Video games may not directly induce violence, but hearing bad jokes can. Yes, telling bad jokes can seriously get you hurt. In extreme cases, as some professional comics may attest to, it could get you maimed, bruised, and maybe even bleeding. (They don't call it a "tough crowd" for nothing!) But why is this? A recent study by linguist Nancy Bell of Washington State University may shed light on this horrific punchline. Somebody gonna get a hurt...

Publisher Greenwave Games is sending word of their plans to release Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm to the Xbox 360 and Windows PC. This title is based on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch TV series, which narrates the adventures of the crab fishermen off the Bering Sea. Details on this new game are in the full article.

Look up all the synonyms of the word varied and you've got the perfect adjectives to describe to this week's big batch of Blu-ray releases. With The Assassination of Jesse James, Crimson Tide, and others sharing the spotlight this week, there's bound to be something for everybody. Check out the motley crew of titles in the full article.

Wondering about the real identity of the mummy that was just found in Egpyt? Recent CT scans reveal more information about the identity of the mummy that could possibly be Hatshetpsut, a queen as popular as Tutankhamun. Although, many are still not convinced with the developments of the expedition.

Details on the development after the Jump.

 

Discovery Channel joins hordes of companies in Microsoft's publicity bandwagon, as a new promotion for its show entitled Last One Standing is spearheaded by the promotion for Bungie Studios' Halo 3. That's right: if you tune in to Last One Standing, soon to premiere on October 4, Xbox 360 fans will also get a chance to enter the Halo 3 sweepstakes for a chance to win Halo 3 prizes.

To top off the promotion, Discovery hosted a short strip by Neil Blomkamp, which features UNSC grunts and Helljumpers against Covenant forces in a heroic effort to stay alive long enough against numerous hordes. UNSC marines and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers all try to keep the enemy from overrunning their position long enough to spot Master Chief's entry trajectory.

We won't spoil it all for you, though much of the video snippet's appeal is in the action and drama contained within. The teaser is protected by an age gate, simply because it's dabbed with a good share of graphic content, adding to the dire situation the UNSC troops put themselves in. The video can be reached through the Read link provided below.

Originally posted Sept. 17, 2007 at 9:07AM

For those of us not really that keen on spoiling ourselves with Master Chief's last adventure, Halo 3 for the Xbox 360, you might want to look away. This news article right here is about a very spoiler-laden video on the multiplayer feature of the game itself, from a couple of guys who got the game early.

If you're like some of us who just can't resist getting a sneak peek at what's in store for the Xbox 360 gaming community come the game's impending release, well, don't say we didn't warn you.

From what we can see (and hear) in the video, the menu screen has a bleak feel to it, with the lonely piano used in the game's promotional videos as the soundtrack. We also get a peek at how we'll be able to modify Master Chief's appearance in the multiplayer settings - what's surprising is that we can even give our Chief a different gender. Talk about customization!

Another delicious unearthed from the video - Halo 3 is coming with 12 massive multiplayer maps to frag buddies in. That's a lot, and considering the size and quality of those maps, Halo 3's replay value just skyrocketed then and there. Not too bad, Bungie.

There's also a rumor about Discovery Channel's Future Weapons program exclusively featuring Halo 3 hardware. We're not quite sure how Mack is going to demonstrate just how wickedly powerful the weapons of Halo 3 are, since they're not actually real - but if it's true, then we're certainly in for a hell of an episode. A check of Future Weapon's episode guide yields no confirmation of such an episode, however, but fingers are crossed.

In any case, enjoy the video!

The Halo 3 Future Weapons commercial can be found after the jump!

A diver by the name of Jay Garbose discovered a sea serpent-like creature off the shores of Juno Beach. The creature has been tentatively identified by the Smithsonian as an unknown species although they have floated the idea that it could be a Nemertean Worm. Garbose has said that the people at Smithsonian "can't even identify what family it is in right now".

He gave an interesting account of how he found the creature. The description he gave of it made it seem more alien than a Terran creature, but deep sea creatures are known for their "interesting" appearances.

I was diving on Juno Ledge. That's about a mile off shore of Juno Beach. At first I thought it was a sea cucumber although no one has ever seen one stretched 7 to 10 feet the way this one was. It's sort of grey and putty like and very smooth and taffy like in the way it stretches. Some of my friends and I have sort of dubbed it the living intestine.

