Weird news - June 30, 2008

• Giraffe helps camels, zebras escape from circus - Amsterdam police say 15 camels, two zebras and an undetermined number of llamas and potbellied swine briefly escaped from a traveling Dutch circus after a giraffe kicked a hole in their cage.
• Dolphins Take Wrong Turn, End Up In N.J. - The latest visitors to the New Jersey shore are just like any other tourists, playing in the water and eating fresh seafood. But they are also getting hassled by the locals, and so these bottlenose dolphins have to go.
• Winning toilet paper wedding dress picked - Tourists gaped at six stunning wedding dresses displayed at Ripley's Believe It or Not! in New York's Times Square.
• UFOs 'invade' Northern Territory town - Residents of a small Northern Territory community say they are reeling with shock after four UFOs descended on their outback homes.
• Drunken Swede tries to row home from Denmark - A drunken 78-year-old Swede stole a dinghy after a night out in the Danish town of Helsingor and tried to row back to Sweden, but fell asleep halfway, Danish police said on Monday.
• British student gets credit for expletive on exam - A British high school student received credit for writing nothing but a two-word obscenity on an exam paper because the phrase expressed meaning and was spelled correctly.
• Scooby-Doo prankster eludes Queensland police - Scooby-Doo has become one of Queensland's most wanted after giving police the slip during a reckless track invasion at the Ipswich Cup race day.
• Manure thieves make nude escape - A woman trying to make 'manure bombs' using stockings, slipped into a slurry tank and fled the scene naked, German police said on Friday.
• Monument to enema treatments opens in Russia - A monument to the enema, a procedure many people would rather not think about, has been unveiled at a spa in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk.
• Athletes Look For Boost From Viagra - Little blue pill could help lung function.
• Man sells life on eBay
  
• Prison pigeon bust
  
• Japan love bank
  
• Foie-gras fried $175 burger
  

Gaming & tech news - June 28, 2008

• Microsoft to keep supporting XP until 2014 - Microsoft may have little choice but to support XP for an extended period since most of its business customers have not upgraded to Windows Vista.
• The Bourne Conspiracy Review - Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy, will give players the experience of becoming a 30 million dollar elite agent, fusing an experience that delves deep into Jason Bourne's character with gameplay and game presentation inspired by the films.
• Price not GTA IV to blame for slow PS3, 360 sales, says analyst - While interest, investment, and sales of Nintendo Wii are through the roof, outspoken analyst Michael Pachter says traditional games will still grow, though not as fast as mainstream ones.
• 7 Things Gamers Can Learn Through Video Games - Gamers can learn a lot about things you will use in your everyday life from video games.
• US PS3 video rentals due in 'summer,' Life with PlayStation revealed - Sony announces long-awaited video-download service, will reveal Wii News-like global-news browser at E3; game division still on course to profitability.
• Big News at E3 - E3 is right around the corner. This year's E3 will be on July 14 through the 17th in Santa Monica.
• Cliff Bleszinski calls MGS4 "passive entertainment" - In case it wasn't obvious, Bleszinski primarily makes games for Xbox 360, while Metal Gear Solid 4 is exclusive to PlayStation 3.
• Lukewarm response to Hot Coffee settlement - The New York Times reports that less than 2,700 US residents have collected under $30,000 following class action over hit game.
• AMD's Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Processor Tested - The Tech Report posted an article on AMD's Radeon HD 4870 graphics processor.
• The 10 Weirdest Sports Games Ever - Mutants playing hockey? Leather fetishists on the links? These crazy games are the anti-Madden.
• Star Wars Retrospective Episode IV
  
