Art Bank Additions
Hangama Amiri Jack Bishop Sarah Burwash Cathy Busby Gary Castle Melanie Colosimo David Diviney Garry Neill Kennedy Alex Livingston Don Pentz Brian Porter Ambera Wellmann D’Arcy Wilson Nova Scotians will have until Sept. 27 to view the latest art acquisitions to be included in the Nova Scotia Art Bank. New pieces from 13 artists were introduced at a reception held Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Anna Leonowens Gallery of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Tony Ince, Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage helped introduce the artists and their art. “We are so lucky to have such a diverse arts and culture community in Nova Scotia,” said Mr. Ince. “Once again, we are pleased to be able to add more Nova Scotian arts and artists to the provincial art bank. Being selected by a peer jury is a great honour and the art work will be on display in provincial government offices for the enjoyment of guests and employees.” The artists are: Arts Nova Scotia manages the Art Bank program. “We are very pleased to welcome these 26 works by 13 Nova Scotian artists into the Art Bank collection,” said Christopher Shore, Arts Nova Scotia director. “The Art Bank program encompasses a number of key values of Arts Nova Scotia, specifically artistic excellence and encouraging access to, and engagement with, the arts for all Nova Scotians.” The Nova Scotia Art Bank has supported local artists for more than 30 years. Since 1975, works have been added annually, based on recommendations from a jury of artists. The collection has almost 1,800 pieces of art displayed in government offices throughout the province. Applications for the 2014-15 Art Bank Purchase Program will be accepted until Jan. 15. More information about the application process, artists and the latest additions to the art bank is available at http://www.artsns.ca/grants-awards/nova-scotia-art-bank .
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THE FIRST POLL since the announcement of a same-sex marriage referendum has found that an overwhelming majority of voters support the proposal.The Red C poll carried out for Paddy Power found that 76 per cent of likely voters say that they support the introduction of same-sex marriage into the Irish Constitution, while 18 per cent say they oppose it. A total of 6.5 per cent of respondents are undecided.When undecided voters are removed support jumps to 81 per cent with 19 per cent against it.Support is high among women, with 85 per cent supporting same sex marriage, as well as people aged under 44 (87 per cent), Labour supporters (96 per cent) and Dubliners (83 per cent).Fianna Fáil supporters are most likely to oppose same sex marriage with 29 per cent saying they will not support it.The Government announced this week that a vote on whether to legalise same-sex marriage will be held in the first half of 2015. A number of other referendums will also be held on the same day following recommendations from the Constitutional Convention.The poll also look at the popularity of the parties and found Fine Gael has dropped 4 points while Independent/Others have risen by the same amount. The main coalition party has faced criticism in recent weeks over medical cards and property tax.When asked which political party they would give their first preference vote to if an election were called tomorrow, respondents chose:Fine Gael: 25 per cent (-4)Fianna Fáil: 24 per cent (+1)Sinn Féin: 16 per cent (-1)Labour: 9 per cent (=)Independent/others: 26 per centUndecided: 20 per cent (+2).A random sample of 1,004 adults were interviewed by telephone between 4-6 November for the poll.Read: Gay rights groups welcome marriage referendum plan, Catholic Bishops don’t > Column: Let’s see a vigorous, successful campaign for marriage equality > Read: Same-sex marriage vote to be one of a number of referendums to be held in 2015 >
In the mobile market at the moment one thing is very clear: Intel is not the preferred choice for processors like it is on the desktop. That crown falls to ARM which powers many on the smartphones in use today. The same looks set to be the case for tablet devices.Intel knows it is losing the battle for penetration in the mobile sector, but has been working to ensure it can grab some market share next year. New Atom chips are coming, and they are set to make it into tablets in the first half of next year.Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, has stated we can expect to see 35 tablet devices using an Intel processor in 2011. What manufacturers and operating systems will be run has not been announced, but Intel has has been working on an Android x86 solution, and has had Android running on an Atom chip in a phone. On the smartphone front it looks like it may take longer for Intel to compete with ARM as the second-generation Medfield chip won’t ship until 2012.Read more at ReutersMatthew’s OpinionThe one advantage Intel has when turning up late in a market is their size. The chip giant can afford to plough money into mobile chips for a couple of years just to make a small dent in the market and build from there. But it’s still going to be a struggle.Intel’s main partner on the desktop is not a major player in the mobile market at the moment. Windows Mobile 7 has only just been released, but it’s Android and iOS that are dominating. Only yesterday Google’s Andy Rubin tweeted that 300,000 Android phones are being activated every day. Each of those will likely carry an ARM processor, and yet we may be waiting until 2012 to see a chip from Intel that can compete.We also can’t forget that ARM isn’t sitting still and continues to develop new chip architectures. The company’s ability to produce low power, performance processors means it can always stay one step ahead of Intel due to the market penetration it already has.
