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— Ebenezer Scrooge
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It's OK to be honest
23 hours ago
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Could I Have My Two Degrees Now?
Snowplows cleared the runway at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Washington as President Obama returned from the climate summit in Copenhagen. The White House said Obama rode in a motorcade back to the White House, instead of taking his helicopter, because of the conditions.
"Anyone who still believes in global warming should be frozen until he admits that to be frozen is not the same as to be warmed."
— Avicenna
Two (or twenty, for that matter) degrees of global warming doesn't sound too bad right now.
Womb Raider: Legend Walkthrough, Level 1: San Francisco
Cut scene: Sarah gets a call from a law-abiding citizen that tells her that at a certain wedding chapel in San Francisco an illegal gay mass wedding is about to be perpetrated. McAllister flies her from Daft Manor to San Francisco. Shrub is airsick.
From Checkpoint 1, step forward to the front door of the wedding chapel. Interact with the door. It's locked. Shoot out the lock. Interact with the door again and Sarah kicks it open.
Enter the wedding chapel. Turn right and interact with the bronze reward in the vestibule to pick it up.
Enter the chapel proper. In the ensuing cut scene, Sarah reads the biblical riot act to the assembled homos.
Now be careful. The game is designed so that Sarah can't shoot the homos from the entrance or make it running down the aisle alive. Apparently, they're all with the Pink Pistols. At least that's what they pack (plus AKs and grenades), and they can make mincemeat of Sarah in seconds if she doesn't get out of the line of fire.
So jump to the first horizontal flagstaff either on the left or on the right wall. Swing along the wall from flagstaff to flagstaff. Jump to the altar and Checkpoint 2. Shoot the priest.
Take cover behind the stack of bibles on the altar. The homos' bullets cannot penetrate the bibles. Now you can gun them down at your leisure.
Pick up any health packs, grenades, AKs, and/or ammo the priest and the homos dropped. Grapple the rood, swing up to the ledge in the back. Grapple the A/C vent on the left. Duck in to pick up the silver reward.
Jump down. Interact with the stack of fake marriage licenses to set them on fire.
A short cut scene follows. Sarah spies something suspicious among the burning papers.
Roll forward, interact with the suspicious paper, jump back. This has to be done in quick succession, or Sarah will end up in the fire and burn to death.
Another cut scene: The paper turns out to be a piece of some document. The only intact words on it are: "Kenya Department of Health." Uh oh. That moment, a flashover sets the ceiling on fire. Seconds later, the roof near the front door collapses, barring that exit to Sarah.
Grapple the register in the floor. Drop down into the sewer whose fumes heat the homo chapel.
Proceed past Checkpoint 3 to the T intersection, shooting any sewer rats before they can bite Sarah. Turn left. Grab the ledge and pull up. Pick up the bronze reward.
Return to the intersection. Pass the branch to the chapel. Grapple swing across the main sewer. Turn around and grapple the bronze reward from the alcove on the other side.
Proceed along the side tunnel. Turn left into the second branch. Use the binoculars on the right wall. Shoot the crumbling section. Pick up the silver reward.
Return to the tunnel. Continue to the next main sewer. Jump in. In the cut scene, Sarah goes over a waterfall.
Swim ashore. Shoot the sewer rats on the ledge below the broken ladder. Grab the bottom iron spike. Swing up the iron spikes until you can jump to the lowest intact rung of the ladder. Shoot the rats above with the other hand.
Climb up the ladder. Shoot the manhole cover. Climb out into the basement to Checkpoint 4.
Grapple the vent under the stairs. Pick up the bronze reward.
Ascend the stairs to the waiting room of the abortion clinic. There's a phone on the deserted front desk. Don't touch it. The phone can be shot, but if that happens, the cops will come and shoot Sarah dead, and you'll have to revert to Checkpoint 4 and get the bronze reward again.
Shoot the mothers in the chairs in the head. Again, if you shoot them in the belly, a SWAT team will arrive and kill Sarah.
Shoot the medicine cabinet behind the desk (cabinet with Red Cross). Interact with the open cabinet to get the scalpel. Interact with the dead mothers to save the babies.
When Sarah has successfully performed the last Cesarean, bringing the gold reward into the world, a door in the back bursts open, releasing loads of nurses and doctors. If only one of them gets to the phone, Sarah's toast.
The nurses are unarmed, so you can shoot them at will. If you shoot a doctor, however, he will start throwing scalpels at Sarah. So you best use the AK to shoot the doctors, and try to target only one at a time. Once you kill the last nurse or doctor, Sarah climbs up to the roof, where McAllister picks her up with the helicopter.
From Checkpoint 1, step forward to the front door of the wedding chapel. Interact with the door. It's locked. Shoot out the lock. Interact with the door again and Sarah kicks it open.
