Louisiana Governor-elect Republican Bobby Jindal and his wife Supriya attend a news conference in Kenner, Louisiana, on October 21. Jindal did India proud when he won a historic election to the governor’s office
New York
December 31, 2007
New York
This is a West Side story, a chance for a 24-hour romance with Manhattan. Yes, I have been here many times — and the Port of New York’s cruise terminal at 55th Street and the Hudson River isn’t in the most scenic part of town. But there’s always a bit of romance in the air with cruise ships in the neighborhood.
Top 10: Disappointments of 2007
December 25, 2007Top 10: Disappointments of 2007
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Some say 2007 has been the greatest year ever in videogame history. We’ve had some top games spread generously throughout the year, a console launch and some pretty amazing headline-grabbing announcements. But not everything that made the news in 2007 has been blessed with brilliance. So in memory of this, we’ve compiled our picks for 2007′s biggest disappointments in a special VideoGamer.com Top 10. Strap yourself in, take a deep breath, and ready yourself for some truly shocking stuff.
Assassin’s Creed was good, but it wasn’t 10 out of 10 good
The only reason Ubisoft’s stealth assassination sci-fi historical action game is one of 2007′s top 10 disappointments is because it was hyped so much we all thought it was going to be game of the year. The gorgeous screen shots, the adrenaline pumping teaser trailers and the promise of true open world gameplay made most of us shake with excitement. In the end, we got a fairly boring, repetitive, but lovely-looking action game that didn’t live up to the expectations everyone had for it. We’re not saying it’s not a good game, indeed Tom gave it an eight out of 10 in his review, but it just wasn’t everything we had hoped. Sigh.
GTA IV delayed from 2007 to sometime between February 1 and April 30 2008
Oh crap. That was the collective gasp from every gamer in the world when it emerged that super hyper advanced alpha hyped gangster sandbox kill-em-up Grand Theft Auto IV wouldn’t be coming out until parent company Take-Two’s second financial quarter of 2008. Queue girly Take That have broken up wailing from every GTA fan with a PC and an Internet connection. Aware of the storm the news would stir up, Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two said: “We all recognize that perfecting the game is vital and I can assure everyone it will be worth the wait. We owe it to the game’s millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology”. All we can say is, if GTA IV isn’t 10 out of 10 stuff, it’ll be making an appearance in VideoGamer.com’s Top 10 Gaming Disappointments of 2008.
The first six months of the PS3′s life
Sony became the butt of one or two jokes in the months after the PS3 hit UK stores, despite it setting records and Sony giving away 46 inch Bravia TVs to everyone who queued inside Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street. One, it launched at such a high price only Bill Gates and his hangers on could actually afford one. Two, it had rubbish games for the first half-year of its life. Terrible exclusives (Lair) and sloppy multi-format releases (I’m looking at you PES 2008 and Sonic the Hedgehog) and three, it came out over here a shocking five months after everyone else. It all contributed to make for one of the most disappointing console launches in recent memory. Sure, now the PS3 is looking much nicer, with a price cut in tow and some decent games, but for a long time there was absolutely no reason to buy a PS3. There’s only one word to describe that – and that word is criminal.
Mega-hyped triple-A PS3-selling dragon flying game Lair turned out to be utter balls
Has there been a game as far away from what you thought it would be quality wise? Sure, we didn’t think it would be game of the year or anything, but it was a PS3 exclusive that was intended to be a system seller. We’re still scratching our heads on how Lair’s developer, Factor 5, made such a shockingly bad title given their track record with the glorious Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games on N64 and GameCube. The worst thing about Lair? The controls were completely broken – there was no option to play it other than use the Sixaxis’ motion controlling tech – and it didn’t work. Dear oh dear.
E3 turned out to be a damp squib
E3 used to be a nuclear explosion of gaming excitement, with more new game announcements and megaton news than us poor game hacks could cope with. But that was then, and now is now. 2007′s scaled down E3 was about as interesting as an accountancy firm’s Christmas party. Let’s go through it – there was a distinct lack of announcements, there was hardly any excitement and there was too much focus on 2007 instead of what’s coming later on. Come on guys, this is the video game industry. This is entertainment! Here’s hoping 2008′s E3 will feature a bit more, well… life.
