Chocolate Hangover

Welcome to the 554th edition of Loading... If you aren't reading this in your e-mail, you could be. Sign Up

A big round of clap for Cody Bye, who anted up, put the pedal to the metal and went sleepless for a week just to grind out the Loading... columns last week. What is especially interesting is that he had more viewers than Quentin Tarantino's new movie, Grind House. When it comes to the grind our Cody is one of a kind.

Many of you likely spent the weekend with family and friends devoutly re-enacting the Easter story, eating heaping plates of turkey, ham and scalloped potatoes, followed by bags of chocoloate eggs that had been delivered by a life-sized rabbit. It's these kinds of events that give the crazy-people ammunition, literally.

Oh I know, many of you have giggled or chortled that a person who blows themself up to get 72 virgins must be nuts. I'll go out on a limb and claim that those same goofballs were pointing to the West over the weekend, mispronouncing "crucify" and deliberating over the demon that lives in a man-sized bunny suit.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Pope Benedict, his gold vestements shining and shimmering, reflecting in the polished marble floor beneath his silk-covered feet, denounced poverty.

But enough of that...you all got a day off right?

Today marks the 90th anniversary of Vimy Ridge. In World War 1 the German army held a fortified Vimy Ridge from the British and French, imposing 150,000 casualties on the French alone. The task of taking the ridge was passed to the Canadians and for the first time in history all four divisions of the Canadian Corps were brought together. In less than two hours, three of the four Canadian divisions had taken their objectives. By the end of the day the fourth also captured its target. In a day, the Canadians has done what the British and French could not do in two-years. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a watershead moment in Canadian history. It is hard to believe that the World War 1 took place 90 years ago. It is wonderful that we haven't forgotten those who fought so long ago so that we could have the lives that we enjoy today.

But enough of that... let's think happy thoughts shall we?

I've been playing a wee bit of Lord of the Rings Online as time has permitted. Here are my early, first-impression, bullet-points for those of you who are interested.

Not-so-good: Finding where to hand in quests can be difficult. The quest text usually doesn't tell you where the original quest giver was located and if you are like me, playing for a few minutes and coming back ina day or so you don't remember where each of the 20 or so quest givers were. Good: Oodles of low level quests Good: Interesting story at the low levels Good: Great sound. The Dwarf laugh during battle is priceless. Good: Experience numbers are shown Good: No killstealing. Mob tagging works like EQ2 or WoW Good: Has an EverQuestish long term feel Good: Has many short-term gains, (titles, deeds, traits) much like WoW Not-so-good: Lacks the finishing polish that WoW has.

More as I play more.

Are you trying LotRO? Did you celebrate Easter? Have you been to Vimy Ridge? Do tell...

[Vote, rank, share, comment!]

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Today's Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!

04.09.2007

Dungeons and Dragons Online: Enhancement Guide - The Human Touch
"Find yourself saying that a lot? Well no longer! With Perryc and Darkgolem's help, you can hold your head proudly among your fellow adventurers, in their new enhancement guide: The Human Touch." EverQuest 2: Greater Faydark Zone Guide
"Welcome to the wide world of Faydwer! Greater Faydark is the lowest level zone for the Echoes of Faydwer expansion, and the starting zone for all new fae. This zone is huge, and packed full of questing goodness, so be sure to grab this guide before heading in!" Pirates of the Burning Sea: Exclusive Screenshots
"The screenshots just keep on coming! We've got another bunch of PotBS screenshots to show you guys and gals, so prepare yourself for some more high seas adventuring! The Pirates of the Burning Sea beta is continuing to progress so make sure you're signed up so you're on call when the game goes into open beta testing. On top of these amazing new screenshots, make sure you check out the great video that our man, Jeff Woleslagle, has posted featuring an interview with PotBS developer Jess Lebow." Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Ten Ton Armour Project
"Want to know what your character will look like in a certain armor type? The Vanguard Ten Ton Armor Project allows you to take a peek at a full-body screenshot and complete stats of armor sets before you commit to purchasing or questing. We've just kicked off this project, and we have lots of armor coming your way soon. Today we unveil three more armor sets: Drane's, Superior Defenders, and Blessed Infineum Platemail." Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Necromancer Form Quests
"At level 30, Necromancers get the chance to focus their abilities via a form quest. Polkadots brings us the quest information you need." World of Warcraft: Tier 3 Armor Set Information
"You've made it to at least level 60 and past the Molten Core and Blackwing Lair, and need a new challenge. The next major set is the Tier 3 raid set that is collected in Naxxramas. The set is collected in a different way than the previous sets though. The bosses in Naxxramas do not drop the items themselves, instead they drop tokens that can be turned in (along with other items) to the NPC's in Light's Hope Chapel. " World of Warcraft: Hunter Instance Guide
"No, we don't mean a hunter-specific instance. We are talking about the latest edition to our Hunter Guide! This chapter of the hunter guide provides helpful tips for hunters to remember as they travel through the many instances of WoW."

Hot Content

Pirates of the Burning Sea: Exclusive Screenshots Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Ten Ton Armour Project Archlord: Review Lord of the Rings Online: Hands-on Preview Gods and Heroes: Developer Diary - Introducing The Nomad Fury: Interview With C.E.O., Tony Hilliam Lord of the Rings Online: Beta Recap Sword of the New World: Interview with Peter Cesario Fury: Interview With Tom Hilliam, C.E.O. of Auran Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Armour Project Portal Opens Tabula Rasa: GDC Logos Coin Unveiled

Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

Spamalot Bids For Coconut Record [Thanks John]
Actors' Guild demands equal time for peanut and nougat. French Set Rail Speed Record [Thanks Matt]
Retreating has never been so quick. Windows Cursor Patch Causes Trouble [Thanks Matt]
Cursor patch causing cursing more appropriate.

Vin Diesel Fact: When Vin Diesel was a boy his mother finished his vegetables.

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin