Posted: 27 May 2010 07:18 PM PDT

Final Fantasy and the Four Heros of Light

Square Enix's next Nintendo DS Final Fantasy release is, thankfully, not a rehash of the recently released console game FFXIII, but a new adventure that Square is hoping will bring in long-time fans of the Final Fantasy series as well as some new fans to flesh out the fanbase. The Four Heroes of Light is a seperate story, much like the Crystal Chronicles, without an attached number and follows the story of Brandt.

Brandt wakes up on his 14th birthday hoping for fun and instead receives a quest to find the missing princess of his realm and bring her back to the king. As per usual with FF games, this is an RPG that will later in the story introduce other characters who have missions of their own to achieve and agree to help Brandt with his.

Some fans may remember the mysterious website that Square had up with a strange countdown, every so often pieces of a picture would be revealed as a hint as to what viewers were in store now. Turns out the image, a beautiful piece of art, is of our four heros riding a rather perturbed looking dragon and is also the cover art for the DS packaging.

View the packshot below as well as a few in-game screenshots. Final Fantasy and the Four Heroes of Light will be released sometime this August, the precise date unknown as of yet.

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The American Legion and Military Channel Launch 'American Heroes ... - YAHOO!

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:28 AM PDT

The 'American Heroes' Vignettes Premiere During Military Channel's Live Coverage of the National Memorial Day Parade on May 31st

INDIANAPOLIS and SILVER SPRING, Md., May 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Legion and Military Channel have teamed up to honor troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, including three soldiers who never made it back home. A series of ten, one-minute vignettes, "American Heroes" premieres Memorial Day on the Military Channel, which co-sponsored the production with The American Legion – the country's largest veterans service organization with about 2.5 million members worldwide.

Produced by Creative Street Entertainment, "American Heroes" includes the dramatic and poignant stories of those who fell in battle, suffered severe injuries, helped repair war-torn communities, or made it home to help other wounded warriors. Each American hero is honored with a Norman Rockwell Moments portrait at the close of the vignette. The profiles will air on the Military Channel for an entire year, starting with the network's live coverage of the National Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 31 from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT.

"The 'American Heroes' stories are a collection that encompasses several different aspects of what it means to be a hero in wartime. First and foremost, we think of those who gave their lives – those whose memories we will honor forever," said Clarence Hill, national commander for The American Legion.

"Then there are those who return home with severe injuries, yet go on to succeed in the civilian world. We have American heroes who take care of wounded troops at VA hospitals, who have helped Iraqi children in their devastated cities, or who have taught their own families how to be heroes," Hill said. These vignettes really highlight the sacrifices of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how veterans of those wars continue to serve our country."

"Partnering with The American Legion to create these 'American Heroes' vignettes is emblematic of Military Channel's commitment to sharing compelling stories of heroism from within the U.S. Armed Services," said Henry Schleiff, general manager and president of Military Channel, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater. "And what better day to launch these poignant stories than Memorial Day, a hallowed day for our country to recognize the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women serving in uniform, who have preserved our freedom and liberties while bringing security to the world."

The 11 individuals featured in the "American Heroes" vignettes are: Patrick Brady and his daughter, Meghan; David Brown, Tammy Duckworth, Dawn Halfaker, Nick Madaras, Jose Pequeno, Robert Posivio, Joseph Proctor, John Schatzel and Klay South.

Madaras, Posivio and Proctor died in Iraq; Proctor received the Silver Star. Duckworth, an assistant secretary in the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, was a pilot who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down. Halfaker, vice president of the Wounded Warrior Project, lost an arm when an RPG exploded near her Humvee.

South, who founded the Veterans of Valor service organization, was shot while clearing out houses in Fallujah. Pequeno, whose story was told in the May 2009 issue of The American Legion Magazine, suffered severe traumatic brain injury from an IED explosion.

Patrick Brady, a retired Army major general, is a Medal of Honor recipient for bravery in Vietnam; his daughter, Meghan, has served in Kosovo, Kuwait and Iraq. Schatzel helped to rebuild the Iraqi scouting program in Baghdad, and Brown – twice-injured in battle – now spends his days helping veterans recover from war and readjust to the world of peace.

About The American Legion:

With a current membership of 2.5 million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation. For more information, please visit www.legion.org

About Military Channel:

The Military Channel brings viewers compelling, real-world stories of heroism, military strategy, and significant turning points in history. Currently available in more than 57 million homes, the network takes viewers "behind the lines" to hear the personal stories of servicemen and women and offers in-depth explorations of military training, aviation technology and cutting-edge weaponry. For more information, please visit military.discovery.com.

