The Greatest Game I Ever Played

This is of course about Star Wars Galaxies, and the demise of what was literally the greatest game I ever played.

Here is the official post from the forum boards.


Here is an interview with John Smedley about it.

A great quote from Smedley about what he would have done differently:

Here's what I would have done differently. I would have made sure the ground and space games were launched all at once. I would have given the game another year to develop and really polish it quite a bit. I think we created one of the most unique and amazing games ever created in the MMO space. It is the sandbox game. Nothing else even comes close to what we did there. I would have really taken our time and polished combat right so we never had to do the NGE. At some point the only thing to do is acknowledge the mistakes you made. But we can also look and fix them in the future. Since then, the projects that the team has worked on -- like the Chronicles system -- it's pretty amazing. I want to make sure that we really learn from that stuff. And I think we have. We're actually starting to put some of that stuff into our other games.

Raph Koster had a few things to say about it.

And as for me, this is what I posted on my old posting grounds:

Thank You for being part of the journey, every developer, player, community servce rep, understanding spouse, EVERYONE who ever had anything to do with this amazing thing we had here.

Love you all and May the Force Be With You.

George Orwell (1903 - 1950)

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. George Orwell

That Tiresome Old Drunk

Louis Brandeis (1856 - 1941)

The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding. Louis Brandeis

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cthulhu 2012

An Empire of One

Prayer in School

Erich Fromm (1900 - 1980)

The ordinary man with extraordinary power is the chief danger for mankind - not the fiend or the sadist.
Erich Fromm

C.S. Lewis (1898 - 1963)

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. C.S. Lewis

J. K. Rowling

It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies; but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. J.K. Rowling (Albus Dumbledore)

Rollo May (1909 - 1994)

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.
Rollo May

Annie Dillard

You can't test courage cautiously.
Annie Dillard

PJ O'Rourke at Cato

Proof the Chinese are Racist

And they think all black people have one hand. Oh the humanity!

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Mark Twain

Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)

Long stormy spring-time, wet contentious April, winter chilling the lap of very May; but at length the season of summer does come.
Thomas Carlyle

Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Bertrand Russell

Hipster Jesus

Coffee With Jesus - Father's Day

(Click to enlarge)


/Hat Tip as always to Radio Free Babylon!

Happy Father's Day!

Joel Osteen

Faith activates God - Fear activates the Enemy.
Joel Osteen

Behind the Shield

Some hardcore Norton product placement, but still a terrific little video about Cap's shield:

H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants above everything else is safety.
H. L. Mencken

"Iridescent" featured in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Woolite "Torturer" - Rob Zombie Directs a Commercial

Go the F**k to Sleep - Read By Samuel L. Jackson!

John Adams (1735 - 1826)

I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.
John Adams

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde

Flag Day

You're a Grand Old Flag

Music and lyrics by George M. Cohan
...
Simple Version

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.


The Grand Old Flag of the United States of America

Complete Version

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag,
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'Neath the Red, White and Blue.
Where there's never a boast or a brag.
But should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eyes on the grand old flag!

There's a feeling comes a-stealing,
And it sets my brain a-reeling,
When I'm listening to the music of a military band.
Any tune like "Yankee Doodle"
Simply sets me off my noodle,
It's that patriotic something that no one can understand.

"Way down South, in the land of cotton",
Melody untiring,
Ain't that inspiring?
Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll join the Jubilee!
And that's going some,
For the Yankees, by gum!
Red, white and blue, I am for you!
Honest, you're a grand old flag!

You're a Grand Old Flag
You're a high flying flag
And forever, in peace, may you wave!
You're the emblem of the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave!

Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White, and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
But should auld acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the Grand Old Flag!

I'm a cranky hanky panky,
I'm a dead square, honest Yankee,
And I'm mighty proud of that old flag
That flies for Uncle Sam.

Though I don't believe in raving
Ev'ry time I see it waving,
There's a chill runs up my back that makes me glad I'm what I am.

