My MonkeySphere

Blog Moved

2011-01-18T23:35:00.000-08:00

To everyone reading this post. I have moved this blog to a new location and a new name. I've decided that trying to convert a once World of Warcraft blog to a Political Blog just wasn't going to work for me. I wll most likely not post here again. I have moved the political posts and all future posts will be found at Dead Peasant Show. I hope those few of you reading this will follow me there and

When words are meaningless

2011-01-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

Jared Lee Loughner once asked Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, "What is government when words are meaningless?"Jared Lee Loughner became obsessed with words and their meanings. He demanded deductive arguments and rejected inductive arguments completely, but couldn't recognize the difference between the two. Lost in his own incoherence, Jared's mind saw only his own dreamstate as reality, and this reality

You don’t allow the government to control your grammar structure, listener?

2011-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Jared Lee Loughner is a disturbed young man. This is not up for debate. The question is what disturbed him?Amidst all the rhetoric being thrown around, the rush to judgment, the finger pointing, the press is now trying to spin a picture of a young man with no political agenda at all. According to them, Jared is just some loon who shot people. But, nothing could be further from the truth. Jared is

The Blame Game is more than justified

2011-01-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

The condemnation of those that rushed to judgment concerning the motives of Jared Lee Loughner, the man who shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is valid. We shouldn't rush to judgment. We had and still have almost no idea why this young man decided that violence was the answer.But, is anyone really surprised by the judgment itself? Take a schizophrenic young man and place him into an

Want more money? Vote Democrat!

2011-01-10T02:00:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons people vote Republican. One of them is the fear the Democrats will take their money and the Republicans will cut taxes and put more money in your pocket.But look at these numbers from the Wall Street Journal:PresidentJobs createdJobs when leaving officeJobs when enetering officePayroll expansionGeorge W. Bush 3.0 million135.5 million132.5 million2.3%Bill Clinton 23.1

112 - Day 4 - Transparency Republican Style

2011-01-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

GOP lawmakers in the House, true to form, voted to remove the rule, from their own promised rulebook requiring them to post committee meeting attendance publicly.from their own Pledge to America:We will fight to ensure transparency andaccountability in Congress and throughoutgovernmentThis clear violation of the Pledge to America is just the latest in a string of gaffs from the not even a week

112 - Day 3 - Killing construction jobs Republican style

2011-01-07T10:02:00.001-08:00

So whats has united the Associated General Contractors of America,the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Trucking Association, the Ironworkers,and the Laborers International Union?One of the not emphasized rule changes the GOP brought to the Congress this week.In a move that will potentially cause further destabilization in the buiding trades sector and decimate the already struggling

112 - Day 2 - Perhaps they should have read the Constitution yesterday

2011-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

Rep. Pete Sessions ( R-Texas )Two Republicans, including a member of the GOP leadership, voted on the House floor several times despite not having been sworn in, throwing the House into parliamentary turmoil Thursday — the same day the Constitution was read aloud on the floor.Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.

112 - Day 1 - The $100 billion dollar broken promise

2011-01-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

Boehner: The second woman Speaker of the House?WASHINGTON -- The GOP "budget cut" numbers are getting squishier by the minute. At least it seemed that way in the hallways of the Capitol on a ceremonial first day of swearing-ins, family photo ops and back-slapping goodwill.Republicans campaigned coast to coast on, among other things, a promise to cut $100 billion out of the federal budget.But now

Republican death panel claims a second life

2011-01-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

Amid all the screaming about end of life planning, inaccrately labeled as death panels by the right, Gov Jan Brewer, in a stricty political move to earn more conservative cred during an election year, cut funding to Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, labled socialized medicine by the right. Those cuts will save Arizona 5.3 million dollars this year, but it loses the state 20 million in

9 Major Stories Everyone Got Wrong This Year

2011-01-02T08:26:00.001-08:00

By Daniel O'Brien, Robert Brockway, Jack O'Brien, Kristi Harrison, David Wong Dec 29, 2010 Earlier this year we took a look at the "Epic Beard Man" meme, which the Internet sold to us as "elderly white war vet stands up to young black thug" instead of the more accurate "mentally disturbed old man has yet another in a long line of violent outbursts on a confused victim." It turns out that's

The 10 worst decisions of 2010

2011-01-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

By: Molly BallDecember 31, 2010 05:34 AM ESTThey must have seemed like good ideas at the time. But the politicos who made these bad decisions are surely looking back on 2010 and kicking themselves.A bad decision isn't just a gaffe — something that slips out when your mouth runs ahead of your brain. It's something you do on purpose, like doubling down on that thing you shouldn't have said, talking

