They're running a restaurant in New York!

http://www.ninjanewyork.com/index.html

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

I Can't Get Next to You, by The Temptations

Hold it everybody

Hold it, hold it, listen

I can turn the gray sky blue

I can make it rain

Whenever I want it to

Oh, I can build a castle

From a single grain of sand

I can make a ship sail

Huh, on dry land

But my life is incomplete

And I'm so blue

'Cause I can't get next to you

I can't get next to you, babe

(Next to you)

I can't get next to you

(I just can't get next you)

I can't get next to you, babe

I can't get next to you

I can fly like a bird in the sky

Hey, and I can buy anything

That money can buy

Oh, I can turn a river into a raging fire

I can live forever if I so desire

Unimportant are all the things I can do

'Cause I can't get next to you

I can't get next to you, babe

(No matter what I do)

I can't get next to you, uh-yeah

Ooh, woo, ooh, woo

Ooh, woo, ooh, woo

Chicka boom, chicka boom

Chicka boom, boom, boom

I can turn back the hands of time

You better believe I can

I can make the seasons change

Just by waving my hand

Oh, I can change anything from old to new

The things I want to do the most

I'm unable to do

Unhappy am I with all the powers I possess

'Cause girl you're the key to my happiness

And I can't get next to you

Girl, you're blowing my mind

'cause I can't get (Next to you)

Can't you see these tears I'm crying?

I can't get (Next to you)

Girl, it's you that I need

I gotta get (Next to you)

Can't you see these tears I'm crying?

I can't get (Next to you)

I, I, I, I

I can't get (Next to you)

I, I, I, I

I can't get (Next to you)

Girl, you're blowing my mind

----------------------------------------------

Effect: Doug gains reality control powers in a small bubble centered upon himself (similar to the power of the character Twilight from X-Nation 2099 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(Marvel_Comics), but everyone else is hedged out of the area
and cannot enter.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

Summons 1 can of soda of random flavor.

I took a day off work yesterday, and decided to visit Toronto to do some shopping. (Left at 09:30, got back at 00:30 this morning) I filled more than a few
holes in my music collection thanks to the used-CD stores, so that was a "win".

As long as I was in town, I decided to see what was available in the way of anime collectables, so I went to Kikiwai -- to discover the store closed and up for
sale. Aargh!

Now where the heck am I going to get pencilboards? The Anime Stop (the anime store in Ottawa) doesn't sell them.

Maybe the collective knows: Anyone know of any good anime-collectable stores in Toronto or Montréal? Montréal would be better, since it's half as far from
Ottawa as Toronto. (I suspect the Montréal stores will advertise at Worldcon next month, but I can't go to Worldcon... )
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

I'm thinking she's a dark/invuln scrapper. Dunno. Open to suggestions on that and on the costume.

I'm not entirely happy with the look -- for starters, can't do the one-handed large glove while still keeping the jacket; for another, can't do a
trenchcoat-style buttcape or even use the valkyrie items to fake it and still keep the mini-vest top.

But still. I'm rather pleased with some of the look. Thoughts?



(Not exactly thrilled with the way the boots look, either, but the Valky w/ wings look at least approximates the exhaust pipes on her rollerblades...)

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

There's one out there, where Dick Grayson's put on trial before the Justice League for murder. I thought I'd originally gotten the link from here,
but I was wondering if anyone knows the one I speak of and if they happen to have a link handy?

Never mind, I found it.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1897125/1/Court_Martial
"This hand of mine glows with an awesome power. Its burning grip tells me to defeat you....
Shining FINGER!" -Domon Kashuu, Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Question: I just pretty much want to know anything and everything there is about Blue Steel, such as
how did he come by his powers, why is he not a registered super hero (instead of working for the police)? I would like to know how Blue Steel came to work with
the police and whether such an option is open for other heroes who do not want to operate under the Citizens Crime Fighting Act but who would rather be true
Police Officers.

Is Blue Steel both a registered superhero and a member of the PPD, and in what capacity?

Answer: For those not completely satisfied with last weeks answers... here are some more details.

Josh Young's father was a stalwart member of the Paragon Police Department. Josh spent his youth on the streets of Kings Row, feeling safe and proud
because his dad was a cop. Josh's world turned upside down when his father was shot and killed in the line the week before Josh's High School
graduation. That day Josh put aside his plans for college and enrolled in the Police Academy. His father's sterling reputation and untimely death assured
Josh of a spot with no questions asked. He excelled in his courses and completed his studies in record time. He was a man possessed, studying and preparing
every day practically round the clock. With what little spare time he had, he built a dream. Forging himself a shield with his father's badge melted into
it, Josh crafted the identity of Blue Steel.

