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(no subject)	[Feb. 1st, 2007\|11:22 am]
Warhammer 40,000 In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war By. Angie Dupuis Six years ago fifteen year old Michael Hatt took his first steps through the doors of Dragon’s Lair, a store for gaming fanatics and lovers in Holyoke. Upon his entrance into the small, cluttered shop, Hatt’s attention was immediately caught by the quirky enthusiasm of a short, pudgy man with thick-framed glasses and a baseball cap. The man was leaning over a table giving a interactive demonstration of Warhammer 40,000 or “40k”, as members of the gaming community commonly refer to it as. From that day on, Michael Hatt’s way of life would be rocked by the intensely intricate and imaginative world of Warhammer 40,000. Hatt, who is in his junior at Umass Amherst and is now 22, still plays the game. He sums up 40k as a “table-top strategy war game based on events taking place in a fantasy universe in the year 40,000, where the species of mankind, whose empire spans the stars, has become the most dominant in the entire galaxy.” The war-torn future of man Warhammer 40k was created in 1987 by Games Workshop, a chain of “hobby shops” that exist throughout major malls in the U.S. The game’s intricately detailed plot follows mankind, as it comes into contact with numerous hostile alien races whose only goal is to eliminate mankind’s presence in the galaxy and to propagate their own. “Their empire is constantly under siege.” says Hatt, whose knowledge of the game’s extensive background information is quite wide-ranging. Mankind is divided into subgroups, which vary depending on the group’s climactic region of the earth. But no matter where on earth they are from, all of mankind worships and follows the most powerful psychic in all the universe, “The Emperor of Man” who in the year 40,000, is the savior of mankind in the midst of all it’s war-torn peril. Warfare is the only thing that mankind knows. “If they aren’t fighting an alien race from somewhere off in the galaxy, they’re probably fighting amongst themselves” utters Hatt. When asked what drew him into the game Warhammer 40k, Hatt replied, “The story and all the background information or fluff, as we like to call it. It’s just so amazingly detailed. They’ve really created themselves a whole other universe for us to play and exist in.” Gameplay A single game can consists of as many players as desired, but there must be at least two. Players choose who they want to be. They can choose from any of the groups existing within “the Imperium of Man” or any of the numerous enemy alien races. They are all playable armies who battle each other in the tabletop miniatures game. Players use dice to determine where to move their pieces, how many times an opponent is hit, and how many points each hit is worth. “You’ve got to try and out-think out-luck your opponent” says Hatt. “It’s all about strategy and luck.” The game takes place on a table that is oftentimes decorated with detailed landscapes for a more real-life effect. Players circle the table behind their own personal armies of miniature models. The players must then decide how long they want their game to be. The length of a game depends on how many points players try and score against opponents over the course of the game. A typical game is worth about fifteen thousand points and lasts for about two to two and a half hours. Every model on the board is assigned its own max point value depending on the number of models in an army and how many points the game is playing to. “The rules are extremely tedious and complicated. It takes a little while to understand it completely. It takes patience.” Says Hatt about learning the many rules of the game. The 40k lifestyle If you decide that you’re interested in Warhammer 40k after you have a basic understanding of the numerous rules and intensely deep running storyline, it can be pretty easy to fall victim to the addicting world of 40k. “I’ve seen people devote their lives to this game” says Hatt, as an embarrassed looks sweeps across his face. “I’ve spent literally thousands of dollars on my armies. But I sold a lot of them on EBay. I was strapped for cash.” To start out playing 40k you do need to have a small fortune. The cheapest models cost six to fourteen dollars, and if you want anything good you’re looking at prices ranging from twenty dollars a model to one hundred dollars. “The models are beautifully sculpted with incredible detail. It almost makes you feel like they’re really worth that much money.” Says Hatt. Once you’ve purchased your models, the second step to creating the ultimate army is personalizing them. Players are expected to paint their models to help “bring them to life”. This time consuming task is usually done with a magnifying glass and very tiny paintbrushes. Players are also allowed to add new parts and weapons to their models, usually with superglue, to enhance game play and add a little spin to their battle techniques. Because of the time and money spent on such a diverse activity, many people make certain assumptions about the players of 40k. “They call us nerds, losers, dweebs, etc.” explains Hatt. “We always get funny looks from people who walk by our games in the mall. I’d like to sock some of them. But what can you do? It’s what we do for fun. They go out and party their way, and we do it our own way. And it doesn’t matter what they call us. We may be nerds, we got sucked into the world of Warhammer 40k, but we love it.”
