Some wiseacres are trying to rig the vote to name a Hungarian bridge so that it will be christened the Chuck Norris bridge. What kind of codswallop is this? The economy minister of a semi-stable, marginally noteworthy country tries to use the Interweb to name a bridge and people make fun of his endeavour? It's reprehensible behaviour and I for one won't stand for it. We need to nip this in the bud. Stop it once and for all. End the madness. I encourage, urge, coax and prod each and every Loading... reader to do the right thing, head to the website and vote for Vin Diesel Skyway as the official name of the bridge! We are many and we have the power to name a bridge in a former communist country. With any luck we can have a picture of the Vin Diesel Skyway posted to the official Hungarian tourism website.

Vote now! Vote often! Here is a link to the website which at the time of writing this is down, due to the power of Vin Diesel.

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Ralsu sent me a link to a "Daily Show" clip that was too good to pass up since it touched on violent religous video games and terrorist day camp in a far more humourous way than I ever could. If you are easily offended I strongly advise that you not click here.
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Katie sent me a link to some professional gamers rankings yesterday. Of course, I can't find the link now, but that's par for the course. What she was pointing out was that many gamers pick names that when viewed by the general public make gamers as a whole look like socially dysfunctional, sex-crazed psychopaths. I've had a few lewd comments about my "Boomjack" moniker. Your homework today is to send me the best/worst names that you have had the fortune/misfortune of seeing in your game of choice.
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Make your mark. Mark your territory. Post a comment. If you are shy you can E-Mail me.
Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads, secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.

• Dead of Summer Contest Extended
  "Between back-to-school sales, home projects, and family vacations, it's a busy time of year. Though we've received a number of great entries so far, we're extending the latest Ten Ton Hammer contest for another week (through August 9th) because we wanted to give you plenty of opportunity to submit your entry for the "Dead of Summer" screenshot contest. We've got plenty of autographed prints, gamecards, and Zboard gaming hardware to trade for your cool cadaverous screencaptures, so check out the contest details page, check out the latest entries, and send in your amusing post-mortem screenshots and captions. It's that simple, so be sure to enter before the August 9th "dead" line!"
• Dungeons and Dragons Online: Master Thief
  "Everybody changes his mind now and again. The release of the drow race made me change my mind about my favorite rogue build. Wherever you see the UFR label, you see my changes since this build originally posted. I have left my old comments so that you can see exactly how the changes compare to my original opinions."
• Dungeons and Dragons Online: Cookie Cutter Bard
  "As Drow Week continues at DDO @ Ten Ton Hammer, we take a look at how to craft the quintessential bard--and of course we start by selecting drow for the race! This bard represents a balance of combat, healing, and casting abilities."
• EverQuest 2: Armour Guide
  "You can't just run into battle in khaki's or a mini-skirt. A set of good armor is pivotal to your success, and there are a lot of options out there. How does it all work, and what should you choose? RadarX updates the Ten Ton Hammer armor guide to even include the Relic armor."
• Hero Online: First Impressions Review
  "Ten Ton Hammer reviews the latest MMORPG to arrive on the scene. Hero Online, released on Monday (7/31/2006) is free to download and free to play, and who doesn't like free? Developer NetGame has a very novel approach to making money in the increasingly jaded fantasy MMORPG market, unfortunately there's little else innovative about the Hero Online grind. We played the first fifth of Hero Online's 100 levels, and our "first glimpse" review gives the game 3 out of 5 hammers
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Monk Class Guide
  "Boot to the head! We think of the Monk in MMOs as the consummate martial artist, dealing his own brand of punishment through leaps and kicks and deadly-accurate punches. What does Vanguard: Saga of Heroes have in store for the Monk class? The tidbits of information that have been uncovered so far are found in our revamped Monk guide. So gather your inner focus, Grasshoppah, and begin upon the path to enlightenment at Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer. "
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Is Lore A Bore?
  "When it comes to lore in MMOs, Medeor pretends to like it, he really does. After all, it took someone (actually a team of someones) a long time to conceive of and write that backstory and those carefully planned quest lines delivered by the NPCs. And yet, Medeor admits to skipping all that skillfully crafted text and clicking the "Next" button with fervor, the faster to get on with his quest for phat lewtz. How do you feel about the lore in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes? Are you eagerly snapping up every pre-release scrap, or eager to click the metaphorical "Next" button?"
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Official Forums Roundup
  "No time to keep up with the official Vanguard: Saga of Heroes forums? No problem! Each week Aunraye presents a few interesting and informative threads for your forum browsing pleasure. This week's roundup includes threads with lots of links, both to game footage videos captured at the SOE Block Party, and to MP3s of some of the music of Vanguard created by Todd "Nino" Marsten. You can even weigh in on Aruspex's dev discussion of money rewards in the diplomacy sphere."

• E-Passports Cloned [Thanks Matt]
  Creating an unending horde of tireless mindless brain eating zombie passports.
• China Kills 50,000 Dogs In Rabies Crackdown [Thanks Matt]
  Pan seared "ruffie" served as special of the day in most restaurants.
• Bridge Over Danube Could Be Named After Chuck Norris [Thanks Matt]
  Rise up my brothers and sisters. This must become the Vin Diesel Skyway!!!

As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,
-- John "Boomjack" Hoskin