A failed recon mission deep in the tunnels of Afghanistan has provoked a demonic onslaught that had been brewing for centuries. The mission's sole survivor is reformed black ops assassin Dylan Hatfield, and he once again teams up with Abby Sherman, now at the helm of the Watchers, an ancient spiritual force. Uncovering and preventing a secret wave of death whispered across cyberspace and threatening to be unleash against civilization will require another level of spiritual power and expertise--the Warriors. Journeying across the Alps of Europe through the multilayered history of warfare in the unseen world, Dylan and Abby uncover an age-old stone engraving that rouses the church's Warriors to action, placing them dead center in one of the fiercest spiritual battles of their time! And once again they are reminded: This is all part of a vast and perpetual war, a war beyond all human conflicts, one that has engulfed heaven and earth since before the dawn of history....

It made me consider the current forces in the world and question if there have been, are currently and/or will be ‘spiritual battles’ going on all over this planet/universe. If there are current battles, how do we tap into them? If the future – say 2012 sparks some type of battle, who/what are the forces and the fighters? My teacher, Eric Pepin, has eluded to a time in the future when many of us will be called upon to become warriors or healers. This future time lingers in my mind and this book stoked my imagination. While in some regards, it seems the musings of science fiction, one has to wonder where the ideas for that ‘science fiction‘ come from.

"We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.

I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.

This sense of pride, but also of fear, animates much of the "Red State" attitude about Blue Staters. Where does it come from?  It is an age old tension of what Yuri Slezkine calls Mercurians and Apollonians. America's right-wing populism has much the same flavor as other reactions to the changes wrought by modernism. Once upon a time, itinerant merchants were a minority swimming in an ocean of peasants.  They lived alongside societies in which they barely fit in or only occasionally visited; they were often suspected of being unproductive or disloyal. Often they were from distinct ethnic or religious sub-groups.  Jews.  Armenians.  Chinese.  They had to play it cool and generally made efforts not to appear to threaten the community's prevailing mores.

Today, the Mercurians are in charge. The Ivy Leagues, Wall Streeters, verbally intelligent, quick-to-move, urban cosmopolitans. What Steve Sailer calls "Davos People." In other words, today the world is the opposite of that of even 100 years ago, when a third or more of Americans still lived on farms.  Today's elite is everything that Sara Palin is not and has never been.

Palin represents those left behind, people not altogether devoid of the "bitterness" Obama was castigated for taking notice of.  Thankfully, in America, this prejudice has been less ethnically discriminatory, less nasty, and more forgiving and ecumenical than elsewhere. In America, this populism is also dampened by our strong cultural respect for free enterprise. We're willing as a people to make exceptions. That said, the Red Staters are willing to be overinclusive too. Consider the right-wing's visceral hatred for a turn-coat WASP character like Bill Clinton.

In spite of its various limits and American peculiarities, this tension is still there. It has cultural, geographic, and ethnic dimensions. In spite of entreaties, we're not solely a land of people making money or a creedal nation or some other modern symbol like a Big Shopping Mall of a Country where it does not matter who lives here, for how long, or what they think and do.  This should matter to conservatives.  The Mercurian ideas that "everyone should go to college," "diversity is our strength," physical strength and courage are irrelevant and barbaric, and other platitudes of cosmopolitan globalism are corrosive of the traditional values and virtues of the peasant-patriot, the natural conservative rooted to the soil and suspicious of change and outsiders.

When such people see gazillionaire banks getting bailed out by the feds, prayer being taken out of schools, regional and religious disparities in military service, and people in NYC making tons of money by gambling other peoples' meager savings--their pensions in some cases--in impenetrably complex transactions even while these same workers get tossed about or outsourced by globalization, it stings and then enrages. In hard times in particular, these dichotomies and suspicions come into play.

Slezkine understands this mutual suspicion as a broader phenomenon than mere American populism or mere anti-Semitism but rather as a permanent distinction in human types in nearly every society on
earth. I think Palin tapped into this dichotomy in a very effective way. She and her land are the quintessential American Apollonian outpost. She knows these people and channels their frustrations, frustrations that can never be fully alleviated by the emasculating offer of hand-outs from the Democrats.