A lack of gamers’ games for the Nintendo Wii
Before you Wii fanboys self combust, we’ll lay down a disclaimer: we love the Wii. We love Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime: Corruption and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. But what we don’t love are the acres upon acres of rubbish third-party mini-game led titles that we hope are piling up in a warehouse somewhere gathering dust. We wouldn’t care normally, but it looks like these rubbish casual games are drowning out the excellence that could be happening on Nintendo’s motion sensing console. Apart from the aforementioned games, we can only think of maybe Super Paper Mario that will be of suitable quality to long-standing Nintendo fans. Here’s hoping some third-party developers will start to see the light and make games to compare with Nintendo’s stuff in 2008.
Windows Vista sucks balls for gaming
Vista was hailed as the next big thing in PC gaming and perhaps its saviour. How foolish we were for believing the hype. Other than the odd game featuring some nicer graphical effects when running under Vista and a top end graphics card, Vista has been a complete nightmare for gamers. We thought that we might see some improvements to game performance towards the end of 2007, but we’ve had no such luck. If you’re a gamer you’re better off sticking with XP, which no one could have predicted we’d be saying when that launched all those years ago.
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men turned out to be just a little bit rubbish
All the previews talked up Kane & Lynch as an intelligent, cool, cinematic heist game with two central characters you’d end up loving to hate. In the end what we got was a solid enough video game, but an unspectacular one that didn’t live up to the hype. Its controls are clunky, it looks quite dated and the action can’t compare with other excellent shooters released in and around the same time. Ah well, I’ll guess we’ll have to wait a little while longer for the Reservoir Dogs style video game we all know someone somewhere has to get right eventually.
No game has managed to challenge World of Warcraft as the world’s undisputed number one MMO
We love WoW here at VideoGamer.com HQ. We love it so much we even dedicate one evening a week to playing it as a group (I’m an Undead Priest btw). But sometimes we tire of bashing the crap out of orcs and elves with swords and spells. We want something a little… different. And unfortunately, while there are some solid MMO alternatives out there, nothing has really grabbed us by the balls and made us star jump in excitement. Not Lord of the Rings Online, which is too similar to WoW for us, and, while Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa, Final Fantasy XI and City of Heroes are solid, they haven’t captured our imagination in the same way Warcraft has. Fingers crossed something steps up to the MMO plate in 2008.
XBL Arcade and PSN
You know what’s missing from Xbox LIVE Arcade? Actual arcade games – and we don’t mean arcade games so old that they were ported to our Mega Drives and Super Nintendos. We’re talking about the golden age of arcade machines, when the likes of SEGA Rally, Daytona, Virtua Fighter, Ridge Racer, Virtua Cop and Time Crisis were the business. Surely this lot would go down a storm on Xbox LIVE Arcade or PSN. We can’t be the only ones desperate to see Scud Race again or Crazy Taxi with online leaderboards. Make it happen SEGA and Namco. You ruled the arcades once and you can rule the virtual arcades with a little effort.
believe in yourself
December 25, 2007
believe in yourself
Life
December 25, 2007
Life is a journey
think BIG
December 24, 2007think BIG : Happy New Year 2008
World champion fighter blends sport with life lessons
December 23, 2007
World champion fighter blends sport with life lessons
by Zack Pettit
Angie Woolum, a world champion sport jujitsu fighter from Delbarton, splits her time between training sessions with world-class athletes and teaching pint size up-and-comers in the world of martial arts.
It’s a tricky balance for the former homecoming queen and something that keeps her motor running, but the 30-year-old wouldn’t have it any other way.
Woolum decided long ago her duty as a martial artist was not only to win, but also to set an example for young people and give back to the community. Now, she not only trounces the competition, but also teaches morals and discipline to youth.
The first-degree black belt has studied martial arts for many years but most recently has been under the supervision of world-renowned trainer Ernie Boggs.
Since her quest began with 49-year-old Boggs, Woolum has won the first women’s international world title in sport jujitsu and has become part of the newest mixed martial arts league.
Woolum and her World Combat League team, the Miami Force, recently avenged last season’s league championship loss at the Eastern Conference opener in Atlantic City. Not only that, but she took home first-place honors in the 128-pound division at the early December event.