8,523 Views Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article Tuesday 5 Mar 2019, 4:56 PM Image: PA Archive/PA Images Mar 5th 2019, 4:56 PM Short URL EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five biggest stories of the day.1. #DENIS O’BRIEN: The Supreme Court has ruled that the businessman’s privacy was not breached during a 2015 debate about the sale of Siteserv.2. #MR MOONLIGHT: Murder accused Pat Quirke told one of his farm hands he heard a rumour that Polish people were involved in the murder of DJ Bobby ‘Mr Moonlight’ Ryan.3. #FLIUCH: A status yellow rainfall warning has been issued for Munster and Leinster. The warning is due to kick in at 3pm today and remain in place until 6am tomorrow.4. #WATERFORD: The head of a volunteer group that will help refugees relocate to a Waterford town has said that locals do not want their wishes to be derailed by protesters from Dublin following a heated meeting last night. 5. #LONDON: The Met Police has launched an investigation after three small explosive devices were reported at three public transport locations in the UK capital this afternoon. No Comments https://jrnl.ie/4525222 Image: PA Archive/PA Images The 5 at 5: Tuesday Five minutes, five stories, five o’clock… Share1 Tweet Email By Cónal Thomas
The Mexican team had a disastrous second half and lost against Japanese side Kashima Antlers in the FIFA Club World CupMexican Club Deportivo Guadalajara found itself with a goal just three minutes after kicking-off the match against Japanese side Kashima Antlers in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.But a disastrous second half saw the team managed by Paraguayan Jose Cardozo lose control of the game and his squad ended up losing 3-2.“To tell you the truth, we were just 45 minutes away from glory, and I am responsible for this,” Cardozo told the press conference attended by Ronaldo.com“This always happens to us. After the second goal, we got desperate and lose tranquility. And if the team doesn’t have the ball is very difficult to play.”“I don’t want to say we caught sleeping on the second half, but we got desperate,” he added visibly angry about today’s result.