McConnell's iron grip slips

2010-12-24T01:20:00.000-08:00

By: Glenn Thrush and Manu RajuDecember 23, 2010 04:31 AM ESTFor two years, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) maintained iron discipline over his 40-to-42-member conference, mustered a mostly united opposition against the White House — and helped define the GOP as “the party of no” in the eyes of critics.But in the waning days of the 111th Congress, the White House and Democrats think

My new course of study

2010-12-11T03:09:00.000-08:00

Currently, I am looking into John Maynard Keynes ( pictured left ) and Milton Friedman. It is the war between these two men, both dead, that is waging between our two political parties currently. I have come to the conclusion that anyone who does not know who these men were, what their economic philosophies were and how they have been applied around the world and in America, are essentially

The Obama policy of appeasement

2010-12-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

This week, President Obama delivered what he called a framework for a compromise between the Democrats and Republicans and the spin machines went into high gear.On the right, claims were made of a major victory, of a tax lowering, job creating triumph over the Democrats and even make claims that this "framework" ,none of which is yet law or even a real bill, for that matter, is yet another

What is the Monkeysphere?

2010-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

This article was originally published HERE.What is the Monkeysphere?By David Wong Sep 30, 2007"One death is a tragedy. One million deaths is a statistic."-Kevin FederlineWhat do monkeys have to do with war, oppression, crime, racism and even e-mail spam? You'll see that all of the random ass-headed cruelty of the world will suddenly make perfect sense once we go Inside the Monkeysphere."What the

When to move on?

2010-02-02T21:20:00.001-08:00

Patch 3.3.2 hit the servers today, and that means Arthas can finally be defeated. All across the world, guild after guild is pushing their way through the citidel to match up against the villianous Lich King and find glory in his final defeat. Not my guild however. My guild is still ironing out the wrinkles in our raid team. While I show up to main tank every raid, the offtank position is

Cheater cheater pumpkin eater!

2009-12-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

Image by Random Factor via FlickrYou are special. In fact, everyone is special. You are a unique and special little snowflake and there's no one in the world like you.How many times have we heard this or something just like this? Mother's special little guy. Daddy's special little girl. The teachers special class of special children. And yet, if we are all special, then none of us are special.But

I've got a headache

2009-11-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

Image by Queen Roly via FlickrThere's a brick wall in front of you. It's a wall you have built. You keep banging your head against that wall. You have a headache. And you're complaining about it. Do you stop banging your head against the wall?The other day I got into a heated discussion with a friend who's opinion I respect. He was facing off against a class that had his number in the

Our right to Health Care

2009-07-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Image by jmtimages via FlickrNormally, I just talk about gaming, World of Warcraft to be exact. But today I feel the need to discuss something that's got me quite disturbed. I am going to reveal a few biases here so try to look past those and find the message buried deep in my ranting.There's alot of talk about "Obama's Health Care plan" and that talk just ain't good folks. You see, we Americans

Are they or aren't they? Two views of the same interview.

2009-06-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaI would like to point you all to two write ups of the same interviewFirst, here's the link to the Rob Pardo interview in question:Original InterviewNow here's the write up from WorldofWar.net:Rob Pardo Interview Hints Blizzard Games Heading to Consolesand now another write up on the exact same interview from WoW.com:Pardo says Blizzard still not interested in bringing WoW to

Apples to Oranges

2009-06-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaA few weeks ago, I blasted WoW.com for comparing Free Realms account totals to World of Warcraft's subscription totals. Today on twitter I see people comparing facebooks farmtown totals to WoW. What is it with people? how can they possibly think this is even remotely the same thing? Is it some innate need to tear down success that fuels these comparisons? or just a complete

The next big game

2009-06-18T10:21:00.001-07:00

Throughout, my time in MMO's I have watch game developers create great games with such promise and then fall short when it comes time for release. They often fail to realize that an MMO is not like other games. Only a handful of developers truly understand the genre, and fewer still are creating new and innovative game mechanics. Most are simply experimenting with the business models believing

WoWMatrix Rules! Curse and WowInterface should die!

2009-04-25T10:31:00.001-07:00

Curse.com and WowInterface.com can go fuck themselves! Yeah, you heard me. Their sites suck. Addons are a pain in the ass to find, especially with Curse autocompleting my search entries to give me returns for things I absolutley wasn't looking for. And the Curse Client is just plain bad as well. It doesnt update properly. I find myself being force to go to their webpage to find addons their

Burning Crusade Recap

2008-11-09T08:36:00.001-08:00

Patch 2.0 Before the StormThe Burning Crusade was the first expansion for World of Warcraft. Released January 16th 2007, The Burning Crusade was the best-selling PC game of 2007 in both North America and Europe, and it was also the fastest-selling PC game of all time, selling nearly 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.The Burning Crusade

No more brains.

2008-11-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

This week ended the zombification of Azeroth. The cure has been found and the infection has been stymied. There was alot of debate about the invasion. From people turning uber fan boy for Blizzard to those who claim the infection has caused them to cancel their accounts. While I could go through the details of the new plague, this is going to be an opinion piece. I know I am prone to ranting.

