Not Far From It Now

I am sure that many of you watch or have watched CNBCs Mad Money with Jim Cramer. Personally I think the screaming and boo-yaas are a little much, but I do watch it on occasion. I like Fast Money much better - it comes on a couple hours later. I am quite honored, because it looks like old Cramer has been sniffing around my blog looking for ideas

Back in the glory days Intel (INTC), Cisco (CSCO), Dell (DELL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were known as the four horseman. They were the go to stocks. Owning them were like having your own money tree. However, they have all taken it on the chin since then - Intel and Cisco are down 71% and 67% respectively from their high points in 2000, while Dell and Microsoft are down 54% and 49% respectively since 1999.

Last week Cramer announced his new "four horseman" of technology: Apple (AAPL), Research in Motion (RIMM), Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN). Two of those names, Apple and Research in Motion, are the members of my recently formed The Big Spend portfolio. Interestingly Cramer and I converged on those names using two completely different approaches, but our conclusions are the same. These stocks have the potential to significantly outperform the market and are in the midst of secular (long term) moves. Its time to get on board.

About the Author

Michael Dawson recently said goodbye to a 20 year career in Engineering, Marketing and Sales to focus on living his dream of financial independence as a full-time trader on his on account. He has also established a financial education company, The Time & Money Group, to encourage others to pursue financial freedom and is publisher of the company's blog "Breaking the Shackles of the 9 to 5." His mantra is "Why trade time for money ... when you can have both."

http://www.thetimeandmoneygroup.com/blog

Make sure to read one of Dawson's most popular articles: "Saying Good-Bye to the Time for Money Swap"

AP - An Iraqi government spokesman says the U.S. should offer new amendments to a draft security agreement that would keep American troops in Iraqi until 2012.

posted by treehkczc  # 1:57 PM 0 comments

Naruto: Rise of the Ninja follows the story of the popular anime series. The game's style is that of a 'beat 'em up' with RPG aspects, for example, your character's stats do increase and they will learn new moves and abilities as the game progresses.

Whilst I really liked the style of this game, and the use of cell-shading I was disappointed that the developers had not re-animated the cut scenes in the same manner (unlike the new Dragonball Z game), instead they have simply inserted actual slips from the anime into the video game. I actually find this to be quite lazy, especially since the game can be completed in about 10 hours. If they had added some nice CGI it would have made it a little bit more enjoyable.

Despite the length of this game, I really enjoyed playing through it. The graphics are impressive, the story immersive and the voice acting exactly what you can expect from a top class anime series. However, despite the impressive graphics, there is one very obvious flaw, and that is the fact that the in game characters never actually move their mouths to speak, the voice over's simply sound, this is unlike the Dragonball game where they speak even in battle.

I think that they have cut many corners in this game, there are things that I personally would have included in the game in order to improve the style and feel of it. I would have been much more impressed if they had bothered to animate things other than a simple walk, run and jump cycle. The fact that they simply didn't bother to animate the mouths at all throughout the game, leads me to believe that they simply wanted to release this game as soon as possible, with as little work required.

Missions CONSTANTLY require you to travel from A to B, and then back to A, and back to B about five times before you can proceed with the games actual story. This becomes ridiculous and irritating after the third time, and I couldn't help but think I would have enjoyed the experience a bit more if they had bothered to allow you to be transported to the correct location.. And before I get the, "Maybe they couldn't" line, they could and this is proven since after each mission, you can warp back to Leaf Village.

However, despite the many gripes I have about this game, and its lazy development, I am still highly pleased with the game and have enjoyed playing through it, and even though the game was only 10 hours long, I felt should it have continued, my patience would have been tried. I have even decided to watch the complete Naruto series, something that up until now I have failed to manage.

So, hopefully you will find this review useful, and I hope it helps you make the correct choice in your next video games purchase.

Kristen Barghout

Blog: http://www.animezonecentral.com

I am a professional programmer, with a keen interest in all things related to anime and video games. I don't just like certain genre's, I like all genre's, and will always give my honest opinion.

I can't always find the time to post my articles here, but if you visit my blog, there is lots of news and reviews, so please check it out.

Reuters - Country singer Merle Haggard, recently diagnosed with lung cancer, had part of a lung removed and is recovering at home, his spokeswoman said on Sunday.

posted by treehkczc  # 5:05 AM 0 comments