Official: Barcelona agree deal for Japanese star Hiroki Abe Andrew Smyth – July 12, 2019 Barcelona have struck a deal with Kashima Antlers to sign the highly-rated Japanese star Hiroki Abe.“People have the right to be angry. We are very ashamed for what happened today.”“This is the biggest club in Mexico and the fans made the effort to come all the way over here. I’m ashamed after today. This defeat hurts a lot,” Cardozo ended up saying.#CWC2018: Get to know @Chivas – Club Deportivo Guadalajara is the only team in the Liga MX to feature only Mexican in its roster; will play in the @ClubWorldCups. pic.twitter.com/N8OoUk3cia— Ronaldo.com (@ronaldocomint) December 11, 2018
Energy Town Meeting for Provo Facebook Twitter Google+LinkedInPinterestWhatsAppProvidenciales, 22 Apr 2015 – Provo is the best island destination in the world according to the 2015 Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Awards. Up from the #2 spot last year… this is a popularity contest so hats off to everyone who has made and continues to make these global accolades a reality for one of the world’s smallest countries. Simply the best! New York Dancers share talent in TCI Related Items:provo, traveler’s choice award, tripadvisor Facebook Twitter Google+LinkedInPinterestWhatsApp Recommended for you Provo now No. 4 Island; Minister comments
(WSVN) – A pony on the run led police on a wild chase in Kiev, Ukraine.Officers surrounded the small horse as she roamed around the capital city.The pony made a run for it and escaped from a university after her harness broke.Police lured the pony by feeding her grass and leaves. She was then safely wrangled and returned to her handlers.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Newsweek‘s July 4 cover featuring a simulated Princess Di next to Kate Middleton as part of piece in which editor Tina Brown imagines the late princess at age 50 (an illustration of Diana holding an iPhone is part of the package) provoked critics who claimed the image was in poor taste but the issue also underperformed with advertisers just as Newsweek seemed to be gaining traction on the business side. The issue had just 13.8 ad pages, making it the weakest advertising issue for Newsweek since May 16, according to MagazineRadar, which points out that the low number is especially hurtful because it’s a double issue. Newsweek‘s last double issue (June 13) boasted 27.3 ad pages.While newsstand sales remain to be seen, the July 4 anchor comes just after Newsweek posted its most consistent advertising performance of the year in June, with an average of 24.5 ad pages per issue, according to MagazineRadar.
WILMINGTON, MA — Here are highlights from the Wilmington Police Log for Monday, June 4, 2018:An employee from Advanced Automotive on Woburn Street reported an employee from Northshore Towing spilt hydraulic fluid all over the parking lot on Friday, and it’s been leaking into the storm drain. Fire Department responded. (11:26am)A client at the Milestone Group Home on High Street was reported to have gone AWOL from the program. (11:49am)A red BMW drove off the road on Chestnut Street and got stuck in the woods. Driver said a red pickup truck was speeding and crossed the double lines, causing him to swerve into the woods. Vehicle towed. Damage done to landscaping at nearby home. (2:10pm)Police issued a summons to Stephen M. Johnson (60, Wilmington) for Operating A Motor Vehicle With A Revoked Or Suspended License; Forge/Misuse of RMV Documents; and No or Expired Inspection Sticker. (4:15pm)A Woburn Street caller reported their mailbox was vandalized. (4:17pm)A caller requested an officer retrieve a needle she found in the parking lot of Metro at Wilmington Station. Police retrieve a syringe, plastic bags, and ties. (5:43pm)(DISCLAIMER: This information is public information. An arrest does not constitute a conviction. Any arrested person is innocent until proven guilty.)Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip?Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading… RelatedPOLICE LOG for July 26: 2 Missing Teens; OUI Arrest; Main St. Shut Down Due To Crash; Road Rage IncidentIn “Police Log”POLICE LOG for August 12: 2 Drivers Issued Summonses; Drone FoundIn “Police Log”POLICE LOG for July 9: Police Issue 2 Summonses To Drivers; Windows Kicked In At BusinessIn “Police Log”
Two men were killed and three injured in separate road accidents in Sirajganj Sadar upazila on Friday morning, reports UNB.The deceased are Shahadat Hossain, 32, the helper of a pickup van, and Raihan Ali, 32 – both residents of Gurudaspur upazila.The first accident took place at Kodda intersection when Shahadat’s pickup van overturned, killing him on the spot around 11:00am, said Syed Shahid Alam, officer-in-charge of Bangabandhu Bridge West Zone police station.Raihan was killed on the spot after being run over by a pickup van at Raninagar village, said Abdul Quader Jilani, officer-in-charge of Hatikumurul Highway police station.