Enter the wedding chapel. Turn right and interact with the bronze reward in the vestibule to pick it up.
Enter the chapel proper. In the ensuing cut scene, Sarah reads the biblical riot act to the assembled homos.
Now be careful. The game is designed so that Sarah can't shoot the homos from the entrance or make it running down the aisle alive. Apparently, they're all with the Pink Pistols. At least that's what they pack (plus AKs and grenades), and they can make mincemeat of Sarah in seconds if she doesn't get out of the line of fire.
So jump to the first horizontal flagstaff either on the left or on the right wall. Swing along the wall from flagstaff to flagstaff. Jump to the altar and Checkpoint 2. Shoot the priest.
Take cover behind the stack of bibles on the altar. The homos' bullets cannot penetrate the bibles. Now you can gun them down at your leisure.
Pick up any health packs, grenades, AKs, and/or ammo the priest and the homos dropped. Grapple the rood, swing up to the ledge in the back. Grapple the A/C vent on the left. Duck in to pick up the silver reward.
Jump down. Interact with the stack of fake marriage licenses to set them on fire.
A short cut scene follows. Sarah spies something suspicious among the burning papers.
Roll forward, interact with the suspicious paper, jump back. This has to be done in quick succession, or Sarah will end up in the fire and burn to death.
Another cut scene: The paper turns out to be a piece of some document. The only intact words on it are: "Kenya Department of Health." Uh oh. That moment, a flashover sets the ceiling on fire. Seconds later, the roof near the front door collapses, barring that exit to Sarah.
Grapple the register in the floor. Drop down into the sewer whose fumes heat the homo chapel.
Proceed past Checkpoint 3 to the T intersection, shooting any sewer rats before they can bite Sarah. Turn left. Grab the ledge and pull up. Pick up the bronze reward.
Return to the intersection. Pass the branch to the chapel. Grapple swing across the main sewer. Turn around and grapple the bronze reward from the alcove on the other side.
Proceed along the side tunnel. Turn left into the second branch. Use the binoculars on the right wall. Shoot the crumbling section. Pick up the silver reward.
Return to the tunnel. Continue to the next main sewer. Jump in. In the cut scene, Sarah goes over a waterfall.
Swim ashore. Shoot the sewer rats on the ledge below the broken ladder. Grab the bottom iron spike. Swing up the iron spikes until you can jump to the lowest intact rung of the ladder. Shoot the rats above with the other hand.
Climb up the ladder. Shoot the manhole cover. Climb out into the basement to Checkpoint 4.
Grapple the vent under the stairs. Pick up the bronze reward.
Ascend the stairs to the waiting room of the abortion clinic. There's a phone on the deserted front desk. Don't touch it. The phone can be shot, but if that happens, the cops will come and shoot Sarah dead, and you'll have to revert to Checkpoint 4 and get the bronze reward again.
Shoot the mothers in the chairs in the head. Again, if you shoot them in the belly, a SWAT team will arrive and kill Sarah.
Shoot the medicine cabinet behind the desk (cabinet with Red Cross). Interact with the open cabinet to get the scalpel. Interact with the dead mothers to save the babies.
When Sarah has successfully performed the last Cesarean, bringing the gold reward into the world, a door in the back bursts open, releasing loads of nurses and doctors. If only one of them gets to the phone, Sarah's toast.
The nurses are unarmed, so you can shoot them at will. If you shoot a doctor, however, he will start throwing scalpels at Sarah. So you best use the AK to shoot the doctors, and try to target only one at a time. Once you kill the last nurse or doctor, Sarah climbs up to the roof, where McAllister picks her up with the helicopter.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Tiger Woods Shouldn't Prostitute Himself
Much fundie hay has been made of the fact that Tiger Woods may lose a couple million dollars' worth of sponsors on account of his pick up artistry. Say he loses $10,000,000 from corporate sponsors that want to hawk their shit to fundies and thus sponsor only boring people.
At least, unlike the fundies who mortify their desires just to please their god and neighbors, he isn't a prostitute. I guess fundies only think of the first definition if they think about prostitutes (if you can call it thinking what they do):
prostitute
n.
1. One who solicits and accepts payment for sex acts.
2. One who sells one's abilities, talent, or name for an unworthy purpose.
tr.v. prostituted, prostituting, prostitutes
1. To offer (oneself or another) for sexual hire.
2. To sell (oneself or one's talent, for example) for an unworthy purpose.
The funny thing is, Woods prostitutes himself if he refuses to have sex with those women, to please his sponsors. If Woods values picking up a lot of chicks more highly than $10,000,000, and he rather takes the money than the value he really wants, he prostitutes himself.
Go, Tiger!