Here's a land with a million soldiers,
That's if we should need 'em,
We'll fight for freedom!

Hurrah! Hurrah! For every Yankee tar
And old G.A.R.
Ev'ry stripe, ev'ry star.
Red, white and blue,
Hats off to you
Honest, you're a grand old flag!

You're a Grand Old Flag
You're a High Flying Flag
And forever, in peace, may you wave!
You're the emblem of the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave!

Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White, and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
But should auld acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the Grand Old Flag!

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

Plato (424 BC - 347 BC)

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." — Plato

Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

Star Wars: The Old Republic Cinematic Trailer E3 2011 - Return

These Cinematic Trailers are ALL awesome. Here's the longer version of the one I showed before.

SWTOR - "Choose" Cinematic Trailer

Han and Chewie In the Seven Acre Wood

Andy Grammer - Keep Your Head Up - (Cover By The Towers)

Failing

Peter Kreeft

On my door is a cartoon of two turtles. One says, 'Sometimes I would like to ask why he allows poverty, famine and injustice when he could do something about it.' The other turtle says 'I am afraid that God might ask me the same question.' Peter Kreeft

I Want To Know This Guy

Soldier stops bank robbery suspect: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904)

Reason and justice tell me there's more love for humanity in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism.
Anton Chekhov

Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906)

"Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny."
Carl Schurz

"Nuthin'. I'm Just a Kid From Brooklyn." Captain America TV Spot #4

Desmond Tutu

"I got to loving to read, because he [Tutu's father] allowed me to read comics, which most people said you shouldn’t let your child read because they will spoil him. But that gave me an extraordinary hunger for reading."
Desmond Tutu

DC Comics: The Relaunch

(Click)

/Hat Tip to Gutters, a great web comic series well worth checking out.

D-Day

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

( http://www.army.mil/d-day/ )


Please note: The image above is SYMBOLIC, not historical. Captain America, Bucky Barnes, the Original Human Torch and Toro WERE NOT AT THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY.

I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of Prince Namor of Atlantis (codename: Sub-mariner) or Diana of Themyscira (codename: "Wonder Woman")

H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. – H.L. Mencken

Anais Nin (1903 - 1977)

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.
Anais Nin

"Pulp Fiction" Homage - Ezekiel on a Gun!

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science

I thought this was pretty neat.

check out their website: Symphony of Science.

Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.
Edmund Burke

Ponytails at GDC - Video Game Fashion!

It is funny because it is true.

George Ought To Help

Here's a link to the guy's website. Looks like he wants help financing his next video:


http://www.georgeoughttohelp.com/

Happy Birthday, Hedda Hopper (1890, maybe 1885 - 1966)

"In Hollywood gratitude is Public Enemy Number One."



"Nobody`s interested in sweetness and light."




"Our town worships success, the bitch goddess whose smile hides a taste for blood."



"Two of the cruelest, most primitive punishments our town deals out to those who fall from favor are the empty mailbox and the silent telephone."



"I can wear a hat or take it off, but either way it`s a conversation piece."

Captain America: the First Avenger - Two New TV Spots

Very cool.

Batman: Arkham City: The Catwoman Trailer

Wow. Cat's got my...tongue.

Robert Heinlein (1907 - 1988)

There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. – Robert Heinlein

Han Solo

Non-Aggression Principle

Here's the lyrics.


My only quibble is semantic. I feel fraud is NOT technically coercion; it brings about coercion by changing perceptions of the participants through deception. Still a cute video.

Carl von Clausewitz (1780 - 1831)

Happy Birthday, sir!
Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.
Carl von Clausewitz

The Top Three Myths About Immigration

Mister Excitement sorta explodes some myths....



As my friend Neil pointed out to me elsewhere, Mister E doesn't explode the last one at all -- in fact he admits immigration suppresses wages, just diverts the argument from there saying it suppresses wages in the two extremes, while most homegrown Americans are in the middle.