Bangladeshi patients suffering from dengue fever rest on beds at the Mugda Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka on 8 August 2019. Photo: AFPTwo people including a child died of dengue in Noakhali and Khulna today.In Noakhali, a four-year-old boy, Parash, died of dengue fever on Monday night while he was being taken to Noakhali General Hospital.Parash’s uncle Md Ibrahim said his nephew was diagnosed with dengue at Fair Diagnostic Pathology Centre in Lakshmipur town on Saturday morning.Morshed Alam, pediatrician of Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital, said he suggested the guardians to shift Parash to Noakhali General Hospital. “He died around 10:00pm while being taken there,” he said.The deceased child was the son of Kamruzzaman of Daspara area in Kamalnagar upazila of the district.Over 148 dengue patients were admitted to Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital in the last 18 days till Monday noon.In Khulna, a man died of the same fever at Khulna Medical College Hospital early hours of Tuesday.The physicians named the victim Rasel, 32, a resident of Gopalganj.Parash died on Monday night while he was being taken to Noakhali General Hospital. Photo: UNBKhulna civil surgeon Abdur Razzak said Rasel was hospitalised with dengue two days ago.Bangladesh has been struggling with the dengue outbreak this year. The mosquito-borne disease has so far claimed 40 lives, according to the government but unofficial estimates suggest the death toll is much higher.Since January, 43,271 people were hospitalised with dengue, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. Of them, 35,225 had made full recovery. Currently, more than 8,000 patients, including children, are undergoing treatment at hospitals.Until Monday morning, 429 dengue cases were reported in Khulna, while 149 are currently hospitalised, the DGHS said.But the government insists that there has been no dengue-related death in the district so far this year.On 4 August, a 70-year-old woman and a schoolboy died of dengue in Khulna.
Share Susan Walsh/APPresident Trump leads applause for guests in the first lady’s box during the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.President Trump’s first State of the Union address was billed as a bid for unity, a call for all to rise above party and faction in pursuit of national ideas and ideals.In fact, scattered throughout the 80-minute speech were several moments that might qualify as outreach. But if you blinked, you might have missed them.For example, halfway through his speech, the president made a passing reference to vocational schools. Then he quickly added these ten words — “And let’s support working families by supporting paid family leave,” a hat tip to a Democratic issue supported by his eldest daughter, Ivanka.Cameras cut to a happy Ivanka, clapping in the family gallery. Democrats, too, leaped to their feet, and many stayed there as the president followed up with a single sentence referring to another of their issues: “[T]his year we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second chance at life.”But anyone expecting a word of detail regarding any of these proposals or the resources they’d require, in fact, got no such thing. Last year, the president included paid family leave in his budget but left it up to the states to finance it. Nothing changed.A bit earlier in the address, the president had this to say on another topic of urgency to many Democrats: “One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. (Applause.) In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. And it’s very, very unfair.”And the White House plan for addressing this?“[I]’ve directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of my top priorities for the year,” the president said, to general applause. “And prices will come down substantially. Watch. “Some may note that the newly confirmed head of Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services comes to the office from Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant. So, watch we will.Throughout the speech, when the president came to questions of policy, he fell back on a recitation of his campaign talking points. Much of the speech recalled his remarks at the pep rallies he has held in the past year, most of them deep in the heart of Trump Country.It is true that Trump’s tone and manner on Tuesday night were more restrained than his famously rousing style on the stump. But a somewhat more sedate delivery does not, in itself, constitute a conciliatory speech.This was most in evidence when Trump turned to immigration and related topics, as he did again and again.Among his salient points was a repeated emphasis on the MS-13 gang and its crimes. These included alleged crimes he has highlighted before, complete with the victims’ grieving parents, who were seated in the visitors gallery and were asked to stand for a round of applause. By citing the MS-13 (“horrible people”) repeatedly, Trump emphasized his view that lax enforcement in the past has resulted in substantial economic, criminal and terrorist threats.Trump made the same point in speaking of “open borders” that allowed criminals and drugs to “pour” across.There were times when Trump’s remarks could be heard and appreciated by all hearers. He laced his address with tributes