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(no subject)	[Jan. 31st, 2007\|09:27 pm]
Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K, WH40K, W40K or just 40K) is a science fantasy tabletop miniature wargame, produced by Games Workshop. The game depicts combat between the armies of the fictional universe of the 41st millennium using 28 mm scale (approximately 1:65) miniature figurines which represent futuristic soldiers, creatures and vehicles of war. The universe of Warhammer 40,000 is strongly dystopic, using many elements from gothic and Lovecraftian literature. There are no unambiguously good factions. The ethos is well summed up in the games subtitle slogan: "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." Warhammer 40,000 is the science fiction companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and shares many of the same game mechanics. The Warhammer 40,000 setting is also used for several other games which have then also fed back into the setting. The first edition of the game, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, was published in 1987. Game designer Rick Priestley created the original rules set and the Warhammer 40,000 gameworld. This original version came as a very detailed, though rather jumbled, rulebook, making it most suitable for fighting small skirmishes. Much of the composition of units was determined randomly, by rolling dice. In addition, supplemental material was continually published in White Dwarf magazine, making and providing rules for new units and models. Eventually, White Dwarf provided proper "army lists," which could be used to create larger and more coherent forces than were possible in the main rulebook. A few elements of the setting (bolters, frag grenades, Terminator armour) can be seen in a set of earlier wargaming rules called Laserburn (produced by Tabletop Games) written by Bryan Ansell and expanded upon by Ansell and Richard Halliwell both of who worked later for Games Workshop. The influence of these can also be seen in the prototype Necromunda game mechanics. The major expansions for Rogue Trader were the book Chapter Approved which gave army lists for the Space Marines and Eldar among others and the two-volume Realms of Chaos (1988 and 1990) which introduced the Horus Heresy and the Chaotic powers. Also the Imperial Guard were added during this period (although then called the Imperial Army). The second edition was published in late 1993. This and later developments of the game were developed under the direction of editor Andy Chambers. Second edition Warhammer 40,000 came in a boxed set including Space Marine and Ork miniatures, scenery and dice, as well as the main rules. An expansion box set titled Dark Millennium was later released, including rules for psychic powers. Although second edition Warhammer 40,000 was very similar in many aspects, it was designed to be both more structured than Rogue Trader, and to allow larger battles than the skirmish rules in 1st edition. Second edition also introduced the concept of the "army codex"; a separate book that contained the rules information for a single army. The third edition was released in 1998, and again concentrated on streamlining the rules for larger battles. Third edition rules were notably simpler, and less prone to use wildly random or overly powerful abilities than previous editions. The rulebook was available alone, or as a boxset with miniatures of Space Marines and the newly-introduced Dark Eldar. The system of army codexes continued in third edition.[1] In addition, a supplemental rulebook titled "Cityfight" introduced special rules for fighting in urban conditions. Towards the end of the 3rd edition, three new armies were introduced, the alien Tau, and two armies of the Inquisition: the Daemonhunters of the Ordo Malleus, and the Witchhunters of the Ordo Hereticus; elements of these armies had appeared before in supplementary material such as Realms of Chaos. These were re-released with all new artwork and army lists. These new and remade armies had codexes that were far more in-depth and detailed in regards to the background of each army within the game's universe, which would later be utilized by the codexes in 4th edition. Because of this, these later books are sometimes referred to as "Edition 3.5". During this time, Games Workshop also held several world-wide events, telling the stories of important wars fought in the game's universe. Players were encouraged to sign up for these events, where they could send in the results of their battles, with the overall results of all players having an influence on the outcome of the war. [edit] Current state of play The fourth edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released in 2004. This edition is not as major a change as prior editions were, and was "backwards compatible" with each army's third edition codex. The fourth edition was released in three forms: the first was a standalone hardcover version, with additional information on painting, scenery building, and background information about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The second was a boxed set, called Battle For Macragge, which included a compact softcover version of the rules, scenery, and Space Marines and Tyranid miniatures. The third was a limited collector's edition version of the hardcover book and was leather-bound, its front cover embossed in silver with the Warhammer 40,000 fourth edition logo, each page edged with silver foil, and was packaged in a protective black leather slipcover. In addition, there are multitudes of variant rules and army