Working class rural people don't want a handout; they want to be understood and respected; and, if not, they want to remind the Mercurians of the latter's practical dependence on the Apollonian. Often this takes place in iconic symbols.  Consider the brief social elevation of NYC firefighters after 9/11. For so long it had been the Enrons, techno-geeks, heiresses, artists, lawyers, and Wall-Streeters who reigned supreme there.  For a brief moment, the utter fear and terror and vulnerability of the financial classes was made manifest, and their fear and helplessness contrasted so sharply with the sacrificial bravery of those very different men who marched into the burning towers.

Here's what Slezkine says of these human types:

At different times and in different places, there were tribes--ethnic groups--that specialized exclusively in providing services to the surrounding food-producing societies. They include Roma-Gypsies, various so-called “Travelers” or “Tinkers,” the Fuga in Ethiopia, the Sheikh Mohammadi in Afghanistan, and of course the Armenians, the Overseas Chinese, the Indians in East Africa, the Lebanese in West Africa and Latin America, and so on. I call them all “Mercurians,” as opposed to their “Apollonian” hosts.

What do you mean by those terms?

Apollo was the god of both livestock and agriculture. “Apollonian” societies, the way I use the term, are societies organized around food production, societies that consist mostly of peasants, plus various combinations of warriors and priests who appropriate peasant labor by controlling access to land or salvation.

Mercury, or Hermes, was the god of messengers, merchants, interpreters, craftsmen, guides, healers, and other border-crossers. “Mercurians,” the way I use the term, are ethnic groups, demographically complete societies, that do not engage in food production, but live by providing services to the surrounding Apollonians.

In the modern world, Apollonians have to become more Mercurian--more Jewish, if you will; but Apollonian values, peasant and warrior values, essentially, live on, of course. The two attitudes, two ideal types, are still with us today, and the Jews, the most accomplished of all Mercurians, are still playing a very special role in the modern world--as the models of both success and victimization.

There are striking similarities in the way all Mercurians think of themselves and of their non-Mercurian neighbors, and in the way they actually behave. . . .

There were a lot of groups performing such functions. And, throughout the world, they share certain features and are regarded in similar ways. Think of Jews and Gypsies. Both were traditionally seen as dangerous internal aliens, homeless for reasons of divine punishment, and engaged in harmful, morally suspect activities. They were always seen as mirror images of their host communities: Their men weren’t warriors, their women seemed aggressive--and, perhaps for that reason, attractive; they remained strangers by staying aloof, not intermarrying, not fighting, not sharing meals--just making, exchanging, selling, and possibly stealing, things and concepts. And so they were feared and hated accordingly, with the Holocaust as the culmination of that long history of fear and hatred.

And I think they were seen in similar ways because they were, in many ways, similar. Both were exclusive, nomadic service providers; both had rigid taboos regarding unclean food and intermarriage; both could only survive by remaining strangers--hence the prohibitions against sharing food and blood with their neighbors, and the obsession with cleanliness. . . .

Including the Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia?

Yes. The Overseas Chinese too are supposed to be clever--too clever, perhaps. You can call on the usual anti-Semitic list: they are aloof, devious, unmanly, and so on. This is the way Apollonians describe Mercurians throughout the world.

And of course one could interpret these same qualities in a positive light. “Cunning” and “deviousness” may become “intelligence” and “a general commitment to the life of the mind.” Gypsies are proud of being smarter than the non-Gypsies they deal with, as Jews are, or were in the traditional Jewish world. Mercurian views of Apollonians tend to be negative too: “soulfulness,” “courage,” and “earthiness” may become “stupidity,” “belligerence,” and “uncleanliness.”

In other words, the oppositions mind/body, intelligence/physicality, impermanence/permanence, non-belligerence/belligerence remain the same and are agreed upon by everyone involved. Everyone knows which traits are associated with which group; the difference is in the interpretation.