At least, unlike the fundies who mortify their desires just to please their god and neighbors, he isn't a prostitute. I guess fundies only think of the first definition if they think about prostitutes (if you can call it thinking what they do):
prostitute
n.
1. One who solicits and accepts payment for sex acts.
2. One who sells one's abilities, talent, or name for an unworthy purpose.
tr.v. prostituted, prostituting, prostitutes
1. To offer (oneself or another) for sexual hire.
2. To sell (oneself or one's talent, for example) for an unworthy purpose.
The funny thing is, Woods prostitutes himself if he refuses to have sex with those women, to please his sponsors. If Woods values picking up a lot of chicks more highly than $10,000,000, and he rather takes the money than the value he really wants, he prostitutes himself.
Go, Tiger!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Womb Raider: Legend Overview
Availability:
Womb Raider: Legend is banned in the UK, Australia, and Germany. It is, however, available at Wal-Mart for $19.99, in the same shelf space from which Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was pulled due to the hot coffee controversy. It even comes with a coupon from the Southboro Baptist Church for 10,000,000 hours of free internet access after your death.
Graphics:
Like with most video game heroines, Sarah Daft is designed to appear sexy to teenagers, or badass at times, rather than realistic. In the real world, nobody could run, climb, or swim in that dress or in those heels. Certainly not with a rifle slung over her back. Plus those twin pistols would of course be impossible to aim.
Personally, I'm annoyed by the fact that Sarah's a brunette. Well, you can't have everything. And that beehive hairstyle looks stupid, but must have been easier to animate than a braid. Honorable mention for challenging teenagers' assumptions about sexiness by giving Sarah those butt-ugly glasses. Plus she's somewhat less busty than the competition.
Otherwise, the graphics are impressive, like those wide open spaces Sarah can aimlessly ramble and even get lost in. The non-linearity, and sometimes sheer psychedelic surrealism, is beyond sane imagination. Only two words: turkey scene.
Cast of characters:
Sarah Daft
Sarah Daft is an adventurer, big-game hunter, and biblical scholar who seeks out sin and vice, fuelled by an obsession to execute the will of the great, ancient god. She is a superb athlete, fluent in a dozen hillbilly dialects, and will stop at nothing to get ahead.
When Sarah was crowned Miss Potato (she was the only contestant to have some teeth) in Womb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, and her adventure archeologist mentor Warmer von Cry continued to ignore her anyway, she murdered him and framed some weirdo Freemason/Shriner/Elk/whatever by the name of Elkhart for it. Now she's out to apply the final solution to all homos — and to all abortionists, drug fiends, fornicators, adulterers, and perverts, too.
McAllister:
An ex-Navy pilot that crash-landed one too many jetfighters on his carrier, McAllister now is Sarah's personal pilot and general right-hand (job) man. Always in contact with Sarah via her headset, he is able to instantly provide her with a wealth of misinformation by accessing spurious electronic reference resources, like Wikipedia and other online collateral misinformation databases. In his spare time, he tinkers around with electronics, developing new technology that might prove lethal to Gov. Daft in the field. In addition to being a savvy purveyor of all kinds of air disasters, McAllister is also a distinguished chef that has roasted whole bulls at some of the best barbecues in Arizona.
Shrub:
Shrub is Sarah's timid research assistant and a repository for a fantastic array of detailed biblical information. He confines his research to libraries and museums, however, concentrating on understanding and explaining what has already been found, as opposed to Sarah's search for new Sodoms. He's a fifteenth-year elementary student in special education and hasn't received his elementary school diploma because his belief that everything is connected to the great, ancient god makes it impossible for him to draw the boundaries required to stay in touch with reality.
Ollie:
Ollie's family has been with the Dafts for generations, and he has been the family butler since he was dishonorably discharged from the military in the eighties, just as his father before him. He moved into Daft Manor to stay as the only live-in staff when his wife died, before Sarah fell out of the idiot tree. He tends to all Sarah's household needs, going far beyond the duties of a traditional butler given Sarah's unusual lifestyle and pursuits, but he has never disappointed her. His loyalty to Sarah, her parents, and Daft Manor is beyond question.
Guns 'n' Gear:
Weapon-wise, Sarah starts out with just her twin pistols. Over the course of the game, she can acquire long guns, but she can carry only one long gun at a time: assault rifle, submachine gun, shotgun, or grenade launcher. If she picks up another long gun, she drops the one she had. She's got infinite ammo for her pistols, but she can carry only 150 rounds for her other gun. She can also acquire hand grenades (up to four) and health packs (up to three) which partially heal damage. What's more, Sarah starts out with binoculars, a flashlight, a magnetic grapple, and a headset to communicate with Shrub and McAllister.
Saving:
The game auto saves every time you pass a checkpoint. You can also save manually. However, when Sarah dies, or you reload a savegame, the game resumes at the previous checkpoint, so any progress past that point is lost.
