Q&A: XNA’s Boyd Multerer Talks Xbox 360 Community Games [05.28.08] At GDC, Microsoft announced its Xbox Live Community Games project, aimed to get amateur projects onto Xbox 360 with an intriguing peer-based rating system. But how will it actually work in practice, and what are the possible pitfalls? XNA’s Boyd Multerer sat down with Gamasutra to discuss the state and future of the project.
At its UbiDays event, publisher and developer Ubisoft announced details on its forthcoming lineup, including a return of Michel Ancel’s Beyond Good and Evil, more Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Wii, and more details on its new next-gen Prince of Persia title.
No details on Beyond Good and Evil were given beyond a new teaser trailer (pictured), including intended platforms or a release date, but Ancel is known to be behind the sequel to the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC original.
The company promised its new Rabbids Wii title, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, would showcase “fun and innovative use of the Wii controllers,” including new features for Wii Fit’s Balance Board, in minigames that spoof “TV shows, pop culture and even advertisements.”
Also revealed were games from its casual lineup, including a title for the DS to be released in November entitled Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking, based on the popular habit-kicking program.
Speaking more on its previously announced Prince of Persia sequel, Ubisoft said that in addition to its new hero and open world structure, the game would feature a “dynamic AI companion” named Elika who will “interact with the player in combat, acrobatics and puzzle-solving” with “special duo acrobatic moves or devastating fighting combo attacks.” The game uses the company’s proprietary ‘Anvil’ engine previously seen in its Assassins Creed.
Finally, Ubisoft is using the same engine for its forthcoming Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC game Shaun White Snowboarding, which will feature open world mountains, online players populating your own game, snowball fights, and Balance Board support for the Wii version.

gamasutra.com

Search for new & pre-owned cars. Research before you purchase.
Browse through cars, couches, drum sets and treadmills. Or sell your own.

newsherald.com

NJJN Features Editor
About 100 years ago if a Jew donned boxing gloves, it was to supplement the family income (or to learn survival skills on the mean city streets).
More often than not, the pugilist practiced under a pseudonym so as not to bring shame to the mishpacha.
Some of the greatest fighters of all time were Jews: Benny Leonard, Barney Ross, Izzy Schwartz, Lou Tendler, all names that bring a smile to older fans.
In the post-war years, as they found more lucrative (and safer) ways to make a living, Jews drifted away from the sweet science, but rising stars like Dmitriy Salita and Yuri Foreman are once again supplying a high-level Jewish presence.
Dustin Fleischer of Monmouth Beach hopes to join their ranks one day.
The 18-year-old won the 141-open weight class category at the 2008 New Jersey Golden Gloves tournament in April, becoming the first competitor to win consecutive “fighter of the night” awards. He was also named the “most outstanding pound-for-pound boxer” at the event by Golden Glove officials.
Fleischer got his start half a lifetime ago, entering the ring at age nine under the tutelage of his father, a middleweight who fought under the nickname “Difficult Phil.”
To supplement his income as a truck driver, Phil worked as a sparring partner at boxing gyms, sometimes bringing his son. He began sparring with Dustin “when he was four years old…and as big as a spit bucket.” He worked with his son as a trainer and manager during Dustin’s amateur career, but has decided to step aside now that Dustin is turning pro. (Dustin lost his last amateur fight at the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions held earlier this month in Grand Rapids, Mich.)
It’s clear in talking with the younger Fleischer that he loves what he does. “A lot. [Dad] always brought me to the gym to see him [box] and I started to like it.”