Founded by Chuck Norris, World Combat League features competitive combat martial arts fighting, or CMA, at a full-throttle pace.
As mixed martial arts fighting has ascended into national spotlight in the past few years, several leagues have sprung up around the country. But World Combat League offers something different with its fast-paced, stand-up fights.
League regulations forbid ground fighting and fighters are penalized for stalling or passivity. “Knockouts, not tap outs,” is the league motto.
The pace is fast because competitors fight only one three-minute round to determine a winner. Fighters square off twice per match and break for 30 minutes between bouts. Points are tallied individually, but team scores are the determining factor in who wins.
Woolum does it all, but title belts and first-place trophies aren’t everything to her, she says.
Both Woolum and Boggs would rather win at life than in the ring.
And although Woolum is a knock-down, drag-out fighter, she does have a softer side.
In 1995, the 18-year-old now known as “The Mingo Warrior” was voted homecoming queen at Burch High School.
Woolum no doubt thinks of her high school prize as just one step along the path.
“The victory,” she would say, “is in the journey.”
That motto has graced the wall at the BCI Martial Arts gym in Nitro where Woolum and Boggs train and teach. It was developed by Boggs to keep his students focused on preparing for fights rather than eyeing the spoils of victory.
Boggs knows something about victory, too.
He has produced more world jujitsu champions than anyone else in the world. He has graced the covers of countless magazines and won world titles himself, but he retired from the ring in 1991.
When Woolum came to Boggs about five years ago, she was already steeped in morals and discipline and had been boxing professionally for about three years.
Training with Boggs did nothing but raise her skills and teach her more about what it takes to be a Boggs-type champion.
Giving back to the community is something Boggs preaches and does himself.
“If you can reach one of these kids, it’s worth it,” he said.
Woolum was reached when she was young.
She was raised in the Delbarton Church of God and started traveling with the children’s ministry when she turned 12. That’s when she realized her dream, she said.
“My passion is teaching,” she said. “Fighting is just something I do. If I can help someone else reach their goals like sensei (Boggs) did for me…”
With all her success, she, too, is eager to pass the buck and help someone and give up the spotlight.
She said she owes many of her achievements to Boggs.
“He’s one of the best instructors I’ve seen in my life,” she said. “He gets respect everywhere he goes. At Wally Jay’s (famous martial artist Bruce Lee’s instructor) 90th birthday party, he had Ernie speak.”
They frequently trade compliments.
He said she is the right person to send a positive message to today’s youth.
“True warriors will step up and do that,” Boggs said. “Angie has a way with the kids, especially the young ladies. She’s a champion of life. She understands her words are more powerful than her punches and kicks. The lesson is always in the word.”
Boggs said she also instills a can-do attitude in her students, which he believes is very important for the youth in the state.
“People from West Virginia have had to struggle,” he said. “It’s important these kids believe in themselves and for someone to tell them, ‘Yes, you can.’”
Neither of them shows any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Boggs said he is being inducted into another hall of fame early next year. He has lost count of how many he is in but thinks it’s about four.
He said he is particularly excited about this one because of the credentials required to get in.
He said the only way to get into this particular hall of fame is to change the history of martial arts.
Boggs did that when he designed the first pair of gloves for mixed martial arts fighting.
Woolum doesn’t really know what her future holds, but she is sure martial arts will be a part of it.
“It’s something I love to do,” she said.
Pankaj Advani
December 19, 2007
Pankaj AdvaniLiving up to the expectations, World Champion Pankaj Advani beat five-time national champion Ashok Shandilya 1325-853 in the final of the men’s seniors billiards of the 74th senior national billiards & snooker championship held at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on December 14, 2007. “Probably, the start which I got made the difference,” Advani said, after winning the title.
Jhulan Goswami
December 19, 2007
Jhulan Goswami Indian seamer Jhulan Goswami was adjudged the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the year, ahead of other nominees Lisa Sthalekar of Australia and England’s Claire Taylor. The 23-year-old West Bengal cricketer received the award at a glittering function from MS Dhoni on September 10, 2007. Jhulan was the only Indian to be nominated for the awards this year. What made her award more special, Jhulan said, was the fact that there was no nomination from India for ICC awards in the mens categories.
