Stargate Atlantis' 5 year run is ending. I knew it was gonna happen last year when they made it clear that they want to get a third series going, but not at the same time as Atlantis is running because of the problems they had running SG1 and Atlantis for three years together before ending SG1's historical 10 year/214 episode run as the longest running SciFi show in US television history (and anchoring what has become pretty much the most popular science fiction franchise worldwide, finally giving Star Trek some real competition). Add in the fact that they recently announced that they would run the entire 5th season of Atlantis consecutively instead of the recent (and fucking stupid) trend of splitting the season into two, and it was obvious they wanted to clear the schedule and money up for the new series to get underway ASAP.

Well, at least they got their 5th season, unlike Farscape (No, I'll never forgive that twit for what she did to my favorite show of all time!)

Major Launch Planned for the Winner of E3 2008’s “Best of Show”

August 20, 2008 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that its highly anticipated title, Fallout® 3, will be available on store shelves and online in North America on October 28, 2008 and in Europe on October 31, 2008. Developed at Bethesda Game Studios – creators of the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® – Fallout 3 is slated for release on the Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows.

“We are very excited to let gamers get their hands on Fallout 3, the latest chapter in this beloved and highly acclaimed franchise,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “To meet the huge demand for this title by our fans worldwide, we are planning one of the biggest launches of any game released this year.”

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

Hailed as one of the most anticipated games for 2008, Fallout 3 has already won numerous awards including Best of Show from the official Game Critics Awards at E3 2008, a selection voted on by an independent group of journalists from 36 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry.

How can you not love that Wasteland callback? I Should have my new TV in a few more weeks - I can't wait to play this on it!

2 months and counting, commencing pee-pee dance ;-)

Step 1: Complete



RIAA Pays Tanya Andersen $107,951

"Well, Phase I of the RIAA's misguided pursuit of an innocent, disabled Oregon woman, Atlantic v. Andersen, has finally drawn to a close, as the RIAA was forced to pay Ms. Andersen $107,951, representing the amount of her attorneys fee judgment plus interest. But as some have pointed out, reimbursement for legal fees doesn't compensate Ms. Andersen for the other damages she's sustained. And that's where Phase II comes in, Andersen v. Atlantic. There the shoe is on the other foot, and Tanya is one doing the hunting, as she pursues the record companies and their running dogs for malicious prosecution. Should be interesting."

My hopes for the next phase? Second Verse, Same as the First - natch.

The SEGA Game Archive

In a small unassuming area in the product development department is a room that contains some very special SEGA history. In this room is the SEGA archive and contains just about every game that’s come out on a SEGA console in the past and present, as well as a ton of extremely rare or strange peripherals. We stumbled upon the room when we were taking photos of the department post-move and made a point to come back for pictures so everyone can see all there is to see.

We asked around about how the room came together and couldn’t get a straight answer. Some had said our old legal department had run the archive and given it up to someone else to manage. Others said that the legal archive still exists in another room in the office, and this was pulled together over time from producers and product managers. We don’t know the exact how or why, but we love that it exists and immediately accessible.

What an awesome find that must have been - historic and fascinating in it's sheer awesomeness. Check out the full Flickr set for more high-res drool-inducing pics.

From Celebslam: The new Tomb Raider: Gymnast Alison Carroll



Pretty damned good, and it looks like she'll be doing her own stunts as well ;-)

More pics here and some videos that include her pants-tightening accent here :-D

Dear Howard - Please stay the fuck away from Rock 'n' Roll High School

That's right - he's co-producing a remake of the cult classic Rock 'n' Roll High School. What's worse? It's being written by Bill S. Preston, Esq. (IOW - the guy from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure that isn't Keanu Reeves). There's already been one failed sequel to the original, oddly enough staring a guy that Winters stared with appeared with in The Lost Boys, so why go and remake (screw with) it?

variety.com via Idolator

Cablevision's TV service sucks so bad, I seriously might have to get FIOS just for the fact that they have real 1080p HD, and have more of it.

Cable's making a big deal about giving us 15 new HD channels this week, but most of them are shit:

1. Discovery HD
2. Animal Planet HD
3.TLC HD
4. Science Channel HD
5. Fox News HD
6. Nickelodeon HD
7. Spike HD
8. Travel Channel HD
9. FX HD
10. Speed HD
11. The Weather Channel HD
12. AMC HD
13. WE HD
14. IFC HD
15. Hallmark Movie Channel HD

Some of those have been available for a while on FIOS (and they just got SciFi, USA, and a bunch of others that look amazing on an HD set). It make no sense that we can't get SciFi and USA in HD - the 2 highest rated channels on cable - but thank FSM we can watch The Weather Channel and Nickelodeon in HD though... WTF?

Remember when Lucas said he was never going to re-release the original untouched verions of the original Star Wars movies on DVD a few years ago, and then when ahead and released them on DVD almost right away? Well he's "not" doing it again - this time he's whoring himself to the 3D gods knowing the idiot lemmings of the world that can't help themselves and will buy this tripe in hordes. SW lemmings are probably the only group more brainwashed than Apple lemmings and at least as much as all the video game console fanboys combined. I don't get why people keep handing him money to buy the same fucking thing they own in 15 different varieties already...

Seriously, Star Wars in 3d? Fuck you George Lucas, again!

I was happy as hell when this shit-fucker was put away - but then he goes on rids the world of his genes? Conflicting emotions to say the least...

From MSNBC:

BENNETT, Colo. - A convicted spammer and his wife, who were being sought after she helped him escape prison, were found slain along with their young daughter Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said.

A teenage girl was shot in the neck and a baby was found unhurt in a car seat inside the vehicle where the three bodies were found, Arapahoe County undersheriff Mark Campbell said. The relationship between the girl, baby and the escaped convict wasn't immediately clear.

The bodies of "Spam King" Edward "Eddie" Davidson, his wife, and 3-year-old daughter were found in an SUV parked in a farmhouse driveway in a rural part of Bennett, about 25 miles east of Denver. Authorities said Davidson was the apparent gunman.

"What a nightmare, and such a coward," U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said. "Davidson imposed the 'death penalty' on family members for his own crime."

Oddest part - the escape consisted of driving away from the jail unchallenged - minimum security at it's finest!

This quote from Gizmodo says it all:

At least he left the baby alone. But really, stories don't get much worse than this. As if you needed a reason to hate spammers any more.

A pure piece of shit and, sadly, a true coward.

Watching today's coverage of Microsoft's E3 press conference on G4, and of course the very first game they demoed was Fallout 3 - holy frelling hell does that game look amazing! Washington D.C. has never looked better (all nuke-a-fried :-p ), and Resident Evil 5's online co-op look sweet, but the thing that's made me happiest so far is that Netflix is coming to the 360 - just as I was about to drop a 'Benj' on the Roku Netflix Player!

Oh yeah - Avatars? Lame.