Happy New Year!!

Have a safe and kickin' new year! Be cool and start 2006 well! We'll see how it goes. Hope for the best, but expect the wor...ah screw it...hope for the best!!

There is no honor in this...

"Honor" killings in Pakistan have become a serious human rights issue over the past year. The most recent headlining tragedy comes from the Punjab province, in the village of Gago Mandi. Nazir Ahmed, the bastard in the picture, slit the throats of his three young daughters and their 25-year old stepdaughter, Muqadas. He claims that he was protecting his family's honor by eliminating them. Supposedly, his step-daughter committed adultery, which was yet to be proven. Nazir's wife, Bibi, was forced to watch as he slit the throat of their stepdaughter, then proceeded to kill their 3 younger daugthers as well, ages eight, seven, and four. His reason for killing the children was to prevent them from doing the same when they'd grow up…

Muqadas's husband made the adultery claim, although human rights groups say that she fled her husband because of abuse and that he forced her to work in a brick-making factory. Nazir said his only regret was that he couldn't kill the man the affair was with…

Police rarely intervene in such matters, calling them family disputes…

People are dying. Needlessly. Violently. The Pakistani government needs to wake up. President Musharraf, for all he's done for the country, needs to deal with this major issue plaguing Pakistani women. Politically, this is something that will haunt him if he doesn't do something about it. Plus, it's the right thing to do. Passing incidents like this off as family disputes doesn't justify the fact that the bastard killed four people, 3 of which weren't even the age of 10. He'll (hopefully) go to jail and his wife is left with their 3-month old son to fend for herself. Hopefully she has sane family members to help her out.

He killed the stepdaughter on pretense…no proof. Regardless, proof wouldn't justify the killing either. The sad thing is that men get away with this kind of behavior all too often in Pakistan. The police don't intervene. The government doesn't do anything…it's a man's world unfortunately. The younger girls…he said he didn't want them to do the same when they'd grow up…they don't have that chance to grow up anymore. They're gone, hopefully to a place this asshole won't ever reach.

Greatest. Blog. Evar.

If you play games, read this blog. Funny stuff. One day, I shall meet this patron saint of video gaming…wonder if she's going to E3.

(WARNING: Rated M for Mature for incessant use of profanity…seriously).

"Old Grandma Hardcore" is the name of the blog

Only in Ohio ;-)

Mario kicks ass in Japan!

The House that Mario built (Nintendo…) is reporting fantastic sales of their newest portable handheld system, the Nintendo DS. In all three major markets (Japan, UK, and the US), it is outselling it's closest competitor, the Sony PSP. Of particular note, the DS went on to sell 5 million units in Japan alone, in less than 13 months. It makes the DS the fastest selling console (handheld or stationary) ever. The Playstation 2 reached this mark in 17 months and Nintendo's own Game Boy Advanced took 14 months.

The DS is Nintendo's first major product aimed at expanding the gaming market to non-traditional populations, such as women and older adults. It aims to achieve this with the uniqueness of the games played on the DS. The system boasts an impressive array of features that make it stand out from other handhelds. The most obvious is the dual screen format. The bottom screen doubles in function as a touchscreen. The system includes a built-in microphone, stereo speakers, and built in wireless internet support, enabling users to connect to Nintendo's fresh Nintendo Wi-Fi service. It also boasts some simple PDA-like abilities, such as a calendar (viewing-only) and built-in chat program called Pictochat. Although this program isn't usable over the WiFi service, it allows for quick chatting with any DS users in range (much more useable in Japan than in the U.S., I would imagine). Games such as the newly released Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing: Wild World have helped sell systems, along with the introduction of the Wifi service. Oh, and that puppy game…Nintendogs. The DS has done well to penetrate new markets and should this be a precursor of things to come, things are looking up for Nintendo and its upcoming Revolution.

Personal take? Huzzah! I happen to own one of these and it's mad fun. You may be initially perplexed by the two screens, but take my word for it that they work and function well. Mario Kart DS online is like nothing else…there's nothing like knocking another racer off the track and snickering in silence at the poor soul's misfortune. It really is a good game system that tries to do something different, as opposed to tossing in flashier graphics for the same games. Hence, my decision not to purchase a PSP. Yes, the games look better, but you've essentially played them on console systems. It has other features, like playing UMD movies, playing mp3s, and a web browser, but given the battery life of the system, cost of the games and cost of additional UMD flicks…it's not worth it in my opinion. If you want a solid game system that'll be fun on the road, train, plane, home, car, etc…I highly recommend the DS. If you're interested, I can recommend a few games for it too. Bottom line, gaming innovation and fun at a great price ($129.99 retail as opposed to $249.99 for the PSP).

Viva la Revolution!!

The surreal becomes more so...

Anna Nicole Smith apparently has the Bush administration in her, um…pockets (I'll be nice). Smith is headed to the Supreme Court…the national one…on February 28th to argue her rights for her claim in the wealth of her late husband, J. Howard Marshall II, Texas oil tycoon and renaissance man of exotic dancers. As if having Smith at the Supreme Court wasn't surreal enough, the Bush administration's top Supreme Court attorney filed arguments on her behalf and would like to take part when the case is argued before the Justices.