lists that are available for use, typically with an opponent's consent. These rules are found in the Games Workshop publication White Dwarf, the Games Workshop website, or the Forge World publication Imperial Armour. As of December 2006, the Space Marine, Tyranid, Black Templars, Tau Empire, and Eldar codexes have been released under the new fourth edition rules, with the Dark Angels scheduled for release in February 2007. [edit] The tabletop game [edit] Overview Each player assembles an army of metal and plastic miniature figurines (models) - each usually representing a single military figure from one of the official lists. These armies are constrained by rules contained within the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, as well as in several army-specific codexes. The size and power of the army is determined on a points system, with each unit being assigned a number of points proportional to its worth on the battlefield. Before a game the players agree on how many points will be used as the maximum army size and each assemble an army up to that maximum limit. Common game sizes are between 400 and 2,000 points, but it is possible to play much larger games given time and inclination. In addition, there are more detailed rules for such games, using more book-keeping for each individual figure. Games generally run from half an hour to several hours depending on the size of the armies. Play is divided into turns, with each player choosing specific actions for all of his units on his turn (usually some combination of movement, firing, and close combat), and using dice to determine the results of those actions. Each battle, at the onset, is assigned a set of additional rules and a goal (collectively called a "scenario") specific to it. The most common of these is a basic "cleanse" mission (which was the "default" mission in 3rd edition), which ends after six turns, the victor being declared based on who controls the four quarters of the battlefield; more complex goals can include night fights, bunker assaults, and ambushes. Some players organize a series of scenarios, called a campaign, where two or more players fight against each other in a number of battles. These campaigns may feature their own special rules, and are tied together by a storyline, which might alter according to the results of each scenario when it is played. Every few years, a global campaign is held in which people submit the results of their games to Games Workshop. These results are collated, and together affect the storyline of the game, which is then accounted for in the next rulebook and fiction releases. The most recent of these global campaigns was The Fall of Medusa V campaign which ended in a massive Imperial Victory. [edit] Collecting In addition to writing rulebooks for the game, Games Workshop also owns Citadel Miniatures and Forge World, two companies which manufacture the miniatures used to play Warhammer 40,000. In addition to the current line of units, Games Workshop makes available past model lines as a part of their mail-order-only "Classic" series. These are models that have been used for earlier versions of the game. This is one of many ways to get certain miniatures which have been discontinued. As of June 2006, new players wishing to start playing should expect to spend at least £200, but may need to spend much more, for a basic playable army with ample room for customization (1,000 points). This figure includes costs for the rulebook, the army's codex, and modeling equipment such as paints and glue[2]. Players must also purchase individual units in squads or in boxed sets. The cost of boxed sets varies widely (£5 to £100), depending on the contents. However, the boxed set may not provide for all available options, meaning that players may choose to purchase additional blister packs, each containing one to three models. A typical blister pack costs around £7. [edit] Modelling Since the models are hand-painted and assembled by the player, people are encouraged to design their own paint schemes as well as using the pre-designed ones displayed in the various books. They are also encouraged to further modify their figures and vehicles using parts from other kits and models (known as "bitz" or sprues to players), or scratch-built from plasticard (Sheet Styrene), modeling putty and whatever the modeler has at hand. These conversions are often entered into contests at sponsored tournaments and similar gaming events. [edit] Terrain Terrain is a very important part of play. Although Games Workshop has terrain kits available, many hobbyists prefer to make their own elaborate and unique set pieces. Common household items like soft drink cans, coffee cups, styrofoam packing pieces, and pill bottles can be transformed into ruined cathedrals, alien habitats, or terrain with the addition of plasticard, putty, and a bit of patience and skill. The sub-division Forge World also make numerous detailed terrain sets, a good example being the Fortress Walls. Despite being expensive due to being made out of resin, they are of good quality. [edit] Background [edit] Setting The Warhammer 40,000 game world is most readily characterized as a gothic science-fantasy setting. The central and most popular elements of the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Space Marines, anachronistic combinations of sci-fi super-soldiers and fantasy knights and the finest warriors of the Imperium of Mankind, a dystopian galaxy-spanning empire. The physical setting of this story is the Materium, with all action here in the Milky Way Galaxy. Most of this is controlled by