gizzzelburgersandwich

360...sucked...script...cannot talk...thanks.

WTF?!?

One reason that Rome was able to conquer some much territory was because they were nearly uncontested. They had superior tactics, intelligence and manpower and dominated most of the crumbling empires that stood in there path. No until Carthage did they really have a big threat, before they did have battles but most of them were decided by landslides in their favor. The Romans were also led by intellectual commanders and confidence. That led to their dominance. However, they had many technological advances that supported their conquest for the Mediterranean.

The Romans adapted tactics from several of the most successful empires of the known world utilizing the phalanx, flanking maneuvers and more. They compiled the important, core components to a healthy and strong military.Their economical status was also very good making them a very powerful force, powerful enough that no one really could challenge them. Even if someone tried they would be beaten in the long run.

Another reason that is sometime overlooked is their geographical positioning. Italy is smack dab in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea giving them access to every domain without excruciating travel. This would help them in the defense of its colonies and more. This global positioning enabled a type of central control for the Romans, allowing them to become the rulers of the Med. Sea. From the bottom of Italy they could branch off and have easy paths towards new areas for exploration, military acquisition or research.

In the end the Romans were not stupid and are known today for their influential existence.

Roman Territory: 44 BC

This has been a Layne E. Cobain production.

I'm back with Gold and my PC!

Somehow my Xbox Live Gold was renewed... So I'll be online...yhey! On to more important news.

My computer was dead so I couldn't update my blog much or even get online. It was rough for about a week and to top it off I lost ALL of my videos, music, documents, games...EVERYTHING! So now I have to start all over again from scratch on everything which is good and very bad. Anyways, I don't have much to write about because I'll be a little busy with the reconfiguration of my computer.

Ta ta.

MY COMPUTER IS DEAD/GOLD EXPIRED

Therefore you will see very little of me for the coming days if weeks. I will have to find the recovery discs that came with them after my house had a blackout causing my home PC to...die. I am using a friend's laptop and will have limited resources in terms of communication. My Gold for XBL has also ran out so when I finally get back online I will have silver seeing as I can't afford Gold at the moment. Sorry to all of my friends who must think I am dead. I want to return as soon as possible but with things the way they are on my end, I don't see that happening as soon as I want it to.

Take it easy.

NO-TING

Haitian response?

Now leave me alone...hehe...

Reading: Prey- Michael Crichton
Playing: Gears of War..hopefully
Finished: Apocalypse Now Redux with surround sound
Listening to: H

Sorry about this..

This has a lot of errors...But I have nothing else to put here....

Rwanda; a small geological landform in the middle of Africa, smaller than New Jersey, Rhode Island and Israel to put it into perspective for you. Nothing significant about it, just civilians living under the scrutiny of warlords, organized militias that acted more like gangs and the occasional genocide. Yeah, nothing significant. Or at least that how the Americans put it. The rest of the world. Where was the help now? Sure the West can invade Middle Eastern countries for oil and more important interests but how important is human life? Are Africans expendable nowadays? Or is man, in general, so obsessed with greed that life has lost its worth in a world of corruption, evil, hatred and disregard? No matter the answer, William Cooper was here on the behalf of the Red Cross.

Will rose from his bed and drifted to the window. Brilliant cracks and flashes of light erupted from the darkness, followed by screams, shouting and more. Distant, most of it sounded muffled. Will didn’t want to raise the volume. The Rwandan Genocide had taken its toll on his colleagues. On this country. Many a face had been blue and cold in front of his eyes. Death was so real, so brutal and so uncompromising. In an instant a breathing, healthy child could have all of its dreams, ambitions, promises, goals, thoughts, interests and loves taken away. A bullet could eradicate life in an instant, a spilt second. Such a loss. It was so disturbing to find a pregnant mother in her own pool of blood after an unprovoked attack. William could not wipe the images from his head.

Glancing out the crude window of his Red Cross tent, he did not flinch when explosions glittered the African darkness. He heard not the cries of patients and orphans next to him. He was zoned out; Oblivious to the sheer carnage, the inexplicable brutality that had taken place the last few days. The history of this country was not a good one.

The country will forever be remembered for this tragedy. Rwanda? Oh yeah, wasn’t that the place that had a genocide? That’s how it would be remembered. Not for the bravery of men with families, not for the United Nations soldiers enduring hell without help, not for the stories that were uplifting and actually pierced the shroud of darkness that would mar the country forever.

Rwanda had started simple enough. Three clans, the Tutsi, Twa and Hutu came to the land as early as the 15^th century. Soon after the Tutsi emerged as the dominant force, implementing a harsh system of government that led to minor feuds. Just the tip of the iceberg really. Later on Germans were allowed to rule the country but did nothing to change the economy or address common problems among the civilians of Rwanda.