While I have a great deal of sympathy for the working men left behind or abused in a global era, admire their virtues, and believe our society has become unbalanced, Palin and the GOP's contempt for "Mercurians" of all types is a potentially dangerous indulgence. Modern societies need both human types and their respective vocations to be balanced and powerful. As a conservative, I want to tilt the scales, the honors, and benefits of society back towards the forgotten Apollonians.  At the same time, I do not want to see us devolve into a primitive, hateful, envious, and dull race devoid of contemplation, gentleness, or ability, as so many Apollonian societies have become or always remained.

[caption id="attachment_185" align="aligncenter" width="558" caption="You gotta trust that face"][/caption]

 

Golden State Warriors golden boy Monta Ellis has recently turned more of a bronze color due to abrasions found on his right ankle, which he claims was sprained while playing a pick-up game in his home state of Mississippi.

Instead of preparing to take over as the Warriors number one guy, Ellis will spend the next 3-4 months recovering from his injury and trying to get his story straight. Several sources and sports medicine experts have told ESPN that the cuts and abrasions, along with a torn deltoid ligament, are not typical of a basketball-related high ankle sprain.

The Warriors are investigating the injury and if it's found that Ellis hurt himself doing something other than basketball (taking out the trash, erratic dancing at the club, burning his hands in hot wax), he may be forced to forefit his contract.

It appears that Ellis lied about his injury, which is pretty stupid, but he is just following in the footsteps of professional athletes that lie to weasel their way out of losing money. At least Ellis' excuse was reasonable, unlike these bozos:

- Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic claimed to have separated his shoulder when he slipped on a patch of ice while carrying a cup of coffee. Nobody swallowed this tripe to begin with, since Radmo was at a ski resort in Park City, Utah when the injury happened. He came clean after a few days, admitting that he hurt himself after a nasty snowboarding fall.

- Then-Giants second-baseman Jeff Kent claimed to have broken his wrist when he fell off of his truck while attmepting to give it a thorough cleansing. Reasonably suspicious about how a professional athlete could manage to fall off of his truck, the Giants looked into it and found that two men called 911 about the same time as Kent's injury. They said that they saw an unidentified rider fall off of his motorcycle while doing a wheelie down the street. Since Jeff Kent was never shy about his love for motorcycles, the Giants continued to look into it, but could never prove that Kent simply couldn't figure out the appropriate water to soap ratio.

While lying is a despicable act and should never be used to cheat your way out of a fine, it may be a reasonable option for those athletes trying to avoid looking like an idiot. Here is a list of boneheads that probably would have saved some face by lying about their injuries. Some highlights:

• Astros outfielder Hunter Pence injured himself walking through a sliding glass door at his own apartment.
• Yankees pitcher David Cone missed a start after being bit on the finger by his mother's dog. He should have listened to the advice of my college coach (and 1982 World Series Game 6 winner) John Stuper: "Always pet dogs and open blind doors with your non-pitching hand."
• Twins outfielder Marty Cordova was benched due to sunburn suffered from forgetting to set the timer while inside the tanning bed.
• Padres pitcher Adam Eaton stabbed himself in the gut while trying to open a DVD. (Hey, I bet we've all done this at least once...or at least wanted to stab ourselves while trying to get the damn thing open!)
• Brewers pitcher Steve Sparks dislocated his shoulder while trying to rip a phonebook in half during a motivational seminar. Each child in the audience went on to join a gang.

So maybe lying about an injury isn't the worst thing in the world. Just try to avoid dangerous situations like washing your truck, opening DVD's, and giving motivational speeches.

NFL - Oakland Raiders (don’t laugh…they’re coming back this year!)
MLB - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I know the name is ridiculous)
NBA - Los Angeles Lakers (who else?)
NHL - Anaheim Ducks (hey…they don’t belong to Disney anymore!)
NCAA FB - Florida State
NCAA BB - UNC

This is certainly not a complete list but it should get the discussion going.