State courts said it should go to the tycoon's son, E. Pierce Marshall. The Feds haven't made up their mind, as one judge sided with Smith, another reduced the purse, and another tossed out the argument altogether.

Supposedly, the Bush attorney is going to argue for upholding federal juristictions in such disputes…but you know why he's really there.

Anna's take on all this? "Trimspa baby! Yeah!".

Happy Holidays

Mad Monkey says peace to all and all that jazz...

Have a safe one!

See ya in 2006!

Under the weather...

Bah…sorry for the lack of rants and raves…work project deadlines and being sick make Mad Monkey an ineffective blogger. Some short quips:

First one goes to Arnold "The Governor" Schwarzenegger: Sending "Tookie" Williams to his death seems a tad hypocritical on multiple levels, but I guess to save your hide, you had to do what was politically correct, right?

Second one goes to "Dubya" Bush: You acknowledge that "more or less 30,000" Iraqi civilians have died, plus over 2,000 of our own troops, and you still want to stay this hellish course? You say that having Saddam ousted made the world a safer place…history would show otherwise. In the years preceding Saddam's outing, we didn't have a war-torn Baghdad. We didn't have suicide bombers in London and Bali. I'm not saying that Saddam was a good guy, but things have gotten worse since he left.

Third: Kudos to the residents of Capitol Manor in Northwest DC. It was a low-income housing complex, where the residents were being threatened by eviction due to soaring housing costs in that part of town. What did they do? They banded together and bought the building themselves. They maintain their place to live at an affordable price and benefit in the future from the rising housing values.

Fourth: Bengals…what was that? A win is a win, yes, but that was flat out disgusting (save for the performance by the O-line and Rudi Johnson). Please do better against the Lions. For the record, It's a tell-tale sign that a team is now good when you start complaining about the wins too ;-p.

Fifth: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a good movie. Not great, but pretty good. It does have some awe-inspiring moments, but some aspects of the book were really hampered, which shouldn't have been, in my opinion. Rita Skeeter needed more screentime. She's integral to a lot of what Harry goes through in the book…in the movie, she's in for two scenes and is gone. Regardless, not bad. Has a lot more emotional weight, but I think Prisoner of Azkaban is still better, but just barely.

More later…at some point in time...

It's $%^! like this...

Apparently Egypt is having some issues with their election process…2 people killed, 130 people injured and 80 arrested across 4 provinces. It's a mix of all sorts of nonsense. Government supporters are being brought in by bus to vote for government candidates. They're also attacking voters in line at polling stations, duking it out with supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood…the main opposition. Brotherhood supporters are blockading polling stations, causing clashes with police…there are rumors of ballot tampering, etc.

It's [insert explitive] like this that gives the rest of the world impressions about people in this region of the world. It doesn't help at all. It's almost barbaric in the sense that the simplest right to vote is being trampled out and people have died because others just will not let it naturally happen. It's a sad state of affairs that really dwindles the chances of peace in the Middle East. Maybe once the region pulls its head out of its ass, there can be a chance. As much as it blames the rest of the world for its misfortunes…the region is just as accountable...

Who-Dey!!

Congratulations to Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals for establishing their first winning season in 15 years! And they did it with style too! They beat division-rival Pittsburgh in the Steel City, 38-31, taking taking a two game lead ahead of the Steelers and putting them into playoff contention. What was thought to be a physical, running game ended up becoming a shootout! Palmer passed for 227 yards and 3 TDs. He was only sacked once against a blitz-happy Steelers defense. Credit goes to the Bengals offensive line for keeping him covered. T.J. had a big day with two TDs. Rudi scored 2 as well. Tab Perry had the breakout play of the game as he ran on a kickoff return for 94 yards, edging the sidelines and dragging the Steelers with him. This kid has a big future. Chad Johnson had a relatively quiet day, with 54 yards and no TDs, but nonetheless, he contributed. Heinz Ward of the Steelers, on the other hand, had a big game with 135 yards on 9 receptions, 1 TD, and an Ickey Shuffle…yes…he went there. Big Ben Roethlisberger put up 386 yards (career high) and 3 TDs, but also 3 interceptions and was sacked twice. But still, big props to Big Ben for playing with a potentially broken thumb on his throwing hand and a still-bum knee. Bengals defense had a field day on turnovers, with 3 interceptions and one fumble recovery. For some reason, the Steelers' running backs couldn't hold onto the football. And these guys are the core of their offense. Of what I saw, Willie Parker fumbled it twice and Duce Staley dropped one as well. Bettis was able to hold onto the ball, but the Steelers running game was held to 96 yards.

Next up for Cincy is Cleveland, then Detroit, Buffalo, and Kansas City. There's a chance to go 13-3. I can definetly see 12-4. We'll see what happens.

Also, if you happen to be in Rockville, Maryland and are looking for a nice, cozy place to eat, check out Amina Thai. Good stuff. Not as spicy as the usual Thai food, but good regardless. Owner is friendly, place is charming, and the food is good. And it's not a bad price. If you have issues with peanuts, you may want to pass, but otherwise, dig in.

More stuff later…peace!