Josh went to his Captain with the idea of patrolling the Row in his Blue Steel Identity. His notion was met with skepticism at first but after he went straight
to the PPD Commissioner (who was a friend of his fathers) and told him that Blue Steel would be patrolling the streets of Paragon with or without sanction, a
compromise was made. Josh registered himself as a super-powered individual but was made a special deputy in the PPD. This solution received some resistance but
enough high ranking officers spoke on Josh's behalf it was implemented despite any objections.

Blue Steel adopted Kings Row as his primary beat, after asking the Back Alley Brawler to set up shop in Galaxy City as a personal favor. He is known to let his
still simmering anger over his father's death boil over on occasion (such as his encounter with the Clockwork King) but so far no disciplinary action has
been leveled against him.

Blue Steel has a special rank in the PPD and is also registered as a super-powered hero. Any hero in Paragon City is welcome to join the PPD. They must receive
training like any other police officer but it does not excuse them from registration.

Question: Does Arachnos exist in Praetorian Earth?

Answer: I'm going to use this question to rain check on all Praetorian questions for right now. I'm compiling them
all into a big Canon Fodder update for posting closer to the release of the Going Rogue expansion.

Question: Are we ever going to learn more about Red Widow?

Answer: Red Widow is one of those characters who people either love or hate. Although there aren't immediate plans to
explore her background, she is clearly the subject of a great deal of curiosity. Just like all the threads we've dangled over the years, I'd like to
think she'll be woven into the story more completely at some point in the future.

Question: Did Positron use his power armor to fight crime before or after developing the ability to generate anti-matter?

Answer: A lab accident early in his career granted Dr. Raymond Keyes the ability to generate small, insignificant amounts
of anti-matter material. So small that if it wasn't for his scientific mind he probably would have lived the rest of his life without realizing he had the
ability. Fortunately for us, Dr. Keyes traced a pattern of "weirdness" occurring around him to this innocuous ability. He and his colleague Dr.
Rudolph Bein built the original Positron suit as a way to harness the anti-matter he naturally generated, and could then use that harnessed energy to project
his anti-matter beams and power his rocket boots for flight.

During one of the last battles of the first Rikti War, Positron was severely injured, and lost any sort of control he had over his anti-matter generation
ability. Since the suit was specifically designed to harness and store anti-matter, he locked himself inside of it for the safety of those around him. Events
surrounding the return of Hero-1 to Primal Earth saw him "cured" of this condition, and he can now enjoy a life outside the armor.

Question: Of all the zones in the Rogue Isles that Longbow could have established in a base in, what the hell possessed
them to choose NERVA?! Grandville, I could see... Cap, I could see... but NERVA?!

Answer: Although Nerva might not have been their first choice geographically, it keeps them from going too far over
political and legal lines. Nerva is not clearly part of Lord Recluse's sovereign territory and so Ms. Liberty can justify the actions of her people there
when called out on the carpet by government oversight committees and the like. She definitely thinks that Statesman is too passive when it comes to Arachnos
but she generally leaves the black bag stuff to Wyvern.

Question: In Scirocco's patron arc, he may as well have a giant neon sign saying "I have a crush on Ghost
Widow." Does she know about it?

Answer: Although Ghost Widow knows that Scirocco is unfailingly polite to her she is not completely certain why. She
suspects he has some sort of feelings for her but attributes it to some sort of misplaced chivalry. In the constant jockeying that goes on in Arachnos she is
more than willing to exploit his naivety.

The truth is that the mantle of Scirocco, normally bestowed by the Monks of the Four Winds, weighs heavily upon Imad Malak. When he stole Serafina's bottle
and the scimitar wielded by the hero Scirocco, he insured himself a difficult path. Serafina cursed him to wield the power of a hero in the name of evil and be
hunted for all his days. He fights against the curse and hopes to have it lifted someday. He believes that "rescuing" Ghost Widow from the clutches
of Lord Recluse (for so he perceives the situation) might be his road to redemption

No new information here. I'm just linking to developer posts from the past few days on the official forums. I'm doing this 'cause it's come up in chat a couple times, and it seems not everyone's seen 'em yet.
Horatio on TF/SF

