CHEERS TO "THE AVENGERS"

That's right, folks, I will never post the discouraging news of Manchester in my blog. That's a promise. Here is a picture of my favorite radio Series being recorded.., the Avengers, for South african radio, and remember, NO ONE IN THE WORLD looks like what they sound like. In Manchester, NH, weathermen are warning of severe thunderstorms. Quite good news if you are from New Mexico and the current temperature is 105 degrees....

BINGO

Greetings from Manchester, New Hampshire, where it is getting warmer and more sunny,
and the young uns are playing SCRABBLE!!!!



The word is: Scrabble

By SUZANNE BATES
Union Leader Correspondent

For the first move in a Scrabble game against fellow fifth-graders Troy Miller and Evan McCarthy, Bradley Robbins got a Bingo.

For all the non-Scrabble fanatics out there, that's when a player uses all seven tiles in one turn.

"That's not a word," Miller said, looking at his partner for reassurance.

"I don't think it's a word," McCarthy said.

They eyed Robbins nervously. He was known for occasionally putting down fake words, assuming other players won't know when he's making one up.

Bradley Robbins, 11, of Windham, counts a Scrabble score as his father, Phil, looks up a word. (DAVID LANE)

"We're challenging you," Miller said, calling in the judge, Robbins' mom, Jill Robbins, who checked the official Scrabble dictionary to make her final ruling.

The word was "taenias," and it is a headband worn in ancient Greece.

Good News For Bikers and Walkers

Efforts to pave trails are paying off, one step at a time

MANCHESTER – Gisele Sevigny Fontaine drove from her home on the east side to meet her friend Orianna Dolbec on the West Side.

The two senior citizens crossed the newly opened pedestrian bridge over the Merrimack River, strolled along the riverwalk and ended up at a late-morning Fisher Cats game next to the paved pathway.

"It was like killing two birds with one stone," Sevigny Fontaine said. "You got your exercise and you got to see a good game, even though they did lose."

Piece by piece, the city is expanding and paving existing or over-grown natural trails to make it easier for people, such as Dolbec and Sevigny Fontaine to walk and bike around the city.

"The whole point is for this to connect into the neighborhoods, so people don't use their cars," said Chuck DePrima, the acting director for the city's Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries Department.

GOOD NEWS IN THE NEWS...FINALLY

Outpouring of help

By GARRY RAYNO
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
17 hours, 23 minutes ago

MANCHESTER – Deb Gaudette of Goffstown knows what it is like to be without a home because she and her family twice were flooded out by the Piscataquog River.

Yesterday, she called the Salvation Army Manchester Corps to say she wants to donate some of the things she was given to help the victims of Tuesday's Pearl Street apartment house fire.

"It's not a big deal; it's just the right thing to do," Gaudette said yesterday.

So there you have it; some good news for your weekend, and it's 49 degrees currently in Manchester. (It's hot in New Mexico....)

TONY HAWK'S DOWNHILL JAM--REVIEW!

Also number 8 in the series, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (THDJ) is the exclusive version for Nintendo & feature on the GameBoy Advance, DS & the upcoming Nintendo Wii.

THDJ takes a completely different approach from earlier Tony Hawk's games with the ultimate goal to each the end of the course, grinding & jumping down interactive environments against other opponents. A step back from traditional skating, THDJ is a great title for younger players and offers a fantastic multiplayer experience.

THDJ offers the choice of 8 skaters, including Tony Hawk & over 90 events in 8 environments & different gaming modes such as race, trick attack & slalom. Available also on the Nintendo DS is the local wireless play and online gameplay using the Nintendo WI-FI connection for up to 4 players

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam delivers an innovative and unique skateboard experience focused on head-to-head racing. The game allows players to feel the breakneck speed of downhill competition as they tear up the world's steepest terrains while performing tricks and outmaneuvering opponents in such locations as San Francisco, Machu Picchu and Hong Kong. Taking on the role of Tony Hawk or one of nine characters, players compete in time-based challenges in one of three gameplay modes including race, trick and slalom.
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After stressing out about finding a good site for my research, I found two great ones and I was overjoyed, so here is a picture for you. I will add some more after I have prepared for tomorrow's classes (cp tends to make things go slowly), but I suspect the weather in NH is still to cooooold for sk8ing.

Finally....A Positive Review!!!!!!!!!

Gameplay
For those of you who have not played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, where have you been? Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has been the one of the best game series released on the PlayStation. You choose a skateboarder and proceed to perform various tricks, score points and collect hidden items throughout the wide variety of skateparks in the game.

In all fairness I should compare this game to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. The graphics are pretty much the same. Executing tricks? Same. "So, if I own T. Hawk 2 why should I buy #3?" you ask. Well, my friend, besides the new character line up, there are many improvements in this game.

The tricks in T. Hawk 3 are all executed the same. Tricks are performed by pressing a button and a direction on the D-pad. The biggest change in the game is the addition of the "Revert," which is the newest trick in the arsenal of the T. Hawk 3 skaters. When coming down from a ramp, pressing R2 activates the revert, basically pulling off a switch with your board. This move will open the door for half pipe skaters, because before you were limited to ending your trick as you came down a ramp. Now you can hit the revert to execute a manual, go up the other side of the half pipe, come down, and repeat.

T. Hawk 3 has completely eliminated money. Levels are unlocked by completing level goals. Buying stat points and new boards are also no longer available. Instead "stat points" and the "hidden deck" are scattered throughout the levels.

Characters
Like in all the other games, there are plenty of skateboarders from which to choose. Here's the rundown of selectable characters:

* Tony Hawk
* Steve Caballero
* Kareem Campbell
* Rune Glifberg
* Eric Koston
* Buck Lasek
* Rodney Mullen
* Chad Muska
* Andrew Reynolds
* Geoff Rowley
* Elissa Steamer
* Jamie Thomas
* Bam Margera

There also are hidden characters to unlock by beating the game with a 100% score with any character.

Levels
T. Hawk 3 features a wide variety of new level designs. All are unique to the area from which they come. For example, Los Angeles has a freeway, the airport takes place in an airport, and Japan has lots of neon lights (Japan has lots of neon lights?). Here's a list of selectable levels I could choose from.

* The Foundry
* Los Angeles
* Rio
* Suburbia
* Airport
* Skater Island
* Canada
* Tokyo

Customizable
There is also a "Park Editor" where you can create your own skate park. There are various bowls, halfpipes, rails, and ramps to choose from. Each bowl, halfpipe, and rail has a submenu where you can select from many different versions of each item. Naming gaps is back in T. Hawk 3, which was always a cool feature in T. Hawk 2. I remember, back when my friends and I played T. Hawk 2, we named this one gap, and would always grind it the opposite way. To this day "backwards up the poop shoot" has to be the funniest trick in T. Hawk 2. Well in our park, anyways.

While we're on the topic of "editing" I think it would be appropriate to mention the "create-a-skater" mode. Like the mode suggests, players have the ability to customize their own skater. There are no changes from the second T. Hawk. All the options are basically the same. There are many new heads and clothes to choose from, but the ability to select sunglasses, with different hairstyles and colors is not available. Too bad, I really wanted to make a disco stu character. Guess I have to do it on PS2.