America's Heroes

What has happened to America's heroes? The men and women who risked death and grievous bodily harm to save the world from villains, aliens, and ourselves. The bullet proof , flying, transparent, superhuman heroes who had family values and served mankind for the sake of mankind were idolized by American youths. These super-heroes righted wrongs, saved lives, and defended democracy.

We used to invite these heroes into our living rooms every afternoon and on Saturday mornings. We imitated the characters from television shows and begged mom and dad to buy us lunch-boxes with our favorite super-hero's picture on the front of them. When Halloween came around, we wore our favorite heroes costumes as we begged for candy on beggars night. What was the harm in mimicking our favorite super-hero then?

Today's heroes are vastly different than the heroes I knew when I was growing up. People like Britney Spears (pop star) and Mike Tyson (boxer) not only set bad examples for youth today, but they destroy the concept of what a hero should be. This generation of youths know only of heroes that are frequently arrested for being involved in drugs and other criminal behaviors. What is the harm in mimicking today's so-called heroes?

Yesterdays heroes were often mimicked by children. Pretending to be their favorite super-hero characters, children would rescue imaginary victims from fires, accidents, and kidnappings. Kids today imitate their generations heroes by strutting around half naked and engaging in drug and alcohol abuse.

The only true heroes left in American society today are those brave men and women still serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those who put their very lives at risk everyday while still maintaining the beliefs and morals of our democratic society, deserve to be called America's heroes.

What has happened to America's heroes? Heroes have changed a lot since the days of Batman and Superman, but they still exist today in the American armed forces. They no longer wear brightly colored costumes and masks. America's heroes, now wear camouflage uniforms and carry rifles in foreign lands. Today's heroes are not bullet proof and immortal, but they are truly heroes.

AP - Wall Street's initial enthusiasm about a $586 billion Chinese stimulus package fizzled Monday, as investors succumbed to anxieties about how U.S. companies will survive a severe pullback in spending.

Get PlayStation 3 Codes and Cheats

Once you play PlayStation 3 games for a long time, you perhaps become stuck on a level or do not possess the requisite skills to come through a specific battle or round. For some of the genuinely difficult and challenging scenarios, a cheat code can aid you to get through to the following phase. Cheat codes are configured outside of the game manual, and can be mainly discovered on the internet through 1000s of resources.

Additional ways to get cheat codes is from other players, discussion forums, finding them out through trying different sequences on your own, and searching the net for cheat code directories. Cheat codes can assist you to track and explore new parts of a game as well; they are not just employed for a specific challenge or battle. Sometimes game makers have ‘hidden’ levels and parts of the game that can only be got at with special codes. This is where cheat codes for the PlayStation 3 can be particularly attractive!

Cheat code websites abound on the Net, but it’s important to realize that codes are broadly frowned upon in the industry, and some might even contain viruses if they're in the form of a file that requires to be downloaded. Even so, there are a hatful of ‘clean’ websites where you can get hold of PlayStation 3 cheats and codes.

PS3-cheat-codes.com is one internet site that offers up a comprehensive list of nearly all PlayStation 3 games available. The site lists codes by name of game and the date, and hyperlinks out to a user-contributed listing of the most popular levels and codes of that specific game.

Internet sites such as GameSpot.com provide walk-throughs and tutorials of hard levels, along with cheat codes and descriptions filled with tips and hints. If you are seeking passwords, codes to kick start that game, or a set of unlockables, this website is a fine resource for all of them. The site features current and forthcoming games, and codes and cheats are put up by the site’s editors.

For a big choice of cheats and hints, the CheatZone.com is the place to discover some of the most popular cheats for PlayStation 3. The games include Tony Hawks Project 8, Ridge Racer 7, Need for Speed and several more. The site is simple to use, and indexed alphabetically. The message board is a good place to interact with other users, and swap tips and hints for yet more codes and strategies.

PlayStation fan mags are another resource for cheat codes, and some sections will change in each issue to provide user and expert reviews, walk-throughs, and tutorials too. Most of these mags contain an online component with a discussion board, which makes it easier to get hold of the perfect code when you require it.

There are a lot of options available for PlayStation 3 cheat codes and tutorials. From walk-throughs, to summaries of levels and scenarios, it’s simple to arrive at your next challenge as you work your way through your PlayStation 3 game!

James Hunaban is the owner of http://playstation-3.jims-info.com a site full of playstation 3 information.

AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party after it spent $150,000-plus on a wardrobe for the vice presidential nominee, according to Palin's father.

Ten Must Own Games for Super Nintendo

Hundreds of games were released for Super Nintendo during the consoles lifetime. There are so many, that it can be hard to choose which you want to buy for your collection. Below is a list of the top ten must own games for the SNES and why they should be in your collection.

10. Donkey Kong Country - Play as Donkey Kong as he tries to get back all his stolen bananas, serves him right for stealing Peach from Mario in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. The first game ever made with pre-rendered 3D graphics so for an SNES game it looks really good. A fun game with lots of replay value because there are different things to collect in each level.

9. Super Mario Kart - The first kart racing game ever. You get to race around a track and shoot objects at your opponents to slow them down. Good as a single player game, but great with multi-player. Racing against a friend or battling is one of the first great multi-player experiences on a console.

8. Tetris and Dr. Mario - Two great puzzle games on one cartridge. The classic Tetris with improved graphics (color) and virus busting Dr. Mario puzzler too. For puzzle fans these are two of the best and are good for hundreds of hours of fun.

7. Starfox - This paved the way for the 3D games we all play today. It was the first major game to use 3D models for all graphics. You play as Fox McCloud and fly a space ship as you try to shoot down enemies, fly through hoops, and defeat gigantic bosses. Fox McCloud is now a playable character is the Super Smash Bros series so you an see his start in this game.

6. Super Punch-Out - The follow up to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out of NES. This game has better graphics, new characters, and even appearances by your old favorites. The game is just fun to play. Funny characters, a slow increase in difficulty, weaknesses you have to learn. You will enjoy this boxing game, especially if you played the original.

5. NBA Jam - "He's On Fire". Anyone who has played this game will remember this line from the announcers. Any time one player makes three baskets they literally light up on fire and can make shots from anywhere. One of the original arcade style sports games where you can push and hit other players and it doesn't follow the typical rules of basketball. See if you can find "Big Head" mode and other hidden easter eggs that change your players appearance.

4. Zelda Link to the Past - The sequel to Zelda on NES, Link to the Past is an adventure game through Hyrule with great puzzles, new weapons, and incredible game play. Link has to navigate between light and dark worlds as he makes his way to save Princess Zelda. Many people think LTTP is their favorite Zelda game, which considering the other great Zelda games is saying quite a lot.

3. Super Mario RPG - A rare game that can be hard to find, but worth it. Its a very funny RPG taking place in the Mushroom Kingdom with all the Mario characters including Bowser, Peach, Toad, and more. Mario RPG makes fun of past Mario games and leads to the Mario and Luigi RPG and Paper Mario games. It was developed by Square, who are well known for their RPG Final Fantasy RPG games.

2. Super Metroid - The sequel to the original Metroid for Nintendo. Super Metroid has more weapons, new areas to explore and a more difficult bosses. Consistently rated in the many top 100 lists, it was rated the best game of all time by Electronic Gaming Monthly. Its fantastic level design is often seen as a pinnacle in game development.

1. Super Mario World - The launch game for Super Nintendo and the most popular game on the system in terms of sales. Super Mario World takes the Mario game ideas from Super Mario 3 and adds better graphics, better sound, and even more levels. Yoshi makes his first appearance this game too. Super Mario World has a 97% rating at gamerankings.com, one of the highest of any game ever made.

If any of these games aren't in your gaming collection you should try to buy them. All ten games of these games are great gaming experiences that every gamer will enjoy.

Copyright (c) 2007 JJ Hendricks

JJGames is an online retailer of used Super Nintendo games since 2000. Visit http://www.JJGames.com today to learn more about any of these games or find other SNES games to buy.

Reuters - Country singer Merle Haggard, recently diagnosed with lung cancer, had part of a lung removed and is recovering at home, his spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Is Bigger Always Better in Video Games?

Where we are today in the gaming world is light years away from where we were just a few years ago. Super Nintendo games that took a couple hours to beat have become intricate and in-depth stories on the XBOX and PS3 that take hours and hours to complete. The gaming community was introduced to the sandbox game when Grand Theft Auto III was released in 2001 and players experienced a level of freedom never before seen in a game. We no longer had to stick to the strict, linear storyline and this idea stuck in the minds of game developers.

Bethesda's Elder Scrolls: Morrowind took the sandbox concept and applied it to the role-playing genre. The area in the game was enormous and it would possibly take hundreds of hours to explore every nook and cranny, complete every quest, and find the best weapons. But the question is: how many people are actually doing that?

As technology increases, developers have given more memory on game discs that allow them to make much bigger and longer games than in the past. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas took the tedium of driving long distances on a highway and put it into a game. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion expanded on its predecessor with much better graphics and a larger area to roam around. The game map is littered with places to explore: dungeons, mines, caves, and towns.

All that area to explore is nice, but a line is usually drawn by every gamer when they realize they've spent too much time on a game, when they realize that no more progress is being made and it is no longer fun. Oblivion become that way when I noticed that eventually, all the dungeons and caves looked exactly the same and it felt like an obligation to explore them. So the big question is: is it worth making huge games that take hours to explore and beat?

My answer is no, a game too big like Oblivion is fun for a few hours but it gets too repetitive and tedious. I consider myself a casual gamer; one who enjoys video games, but doesn't devote himself to completing 100% of a game; contrary to popular belief, gamers have lives too.

When Grand Theft Auto 4 came out in the beginning of summer, I practically played it nonstop for the first couple of days when I finished school. When I beat the game and was still only 60% done with the game, I was a little disappointed. Although players can still play the game after beating it, what's the point? Driving around the city is fun for about an hour, but knowing I don't have anymore missions takes the fun away.

I would much rather see all that extra time and effort used to create in a game an engaging story and deep, complex characters. That is the reason why games like Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, and Final Fantasy VII are what I deem masterpieces; they didn't go overboard on exploration, but they kept the player drawn in through the other important elements of a game, great story and great characters.

The moral of the story? Game developers can't lose sight of what makes some games practically works of art. GTA4 and Oblivion are terrific games, but a huge area to explore can actually turn gamers away, or a least make them quickly bored. Video games have replaced books for our generation, but the formula is essentially the same. As graphics get better and more space is available to work with on discs, I hope developers still take the time to keep the player engaged, and not get carried away dotting the map with generic dungeons.

My name is Brendan and I grew up playing video games, so whether I like it or not, they are a part of my life and many other people's as well. It is very fun for me to discuss the topic of video games so check out my website to see more articles that talk about the gaming industry http://brendanigan.com

AP - A city of brittle stars off the coast of New Zealand, an Antarctic expressway where octopuses ride along in a flow of extra salty water and a carpet of tiny crustaceans on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor are among the wonders discovered by researchers compiling a massive census of marine life.