Photo courtesy of Albirex

Home United are still the current leader after Saffc failed to post victory.The warriors succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to underdogs Albirex Niigata.In what would be an easy outing for the warriors,luck was not on their side.Ryota Doi 69 minutes strike blew Saffc title hope.Shaiful Esah gave his side a perfect start when his deflected freekick whistled into the back of the net.Just right after the second half started,the swans were given a penalty after Ryota Doi was brought down in the penalty area by Daniel Bennett.Okayama made no mistake from the spot.

Home United now top at 56 points ahead of Saffc with 55 points.Meanwhile,Super Reds,who have one game in hand,are third with 53 points.

SAFFC

-Shahril-

-Razaleigh- Bennett- -Kenji- -Shaiful-

-Latiff- -Wilko- -Chaiman- -Fukasawa-

-Murakami- -Duric-

Attendance: 1,940

As most of us know now, Monta Ellis will be sidelined 3-4 months following the surgery he had on Wednesday, August 27th after tearing a deltoid ligament in his left ankle. Reports say 3-4 months will put him back in action a month or two after the regular season begins. Monta claims he injured himself while working out and playing a pick up game in his home state of Mississippi. In reltaed news, we have gotten word that Monta was not working out but instead riding a motorcycle. News has yet to break about this but apparently Monta decided to take a stroll on his new bike when he crashed it causing the injury, similar to former Duke standout Jason Williams . There are reports that his injury was so severe that he was forced to have pins put in his foot. It is only a matter of time before this hits media outlets but as always, remember where you heard it first. Monte could be out a lot longer then 3-4 months.

Stay off the bikes, It's not worth losing millions

Minimal

Recommended

so as you can see the game is not very computer intensive and not that big compared to other mmorpgs. So the actual game is a lot of fun, it includes some features I think all games should include and that is very intelligent AI and enviroment system. So say a wild pack of deer run into a pack of coyotes, they arn't going to walk right by eachother and go on there way, no they are going to battle it out until death. And same with the seasons, it isnt always sunny and hott in one specific area, the enviroment changes as the seasons change making this game very diverse from others. For thoes interested in customization and the community, this game has factions, guilds, and just about anything. You are also allowed item creation which I have not experienced personally but from what I hear it is a very cool system and that is a nice feature to have =). And finally the last thing I would like to mention and its that this game has something that a lot of popular games lack and that is a story that really gets you wanting to complete the next quest, rather than just going off and hunting your ass off until level 250 =). So get your account quick and come enjoy the game along with the latest expansion they just added!

.... oh ya and its nice to see a game finally with a manual thats not 6 pages =) ( Ryzoms manual is 52 pages Enjoy! )

This is a very difficult letter for me to write as many avenues seem to have been closed to me so I hope you can take the time to read my story.

I don’t have much time, because they are everywhere. I need to be quick, cannot stay in one place for too long these days or they will find me. They are good.

You may have heard of two young hunters from Kansas who stupidly have opened the Gates to Hell recently. Damn foolish if you ask me, but what’s done is done now…

I have been studying the old prophesies all of my life and every book that has ever been written on that subject and my search has finally reignited the spark of hope in me.

I have heard of this group that has formed in the follow-up to these hellish events. A group of rebel hunters if the rumors are true. Not much is know about them, but they may be my ultimate hope to reunite what's left of us.

You may have already guessed it, I am a hunter too. But I am on my own now. I had friends, colleagues, loved ones. They are all gone. Swallowed up by the darkness that has come upon us and I had no choice than to slip into the underground. That is the only place that is safe for me now.

I am looking to find this new group of Warriors to offer them my knowledge in return for their friendship and protection. Strengths in numbers…

I need to go. They are almost here!

Watch out for the signs!. I don't know how many there are yet, but I think my letter could be the first as today’s date could hold some clues. I have been studying numerology for years and I...need to go now! They are here! I will get back tomorrow and let you know what I found out.

I wish you well.

R v. P.

]]> http://nbaroundtable.wordpress.com/?p=1482 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:20:30 +0000 Dave http://nbaroundtable.wordpress.com/?p=1482 Article over at the Contra Costa Times with some brief bites of news on three players being looked at for the job:

Looking at a certain free agent and once promising prospect

During his conference call with local media today, Chris Mullin (answering a question from my man Tim Kawakami) told reporters the Warriors will be going to look at Shaun Livingston in Chicago tomorrow. He said the workout was scheduled long before the Warriors learned starting point guard Monta Ellis would be out for three months after today’s knee surgery. Certainly, they will be looking on with much more intensity.

On Marcus Williams

Mullin said as of this point, Marcus Williams is the starter.

On CJ Watson

Which means C.J. Watson, who is non-guaranteed and needs to make the roster, is the No. 2. That’s music to Watson’s ears.
“I’m ready for the opportunity,” Watson said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’m kinda sad that Monta got hurt. But this gives me an opportunity to prove myself to the coaches.”00
Watson had a positive summer league and a good showing at an ensuing popular Las Vegas camp, where he played on the same team as Williams and against the likes of Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Mike Conley Jr.
Watson is all but guaranteed a long hard look at camp no

Afterward, many washed off in a nearby river while crews hosed down a town painted red.

I would HATE to be Chris Mullin right now.

Golden State guard Monta Ellis will be sidelined for at least three months after severely spraining his ankle during an offseason workout, forcing the Warriors to start the season without the player expected to lead their revamped roster this fall.

Ellis just a $66 mil, 6 year contract too. My take is that he'll come back to full strength once the ankle heals up. But for a player like him that uses his quickness and athleticism to exploit matchups, it's going to be tough not to re-injure that ankle again. Anyone that has played basketball has had at least one ankle injury that just kept coming back. Let's just hope this kid doesn't catch whatever disease Laker's Center Chris Mihm got the last few years.

Monta Ellis is going to miss at least three months after ankle surgery according to Marc Stein.  Not a good sign, as he was supposed to step in and pick up where Baron Davis left off on a team that should have been in the playoffs last season.

Now Don Nelson has to head into the season with Laptop Williams as his likely starting PG.  A backcourt of Williams and S Jax, while useful in certain situations (armed robbery) isn't what I think of as an ideal Nellyball backcourt.

I genuinely feel sorry for Golden State (and I, as a Wolves fan, rarely feel sorry for anyone.)  From their electrifying playoff run in 2007, they spend the next year scratching and clawing for the right to be the best team ever to wind up in the lottery.  Then they draft another dumbass stick figure form LSU, lose Baron Davis, overpay for Maggette, and the one good thing they actually managed to accomplish (keeping Monta, Dre Breezy and Buke) is practically wiped out with Monta missing this much time.  And it's only going to get worse if you give Chris Mullin a high pick, because he'll use it on someone shitty.

Hope you enjoyed relevance, Golden State.

Monta Ellis will be out for at least three months, possibly four, after suffering a severe high ankle sprain in Jackson, Mississippi, his hometown.

Ellis was scheduled to undergo surgery on his left ankle in Alabama on Wednesday, according to team sources.

That would have Monta Ellis returning sometime in December or early January, and from there playing himself into shape. It's going to be a double whammy for Monta because he needed that training camp to help get him and his teammates used to him playing the point.

I'm not sure what the current status is with CJ Watson but I don't believe he's been re-signed. That leaves Marcus Williams as the only point guard on the roster. Good opportunity for Williams to start himself off on the right track.

I thought the Warriors were going to struggle next season anyway, without Monta for the start of the season the situation has only gotten worse.

We got off the metro around 11 at night and began navigating the cracked pavement, zigzagging into the outskirts if the Santa Martha ghetto. Five of us, sore legs from el chopo and the huge free ska show in the Zocalo where I watched my friends beat the shit out of a guy with brass knuckles and chains. The streets in Santa Martha are eerily dark, only the odd-functioning fluorescent streetlight every block or so provides and relief to the smoggy blanket of night. At night, the streets are closed and stray dogs carry on while people rest inside their cinder block homes.