Spore update

2008-10-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

Last week, I loaded up Spore to find all my game files had been corrupted. Needless to sat, this was a painful revelation. The Thare, my cell to space game, was gone. Though I was able to recoup my creations, I had to restart completely. I evolved my new race, the Lucardae, from cell to space and began my conquest again. Because of my previous failures with the Thare, I was able to move much more

Episode 20

2008-10-04T07:03:00.001-07:00

Episode 20WoW HappeningsThis week, I finally farmed, purchased or begged enough Dampscale Basilisk Eye's to become neutral with The Scryers. After that it was a matter of turning in the Firewing and Sunfury Signets I have collected since getting Grimme into Outlands. I had to use about 20 Arcane Tomes ( I had 27 saved up ) to finish it off but I went from neutral to exhalted in the time it took

Episode 19

2008-10-04T06:31:00.001-07:00

last weekend after editing the show I headed into Lower Blackrock Spire, I have upgraded a couple pieces of gear over the last month thanks to badges and honor and decided it was time I finished soloing it to get my Upper Blackrock Spire key. While getting to the final boss was a piece of cake, the boss itself, Overlord Wyrmthalak, wanted to be a pain in my neck. my first attempt on him ended

September 6th, 2008

2008-09-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is how a Universe is born.At the time of this recording it is September 6th, which means tomorrow is September 7th and that can only mean one thing. After 7 years of development, Will Wright is finally releasing the hugely anticipated Spore. In just the last few days, I have seen the Spore commercial on television, seen articles on it in major media and even heard a report on it on National

This is how a world ends

2008-08-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Blizzard made a change this week to the leveling curve in the WotLK beta. Gone is the easy experience that was getting players from 70 to 77 in a week or so ( Had the leveling cap of 77 not been there, most would have reached 80 already ) and it's been replaced with a system that requires 80% more experience to level. Yes, you heard that right. 80%! As you can imagine, players went ballistic on

Blizzard supported downranking in the past

2008-08-15T10:03:00.001-07:00

I am the kind of person that gets offended when someone is less than honest with me. Especially when evidence to the contrary is so readily available. I do not see the downranking nerf as that big of a deal. It'll make the game harder, yes but not unplayable.But I cannot abide someone intentionally misleading me. It's a matter of principle. Tell me the truth and I can accept that. But don't

Gaming needs more innovation

2008-06-16T17:41:00.001-07:00

Just over ten years ago, I was introduced to my first MMORPG. My brother brought over his copy of Ultima Online, loaded it up on my computer and showed me his new world. He tooled around the world for a bit and then got up and forced me into the chair. A few minutes later, Roland Boone was born. He didn't last long actually. By the end of the first gaming session, I knew I was hooked and the next

Level 58: Time to go to Outland?

2008-05-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

For a long time now, I have watched players run straight into Outland the second they hit 58. Either they have heard about how great the loot drops are there or they experienced it themselves with their mains and now that their alt is 58, they choose to take the exact same course they took the first ( or second ) time through. They level quickly through to 60 while in Hellfire Peninsula, and move

Big Download interviews Blizzard about the Arena E-Sport

2008-05-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft's Arena Tournament launched on March 31, 2008, letting players immediately create level 70 characters and equip them with high level skills and epic armor. Competitors from around the world battle for up to $200,000 in cash prizes. At the same time, the Arena Tournament underscores Blizzard's intentions of using WoW's PvP gameplay as a type of eSport. WoW rose to become the most

So you want to be a guild master?

2008-05-07T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hi. Join my guild I am currently unguilded. Today, as I was running through Shat, I suddenly get an invite to a guild. I didn't join the guild of course, but I did speak to the level 15 hunter who was trying to recruit my level 70 mage to his new raiding guild. And yes, his highest level character is the 15 hunter. The conversation went something like this: ME: Hello. You know you really

Alterac Valley 2.4

2008-04-18T04:26:00.001-07:00

The screaming match over Alterac Valley began the day it opened. Alliance and Horde screaming across the forums, IRC channels and blogs about how this battleground is proof of Blizzards love of the opposing faction. While the Horde has long decried the issues of the Alliance bridge and placement of the NPC's in their base, Alliance has pretty much cried about everything relating to the Horde. And

Scammer pwn'd by Blizzard

2008-04-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

For all those who say that Blizzard doesn't know whats going on in their game, I submit the following:A poster, Kiranth, on the official WoW forums posted a thread. Here is the text:i at last was able to get my flying skill, i got it on a monday used it til the server went down for updates on tuesday morning, when i got back on the skill wasnt there, but i still have my epic flying mount ? but

2.4 is a gold mine!

