iMJR

iMJR

Matt R.  //  Student by day, Blogger by night

Feb 6 / 7:13:20 PM

What? What? OK! - A Moment in the Life of Lil' Jon: Flying

Chappelle's Show  
A Moment in the Life of Lil Jon - Flying
www.comedycentral.com
Buy Chappelle's Show DVDs Black Comedy True Hollywood Story
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Jan 30 / 6:12:39 AM

*SPOILER* Massive Effects - Things get dirty on the Normandy

I found this while looking at some of the videos for Mass Effect 2 on GameTrailers. It's both freaky and oddly hilarious all at the same time. I guess it's the dialogue.

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Filed under  //  Video Games   Vidoes  

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Jan 17 / 3:51:44 PM

SNL's Avatar Sex Scene

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Jan 17 / 12:41:35 PM

Interview with Kris Jones of Thunder Game Works

Kris Jones is one of the developers responsible for Thunder Game WorksTrenches a game based around the European Ware in 1914.

What inspired you to create Trenches?
We wanted to create a fun and polished game with a large amount of character, as shown by our design, voice work, and adaptive music. We also wanted to create a game that players will truly enjoy, which meant we wanted to make a game that WE Would enjoy and actually buy. :) 

What was it like developing the game?
An unbelievably fun yet frustrating experience. We have a core team of 5 dedicated individuals, each masters of their own craft. (Design, programming, marketing, production, etc.) 

Things can go very right and very wrong. You just need to take the time to figure it all out. 

Do you have any suggestions for first time developers?
Yes. Don't do anything cheaply or poorly. To stand out in this crowded marketplace, developers not only have to have a game with solid gameplay for fun, but also a large amount of artistic polish and an impressive amount of marketing to truly stand out. 

Is there any chance of spawning a few sequels? 
There is always a chance of a sequel, but we are working on more impressive games at the moment, one of which you should hear about within the next month. 
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Jan 17 / 5:58:18 AM

Interview with Kepa Auwae of RocketCat Games

Kepa Auwae is one of the developers responsible for the extremely popular game; Hook Champ.

What inspired you to create Hook Champ?
We decided to make iPhone games because we were disappointed in games coming out a little over a year ago.  We decided to make our own.  The iPhone just had the lowest barrier for entry, plus it's great that we can make games people can play while sitting on a toilet.  Hook Champ was specifically inspired by Dino Run and Bionic Commando.

What was it like developing the game?
It was pretty fun watching the game take form.  We worked on it slowly in our spare time.  I think it took about 4 months from idea to finish.

Do you have any suggestions for first time developers?
Why hasn't anyone made a Zelda clone for the iPhone yet?  I suggest that a first time developer totally make that.  I'd buy it.

You say your working on a new game, mind giving us some juicy details? 
The next Rocketcat Game will be a spiritual sequel to Hook Champ.  You'll try to escape an avalanche by running and swinging across meadows, icy caverns, volcanic wastelands, grass fields, secret areas, and more.  The entire countryside will feature both indoor and outdoor locations, and everything will be randomly generated.  We're also upgrading the art to be 16 bit, inspired by the Super Nintendo.
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Jan 11 / 6:40:00 PM

God help us - New Jersey Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

TRENTON — The New Jersey Legislature approved a measure on Monday that would make the state the 14th in the nation, but one of the few on the East Coast, to legalize the use of marijuana to help patients with chronic illnesses.

Michael Oliveri, a muscular distrophy patient, with his mother, Christiane, left, and Diane Rivera-Riportella after passage.

 

The measure — which would allow patients diagnosed with severe illnesses like cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis to have access to marijuana grown and distributed through state-monitored dispensaries — was passed by the General Assembly and State Senate on the final day of the legislative session.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign it into law before leaving office next Tuesday. Supporters said that within nine months, patients with a prescription for marijuana from their doctors should be able to obtain it at one of six locations.

“It’s nice to finally see a day when democracy helps heal people,” said Charles Kwiatkowski, 38, one of dozens of patients who rallied at the State House before the vote and broke into applause when the lawmakers approved the measure.

