Quote:A new Arkansas statute designed to restrict material deemed "harmful to minors" went into effect last week, placing virtually all the state's comic book retailers in violation of the law. Act 858 (full text) targets magazines or comics that appeal to a "prurient interest" or "lacks serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic or political value for minors." Although designed to keep Penthouse and similar publications out of minors' hands, Arkansas' definition of "harmful to minors" places titles like Batman, Spider-Man, and most manga under the new law.

The result is a series of new expectations for librarians and retailers--and a great deal of unrest among store owners and consumers. Under Act 858, "blinder racks," a longtime staple of adult video and book stores, are to become commonplace in libraries and comic stores. Everything from Sailor Moon to Catcher in the Rye must be covered and "segregated in a manner that physically prohibits access" to youth, according to the new law.

Immediately after the legislature confirmed the bill, a broad coalition ranging from an independent bookstore to the Arkansas Library Association filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, arguing that the new law is unconstitutional. In a news release from the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, bookstore proprietor Mary Gay Shipley said, "I don't sell 'dirty books,' and I resent being treated like I run an adult bookstore." The sentiment is a common one among those challenging the law.

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, spoke with ANN. "We are deeply concerned that the language of the bill would require booksellers to create an "adults only" section in their stores for material that is First Amendment protected for adults." Finan emphasizes that the new law prohibits display of a wide range of publications, "including works with serious literary and artistic merit."

The public's impression of "restricted" material is among ABFEE's greatest concerns. "The law would create a serious chilling effect because placing material in an area restricted to adults stigmatizes it." Fearing the impact on sales, he suggests, "Many people will be understandably reluctant to enter an area that seems to be reserved for pornography."

In a statement to ANN, Rita Sklar, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arkansas, clarified the coalition's goals. "We're not saying we oppose the idea of a six-year-old being able to get his hands on a copy of Penthouse. It's you or I not being able to get our hands on a copy of Of Mice and Men." She suggested that many libraries and bookstores may find it easier simply to prohibit minors from entering.

Lawmakers defend their decision to pass the law. "It could open up a can of worms. There's no doubt about that," Republican Kevin Anderson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "But our intentions were pure."

In the first seven days of the law have brought no significant lawsuits against retailers and no wave of bookstore closures, but Arkansas store owners remain concerned. The potential for any individual to file a complaint about a store offering "restricted" materials is too high for plaintiffs like Shipley to drop the District Court lawsuit. A trial testing the law's constitutionality is likely in the near future.

Retailers hope to find a trial judge on the same page, but at present, the view remains blocked.

Let's do this tonight! And if not tonight, tomorrow night! Today I'm going to run over to Radio Shack to get a cheap headset, so I suggest the rest of you do the same if you don't already have one. Come on, guys!

From ign:

From GAF:

Quote:Playmore's Metal Slug Advance has been announced as having a street date of September 26 in Japan. This is the first time the series has graced Nintendo's handheld, so players who are unfamiliar with Metal Slug are in for a treat, as are the seven people who purchased the Metal Slug games for SNK's ill-fated Neo Geo Pocket Color.

If past titles in the Metal Slug series are any indicator, this game will be an awesome old-school 2D shoot-'em up spritefest. With so many fans of the shooter genre on the GAF staff, we'll be covering this one closely, so when more news becomes available (like... screenshots?), we'll get it to you ASAP.

Source: Gamers.com

Posted by pizzicato on 7.4.2003

From GAF:

Quote:A very quick tidbit on plans Nintendo may have for the successor to their GBA SP:

Nintendo developer Takeshi Kiyuna commented on the plans for the new handheld, saying that it will have a larger screen, with the resolution planned to be at least 300 x 200, in 260,000 colors.

Quick news, but important news, too. A larger screen? My rapidly aging eyes will thank you, Nintendo.


Source: Magic Box

Posted by pizzicato on 7.4.2003

Halflife2 Is coming!! http://www.halflife2.net

Wat do you think?

http://www.planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?a...em&id=4496

Quote:Midway Delivers Old School Flava to Next-Generation Consoles with Midway Arcade Treasures

Midway Arcade Treasures Brings More Than 20 Classic Arcade Games Including All-Time Favorites Like SpyHunter, Defender, Gauntlet and Joust for First Time Ever on Next-Generation Consoles

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 3, 2003-- Midway Games Inc., a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that Midway® Arcade Treasures™, the first next-generation console offering of more than 20 classic arcade games, is scheduled to ship in fall 2003.

Midway Arcade Treasures features hundreds of hours of classic gameplay action from all-time arcade favorites including the fast-paced action of SpyHunter®, the multiplayer collaboration of Gauntlet®, the space-age adventure of Defender® and the dueling combat of Joust®, just to name a few.

"Now these games can be enjoyed along with extensive DVD content that features the history of some of the top arcade titles and creator interviews," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway.

With Midway Arcade Treasures, gamers will have the option of enjoying their favorite titles in either one-player or two-player game formats. The DVD content in the game features a history of many of the classic arcade hits and interviews with creators and developers of the games.

