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Are you looking for the latest industry headlines? Look no further.

"Bling Free" test week continues. Thank you to everyone who has send me a suggestion or a comment.

1. Daily Column
2. New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today (13 New)
3. Hot Content
4. Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

1. Daily Column

So much cool MMOG information and so little time.

Richard "Lord British" Garriott recently upped his cool factor when he took a zero-gravity flight with Stephen Hawking.

"My girlfriend Kelly and I have just returned from an incredible couple of days at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with Professor Stephen Hawking, which included participating in his historic zero-gravity flight where we all experienced the freedom of weightlessness aboard a specially equipped 727 flying parabolic trajectories. "

Richard is currently working on Tabula Rasa which just went into closed beta testing. I was fortunate enough to meet-up with Richard just over a month ago where he gave a demonstration of the game to about a dozen gaming goofballs. I've never been a big fan of sci-fi MMOGs, but Tabula Rasa looked outstanding. With Stargate Worlds also on the horizon it looks like I may become a switch-hitter.

You can read all about Richard's flight with Professor Hawking at the official site.

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Penny Arcade Expo, known as PAX to most of us has made a second interesting choice regarding the event this year. First they decided to have the show at the very same time as the Leipzig game convention. Yeah, yeah, it's a different crowd at each event, but the people who cover these shindigs can only be on one place at a time. Most press outlets are going to focus on Leipzig. It's bigger and it's a more press friendly show. PAX is more fun than a throw-a-dart-at-Jack-Thompson contest, but Leipzig is where the big MMOG news will be. If they have picked just about any other date they would have doubled or tripled their coverage. Sure, we'll send a crew to each event, but the one going to Leipzig is going to be much larger and include yours truly. Gabe, Tycho, see you in 2008.

The second interesting choice was to have Wil "I was Wesley Crusher in Star Trek" Wheaton as the keynote speaker. Don't get me wrong, I check out Wil's website regularly, but he wouldn't have been on my short-list of game convention keynote speakers. Set your phasers to confused, now warp factor bewildered. Engage!

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I was chatting with our very own Jeff Woleslagle about a "whole ladle" of things when I mentioned covering the World Series of Video Games competitions in Louisville and Dallas. He also believed it to be a good idea so we're coming to a city near you to interview WoW players as they virtually beat each other up for cash.

The first event was just completed in Wuhan, China where 25,000 people showed up to watch. I don't expect that even half of that number will show up for the U.S. events, but the online community is begging for somebody to cover it well. Of course, do you think that the WSVG folks will e-mail or phone me back? Noooo, they are probably all in China filling containers with dollar store items.

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City of Heroes / City of Villains ex-patriots are having their accounts reactivated free-of-charge this weekend so they can check out Issue 9.

"Issue 9: Breakthrough is Live and We’ve Reactivated Your Account For the Weekend! In celebration of our landmark new game content, simply log on to your City of Heroes® or City of Villains® account between now and Sunday, May 6th at 8:59pm PST/11:59pm EST and your account will be active and playable!*"

Clean your tights folks! It's villain smashing time!

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The last bit of cool news is from the folks at Lord of the Rings Online who have added a new monster to their bestiary.

"In the First Age, in Angband, there were many creatures bred and twisted by darkness. In later Ages, the Dark Lord Sauron bred from these abominations new creatures with which to make war upon Middle-earth. Among these new monsters are the Merrevail."

Part woman, part bat... Ellen Degeneres has joined LotRO.Have you got something that you just must say?

Vote, rank, share, comment or email me directly.

2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

• Editorial: The Emergence of Adult-Oriented MMORPGs
  "Video games are the current scapegoat of our society, with violent and adult titles generating the most negative exposure. How will the emergence of adult-oriented MMOGs change the way the public views our genre? Micajah dissects this issue and more in this Ten Ton Hammer editorial."
• Blog: Life Tap
  "Today Ralsu reaches out to the community and looks for the best way to make Ten Ton Hammer the premiere community for class information."
• Blog: The Problem Of Playing With Friends
  "Micajah laments his current lack of online allies and his need for some social interaction in his latest blog."
• Dungeons and Dragons Online: The Switch Hitter Cleric
  "Certainly not Serenity. To show you how you can have a bit of the best of both worlds, read her new build, the Switch Hitter Cleric!"
• Everquest 2: Loping Plains Guide
  "You know you want one. You know you have to have one. You NEED the new Dire Warg mount!! This new mount was recently added to EverQuest II in a free live Game Update. You'll need to be level 60, have the Echoes of Faydwer expansion, and have a bit of plat on hand to get one of these very cool creatures, but I assure you, it is well worth it!"
• Lord of the Rings Online: Guide For Veteran MMO Players
  "Many people are already enjoying Lord of the Rings Online, but others are unsure what it's all about and just watching with curiosity. How do the mechanics compare to everything else out there? RadarX examines the more pivotal aspects of the game, and how they stack up against established MMO's."
• Tabula Rasa: Closed Beta Begins
  "Tabula Rasa has entered closed beta! After years of development, Richard Garriott's vision is nearing release at a rapid pace. To celebrate, NCsoft has dolled out two screenshots to Ten Ton Hammer for our readers to view. Enjoy!"
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Salute To The Armed Forces
  "In this special Ten Ton Hammer feature, we want to recognize and support all those who serve their country. Men and women all over the world play many different roles in their country's defense, from every walk of life. And besides that, our featured Armed Forces Personnel all play video games!"
• World of Warcraft: Alliance Leveling Guide 60-70
  "Our Alliance leveling guide has been updated to take you all the way through to level sixty one in the fastest and easiest way possible. Stay tuned for more updates to our guide as we take you step by step to level 70."
• World of Warcraft: Herbalist Power Leveling Guide
  "This guide is our way of helping all you "flower-pickers" out there, you know who you are. This guide is what we have found to be the best way to "power level" the Herbalism profession in /World of Warcraft/. While not as difficult as some of the creation professions to level, it still takes some know how to track down all the herbs that will give you enough skill points to hit the top."

3. Hot Content

• Lord of the Rings Online: Guide For Veteran MMO Players
• Tabula Rasa: Closed Beta Begins
• Colony Studios: Interview With Mike Wallis, CEO
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Ten Ton Monster Project

4. Real World News

• Jon Stewart On Virginia Tech [Thanks Karen]
  Rosie is mentioned... as are video games.
• Man Dies During Survival Test
  Does that mean he failed the test?
• Coffee Is Good For You
  The sky is blue and other interesting headlines compliments MSNBC.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

John "Boomjack" Hoskin