I carried my camera, Maniaco a crowbar, Robert a broomstick he found in the garbage, and his brother a sharpened tree branch that he had been lugging around all over the city since the show this morning. We rounded a corner four or five blocks from the house, and I stopped to photograph some graffiti.

Ahead of us a rickety motorcycle taxi, a third world chariot, sputtered to a halt. Out leapt two guys with baseball bats, and suddenly a gang of fifteen guys wielding bats and 2x4s materialized directly behind us. Before I had time to get a bad feeling about all this, my friend yelled "CORRE!" and we made a sprint-for-our-lives through a muddy pile of garbage with the angry mob in close pursuit. We got to the locked door and pounded on it, and my three armed friends assumed defensive postures a few feet ahead of us. The attackers began to throw stones, and one guy hurled a cinder block which shattered in front of us and sprayed bits of rock at our muddy feet. I stood there, figuring my luck had run dry, lifted my camera and snapped a poorly-exposed photo of the situation.

Suddenly the door flung open and I ran up five flights of narrow stairs to the roof, where I hid my camera under a propane tank. I grabbed several loose bricks and sat on the edge of the roof, ready to hurl them onto unsuspecting heads.

A two hour argument in incomprehensible Spanish ensued and eventually ended with agreements of "Chido, chido," and the angry mob dispersed. We all congregated in the living room and I found out it was a retaliatory attack because my friend had beaten up some skinhead the night before. So began my three night stay in Santa Martha.

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson wants some love, too.

Now that his teammates have been taken care of financially by the Warriors, Jackson — arguably the team's best player heading into next season — is looking for some financial security of his own.

Jackson, 30, has two years and $14.89 million left on his contract, $7.14 million this coming season. With point guard Baron Davis gone, only forward Al Harrington was budgeted to make more — that is until the Warriors started doling out cash this offseason.

Six years, $66 million to guard Monta Ellis. Six years, $54 million to center Andris Biedrins. Five years, $50 million to free-agent swingman Corey Maggette. As a result, Jackson will be the fifth-highest paid player on the roster next season. As far as total contract, he's sixth — behind Ronny Turiaf, who signed a four-year, $17 million free-agent deal.

"It's something I always think about," Jackson said from his basketball camp. "It's definitely something that has to be addressed because of what I do for this team and what I've done since I've been here, bringing this team from one of the bottom teams in the league to a playoff team, to a team that won 49 games. It's not what I want, it's what I deserve. "... I won't be comfortable going into this season knowing I have to play this whole season being the fifth highest-paid and not get an extension. I would not be happy."

Jackson can't jump up the pay scale this season, as the collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow midcontract changes in salary. But he is up for an extension, and he expressed confidence that he would get it."I feel real confident that I will have it soon," he said. "I will get something done soon, before the season starts. "... So in the position I'm in now, being the (sixth)-highest paid player, I feel like from the conversations I've had with the team that it won't be like that once the season starts."

The Warriors declined to comment on Jackson's extension possibilities, as per team policy.

Will the Warriors hand a major contract Jackson's way?

It's hard to see why.

• They're clearly rebuilding after the move to let Baron Davis go.
• Add in Jackson's age at 30 years old or 32 years old when he starts his next contract
• Add in the Warriors limited cap flexibility now, one which only allows them to add one top player and only in two years time .... flexibility which would be killed by a rich Stephen Jackson extension.
• Add in the likely 30-40 win totals which the team is facing this coming season.

Switching gears to Jackson's situation

• Then consider what Jackson is likely going to ask for, he said he isn't comfortable being the fifth highest paid player, the Warriors have three players earning around $10mil so that's likely the ball park.
• Add in the unlikelihood of any team offering Jackson more than the MLE in two years time
• Add in the perceived notion that Jackson's contributions/production are increased by the system which he plays in.

Consider that for a moment. Would you pay him big money?

I can't picture Chris Mullin paying him anywhere close to what Jackson will be looking for.