njjewishnews.com

Fatima, Whitney, Dominique, and Anya remain in the competition. Whiney is nervous, having repeatedly landed in the bottom two. Anya says she is not worried at all. She is just focused on winning. They arrive back at the house and pictures of Saleisha, last year’s winner, are all over the place. Funny thing is, Saleisha never shows up in person. Dominique interviews that she is the Saleisha of the competition, meaning she will win. Okey doke. Moving right along, as Dominique sits on the bed eating junk food, the other three young ladies wonder how Dom has stayed in the game so far. She eats constantly, steals Whitney’s food at 3:a.m. and basically gets on everyone’s nerves.
“Take a picture, you might last longer” is the message. They arrive at a park with beautiful gardens. Paulina is there posing for a photographer. He teaches the ladies how to use the camera and give direction to the model. Ann Shoket (Seventeen Magazine) shows up and tells the ladies they will each get five minutes to shoot Paulina. The winner, based on the direction and shots, will get an extra 50 frames at the next photo shoot. Fatima goes first, and gives clear, concise direction and takes great shots. Dominique does not. Pauline says she seemed uncertain of herself and the poses. Whitney didn’t hesitate to give good direction and Paulina notice it. Anya was all over the place, very energetic, but not totally getting her point across. In the end, it’s Fatima who wins her first challenge.
Back at the house, Fatima practices her runway walk. At the end of each walk, her turn is a little too fast, and Dominique is quick to point it out. Then Dominique goes on to talk about herself, 3rd person and all, telling the other ladies that she is there to win, cannot lose focus, has the most confidence, etc. Anya and Whitney just roll there eyes. I fast can only forward. Another Tyra Mail reads: “They are out for blood, will give you a taste of fame,” and the girls are just confused. For some reason, Dominique says aloud, “I’d rather Whitney go home than me”. Remember that karma I keep talking about? Hmm…

realitytv.about.com

OK, H.R. question: If Ryan Seacrest manages to give me a panic attack while I'm watching American Idol, can I file for workers' comp to receive a lifetime supply of therapy and/or paper sacks to hyperventalite into?
That’s all I can say after tonight's shocking and gut-wrenching—and thoroughly enter-freaking-taining—Idol results show, during which Ryan led us all to believe either David Cook or Jason Castro would be in the bottom three.
It was…good TV!
For those who missed it: After dividing the contestants into two groups—Kristy Lee Cook, David Cook and Brooke White on one side and Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson and Jason Castro on the other—Ryan asked Mr. Cook and Syesha to swap places, revealing that Kristy, Brooke and Syesha were actually tonight's bottom three, and ultimately sending Kristy Lee Cook packing.
Tonight's show also proved that despite the recent rumors regarding David Awwwwrchuleta’s father (that he's a, er, passionate stage dad who once may have bullied his son's competition on Star Search), David is clearly a class act—he refused to choose which side of the stage he believed to be the bottom three and plopped down in the middle of the stage. (That kind of game is like naked Twister atop splintered wood: No one wins.)
For the record: David A. and David C. still seem very much the front-runners, but the Psychic Friends say that Jason Castro could come outta nowhere and win this thing. (Right, Santa Claus?)
Meanwhile, tonight's recognizable audience members included Kristy Swanson and Lloyd Eisler, as well as Ken Davitian, the infamous producer in Borat (clothed tonight, thanks be to dress code).
So what do you think of Kristy’s ousting? And who are you rooting for now? Vote below!

eonline.com

I am pretty sure I’ve never cursed at my mom. There have been a few times that I may have been feeding her a direct quote from someone else that required me to give out a word, but I just can’t fathom saying some things to her.
Clearly, LeBron James and I have different views on this subject.
In case you’ve missed it—and I have a hard time believing that you have—James had some choice words for his mom during a dust-up in the second quarter of last night’s game. You can watch that below. Even if you’re not an expert lip-reader, it’s pretty clear what’s being said. And he says it at least twice.
Gloria James has always been front and center at her son’s games. Her fandom (fanhood?) is probably rivaled only by Ann Iverson. Like many parents these days, she may possibly have been a bit more into the game than she should have been. I can imagine that the line “Let go of my baby” or some variant of was screamed during the incident. To preserve a bit of his dignity, and maybe to keep her out of trouble with men who are much larger than she, LeBron probably had to tell her that she should take her seat. Forcefully.