Rewards:
Throughout each level there are hidden a number of bronze and silver statuettes, along with a single gold one. The more valuable rewards are of course harder to find. Once you have collected enough rewards, you can trade them for upgrades, like high capacity pistol magazines. Cheat codes can only be unlocked after you beat the "presidential election" minigame.
Womb Raider: Legend is banned in the UK, Australia, and Germany. It is, however, available at Wal-Mart for $19.99, in the same shelf space from which Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was pulled due to the hot coffee controversy. It even comes with a coupon from the Southboro Baptist Church for 10,000,000 hours of free internet access after your death.
Graphics:
Like with most video game heroines, Sarah Daft is designed to appear sexy to teenagers, or badass at times, rather than realistic. In the real world, nobody could run, climb, or swim in that dress or in those heels. Certainly not with a rifle slung over her back. Plus those twin pistols would of course be impossible to aim.
Personally, I'm annoyed by the fact that Sarah's a brunette. Well, you can't have everything. And that beehive hairstyle looks stupid, but must have been easier to animate than a braid. Honorable mention for challenging teenagers' assumptions about sexiness by giving Sarah those butt-ugly glasses. Plus she's somewhat less busty than the competition.
Otherwise, the graphics are impressive, like those wide open spaces Sarah can aimlessly ramble and even get lost in. The non-linearity, and sometimes sheer psychedelic surrealism, is beyond sane imagination. Only two words: turkey scene.
Cast of characters:
Sarah Daft
Sarah Daft is an adventurer, big-game hunter, and biblical scholar who seeks out sin and vice, fuelled by an obsession to execute the will of the great, ancient god. She is a superb athlete, fluent in a dozen hillbilly dialects, and will stop at nothing to get ahead.
When Sarah was crowned Miss Potato (she was the only contestant to have some teeth) in Womb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, and her adventure archeologist mentor Warmer von Cry continued to ignore her anyway, she murdered him and framed some weirdo Freemason/Shriner/Elk/whatever by the name of Elkhart for it. Now she's out to apply the final solution to all homos — and to all abortionists, drug fiends, fornicators, adulterers, and perverts, too.
McAllister:
An ex-Navy pilot that crash-landed one too many jetfighters on his carrier, McAllister now is Sarah's personal pilot and general right-hand (job) man. Always in contact with Sarah via her headset, he is able to instantly provide her with a wealth of misinformation by accessing spurious electronic reference resources, like Wikipedia and other online collateral misinformation databases. In his spare time, he tinkers around with electronics, developing new technology that might prove lethal to Gov. Daft in the field. In addition to being a savvy purveyor of all kinds of air disasters, McAllister is also a distinguished chef that has roasted whole bulls at some of the best barbecues in Arizona.
Shrub:
Shrub is Sarah's timid research assistant and a repository for a fantastic array of detailed biblical information. He confines his research to libraries and museums, however, concentrating on understanding and explaining what has already been found, as opposed to Sarah's search for new Sodoms. He's a fifteenth-year elementary student in special education and hasn't received his elementary school diploma because his belief that everything is connected to the great, ancient god makes it impossible for him to draw the boundaries required to stay in touch with reality.
Ollie:
Ollie's family has been with the Dafts for generations, and he has been the family butler since he was dishonorably discharged from the military in the eighties, just as his father before him. He moved into Daft Manor to stay as the only live-in staff when his wife died, before Sarah fell out of the idiot tree. He tends to all Sarah's household needs, going far beyond the duties of a traditional butler given Sarah's unusual lifestyle and pursuits, but he has never disappointed her. His loyalty to Sarah, her parents, and Daft Manor is beyond question.
Guns 'n' Gear:
Weapon-wise, Sarah starts out with just her twin pistols. Over the course of the game, she can acquire long guns, but she can carry only one long gun at a time: assault rifle, submachine gun, shotgun, or grenade launcher. If she picks up another long gun, she drops the one she had. She's got infinite ammo for her pistols, but she can carry only 150 rounds for her other gun. She can also acquire hand grenades (up to four) and health packs (up to three) which partially heal damage. What's more, Sarah starts out with binoculars, a flashlight, a magnetic grapple, and a headset to communicate with Shrub and McAllister.
Saving:
The game auto saves every time you pass a checkpoint. You can also save manually. However, when Sarah dies, or you reload a savegame, the game resumes at the previous checkpoint, so any progress past that point is lost.
Rewards:
Throughout each level there are hidden a number of bronze and silver statuettes, along with a single gold one. The more valuable rewards are of course harder to find. Once you have collected enough rewards, you can trade them for upgrades, like high capacity pistol magazines. Cheat codes can only be unlocked after you beat the "presidential election" minigame.
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