to various American heroes whom all could salute and applaud — often at length. These included rescuers who saved lives in the California wildfires and other natural disasters of the past year. There were several uniformed military and police personnel who had battled the nation’s enemies foreign and domestic.These moments had the desired effect of bringing all in the House chamber and, symbolically, all those watching at home, to share moments of common emotion and community feeling.But here again, Trump veered into his favored themes of criminality and joblessness stemming from immigration. Some of his heroes were parents of young people who allegedly died at the hands of illegal immigrants.It is understandable that victims of any crime committed by immigrants may blame immigration for their suffering. But the exploitation of that suffering to appeal to hardcore anti-immigration voters and members of Congress may not be the way to “set politics aside and finally get the job done” — as the president said he wanted to do when it comes to changing the nation’s immigration laws.Even when discussing the DREAMers, whom he has said he would offer legal status and an eventual path to citizenship, the president was not letting go of the distinction between them and actual Americans.DREAMers are the estimated 1.8 million U.S. residents brought to the country as minors without legal status. The president repeated his offer of status and eventual citizenship for these residents, made it conditional on Congress building his wall on the Mexico border and ending “chain migration” — his inimical term for longstanding programs stressing family re-unification. Trump said ending such programs was intended “to protect the nuclear family” by limiting re-unification to immediate spouses and minor children.“Americans,” the president said in a widely quoted passage, “are Dreamers too.” The distinction in the president’s mind between Americans and these who aspire to be Americans could scarcely be clearer.As the evening began, the usually celebratory atmosphere of such occasions was lacking. For some, at least, the moment was fraught with the divisiveness of immigration and issues of sexual assault and harassment. Some Democrats had invited DREAMers as their gallery guests, prompting Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., to suggest these guests be arrested by Capitol police and deported.Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesPresident Donald rump delivers the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday.Given this tension, the president might have chosen to make a very different speech — aimed at meeting his various opponents halfway. He might have credited, for example, some of the members of the Senate who have been trying to negotiate a compromise on immigration. He might have saluted the Democrats in the Senate who voted for his tax cut last year, or who have been negotiating with his administration on infrastructure and other areas of shared concern.We know the president is capable of such behavior, we saw him do it when he hosted a bipartisan White House meeting of House and Senate leaders on immigration on Jan. 17. During that hourlong confab, with TV cameras still on, Trump listened to all sides and offered to embrace whatever they could produce.Two days later, of course, the president famously rejected what he’d asked for and produced his own set of demands. After that, the immigration puzzle seemed as far as ever from a solution. And the State of the Union address left the two sides, or the many sides, just as far apart.And then there is the even more explosive question of the Department of Justice Russian election interference investigation. Trump mentioned Russia only once in his address, and then only in a drive-by reference to “rival countries such as China and Russia.” He never mentioned his struggles with the FBI, or his widely reported concerns about DOJ special counsel Robert Mueller. Perhaps it would have been surprising if he had. His lawyers might well have urged him not to, just as they probably beg him not to discuss the investigation on Twitter.But would it have been impossible for Trump to have at least expressed respect for the legal process now underway? Would it be wrong for him to relieve the anxieties of many in his party who fear he might soon fire Mueller or Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department official who appointed Mueller?Even Richard Nixon took on Watergate, which was the elephant in the room when he gave his last State of the Union address early in 1974. “One year of Watergate is enough,” Nixon said, referring to the various probes that had dominated the news in 1973. Republicans in the chamber agreed and applauded.Nixon apparently thought he was secure enough to urge dismissal of that matter at that time. Trump apparently feels secure enough not to address his own potential legal exposures at all.In any event, leaving Russia out entirely represented yet another missed opportunity to make this speech a truly national and nonpartisan assessment of the state of the union.Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
