| How Guitar Hero Shook Gamers All Night Long
On the fateful evening of Nov. 7, 2005, as youthful little gamers dreamt with childlike wonderment at the whimsical appeal of Nintendogs and Pokemon, a sinister force in rock was almost ready to be unleashed upon the world. Headed by a game developer named Harmonix Music Studios, this monster of a title would forever change the worlds of rocking and gaming, mixing and mashing the once completely differing entities into common allies in the struggle against authority. This game, known as Guitar Hero, would come from out of nowhere to sweep the nation, spreading shock and awe as any common gaming geek could now become a rock god. Apparently Harmonix Studios struck a vein in the body of the American gaming public and created a game that capitalized on the desire to become a rock and roll superstar.
Badminton: Hidayat, Super Dan on course for HK clash
HONG KONG - OLYMPIC champion Taufik Hidayat and world number one Lin Dan remained on course for a Hong Kong Open quarter-final showdown after crushing wins here on Tuesday. Lin 'Super' Dan dispatched Englishman Andrew Smith 21-17, 21-5 while Hidayat routed China's Chen Hong 21-11, 21-13 in just 23 minutes in the first round. Hidayat, still in search of his first Super Series title, will play South Korea's Park Sung Hwan in round two on Thursday while Lin is strong favourite against Shoji Sato of Japan. Hidayat and Lin share badminton's hottest rivalry, although the famously hot-tempered Indonesian has not beaten his Chinese rival since the 2005 world championship final. 'I'm not thinking about Lin Dan yet,' Hidayat shrugged. 'We'll see the day after tomorrow.
Area retailers prepare for Black Friday
Businesses across the area are preparing for what they hope will be a big shopping season starting bright and early Friday morning.That means smiling faces, warm greetings and help at every turn for prospective customers no matter if it is at 6 a.m. ... or if there are hundreds of people lined up waiting to get in ... or if they'll do anything to get the item they want."It's a quasi-holiday for us," said Wayne Ruchalski, the general manager at Staples in Mechanicsburg. "We'll have some in-store specials and early bird specials. This year I think what's going to be big are the GPS units, digital cameras, digital picture frames, photo printers, MP3 players and the Dell computers we have in our stores for the first time � we kicked off the sale last Sunday, Nov. 11."Ruchalski is no novice when it comes to Black Friday sales, working at Staples for nine years and in retail for 20.To make it easier for customers, Ruchalski is planning a new, slightly more organized system of tickets for items they're expecting to be gone within a few minutes.
Back In The New York Groove; Vikings Thrash Giants
"New York Groove" is a song performed by legendary Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley on his self-titled 1978 album. It also happens to be the ditty that the New York Giants used to play after they scored a touchdown at Giants Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings defense may just claim the song as their own. Two years ago in North Jersey, Vikings safety Darren Sharper picked off Eli Manning three times, returning one for a touchdown in a 24-21 Minnesota win. And, while it didn't count, the Vikings trashed the New York Jets, 37-20, during a preseason game at the stadium in August, when both Sharper and linebacker Chad Greenway returned interceptions for touchdowns. Fast forward to this past Sunday when Sharper, safety Dwight Smith and Greenway all returned Manning interceptions for touchdowns as Minnesota stunned the New York Giants again, 41-17.
Families in need of Christmas Cheer
There are people in the local area who need help to have to have a happy holiday season. They may be ill, alone or elderly. As Alamance County residents have done in the past, you can make a difference by sponsoring one of the needy through Christmas Cheer. The agency has opened its doors in downtown Burlington to begin the sponsoring process 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You may sponsor one or more children by providing new toys, groceries or gift certificates if needed for Christmas dinner and winter clothing if necessary. You may sponsor an elderly person by providing Christmas dinner and providing any appropriate special request. Donations of new toys, non-perishable food or money may be made directly to Christmas Cheer. The office is located at 331 S. Main St., telephone 229-9969.
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