Mr. Kwiatkowski, of Hazlet, N.J., who has multiple sclerosis, said his doctors have recommended marijuana to treat neuralgia, which causes him to lose the feeling and the use of his right arm and shoulders. “The M.S. Society has shown that this drug will help slow the progression of my disease. Why would I want to use anything else?”

The bill’s approval, which comes after years of lobbying by patients’ rights groups and advocates of less restrictive drug laws, was nearly derailed at the 11th hour as some Democratic lawmakers wavered and Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie, a Republican, went to the State House and expressed reservations about it.

In the end, however, it passed by comfortable margins in both houses: 48-14 in the General Assembly and 25-13 in the State Senate.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a Democrat from Princeton who sponsored the legislation, said the New Jersey’s would be the most restrictive medical marijuana law in the nation because it would permit doctors to prescribe it for only a set list of serious chronic illnesses. The law would also forbid patients from growing their own marijuana and from using it in public, and it would regulate the drug under the strict conditions used to track the distribution of medically prescribed opiates like Oxycontin and morphine. Patients would be limited to two ounces of marijuana per month.

“I truly believe this will become a model for other states because it balances the compassionate use of medical marijuana while limiting the number of ailments that a physician can prescribe it for,” Mr. Gusciora said.

Some educators and law enforcement advocates worked doggedly against the proposal, saying the law would make marijuana more readily available and more likely to be abused, and that it would lead to increased drug use by teenagers.

Opponents often pointed to California’s experience as a cautionary tale, saying that medical marijuana is so loosely regulated there that its use has essentially been decriminalized. Under California law, residents can obtain legal marijuana for a list of maladies as common, and as vaguely defined, as anxiety or chronic pain.

David G. Evans, executive director of the Drug-Free Schools Coalition, warned that the establishment of for-profit dispensaries would lead to abuses of the law. “There are going to be pot centers coming to neighborhoods where people live and are trying to raise their families,” Mr. Evans said.

Keiko Warner, a school counselor in Millville, N. J., cautioned that students already face intense peer pressure to experiment with marijuana, and that the use of medical marijuana would only increase the likelihood that teenagers would experiment with the drug.

“There are children at age 15, 14 who are using drugs or thinking about using drugs,” she said. “And this is not going to help.”

Legislators attempted to ease those fears in the past year by working with the Department of Health and Senior Services to add restrictions to the bill that would forbid residents from growing their own marijuana, limit the medical ailments it could be legally prescribed to treat and monitor its distribution.

But with Democrats in retreat after Mr. Corzine’s defeat to Mr. Christie, some supporters feared that the Democratic-controlled Legislature — which last week failed to muster the votes to pass a bill to legalize gay marriage — would balk at approving medical marijuana.

Mr. Christie added to the suspense Monday, just hours before lawmakers were scheduled to vote, when he was asked about the bill during a press conference within shouting distance of the legislative chambers. He said he was concerned that the bill contained loopholes that might encourage recreational drug use.

“I think we all see what’s happened in California,” Mr. Christie said, “It’s gotten completely out of control.”

But the loophole Mr. Christie cited — a list of ailments so unrestricted that it might have allowed patients to seek marijuana to treat minor or nonexistent ailments — had already been closed by legislators. In the end, the bill received Republican as well as Democratic support.

“This bill will help relieve people’s pain,” said Senator William Baroni, a Republican.

After the bill cleared the final hurdle, supporters celebrated with hugs and tears outside the chambers.

Scott Ward, 26, who said he suffers from multiple sclerosis, said he had been prescribed marijuana to alleviate leg cramps so severe that they often “feel like my muscles are tearing apart.”

“Now I can do normal things.”