Quote:Hi, I’m Bruce Harlick, aka Horatio, the guy who was in charge of the Reichsman Task Force and Strike Force. Thank you for the comments and feedback on the TF & SF. I’d like to take the opportunity to respond to some of them and let you know our some of our intended responses.
To start, there is a difference in the challenge of the final fight in the SF and TF. The TF fight is much trickier and takes longer. We didn’t address that when assigning the initial merit values for the SF. We will be increasing the merit award for the Strike Force to 30 merits later this week. As time goes by and we collect more data on how long it takes groups to complete these arcs, we’ll likely be adjusting the merit rewards further.
There seems to be some confusion as to the use of the dimensional ground ray in the final fight of the Task Force. Before Reichsman’s hit by the ray, he is in a phased state and is running a rather nasty debuffing aura. When he is hit by the ray, it “grounds out” some of his power and he returns to a normal state and his aura is shut down. This will persist for the duration of the fight. The dimensional grounding ray isn’t intended to be used at specific points in the fight; it should be used early on, and one hit will do.

On the villain side of things, our intent was to try to do something a bit different for the end fight. As has been previously stated, we wanted to do a “gadget” fight; something that was more than just hit the bad guy until he fell over. And we wanted to encourage teams to include different ATs, to help shake up some standard team compositions. Certainly, the end fight is more difficult without having each of the appropriate ATs on the team, but it is still doable. Each of the temp powers is intended to make stages of the fight easier. There is no one “golden solution” to solving the fight; by including some or all of the ATs that can take advantage of the various temp powers, you can approach this battle using different tactics.
The Mastermind temp power is not working at this time; Castle has fixed that, but his fix did not go out with the release due to some build issues. This power should be working in a patch this week.
Switching voices, I am aware of the canon issues with the story. The problems are purely my fault; when I came up with the original flow for the story I was under some mistaken impressions on some events in the game’s history. While I did make some adjustments to the story due to the feedback from the training room, I didn’t get all the details nailed down as best I could. Due to a tight translation deadline, I was unable to get final text passes into the build that was going to the Live servers, but rest assured I’ll be doing my best to address them over the next week or so to bring the story of Reichsman’s return in line with the existing history of the 5th Column.
I’ll certainly be reading this (and the other) threads for any other comments you have on the issue. Please feel free to PM me with your comments and concerns if you’d like. I’ll do my best to respond to them in a timely fashion.

Quote:The original Axis America mobs don’t have a lot of variety to them – there’s basically four minions (the rifle, rocket, grenade, and flamethrower), one lieutenant, and one boss in the group. That’s not enough variety to provide interesting encounters for an entire story arc. While it would have been very cool to use them, we didn’t have the resources available to expand the group in a way that would let us use them for the missions.
I’d like to see the original Axis America troops available in Mission Architect, and I’ll look into that. No promises, but if we can make it happen, I’ll try to see that it does.

Quote:The Power of Black Scorpion Click power given to Masterminds *is* broken. A fix is in the pipeline; not sure when it will reach live.
How it broke:
Basically, just before the deadline, I completely rebuilt the power to do something different from what it had done before. The previous version had always been problematic and it just wasn't working out, so I replaced it with something more reliable at the 11th hour. Unfortunately, there was an error in my testing process and I failed to detect that, unless you had Dev Tools enabled, the power simply wouldn't actually trigger on Reichsman. So, you can use the power on him all day...and the attributes simply don't process.
This was caught just before launch, and I fixed it, but the fix had not gotten through the production process in time.

FUCKFUCKFUCK FUCKITY FUCK!!!!

RIAA Wins
against Thomas-Rasset

Usenet tagged
as well by RIAA

As a point of reference and to give you a sense of scale, Air-France recently paid out $24,000 to families of victims in a recent crash.

So - 1 illegal download = 3.3 dead relatives.

In an attempt to find something positive about this, a poster on the Hero boards put it thusly:

"Was winning the worst thing that could happen to the RIAA?...

Since (the decision) at least 2 artists (Moby and Richard Marx) have publicly criticized both the decision and the record labels, and it appears
Mrs. Thomas-Rasset has every intention of dragging this out as long as possible, and probably hopes to get all the way to the Supreme Court.

...The RIAA, on the other hand, is apparently anxious to convince her to take a deal. They seem to be understandably concerned that $1.92 million for one
person sharing 24 songs makes them look pretty bad to the public. If there's one thing the RIAA has been good at it's controlling the perception that
file sharers take piles of money from them every year. They know that the longer this case drags out, the more likely a mainstream reporter decides to actually
do his job and question their numbers. Or worse, notices that the Justice Department lawyers arguing that they deserve that much money used to head their
litigation team."

All I can say is - there is a very special place in HELL waiting for these bastards.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/ ... -obit.html]Karl Malden died yesterday, at age 97
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012