This is very likely to become a sore spot for Stephen Jackson. He isn't going to get what he wants/feels he deserves. If Mully isn't willing to pay Baron Davis, he won't be willing to pay Jacks.

Arms
5/5 Deflection
5/5 Iron Will
1/1 Anger Management
2/2 Improved Overpower
3/3 Deep Wounds
5/5 Two-Handed Weapon Specialization
2/2 Impale
1/1 Death Wish
5/5 Sword Specialization
3/3 Improved Hamstring
2/2 Improved Intercept
1/1 Mortal Strike
2/2 Blood Frenzy
2/2 Second Wind
2/5 Improved Mortal Strike
1/1 Endless Rage

Fury
5/5 Malice
5/5 Unbridled Wrath
1/1 Piercing Howl
3/3 Blood Craze

Protection
3/3 Tactical Mastery
2/2 Improved Bloodrage

All right. This is a build I have been using for 2v2 Resto Shaman/Warrior.

The focus here is combatting rage starvation, and generally relying on your opponents to find that your shaman partner is a tastier target than you are. This usually happens, especially against mage/rogue...I spend much of those fights sheeped. The idea, anyway, is that you're not getting hit and being fed rage so much. Also this makes Enrage less useful...if you're not getting hit, you're not getting crit.

So we have Endless Rage and Improved Bloodrage instead of Flurry for increased rage gen. This is 25% more rage all the time (and 6 more rage when activating Bloodrage) rather than 25% more rage for 3 hits after a critical hit, the effects of which you will see less with added resilience on your opponents.

We also have the added utility of Improved Hamstring. It's not the greatest thing ever but I will say that it definitely has come in handy when it has happened.

One thing I do know I need to fix is getting a mace instead of a sword, but I'm not sure I care that much to go through getting 27k honor and 40 AV marks again. If this pair can maybe hit 1700 that's more than enough for me. Anyway, the point of the mace spec is some RNG CC to help keep your opponents from being completely free to act as well as offering yet more rage generation.

Guild Wars Battle Grounds

"By : KG"

Guild Wars PVP system is best well known for its Guild Vs. Guild. So before I go into all the different modes I would like to get a little into the character creation for PvP. Now Arena Net has done it different by allowing the players to either create a strictly PvP character which is already at level cap with perfect equipment but not allowed to travel into the PvE environment or complete quest. Alternatively you can create a PvE character and take him into the PvP arena. There is no advantages between the two different types besides the fact that getting perfect armor and a level 20 PvE character is a lot harder than just making a PvP character so you choose.

Now Guild Wars does include multiple modes such as Random Battle, which automatically pairs you up with 3 others to take on another randomly paired team, this mode requires a great amount of teamwork luck and communication, because no matter what you do there is no way of telling what kind of people or characters you will get paired with. Team Battle a mode much similar to Random except that the teams are created by you the player, in return giving you a much higher chance of winning. Next is the famous Heroes’ Accent. The Heroes’ Accent is a multi-cultural mode where Countries all across the nation compete to win. Teams of 8 players join together and go through 10 stages of game play until they reach the final stage, The Hall Of Heroes. While playing through the stages teams earn fame, resulting in getting farther in the Hero Title Track. I’ll go into Titles a little bit later but for now let’s stick to PvP. So during the Heroes’ Accent teams compete through stages until they are either defeated and are dropped out of the competition or reach the final stage where valuable items can be found. Heroes’ Accent is probably the most competitive mode in Guild Wars.