About Norman Rockwell Moments:

Famed artist Norman Rockwell created classic images that celebrate America as no other artist in history. Portrait photographs are transformed through procedures that can turn any portrait photograph into a work of art as if the immortal Rockwell had painted it himself. This is the only process in the world to be so licensed by the Norman Rockwell Licensing Company and allowed to carry the Norman Rockwell Moments Brand. For more information, please visit www.normanrockwell.com

About Creative Street Entertainment:

Creative Street Entertainment produces non-fiction entertainment programs for the cable and broadcast television markets. Creative Street Entertainment was honored with a 2007 Emmy® Award for the documentary "Vietnam Nurses" with Dana Delany. In addition to "American Heroes," CSE will soon release "The Long Home Run: Omaha and the College World Series," which is narrated by Kevin Costner and will premiere on ESPN Networks this June.

SOURCE The American Legion

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NASCAR's Unsung Heroes Spotter's Series: Chris Lambert ... - Bleacherreport.com

Posted: 28 May 2010 03:42 PM PDT

This week's article features Chris Lambert whose been spotting for 14 years and is currently in his fourth year in Cup, paired up with Brian Vickers.

Ashley McCubbin: What is your job during the race?

Chris Lambert: My main job is to try and help keep BV out of any trouble or wrecks. I'm his and Ryan (Pemberton)'s extra set of eyes that can see the whole track and basically help them know what's going on within the race. I let BV know where he's faster through the corners, which line is working, where he's getting beat by other cars, and just helping him all I can.

AM: What is your job during the pit stops?

CL: Mainly just reminding him of his RPM for pit road speed, let him know where the timing line starts, and drop him off to Ryan at 15 pit stalls away from ours. Then I watch other cars and see if anyone is getting two tires, four tires or just what they are doing so I can relay that info to BV and Ryan. Then after out stop is finished I clear him out of the stall and help him with traffic till the exit of pit road.

AM: What do you think makes a good spotter? Any certain recommendations/requirements?

CL: To be a good spotter you have to be able to multitask. You have to be 100% focused for about 3 1/2 — four hours a race and help your driver in every way that you can, give him any advantage that you can. During any given race I may wear many different hats. I'm a punching bag when he wants to vent, a cheerleader when he needs to be pumped up, a psychologist when he needs to be calmed down. We all go through several different emotions throughout a race and we have to be that calming voice no matter what is going on, we have to stay positive and keep everyone else's heads up and digging.

AM: What are the best and worst tracks for spotting at?

CL: Best track as far as the easiest for me is Martinsville, because it's just a simple oval. The speeds are really low and it's just a small, simple track.

The worst for me is a tie. Either Indy or Watkins Glen. Indy we are on the Bogota that is INSIDE the track and you can only see half the track. We use two spotters there and break the track up in half, but the half I work is the back half, and we are looking through the trees from the golf course. The other is Watkins Glen, the road course, and there we are just blind. Again we use more than one spotter and break the track up in sections, but even then it's just hard to see or help much.

AM: What do you think of the criticism that spotters get immediately when it comes to incidents?

CL: I think for me personally, it's just part of the job, or comes with the job title. No one wants to be the blame for a wreck, especially if it really wasn't our fault, but to me it's just really "it is what it is!" I personally don't think its right for the spotter to bear all the blame, because we are not driving the cars, but we can contribute to an accident.

AM: How do you get along with the other spotters?

CL: I get along with all of them pretty well. I consider probably 10-15 friends and get along with certain guys better than others, but I don't have any issues with anyone on the roof.

AM: What's the hardest part about your job?

CL: Honestly for me it's the travel. I have a wonderful wife and two great boys that I have to leave every Thursday afternoon and don't usually get home till late Sunday when they are already in the bed.

AM: If you have worked with different drivers, what are some certain things that one driver prefers over another?

CL: BV likes a lot of info. He doesn't mind a lot of radio talk, especially when it's helpful to him. I probably talk to him more than any other driver I've worked with in the past.

NASCAR's Unsung Heroes: Spotter Series

Joey Meier, spotter for Brad Keselowski

Brett Griffin, spotter for Elliott Sadler

A View From Talladega

Lorin Ranier, spotter for David Ragan

Mike Calinoff, spotter for Matt Kenseth

Rocky Ryan, spotter for Jeff Burton

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