Midway Arcade Treasures Games Include:

* Jam-Packed Entertainment -- More than 20 Great Arcade Games Including:
o SpyHunter
o Defender II
o Gauntlet
o Joust
o Paperboy
o Rampage
o Marble Madness
o Robotron: 2084
o Smash TV
o Joust 2
o Bubbles
o RoadBlasters
o Blaster
o Rampart
o Sinistar
o Super Sprint
o 720°
o Toobin'
o KLAX
o SPLAT!
o Satan's Hollow
o Vindicators
* Nonstop Action -- Hundreds of hours of classic gameplay action
* DVD Content -- Creator and developer interviews and game histories
* Multiplayer Gameplay -- One- and two-player gameplay

I was right!!! I'm guessing that Nintendo is going to test how well the franchise does with the GBA game, and then if that sells well they'll release the Gamecube version sometime next year.

Quote:Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream revealed recently that a new installment in the Fire Emblem series is in development for the Nintendo GameCube console. No further details except the game's confirmation were divulged, but the magazine expects that a release could come sometime during the second half of 2004. With the second Fire Emblem game on the Game Boy Advance, The Sword of Fire, coming to North America, this could bode well for this new title's chances. We'll have more shortly.

Thanks to EAD Ninja for the tip.

Source: Nintendo Dream

Posted by Christian on 7.3.2003

I'm suprised nobody has brought this up yet, seeing as it was a full-page headline of the New York Times. To start off, I'll quote the article:

Quote:JUSTICES, 6-3, LEGALIZE GAY SEXUAL CONDUCT IN SWEEPING REVERSAL OF COURTS '86 RULING

Cite Privacy Right

Texas Sodomy Law Held Unconstitutional- Scathing Dissent

Linda Greenhouse

WASHINGTON, June 26 — The Supreme Court issued a sweeping declaration of constitutional liberty for gay men and lesbians today, overruling a Texas sodomy law in the broadest possible terms and effectively apologizing for a contrary 1986 decision that the majority said "demeans the lives of homosexual persons." The vote was 6 to 3.

Gays are "entitled to respect for their private lives," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said for the court. "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime."

Justice Kennedy said further that "adults may choose to enter upon this relationship in the confines of their homes and their own private lives and still retain their dignity as free persons."

While the result had been widely anticipated since the court agreed in December to hear an appeal brought by two Houston men who were prosecuted for having sex in their home, few people on either side of the case expected a decision of such scope from a court that only 17 years ago, in Bowers v. Hardwick, had dismissed the same constitutional argument as "facetious." The court overturned that precedent today.

In a scathing dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia accused the court of having "taken sides in the culture war" and having "largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda." He said that the decision "effectively decrees the end of all morals legislation" and made same-sex marriage, which the majority opinion did not discuss, a logical if not inevitable next step. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas signed Justice Scalia's dissent.

While some gay rights lawyers said that there were still abundant legal obstacles to establishing a right either to gay marriage or to military service by gay soldiers, there was no doubt that the decision had profound legal and political implications. A conservative Supreme Court has now identified the gay rights cause as a basic civil rights issue.

Ruth Harlow, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the lead counsel for the two men, John G. Lawrence and Tyron Garner, called the decision "historic and transformative." Suzanne Goldberg, a professor at Rutgers Law School who had represented the men in the Texas courts, said that the decision would affect "every kind of case" involving gay people, including employment, child custody and visitation, and adoption.

"It removes the reflexive assumption of gay people's inferiority," Professor Goldberg said. "Bowers took away the humanity of gay people, and this decision gives it back."

The vote to overturn Bowers v. Hardwick was 5 to 4, with Justice Kennedy joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.

"Bowers was not correct when it was decided, and it is not correct today," Justice Kennedy said. "Its continuance as precedent demeans the lives of homosexual persons."

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was part of the 5-to-4 majority in Bowers v. Hardwick, did not join Justice Kennedy in overruling it. But she provided the sixth vote for overturning the Texas sodomy law in a forcefully written separate opinion that attacked the law on equal protection grounds because it made "deviate sexual intercourse" — oral or anal sex — a crime only between same-sex couples and not for heterosexuals.

"A law branding one class of persons as criminal solely based on the state's moral disapproval of that class and the conduct association with that class runs contrary to the values of the Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause," Justice O'Connor said.

Texas was one of only four states — Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri are the others — to apply a criminal sodomy law exclusively to same-sex partners. An additional nine states — Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia — have criminal sodomy laws on their books that in theory, if not in practice, apply to opposite-sex couples as well. As a result of the majority's broad declaration today that the government cannot make this kind of private sexual choice a crime, all those laws are now invalid...

OK, after all the infomercial i've seen in my life...and that's a lot...there's something I can't quite understand. Why is it when ever someone's using a product on television the people suddenly become really stupid? I mean, when people are doing simple tasks such as draining speghetti are they really going to fumble and spill the stuff all over the sink like some unco-ordinated clout? Could they be any less patronizing?

Announcer: "Look at little Debbie there in the corner using her kitchen knives! Isn't she dumb?"

Debbie: "Look mom, I made some chic-AHHHHH" *Debbie cuts off her fingers which fly into the deep fryer*

Announcer: "Don't let this ever happen to you again! Buy Ming Low Chow's ginsu knives and not only will you not cut your fingers off like an assclown, we'll also throw the five sets of uber ninja bbqing swords...FREE! Act now, not only will this deal expire 5 minutes after this ad ends...WE'RE ALSO LYING THROUGH OUR TEETH!"