By J. K. Schmid, Special to the AFRO“Everybody knows how hard policing is, they just don’t understand why the police are never wrong,” Matthew Horace told the AFRO.Horace, a veteran police officer and federal agent, and now security and policing expert contributor to news organizations such as CNN and MSNBC has co-authored a book with Howard University journalism professor and former AFRO Editor Ron Harris.Matthew Horace’s is the co-author of a book which explores police problems in Baltimore and the country at large. (Courtesy Photo)“I was always being called on air, almost every week for another shooting of a Black man in the United States, and I started looking for a co-writer and Ron and I were brought together through our publisher and some like agents,” Horace said in phone interview on the eve of the book’s publication. “And I knew after the first time we talked, having spoken to three or four people before him, he was the one for this job.”“The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America’s Law Enforcement,” was initially proposed as a deep dive into Horace’s conceptualization of ‘coptics,’ the perception, or optics, of police in the digital and social media age where police misconduct can come under almost instant national scrutiny.“We couldn’t ignore the things that were happening when we were writing, and there were a lot of these incidents while we were doing the book,” Horace said.The book attempts to bring the reader to the current moment through Horace’s own and a selection of other officers’ narratives. Officers start their careers amidst an apocalyptic crack epidemic, and resort to mass arrest and incarceration against a backdrop of continuing struggles to integrate Blacks into police forces and their communities across the country.It’s a narrow, or at least focused, view that accounts for a current generation of police perspective and goes as far back as perspective of the officers who trained them.It’s a breezy, easy read starting with how Black men are seen by cops and their community-in and out of uniform, and moving on to how the shooting death of Michael Brown came at the conclusion of a long litany of injuries orchestrated allegedly through Ferguson, Missouri’s executive branch colluding with its judiciary to loot the poorest and Blackest parts of town through excessive and sometimes fabricated ticketing of residents.Taking a brief turn to New Orleans, “The Black and the Blue” describe the start and end of the career of a police officer that was caught robbing a restaurant and murdering as many employees as she could find and the later massacre at Danziger bridge, to show U.S. policing at its worst.The book interviews former Baltimore City Police Commissioner and current Coppin State University Chief of Campus Police Leonard Hamm for insights into the police problems of Baltimore and the country at large. The interview comes prior to trial and conviction of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force.The book also concludes prior to the very public arrest of two Black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks in April, but Harris maintains that his and Horace’s book predicts how and why this happened.“They may not have even wanted to do this, so what happened: the policy, the practices, the way we do business said ‘You’ve gotta go follow this order and arrest these guys.’” Harris said. “And even if those officers see this and realize ‘You know, this is not a good look.’ That’s what they had to do.”The book finds itself somewhere between local Baltimore narratives such as police misconduct is attributable to “a few bad apples” and the opposite narrative that these abuses are an entirely structural problem.The authors place much of the burden on the communities being policed to begin repairing the rift, suggesting, for example, the nomination of a liaison between local leaders and the police in their neighborhood. Part of this is inspired by the realization that police cannot adequately manage problems like homelessness and mental illness.While “The Black and the Blue” is a timely account of the current moment, there’s a sense that the word may come too late.“The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America’s Law Enforcement” is available now.
Nintendo’s official Wii U launch event in New York City was full of high-octane music, orchestrated crowd cheering, and down-to-the-last-minute hype building. That is, if you camped out for more than 12 hours, work for Nintendo, or had the luxury of covering the event as a journalist.For the hundreds of other eager gamers who brought folding chairs and $400 in their wallets, it was a poorly thought out night that stretched far into the post-midnight hours. The main problem was that unlike past Nintendo launch parties, this one actually took place at the Nintendo-owned store in Rockefeller Plaza.For Nintendo, this was a chance for some great PR, as Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sold the very first Wii U console with cameras clicking away and tons of Nintendo paraphernalia in the background. The problem with that was the Nintendo World Store is tiny, and only has a handful of cash registers installed. When there is a line several hundred people deep, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how long it’s going to take to get everyone out the door with the new console. By comparison, the official 3DS launch event took place in a vast two-story New York City Best Buy, making it easy to