the Imperium of Man, though it is not the only galactic power. Other races include the Orks, a green-skinned troll-like race, the Eldar, Tolkien-esque "space elves," and the Tyranids, an all-organic, extragalactic superpredator. A dynamic, galaxy-spanning story line is possible because of a separate plane of existence, the Immaterium or "Warp." The Warp is described as a realm of thought, where desires and emotions can take physical form, and with currents and eddies that make traveling vast interstellar distances difficult, yet possible. As this is a realm of thought, a coalescence yields an often sinister warp entity. The strongest of these entities are the Chaos Gods, Khorne (a god of rage, bloodshed, and war), Nurgle (a god of despair, decay and pestilent disease), Tzeentch (a god of change, deception, scheming, and sorcery) and Slaanesh (a god of pleasure, pain, depravity, pride and decadence). The Gods of Chaos are the result of the strongest impulses in the living souls of the universe's inhabitants. Their cults have a dynamic and antagonistic relationship. Khorne opposes Slaanesh, while Nurgle opposes Tzeentch. Nurgle is the personification of stagnation, Tzeentch personifies continuing change, Khorne personifies duty and rage, and Slaanesh personifies the epicurean or the sensual. These four powers are not the only entities in the Warp, but they are the greatest and most powerful. It is said, in the background to Warhammer 40,000, that the nature of the Warp is beyond human comprehension and is truly unknowable. [edit] Armies/races/species Main article: Warhammer 40,000 species The Warhammer 40,000 game, and consequently the fictional universe, is made up of many races and species. The main playable armies in the game are the Chaos Space Marines, Daemonhunters, Dark Eldar, Eldar, Imperial Guard, Necrons, Orks, Space Marines, Tau, Tyranids and Witch Hunters. Most races have variant armies. For example, Space Marines are divided into "Chapters", which sometimes have unique traits or even their own rules. Examples of variant armies include the following (however, this list is not exhaustive): Space Marine: Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Black Templars, Blood Ravens, White Scars, Imperial Fists etc. Imperial Guard: Catachan Jungle Fighters, Mordian Iron Guard, Praetorians, Cadian Shock Troopers, Valhallans, etc. Tau Empire: Kroot Mercenaries, the Farsight Enclave Eldar: Iyanden, Ulthwé, Alaitoc, Biel-Tan, etc. Chaos Space Marine: Death Guard, World Eaters, Thousand Sons, Emperor's Children, Iron Warriors, etc. Orks: Speed Freeks, Feral Orks [edit] Notable Characters The Warhammer 40,000 universe and game are made up of many different characters, each important in some way. Some of these characters are more important to the universe and game than others. The list below contains a selection of the figures and characters that have had the greatest impact on the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. The Emperor Horus Abaddon the Despoiler Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka Eldrad Ulthran The Nightbringer See also: Category:Warhammer 40,000 characters [edit] Spin-offs Main article: Warhammer 40,000 spin-offs Warhammer 40,000 has, over the years, inspired many spin-off games. The most popular of these include the miniature-based games Battlefleet Gothic, Epic Armageddon, Inquisitor and Necromunda, all of which are available as "Specialist Games" from the Games Workshop website (and Gorkamorka a now out of production tabletop game), the Forge World game Aeronautica Imperialis, the video games Dawn of War, Dawn of War - Winter Assault, Dawn of War - Dark Crusade, Fire Warrior, Chaos Gate, Space Hulk, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels, Final Liberation, and Rites of War. A wide number of "Warhammer 40,000" novels and background books has been published by Games Workshop's fiction wing, the Black Library. [edit] References
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(no subject)	[Jan. 18th, 2007\|06:58 am]
Angie Dupuis B Period January 15, 2007 Should Nuclear Power be stopped in the United States? Nuclear Energy has become a topic of fear, more than anything else, amongst the people of this country. It’s become the scapegoat of energy sources as its association to certain catastrophically tragic events in history has given it a scarred name. Aside from this, the general populous of the United States has been fed massive doses of biased, anti-nuclear information through such sources as images in the news media and even our every-day popular culture. I believe that Americans have the wrong idea about nuclear power and don’t know the real benefits of its use. Nuclear power should continue to exist in the United States. Before learning the straight facts from the Frontline Nuclear Energy film, I was just as ill-informed about the pros and cons of nuclear energy as a vast majority of Americans. I too, biasly judged nuclear energy as a negative possibility because of the only things I had heard about it. I felt that it was incredibly accurate when in the film they referred to the effects of radiation as “an invisible death” to epitomize just what it is about nuclear energy that scares us all. We can’t see it, touch it, feel it, taste it, or smell it and yet it’s killing each of us a little bit every day. Cancer and genetic mutation are the most believed in and feared products of nuclear radiation. So now we’re powering our cities and towns with it? It’s definitely a scary thought when one doesn’t know all the details of the energy source and how it’s being used. People don’t know that the radiation omitted from a single nuclear power plant is actually less than that of a traditional coal powered plant. The “dread factor” or the fear of a catastrophic disaster as described in the film, is what really turns people to oppose nuclear power. Such events are extremely rare as safety procedures and precautions are of the up most importance in such high-risk environments. 