Years later, Belgium became the ruler and imposed an even harsher rule than the Germans. They did notice some of the problems, addressing them to ensure obedience. Decades later coups followed, presidents rose to power only to fall and political fall-outs were common. Only when Rwanda gained independence they elected their first president who ran until 1972. Afterwards they were given the man many regard as ruthless dictator. But he’s dead now. His Falcon 50 jet was shot down.

From there you get the Genocide. The now. The present. Forget the gloom.

Rwanda has a culture, one that people fail to notice or care to observe. Marketplaces were once vibrant places where colors and rainbows joined. Where beautiful women were natural. All gone now. Roman Catholics were the main religion force here in Rwanda according to a poll stored on William’s laptop.1

Music has always been big in Rwanda all folk music that has survived the coups, wars, oppression and indirect hell of the country. Funny how ideas can never die. They can’t be shot, stabbed, raped, murdered or touched for that matter. Through all of the worst circumstances, the most basic elements of life survived. Even famous musicians enjoyed Rwandan music even going as far as to win awards for their transformation of classic folk music. This country was significant but poor.

The majority of literature here is oral yet a few writers have come from this country. They will write about this day, this genocide and maybe that will be their breakthrough. It’s sad that one has to write about massacres, sexual exploitation and enraged dissidence to be noticed. Those Americans sure love to cry over a good film or a book or song that involves loss of life like this. Writers have to use this….this living Gehenna, Hell, to have their books read. This world is sick. Sick and dying. Rwanda culture will have to live on. Ideas do not die.

Walking from the plastic “window” William headed towards the outdoors, turning his back to the rest of the world and the ongoing war. He stared into the sky, searched for stars, scanned for something other than gunfire. A haven within a nightmare. Away from the machete victims, the burn victims, the orphans. Away from this painful madness.

Staring past Rwanda’s mountains, hills, distant rivers and trees, William cried. A soft cry. He did not want to demoralize his fellow bleeding hearts. The Red Cross members struggling just as he was.

The geography of this place. Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. There. Nondescript, nothing spectacular about this place, at least geographically. There was the capital, Kigali, and the Congo and Nile Rivers but nothing else that sparked foreign interest. Not anymore anyway.

The climate is nice though, tropical some would say. The elevation was the reason for that. But thunderstorms and annual rainfall really disrupted the country’s flow. The rain season brought nearly thirty-one inches each season, capped off my intense displays of lighting getting the country to be dubbed “Lighting Capital of the World.” Some big achievement, eh?

“More refugees incoming!” Sarah announced from within the tents. Here we go again.

More orphans without parents, more parents without children, more death without a substantial amount of life. This was torment. None of William’s sins could account for this? How could God allow this, this massacre, this evil, this unexplained killing of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, uncles, loved ones? Where was he now? Where was Jesus? Don’t do this to me Father.

Minutes later William Cooper announced the death of seven more Africans to a Red Cross worker keeping track. The death total now excelled 143,000. Just in this one small camp that wasn’t even connected to the one within the city. He felt sorry for the others. For himself. For everyone.

William Cooper died later that night from heart failure. He was twenty years old.

For the record

Ok. Let's all get this straight. I am a free spirit and thinker, unable to follow rules that endanger my logic, will or agenda. I will bend to someone's will unless I share a mutual agreement. I will always do what I want, say what I want, and think what I want. No one controls me. When I say I am going to do something and give you my oath, my promise, it WILL get done.

My agenda is different because it is one that is more or less untainted by today's media and portrayal of life. I think for myself and question authority.

Think for yourself.
Question Authority.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas: TEH REVIEW

Rainbow Six: Vegas is a superb, solid shooter that renews the franchise's license on the tactical first person shooter genre. Did I mention it's addictive too?

Ubisoft Montreal delivers with this action packed FPS that goes back to the original Rainbow Six formula that many fans have long yearned for. Out is the arcade-y feeling of the past games. In is the tactical, real-life commando gameplay similar to that of another popular shooter, Counter-Strike. Each assault, if performed correctly, makes you feel like an expertly trained soldier prepared to save the world and all of its inhabitants.

As you weave through rooms, lobbies, rooftops and corridors you get that sense of visceral jolt that propels you onward as you smile to the crack of your assault rifle. Ducking behind shelter, ordering your squadmates to take cover behind a nearly decimated casino room slot machine to suppress the enemy, bursting through windows after rappelling down the side of a lavish skyscraper, and pulling off professional headshots with your pistol are all in a day's work for Logan Keller, the new southerner replacing Domingo Chavez - the franchise's previous cover boy.

As cool as that sounds, it would not be so cool if it weren't executed well. In Vegas it is executed...flawlessly. The reverberations and echoes of breaking glass, grunts and gunshots all take part in this fast paced and action packed game that thrills you with excellent sound, gameplay, value, sound, graphics and "oomph." Where do I start to describe the graphics? In a new paragraph, that’s where!