Now, this new creature could actually be named after Garbose, although he'd have to go and capture the said creature first. He is currently planning to go back to try and catch the creature but he himself admits that it is unlikely that he will find it again.

There's a famous quote said by the folks at Discovery Channel's Mythbusters, and that's "I reject your reality and substitute my own." Well, Hollywood's been doing that for years, and someone at Neatorama's compiled a short list of real physical effects that have been rejected by Hollywood and substituted with something meant for effect.

There are a couple of notable ones, though. The one about shotgun blasts and karate kicks causing people to fly away isn't possible, for example, because every action should have an equal and opposite reaction; therefore, if you kick someone in the face, they'll only fly back as far away as you get thrown back by the awesomeness of your kick.

There's also the one about exploding artillery shells. In that case, artillery shells don't simply blow upwards: they scatter shrapnel all around. The only reason why people in movies survive artillery fire is because the explosions are set below ground, keeping anything that looks like killer metal away from actors' faces.

Oh, and on that final note... No one is really supposed to hear you scream in space. There's no air, remember?

There's a great deal of hype surrounding the upcoming James Cameron documentary which airs on the Discovery Channel. And why not? The date may mark your last day as a believer.

The documentary titled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" seeks to establish that ossuaries excavated in Jerusalem belonged to a married Jesus, Mary Magdalene and quite possibly their "son", Judah. Some experts, however, are not convinced, calling the film "nonsense."

The Oscar-winning filmmaker Cameron and Canadian-Israeli journalist Simcha Jacobovici are the main forces behind the upcoming presentation. The documentary carries the same hype as "The Da Vinci Code" and both men are confident that their evidences will prove some points come March 4.

The excavation, contrary to popular assumptions, are not newly excavated. They were unearthed a decade ago in Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologist Amos Klooner and were discovered by Jacobovici only three years ago. Being the investigative reporter that he is, Jacobovici was captivated by the find and set out to do a deeper study.

The tomb allegedly contained bodies in ossuaries where the names "Jesus, Son of Joseph," Mary and "Judah son of Jesus" were inscribed. Jacobovici consulted a panel of experts to have some questions answered. He got DNA tests, statisticians, archaeologists and scholars on ancient texts to do the job. He came up with the following findings, which Cameron in turn described as "compelling."

1. DNA Tests - According to DNA experts consulted by Jacobovici, the bodies in the tomb of Jesus and Mary were not related by blood, eliminating the possibility that the Mary there is the mother of Jesus and leading to the notion that the two must have been married. There was no mention of findings on the tomb of Judah.
2. Ancient texts - the name "Mariamene" is inscribed in the ossuary of the woman, and according to the fifth-century script called "acts of Philip" the name was used interchangeably for Mary Magdalene.
3. Statistics- experts in the University of Toronto have calculated the possibility of the name combinations to coincide in the same grave. the result was 600:1.

All of these, claimed the journalist, are facts and said that the world needs to see this and called for a "scientific, academic, theological debate" to commence.

And commence it does over at Full Article. Head over there to see what the naysayers have to say in rebuttal.

The last time we talked about Ewan Spence's PSP Show podcast, my compatriot Rica M. mistakenly heard "guilty pleasure" as "guilty pressure." The only guilty pressure she now knows of is the one where we mention the phrase in passing to her, followed by the pressure being applied to my Rica-inflicted stab wound to stop the bleeding.

The 27th episode of The PSP Show deals a lot with one of the best shows ever seen on the Discovery Channel, and we're not talking about the Mythbusters here, folks. Lonely Planet's where it's at, and they actually have PSP media of their own. Europe got the benefit of the Passport to... series, which acts as a travelogue of sorts for specific destinations across Europe. With a rating of "Damn, it could have been better," you can pretty much guess where that review will be headed.

In addition to his review of the handheld travelogue series, he also takes some time to answer the questions and comments made in episode 26, which you can listen to by following the source link below. Lest we forget, he also talks about the Killzone Liberation demo, and downloading a demo from a fan site.

All in all, that's 14 minutes of solid content, with some interesting commentary to boot. Enjoy the download!

Download: [The PSP Show #27]