We are 19 days away from one of the biggest PC gaming launches in PC games history – Starcraft II : Wings of Liberty.  The recent peaks and valleys associated with Blizzard and it’s Real ID implementation may seem to challenge of delay that glorious release.  So, if you’ve been living under a rock, or not following PC gaming news, let me get right to the point.

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I know for sure that by now, anyone who follows video games, either it be the games itself, the companies around them, or the peripherals, know about the new handheld upgrade coming from Nintendo. Why it was the one item that shined and took E3 2010 earlier this year and by what is being shown now, it seems the big hitter for this year will be the Nintendo 3DS when it releases in the late first or early second quarter of next year.

To start this spotlight, I believe it is best to describe what went down during the Nintendo Press Conference at E3 2010 when the 3DS was shown off with a lot of bells and whistles that actually were lustrous eye candy that had functionality.

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Last November there was a world-wide outcry when a trove of emails were released suggesting some of the world's leading climate scientists engaged in professional misconduct, data manipulation and jiggering of both the scientific literature and climatic data to paint what scientist Keith Briffa called "a nice, tidy story" of climate history. The scandal became known as Climategate.

Now a supposedly independent review of the evidence says, in effect, "nothing to see here." Last week "The Independent Climate Change E-mails Review," commissioned and paid for by the University of East Anglia, exonerated the University of East Anglia. The review committee was chaired by Sir Muir Russell, former vice chancellor at the University of Glasgow.

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Rich Franklin cornered the man who challenged him and launched a looping kick that caught him on his jaw. The man's face flushed red, and his knees wobbled. Franklin moved in, pounding his opponent with haymakers until he collapsed, grimacing.

Franklin, an Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight, had just scored another victory. The chiseled fighter took the ringside microphone and faced the roaring crowd.

"I want to say thanks to God, all praise to him," he said. Then he bowed and folded his hands in prayer as his groggy opponent was led outside the ring.

Was it Franklin's right hand or was it the hand of God that helped him smite his opponent? Ringside viewers may disagree, but God seems to be standing in the corner of a lot of victorious athletes these days.

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The 9th Annual Christian Game Developers Conference is scheduled for July 15 through 17, 2010, at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. The venue is located close to the Portland Airport (PDX) and shuttle rides will be provided on certain days and times. Check http://cgdc.org for updates and to register.

CGDC is the only gathering of Christian game developers that are focused on creating games, encouraging one another to do good works, teaching, and networking. Attendees can display their game projects and help each other get from concept to market. Sponsors will also have booths representing their companies.

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Microsoft has now come up with a different direction promoting Project Natal and one of the big things they have done is renaming it to Kinect. At E3 2010, Microsoft spared no expense showing off not just the newest lineup of upcoming games and even a brand new sleeker version of the Xbox 360, but the real showstopper was easily Kinect.

Just like they said they would, Microsoft featured the rebranded peripheral with Cirque du Soleil and showed a lot more than just the fancy motion capture camera. First off, the new peripheral is very stylish but stylish to the extent of the release of the new slim version of the Xbox 360 which also was also showcased at the Microsoft Press Release. Next, were the specifics.

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At Microsoft’s press conference at E3 2010, there was a huge array of new releases that eveyrone was eyeing at. The biggest presentation was easily that of the upcoming motion capture hardware known as Kinect but something else caught they eyes of everyone else and that was the brand new model for the Xbox 360 and boy does it look delicious.

It all starts out with the old Xbox 360 shell sitting on top of a table, then the Xbox representative during the press conference lifts the shell up to reveal the brand new Xbox 360. Very classy, very cool way of representing the newer version, and of course there are improvements both cosmetic and functionally.

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"It's a big day for the porn industry.

On Friday, ICANN, the not-for-profit corporation that coordinates the internet's naming system, voted to allow the application of the controversial ".xxx" top-level domain name for sites that display adult content.

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"The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials

The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe."

-- NY Times

The article goes into more detail on how the mineral deposits were discovered but oddly enough they fail to mention one major implication. For many in Afghanistan the only way to make a living is through growing opium. The Taliban finances much of its operations through illegal drugs. The US Coalition has been trying to help the average Afghan citizen by setting up alternative jobs and by rebuilding the economy but overall it's more profitable to grow opium. So it's possible that in the long run this find could transfer Afghanistan by offering hope for a better future. Either that or everyone will fight each other over these minerals...

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