It Was The Best Of Times; It Was The Worst Of Times

Yessiree Bob; we done had a mighty busy couple of days since my last blog. So much to talk about and yet I already had in mind what i wanted to do for today's blog in keeping with Retro week, but oh well you can't simply ignore news so lets get down to it.

In local breaking news rivalry between LIME, Claro and Digicel has always been heated but now after the dust has settled there are only two left standing. Well known cellular kingpin company Digicel today announced that it has signed an agreement with América Móvil to acquire its Claro business in Jamaica, and to sell to América Móvil its businesses in El Salvador and Honduras. So basically they have traded control over regions and now Digicel has even more control over Jamaica's cellular coverage industry. So now what was once a race between three companies has now been cut to two with Digicel and LIME in the running for the hearts and wallets of the masses. This event occurring has its pro's and cons but only time will tell how this will all play out. Will Digicel use this majority share monopoly to hike up prices just because they can or will LIME use this seemingly deathly blow to their market share chances as an opportunity to get back on the good side of the Jamaican people?

In other Jamaican news; reknown Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel appeared at the University Of The West Indies (UWI) campus in Kingston as per invited to a public forum by Professor Dr Carolyn Cooper, from the Department of Literatures in English and the Centre for Gender and Development Studies. Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, will lecture on the topic “Pretty Like A Coloring Book: My Life And My Art.” I must say that the circumstances surrounding this happening are confusing to me as I wonder exactly what this 'lecture' and i use that word loosely was intended to prove but I must honestly say i have a new found respect for Vybz Kartel as an entertainer. I think he did very well in his deportment and effectively spoke to the crowd in an intellectual light; clearing up many misconceptions that had plagued him via the media. It seems Kartel has followed in the footsteps of Charlie Sheen and is now Bi-Winning both in the ghetto and in the educated society.

Map Of Japan

Half way across the globe Japan has been rocked to its very core after being hit by a severe earthquake registering a whopping 8.9 on the Richter scale. As if that wasn't bad enough as it is they were then hit by a colossal tsunami created by the massive earthquake which proceeded to literally wash over most of North Eastern Japan. Obviously, a huge percentage of the gaming industry is located in Japan, so the earthquake will have untold effects on the industry. Thankfully, Japan has very strict building and manufacturing standards, so the death toll is likely to prove much lower than it would be if a similar quake were to hit in another area of world; case in point Haiti. I just hope no religious fanatics start going off the deep end and link this in some way to God or whoever. Our hearts and well wishes go out to the many individuals affected by this tragedy both directly and indirectly...
(for more on this incident visit http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/27/world/main6251193.shtml)

Finally on to news on the lighter side of life that i know will bring a smile to many a gamers face indeed. The wonderful people over at  NetherRealm Studios gave customers on Playstation Network Plus (PSN+) an early access demo of their upcoming Mortal Kombat  game. Are you excited; cause know I am excited! After roughly 11 years we finally see Mortal Kombat returning to it's glory days of being a 2-D fighter. Personally I lost all interest in Mortal Kombat after Trilogy when they decided to start making the game 3-D oriented. The demo will be available primarily to Playstation 3 users; PSN+ get the demo on March 8th while regular PSN users get it on the 15th of March. Sadly no concrete word has been given for the XBOX community as to when the demo will be available for them on XBOX Live. Behold the awesomeness that is Mortal Kombat 9...