Next 'Guild Wars 2' Profession Announced

 

Behold! The Engineer, Guild Wars 2's second-to-last profession. He is a medium armor profession, like the Ranger and the Thief. According to the official Guild Wars 2 site, the Engineer is

Masters of mechanical mayhem, engineers tinker with explosives, gadgets, elixirs, and all manner of deployable devices. They can take control of an area by placing turrets, support their allies with alchemic weaponry, or lay waste to foes with a wide array of mines, bombs, and grenades.

Notebook: Her Laugh is Like the Bells

I don't often write poetry, but I don't avoid it. Sometimes the pen moves with a will of its own, a need to put something down on paper, short and soulful. I like to think of poems as the equivalent of doodles for writers. So, here's something right out of my pocketbook. Enjoy!

 

Her laugh is like the bells

Her eyes like twinkling stars

To be beside her is to be breathless

To kiss her is to be deathless

My heart jumps

My stomach falls

And my head is like a mirage

Hazy and obscure

To see her smile gives me shivers

To see her sleep makes me quiver

Her hair like a soft pillow

Her neck a heavenly arch

B.G. Tan

'Game of Thrones' Premieres Tonight

HBO's new series, based on the books by George R. R. Martin, is showing tonight at 9 EST. Sean Bean takes the role of Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and patriarch of House Stark, as he and his family is pulled into the deadly cloak-and-dagger politics of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

See past the cut to see the trailers. And join me on Twitter @therealblaketan as I livetweet (#letthegamesbegin) the show.

14 Days of EVE Online: Days 1-4

The universe of New Eden beckoned to me from the EVE Online's login screen. It looked glorious. Little ships, like stars in their own right, glittering against the blackness of space, dwarfed by celestial bodies more than ten times their size. It was breath-taking.

Unfortunately, the first message I was greeted with was a window telling me that I couldn't connect to the server because "The socket was closed." Multiple attempts were fruitless, so I ventured onto Google to try to find a solution. Apparently, because EVE is a single-shard game (that is, it has one server), any sort of latency can disrupt your connection to the server. Or, at least, that's what I gathered from the forums.

And since my university's wonderful Internet infrastructure is so advanced, I had the great luck of having 100% packet loss when I plotted my ping. So, quite disappointed, I turned EVE off and resigned myself to a couple hours of Guild Wars.

14 Days of EVE Online: Prologue

I have always had a deep, abiding love for science-fiction. I grew up watching Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, and a myriad of space operas. I've almost finished my marathon run of Battlestar Galactica. That's why EVE Online has always called to me.

For the longest time, I was always deterred by the thought that EVE was too hard. I believe I tried it once before, a long time ago, and an hour in my mining ship was ganked by pirates and my capsuleer spaced. But still, the game calls to me. I love reading about the exploits of the cutthroat corporations, the dirty (but perfectly legal) scamming of players, and other adventures that set EVE apart.

A Little Bit of Cheerfulness Goes a Long Way

Rough times are a fact of life. Whether we see the burden of poverty, the destruction of natural disasters, or the horrors of war on the television, we are constantly bombarded by negativity and all-around bad. 

Sometimes, it can strike closer to home. Though personal problems may seem to pale in comparison to global issues, it doesn't mean they are any less important. You may have lost a loved one, gone through a difficult break-up, or are suffering from ennui or depression.

Life isn't about what we go through, but how we decide to go through it. The bad stuff will come, but it will only rule us if we allow it to rule us. I'm not saying to ignore the bad stuff that happens -- I'm saying accept that bad stuff will happen, but move on. Don't let it control you and the way your life will go.

Help Us Bring the World Premiere of 'Your Highness' to Ohio University

The world premiere of Your Highness is coming to a college in the United States. The cast of this movie includes heavy-hitters James Franco, Natalie Portman, and Zooey Deschanel. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If you're a consistent reader of this blog, you know how much I love Zooey Deschanel.

Here's the deal, though. The first place viewing is only coming to one college. The first place viewing includes appearances by the cast and an after party. However, Ohio University (my college) is slightly disadvantaged by our relatively small size.

This is why, dear reader, I am asking you to help us even the odds. Click on the link below and it will take you to the voting site. On the dropdown menu, select "Ohio" and then "Ohio University." If you do this, all of us here at OU will be so grateful that -- well, I don't even know what we would do. Perhaps rain rose petals on you and drape you with the clothing of royalty, then carry you around Athens in a comfy chair!