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Jan 10 / 5:29:17 PM

McNuggets Rage

McNuggets Rage

Cops: Woman put fist through drive-thru window over chicken beef

JANUARY 4--Meet Melodi Dushane. Angered that Chicken McNuggets were not available at an Ohio McDonald's, the Toledo woman allegedly put her fist through the eatery's drive-thru window. The January 1 McNuggets rage incident resulted in Dushane, 24, being arrested for felony vandalism and booked into the Lucas County jail, where the below mug shot was snapped. According to a Toledo Police Department report, Dushane pulled up to the drive-thru window Friday at 6:20 AM and ordered "Chicken McNuggets and other dinner items." When informed that McDonald's stopped serving dinner selections at 2:30 AM, Dushane began arguing with employee Melissa Vasquez. At one point, Dushane "leaned out of her car, into the window, and punched Melissa in her mouth," cops reported. When night manager Tia Walker appeared at the window, Dushane took a swing at her, prompting a tussle. When the women separated, Dushane "then punched the drive through window, breaking it" and sending glass flying everywhere. The scene of the alleged chicken crime can be seen here, thanks to Google's Street View feature. Dushane, next due in court on January 28, has been ordered to stay away from the fast food outlet. Last March, a Florida woman was arrested after she called 911 three times to complain that a McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets. "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one," Latreasa Goodman told a police operator. (4 pages)

Thanks to The Smoking Gun for publishing this article. I actually got a few laughs out of it. In the article you can find the police records, and a view of the McDonald's from Google Street View.

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Jan 9 / 4:19:03 PM

Base jumpers leap from Burj Khalifa in Dubai

Two men have set a world record for the highest base jump after parachuting from the top of the world's highest building, the Burj Khalifa.

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Dec 8 / 5:18:00 AM

Jeanette and Lizabeth

 

This is a small essay I did based off of Jeanette Walls from The Glass Castle and Lizabeth from Marigolds.

Imagine growing up dealing with poverty, trauma, and a distant family. Both Jeanette and Lizabeth dealt with this as they grew up and matured into womanhood.  Throughout their childhood they have dodged everything that is came in path. Whether it be peer pressure or running from the law.

Jeanette Wells grew up constantly moving from one place to another. Never staying in one place, she taught herself survival.  She has used this attribute numerous times, at one point she fought and evidently learned how to swim when her father carelessly threw her into the water allowing her to fend for herself. 

Lizabeth on the other hand dealt with continuous peer pressure from her friends. At one point she traumatized and destroyed a woman’s property, tearing apart her marigold garden. 

Jeanette and Lizabeth learned something that changed the way they see the world today. Both learned that no matter what happens in life they have the ability to change it. And at that moment both girls, became women.

 

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Dec 7 / 1:46:57 PM

Interview with Ryan Goodwin: Creator of Simler

I recently conducted an interview with Ryan Goodwin of Simler a tag-based social network.

How did you come up with the idea for Simler?
The idea for Simler was born from using other social networks like Facebook. It was really fun to reconnect with old friends for a while. But I consistently noticed that I would talk to these people once or twice only to lose touch once again. Why? Because we have nothing in common. The simple idea of creating a place for people to connect based on common interests was an obvious step. And surprisingly enough, no one else was really doing this.

So I asked myself, how would people want to connect with others based on interests? It seemed that networking around one interest at a time as well as being able to compare multiple interests other people would be the most compelling.

How long has Simler been in production?
The idea for Simler was hatched in January. I incubated the idea for another four months before starting design. Development started in June. We put the first users on in August in order to help with the proof of concept. And by October, we were open to the public—albeit in Beta.

What is Simler built on?
Simler is built on a Django framework, although we have started breaking out of Django and going straight to python in order to increase performance. Front-end technologies include JQuery, JSON, and AJAX.

Would you say that Twitter is competition?
No, we are a totally different animal. Twitter is about content publishing in 140 characters or less. Because of this, it has truly become a platform for Guru's and Groupie's. Simler is about discussion and deeper relationships based on common interests. The only real overlap is that both can be put into a social messages platform "industry." We believe that most people will continue to use Twitter to publish, while they can use Simler for more in depth discussions about any topic under the sun.

Will we be seeing a Desktop and iPhone version anytime soon?
Allowing more ways for people to participate in the discussions  is most definitely in the works. We are working on an API right now to allow third parties to develop for our platform. We are also working on developing our own iPhone app to make it easier for people to participate on the go.

What's next for Simler?
In the future, the possibilities for Simler are literally endless. But our mission will remain the same: creating the easiest way for people to connect with others based on commonalities.

You can find me on Simler.
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