If you haven’t noticed the next generation of gaming is upon us and with it many developers have been utilizing the power of the new consoles, in this case, Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Beautiful lighting, impressive textures and dynamic physics all take part in making the world of Vegas look and react like it should. Shadows bounce off of your weapons, casino tables glisten brightly with their cards and chips neatly displayed and wooden planks explode as you bomb the terrorist taking cover behind it. This all happens during intense firefight and while you may not notice it, the framerate doesn’t take a hit at all!

When shot you’re vision will fade in and out to let you know your regenerating health system is failing. What’s this? Yes, Rainbow Six Vegas has a regenerating health system a la Halo 2 and more recently Call of Duty 3. However, this does not deduct from the heat of battle. Instead it makes for a more hectic experience that is fun but not too easy for experienced players. Since it seems this is the road all developers will soon be taking, the shield system works just fine. But don’t think you can exploit the system. One well-placed sniper rifle bullet to the head will take you out. Just don’t expect to survive shotgun rounds to the face. Remember, you aren’t the Master Chief, you will get shot and you will die. There is a cover scheme that will help you out with your trigger finger.

Taking cover is simply if you played G.R.A.W., another Ubisoft title. If you use the default control scheme in Vegas you might actually break your left trigger since you will be using a lot of cover when playing the single-player on campaign or perhaps a hellacious round of multiplayer in a casino vault. The cover system does have its hiccups when you’re trying to peek over the table, not swat turn around it. Be wary of your surroundings and contextual situations and using cover should be a breeze when kicking ass.

Now I thought that Tom Clancy games always had an abundance of weapons. Vegas has a nice assortment of weapons but overall it tends to feel underwhelming to say the least. When cycling through the same four sniper rifles you wonder why they limited the amount of weapons. Ghost Recon had over fifty weapons and this one “boasts” less than that with most becoming unusable once you unlock their more powerful counterparts via P.E.C. I stick to a few guns and use them all the time so I can become an expert with the weapons and be ready to nail players online. I suggest you do the same.

P.E.C, online, nailing people?! One of the biggest portions of Vegas comes from it’s great multiplayer suite which is, quite possibly, the best part of the game. It’s chock full of game modes, leaderboards, ranks to gain and customization options that will whoo you and give you a headache when trying to decide which shirt looks better on your mercenary for hire. As you ascend the ranks you unlock new weapons, armor and clothing options for your character which offer better protection or enhance your mobility. Most of the accessories are purely for looks but who can fight back against a warrior in pink?!?

Let’s backtrack to the single player and how important your squad is to accomplishing your mission. Sure they can provide cover fire and shout worthless one-liners but they can also rappel down buildings, burst through windows and clear rooms whilst you fast rope down into the adjacent room as you prepare to clear the next area. Sure they can heal each other and respond to your crouching, quick commands and pay close attention to your weapons. For instance if you have a silenced weapon equipped they’ll apply a silencer to theirs’ so they can be like daddy. Tired of the terrorists back talking you? They’ll unleash hell with heavy machine guns or opt for assault rifles when in open environments that require weapons with range. Sure, they’re just great artificial soldiers.

Sound isn’t too great other than the constant gunfire, explosions and more shouting. The music isn’t as inspiring or heart pumping as other FPS games but when the action is being dished out at the rate it is in Vegas, who really cares? I tend to play multiplayer with Alice in Chains in the background. Awesome.

Overall this game is impressive. It’s really a helluva good time whether you duke it out with friends or take it to the single player where you’ll notice some stand plot devices and the cliffhanger ending that ultimately leads to sequel talks.

But when it comes down to it you won’t be harder pressed to find a better online game that features a great single-player experience. Well maybe not until Halo 3 that is.


9 KANGAWOOS OUT OF TEN

(Review written above is subject to change and modification. Copy above is unedited. Please do not kill yourself.

The holdiays are ghey...

It's just more fat people with their new year's resolutions, that they have no plan to keep. I was going to go really in-depth with this but as always I fail to deliver what I claim I can. I blame myself for my shortcomings.

Anyways, 360 life has been fun. I've been into Vegas on realistic which really is no challenge for me. I just set my weapons on single shot and have fun. It's an easy 100 points and a great way to test out weapons you'll be unlocking soon in multiplayer or ones that you want to get more familiar with. Speaking of that, I'm writing a review of Rainbow Six Vegas for a website that is up and coming. More details on that should follow.

Still reading and doing some writing. My editor has been slipping up just a tad so that has been coming along rather slow. I did accomplish a goal where I was going to finish another quarter of the novel. So that's a bit of good news.

Some new movies for me including Slither, Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, Mission Impossible 3 and a few others.

Celebs: Selma Blair and Nora Jane-Noone
I Like: Morpheus and Media Center
Going to buy soon: Some nice conversion software and maybe some hardware for my computer and home entertainment system
Waiting for: My surround sound speakers to come in after some failed communication with the eBay correspondent...I'm hoping for the best
Laughing in your face because: I predicted Gerald Ford's death 2 weeks before it happened! I ROCKRXZ!