. I hope Arrested Development goes to Showtime...maybe we'll get to see Ellen's girlfriend naked. Oh, that's a pop culture joke, in case you don't get it.