75% of France’s power is generated through nuclear power. Some say that this is because the French government doesn’t provide the French people with information about the hazards of nuclear energy. But other, more sensible sources say that the French people have much more trust and faith in their experts than the American people. No one in the United States has ever been injured or killed from a nuclear power related incident. It’s all hype. The number of deaths caused by gas and electric powered energy sources far surpasses that of the nuclear sources. Though it is quite expensive and the resources only last a limited number of years, nuclear energy is beneficial as it is one of the safer and environmentally friendly forms of energy that we have available to us. Unlike other forms of energy which heave heavy amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere, nuclear energy harnesses the nuclear energy which is then used to create a clean, steam generated power source. But like every good thing in this world, it does create some form of waste that we must find a way to deal with. Some countries have been trying to recycle their nuclear waste but the U.S. finds the process to be too risky. The United States has been looking into storage possibilities for the waste instead. Controversial sites such as Yucca Mountain in New Mexico have been selected as possible storage sites for such waste. The idea is to tunnel down deep into the earth to store the waste which is already in giant steel casks. It is a shame that there is still no clear solution to the nuclear waste problem because the generation of nuclear power, what with its safety and cleanliness attributes, seems to be such a beneficial source of energy for the United States.
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(no subject)	[Dec. 7th, 2006\|03:19 pm]
Life hasn’t been so typical for Amherst Regional High School sophomore Oshie Merrick. Merrick has lived in Wendell, Mass for most of her life and was raised by two minimalist “hippies”. “We lived in a log cabin”, said Merrick. “We had electricity but no running water. We had to boil water just to take baths.” Merrick’s childhood was a happy one, full of your every-day
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(no subject)	[Nov. 28th, 2006\|05:51 am]
Angie Dupuis November 25th 2006 American society & film A Clockwork Orange Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange is a horrifying take on the fictional, not-so-distant future of mankind. Set in a morally rotten England, Alex and his hooligan brigade of “droogs” set out to wreak havoc among the people every night in a drugged-out rampage of rape and “ultra-violence”. Each night they sporadically choose unsuspecting, innocent victims. After being imprisoned for murder, Alex is “brain-washed” in an attempt to rid him of his sadistic ways. Sure enough it works. His sentence is reduced and he is released from prison. His whole world is turned upside down as he is savagely rejected by his hooligan friends and rejected by much of society. With this film, Stanley Kubrick has created an over-exaggerated version of what many people were actually feeling deep inside based on the events of the 1960’s and the societal standpoint at that place in time. By the late 1960’s, many people had taken notice to the severe moral deterioration of society and many more had taken notice to the lack of fear and respect the youth held for both their elders and most obviously, law enforcement. This film criticizes, for the most part, every major value
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(no subject)

[May. 23rd, 2006|09:54 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	ass again.	]
[	mood	\|	tweekin	]
[	music	\|	easy dub allstars AGAIN TOO!.	]

life is life and life is lifey. and stuff. well im happy. as hell. its almost too good to be true. how good things are. the key to happiness is not giving a fuck. and it all pans out for ya. if your me and you can get by without doing any work. hahah. and i love money. and being smart enough to live. and not get shot. like SOME people. and writing is good when im this bored because i hate homework and i dont do it anyway and now im just seeing how fast i can type but OH WELL! so anyway. what have IIIIIIIII been doing lately?!?!? YOU ASK...you...journal...you. well. drew is sick. and so i made him a paper bag puppet to keep him company. because hes always so lonely. and then i visited him. and uhhh....made him not sick....for a short few minutes. and then i bounced up outta there. and did mah thang. and got into a vehicle. and drove mahself home. because i do that these days. and sooo. what else what else. SCHOOL IS ALMOST OVER EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and im goin to tha fuckin beach. everyday. and driving is good. because i can go wherever i want!!! muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. yeah drugs. you can tell cant ya? w/e....biatchhH!:"and apparently your never supposed to smoke crack!" JIM GAFFIGAN IS MY FAAVORITE!!!!! and so is my baaaby. and i need to go because he probly called me 10 times so PEACE!

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