2008-04-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

Since the release of patch 2.4, most of us have been consumed with the new daily quests. I, for one, have tried to complete them all as much as possible in pursuit of the 5200 gold needed for the purchase of my epic flying mount. I purchased it earlier this week, thanks in no small part to patch 2.4.A friend noticed me on the mount and commented how he wished he could get his epic but he was

Knowledge is power

2008-03-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Knowledge is power. In a MMO, this is more true than a great deal of players care to admit. As we level, we find what works for us and we stick with it into end game. The problem with that is end game is designed to challenge us; to force us to think outside our comfort zone and come up with solutions we just wouldn't have thought of in solo play. I remember as my Alliance guild was moving out of

You should be listening! Five WoW Podcasts

2008-03-29T22:38:00.001-07:00

Anyone who has ITunes installed ( and for those that don't, it's free and you should have it ) and plays World of Warcraft should do themselves a favor and subscribe to a few WoW podcasts. Some of them are amazingly informative, others are funny, and others are awful...but funny in how they are utterly full of fail. The following five podcasts are the cream of the crop. While not all are stunning

2.4 official patch notes

2008-03-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

Patch 2.4 was released on march 25, 2008. Here are the patch notes:Fury of the SunwellThe glorious fount of arcane energy known as the Sunwell empowered the high elves for millennia, until the death knight Arthas laid siege to the elven kingdom and corrupted its sacred energies. Seeing no other alternative, a band of survivors led by Prince Kael'thas destroyed the ancient fount. Over time the

Lucky Thirteen!

2008-03-22T02:22:00.001-07:00

One may be the loneliest number but its lucky when its followed by the three. Yes, Grimmish hit level 13 tonight. I had a rough time of it too. I got stuck behind enemy lines with the supply quest in the Barrens and died three times. I made a stupid mistake and instead of fixing it calmly and patiently, I just kept banging my head against the wall. Eventually, the quest was complete and I put my

Grimmish hits level 9!

2008-03-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Level 8(underwater, orcs don't swim well )Level 9Grimmish hit level 8 and then 9 this morning. Played him a little before work again. The server was flooded with low levels because most servers were down but Uldaman was up. Of course, it was as bad as barrens chat ( not looking forward to THAT again ).I've decided to really take my time on this character and do EVERY solo quest thats offered to

The Battle for Sun's Reach

2008-03-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

With the looming threat of the Burning Legion’s activities on the Isle of Quel’Danas the Sha’tar have combined the Aldor and Scryer forces to form the Shattered Sun Offensive. Their first mission: assault the Blood Elves’ position on the Isle of Quel’Danas and take the town of Sun’s Reach by force. With the release of Patch 2.4 players will have the opportunity to participate in this raging

Grimmish makes level 7!

2008-03-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

I logged onto Grimmish today before work. I played for about twenty minutes and hit level 7. Discovered the Echo isles, then ran to Razor Hill. I need to send him some gold from my main. A 5 gold stake in the character should get him going really well. And as my main is a tailor, making some bags for him would be a good idea as well.

Grimmish is born

2008-03-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I created Grimmish, an Orc Warrior. While I am not sure at this time how much play time he will get, I wanted to start a chronicle of his leveling just in case.Thing is, I've always wanted to play a warrior, but never quite got around to it. I've leveled three other characters to max level. One to 60 Pre-BC, then two to 70 post BC and then there was my alliance mage who got to 65

What would happen if fast food were like a mmo?

2008-03-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to World of Burgercraft | 03/13/2008 10:19:47 PM PDT WoB: Welcome to World of Burgercraft. Would you like a PVE value meal, a PVP value meal, or an RP value meal?Car 1

Quigons Protection Warrior Guide

2008-03-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Protection Warrior Guide ContentsI. IntroductionII. Frequently Asked QuestionsIII. An Introduction to The Protection Warrior classIV. Basic StatsV. ArmorVI. Defense and Avoidancea. Defensive stanceb. Avoiding the critc. Understanding the Combat Mechanics of WoWd. The crushing blowe. The Exponential Returns of

Vulajin's RogueCraft 101

2008-03-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

Roguecraft 101 1. IntroductionThis post is currently up-to-date for patch 2.3.2.This post is intended as a consolidated resource on rogue theorycraft with a heavy slant towards practical application in raiding. The overwhelming majority of the information contained herein relates to PvE, although I'm sure some of it may

Ultimus' PvP Rogue Guide

2008-03-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ultimus PvP Rogue GuideProfessionsThe only professions that help you for PvP are Enchanting, Jewel Crafting, Engineering, and Blacksmithing. Blacksmithing is the weakest of these professions, but it will give you a jumpstart while gearing your rogue from scratch. In the long run, the blacksmithing weapons have already been outpaced by arena gear, so I don’t recommend this. Right now Jewel