Next is the actual Guild vs Guild. Guild Wars is focused off this mode hence the name “Guild Wars”. GvG for short is where two guilds with teams of 8 players battle it out trying to kill the other guilds “Guild Lord”. GvG is one of the most competitive because of the ladder they have. Teams compete to become #1 on the GvG ladder on the Guild Wars website. Now all 8 members of the team have to be Guild Members, a minimum of 4 of the players must be a part of the guild, others must either be a guest to the guild. GvG is played in 3 modes, unranked scrimmage where players can choose which guild they play, this mode does not count towards their ladder rank. The next mode is an ranked automated match, where teams are randomly paired together and must face, this mode does count towards your ladder rank. Finally there is just a scrimmage mode where players battle a selected team in the guild’s guild hall. Next there is a Alliance Vs. Alliance PvP mode. AvA is a mode only unlocked if you have the Factions campaign and belong to a faction, Kuzrick or Luxon. AvA is played in a 12 Vs 12, including 3 teams of 4, these teams are randomly paired. The objective of the game mode is to be the first team to reach 500 points, you gain points by capturing and holding certain control points. A automatic win can be achieved by holding all 7 control points for 60 seconds. While playing you are rewarded faction points which work towards various titles.

Lastly there is Hero Vs Hero. Where players use 3 heroes to battle each other controlling only their heroes and not their character. Just like GvG there is a unranked match as well as a ranked match. This mode requires either the Nightfall campaign or the Eye Of The North expansion. That just about sums it up for my Guild Wars PvP review, I hope you enjoyed it, now go slay some noobs in Heroes’ Accent!

This suddenly wasn't a fun conversation.  It was just 8 or 9 months ago, my wife & I were shleping around to what seemed like every sporting goods store in the East Bay, and searching feaverishly around the web for a little kids-sized "Baron Davis #5" Golden State Warriors road jersey.  The same jersey he got on Christmas and literally wore 15 days straight.  Finally, convincing him to take it off so it could be washed.  The same jersey that my 18-year old nephew laid his eyes on and said "dang, I want a Baron jersey".

Well, after 6 weeks since signing with the Los Angeles Clippers.  I guess it finally sunk in for a 5 year old.  When the Warriors take the floor in late October, Baron will not be there.  Sure, the rest of us have all but forgotten about Baron running the floor in the Big-O, the last second 3's, the 3's with 20 seconds left on the 24-second clock, the I'm 1-6 so far this evening on 3's but I'll chuck it up anyway cause we're down by 15 in the 4th quarter.  (Ah, the memories.)  For a 5-year old, this was the 6-week revelation.  

I was able to convince him to keep the jersey and hang it back in his closet.  I told him it was expensive.  It was.  I told him many, many people have Baron jerseys and will continue to wear them. They will.  But, the kicker was showing him my #23 Jason Richardson Warriors road jersey in my closet that I keep clean and perfectly pristine.  It is.

"Oh. Ok, dad.  I'll keep it."
"Good. Go to sleep."

I guess I could have also told him the Baron jerseys are still for sale in the Official Warriors store.  50% off of course.

Where to Enter the Cheats;

You Need to enter the codes either in the main menu or in paused game play.

Cheat Codes

To Unlock The Sound Test Import

You Will Need to Clear musou mode using a character from each faction

*This is for the JPN game only!*

A tribute to the men and women of HAwaii's armed forces.

I've read that somehow this is resulting in less dps for fury warriors. I'm not sure how this can be...

First, take two different weapons of equal item level. We'll go with pvp weapons here for similar stats:

Merciless Gladiator's Greatsword - Two-Hand, 365-549 damage, 3.6 speed, 126.9 dps
Merciless Gladiator's Slicer - One-Hand, 203-305 damage, 2.7 speed, 97.7 dps

These are both iLevel 136 items, meaning that the only thing separating them in budget is the fact that the Greatsword uses up both hands (and as a result, has more stats allotted to it). So, let's pick up Titan Grip and take a look at what basically happens to our Greatsword's damage.

That 3.6 speed becomes 4.32 at a 20% increase. The new dps amount is 105.8...more than the Slicer. And now, you've got a two-handed weapon in one hand...comparing the Greatsword to the Slicer:

28 more stamina, 54 more attack power, 8 more hit rating, 23 more crit rating, 21 more resilience...

Maybe someone could explain this to me, as I don't see how this is a bad tradeoff... I get that rage generation could suck if you get a string of misses. But on average it should be the same, no? (EDIT: nay, better? given the above?)

I don’t think you’re acting right

You don’t think it’s showing…

Joseph Walsh Kicking Rear-End