let customers flood into the store.Inside Nintendo’s tiny New York City storeOf course, gamers go to events like this expecting very long waits in return for a few exclusive swag items. At the 3DS event the swag included t-shirts, sweaters, hats, personalized photos, book bags, and more. And for the last major game launch before that, the Kinect, Microsoft printed around 3,000 t-shirts, handed out Burger King gift cards, digital Xbox content, and all sorts of goodies in a continuous stream of giveaways that lasted all the way to midnight.For the Wii U, hardcore gamers were treated to a piece of paper with a Mii face printed on it, a glow stick, and a beanie cap, all of which probably cost Nintendo next to nothing to make. One group of gamers I met drove in from New Jersey just for the swag — they had already pre-ordered a Wii U at GameStop — and left after waiting five hours, cold and disappointed.Costumed Mii characters showed up to entertain the crowdThe first few dozens of gamers were able to squeeze into an alley of Rockefeller Plaza where they were treated to hours of live entertainment, but for the several hundred others, there was no excitement. The swag giveaways ended hours before midnight, and even after the gratification of seeing the clock strike 12, it still took several hours to get through the maddeningly slow checkout process. Gamers who waited 9 or 10 hours to get a Wii U were stuck waiting another two or three just to reach a cashier, while those who showed up at 6pm, which Nintendo said was the start of the event, sat on the sidewalk of a relatively boring Manhattan avenue and saw their six-hour wait turn into a 10+ hour ordeal.The countdown clock hits 0:00:00 at midnight, but the waiting is far from over.Major video game events are not supposed to be like Black Friday, where you wait, wait, and then wait some more. Midnight launches are supposed to pump everyone up with energy and provide a memorable experience. Nintendo focused on the photo ops, not the hundreds of fans eager to spend their hard-earned money.
It’s an all too common occurrence: just as a video game is being manufactured ready for launch a version of the game leaks and appears for download in torrent form. And today it is being reported that has just happened to Gears of War: Judgement a month before it is set to officially launch.GoW:J is the fourth game in the Gears of War series and has been co-developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games. It’s another Xbox 360 exclusive, and a repeat of what happened a couple of months before the launch of Gears of War 3 back in 2011. In that case, the version of the game leaked was unfinished, but had all of the features in place. As this leak is much closer to the actual launch date, it’s probably a final or near-final version of the game.Microsoft is doing what it always does in these cases: attempting to track down where the leak originated from and all the people involved. Rest assured, if anyone is identified they will be facing criminal charges and probably a massive fine for their actions. If they happen to work at a disc production facility they can kiss their job goodbye.GOW:J is set before the previous three games, introduces new characters, and sees you attempting to save the city of Halco Bar on the planet Sera. There’s also a lot of Locust fighting and a new Smart Spawn System for single and multiplayer. Also, for the first time, there’s a new class-based objective-oriented multiplayer mode called OverRun that sees up to 5-players working together in a team.For anyone who’d rather wait and buy a legal copy of the game, Gears of War: Judgement will be available to purchase on March 19 in the US, and from March 22 across Europe. And remember, if you download the illegal version and attempt to connect to Xbox Live, don’t be surprised to see your account permanently banned.
It’s hard to believe, but it has been 20 years since the release of id Software’s seminal first-person shooter, Quake. This was the first truly 3D FPS game on the market and it helped push the genre forward as much as id’s previous groundbreaking shooter, Doom. To celebrate the anniversary, MachineGames has released a brand-new chapter of the original Quake.In order to play the new Quake chapter, you’ll first need to own the original game. Thanks to the Steam Summer Picnic Sale, you can buy it for $2.49 if you don’t own it already. You can download the file from this location. After that, you’ll have to extract the file into your Quake folder then set “-game dopa” as a launch option in Steam.We posted a similar story not too long ago about how John Romero released a new level of Doom 21 years after that game’s release. In general, it’s been a good time for fans of classic first-person shooters. MachineGames itself released the excellent Wolfenstein: The New Order a couple of years ago, while id Software recently released a fantastic update to Doom.Perhaps it isn’t too much of a stretch to believe id is currently working on relaunching the Quake franchise. After all, we’ve seen what they’ve been able to do with Wolfenstein and Doom — the latter of which had a multiplayer mode that borrows heavily from Quake‘s twitch-based gameplay. Hopefully, we’ll get a new Quake down the line so that we can have a full trilogy of updated FPS classics from id.