• Metal Gear Retrospective Part Two
  
• Saints Row 2 Story Trailer
  
• Blood Bowl Teaser
  
• Battlefield: Bad Company Launch Trailer
  
• Call of Duty: World At War Full Length Debut Trailer
  
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest Exclusive Debut Trailer
  
• Battlestations: Pacific Trailer
  

Movie & celebrity news - June 19, 2008

• Hollywood studios in a retro mood - For those ready to move past the endless stream of dark dramas from fall 2007, get ready for a new barrage -- from the 1960s, the 1940s and the 1780s.
• Stan Winston...A Legend Passes Away - Winston died in Los Angeles, CA on Father's Day Sunday June 15th.
• $15 million for baby pictures? Say what?! - What rumored price for photos of Jolie-Pitt twins can buy for average folks.
• Abrams Goes On A Scavenger Hunt - Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams have picked up film rights to Penelope Green's New York Times article about a home filled with secret compartments and hidden scavenger hunt clues says the trades.
• Charlie Sorry for Dropping an N-Bomb on Denise - Charlie Sheen is sorry for slurring his speech. For the most part.
• "Iron Man" bolts past $300 million at box office - "Iron Man" will become the first picture of the year to hit $300 million at the North American box office on Thursday.
• Kardashian Clan Ordered to Court - The family that shops together swears to tell the truth together.
• Vatican weighing in on "good cinema" - The Vatican said Wednesday that it is working on a set of guidelines for what it considers "good cinema."
• Son of 'Godfather' creator sues over profits - The son of "The Godfather" creator Mario Puzo sued Paramount Pictures on Wednesday, claiming the studio failed to pay royalties from a 2006 video game based on the book and movie characters.
• Queen Latifah Demands Royalty - Queen Latifah showed her face, and now she wants to be shown the money.
• Sienna Miller joining Crowe in Robin Hood redo - Sienna Miller is in negotiations to play Maid Marion in "Nottingham," a revisionist take on the Robin Hood legend starring Russell Crowe.
• What the Smurf?! Smurfette Gets Full Frontal!
  
• Mirrors Teaser
  
• Death Race Trailer
  
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Trailer
  
• Miracle at St. Anna Trailer
  
• Punisher: War Zone Trailer
  
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Trailer
  
• Babylon A.D. Trailer
  

Gaming & tech news - June 15, 2008

• Vista Codec Package 4.6.9 - With Vista Codec Package installed, you won't need to install any other codec or filter. Many user suggested default settings are implemented.
• Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Phenom X3 and Phenom X4 Compared - If you are looking for a CPU on the USD 200 range you have only two real options: the new Core 2 Duo E8400 and Core 2 Quad Q6600.
• AMD, Intel Team to Improve Game Physics - AMD is responding to Nvidia's buyout of PhysX (and its plans to add PhysX support to GeForce 8 GPUs) by teaming up with Havok.
• Nintendo sues Nyko alleging knockoff Nunchuk - Wii maker accuses peripheral company of swiping name, design, and color scheme for its wireless controller accessory.
• New Amiga emulator supports 64-bit Vista - Cloanto has completely revamped its Amiga emulation software, resulting in Amiga Forever 2008, which the company calls the "most significant upgrade ever released" in the emulator series.
• Atari down $23.6M on shrinking revs - Once-mighty publisher's annual revenues $42.3 million lower than prior year, totaling just $80.1 million.
• Funcom To Expand Conan's Adventures News - New PvP, dozens of quests, and Guild alliances just some of the new features coming to Age of Conan...
• Fallout - Resolution Patch - At popular request, Mash adapted the Fallout 2 Resolution Patch to work on Fallout 1.
• Making a Good Comic/Movie-Based Video Game - Video games are more valuable to the comic book industry than quarters are to an arcade junkie. In a way, the popularity of certain comic superheroes partially depends on the success of their respective games. After all, having a kickass movie doesn't mean that the tie-in video game is going to deliver.
• Mass Effect Tweak Guide - TweakTown has a tweak guide for Mass Effect PC.
• 8 Games that Used Stealth Stupidly - Metal Gear Solid's mastered what these games failed at. Check out these less-than-stellar stealth titles.
• Limbo in limbo after plagarism outcry - Tri Synergy pulls Majestic Studios' controversy-laden adventure game from online and retail stores after screenshot comparison furor.
• 7 Lego games we want to play - Seven classic films, seven classic LEGO games. Will any brave developers have the guts to make these?
• The 9 Best Power-Ups - Normality sucks. That's why these 9 awesome game power-ups earn classic recognition and our personal kudos.
• The Top 10 Goriest Games Ever Made!
  
• The Star Wars Retrospective Episode III
  
• Metal Gear Retrospective Part One
  
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope Debut Trailer
  
• Dawn of War II Debut Gameplay Teaser
  
• Golden Axe: Beast Rider World Exclusive Debut Trailer
  
• Resident Evil 5 Captivate 08 Trailer
  

Movie & celebrity news - June 4, 2008

• Bruce Willis Joins KANE AND LYNCH! - A-List actor BRUCE WILLIS is in negotiations to star in the big screen adaptation of KANE AND LYNCH!
• Molina, Kingsley Join "Prince of Persia" - Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley have joined the cast of Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" reports Variety.
• Marsden Joins "Transformers" Sequel - Matthew Marsden ("Rambo," "Resident Evil: Extinction") has joined the cast of Michael Bay's "Transformers 2" says MTV News.
• "Transporter 3" Delivers Thanksgiving - Lionsgate has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to the upcoming EuropaCorp-produced third "Transporter" movie.
• Simpsons Do Have a (Cash) Cow, Man - For the Simpsons cast, it's less d'oh and more dough. Finally.
• Get Smart Trailer
  
• Burn After Reading Red Band Trailer
  
• Step Brothers Red Band Trailer
  
• Choke Trailer