hoopsvibe.com

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profootballweekly.com

SPRINGFIELD — Standing before a class of 20-plus Maple Elementary third-graders, Maria Avila reads with the poise and enthusiasm of a seasoned teacher, even stopping on occasion to ask the children a question or remark on something silly.
She gets tripped up only once — over “bow wow,” the only English word she comes across in her Spanish-language version of a book of children’s poetry. She pronounces it “boe-woe,” laughing because she knows she didn’t get it right.
Avila didn’t always have such confidence. For her and a dozen other Hispanic parents who read stories at Maple, it’s taken time to grow comfortable at the head of the class.
Helping Spanish-speaking families feel comfortable, welcome and valued is a primary aim of Maple’s Family Bridges/Puentes de Familias program, which began in earnest in the fall of 2006, spearheaded by English Language Learner teacher Zehra Greenleaf.
The program encompasses a range of activities, but at its core are classroom readings, scheduled once every couple of months. Hispanic parents (mostly mothers) stand side-by-side with teachers, taking turns reading storybooks — the teacher in English, the parent in Spanish. Afterward, the pair lead the children in a craft — typically something related to the story and Hispanic culture.
On this day, Avila and student teacher Gina Pearson read “From the Belly­button of the Moon and Other Summer Poems,” a whimsical compilation featuring sunflowers, summer storms and a bi­lingual dog that barks in English (“bow wow!”) and Spanish (“guau guau!”). Then they pass out orange and yellow construction paper circles and ovals, and the kids use glue sticks to create their sunflowers.
Near the front is 8-year-old Giovanni Avila, Maria’s son. Having his mother come in to read to his class (this is her fourth appearance) makes him proud and happy, he says, “because I love her so much.”

registerguard.com

Britain and India face off in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, a sequel to National Lampoon’s Van Wilder of 2002 and a strained attempt to transplant the American campus comedy to more uptight shores.
Now graduated from college — and sidekick status — Taj Badalandabad (Kal Penn) heads to Camford University, England, to pursue a PhD and a bad reputation.
Forced to bunk with the loser fraternity, Taj is determined to whip his housemates into shape, a task that will require him to brave canine ejaculation and an urn filled with several generations of ancestral ashes. And no, the predominance of British accents does not make this any classier.
While the screenplay dives into British history, and the camera dives into every cleavage in sight, some of the cast members transcend the banality.
As the Earl of Grey, Daniel Percival remains dignified beneath a hairdo like a hedgehog flattened by an 18-wheeler. And the engaging Holly Davidson, as a slutty Cockney , performs like a lascivious Eliza Doolittle. Even at an elite English academy, the lower classes have their uses.
Directed by Mort Nathan from a screenplay by David Drew Gallagher, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj harnesses smut and silliness to an oddly innocent tale of true love.
“Money and position make no difference when it comes to matters of the heart,” Taj declares. Only an American would believe that.
Catch National Lampoon’s Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj on M-Net at 9pm tonight.
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thetimes.co.za

VietNamNet Bridge – Thirty-five nations spanning 21 time zones will perform plays by the great British playwright William Shakespeare at 7pm (local time) on April 23.
This special programme is named “ Shakespeare 24 ”. This is an exciting worldwide performance event celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday. Performances will kick off in New Zealand and end 24 hours later in Hawaii.
The idea is that youth groups worldwide will stage abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays at 7pm their local time in this revolving performance event. In Vietnam, the Youth Theatre will participate in this event with “MacBeth”.
S24 is presented by the Shakespeare Schools Festival , the UK’s largest youth drama festival. It is part of the European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations and celebrates the theme ‘The world in one city’.
Shakespeare’s works will be performed in the following order: New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Romania, Turkey, Croatia, Germany, Malawi, Norway, Serbia, Zimbabwe, the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Ghana, Cape Verde, Brazil, Bermuda, Mexico, and the US’ Arkansas, New Mexico, Seattle, Alaska and Hawaii.

english.vietnamnet.vn